2014 Health & Wellness

The Herald

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FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014 SECTION B

DUBOIS COUNTY, INDIANA

Advances in medical technology are vast. Page 2. Fermented foods filled with flavor. Page 5. Break free from junk food. Page 10. Work out on vacation. Page 11.

Health & Wellness

PAGE 2 ■ HEALTH & WELLNESS

THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

More to home medical store than meets eye

By MICHAEL MAZUR Special Sections Writer JASPER — When we think of home medical equipment and supplies, the first items that come to mind are walkers, canes, crutches and portable oxygen tanks and maybe the adjustable hospital bed.

But if you step foot into a medical supply store today, you may be surprised by how things have changed.

Medical equipment technology has made many advancements during recent few years and furniture designers have redesigned the stoic institutional look of the durable equipment like beds, chairs and stair lifts to fit into home design. The institutionalized look is finally being replaced.

Sit in a Human Touch chair that can put you in a virtual weightless position. Zero-gravity recliners and massage chairs have come a long way in producing comfort.

Also, the Human Touch Immersion ZeroG 2.0 gravity chair — it simulates the hands with techniques from trained massage professionals — can help place you in a deep state of relaxation, according to the product literaure.

It can be programmed to massage specific areas of the body, such as

the foot and calf, or be set on auto full-body immersion.

“The zero-gravity position helps to decompress the spine,” said Meredith Voegerl, marketing director for HLS Health and Wellness of Jasper.

The chairs come in many styles and fabrics that can compliment a home’s decor.

Standard lift chairs and recliners can also place you in a zerogravity position as well as position to watch television or sleep.

What lies beneath the seemingly ordinary recliner is ergonomic technology. Voegerl says several homeowners actually sleep in their chairs as opposed to a bed.

The recliners come in several sizes to fit various body sizes and a variety of colors and stain-resistant fabrics.

“Medicare will pay a part of the cost of the lift chairs if you meet the requirements,” Voegerl said.

Another wellness-designed product is a medical-grade ergonomic memory foam mattress that has been designed to treat specific symptoms associated with diabetes, fiber myalgia and for those recovering from hip surgery. Voegerl said the second-generation mattresses have anti-dust and antibacterial qualities.

The stair lift, an increasingly

big seller each of the past few years, enables a less mobile person to navigate their home, especially houses in which the washer and dryer are in the basement and the bedrooms are on the second floor. The stair lift, with an average cost of about $4,000 can help an older parent stay in their own home longer, Voegerl said.

Technological advancements in pain-management products include the Laser Touch One, an alternative device designed to reduce pain at its source. According to its website, the hand-held device combines two types of therapy in one device — low-level laser therapy and micro-current electrical stimulation. As the laser light penetrates tissue, it is absorbed by cells to aid in healing and pain relief. The electrical stimulation sends small amounts of electrical current to the cells which stimulates repair and healing, according the company’s website.

Voegerl said the types of pain treated include carpal tunnel syndrome, neck and lower back pain, plantar fasciitis, rotator cuff, arthritis and knee pain. For knee pain, she says the Laser Touch One has been a first choice for those suffering chronic knee pain before any type of surgery is performed. It can also be used for

tennis and golf elbow and chronic and acute pain.

Most know, through television, about walk-in baths and showers to help make the bathroom safer, but may not know that a toilet paper holder can also be a grab bar when secured into wall studs. Not only are there the obvious grab bars secured in showers, but studies have shown that people tend to grab or hold on to what’s near to assist them in there mobility and the toilet paper holder was one of those items.

For longer-distance mobility, one can choose from three- and four-wheel mobility scooters, ranging from around $800 to a few thousand dollars depending on the level of bells and whistles.

Some people who suffer from light deficiency may have had a tough challenge this past winter.

One way to combat this problem is through Bright Light Therapy systems. Day Light is one such product that may help to increase low energy which in turn may increase positive moods and improve sleeping patterns.

There are items for the nursing mother which include breast pumps and herbal supplements to increase milk supply. Compression clothing is also available.

Products like the iHealth blood

pressure and baby monitors and scales can be programmed into mobile devices through apps to keep records and visually monitor your baby from wherever you are.

Most of the products at the home medical store, especially the larger-ticket items, can be selected through the good, better and best value system to fit home budgets.

Financing options are available.

HLS Health and Wellness works with all third parties, including insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, doctors and hospitals, in helping the customer to make a purchase. The store will file all necessary paperwork with the insurance companies and do any necessary follow-up.

HLS also delivers and sets up equipment and furniture and offers 24-hour emergency service.

The home medical supply store is no longer what one may think. It would behoove you to see how you might make your life or the life of someone you love a bit easier.

“Although selling home medical equipment and supplies is our main retail function, many may not realize all the services have and offer for overall wellness,” Voegerl said. “These stores used to be called sick room stores, but the image has and is changing.”

Why are so many people choosing gluten-free diets?

By CHANDRA ORR Creators.com Humans have been cultivating grains for more than 10,000 years, so why now are so many people going gluten-free?

It may look like just another food fad, but for those with gluten sensitivity, the latest supermarket offerings could make life a lot easier.

“Millions of people suffer everyday not knowing that what they are eating is making them sick,” says Dr. Edward Conley. “Doctors are not aggressive enough in diagnosis because they still feel that everyone who is sensitive to gluten must have celiac disease, and that is not true.”

Celiac disease, or gluten intolerance, is a serious autoimmune disease in which a person can’t tolerate gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Symptoms

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can be quite severe — including intermittent diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss and malnutrition — or so mild and nondescript as to be overlooked or misdiagnosed.

Depression, anemia, muscle cramps, joint pain and skin rashes are all common.

Gluten sensitivities, by contrast, are less severe and characterized by bloating, abdominal discomfort and diarrhea — and they’re on the rise. In fact, it’s almost five times more common today than it was 50 years ago, according to a 2009 study conducted by the Mayo Clinic. And most people affected don’t even know they have it.

“This is a very serious health issue,” Conley explains. “I have seen people who were told they were going to die from autoimmune disease and we were able to reduce the inflammation and

damage by getting rid of gluten.”

