January 2011

activelife

Two Key Exercises for Your New Year’s Fitness Resolutions Pg. 25 FOR MEN & WOMEN

Guide

Your guide to a healthy lifestyle

Mindful Movement Studio: A Mind-Body Philosophy Miriam Resnick

Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions This Year!

Healthy Eating

Tips for 2011

Abuse in America

Part III

January 2011

VAP Test

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PILLARS OF PERFECT HEALTH Part I

UPSIDE DOWN and OFF THE GROUND! Meet Your Weight Loss Goal in the New Year

Sports

Drinks

good for your teeth?

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Contents

activelife Guide

January 2011

Mindful Movement Studio: A Mind-Body Philosophy

14

Miriam Resnick

16

Healthy Eating Tips

for 2011 12 Abuse in America Part III

6

Upside Down and Off the Ground!

Two Key Exercises for Your New Year’s Fitness Resolutions

28 Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions This Time!

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8 Pillars of

24

Perfect Health Part I

Recipe

29 Tom

Yum Soup with Pineapple

20

VAP Test

Sports

22

Drinks

good for your teeth?

Meet

Your Weight Loss Goal in the New Year

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By Paula Lord, Master Trainer and co-creator of “Off the Ground!” Aerial Yoga

Yoga

UPSIDE DOWN and OFF THE GROUND! Get your workout with “Off the Ground!” Aerial Yoga Fly like Peter Pan!

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Spin like a Whirlybird!

Hide in your cocoon!

ouldn’t staying fit be much easier if all we had to do was play games?

Now you can, with “Off the Ground!”

Aerial Yoga classes. While the description of the class is officially aerial yoga, the content includes movements, exercises, and concepts from yoga, Pilates, dance, gymnastics, and even circus arts.

Please note - Inversions should ALWAYS be performed under the watchful eye of a trained instructor. Gravity does pull us to the earth, and an incorrect hang can result in damage instead of benefit.

c. Upper-body and shoulder strength increase with arm hangs and supported handstands.

Proponents of inversion therapy site the following positive effects:

“Off the Ground!” classes utilize a fabric hammock suspended from above. The fabric is flexible and strong, and the apparatus can support up to 2000 pounds.

Ever seen the guy in Cirque du Soleil who is flying around the stage, hanging on the curtains? That is exactly the same material as “Off the Ground!” hammocks.

• The spine is decompressed, increasing the space between the vertebrae and relieving pressure on the nerves and disks.

This pressure release, in turn, allows the disks to recover lost moisture and regain more of their original shape.

d. Mental strength is required to safely follow all the instructions into and out of movements and exercises.

“Off the Ground!” was designed with fun in mind, but the classes are organized to offer a complete and total mind-body workout for participants of all levels. All students are asked to step a little outside their comfort zones to experience the excitement of trying something new. People of all ages build self-esteem, strength, and confidence while living out their fantasies of running away with the circus!

Comments from current participants include: “After just 2 sessions I am totally addicted!

My back has never felt better.” – Jill, 34 “I haven’t had to see my chiropractor since starting “Off the Ground!” classes.” – Christina, 28 “I can’t believe how fun this is and the balance work is hard.” – Cathy, 53

• Pooling of blood is reversed in the body.

With gravity acting on our circulatory system in reverse, some parts of the body receive more blood flow and, subsequently, more oxygen than when we are in a standing-upright position.

• Proprioceptive awareness is enhanced by stimulating the upper part of the inner ear.

In other words, our body becomes more aware of itself in space, providing more stability and movement ability to our frame.

Inversions make up about a quarter of “Off the Ground!” class time. The rest of the playtime leads to these additional benefits (to name a few):

Unique to “Off the Ground!” classes are the inversions. While not for everyone, being suspended upside-down offers amazing benefits to the body.

1. Strength a. The true core muscles get a great workout. Not just the surface muscles that we all can identify, but the deep, intrinsic muscles which hold our skeleton together are called on throughout the class. b. Grip strength improves each time the hands hold the fabric and support the body.

2. Flexibility is increased as the body is better able to use its own weight to deepen and enhance the stretching exercises.

3. Balance is improved as the body works to hold the hammock still in standing or plank exercises.

4. Releases tightness or rigidity in deep tissue areas, since the silk fabric acts as a massage tool during various hanging exercises.

Come play on the hammocks with us at Mindful Movement Studio.

Call Mindful Movement Studio to reserve your spot in an “Off the Ground!”

Aerial Yoga class, (317) 257.6463, or sign up online via our Web site: www. mindfulmovementstudio.com.

Please Note:

Unfortunately, people with untreated high blood pressure, glaucoma, or recent eye surgery, and women who are pregnant must be excluded from classes due to health risks. If you are unsure if you have a contraindicated medical condition, ask the studio or instructor for a private assessment before attending a class. alG

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activelife

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

New Year’s

Guide

Your guide to a healthy lifestyle

EDITOR - IN - CHIEF EDUARDO PEÑA

Resolutions?

