Walking may just seem like an old method of exercise; it certainly is tried and true. But quite the opposite of outdated, it seems to be making a resurgence in the health, fitness and medical worlds as a low-cost solution to the nation’s ongoing health care crisis.

Renowned medical expert Dr. Andrew Weil is an advocate of walking as a crucial method of preventative care. He advocates walking as a low-risk means to optimum health.

“With a consistent, brisk walking routine, you can boost your immune system, help manage weight, improve your mood and help ease depression, as well as improve cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure and prevent osteoporosis,” says Weil. “The additional benefits may be endless.”

Regarded as a leader in the world of integrative medicine, Weil is part of a panel of experts with Vionic Innovation Lab, an innovative footwear company leading the way for proper foot health and active lifestyle solutions. With new products such as the Zen walking shoe, Vionic offers podiatrist-designed technology in contemporary styles, providing an innovative support for anyone in need of a supportive shoe or sandal to start or improve her walking routine.

The walking movement is growing: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 2005 and 2010, the number of adults who walked for 10 minutes or more at least once a week rose from 56 to 62 percent – an increase of almost 20 million people.

Need more convincing reasons to walk onto the bandwagon? Here’s why walking for exercise is so ideal:

* Walking is what your body is designed to do.
*Among all forms of aerobic exercise, walking carries the least risk of injury.
* You can walk almost anywhere, any time.
* Nearly everyone can walk, and it’s something you can do throughout your life.
* It’s free.
* There’s no special skill, training, or equipment needed – all you need is the right footwear.

The buzz about walking has even reached the stars. Fitness trainer to celebrities such as Kate Walsh, Pink and Stacey Kiebler, Juliet Kaska has been known to start many of her high-profile clientele with a consistent walking routine. Also contributing to the Vionic Innovation lab as a lifestyle expert, Kaska recommends walking as a great baseline for any fitness program, but reminds her followers to “invest in a good pair of walking shoes. They will do wonders for your posture and joints. Minimizing the impact of each step. Look for lightweight flexible shoes and be sure to replace them often, especially if you’re walking every day.”

As you develop your walking program, set your own pace. As a general rule, taking 10,000 steps a day is a great goal for improving your overall physical, emotional and mental fitness. But the journey, as they say, begins with a single step. There’s no better time than now to begin.

The post Walking: the old way to get fit is new again first appeared on The How Do Gardener.

To honor Employee Health and Fitness Month, health coaches for workplace well-being leader Provant identified seven commonly held health and wellness myths drawn from their research and experience:

Myth No. 1: An aerobic workout boosts your metabolism all day. Wrong, it just burns calories while you’re doing it. Muscle-strengthening exercises, however, will burn calories long after your workout.

Myth No. 2: If you don’t break a sweat, it’s not a workout. Wrong, sweat is just the body’s way of cooling itself. A better reflection of effort is the talk test: your workout is moderate if you can talk, but not sing, and vigorous if you need to take a breath every few words.

Myth No. 3: You should stretch before you exercise. Not really, you could hurt yourself. Better to stretch after you’re warmed up with light, smooth movement of gradually increasing intensity.

Myth No. 4: Frozen fruits and vegetables are less healthy than fresh ones. Actually, they’re both healthy. Frozen fruits and vegetables are generally picked and frozen at nutritional peak. Canned can be a fine choice if you’re watching your budget. Avoid fruits packed in syrup.

Myth No. 5: Cigars and chewing tobacco are safe because you don’t inhale. This is another myth. Cigar smokers have higher rates than nonsmokers of death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and are four to 10 times more likely to die from cancers of the throat, mouth, lips, larynx and esophagus, according to the American Cancer Society. People who chew tobacco are more likely to develop oral cancers that affect the tongue, lips, cheeks and gums.

Myth No. 6: Stress happens. There’s nothing you can do about it. Not true, stress doesn’t have to overwhelm you. There are several approaches to managing it. Set priorities and tackle simple problems first. Then move on to complex difficulties. Practice relaxation exercises. Make yourself more resilient by eating smart, exercising and avoiding tobacco.