Gluten is most commonly associated with bread and pasta, but it also shows up in some very unlikely places. Lumped under monikers like “modified food starch” and “vegetable protein,” gluten can be hiding in cold cuts, salad dressings, spice blends, spaghetti sauce, beer — even chewing gum and pills.

Luckily, the FDA now requires food manufacturers to list common allergens, including wheat, on all labels -- and with the rise in gluten sensitivities, many companies are using a product’s glutenfree status as a top selling point.

“Gluten-free products are beneficial only if you are gluten sensitive. The problem is that 95 percent of people who are gluten sensitive are never diagnosed because doctors don’t think of it,” Conley explains.

“In my practice, I have seen tremendous destruction of health from the fact that someone is gluten sensitive and never knew that what was causing their abdominal pain or autoimmune disease was due to what they were eating everyday,” he says.

Not all gluten-free options are created equal, though.

“A naturally gluten-free grain like quinoa is an excellent choice for a healthy, balanced diet,” says Cheryl McEvoy, director of communications for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.

“Gluten-free cookies, on the other hand, may have the same or even more sugar, fat and sodium than their traditional wheatbased counterparts, so they’re not healthier for those who don’t have to avoid gluten,” McEvoy says.

Even those without acute sen-

sitivities are going gluten-free.

Proponents claim that gluten-free diets significantly boost health and energy, aid in weight loss and help patients better cope with migraines, ADHD, autism and depression. Evidence also suggests that gluten can exacerbate chronic health problems like allergies, asthma, digestive disorders and autoimmune conditions.

If you suspect you may have a gluten sensitivity, track your symptoms and speak with your doctor. They may advise a glutenfree diet. If your doctor suspects celiac disease, they will likely order a blood test to check for raised levels of specific antibodies that are produced in reaction to an allergen. However, these tests have varying degrees of reliability and may show false negatives, so an intestinal biopsy may be required.

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THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

HEALTH & WELLNESS ■ PAGE 3

Use Net, technology to aid, not impede care

By CHELLE CORDERO Creators.com It’s been said that sometimes a little knowledge is dangerous. It is easy to look up health care information online, but is self-diagnosis using the information you find the healthy thing to do?

Internet sites that offer “a healthy dose of free medical info” also can cause a lot of anxiety and “cyberchondria” (Internetinduced hypochondria). Search engines can also cause confusion as search terms find URLs that are not necessarily medically related.

The Internet has had a significant influence on the patient-doctor relationship, as well as on selfdiagnosis and the use of over-thecounter treatments.

The content of medical Internet sites may be skewed by its sponsors. A good guide to the purpose of a site is the domain suffix. The U.S. government funds websites with addresses ending in “.gov.” Educational institutes maintain “.edu” sites. Noncommercial organizations’ addresses often use “.org” and “.com” denotes a commercial organization.

Pharmaceutical sites might recommend their medications in hopes that patients will ask their doctors for prescriptions. Educational sites tend to be heavy on research and data collection. Check the credentials of the contributing professionals to help gauge the accuracy of the information provided. Informed patients can improve the care they receive, but it is important never to rely on a single source for information.

The Internet and mobile health apps are helpful tools that empower a patient to advocate for his own well-being, and they may help to reduce the overall cost of

health care when kept in perspective. Confusing medical terminology can be simplified, and pertinent questions may come to mind when conditions are researched online. This can be an effective step in the overall process.

However, online information must be reviewed with a hint of skepticism and should never supersede information and directions provided by a bona fide medical doctor. Because symptoms may be relevant to more than one ailment, effective diagnostics, such as those a doctor’s office could provide, may be necessary to correctly identify a condition.

In 2008, Westchester County in New York introduced its “It’s My Healthcare” initiative in hopes of making communication easier between the layperson and medical professionals. “With all the confusing medical terminology nowadays, many people get flustered when they go to the doctor and usually remember the questions they wanted to ask after they leave the

that MedlinePlus is updated daily and that there is no advertising on the site and no endorsement of any company or product. There are more than 900 diseases, illnesses, health conditions and wellness issues discussed on Medline Plus.

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A licensed doctor is the best resource for comprehensive treatment.

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MedlinePlus is the website for the National Institutes of Health: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus. It is produced by the National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus is an upto-date resource for information on drugs, supplements and the latest treatments. There are also medical videos and links to the latest research on your chosen topic. National Library of Medicine Director Dr. Donald Lindberg verifies

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Other sites such as WebMD.com allow viewers to match symptoms with possible ailments and treatments and determine whether or not it is a true emergency. Many conditions have similar symptoms though. Queries about headaches, for example, may give results including migraines, sinusitis, high blood pressure, diabetes, malocclusion, sleep apnea, sunburn, mumps and even constipation. There is a disclaimer and some good advice on WebMD, which warns that the information on their site is “ ... not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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PAGE 4 ■ HEALTH & WELLNESS

THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

Employers add fitness, wellness to work day

By KRISTEN CASTILLO Creators.com We all know about the 3 o’clock slump at the office. You’re feeling sluggish. But instead of reaching for candy or caffeine, how about doing yoga? Or going for a walk with your colleagues?

More and more employers are looking for ways to keep their employees fit, healthy and yes, happy.

“Exercise helps improve productivity at work,” says Yana Hempler, a certified personal trainer. “This goes hand in hand with not being stressed out about your job and having a lot more energy to deal with whatever your work challenges may be.”

Hempler says many companies promote health and fitness by reimbursing employees for their gym and training fees, providing basic gym equipment to be used during lunch or after work, creating “colleagues teams” for local races or hosting health and fitness “lunch and learns.”

“Employees really like these healthy initiatives at work because they feel that their bosses care about them and their wellbeing,” Hempler notes.

Other benefits of these healthy initiatives include reduced stress, fewer sick days for employees and better insurance rates because workers are healthier.

At TheSquareFoot, a company specializing in commercial real estate leasing, workers do group pushups every hour (increasing the number of reps each time), use standing desks if they don’t want to sit all day, regularly participate in yoga exercises and compete

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To help keep their employees healthy, Build.com offers employees walking meetings, yoga breaks and standing desks. in ping pong tournaments. The company also provides healthy snacks, like fruits and nuts.

