The magazine for women.
the wellness issue
FACETS
October 2018
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The magazine for women. Contributor
RONNA LAWLESS With sources from the National Institutes of Health Design
ALEX FELKER Publisher
SCOTT ANDERSON Tribune Editor
MICHAEL CRUMB
ADVERTISERS To advertise in Facets magazine, contact Tory McKay at (515) 432-6694 PHONE (515) 663-6923 ADDRESS 317 Fifth St. Ames, IA, 50010 EMAIL news@amestrib.com ONLINE www.amestrib.com/sections/ special-sections/facets
Facets is a monthly publication of GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings.
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ON THE COVER: Cancer-survivor Beverly Wells, of Red Oak, sits with her grand-daughter Michelle Doyle, owner of Tommy’s Salon in Ames. PHOTO BY RONNA LAWLESS/GATEHOUSE IOWA
FACETS • Table of contents Wellness 4
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Infertility: What causes it?
Infertility is a fairly common condition. It affects about one in 10 couples who are trying to have a baby.
You can’t change your genes, but you can change your environment How to fight best against breast cancer.
10 On the Cover: Tommy’s Salon celebrates opening of wig room, ‘Bev’s Corner’
How one local salon lends a helping hand during trying times.
16 Power to the pelvis
Dealing with a sensitive, but important issue — pelvic floor disorders. One in three U.S. women has one of these conditions.
Fitness 18 How to practice mindfulness exercises
Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Here’s how to do it right.
19 Kegel exercises can strengthen your pelvic floor
Kegel exercises are designed to make your pelvic floor muscles stronger. Just five minutes, three times a day can mean the difference in a healthy, functional pelvic muscle.
20 Starting, or returning, to a fitness routine?
Hint: You can’t and shouldn’t try to go from visiting the gym once a month to bench-pressing your weight. Also: Strength training twice weekly has key benefits.
Eating right 22 This recipe for Louisiana fish and rice is healthy and zesty How to make one Cajun chef’s trademark dish at home.
23 Is a low-carb diet dangerous?
If you are one of the legions of dieters out there who have been religiously cutting carbs in an attempt to get lean, you may be surprised that low-carb diets may not be healthy after all.
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Wellness
Infertility By Ronna Lawless GateHouse Iowa
For those who dream of becoming parents, pregnancy problems can be tremendously frustrating and disappointing. In recent decades, scientists have developed a wide range of approaches to help struggling couples have healthy babies. National Institutes of Health-funded studies are continuing to search for even better ways to overcome the challenges of infertility.
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Wellness
What causes it? I
nfertility is a fairly common condition. It affects about one in 10 couples who are trying to have a baby. Infertility can be traced to the man in about a third of these cases and to the woman in another third. The rest of the time, the difficulties lie with both partners, or no cause can be found. “Although there are many known causes of infertility, there are still some cases of fertility impairments that we don’t understand,” said Dr. Louis V. DePaolo, an NIH expert in fertility research. “We’re constantly discovering new molecules that are vital to the fertility-regulating process.” By learning more about these molecules and other factors, scientists hope to find new and improved ways to prevent or treat infertility. Knowing the underlying causes of infertility is important because it can help couples choose the best therapy. “Since there are many causes, a treatment that works for one person might not be the best choice for another,” DePaolo said. The most common treatments today are surgery or medication. Fertility troubles can arise in any of the steps needed for a successful pregnancy. To become pregnant, a woman’s body must first release an egg from one of her ovaries, a process called ovulation. The man’s sperm then has to join with, or “fertilize,” the egg. The egg must then travel through a passageway known as the fallopian tube and head toward the woman’s uterus (womb). The fertilized egg must then attach to the inside of the uterus (implantation).
“There are also genetic causes of low sperm production, which are probably more common than we can identify, because we don’t yet understand all the causes of male infertility,” Schlegel said.
