Archive for healthy lifestyle
Here's another blog on exercise, my favorite topic as a chiropractor other than talking about the benefits of chiropractic treatment. And, if you've read my other blogs on exercise, you know I'm a big believe in "move it or lose it." But, if you've read the entire content of most of my blogs, you also know that I believe that exercise is just part of a healthy lifestyle. An essential part, to be sure, but eating nutritious meals, drinking plenty of water, and visiting your chiropractor (that last one may be slightly biased), along with giving up unhealthy habits like smoking, are crucial not only for maintaining good health, but in keeping body weight in check. That's why I wasn't surprised by the latest government data that indicated that more Americans are exercising, but rates of obesity and smoking have not changed.
Health experts, such as chiropractors, and the U.S. government all recommend getting daily exercise — about an hour a day of moderate exercise for most adults — to keep weight off and prevent heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Plus, we chiropractors are well aware that keeping weight off not only helps to prevent the diseases just mentioned, but it also helps to slow down, and often prevent, arthritis and stress injuries of the musculoskeletal system caused by excess weight.
But, excess weight is not only caused by, and sustained through, lack of exercise. Here are some more "fun facts" from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics:
- The prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 and over has increased from 19.4 percent in 1997 to 28 percent in 2009.
- In 2009, 9 percent of adults 18 and over had diabetes, up from 8.2 percent in 2008 and 5 percent in 1997.
- 20.6 percent of adults smoked, about the same as in 2008.
- Nearly 23 percent of adults had at least one day of binge drinking in 2009, defined as having five or more drinks in a day.
- Most Americans believe they are healthy. More than 66 percent said they had excellent or very good health, down from 68.5 percent in 2008. 2.4 percent said they had poor health.
- Just over 4 percent of all Americans said they had an asthma attack in the past year
There are no shortcuts and no way to get around it: Good health and vibrant wellness is created and maintained through an overall healthy lifestyle.
Posted via email from healthandfitnessnews’s posterous
Technorati Tags: healthy lifestyle, Where:San-Jose-CA
First of all, if you are someone who reads my San Jose chiropractic blogs, you know that as a San Jose Chiropractor I am a passionate advocate of living a healthy lifestyle that, as I’ve written so many times, includes a healthy diet, good hydration, plenty of exercise and, of course, regular chiropractic care! In addition, I’m sure that if you are someone who is already concerned about your health, you don’t get your diet and nutrition guidelines from watching television. We all know that most TV advertisements that are about food, especially “convenience” food, are meant to sell, sell, sell, whether or not the product is actually good for you. That said, it always nice to take a moment to reflect on just how “unhealthy” TV ads can be. So, I read with great interest an article today in the New York Times Fitness and Nutrition section on the subject. The article detailed a study that concluded that if Americans ate only foods advertised on TV, they would consume 25 times the recommended amount of sugar and 20 times the amount of fat they need, but less than half the dairy, fiber, and fruits and vegetables.Yikes! Those statistics even shocked me!
Taping 28 days of prime-time TV (as well as Saturday-morning programming) on the four major broadcast networks, researchers identified 800 foods promoted in 3,000 ads. Then, using a nutritional software program, they analyzed the content of the items, comparing the foods’ nutritional values with the government’s food guide pyramid and recommended daily intake values for various nutrients (based on a 2,000 calories per day diet).
Are you ready for this? Not only would a 2,000-calorie diet made up solely of foods from commercials provide too much cholesterol, saturated fat and salt, and not nearly enough nutrients like iron, calcium or vitamins A, D and E, just one advertised food item by itself would provide, on average, three times a person’s daily recommended servings of sugar and two and half times the daily recommended servings of fat.
The study will be published this month in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
Technorati Tags: health and fitness, healthy lifestyle, nutrition, Where:San-Jose-CA
As a chiropractor, I'm very interested in the overall health of my patients. As part of a healthy lifestyle we discuss a nutritious diet, getting enough rest, drinking enough water, and getting regular chiropractic care, of course. And, since body weight can affect the stability and function of the musculoskeletal system, as well as impact its organic structures, I am always interested in new studies about weight issues. So, now, let me ask you this: What could be worse than feeling tired and groggy during the day after not getting enough sleep the night before? Well, craving calories, that's what! A recent study found that normal-weight young men ate a "Big Mac's-worth of extra calories" when they'd gotten four hours of sleep the night before compared to when they slept for eight hours.
Let's face it, as a group, we Americans have been sleeping less and getting fatter over the past few decades. The researchers wrote in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, "Sleep restriction could be one of the environmental factors that contribute to the obesity epidemic." No experimental studies to date have actually looked at what happens to a normal-weight person's eating patterns when he or she sleeps less.
To read more about this study, go to reuters.com
Technorati Tags: healthy lifestyle, sleep, weight loss, Where:San-Jose-CA
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Do you know that chiropractic therapy has been growing in popularity for a long time and that it’s continuing to increase annually as the favored healthcare choice for many patients? That’s right and your San Jose Chiropractor is well-aware that people are choosing chiropractic treatment because of its many health benefits. No other healthcare approach is less invasive to the body and, at the same time, can promote the body’s natural potential to heal itself instead of masking symptoms with pills.