“Our employees like and agree that being active helps them have a stronger focus throughout the day, and they simply enjoy the activities we promote,” says Justin Lee, one of TheSquareFoot’s co-founders. “They are all fun and almost all a game in some way.”

Some offices offer employees the opportunity to work out while they’re on the job. For example, walking on a treadmill while making phone calls, checking emails

and reading reports can burn between 120 and 150 calories.

“A lot of bad things happen to our bodies when we sit, and a lot of wonderful things happen when we are in motion,” says Steve Bordley,CEO of TrekDesk.com, a company that sells desks that are compatible with treadmills.

Many of the 20 workers at imo, a Web-based instant messaging service, use treadmill desks. The company also offers benefits like a housing stipend for employees who live close to work and walk to the office, subsidized member-

ships to Equinox gym and even custom-branded Nike shoes for employees on their first “imoversary” with the company.

Online-only home improvement retailer Build.com is helping its nearly 400 employees stay healthy and active. More than half of them use standing desks, including Sean Murphy, the company’s public relations coordinator and DIY specialist.

“The benefits include less fatigue throughout the day, better blood circulation, less tightness in the legs and just an overall feeling

of better focus,” he says, adding that employees can sit at a desk if they prefer.

Build.com employees also benefit from in-house yoga, which is held twice a week with a local instructor. Murphy says the yoga results in “increased focus and flexibility, relaxation and reduced stress.”

Forget meetings in boring conference rooms. Build.com employees attend walking meetings.

“Arguably our most popular meeting room is outside,” says Murphy. “This allows us to breathe the fresh air and helps with communication and increased blood circulation and flexibility.”

Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, is making the well-being of their 2,500 employees a priority.

As part of the school’s “For the Health of It” wellness program, which launched in 1999, employees are encouraged to participate in healthy activities such as on-campus scavenger hunts and walks, as well as stress management classes and weight loss groups.

CMU has a “gain-sharing” plan whereby employees can earn money for participating in healthy activities, including getting paid to do an annual health risk assessment and earning a monthly reward for each quarter employees have exercised a certain number of minutes.

“People rave about how the (wellness) program has helped them make important changes in their lifestyle habits,” says Jacqui Pridgeon, director of benefits and wellness at Central Michigan University.

THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

HEALTH & WELLNESS ■ PAGE 5

Fermented foods flavorful, beneficial to health

By ERIC CHRISTENSEN Creators.com Many Americans can be uncomfortable with the idea of fermented food.

The reasons differ — some say they are turned off by the notion of bacteria in their food, while others are uncomfortable with foods they suspect will taste sour, rotten or spoiled. But the reality is quite different: Adding fermented foods to your diet is good for your palette, your body and your pocketbook. They are quite common around the world and come in a variety of flavors.

Fermentation is the process of converting sugars to acids, gases and/or alcohol through the use of yeast or bacteria. Odds are, fermented foods (or foods that take advantage of fermentation as part of the cooking process) are already part of your diet.

Jenny McGruther, food educator and author of “Nourished Kitchen: Farm-to-Table Recipes for the Traditional Foods Lifestyle” and the website of Nourished Kitchen, says, “Cheese, bread, yogurt, miso, chocolate, wine, beer and kefir are all foods that we commonly consume in which fermentation has played a role.”

Sandor Katz, author of “The Art of Fermentation” and the Wild Fermentation website, adds coffee, tea, cured meats, olives, soy sauce, fish sauce, sauerkraut and kimchi to that list.

Fermentation is one of the oldest food preparations known to man, dating back to the Stone Age. Katz explains: “Sauerkraut and kimchi, and all the other variations of fermented vegetables, really are strategies for preserving the harvest to feed people through the rest of the year and deliver to them essential plant-based nutrients that would be otherwise unavailable.

So fermentation equals survival in many parts of the world.”

Similarly, fermentation was used to extend the usable life of milk and meat before refrigeration.

Accordingly, fermented foods can

Kimchi, sour pickle crock and garlic in brine are just a few of the fermented foods that can be added to a person’s diet.

SANDOR KATZ CREATORS.COM

still be found in cuisines around the world.

But fermentation is not simply about helping foods last longer.

There are several nutritional benefits that result from fermentation. McGruther says that fermentation releases “various acids and B vitamins like folate and B-12. ... Fermented foods are higher in various micronutrients than their raw counterparts. ... Consuming fermented foods also means that you’re consuming beneficial bacteria, which help to populate the digestive tract.” Folates are extremely beneficial to women who are considering getting pregnant.

And fermented foods naturally contain the same types of beneficial bacteria that are now added to several products to make them healthier.

Many grocery stores now carry a variety of fermented foods, both traditional and exotic, in-

cluding fermented fruit drinks like kombucha and kvass. But if you would like to try making some fermented foods at home, it is quite easy and inexpensive.

Katz suggests starting with fermented vegetables.

“You don’t need any special equipment or starter cultures.

You can just use any jar in your kitchen. And it’s intrinsically safe: there has never been a documented case of food poisoning in the United States from fermented vegetables, according to the USDA.” Katz says, “All you do is chop up vegetables, lightly salt them or season them and spend a couple of minutes squeezing or pounding them to start breaking down cell

walls. The objective is that when you stuff them into a jar, you submerge them in their own juices.”

If you have previously tried sauerkraut or other fermented vegetables and didn’t like them, Katz says to remember that fermentation changes the texture and taste of the vegetables. Lightly fermented vegetables will be crunchier and milder in flavor, but days later the fermented vegetables will be softer in texture and have a stronger taste.

“Let your vegetables ferment for a few days at room temperature. After three to four days, refrigerate and start tasting them at intervals to familiarize yourself with the spectrum of flavors,” he

says.

Alternatively, McGruther suggests making your own yogurt.

She says, “You simply need to whisk one-quarter cup of plain yogurt into one quart of milk and let it sit in a warm place in your kitchen for 8 to 12 hours. Then reserve one-quarter cup of that yogurt to make a future batch.”