Myth No. 7: Cold turkey is the best way to quit tobacco. Nope. It’s just one of the ways to quit, and the more times you try to quit, the better your chances of succeeding. Research indicates to help improve success rates, you need: the desire and readiness to quit, some form of pharmacotherapy (nicotine replacement therapy or prescription medications) and social support (family, friends, health coach).

Keep this information in mind as you go about improving your health, and most importantly, don’t give up.

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“With the obesity epidemic looming large, it’s absolutely crucial for parents to instill healthy habits right from the start,” says Dr. Laura Jana, pediatrician and award-winning parenting author. “While this may seem like a tremendous responsibility for those still adjusting to diapers, play dates and the many other demands of new parenthood, it’s not hard to help children grow up healthy by committing to some simple yet important lifestyle changes.”

Jana recommends some tips:

Downsize your Plate, Upsize the Veggies
An easy way to cut down on unhealthy eating is to use a smaller plate. Portion sizes are now two to five times larger than in years past, and studies have shown that the bigger the serving dish, the bigger the serving is likely to be. “The more we heap on our children’s plates, the more likely we are to unintentionally encourage them to overeat. Avoiding large plates can help you avoid serving supersized meals,” Jana says.

What belongs on that healthier-sized plate? The USDA MyPlate program recommends making half your plate fruits and vegetables and the other half protein and grains. Other important recommendations include serving fat-free or low-fat (1 percent) milk to children older than 2, choosing lower-sodium foods and skipping sugary drinks. This simple, fresh-plated picture-of-nutritional-health program even comes with online tools to create a customized food plan for your little one.

Swap Screen Time for Playtime
Young children thrive and learn best through interacting with others and playing with real objects in their environment. While watching TV may be fun and entertaining, or even appear to be educational, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports it does not support learning for children younger than 2. In fact, evidence suggests that screen time may interfere with young children’s healthy development and encourage sedentary behaviors and poor sleep – both are habits implicated in the obesity epidemic.

Dr. Mary Zurn, vice president of education for Primrose Schools, recommends independent play as an alternative to TV. “The early years are critical to a child’s development, so it’s important to ensure that children have opportunities to explore their surroundings and find out what they can make happen,” Zurn says.

Singing songs, drawing, playing with puzzles and stacking blocks are fun, “unplugged” activities children can do on their own that also support their creative, problem-solving and reasoning skills.

Get Moving
Pediatricians recommend children ages 1 to 3 get 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity every day, while preschoolers need 90 to 120 minutes. Regular exercise helps children grow to a healthy weight, build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints, and strengthen their hearts.

There are many fun ways to add physical activity to your family’s daily routine: turn a casual stroll into a scavenger hunt, play tag, race through the sprinklers or simply get up and dance. “I love getting children to dance because it not only gives them a healthy dose of exercise, it also supports their creative development and self-expression and, as a bonus, enhances positive family time,” says Jana.

Need more motivation to get your family up and moving? You could win as much as $5,000 and a $30,000 donation to your Children’s Miracle Network Hospital by entering the national Family Dance-off. Entering is easy. Film your family’s best dance moves and upload your video to FamilyDanceoff.com between Feb. 25 and March 23. Visit the contest website for full details.

For more parenting tips, visit www.DrZandFriends.com.

The post Conquer Childhood Obesity with Tips for Healthy Family Living first appeared on The How Do Gardener.

A couple of the most common myths are that heart disease is more common in men than women, and that the first signs of a heart attack are the same for both men and women, says Dr. Mary Ann McLaughlin, medical director of the cardiac health program at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in men and women in the United States, affecting both sexes relatively equally. “Women are more afraid of dying from cancer,” says McLaughlin. “But in fact, they are much more likely to die from heart disease.”

