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july Energy 28 8 VOL. XIII № 7
EDITOR'S NOTE
BRUSHED BY FATE
How much do we really know about the energy it takes to get us from day-to-day? More than we realize.
How hair color may forecast the future.
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WEARY WARY Diseases that make you tired
UP & AT 'EM A Morning Routine for Energy, Wellness, and Productivity
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HYPER HELPER A Guide to the ADHD Hullabaloo.
STRETCHING THE EVIDENCE How stretching doesn’t actually do what you think it does.
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WORKOUT SHORTCUTS? Frantic workouts are not the best way to lose weight, but don’t think your only road to fitness is marathon running.
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Healthy
EDITOR'S NOTE
Energy Energy is such an interesting concept. You have it; you don’t. You need it, you pay for it, you use it, you waste it, you save it. Even the comparison of energy utilization vs. energy conservation can induce emotions ranging from an electrically-charged topic over lunch to an all-out-war over sandy deserts. I’m still trying to figure out the mystery of the light-switch. All I really understand about electricity is that I flip the switch and, viola, light magically appears. Unless, of course, the bulb has ‘burned out,’ depleting it’s energy usefulness, requiring a replacement, and the energy to get a ladder, find the new bulb, replace the spent bulb, and then put the ladder away. While I seriously digress, the point is, most of us take for granted the energy required to maintain our day-to-day activity. From lightswitches to remote controls, car ignitions to cell phones, and hard-drives to iClouds, our entire existence orbits a mysterious universe of energy, about which most of us haven’t a clue. (Ben Franklin, may he rest in peace.) When it comes to energizing our bodies, it’s a whole other world of information about keeping us active, moving, maintaining, and metabolizing. The science of human energy is
DA D & M E @ G R E E N R I V E R L A K E S , W Y. G O O G L E I T. I T ' S AMAZING.
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IDAHO
WITH WRITTEN BY JOHN A. ANDERSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF
HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
JULY 2013 VOLUME V, № 7
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF John A. Anderson | john@healthy-idaho.com
fascinating, and constantly updating. That’s why we are focusing our issue this month on the theme—ENERGY. The article ‘Up & At ‘Em’ explores the power of a morning fitness routine and how it affects the rest of your day. ‘Workout Music’ looks at the science of sweating with tunes. We also look at ADHD in our ‘Hyper Helper’ piece. And then we present ‘Weary Wary—Diseases that make you tired.’
PUBLISHER Kenneth J. Shepherd | ken@healthy-idaho.com
Lack of energy—or fatigue—is the number one expressed symptom when visiting a doctor. And, to be sure, there are myriad medical reasons for this which do, in fact, require a physician consultation. Still, much of our energy depletion comes from our most basic daily choices, and some have very quick fixes. For example, many that complain of fatigue are, in fact, simply dehydrated. Also, others with fatigue admit that they are skipping meals or not eating regularly, causing blood sugar spikes and dips. Similarly, much of fatigue is the body telling us it’s not getting enough nutrients.
MANAGING EDITORS Michael Richardson | Emma Penrod editor@healthy-idaho.com
There are other quick-fix energy zappers, too. Like, lack of sunshine. Our body craves sunlight to release seratonin, vital to boosting mood and energy. Or, the amount of time we spend vegging TV-side. It’s estimated that every hour spent on TV is about 144 fewer steps we don’t take. That applies to cell phones and computers, so frequently get up and walk at work if you find yourself glued to the keyboard. And, speaking of work, research suggests that the more our to-do list grows, and the more we obsess and stress over that never ending todo list, the more we lag and drag. Worry is a definite brain-drain. Some quick solutions include stealing a power-nap, or doing a mini-meditation. (No time for either? Try chilling at work by joining Pandora.com and listening to the George Winston playlist). You could eat a banana or sip some green tea. Bring a back of nuts and avoid sweets. You can stretch, do pushups, or take a quick walk. The bottom line here is to keep it simple. While we may not understand all that happened when lightening struck Ben Franklin’s kite, we do understand when we have or don’t have energy. And, if we’re willing to exercise a little more control and get up and do what we know we should do, we will find that we control a lot more energy that we ever thought possible. The day is yours. Don’t ask how, just flip the switch and go.
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HEALTHY IDAHO MAGAZINE info@healthy-idaho.com 866.884.3258 PLEASE NOTE: The content in this publication is meant to increase reader awareness of developments in the health and medical field and should not be construed as medical advice or instruction on individual health matters, which should be obtained directly from a health professional. The opinions expressed by the authors and advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher. Call for reprint permission. All photography courtesy of Shutterstock.com unless otherwise noted.
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HEALTHSMART
YOGURT IN SCHOOLS
WRITTEN BY JAMIE GREY
TWINÂ FALLS - Chicken nuggets and Chobani yogurt; a common factor might soon put those two in the same category when it comes to school lunches. We're talking about protein and a goal by the Chobani Company, with a Twin Falls plant, to get their product into schools everywhere.