FEMALE FERTILITY For women, the most common cause of infertility are ovulation problems, which affect about 40 percent of women who have pregnancy trouble. “Ovulatory problems occur when a woman ovulates irregularly or not at all,” said Dr. Linda Giudice, a reproductive health expert at the University of California, San Francisco. “Causes can include stress-related lack of or irregular periods, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), advanced maternal age, and a variety of other possible factors, like hormone issues that can interrupt normal ovulation.” Other common causes of female infertility include blocked fallopian tubes or conditions that affect the INFERTILITY, page 7
MALE FERTILITY Infertility can be related to a man if there are problems with the number, shape or movement of sperm. These glitches can make it hard for the sperm to fertilize the egg. About one in five infertile men have About sperm troubles because of a hormone imbalance, which can sometimes be one in five with medication. infertile men corrected “Another common identifiable have sperm cause of male infertility occurs when a man has large veins around the testroubles ticle, which makes the whole scrotum because of warmer than it should be. The heat a hormone decreases the production and quality imbalance. of sperm,” said Dr. Peter N. Schlegel, who specializes in treating male infertility at Cornell University. This condition, called varicoceles, is usually harmless, but it can be corrected with surgery if it’s causing infertility. Surgery can also help to remove blockages that prevent sperm release. FACETS | OCTOBER 2018 | 5
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Wellness INFERTILITY, continued from page 5
health of the egg or its implantation after fertilization. In the United States, older maternal age is a growing contributor to fertility problems. About one in five women nationwide now have their first child after age 35. Once a woman reaches this age, fertility complications arise in about one in every three couples trying to have a baby. Studies suggest that after age 30, a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant decrease every year, especially after age 37. “One of the biggest challenges in infertility treatment is related to advanced maternal age, when the egg quality and egg numbers decrease,” Giudice said. “For older women, treatment can usually help to achieve ovulation, but the problem usually lies in not having good-quality eggs.” Aging not only reduces the likelihood of having a baby. It also raises the chances of miscarriage or having a child with certain health problems. High-risk pregnancies are also more likely as women get older.
help regulate how a wide variety of body parts work, including the areas of the testicle involved in sperm production,” Schlegel said. “We’re also looking at other genetic causes of infertility and ways to improve or create sperm for men who can’t make them.” For couples who have tried to conceive without success, experts recommend seeking medical help after at least a year of trying if the woman is younger than 35, or after 6 months if the women is age 35 or older. It’s also a good idea for couples to talk with a health care provider before even trying to get pregnant. “If you’re planning to start a family, your health before you begin trying is very important,” DePaolo said. “By being healthy, you have a better chance of being able to conceive within a normal amount of time, and you’re more likely to have healthy offspring as well.” · ILLUSTRATION COURTESY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
SOLUTIONS In some cases, infertility can be corrected through lifestyle changes, such as losing weight or stopping tobacco use. If this doesn’t work, doctors may recommend medication, surgery, artifiAfter 30, cial insemination (in which a woman is injected with specially prepared sperm) a woman’s or assisted reproductive technology, chances of which is usually the most expensive and becoming complex option. Assisted reproductive technology includes different methods regnant for fertilizing eggs, usually outside of decrease the body. every year, Giudice and her colleagues are especially among many NIH-supported scientists after age 37. studying the pregnancy process. “We’re examining what happens during certain stages of egg development, what happens when women are of advanced maternal age or when they have a condition called endometriosis, which affects egg quality and the lining of the uterus and its receptiveness to implantation,” Giudice said. Schlegel and his coworkers are among those focusing on the underlying causes of male infertility. “We’re looking at factors called micro-RNAs, which are small bits of genetic material that are made by the body to FACETS | OCTOBER 2018 | 7
Wine Wellness
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Breast cancer
Wellness By Ronna Lawless GateHouse Iowa
You can’t change your genes, but you can change your environment
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WHAT CAUSES BREAST CANCER?