Fermented foods are healthy, inexpensive and a great way to introduce umami flavors into your diet. McGruther says, “Venturing into food fermentation can be challenging or it can seem exotic, but it’s very easy to begin.” Try a few new foods and you’ll see there’s nothing to be uncomfortable about or fear.

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PAGE 6 ■ HEALTH & WELLNESS

THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

Build strength with bodyweight training

By SHARON NAYLOR Creators.com You don’t need to buy expensive workout machines and weight sets to get fit.

“Real, effective fitness and simple, powerful exercises need nothing but the most basic (equipment) you already have: your body,” says Phil Pierce, author of the “Bodyweight Training Handbook.”

While it’s nice to have cardio machines and full weight sets at your disposal, you can gain strength, build muscle, boost your cardiovascular fitness, tone, sculpt your body and lose weight just by doing exercises using your own body weight for resistance. You can perform exercises designed to strengthen you from top to bottom and get your heart pumping, sweat flowing and health benefits soaring.

Bodyweight exercises deliver a complete and balanced workout.

“There are many ways to make a workout complete, depending on your goal. But to keep it simple, I believe a basic complete workout would consist of strength training, cardiovascular conditioning and mobility or flexibility training,” says trainer Michelle Dozois, internationally recognized fitness expert, award-winning athlete, creator of multiple top-selling DVDs and featured trainer at online fitness classes website FitnessGlo. “We all need to focus on keeping our muscles strong, our heart healthy and our ability to move with ease and suppleness.

By incorporating all three of these modalities into your workout plan, you will keep your body strong and healthy.”

It may surprise you that you can build muscles without lifting weights; however, think about one of the core bodyweight exercises: pushups. Properly done pushups can strengthen and tone your arms, back and chest, and work your stomach and glute muscles.

No expensive weights needed. It’s just your body in motion, pushing up and lowering down for a dual range of motion, resulting in muscle toning.

Here are some of the reasons why bodyweight training is as in demand as gym classes, workout DVDs or online classes: ■■ Bodyweight exercises are efficient. Since you don’t need to move from workout station to

bility and balance.

■■ Plank: Lie facedown with forearms on the floor and hands clasped. Extend the legs behind the body and rise up on the toes.

Keeping the back straight, tighten the core and hold the position for 30-60 seconds (or as long as you can).

■■ Wall sit: Stand with your back against a solid, sturdy wall.

Then, slowly slide your back down the wall until the thighs are parallel to the ground, making a 90-degree angle with your knees. Make sure the knees are directly above the ankles and keep the back straight. Hold for 60 seconds or as long as you can. Add some extra burn by doing bicep curls at the same time.

■■ Lunge: Stand with hands on hips and feet hip-width apart. Step the right leg forward and slowly

lower your body until the left knee is close to or touching the floor and bent at least 90 degrees. Return to the starting position and repeat with the left leg.

■■ Add other exercises such as calf raises, pushups, triceps dips, arm circles and crunches. Create twists on bodyweight workout classics such as the pushup by doing a diamond pushup, which brings your hands in closer to the middle with your fingers meeting in a diamond shape, targeting a whole new set of muscles to work with each pushup.

As with any new workout plan, see your doctor to get the all clear before you embark upon your fitness plan. It’s also smart to have a personal trainer instruct you on proper body positioning to help protect you from injury and deliver better results.

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Bodyweight exercises deliver a complete and balanced workout. workout station, it’s easy to transition from one exercise to the next.

You can get a solid workout with shorter rest times, keeping your heart pumping, and you’re done in less than an hour.

■■ You can work out whenever you’d like, wherever you’d like.

Standing in line at the DMV? Do some calf raises. Don’t want to drive to the gym on a snowy day? You don’t have to miss your workout —you don’t even need equipment.

■■ You can get cardio and strength training in one session, mixing up bodyweight exercises to get your heart pumping while your muscles get a workout. Combine jumping jacks with situps for a surprisingly challenging workout using old school exercises that you’ve made new.

■■ You can burn fat fast. Bodyweight exercises can be performed at such a pace and intensity as to rev up your fat-burning capacity in a short amount of time. (Just be smart about your pacing and wear proper footwear so you don’t injure yourself overdoing it.)

■■ You can modify your bodyweight exercises to suit your fitness level. For example, you might add extra repetitions or just do a few, or do bent-knee pushups rather than military style if it’s easier on your back, and so on. You can then work out smarter and stronger, and judge your improvements

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over time when those bent-knee pushups aren’t as hard as they used to be.

■■ Other perks include strengthening your core, building flexibility, improving balance and staying engaged with your fitness goals by enjoying a variety of different exercises to keep your workouts fresh and fun.

And you get fit for free. Avoiding pricy monthly gym memberships and not needing expensive fitness equipment is one of the top reasons bodyweight workouts are so popular right now.

What are these super-effective exercises? Here’s a partial list: ■■ Prone walkout: Beginning on all fours with the core engaged, slowly walk the hands forward, staying on the toes but not moving them forward. Next, gradually walk the hands backward to the starting position, maintaining sta-

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THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

HEALTH & WELLNESS ■ PAGE 7

Juice fasting is safe, more than fad diet

By AIMEE KUVADIA Creators.com Joe Cross had a choice: Get healthy or die.

“I’m 41. I’m fat. And I’m sick,” the Australian native humbly admits in his 2010 aptly named documentary, “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.” “You don’t have to be Einstein to figure out what’s next.”

For more than 20 years, Cross was the archetypal businessman, caring more about his entrepreneurial endeavors than for himself. “I was focusing on my wealth rather than my health,” he laments.

His lifestyle was laden with short-lived pleasures: smoking, excessive drinking and food, most of which was processed. As a business expert, he should have known everything comes at a price.

Cross gradually began packing on the pounds, not stopping until he weighed more than 300 pounds and found himself with a debilitating autoimmune disorder, one requiring him to take a panoply of prescription drugs — including the powerful corticosteroid prednisone — and often preventing him from doing such seemingly simple tasks as carrying a shopping bag.

At age 40, getting over the hill, Cross was finally able to look down at his life and realize that not too much of it would be left if he persisted on the same path. He decided to repurpose his business skills — “my capacity for action, determination and discipline” — toward benefiting his health.