ASSISTANT EDITOR FELIPE SARMIENTO

SENIOR WRITER MATTHEW HUME

Ready... Set...Go!

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CONTRIBUTORS

LAURA MARENCO ROGER SPAHR ROBERT PRATHER SAMUEL BACON CORY BLACK CHUCK LEHMAN PAULA LORD

MICHAEL ABBOTTS

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PHOTOGRAPHER

appy New Year, everyone!

As the new year begins, it’s easy to start off with a positive attitude and full of good intentions.

Remember how excited you were last year about your 2010 resolutions? Some of us managed to stick to our goals; some of us didn’t. Well, if your New Year’s resolution is the same this year as it has been year after year—to become fit or healthy—we are determined to help you not fall off the wagon this time!

The staff of activelife Guide has built this issue around helping you start the year off right. This month, our contributors are sharing advice and helpful tips on how to achieve your health and fitness goals this year—and not to pick up those bad habits again after a few months, weeks, or even just a few days.

RAMÓN GARCIA

Last, but not least, we feature fitness model Kim Brenton, who demonstrates two easyto-do exercises that you can do at home.

Getting started on your New Year’s fitness resolutions can’t get any easier! (Special thanks to our friends from Anytime Fitness, 146th Street and Hazel Dell Road, for letting us use their facilities for this photo shoot.)

MARKETING COORDINATOR JUSTYNA DORUCH

GRAPHIC DESIGNER ROGER PALAO

CIRCULATION ACTIVE LIFE GUIDE CORP.

CONTACT INFORMATION http://www.activelifeguide.com Info@activelifeguide.com

Remember—be active, live well!

ADVERTISING

advertising@activelifeguide.com Phone: 317.776.1689

Eduardo

Our cover story features Miriam Resnick, owner of Mindful Movement Studio. Miriam gives us a glimpse into her studio’s facilities, and she shares with us the story of how she developed a passion for mind-body exercises like yoga and Pilates. But you don’t have to have Miriam’s passion to benefit from the better posture, better breathing, and overall improved health that come from these physical—and mental—routines.

EDUARDO PEÑA

EDITOR - IN - CHIEF

January 2011

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www.activelifeguide.com

editorial@activelifeguide.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS admin@activelifeguide.com

_________________________ BE ACTIVE, LIVE WELL _________________________ activelife Guide Corp.© 6037 Saw Mill Dr Noblesville, IN 46062 (317) 776 - 1689 activelifeguide.com activelife Guide is published monthly by activelife Guide Corp.

6037 Saw Mill Dr., Noblesville, IN 46062; Copyright by activelife Guide Corp. activelife Guide is a registered trademark of activelife Guide Corp.

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COMMENTS & FEEDBACK

activelife Guide strongly recommends that you consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program.

If you follow these fitness tips, you agree to do so at your own risk and assume all risk of injury to yourself, and agree to release and discharge activelife Guide from any claims.

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By Cory Black

Nutrition

Meet Your Weight Loss Goal in the New Year

Many of us will wake up New Year’s Day, possibly like previous years, grab some belly flab, and make a resolution to do something. We might get back in the gym or start the latest fad diet, but often many of us will give up or fall back into old routines and gain the weight back.

Undeniably, there are great reasons to make a change—from feeling better about ourselves, to higher energy levels and better overall health. But we tend to go to extremes, starting an exercise regimen we can’t keep up, or starving ourselves, shutting down our metabolism. What is important is that we apply a smart strategy to making changes in both our diet and nutrition that is more in tune with the way our body works.

A Smarter Diet Strategy While it makes sense to reduce calories to lose weight, a very low-calorie diet is a poor strategy. It only forces your body into survival mode, reducing metabolism to preserve the very fat stores you want to burn. Intake of protein will also be low, which means your body will start to feed off muscle to function. The result is less muscle burning up calories.

A better strategy is to eat smaller portions more regularly. When you skip breakfast, for instance, you miss an opportunity to get your metabolism going early. In the morning, your blood sugar level is low and your body is not yet giving signals to ramp up burning of energy stores. You can quickly change that by ingesting complex carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, along with a healthy protein—like an egg-white omelette—in the morning.

Eating four to six smaller meals throughout the day helps maintain metabolism. An example day might incorporate oatmeal and a protein source for breakfast; a mid-morning snack of celery with peanut butter, followed by a chicken salad for lunch; midafternoon snack of a protein shake; and an evening meal of chicken breast with vegetables.

A key to successful weight loss is your protein intake. Protein boosts metabolism, makes you feel full, and maintains your lean muscle for a more lean and toned look. And eliminate refined carbohydrates—the kind that are most prevalent in our diet— including cereals, pasta, bread, potatoes, and rice. Get your carbs from natural sources, such as whole grains, and reduce carb intake towards evening.