environmental risk factors. But approximately 85 percent of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer, suggesting the importance of environmental factors. Since environmental factors may be identified and modified, NIEHS scientists and other experts in the field believe prevention strategies are the best way to stop breast cancer before it starts. Some environmental factors that have been consistently associated with increased breast cancer risk include: n Smoking n Alcohol n Exposure to ionizing radiation n Use of combination hormone therapy products n Being overweight or obese, especially after menopause n Taking diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen given to pregnant women in the 1940s through 1971 to prevent miscarriages or premature deliveries
National Institute of Environmental Health Science-funded research has clearly shown breast cancer is caused by a combination of genetic, hormonal and
Research also shows that more physical activity is linked to decreased breast cancer risk. ¡
dentifying and modifying environmental risk factors for breast cancer presents a tremendous opportunity to prevent breast cancer. Approximately 246,000 women in the United States, or one in eight, are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Breast cancer occurs when breast cells grow abnormally and invade either nearby or distant tissues. It is the second most common cancer among U.S. women, behind skin cancer. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, fluid coming from the nipple or a red scaly patch of skin on the breast. Breast cancer is more common in older women, and rarely occurs in men. In the U.S., white women are most likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, but African-American women are most likely to die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.
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Wellness
Tommy’s Salon celebrates opening of wig room, ‘Bev’s Corner’ By Ronna Lawless GateHouse Iowa
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‘God works in mysterious ways, and I’m a firm believer’
Wellness
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here’s little in this world more personally devastating than receiving a diagnosis of cancer. Facing the fight of your life is difficult enough, and it’s made more challenging by the weakness and hair loss caused by the powerful treatment required. That is something that became personal for Michelle Doyle, owner of Tommy’s Salon in Ames, about eight years ago. Doyle’s grandma, Beverly Wells, of Red Oak, received a breast cancer diagnosis. The good news is, she’s been cancer free for five years. Like many people who undergo cancer treatment, Wells lost her hair and began wearing wigs. That’s when Doyle was inspired to begin working with the William R. Bliss Cancer Center. The very same week her grandma received her diagnosis, Doyle received a letter from the center, inviting her to volunteer to fit and trim wigs for patients at the center. Doyle had learned about wigs in cosmetology school but hadn’t worked with them in many years. So, under the guidance of Mary Ellen Carano, at Bliss’ Cancer Resource Center, she learned again, and worked with the center for about two years.
‘IT WOULD BE THE MOST AMAZING THING’ When Michelle and her husband, Tom — the namesake of the salon — were expecting their daughter Addelyn and already had daughter Ireland at home, “I had to quit the hospital, and that was one of the hardest days for me,” she said, fighting back tears. “I loved it so much, and I loved being able to help people, but I knew that with my family and with owning a business, I just couldn’t do it all.” That night she told Tom it would be perfect if she could help people with their wigs and also get paid for it. “It would be the most amazing thing,” she said. “Not for the patient to pay — the thought of having a patient pay for something like that when they’re going through such a terrible thing would be horrible. “God works in mysterious ways, and I’m a firm believer,” Doyle said. “One day, Deb Pulver from Strands of Strength came in.” Pulver told her the organization would love to work with her if she could have a wig room at her salon. The timing was perfect because Tommy’s Salon had a massage room but no massage therapist on staff. “This woman means the world to me,” Doyle said. And that’s why the new wig room at Tommy’s Salon is named “Bev’s Corner.” “The great thing about Strands of Strength is they not only have the patient go home with a free wig, but also shampoo, conditioner, a wig stand and a wig cap,” Doyle said. “So basically, everything a patient would need in order to take care of it themselves.” The Bliss Cancer Center and Strands of Strength work “hand in hand” to send patients to her salon, Doyle said. BEV’S CORNER, page 15 FACETS | OCTOBER 2018 | 11
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Wellness BEV’S CORNER, continued from page 11
ERASING THE STIGMA Doyle underwent even more training with Jon Renau Wigs in San Francisco in the spring. “They had everyone raise their hands who had hair on that day, and I was completely shocked at the number of people who were wearing hair,” she said, during an open house to celebrate the wig room. “I have a full wig on today and so does my grandma. “I’m here today to take away that stigma that you have to have gone through a traumatic life experience to wear hair. The great thing is anyone can wear hair. And the more we wear hair, the more people like my grandma don’t feel alone.” Doyle said the best part of her day is going into the wig room — maybe with a cancer patient, maybe with someone who has alopecia — and they’re sitting in the chair and they’re a little nervous. “And I say, ‘Let me take my wig off, and we’ll go through this together,’” Doyle said. “When they see that, it is the coolest experience to have with them so they don’t feel like they’re alone.” Doyle said she likes to play music in Bev’s Corner and make a festive atmosphere, adding to the patient’s positive experience. The wig room has been open since May and is the only one of its kind in Ames. Tommy’s Salon held a ribbon-cutting open house in early September to make it official.