As Cross was a man who preferred extremes, he went from a diet of predominantly factory-

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Drinking freshly made green juice a few times daily can provide all the nutrients one needs. produced food to one of only food growing in the ground, which he didn’t eat but juiced. For 60 days, he didn’t consume anything but the pulp of fruits and vegetables.

Not eating for a few days, let alone two months, seems irresponsible if not downright dangerous. But unlike trend diets — many of which harm the body and promote only provisional weight loss — juice fasting actually promotes overall health.

Stacy Kennedy, a senior clinical nutritionist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston featured in Cross’ film, confirms juice fasting is indeed safe and a great way to reboot the body.

“So, in juice fasting, you’re still eating something. You’re drinking nutrients, particularly a lot of micronutrients that are com-

ing from fruits and vegetables,” she says. “And because it’s a liquid, its more rapidly absorbed.

So it’s a quick easy way of giving your body a very potent source of healthy nutrients.”

All food falls into one of two categories: micronutrients or macronutrients. Micronutrients, which are essentially vitamins and minerals, comprise vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and beans.

They’re needed for both major and minor body functions, everything from building muscle and immunity to preventing the flu. Macronutrients are everything else.

With a typical American plate consisting of half meat, a quarter of an overcooked vegetable or potato and a quarter of some other white, refined side, it’s no surprise Americans are lacking

micronutrients.

The contemporary world eats too many processed foods and animal products, according to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, who specializes in treating obesity and chronic illness with nutrition therapy. It’s why so many people suffer with their health.

“The point here is we have an unprecedented opportunity in history to be healthier and live longer than before,” says Fuhrman in the documentary. “We simply don’t have to be demented when we get older. We don’t have to have a heart attack. We don’t have to get strokes. And we can dramatically reduce the risk of cancer.”

Fuhrman monitored Cross during his fast, advising him to get a blood test every 10 days. If committing to a strict dietary regi-

men that will likely alter the body permanently, a physician should be consulted, as everyone is different, and what is good for one person might be harmful to another.

Cross maintained a positive attitude throughout the 60 days, making his fast seem almost effortless. But it was far from that.

“The first few days are the toughest. Not eating ... It’s kind of like you’re cutting yourself off from society when you’re not eating food,” he says. “It just doesn’t seem normal.”

For those who don’t need to lose a significant amount of weight, Cross recommends doing just a 10-day fast, which still does wonders for the body. A woman he recruited to try it felt a considerable improvement in her migraine headaches.

After two months of just juicing, Cross was virtually unrecognizable, having lost over 70 pounds. He also had achieved his primary goal of getting off all his medication.

It’s important to ease back into eating following a juice fast.

Cross consumed only vegetables, fruits, nuts and beans for more than six months, but an average person doesn’t require so extreme a transition.

Juicing, says Fuhrman, is a way to “retrain your taste buds.”

A fast will have been successful if it motivates an individual to remain healthy for the long term.

“Permanent results only come from permanent change in lifestyle and diet style,” Fuhrman concludes. “You don’t get permanently well unless you permanently change the way you live.”

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PAGE 8 ■ HEALTH & WELLNESS

THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

Eating before workout delivers better results

By SHARON NAYLOR Creators.com One of the questions exercisers often ask their trainers is: Should I exercise on a full or empty stomach?

It’s a common misconception that exercising on an empty stomach means the fat you burn comes straight from your body’s stored fat deposits, as opposed to burning just the food in your stomach and essentially getting nowhere. “This is a myth that many people still follow, believing that working out on an empty stomach will burn more fat. Your body needs fuel to move, lift and run. Working out on an empty stomach will make both your body and brain cranky,” says Petra Kolber, a fitness expert and trainer at online workout site FitnessGlo who has starred in more than 12 fitness videos.

“While you will not want to eat a three-course meal, eating a sensible snack before your workout will only improve your performance and your exercise experience,” Kolber said. “In addition, working out after eating a nutritious snack has the following benefits: It can boost recovery and strength gains. It can help you sustain longer, more intense workouts. It can help you avoid low blood sugar. You will just be more pleasant during your workout.”

So, the answer is to eat for fuel so that you can complete a full workout, rather than giving up after five minutes because your energy stores are drained. Fitness expert Patricia Friberg says, “Being completely empty may leave you feeling depleted, lightheaded and unable to perform.”

What should you eat and when?

Alex McLean, FitnessGlo’s top trainer, suggests eating “snacks or meals that contain carbohydrates and proteins 90 minutes before workout time” so that your

body has the chance to absorb the nutrients and generate energy.

“If you don’t have that 90-minute window before your workout class or personal trainer session,” McLean says, “choose foods that can be digested easily.”

Trainer Jeffrey Scott brings up the blood sugar factor. “Eating before your workout stabilizes your blood sugar so that you feel stronger for longer and are less likely to feel dizzy or faint.”

With the experts’ focus on the body’s need for energy and the ability of healthful snacks to provide that energy, you can solve your full vs. empty stomach concerns by reframing your understanding of food as a good thing and not the enemy. Food delivers nutrients and hydration: fuel to keep your body and mind functioning at their peak levels of performance. It’s when you think of food as nothing but fat or calories to burn that you can make mistakes with your pre-workout choices.

Fitness pro Denise Klatte points out that muscles need glycogen to get stronger and more defined. “Working muscles require glycogen (stored carbohydrates in the muscle) and other nutrients for contraction and endurance.” This might explain why your practice of working out on an empty stomach didn’t deliver the improvements you desired: Your body didn’t have the building blocks to create those improvements. It may seem odd if you’ve been operating under the emptystomach misconception for years, but eating before a workout delivers better results, faster and more efficiently, which can keep you motivated to stick to your fitness regimen.

In addition to having a healthful snack or light meal prior to your workout, Klatte urges you to keep hydration in mind. Your

There’s some good to be found in coffee grounds

By CHUCK NORRIS Creators.com Q: Chuck, I heard that there’s a new large study that links the increase of coffee drinking with premature deaths. Seems to me that sipping Java is given a bad health rap and is much better for us than most know.