It may just be good for the psyche, but give yourself one day a week to give in to the guilty pleasure foods that you want. Think

of it as a reward for being good, and one day a week will not wreck your progress.

It will also get you out of the cycle of beating yourself up when you slip up with your diet, which will happen from time to time.

Smart Supplementation for Weight Loss Think of supplements as tools to help reach your goals, not as a fix for an unhealthy diet or lack of exercise. In particular, an herbal cleanse, essential fatty acids, and thermogenics can be helpful.

An herbal cleanse assists the body’s natural cleansing process by providing fiber and herbal supplements to trap and move toxins through the digestive tract. It can be a great way to jump start weight loss and help boost metabolism, as it can get your digestive organs functioning at peak performance again.

It may seem paradoxical, but ensuring you have adequate essential fatty acids in your diet is important to metabolism and burning fat stores. EPA and DHA are two fatty acids from fish oil that have benefits ranging from heart health to healthier skin, but also help with the body’s ability to burn fat. And CLA, in particular, reduces the conversion of glucose to fat and promotes fat conversion to energy, helping tap into fat around the abdomen and thighs.

Thermogenics give a boost to metabolism and work by raising the body’s basal metabolic rate so it burns more calories. They contain ingredients such as caffeine, in addition to herbal or mineral blends that are typically related to natural spices that have thermogenic effects in the body. Remember though, these are not at all a magic weight loss supplement.

If weight loss is one of your goals in the New Year, don’t forget about incorporating the right diet and nutrition strategy. Sooner than not, you’ll see the results you desire and be on the path to making lasting change. alG

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By Roger Spahr, MD

Nutrition

ABUSE in

America, Part III

So What Do We Do?

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n the first two installments, we discussed how our food supply has grown tremendously in terms of carbohydrate content. Most alarmingly, the use of simple sugars—in the form of glucose, sucrose (table sugar), and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—has risen to the point that they make up 40% or more of the carbohydrates consumed on a daily basis in the United States. Also, consumption by volume had risen from five pounds of sugar per year at the turn of the last century to between three and five pounds of sugar per week by 2005.

There are those that point to the introduction of HFCS as the primary source of obesity, lipid disorders, and diabetes in today’s world. Manufacturers claim, and rightly so, that there are other contributing factors and not just to blame this one food additive. Physical activity is down in adults and children.

Children don’t “go out to play” any longer. Overall, we are now consuming 40% more grains than we did in the 1970s. This, of course, fosters an increased high glycemic load. Moreover, its another way in which HFCS works its way into our diets—not only in kid cereal, but also in adult healthy-grain cereal.

The first thing to do is common sense. Will Rogers once said, “The reason there is so much common sense in the world is that no one ever uses it.” Look at your diet and that of your loved ones. If you end up slapping your forehead in realization that what you are eating is at the top of the carbohydrate food chain, it’s time to change your eating habits.

This is still a supply-and-demand world. If, over the next year, the sales of simple carbohydrate foods went down and the demand for other foods went up, the market would change.

But in watching the health reporting in the media and the so-called “healthy” pie and cake recipes for the holidays on television talk shows, don’t hold your breath.

You can, however, take control of what you and your family do.

With each pebble dropped into a pool, ripples will be created.

At our offices at Ailanto, we not only work with persons on diet and hormone interactions, we work with families and individuals to create healthier habits and renew enjoyable lifestyles that work for people now and in the future. When is the best time to start being healthy? How about now! alG

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activelife Guide

is looking for Fitness Models!

Send us a brief e-mail, including pictures, and tell us why we should consider you for our magazine.

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By Michael Abbott

Nutrition

Healthy Eating

Tips for 2011

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ith the New Year’s arrival, many of you probably have a bright, shiny list of New Year’s resolutions. So many people vow to “eat healthier” each year, but what exactly does that mean?

Eating healthy can be defined as providing the body with everything it needs to repair itself; that is, everything it needs to survive and thrive without adding in unnecessary chemicals, pesticides, preservatives, or additives. To take it a step further, think about changing the time and frequency of meals to help stimulate your metabolism and put less stress on your digestive system. Sounds easy right? Ha!

One key fact to keep in mind is that eating healthy is not a pass or fail activity. We live in a world of gray areas and sliding scales. No one has the perfect solution or an absolute answer for any facet of diet and nutrition, so don’t search for one! The word “substitution” plays a major role in the meal-to-meal battle that is a health-conscious person’s nutritional minefield. Another key phrase to think of is: “What could be slightly better?” alG

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The hardest part of this journey is the beginning. There are so many recommendations out there, and it’s easy to get lost before you begin. First, determine a strong reason why you want to improve your diet. That way, when you feel tempted to eat something you know doesn’t meet the definition of healthy eating, you can refer back to your strong “why” argument. Second, you need to make a change in the right direction that you can build on. Emptying your entire house of all edible foods and replacing it with $400 of vegetables is not going to be effective! There are hundreds of small changes you can make today that will get you on the track to permanent, lifelong improvements for your health.