ABOUT STRANDS OF STRENGTH Established in 2011 by a cancer survivor, Strands of Strength is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide wigs free of charge to low-income women suffering hair loss due to cancer treatment. The wigs offered by Strands of Strength disguise hair loss, decrease feelings of vulnerability and provide greater self-esteem, hopefully resulting in the personal strength needed to successfully battle the disease. Strands of Strength and businesses like Tommy’s Salon are striving to make the ride through cancer treatment a little less rocky. Strands of Strength exists to provide cancer patients in financial need the wigs necessary to look better, feel better and rejoin the community during treatment. It’s a simple solution that instills patients with the optimism and self-esteem to raise their chance of victory over the disease. The path to getting a wig is a simple one. A patient needs to find an oncology professional who can identify their medical and financial need for a Strands of Strength wig. After they receive a voucher for a wig from an oncology professional, a patient makes an appointment at one of Strands of Strength’s partner salons, like Tommy’s Salon. Then, in consultation with the salon staff, the patient selects the wig of their choice. The salon then orders and styles their wig. When the wig is ready, the patient pays the salon for it using a Strands of Strength voucher, which covers all costs. · FACETS | OCTOBER 2018 | 15
Wellness By Ronna Lawless GateHouse Iowa
Power to the pelvis Dealing with sensitive pelvis-floor issues
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ome conditions may feel too embarrassing to discuss tell their doctor, they’re probably even more common. with your doctor. Weak pelvic floor muscles can cause Many factors — including family history, pregnancy, such conditions. menopause, weight and smoking history — can affect your You may have trouble with bladder or risk for developing a pelvic floor disorder. “Some women are bowel control. Urine can leak out when you “Some women are just going to be very cough, sneeze, laugh or exert yourself in just going to be very prone to these sort of conditions, and others any way. You might need to urinate often or not,” said Dr. Donna Mazloomdoost, a prone to these sort are urgently. pelvic floor specialist at National Institutes of conditions, and of Health. Weak muscles can also affect the vagina and uterus. You may feel discomfort inside Depending on the condition, treatment others are not.” your vagina. Telling your doctor about options may include dietary changes, physiDr. Donna Mazloomdoost, cal therapy, medications, medical devices or these conditions can help you get the right pelvic-floor specialist surgery. NIH is funding studies to develop treatment. new and improved treatments. Your bladder, bowel, vagina and uterus “Most of the game-changing recommendations have are held in place by a hammock of muscles called the pelvic come from studies that the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network floor. Weak muscles can’t hold up these organs. That can has done,” said Mazloomdoost, who is the director of this cause your bladder to leak and other embarrassing conditions, called pelvic floor disorders. NIH program. It funds some of the largest, multicenter pelvic-health studies across the country. Pelvic floor disorders affect women of all ages. Experts estimate one of every three women in the United States has PELVIS, page 17 a pelvic floor condition. But because so many women don’t ILLUSTRATION COURTESY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
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Wellness PELVIS, continued from page 16
A recent study from the network showed women who urinate too often or leak urine may be treated successfully with Botox (botulinum toxin) injections. Another treatment that helps with bladder control uses a surgical implant to electrically stimulate the pelvic muscle nerves. Stimulating the nerves appears to help the bladder relax. “My first advice to all women with symptoms would be to see a pelvic floor specialist,” Mazloomdoost said. “Often times, physical therapy is the first treatment recommended because just about every pelvic floor condition will benefit from it. Some conditions, however, may need more than just physical therapy to get better.” Pelvic floor physical therapy often begins with simple pelvic floor exercises. Some of these are known as Kegel exercises. They make the pelvic muscles stronger. Any woman can benefit