Which side of the coffee bean do you stand on? — “Cool for Coffee,” Charleston, S.C. A: I enjoy a cup of coffee as much as anyone — but not just for the taste. I, too, believe the nutritional value is being overlooked in many circles, but a word of caution for moderation is also in order.

You’re right; a brand-new study published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings looked at 43,727 people ages 20 to 87 from 1971 to 2002. It concluded that men younger than 55 who drink more than four cups of coffee a day are 56 percent likelier to die from any cause. And women younger than 55 who drink more than four cups a day are twice as likely to die as other women in that age group.

But does that study on excess discount the health benefits of a cup or two of coffee each day?

In its August edition, the University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter ran an excellent article titled “Coffee: Grounds for Optimism.” Let me highlight some of its main points.

Coffee used to be regarded as a health hazard, but in recent years, it has joined the ranks of red wine

and dark chocolate for its nutritional contributions.

Though the health professionals at UC Berkeley encourage moderation, they concur that coffee does indeed have health benefits. They also noted that “early

“While you will not want to eat a threecourse meal, eating a sensible snack before your workout will only improve your performance and your exercise experience.”

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THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

HEALTH & WELLNESS ■ PAGE 9

Daily dose of nuts prolongs life, prevents disease

By DR. DAVID LIPSCHITZ Creators.com Nuts are generally considered bad choices for snacks because they’re so high in calories. It is why experts recommend avoiding cakes or desserts containing a high content of them, and why many of us keep them out of our diets.

But in recent years, more and more information has been indicating the tremendous benefits nuts have on improving health.

The most encouraging report showed that adding nuts to your diet either prevented weight gain or promoted weight loss. Researchers have found dieters who consume an ounce of nuts daily are more likely to eat less at supper and, therefore, lose weight.

And now, from a large population study, comes remarkable evidence that nut consumption reduces the risk of heart disease in both men and women by as much as 50 percent. The benefit is so impressive that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering a proposal to allow foods containing nuts to state on their labels: “Diets containing an ounce of nuts per day can reduce your risk of heart disease.”

Coffee (Concluded from Page 8) research linking coffee or caffeine to health problems has almost always been refuted by better studies.”

Caffeine is nearly synonymous with coffee, and we all know that in excess, it can cause insomnia, jitters and indigestion issues.

But remember that caffeine has a purpose in the plant. It serves as a natural pesticide to ward off its predators. And recent studies have shown its beneficial nature for many of us, too, when it’s consumed in moderation.

As a mild psychoactive substance, it “improves reaction time, mental acuity, alertness and mood; wards off drowsiness; and helps people wake up and feel better in the morning,” according to the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter.

Moreover, it enhances aspects of sport performance and contributes to pain relievers’ effects.

The newsletter calls coffee “the No. 1 source of antioxidants in the U.S.,” largely because of its colossal consumption.

Nevertheless, its antioxidants are real and many. Among them are polyphenols, which can con-

A massive study recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that increasing nut intake also reduces the risk of many chronic illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes. It appears to reduce the risk of death, too.

Researchers followed more than 75,000 women from 1980 to 2010, and more than 40,000 men from 1986 to 2010. Over the 30-year period, compared to those who never ate nuts, those who did once weekly had a 7 percent lower risk of dying, gradually reducing risk even more as they consumed more nuts. For those eating nuts at least once a day, the risk of death was lowered by a remarkable 20 percent. And further analysis revealed significant reductions in the risk of heart and respiratory diseases, diabetes, infections and cancer.

There was some concern at the outset of the study that daily nut consumption could lead to weight gain. The exact opposite turned out to be the case. Those eating nuts most frequently either maintained their weight or lost weight during the course of the study.

Nut-eaters were overall healthier: They were less likely to be obese, had lower waist circumferences tribute to the “prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and osteoporosis and suggests a role in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases and diabetes mellitus,” according to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Two other recent studies in that journal linked long-term coffee drinking to a reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes.

A 2012 NIH-AARP Diet & Health Study revealed that those who drank at least four cups of coffee daily were 15 percent less likely to develop colon cancer than those who didn’t.

Though the overall risk for prostate cancer isn’t affected, a 2011 study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and a 2012 study in Nutrition Journal found a reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer in those who consumed coffee.

Two large studies in 2011 linked coffee to a decreased risk of endometrial cancer.

According to a 2011 analysis in Nurses’ Health Study, drinking two to three cups of coffee daily reduces the risk of depression by 15 percent.

Two studies in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2011 and 2012 revealed that older women who drank coffee were less likely to experience cognitive decline.

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Almonds and other nuts reduce the risk of heart attacks. and lower cholesterols and bloodsugar levels than their counterparts not eating nuts. They also ate less, consumed more fruits and vegetables and exercised more regularly. For this reason, it’s unclear whether the found benefits of nuts were a result of people committed to healthier lifestyles and living longer being less concerned about their weights and, hence, more likely to eat nuts.

There are many ways nuts proAnd according to a review paper in Experimental Neurobiology, drinking coffee helps protect against Parkinson’s disease.

Though coffee may increase the risk of heart attack for people with multiple cardiovascular problems during the hour or two after drinking coffee, a 2011 Swedish study in the American Journal of Epidemiology discovered that moderate coffee drinking was “associated with a modest reduction in stroke risk.”

According to a large study in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2012, people who drank at least two cups of coffee every day (regular or decaf) were 10 to 15 percent less likely to die from diabetes, a stroke, heart disease, respiratory disease, an infection or an accident.

And recently, researchers at the Duke University School of Medicine found that the caffeine from coffee and tea reduced fat in the livers of people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Despite coffee’s health benefits, however, UC Berkeley’s experts are reluctant to encourage people who never have drunk coffee to drink it, largely because the risk factors remain for certain people.

mote health. They contain the best polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, are rich in vitamins, minerals and fibers and have high concentrations of antioxidants (phenols and phytosterols).

Most experts recommend having an ounce of nuts as a snack in the afternoon and about two to three hours before dinner. They are calorically dense and take a long time to chew. This, in turn, helps promote satiety, as does

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their high calorie content. Nuts’ high level of fiber also makes you feel full and less hungry at dinnertime. Nuts make it easier to eat prudently, limiting your risk of becoming obese and making a diet program more likely to be successful.