Here are three good ones.

Breakfast Skipping breakfast is a fast track to failure. Sumo wrestlers have been known to forgo food before lunch time as a method to gain extra weight for competition!

Skipping meals drastically slows your metabolism, which affects the number of calories your body naturally burns throughout the day. If you currently eat nothing,

New Year’s Resolutions

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two pieces of toast would be better. If you eat Lucky Charms, substituting oatmeal with added protein would be better. If you can make breakfast one of your biggest meals of the day, then you’re doing well.

Caffeine and Water Perhaps one of the only things dieticians and nutritionists have agreed on over time is that our bodies need water daily to effectively function and survive.

You’ll find varying answers on how much to drink because weight, exercise level and environment are different for everyone. Half a gallon, or eight eight-ounce glasses, daily is a good starting point. Caffeine is a diuretic for heavy drinkers. If this applies to you, another step in the right direction is to cut down on your daily consumption especially if you find it the only way to improve your low energy levels!

Getting Two Meals Right I often tell clients who struggle to get their entire diet in order to focus on getting two good options in their diet daily. Adding in a large, green, leafy salad and a healthy fruit smoothie everyday will create a whole host

of positive changes. First, if you are a “snacker,” you are less likely to feel hungry throughout the day with these two nutrientdense meals and will be able to cut out less-than-ideal foods without much effort. Second, these types of meals will help you move away from three, or even only two, meals a day and move you towards four or five smaller meals. Smaller meals are far superior for raising your energy levels and boosting your metabolism. These meals also require very little skill or preparation time to pre-plan them, they travel easily, and they require no heating or cooking.

Eating healthy is a lifelong effort and an ever-changing balancing act. Starting is the hardest part.

You haven’t yet experienced or felt the positive changes healthy eating has on your body and life, which helps motivate you to make the right decisions on food.

Have an honest conversation with yourself about why you want to improve your diet. Commit to treating your body better for six months, and you’ll see and feel all the motivation you’ll need to continue down the path of healthy eating and living for good!

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Cover Story

Miriam Resnick 16  activelife Guide |

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Mindful Movement Studio: “My advice to young athletes is to exercise moderation in your routines.

A rest day can

A Mind-Body Philosophy

BY Matthew Hume | PHOTOGRAPHS BY Ramón García

actually

TURN THE PAGE FOR MORE.

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Cover Story

Ballet—the essence of

strong, graceful movement. Yoga—a practice where body and mind work together to create a healthy whole.

Pilates—a means of lengthening and strengthening the body. Aerial yoga—a combination of all three disciplines. Enter Mindful Movement Studio’s yoga room, and you will see seven emerald hammocks, suspended inches from the ceiling. “We’re in our second month of aerial yoga classes,” explains Miriam Resnick, owner of Mindful Movement Studio, and this month’s activelife in the spotlight. “Our ‘Off the Ground!’ aerial yoga fuses elements of yoga, Pilates, gymnastics, and dance, and uses gravity to realign and decompress the body.”

Suspended by hammocks in mid-air, participants in aerial yoga get a terrific workout that makes them feel like a kid again.

M I N D F U L

If Miriam’s mother had had her way, Miriam would have been an Olympic swimmer. “I was 3rd in the state of Florida at the backstroke—when I was 11,” she says, chuckling. She chuckles because that’s about as far as her mother’s Olympic dreams went. In her younger days, Miriam enjoyed the physical challenge of athletic sports—swimming, running, and triathlons. She has competed in sprint and half-Ironman triathlons in Indianapolis, Ohio, and Chicago.

With her husband David, she has also competed in team triathlons; he was the runner, and she swam and biked.

Miriam has one marathon under her belt, as well. “That was enough,” she says.

Why such a strong negative reaction about marathons from a triathlete? “A triathlon is cross-training,” Miriam says. “By spending time in three different disciplines, a triathlete is less likely to get hurt.” As the years went by, Miriam became much more interested in the mind-body disciplines— yoga, Pilates, and Gyrotonic® exercises, for instance—where the focus is as much on mental conditioning as it is on physical well-being. It is the mind-body disciplines that have made Miriam the strong, lean

M O V E M E N T S T U D I O

An activelife in the

Spotlight

52-year-old woman she is. That said, she is paying for some of the strain she put on her body when she was younger. “In my twenties, I hardly ever took a rest day.”

Miriam’s current knee problems remind her of that. “My advice to young athletes is to exercise moderation in your routines. A rest day can actually make you stronger.”

As we leave the group Pilates studio, Miriam points out an old photograph of Joseph Pilates. “How old do you think he is in this photo?” she asks me. He looks to be in his mid- to late forties, I

think to myself. “He’s in his sixties,” she says. Standing in his workout clothes, he has the physique of a man twenty years younger.