from these exercises. Ask your health care provider how to do them correctly. Mazloomdoost explains Kegels performed at home may not work for some women with a pelvic floor condition. This may be because women don’t hold the exercises long enough, and they don’t do enough of them during the day. “Physical therapy involves monitoring and measuring the amount of strength that the muscles are using and making sure that the correct muscles are being used — and for often enough and long enough,” she said. Women who have a pelvic floor condition don’t have to suffer. Treatments are available. “If you have any problem with your bladder function or what your vagina feels like, then I think it’s absolutely important to speak with your doctor about it,” Mazloomdoost said. ·
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Mindfulness exercises
Fitness Mayo Clinic News Network
PHOTO BY INARA PRUSAKOVA/ DREAMSTIME/TNS
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indfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress. Spending too much time planning, problem-solving, daydreaming, or thinking negative or random thoughts can be draining. It can also make you more likely to experience stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression. Practicing mindfulness exercises can help you direct your attention away from this kind of thinking and engage with the world around you.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MEDITATION? Meditation has been studied in many clinical trials. The overall evidence supports the effectiveness of meditation for various conditions, including: n Stress n Anxiety n Pain n Depression n Insomnia n High blood pressure (hypertension) Preliminary research indicates that meditation can also help people with asthma and fibromyalgia. Meditation can help you experience thoughts and emotions with greater balance and acceptance. Meditation also has been shown to: n Improve attention n Decrease job burnout n Improve sleep n Improve diabetes control
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF MINDFULNESS EXERCISES? There are many simple ways to practice mindfulness. Some examples include: 18 | FACETS | OCTOBER 2018
n Pay attention It’s hard to slow down and notice things in a busy world. Try to take the time to experience your environment with all of your senses — touch, sound, sight, smell and taste. For example, when you eat a favorite food, take the time to smell, taste and truly enjoy it. n Live in the moment Try to intentionally bring an open, accepting and discerning attention to everything you do. Find joy in simple pleasures. n Accept yourself Treat yourself the way you would treat a good friend. n Focus on your breathing When you have negative thoughts, try to sit down, take a deep breath and close your eyes. Focus on your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Sitting and breathing for even just a minute can help. You can also try more structured mindfulness exercises, such as: n Body scan meditation Lie on your back with your legs extended and arms at your sides, palms facing up. Focus your attention slowly and deliberately on each part of your body, in order, from toe to head or head to toe. Be aware of any sensations, emotions or thoughts associated with each part of your body. n Sitting meditation Sit comfortably with your back straight, feet flat on the floor and hands in your lap. Breathing through your nose, focus on your breath moving in and out of your body. If physical sensations or thoughts interrupt your meditation, note the experience and then return your focus to your breath. n Walking meditation Find a quiet place 10 to 20 feet in length, and begin to walk slowly. Focus on the experience of walking, being aware of the sensations of standing and the subtle movements that keep your balance. When you reach the end of your path, turn and continue walking, maintaining awareness of your sensations. ·
Fitness
Kegel exercises can strengthen your pelvic floor
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he part of your body including your hip bones is the pelvic area. At the bottom of the pelvis, several layers of muscle stretch between your legs. These muscles attach to the front, back, and sides of the pelvic bone. To do Kegel exercises, you must squeeze your pelvic floor muscles. Kegel exercises are designed to make your pelvic floor muscles stronger. These are the muscles that hold up your bladder and help keep it from leaking. Building up your pelvic muscles with Kegel exercises can help with your bladder control.