Nuts reduce the risk of heart attacks in a number of ways.

Monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids tend to lower cholesterol and decrease the risk of blood clotting. High concentrations of the amino acid arginine promote blood flow, dilate blood vessels and help maintain a lower blood pressure. And high fiber content reduces cholesterol and appears to decrease the risk of diabetes. High fiber and healthy fats in nuts also promote better gastrointestinal function and decrease the risk of colon, breast and prostate cancers.

Like an apple a day, an ounce of nuts will almost certainly keep the doctor away. The most important message you can extract from this information is that the best approach to dieting is not necessarily the consumption of lowcalorie foods, but that learning to make the right food choices and eating in the right amounts will lead to a long and healthy life.

PAGE 10 ■ HEALTH & WELLNESS

THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

14 steps to breaking free from junk food

By MARILYNN PRESTON Creators.com If I had my magic wand back — I was carrying it in the Halloween parade and it vanished — I would wave it and shazaam! all processed foods would disappear.

It’s harsh, I know. I love my Sour Cream and Onion Ruffles as much as the next person. But the truth is processed foods — the ones that come in colorful packages or cans with a long list of perfectly legal ingredients stacked under the label — aren’t good for you.

In fact, they’re bad for you.

You can discover just how bad in books, videos and all over the Internet. Go there and be educated.

It’s no secret that processed foods contain chemicals, additives, preservatives, artificial dyes, flavors, colors and other suspect ingredients that are linked to a variety of health problems. And not in a good way.

It’s not restful to dwell on the known negatives: the weight gain, the strokes, the fatigue, the diabetes, heart disease, cancers and annoying digestive upsets that then must be addressed with little purple pills.

Instead, I’m going to share a positively intriguing resource for weaning yourself off processed foods, a 14-week plan that should be a required course in schools everywhere.

This step-by-step approach, created by the crusading Lisa Leake for eatLocalGrown.com, consists of mini-pledges that you take week by week, alone or with friends or, best of all, with your entire family.

Each week is another way to experience more real food and less junk. By the time 14 weeks are over, you’ll be closer than ever to eating clean. I’m not saying it’s easy — “the perfect is the enemy of the good” — but the cumulative

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Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to eat clean. rewards are remarkable.

When you eat clean, you feel lighter and more energetic. Chances are you’ll lose weight. Aches, pains and other symptoms that sent you to the doctor will lessen and might disappear because, food is medicine. When you eat the real stuff, your body can thrive and heal itself. For more along these lines, go to Leake’s website 100DaysofRealFood.com and feast on her informative blogs.

And if you’re still not convinced that weaning yourself off processed foods is important, never mind. You’re not ready to change. You have a big fat discon-

nect between what you eat and how you feel. That’s OK. Your doctor probably struggles with the same problem, since she or he learned next-to-nothing about nutrition in medical school. (How crazy is that?!)

Ready for action? Here’s the challenge: ■■ Week 1: (“I pledge to...”) Eat at least two different fruits and or

vegetables — preferably organic — with every meal.

■■ Week 2: Your beverages are limited to coffee, tea, water and milk. Don’t choke. Give it a go.

One cup of juice is allowed per week, and wine, preferably red, is allowed in moderation.

■■ Week 3: All meat consumed this week is locally raised. Limit yourself to three-to-four modest

servings a week, treating meat as a side dish not the main course.

■■ Week 4: No fast food or deepfried food. (Gulp!)

■■ Week 5: Try two new whole foods you’ve never tried before.

■■ Week 6: Eat no food products labeled as low fat, “lite,” reduced or non-fat.

■■ Week 7: All grains must be 100 percent whole grains.

■■ Week 8: Stop eating when you are full. (This means listening to internal cues.)

■■ Week 9: No refined or artificial sweeteners. No white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, Splenda, stevia, agave, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup and cane juice. Your food and drink can only be sweetened with modest amounts of honey or maple syrup.

■■ Week 10: No refined or hydrogenated oils. That means no vegetable oil, soybean, corn, canola, organic canola, margarine or grape seed oil.

■■ Week 11: Eat at least one locally grown or raised food item at each meal. That means local honey, eggs, nuts, meats, fruits, vegetables.

■■ Week 12: No sweeteners!

Not even honey and maple syrup.

(You’ve come this far!)

■■ Week 13: Nothing artificial.

Avoid all artificial ingredients.

■■ Week 14: No more than five ingredients.

Avoid packaged food products that list more than five ingredients, no matter the ingredients.

■■ Week 15: Email me at MyEnergyExpress@aol.com and let me know how well this worked, or, if you insist, how miserable you were.

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THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

HEALTH & WELLNESS ■ PAGE 11

Make time for exercise while on vacation

By SHARON NAYLOR Creators.com

on your beach chair instead. So look for a list of freebies on your resort or hotel’s list of amenities and activities.

And don’t forget the fitness benefits of walking. Snap a pedometer onto your waistband, and your day of walking through an amusement park or around a resort could have you at the suggested 10,000 steps by early afternoon. Just wearing a pedometer could entice you to walk to the main beach rather than hop onto a shuttle bus.

Just be sure to keep safety in mind. Walk or hike only in designated, populated areas, stay out of seedy sections of town and stick to your fitness level. Don’t take on an ultra-challenging hike just to get to that waterfall everyone says you have to see. You don’t want to strain or overwork your body, ru-

From Zumba classes and personal yoga sessions on the beach to waking up an hour earlier to put in some time on the hotel fitness center’s treadmill or elliptical, vacationers are making exercise a part of their vacations.

“Each one of those pina coladas I’m drinking on my beach chair has a lot of fat and calories, and the resort’s buffet is just too enticing,” says Maria Alado, frequent vacationer. “If I don’t work out, I’m going to feel lethargic during my vacation and go home ten pounds heavier at least.”

Coming home from vacation is enough of a downer without tipping the scale and having to work out twice as hard to get back to pre-vacation weight. Getaway relaxation could dissolve quickly, leaving you tired, bloated, and feeling less confident. But the real perks come during vacation: ■■ You’ll feel more energetic during each day, which allows you to take in more of what your vacation spot has to offer. If you’re overeating and overdrinking, you could wind up losing energy at 8 p.m., popping medicines to feel better and slowing down your travel companions during outings or at night.