In the early 1990s, while working in sales for IBM, Miriam did a lot of travelling.

“Everywhere I went, I saw gyms offering Pilates classes,” she says. Being the active, healthy, lifelong learner she is, Miriam became curious and started taking classes in her travels. “I was immediately addicted to how strong and how long alG

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Mindful Movement Studio Pilates made me feel, and how hard it was—I loved the mental challenge.”

So in 1995, when Pilates came to an Indianapolis studio, Miriam was quick to sign up—and was the only non-dancer in her class. In 1999, Miriam received her first Pilates certification and opened a studio in the basement of her home.

“I had one reformer, one tower, and one chair,” she recalls. From 1999 to 2005, that humble studio was Miriam’s teaching space; but her dreams were bigger than her basement. Wanting to collaborate with other teachers, she opened Mindful Movement Studio in May 2005. At that time, the studio offered Pilates, yoga, and Gyrotonic® exercises. In January 2008, after an impressive renovation, the studio had its grand opening, presenting 6000 square feet of Pilates, yoga, Gyrotonic®, Redcord®, and cycling facilities. “We’re still the only studio in Indiana to offer Redcord®,” Miriam boasts. “Men love Redcord® because it’s a great strengthening exercise,” she says. In addition, Miriam recently added a clothing boutique, offering such lines as lululemon athletica and Zobha. She’s come a long way since her days in the basement!

Mindful Movement Studio. The name says it all. “Studies have shown that all your thoughts have a physical reaction,” says Miriam, “and only we are in control of our thoughts. If we have the power to control our thoughts, and thoughts affect our physicality, just imagine what we can achieve.” It is this philosophy that guides every class at Miriam’s studio. “We want everyone who walks through our doors to feel welcomed as part of our family,” she says. Miriam and all her instructors create a supportive, non-judgmental atmosphere, where the emphasis is on having fun while improving your health. “Classes foster a sense of community, and participants are constantly feeding off of each other’s energy.”

Miriam’s overarching goal for her clients is to help them achieve comfort in their bodies and to ease any chronic pain they may have. “Ultimately, my job is to make

my clients feel better walking from point A to point B,” she says. “By teaching better breathing, better posture, strengthening core muscles, and lengthening the body, I’m not just making my clients feel good for that hour,” says Miriam. “My clients learn to self-police their daily activities. If what I’m doing here can help a woman with arthritis in the knees attend a baseball game with her grandson, I have done my job. This makes me love my work even more—the fact that our studio helps clients improve all aspects of their lives.”

In order for her mind-body to function at its peak, Miriam pays close attention to what she eats. “I have to have protein and fiber at every meal. I need to energize myself for up to five hours between meals.” She’s the first to admit that if she doesn’t nourish herself properly, she can get cranky and unpleasant to be around. “I want my fifth client to feel like my first,” she says, and it’s this desire that motivates her to eat right. As for what she eats, Miriam sticks to organic food when at all possible: grass-fed filet mignon, chicken, and fish.

“One of my favorite hiking vacations was a trip to Vermont,” she recalls. “Every restaurant we went to had organic beef from five miles down the road and greens from their backyard garden.” A borderline diabetic, with one sister on insulin, Miriam has to watch her carb intake. Nonetheless, she has a few guilty pleasures. “Dark

chocolate is amazing, and I love my Mom’s mac and cheese,” she tells me.

“Oh, and matzo ball soup,” she adds.

Miriam stays physically active herself by teaching a cycle class three times a week; on the other days she walks.

She also takes advantage of her studio equipment, regularly practicing Pilates, yoga, and Gyrotonic® exercises. “I definitely recommend scheduling your workouts,” she offers as advice to readers.

“Having an exercise buddy helps, and so does joining a boutique studio where you count and are part of the family. You’ll feel the difference that comes from being in a nurturing, caring environment.” If circumstances prevent you from joining a gym or a studio, Miriam suggests the

following: walk 10,000 steps a day, and don’t let anything get in your way.

Believing strongly that mind affects body, the older Miriam gets, the more spiritual she becomes. “I truly believe that spirit resides in your own heart, and that all of us have the same energy make-up. None of us are lacking; all of us are whole.” It is this belief that radiates through Mindful Movement Studio, and visitors are bound to feel a welcoming energy. Miriam puts it succinctly, in the words of one of her former yoga teachers: “You should be able to look at everyone and see God.”

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By Chuck Lehman

Health

VAP Test

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ith the holidays, visions of sugarplums dance in our heads (and on our taste buds, and on our waists).

With the New Year comes new commitment to our health and diet, so now’s a good time to think about cholesterol.

