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Health/Special Needs
NOTES ON HEALTH: OUR BRAIN CANNOT BE REPLACED
First, recognize and reduce your risk for stroke. You can control or eliminate high blood pressure (higher than 120/80), smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, high cholesterol, and excessive drinking. Warning signs include:
NOTES ON HEALTH: MORE ABOUT STROKE Stroke is the #3 killer in America and a leading cause of serious long term disability. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying oxygen to the brain ruptures or is blocked. Stroke can strike anyone. About 600,000 Americans a year suffer a stroke and about 28% of them are under the age of 65. Stroke strikes someone every 53 seconds and kills someone every 3.3 minutes. Stroke risk doubles in each decade after age 55. Stroke kills twice as many women as breast cancer. MARCH IS NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH
Balancing physical activity and a healthful diet is your best recipe for managing weight and promoting overall health and fitness.
HEALTH NOTE: Our Body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit
HEALTH NOTE # 6 - Exercising to relax Rest and relaxation. It is a common expression that has become a cliché. Although rest really can be relaxing, the pat phrase causes many to overlook the fact that exercise can also be relaxing. This is true for most forms of physical activity as well as for specific relaxation exercises.
Exercise is a form of physical stress. Can physical stress relieve mental stress? Alexander Pope, an 18th century poet, made this comment: “Strength of mind is exercise, not rest.” Plato agreed: “Exercise would cure a guilty conscience.” You would agree if you learn to apply the physical stress of exercise in a controlled, graded fashion. Aerobic exercise is key for your head and for your heart. The first steps are the hardest, and in the beginning, exercise will be more work than fun. As you get into shape, you will begin to tolerate exercise, then enjoy it, and finally depend on it. Regular aerobic exercise will bring remarkable changes to your body, your metabolism, your heart, and your spirits. It has a unique capacity to exhilarate and relax, to provide stimulation and calm, to counter depression and dissipate stress. It is a common experience among endurance athletes and has been verified in clinical trials that exercise has been used successfully to treat anxiety disorders and clinical depression. Like athletes and patients, you can derive psychological benefits from exercise. Exercise can help with problems of anxiety and depression. There are several explanations, some are chemical in nature and some are behavioral. The mental benefits of aerobic exercise have a neurochemical basis. Exercise reduces levels of the body’s stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. Exercise will also stimulate the productions of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators. Behavioral factors also contribute to the emotional benefits of exercise. As your waistline measurement decreases and your strength and stamina increase, your self-image will improve. You will earn a sense of mastery and control, of pride and self-confidence. The renewed vigor and energy will help you succeed in many tasks, and the discipline of regular exercise will help you achieve other important lifestyle goals. Exercise and sports provide opportunities to get away from it all and to either enjoy some solitude or to make friends and build networks. Exercise is play and recreation. When your body is busy, your mind will be distracted from the worries of daily life and will be free to think creatively. Almost any type of exercise will help. Many people find that using large muscle groups in a rhythmic, repetitive fashion works best; call it “muscular meditation,” and you will begin to understand how it works. Walking and jogging are prime examples. Even a simple 20-minute stroll can clear the mind and reduce stress. But some people prefer vigorous workouts that burn stress along with calories. That is one reason elliptical exercise machines are so popular. The stretching exercises that help to relax muscles after a hard workout will help your mind relax as well. Exercise is good for the body, mind and spirit. ***From Harvard E-Newsletter, Volume 8 Issue 7, April 15, 2011
THIS MONTH’S HEALTH NOTE
AMERICA’S NEW FOOD RULES STOP easting too much GO for more fruits and vegetables STOP eating junk MAKE WAY for leaner meats and poultry and vegetable protein GO for more WHOLE GRAINS GO fish FROM “EATING WELL” magazine Written by Karen Ansel, M.S, R.D. THIS MONTH’S HEALTH NOTE: CAN YOU GET ALL 13 VITAMIN YOU NEED FROM FOOD SOURCES?
The following is a list of the 13 vitamins and the food sources high in each vitamin: Vitamin A (carotenoids): Carrots, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, apricots, spinach, milk and eggs Vitamin C: Citrus fruits and juices, red and green peppers, kiwi, broccoli, strawberries, tomatoes, sweet and white potatoes, cantaloupe Vitamin D: salmon, tuna, mackerel oysters, egg yolks, fortified milk, fortified orange juice, fortified breakfast cereal Vitamin E: Vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, wheat germ Vitamin K: spinach, kale, collards, Swiss chard, broccoli, romaine lettuce Vitamin B1 (thiamin): Enriched bread, cereal, pasta, whole grains, lean meats, fish, beans, soybeans Vitamin B2 (riboflavin): Lean meats, eggs, legumes, nuts green leafy vegetables, dairy products, enriched bread Vitamin B3 (niacin): Dairy products, poultry, fish, lean meats, nuts eggs, fortified bread and cereal Pantothenic acid: Eggs, fish, milk, milk products, whole grain cereal, beans Biotin: Eggs, fish, milk, milk products, whole grain cereal, beans Vitamin B6: Beans, nuts, eggs, meat, poultry, fish, fortified bread and cereal Vitamin B12: meats, eggs, meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, milk, milk products, fortified breakfast cereal Folate (folic acid): Green leafy vegetables, enriched bread, fortified breakfast cereal Source: Office of Dietary Supplements as printed in Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter, August 2011 |
Your brain helps you discover the alphabet and learn to read…It helps you land your first job and get that first promotion…It records and plays back memories of family weddings and graduations….It helps you remember important dates. It is not a teacher, PDA, or personal assistant. This is your brain. It is what defines you as you--and it cannot be replaced. Stroke is our nations # 3 killer and leading cause of serious, long term disability. Each year about 700,000 Americans have a stroke. Prevention is your best protection. |
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