HOW DO YOU EXERCISE YOUR PELVIC MUSCLES? Find the right muscles. Try one of the following ways to find the right muscles to squeeze. n Imagine you are trying to stop passing gas. Squeeze the muscles you would use. If you sense a “pulling” feeling, you are squeezing the right muscles for pelvic exercises. n Imagine you are sitting on a marble and want to pick up the marble with your vagina. Imagine “sucking” the marble into your vagina. n Lie down and put your finger inside your vagina. Squeeze as if you were trying to stop urine from coming out. If you feel tightness on your finger, you are squeezing the right pelvic muscles.
By Ronna Lawless GateHouse Iowa
Let your doctor, nurse or therapist help you. Many people have trouble finding the right muscles. A healthcare expert can check to make sure you are doing the exercises correctly. You can also exercise by using special weights or biofeedback. Ask your health care team about these exercise aids. Don’t squeeze other muscles at the same time. Be careful not to tighten your stomach, legs or other muscles. Squeezing the wrong muscles can put more pressure on your bladder control muscles. Just squeeze the pelvic muscle. Don’t hold your breath. Repeat, but don’t overdo it. At first, find a quiet spot to practice — like your bathroom or bedroom — so you can concentrate. Lie on the floor. Pull in the pelvic muscles and hold for a count of three. Then relax for a count of three. Work up to 10 to 15 repeats each time you exercise. Do your pelvic exercises at least three times a day. Every day, use three positions: lying down, sitting and standing. You can exercise while lying on the floor, sitting at a desk or standing in the kitchen. Using all three positions makes the muscles strongest. Be patient. Don’t give up. It’s just five minutes, three times a day. You may not feel your bladder control improve until after three to six weeks. Most women do notice an improvement after a few weeks. ·
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Fitness By Gabriella Boston Washington Post
Starting, or returning, to a fitness routine? Tips to prevent overdoing it
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t's September, which means gyms, golf courses and sports clubs are full of new participants using the beginning of the school year as a reason to jump-start their fitness goals, and old clients returning from lazy weeks of vacation. The one aspect they should all be paying attention to: principles of progression. Although that might sound like something pertaining to guitar chords or education, it's fitness terminology for how to safely and yet effectively increase your exercise load to see gains in strength and endurance. Hint: You can't and shouldn't try to go from visiting the gym once a month to bench-pressing your weight, or from being couch potato to running a six-minute mile overnight. But how do we know where to start and when to progress?
GETTING STARTED If you're a neophyte or have been out of your routine for six months or longer, small and frequent doses of exercise are the way to go. Washington personal trainer Elizabeth Brooks suggests starting with light cardio for 20 minutes three times a week, weight-bearing exercise for 20 minutes two times a week, as well as 10 minutes of daily stretching. That's a combined 150 minutes of exercise per week similar to government guidelines. "But that's just a base. You still need to think about how you can keep moving throughout the day, every day," Brooks says. For those who have been semiactive during the summer or just away for a short while, Brooks's recommendations are different. "If you've been away for a few weeks, you might start back with the same activities you were doing before your break, just decrease the intensity," she says. Instead of doing a regular pullup you might do a modified one (where the feet rest on the floor, the bar is only a few feet off the ground and your body is at an incline). This also means Brooks's clients will "get back to basics." First they will do body-weight (no dumbbells or machines) exercises — to make sure their bodies are moving soundly and safely on their own. "Once your body-weight squat looks good, we can consider adding weights," Brooks says.
PROGRESSING Max Prokopy is an exercise physiologist at the SPEED Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Medicine (the acronym stands for Strength, Power, Endurance, Education and Development). He offers these guidelines for increasing intensity: n Easy to moderate running: No more than a 10 percent increase in distance or duration per week, so a 20-minute run becomes 22 minutes, or a 2-mile run becomes 2.2 miles. 20 | FACETS | OCTOBER 2018
n Golfing: No more than a 20 percent game-time increase per week. Prokopy says increasing intensity too quickly — going from nothing to four consecutive days of 18 to 36 holes — often means that aspects such as swing technique become compromised, and injuries or severe soreness and fatigue can be the fallout. n For weights, the timing and level of progression are more difficult to gauge. Adding 10 percent a week for bench press would mean you could become a bodybuilder in no time. Or, more likely, get hurt. "Basically, the greater the intensity of the exercise, the more gradual the increase," Prokopy says. He and the other experts suggest using form, ease and level of soreness as indications that it's time to — slightly — increase the amount of weight. In fact, form, ease and soreness can be important indicators of when to progress any fitness routine, and might serve athletes better than automatic increases in distance, duration or weight. "Listen to the body," Brooks says. Can you use and maintain good form throughout a particular movement or duration? Has your routine stopped posing a challenge? Are you no longer sore after your workouts? Then it could be time to increase intensity.