You know—that thing we’re all supposed to watch but don’t know much about other than it’s “bad.” High cholesterol is the major risk factor for heart disease, which is the number-one leading cause of death in both men and women as of 2009. More than one in three female adults has a form of cardiovascular disease, and the rate is even higher for men.

lipoprotein (or HDL) cholesterol is a good type of cholesterol.

HDL helps clear the LDL cholesterol out of the blood.

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that is made in the body by the liver. Not all cholesterol is harmful; our bodies need cholesterol to function properly. It forms part of every cell in the body and serves many vital functions, such as maintaining healthy cell walls, making hormones, and making the acids which aid in digestion. But sometimes our bodies make more cholesterol than we really need, and this excess cholesterol circulates in the bloodstream. It is high levels of cholesterol in the blood that clog blood vessels and increase the risk for heart disease and stroke.

A variety of blood tests are available to check cholesterol levels and help you keep your numbers in line. Total cholesterol provides a general indicator, and a good number is normally 200 or less. Another test is a lipid panel that measures four components. In addition to giving the total, it also isolates the HDL, the LDL, and the triglycerides. With this test, more is learned about both the good and bad components. The more information, the better it can help in monitoring and treatment.

Our bodies make too much cholesterol when we eat too much saturated fat (the kind of fat found in animal-based foods such as meat and dairy products) and when we eat foods high in sugar (like sugarplums). Plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, and grains do not contain cholesterol, which is why they make up a large part of a healthy diet plan.

So what’s good, and what’s bad? Low-density lipoprotein (or LDL) cholesterol is the type that is most likely to clog the blood vessels, increasing the risk for heart disease. High-density

Everyone’s risk factors increase with age. Increased physical activity helps lower LDL and raise HDL for everyone. Women respond better to healthy lifestyle changes than men, but after menopause, a woman’s LDL (bad cholesterol) goes up. Being overweight makes LDL go up and HDL go down in both men and women. The risk factor is greater if a person has a parent or sibling with high cholesterol before the age of 65.

A more comprehensive test is called the vertical auto panel, or VAP. The VAP breaks out a total of fifteen components to reveal the atherogenic particles that are actually present. When this test is given to the same person who is given a lipid panel test, it can reveal areas of concern not found with the basic tests, and it also more accurately pinpoints causes of why the general numbers may be out of line.

With the VAP test, the broken-out numbers identify significant risks that are unidentified with common cholesterol tests. By looking deeper at fifteen components, you find the area or areas that you need to focus on to keep you happy and healthy in the New Year. alG

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BREAST AUGMENTATION * special * January through March, 2011

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By Samuel J. Bacon, DDS

Health

Sports Drinks

good for your teeth?

T

he holiday season is over, and this probably means starting your New Year with a renewed dedication to working out and a healthy diet. We all know the annual resolution many of us make to lose the extra pounds we put on during the holiday season.

One area often overlooked in your exercise and diet plan is sports drinks. Sports drinks are excellent sources of additional energy or replenishments for your system after intense workouts; however, one often-overlooked drawback to sports drinks is the high amount of sugar they contain.

Almost all energy drinks, except those marked “sugar free” and usually those labeled as “light,” are high in sugar. The sugar in an eight-ounce serving can vary from five to eight teaspoons.

This not only creates difficulties for a healthy diet; it may also cause damage to your oral health.

on your teeth, and as the enamel wears thin, your teeth are more prone to forming cavities. Once a cavity appears, there is usually no alternative but to have a dentist treat the area of decay; if left untreated, the decay will continue to erode the tooth. If the infection becomes severe enough, a crown may be necessary. The infection could eventually reach the nerve, requiring a root canal.

Here are a few helpful tips to reduce the risk of tooth decay and still enjoy the benefits of those sports drinks: • Drink sports drinks with meals. Saliva production increases during meals and helps neutralize the acid, while rinsing food particles from the mouth.

• Drink more water. Drinking water after a sports drinks helps to wash away some of the sugars from your teeth.

• Brush your teeth and floss twice daily.

The sugar in sports drinks can cause tooth decay, gingivitis, and bad breath if left on the teeth, tongue, or gum area.

Bacteria, better known as plaque (the sticky film buildup on your teeth), naturally live in your mouth, but when you have too many sports drinks these bacteria convert sugar into acid. Acid can cause tooth enamel to breakdown and erode the enamel

As with most things in life, sports drinks are fine in moderation.

So go ahead and enjoy your renewed commitment to fitness, and replenish with a sports drink. Just remember to be aware of all the hidden sugar, and appropriately care for your teeth.

See you at the gym! alG

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by Robert Prather, DC, DABCI, BCAO, LAc

Health

8

PILLARS OF PERFECT HEALTH Part I

What is perfect health?