Let’s face it, where there’s a musculoskeletal system, for example in the human body, there is the likelihood of musculoskeletal disorder including lumbar pain and neck pain, pain in the shoulder, elbow, hip and knee joints, and ankle and foot pain. Nobody is immune from misalignment of the spine and joint inflammation, though numerous health issues can be the end result of sports injuries, accidents, and the aging process. Irrespective of the source, just about any type of movement on a traumatized part of the body can not merely result in pain or suffering, but temporary disability. And, naturally, certain musculoskeletal problems, if left untreated, can result in permanent incapacitation.
It has been said of chiropractic care that its benefits “exceed” eliminating merely a specific condition. Actually, someone who comes in to see a chiropractor for back pain, for instance, not only gains from pain reprieve, but also enhanced circulation, a reduction or elimination of lactic acid, smoother movement of oxygen and nutrients within the body, additional flexibility, reduced everyday pain and soreness, quicker recuperation time, a more tranquil sensation, and the prevention of future injuries! Is it any mystery why chiropractic care has become the treatment of choice for so many people?
Besides delivering specialized musculoskeletal care, chiropractors will also include education and counsel as it pertains to bettering your total health and wellness. Chiropractors recognize that in order for a person to become healthy and stay that way, it is important to choose a simple health-oriented approach to life lke consuming a healthy amount of water to keep the body hydrated, following a nutritional diet plan, and developing a regular stretching and exercise routine.
Chiropractic care isn’t going to quite work “miracles, ” however it can come surprisingly close in numerous areas that may possibly surprise you. For instance, chiropractic care will help pregnant women deliver more easily. It can strengthen developmental potentials of babies, particularly in the area of motor skills, and it can often eliminate scoliosis. Chiropractic adjustments for children can help alleviate bronchial asthma complaints, ear infections, and even bed-wetting. Along with the rewards stated earlier, established chiropractic management can help adults to have more energy, which in turn boosts productivity. And, last but not least, for maturing baby boomers and the senior population, not only can chiropractic treatment aide in reducing age-related disorders and help to keep an individual more functional in later years, it can also decrease the balance problems that all too frequently lead to severe injury from falls.
If you’re currently visiting a chiropractor, that’s wonderful! You have no doubt already felt many of the amazing benefits stated above. In that case, why not tell your family and friends about chiropractic? Don’t let someone you care about fall victim to the type of misinformation regarding chiropractic care that can keep them from living their daily life with more energy and less pain. Tell someone you care about to give your chiropractor in San Jose a call. Your friends and family will thank you for it!
Technorati Tags: asthma, balance problems, bed- wetting, chiropractic care, chiropractic treatment, chiropractor, healthy lifestyle, infections, pregnancy, regular exercise, Where:San-Jose-CA
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Dr. Hoewisch believes that a healthy lifestyle includes activity and exercise, not matter what your age: Doesn’t it seem that healthy lifestyle information is everywhere you look these days? There are magazines and TV shows all about healthy foods and beneficial exercises. There are even recipes for nutritious meals in the newspaper. But, even though more Americans today are aware that eating nutritious meals, getting exercise, and keeping their body weight down is essential for health and longevity, a new study reported in the June 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine has found that the number of middle-aged and older Americans who have adopted a healthy lifestyle has actually declined substantially in the past two decades. Using data from a large government health survey, researchers found that in 2006, only 26 percent of Americans ages 40 to 74 said they ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. That’s down 16 percent from the 42 percent who responded in the 1988 survey! When it came to exercise, the same kind of decline was reported. Only 43 percent said they worked out at least 12 times per month, versus 53 percent in 1988. Not surprisingly, the rate of obesity in the United States went in the opposite direction, from 28 percent in 1988 to 36 percent in 2006.
The findings were based on data from the National Health and nutrition Examination Survey, a regularly conducted government health survey. Researchers focused on surveys conducted between 1988 and 1994 and between 2001 and 2006, which together included more than 15,000 Americans between the ages of 40 and 74. They looked at rates of five lifestyle factors involved in preventing a range of health risks: maintaining a normal weight, getting regular exercise, eating enough fruits and vegetables, not smoking, and drinking moderate amounts of alcohol.
Though the study cannot tell us why healthy lifestyle habits are on the decline, lead researcher, Dr. Dana E. King, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said that one reason may be that these changes are just difficult to make. “People’s increasingly hectic lives may be making it hard to fit in regular exercise, or to sit down to healthier, home-cooked meals rather than eating take-out.” He suggested some simple steps can make a difference. “It’s not hard, for example, to take some fruit to work with you, instead of going to the vending machine.” (Parking a little farther away from your destination and walking a bit can help, too.) Most importantly, Dr. King stressed that “it’s never too late” for middle-aged and older adults to make lifestyle changes for the better. In fact, in an earlier study, King and his colleagues found that when middle-aged adults newly adopted a healthier lifestyle — including regular exercise and eating more fruits and vegetables — their risk of developing cardiovascular disease or dying over the next several years fell by as much as 40 percent.
If you think about it, there aren’t many things in life that carry an “it’s never too late” guarantee. So, why not start today, no matter what your age may be? Your healthy future is depending on you!
Technorati Tags: cardiovascular disease, healthy lifestyle, middle-aged adults