MAINTAINING PROGRESSION "I always tell my clients that when it comes to fitness we want to focus on being well-rounded and not to get too focused on numbers," says Mike Tanoory, a personal trainer in Washington. By numbers, he's referring to those on your scale, your Garmin watch or your dumbbells. So rather than, for example, getting caught up in running at a certain clip, mix it up and hit several facets of fitness, such as range of motion, coordination, balance and strength, as well as cardio. Being well-rounded isn't just a great way to stay injury-free, Tanoory says, but also to keep workouts interesting so that hopefully we continue to do them every day for the rest of our lives. "This never ends. There is no age it stops. Finding a way to incorporate these good habits in your daily life is key," Tanoory says. Note that he said "daily." Being sedentary during the week and then working like a college athlete during the weekend is a sure route to injury. Finally, remember that your fitness is your fitness, the experts say. In other words, listen to your body and don't worry about what another runner or gymgoer is doing. Progress — whatever that means to you (getting stronger, faster, gaining endurance, losing weight) — happens when you work out consistently and progress gradually. "Take your cues from how you feel," Brooks says. "Not from the latest fitness trend, other people in the gym or a TV program." ·
Strength training twice weekly has key benefits T By Amby Burfoot Washington Post
he aerobic exercise guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine and other fitness groups are precise: You should aim for 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic exercise (such as walking), or 90 minutes of vigorous exercise (such as running). However, the same organizations are less precise when it comes to resistance (strength) training. They call for two or three sessions a week, but make no reference to total time. To add to the confusion, strength training can seem complicated, with all those contraptions and weights and methods of lifting them. To the rescue: A new paper simplifies the variables, and offers a practical and proven program that can be done in less than an hour a week. The study: The report, which appeared in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, was written by a team of U.S. and British strength-training experts. Their investigation aimed to determine if relatively short strength training sessions utilizing different lift techniques could improve strength. It also looked into blood glucose levels pre- and post-experiment. Methods and results: Sixty-two experienced, strength-training subjects (26 male; average age, 40) were placed into one of three protocols. A control group performed all exercises with two seconds of concentric muscle contraction and four seconds of eccentric contraction — that is, two seconds of the kind of contraction from lifting and four seconds of the kind of contraction from lowering. A slow group did the same exercise with 10 seconds of lifting, 10 of lowering. A very slow group did 30 seconds of lowering, 30 seconds lifting, 30 seconds lowering. All subjects followed a routine that consisted of two different strength sessions, of nine exercises each, that emphasized the chest press, leg press, and pull down. Subjects performed each session once a week for 10 weeks. At every workout, subjects did the assigned exercises to "momentary failure," which took about 12 lifts with the control group, four to five for the group doing 10 second contractions, and just one lift at 30:30:30. As a result, subjects spent the same "time under load" in each of the three protocols — about 90 seconds. After 10 weeks, subjects in all three groups had gained a significant amount of strength, but there was no difference between groups. All groups also had a lower blood glucose level. This result was not statistically significant, but the authors believe it "might be clinically relevant," as the drop lowered subjects into a different quartile of blood pressure risk. "Our paper showed that you don't need to spend two hours in the gym five times a week, as many people think," says lead investigator James Fisher, from Southampton Solent University in England. "Even trained individuals continue to make gains with less than an hour a week. My own workouts take less than 20 minutes, twice a week." · FACETS | OCTOBER 2018 | 21
Eating right By Jill Silva Kansas City Star
This one-skillet recipe for Louisiana fish and rice is healthy and zesty
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ack in the '80s, a Cajun chef named Paul Prudhomme had a hit on his hands and blackened redfish became his trademark. Here's how you can do it at home.