My patients ask me, “Doctor, when will I be healthy?” Most people are thinking of symptomatic relief (pain relief) instead of true health. Scientifically, all creatures— from the mayfly to cats and dogs—have a maximum life expectancy of ten times the age of sexual maturity. So, if we reach puberty at 14, we should live to the age of 140; but we don’t. In fact, humans generally live 50% of our maximum life expectancy. We have our chronological age (which is how many years we have been alive) and our biological age (which is age determined by physiology rather than chronology). Factors of biological aging include changes in the physical structure of the body, as well as changes in the performance of motor skills and sensory awareness. We can reverse our biological age: if our chronological age is 70, we could have a biological age of 49.

I developed these eight pillars of health and implement them in my office as I address a person’s health and their plan of care. I have placed these eight pillars of health in order of how fast they could kill you.

Pillar I – Energy Flow

Energy flow is the most important aspect of health and the first thing we evaluate with our patients. We, as humans, are electrical creatures. Good health, both mental and physical, is due primarily to whether or not this energy is able to flow through the body in a natural, unimpeded way. There are many reasons why energy blockages exist in the body, such as poor diet, acidic body pH, stress, and how the individual perceives and reacts emotionally to life

stressors. If we have blocked energy flow along any of the energy pathways in our body, we will experience pain.

There are five energy pathways within our bodies: nervous system, circulatory system, cerebral spinal fluid, lymphatic system, and electromagnetic meridians.

On examination, I evaluate each energy pathway and treat accordingly. We get the quickest results when we address energy flow. At the Prather Wellness Center, we find the following treatments most effective in improving energy flow: acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, auricular therapy, massage, and lymphatic drainage.

Pillar II – Oxygenation

Science shows that increasing the oxygenation level in your body has a lot of benefits. It’s the secret to a young, fresh appearance, healthy cell composition, mental alertness, increased physical stamina, and a strong immune system. Athletes and celebrities have been enjoying oxygen’s benefits for years. Seventy-five trillion cells provide the body with the energy needed to carry out every brain function, body movement, and needs of all the body systems and organ functions. Each cell has only two needs to produce this energy: nutriment from food intake and oxygen. Oxygen starvation of cells in the body can result in immune deficiency, cardiac symptoms, sleep and respiratory disorders, blood chemistry disturbance, intestinal problems, anxiety, depression, headaches, fatigue, stiff neck, shortness of breath, and dizziness—to name but a few health problems. Aerobic exercise is the most important treatment for oxygenation. At

the Prather Wellness Center, we find that nutritional supplements and external counter pulsation (or ECP) therapy to be the most effective treatments in improving oxygenation to the heart and the rest of the body.

Pillar III – Xenobiotics

Xenobiotics are “strangers” to the body, such as toxins, poisons, bacteria, parasites, fungal infections, and heavy metal toxicity. In today’s society, we are taking in forty times the amount of toxins that our grandparents experienced, and we are being bombarded by these toxins on a daily basis. Autoimmune diseases are on the rise from xenobiotics overwhelming the immune system. Any type of prescription medicine is a poison to the body. At the Prather Wellness Center, we find out what xenobiotics are causing havoc in the person’s physiology through lab tests like blood work, hair analysis, and possibly a stool sample.

We then want to detoxify the body of these “strangers” through nutritional supplementation.

You can learn more about the remaining Pillars of Perfect Health in next month’s issue, or by joining us at the Prather Wellness Center’s “Live Life Without Limits” free, four-week seminar series beginning Tuesday, January 11, at 7PM. Go to www.TheVoiceOfHealthRadio.com for more details.

Dr. Robert Prather of the Prather Wellness Center is the host of the Voice of Health radio show, which airs every Saturday at 9AM on Freedom 95.9 FM WFDM and NewsTalk 1430 AM WXNT.

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Two Key Exercises For Your New Year’s Fitness Resolutions

PHOTOGRAPHS BY Ramón García

Fitness Model KIM BRENTON www.activelifeguide.com |

January 2011 |

activelife Guide 25

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Workout Exercise

THE HUNDRED

BENEFITS: EXERCISE THE HEART, LUNGS, AND POWERHOUSE SET UP: Lean on the floor with your legs in a

1

Tabletop position and your arms alongside your body.

Lift your hands as shown, and bring your head off the mat with your eyes focused on your toes.

1. First Position Begin pumping the arms up and down within a 4 to 8-inch range of motion. As you pump, inhale for 5 counts and exhale for 5 counts. This is 1 set. (1 set of 5 pumps inhaling and 5 pumps exhaling should take about 4 to 5 seconds.)

2. Second Position 2

Draw your powerhouse in. In one motion, extend your legs out to a 45-degree angle, then inhale 5 times and exhale 5 times.

3. Third Position Separate your legs into a narrow second position, heels apart. Inhale for 5, and then exhale for 5.

4. Fourth Position

3

Extend your legs to a 90-degree angle and glue them together.

Inhale for 5, and then exhale for 5.

Repeat steps 1-4 to complete the

4

exercise Pilates Hundred.