■■ You’ll keep your metabolism revving, which allows you to eat and drink more of what you want, without guilt, since you know you’ll work off those calories each day.

■■ You may avoid gastrointestinal issues during your vacation by keeping your system healthier.

■■ You’ll stay on track with your fitness and diet goals from before your vacation, continuing your weight loss, strength and flexibility gains, and at least not setting yourself back too far. A weight gain of a few pounds after vacation is easier to deal with than a ten-pound setback.

■■ You may discover a new fitness activity to add to your repertoire. For instance, if you join your travel companions for tennis at the resort, you might find yourself interested in taking tennis lessons or playing for free at your town park as a new, fresh fitness activity to keep your motivation up. Or, you might take a yoga class on the beach and renew your interest in yoga.

■■ Exercise creates endorphins, the feel-good hormone that boosts your mood, which will help you deal with any stress you experience courtesy of your travel companions or disappointing weather.

Many vacationers say they gain confidence after a workout,

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which can lead to more satisfying romantic interludes. With exercise in your itinerary, your evening might be spent in seduction, rather than in lethargy.

Clearly, it’s smart to get in a few good workouts, and your resort or hotel may offer terrific fitness options for you, such as state-of-the-art fitness machines you don’t have access to at home, gorgeous hiking trails for a several-hour challenging hike that delivers you to a breathtaking vista such as a waterfall or a historic church or castle, tennis courts, golf courses, and of course those exciting fitness classes on the beach with a gorgeous view of the ocean.

Many resorts offer a surprising array of fitness activities for

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And if you take on any challenging class, there’s always the resort’s spa for a muscle-soothing massage or aromatherapy treatment, a sauna or hot tub soak, an indulgent wind-down from your vacation workout that keeps you in great shape to enjoy your getaway and go home happier.

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free. “We offer a wide range of activities to suit every guest’s need, from kayaking to snorkeling, paddleboarding — and guests get free use of our water sports equipment,” says Patrick Kidd, director of sales, Caneel Bay Resort on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. When a resort offers free sporting equipment or use of tennis courts, you’ll save a bundle on your vacation. However, some resorts charge heftily for snorkeling gear rentals and paddleboarding, and the expense could keep you

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PAGE 12 ■ HEALTH & WELLNESS

THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

Good posture can improve confidence, mood, health

By SHARON NAYLOR Creators.com Are you a slumper? Check your posture right now to see if your shoulders are rounded forward and your back curled. Chances are you’ve eased into your natural posture: slouched down, head in alignment with your spine, shoulders back, back not straight.

And your brain may be paying the price.

Researchers at several top academic institutions, including Harvard and Columbia universities, have been studying the link between bad posture and the brain for decades, and their recent findings show that improving posture can improve the brain’s function, and thus your mood and memory levels.

Researchers, for instance, found that when you assume what they call “power poses” of confident stance and tall, uplifted posture, your decision-making is subconsciously affected. When you stand or sit up taller, and pull your shoulders back and outward, your brain gets a signal that it’s the confident, powerful you in charge of your thinking, and, in turn, you might make more confident choices.

A 2003 Ohio State University study found that when you shake your head “no,” or nod your head “yes” while observing a scenario or listening to information, you may form positive or negative opinions about your observations depending on the motion of your head and its positive or negative message to the brain. And when you sit up straight, you’re more likely to think positively and recall more positive memories. Slumping and slouching can generate negative memories, thoughts and perceptions, which creates stress hormones in the brain, as opposed to happier hormones that can trickle down into your daily choices and create a more energetic, happier you that feels like working out. Everything is connected, and it all starts with how you hold your frame.

Dana Carney, a social psychologist at University of California, Berkeley, conducted a 2010 survey that was among the first to reveal that power poses demonstrating confidence (regardless of whether or not a person actually feels confident) increase levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol — the stress hormone — in the brain. Because testosterone is associated with self-confidence, having good posture can create hormones in the brain that make you feel more self-assured. Carney says the power pose sends a signal to the brain, and what begins as a neural impulse turns into an actual, physiological response that boosts brainpower.

And science aside, your posture affects how you see yourself, as well as how others see you. If you’re slumped down and slouching during a job interview, for example, the interviewer will likely see you as less confident, and perhaps will have a neural impulse to judge you as less capable. If you have good posture, with your shoulders back and your body aligned, you can look better in your clothes and will likely receive compliments from loved ones, which will boost your confidence and mood. You could also just love how you look in the mirror, which will make you feel lighter and more positive.

Good posture also pertains

to walking. If you walk slumped down and in a shuffle, you look bedraggled and overwrought, which can make you actually feel bedraggled and overwrought.

When you walk uplifted and with confidence, your brain registers “uplifted and with confidence,” and pumps out happy hormones to match the message.

Physical pain from bad posture can affect your brain, too. When you slouch often, you may experience back, neck, shoulder and even wrist pain, which can send signals to the brain that you’re suffering. The brain then needs to create pain-reducing hormones rather than happy ones. It’s quite hard to feel happy when you’re achy, sore or in such pain that you have to take medication for relief.

Pain can cause depression when the brain gets sapped of positive hormones.

So in many connected ways, good posture makes for a happier brain. And with your happier brain, you have better relation-

ships, fitness, work performance, more intimacy and other positive effects on your lifestyle.

There are several ways to improve your posture, including taking a Yoga for Better Posture class, or just yoga classes in general, since yoga elongates the body and retrains your frame to be more upright with your shoulders back and spine aligned, the position will soon feel more natural to you.

Exercise as a whole also helps to improve posture.

You might also ask a co-worker or relative to help you get more mindful of your posture, with a gentle touch on your shoulder if you’re slouched down at your desk or kitchen counter. When you feel the touch, you’ll straighten up your posture and send a positive message to your brain.

And even if you get a hundred touches in a day, you’ll eventually retrain your frame to hold power poses, and your helper won’t have to signal you to straighten up as often.

Good posture can boost your brainpower and improve your mood.

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