PREPARATION TIPS Cook brown rice according to package directions. In general, about 1/2 cup brown rice cooks to make about 2 cups cooked rice. Substitute 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size cubes for the fish. Cook until lightly browned and proceed as recipe directs, baking until the chicken is fully cooked. Garnish, if desired, with a sliced jalapeno pepper.
LOUISIANA FISH AND RICE SKILLET
PHOTO BY TAMMY LJUNGBLAD/ KANSAS CITY STAR/ TNS
Makes 4 servings (total yield of rice and vegetables is about 4 cups) n 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided n 1 pound lean white fish fillets, such as cod or sole (fresh or frozen, thawed) n 1 1/2 teaspoons reduced-sodium or salt-free Cajun seasoning, divided n 1/2 yellow onion, chopped n 1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped 1 rib celery, chopped
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n 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced n 1 clove garlic, minced n 2 cups cooked brown rice n 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced no-salt-added tomatoes, with liquid
DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Place fish in skillet, in a single layer. Sprinkle fish with 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, turn and cook on second side, 2 to 3 minutes or until fillets are lightly browned. Remove fish to a plate and keep warm. Add remaining oil to hot skillet. Add onion, bell pepper and celery and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Add jalapeno pepper and cook, stirring frequently 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in garlic and remaining Cajun seasoning and cook 30 seconds. Stir in the rice. Arrange fish fillets in a single layer in the rice and vegetables. Pour tomatoes over all. Heat until liquids begin to boil. Transfer skillet to preheated oven. Bake, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Per serving: 274 calories (21 percent from fat), 6 g total fat (1 g saturated), 49 mg cholesterol, 30 g carbohydrates, 24 g protein, 154 mg sodium, 3 g dietary fiber.
Is a low-carb diet dangerous? P
asta. Sourdough. Mashed potatoes. If you are one of the legions of dieters out there who have been religiously cutting carbs in an attempt to get lean and fit, you may be surprised by a recent study that showed that low carb diets may not be healthy after all. In fact, they may be unsafe. Research presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Germany found that diets very low in carbohydrates may actually increase the risk of premature death over time. Yikes. The author of the study, Professor Maciej Banach, of the Medical University of Lodz, Poland, said: "We found that people who consumed a low carbohydrate diet were at greater risk of premature death. Risks were also increased for individual causes of death including coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer. These diets should be avoided." The study — which has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal — used diet and health data from almost 25,000 people collected through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2010, according to Time. The researchers found that over an average of 6.4 years of follow-up, people who consumed the lowest amount of carbohydrates had a 32 percent higher risk of total mortality, a roughly 50 percent higher risk of
Eating right By Karen D’Souza The Mercury News
dying from vascular diseases and a 36 percent higher risk of dying from cancer, compared to people who ate the most carbs. As Banach said: "Low carbohydrate diets might be useful in the short term to lose weight, lower blood pressure, and improve blood glucose control, but our study suggests that in the long-term they are linked with an increased risk of death from any cause, and deaths due to cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and cancer." Part of the problem may be that people who eliminate carbs might be pigging out on high fat foods instead. As Despina Hyde, a registered dietitian at NYU Langone's Weight Management Program, told Time: "When you're not eating carbs, you have to eat something. We tend to eat higher protein and higher fat (on a low-carb diet)," Hyde says. Plus, "carbohydrates are the only source we have of fiber, and fiber is great for reducing risk of breast cancer, lowering our cholesterol and making us feel full for longer." Although it's not a sexy answer, the best path may well be moderation. Eating carbs is good for us, as long as we are choosing good carbs. Think black beans, fruit, quinoa and whole grains. You can feel free to cut back on stuff like white bread, white pasta and cookies. ·
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