BODY POSITION When you first begin, lift your head and upper back so that just the tips of your shoulder blades are still touching the floor. Keep your tailbone flat on the floor. Also keep your spine straight and flat, but do not press it down so hard that your back hurts. Keep it down with your powerhouse. alG

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THE SINGLE LEG STRETCH BENEFITS: STRENGTHENS THE POWERHOUSE; STRETCHES THE LEGS, HIPS, AND LOWER BACK 1

1. First Position SET UP: Lean on the floor with your legs in Tabletop. Lift your chest toward your knees so that shoulder blades are completely off the floor and place your left hand on your right knee.

Pull your powerhouse in. Bend your right leg into your chest, pulling your right knee (with both hands on your shin) toward your ear as you inhale. Keep your left extended with your toes pointed forward and down.

2. Second Position Switch legs as you exhale.

2

Perform up to 10 times with each leg.

activelife Guide strongly recommends that you consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program. If you follow these fitness tips, you agree to do so at your own risk and assume all risk of injury to yourself, and agree to release and discharge activelife Guide from any claims.

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By Laura Marenco, PT

Fitness

Stick to Your New Year’s

Resolutions

! r a e Y s i Th

A

nother year begins, and we are full of good intentions. This happens almost every year for most of us. Some of us stick to our goals, but some simply don’t. The vast majority tend to fall off the wagon sooner rather than later, and as the year progresses, our bad habits are waiting for us to pick them right back up.

short-term goals that will not leave you wandering aimlessly or shooting around in the dark.

Start with small steps.

If you want to get into shape and lose those unwanted pounds, take smaller steps rather than long strides! This will make it a lot easier to stick to the plan.

Instead of crash dieting, make small changes, such as cleaning out sodas, sugary foods, and junk from your fridge.

Eat more fruits and vegetables rather than doing an extreme “overnight” cleanse, and start carrying a jug of water with you so

Let’s do things differently this year. First, think about the reasons why last year’s New Year’s resolutions became part of the past by mid-spring, and learn from those mistakes. Did you set your goals too high?

Did you not see results soon enough?

Coming up with an accomplishable plan is no easy task, especially when it comes to fitness and weight loss. If, in the past, you have felt as if you simply didn’t have the willpower to stick to your word, here are some tips that might make your life a bit easier.

Remember—Rome wasn’t built in one day! Anything worthwhile takes time and hard work. You will not be fitting into those jeans in a week or two; it might take several weeks before you start seeing results. The longer you try, the closer you will get to your goal.

Choose a specific goal.

Search for help.

Instead of telling yourself, “I am going to lose weight this year,” set a more concrete goal, such as fitting into those jeans you haven’t worn in two years, running a mini-marathon, or losing 20 pounds in the next three months. All of these are doable,

help you see results faster and help guide you through the process. You will have someone to hold you accountable—and someone to turn to in case your fitness journey gets derailed.

So let this be the year that our excuses come to an end, and let’s start being proactive about our New Year’s resolutions! Begin taking steps in the right direction now.

that you take sips throughout the day.

Be patient.

If you are not very savvy about fitness and nutrition, and you feel intimidated by large fitness clubs, look for a professional who will help you answer your questions and help you put the puzzle together. Search for an experienced personal trainer to

Laura Marenco is a fitness professional with over 10 years of experience. Visit www.lauramarencofitness.com or call 317.345.3892 for a consultation and rates.

To submit your question, please go to www.activelifeguide.com/contact us alG

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recipe

Tom Yum Soup with Pineapple

TIPS & NOTES

Tip: Lemongrass, galangal, Thai lime leaves (sometimes called Kaffir or makrut lime leaves) and fish sauce lend the signature Thai flavors to this soup. If unavailable at your supermarket, find these ingredients at Asian markets.

Preparation

Ingredients

1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 1/4-inch-thick slices galangal, or ginger 6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth 2 jalapeños, sliced 4 Thai lime leaves, or 3 2-inch strips lime zest 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh pineapple 1 cup sliced shiitake mushroom caps 1 medium tomato, chopped 1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 8 ounces peeled and deveined raw shrimp, (26-30 per pound) 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 2 scallions, sliced 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Gently smash lemongrass and galangal (or ginger) on a cutting board with the side of a knife. Place in a large saucepan with broth, jalapeños and lime leaves (or zest). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer; cover and cook for 15 minutes. Strain into a bowl.

Discard solids.

Return the broth to the pan. Add pineapple, mushrooms, tomato, bell pepper, fish sauce and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until they are pink and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in lime juice, scallions and cilantro.

Nutrition

Per serving: 105 calories; 1 g fat (1 g sat, 0 g mono); 62 mg cholesterol; 11 g carbohydrates; 1 g added sugars; 13 g protein; 1 g fiber; 596 mg sodium; 252 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (58% daily value), Vitamin A (19% dv) 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving Exchanges: 1/2 fruit, 2 lean meat

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