Also, the first signs of a heart attack can manifest themselves in different ways between men and women. While both men and women can experience the more well-known symptoms like chest pain or tightness and a shooting pain in the left arm, here are the most common differences in symptoms by sex, according to McLaughlin.

The more obvious symptoms are more prevalent in men, which might be why research shows that men go to the emergency room with symptoms much earlier in than women.

More subtle symptoms are more likely in women. These include shortness of breath, sweating or dizziness, nausea, severe fatigue, sudden sleep disturbances, pain radiating through the jaw, small of the back or between the shoulder blades.

“Women with diabetes are about twice as susceptible to heart attacks as men with the condition,” says McLaughlin. “Increased risk factors for women also include having an autoimmune disorder and a history of gestational diabetes or preeclampsia during pregnancies.”

Knowing the first signs of a heart attack is important, but reducing your risks for heart disease is the best way to avoid experiencing one. McLaughlin offers the following tips for a healthy heart:

* Limit your consumption of processed foods. They are often high in salt that has not been iodized, giving you more salt, but without the essential nutritional element of the added iodine.

* Choose your fats wisely. Use olive oil instead of butter, snack on nuts instead of other sugary and high-fat snacks, and take supplements like flax seed oil that can boost your levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which can reduce artery inflammation. Consuming more omega-3s can also help you reduce your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels.

* Get regular exercise. A good rule of thumb is when balanced with a proper diet, 30 minutes of exercise a day will help you maintain your current weight, while 60 minutes will help you lose weight. If that seems like a lot, try to work exercises in to your daily tasks by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking or biking to work. Maintaining a healthy weight lowers your risk for cardiovascular disease.

* Ask your doctor whether a daily regimen of low-dose aspirin would be appropriate for you, as it could lower your risk of a heart attack.

* Maintain a daily intake of 1,000 mg of vitamin D, which can be found in some of the same fatty fish that contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Vitamin D supplements can also help you achieve this, as low levels are associated with heart disease and high blood pressure. Exposure to sunshine also helps your body produce vitamin D, but don’t forget your sunscreen.

* Know your numbers. Your doctor can help you get your readings and give you advice on how to meet the following goals for optimum heart health:

Total cholesterol: less than 200
LDL (bad cholesterol): less than 100
HDL (good cholesterol): greater than or equal to 40
Total cholesterol to HDL ratio: less or equal to 4.4 for women and less than or equal to 5 for men
Triglycerides: less than 150
Blood pressure: less than 120 systolic and less than 80 diastolic
Non-fasting glucose: less than 120
Fasting glucose: less than 100
Hemoglobin A1c: less than 7

To learn more about heart disease and care, and to hear stories from patients who have experienced heart disease, visit www.mountsinai.org/heart.

The post Heart Disease: Different First Signs for Men and Women first appeared on The How Do Gardener.

To help you make sure you’re giving your dog the very best in life, think of it as sharing a lifestyle – what’s good for you is also good for your dog. If you’re a couch potato, it’s likely that your dog will be as well. If you stay healthy and active, then your dog will have reason be healthy and active along with you. After all, they were born to play.  

To give yourself and Fido a healthy-living makeover, start with these tips.

Boost Nutrition
We’ve long known the benefits of healthy eating, but convenience foods and mass-produced meals have made it easier to be lax about eating fresh foods that are beneficial to the body. Consider remodeling your refrigerator with foods that are good for you like local produce or fresh chicken from farms in your area. While the farmers market isn’t the most plausible place to get dog food, you can choose foods made from high-quality ingredients that meet all of your dog’s nutritive needs. Nutro Ultra food for dogs combines the perfect blend of nature’s finest ingredients to help keep your dog healthy, including lean proteins like farm-raised chicken and pasture-fed lamb for strong muscles, sun-ripened fruits and farm-grown vegetables packed with antioxidants for a strong immune system, and a mix of whole grains and natural sunflower oil for a radiant skin and coat. Visit UltraHolistic.com to learn more and take the Ultra Challenge to help you make the best choice for your dog.

Get Moving
According to a recent survey, thirty percent of dog owners are looking to increase the exercise their dog gets this year. Putting down the remote control to take a walk or a run has countless benefits, from building muscle to giving your mood a lift. And the benefits are the same for your dog, including the opportunity to manage weight in a healthy way. You’ll both see the positive effects if you make the effort.

If you’re not a fan of doing the same thing over and over, draw up a list of activities that you and your pet can do together. Put it on your refrigerator to give yourself inspiration at a moment’s notice. Add activities like hiking, playing catch at a local dog park and going to a nearby lake for a swim, or make a list of new neighborhoods you’d like to explore.

Challenge Yourself
It can be easier to get motivated when you have something to work toward, so set fitness and health goals for you and your dog. Remember that it can be more than an exercise checklist; include activities such as a family challenge to eat more fruits and vegetables, including “superfoods” that are nutrient-dense like blueberries, pomegranate and pumpkin. And – good news for your pet – your pooch can benefit from these superfoods as well. Ultra food for dogs includes nutrient-dense superfoods and high-quality proteins which keep your dog healthy and active at every age.  

Cut your Stress
Pets and people get stressed out, and stress is increasingly recognized as having a negative effect on health. While some bad stress is unavoidable, do what you can to give yourself and your dog a bit of relaxation by spending time doing things you both enjoy.

Luckily for people, simply spending time with a pet is one way to de-stress – that’s something you can take advantage of every day. Also consider the stress-busting effects of giving yourself a little indulgence every now and again. You might want to allow yourself a favorite healthy dessert and give your pup a healthy treat of his own – you’ll both get to enjoy a tasty little “extra” that can put a smile on your face and a wag in his tail.

The post The Perfect Balance: Your Healthy Lifestyle Benefits your Pet Too first appeared on The How Do Gardener.

Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes is the American Diabetes Association’s signature fundraising walk, and every year, thousands of families touched by diabetes and members of nationwide business communities pledge their support to the event. More than $20 million a year is raised through the walk to support the association’s mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

Step Out is a great way to show support for the nearly 26 million children and adults in the U.S with diabetes and the 79 million more who are at risk. Every 17 seconds, someone new is diagnosed with diabetes.

People with diabetes can choose to walk as a Red Strider. A Red Strider is someone who has diabetes – type 1, type 2 or gestational – who can proudly walk as an individual or create a team and walk with friends, family and co-workers.

Jeffrey Lisitza is one of the many walkers who will be stepping out as a Red Strider this year. Lisitza was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes more than 20 years ago. With a concentrated effort to improve his health, he since has lost more than 100 pounds.

“This year, once again, I’ve joined the fight to stop diabetes by participating in the Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes,” says Lisitza. “I am honored be a Red Strider to help motivate others living with this challenging disease.”

The purpose of the Red Strider program is to support everyone who lives with diabetes and to show the courage it takes to live with this disease. “The day of the walk is really a time to celebrate all of the accomplishments of the teams and individual participants, as well as a great opportunity to promote awareness about diabetes,” adds Lisitza.

The many benefits of walking, for those with and without diabetes, include:

* Burning calories. By walking just an extra five minutes a day you can burn an additional 24 calories per workout. That may not seem like much, but over the course of one year it adds up to a total of 8,760 additional calories burned.

* Improving blood fats. Exercise can raise good cholesterol (HDL) and lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides. These changes are heart healthy.

* Relieving stress. Work out or walk off daily stress.

* Improving blood glucose management. Activity makes your body more sensitive to the insulin you make. Activity also burns glucose (calories). Both actions lower blood glucose.

There are 135 Step Out events around the country, so chances are there’s a walk close to you. By walking in a Step Out event in your area, you are joining the American Diabetes Association’s movement to stop diabetes and helping to change the future of diabetes.

For more information or to register for a Step Out event in your community, visit www.diabetes.org/stepout or call (888) DIABETES (888-342-2383).

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