There will first be a pilot program for the USDA to see if it's cost effective to add Greek yogurt to the choices schools have for protein options.
Already the U.S. Department of Agriculture is entertaining the idea of getting Greek yogurt onto school lunch menus, and with the Twin Falls Chobani plant already making products geared at kids, they say Idaho's a great fit for a place to give it a try.
"Anything that we can do to increase the consumption of Greek yogurt would have a big impact on this plant," said McConeghy. "This plant is a significant portion of our production capability, and if we can expand the market, that will certainly benefit Twin Falls."
The Twin Falls Chobani plant is the largest yogurt factory in the world and Sen. Mike Crapo hopes yogurt from his state will soon be something kids grow up on by making it a school lunch option.
Expansion would also benefit Idaho dairy producers who supply products used to make the yogurt.
He's been pushing the idea with a senator from New York. "Some time ago, Sen. Schumer and I encouraged the USDA to look at creating a special category for Greek yogurt because they don't have a category for that right now," Crapo said.
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"Ultimately I think that can go nationwide as Greek yogurt becomes a staple part of the school nutrition program," Crapo said. Chobani CFO, Jim McConeghy, says the highprotein yogurt is better for kids and is cost competitive to other protein options. With the plan to expand its kid-friendly and targeted products to schools, Chobani hopes to possibly grow the Idaho factory and the economy.
The pilot program to get Greek yogurt into schools will be in four states. Crapo hopes Idaho and New York will be picked. He says a pilot program would likely start in the fall and last a year. If Greek yogurt is added to school lunch menu options, schools would still be deciding on a local level if they want to use it. It doesn't create any requirements to serve it.
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A Morning Routine for Energy, Wellness, and Productivity WRITTEN BY DALLIN LAW
Ever had one of those mornings where you get up feeling like you could conquer the world? You wake up feeling alert, happy and insanely ambitious. You jump out of bed feeling great and get more done in a few hours of morning fervor than you thought you’d get done all day? If you’re like me, you’d like to feel that way much more often. Usually mornings are hard, but they don’t have to be cruel exercises in self-discipline and responsibility. Here we outline key strategies for training your body to get restful sleep and wake up quickly, fueling your body and energizing your mornings.
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Healthy-Idaho.com
How Can I Wake Up With More Energy? Prepare the Night Before
Getting a start on an energized, productive morning begins the night before. Getting enough sleep, creating a restful sleep atmosphere in your room, and eliminating distractions help you recharge your tired batteries up to 100% every night. Create a sleep schedule and stick to it. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Your body has a biological clock and once it’s set, it’s difficult to reset without tiring consequences. To prep your biological clock, start winding down an hour or so before you go to sleep. Turn down the lights and start with your sleeptime ritual. Bright lights like computer screens can trick your body’s clock into thinking it’s still time to be up, so try unplugging sooner. Go to bed feeling not stuffed but also not starving. If you’re hungry, eat a small snack, but try to eat it at least an hour before you go to bed. However, avoid sugars and caffeine which can keep you up and skip heavy, fatty foods which can interrupt your sleep midway through the night as your body works hard digesting.
Sleep More Soundly
Often our bedrooms are simply poor environments for sleeping. Bringing work, school, and other responsibilities into the bedroom can prime the mind to associate your bedroom with stress and work. Some people find that insomnia haunts them as their mind keeps churning all the stressful thoughts of the day. To combat this, try to make your room a sleep sanctuary free from clutter and work-related materials. The ideal sleep sanctuary is a dark, cool, quiet room. Invest in some blackout curtains to keep out street lamps or headlights. Sometimes even the glow from your alarm clock is enough to disrupt your body’s sleep clock. Cover up distracting ambient noises with the sound of a fan or a white noise machine. City-dwellers dealing with traffic sounds or anyone with a partner who snores can briefly wake up dozens of times in the night from jarring sounds. Sleep studies have shown that it’s not the level of ambient noise that distracts us, it’s actually the unpredictability.
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White noise gives a constant, stable noise that will muffle the distractions. How often have your children or pets decided that sleeping in your bed is the most comfortable place? It’s difficult to tell them to go back their own beds, but you might need to. Sadly, pets and children often are very distracting and cause frequent sleep interruptions. Change your sheets frequently as dust, dead skin, hair, pet fur and a plethora of other nasties can wreck havoc on your allergies and interrupt your sleep.
Wake Up Faster
No matter how earnest our intentions to wake up on time are the evening before, often our willpower seems to dissolve in the morning and we hit snooze half a dozen times and slowly, groggily wake up. There are dozens of old wives’ tales for waking up, but the things that will really help you get up are based on science. Raising your body temperature, increasing heart rate, and starting your metabolism are what your body needs to start the day. Turn on as many lights as you can, especially if it’s still dark outside during winter months. Your body’s sleep clock is greatly determined by light, so making mornings bright help your body know it’s definitely morning. As difficult as it sometimes can be, exercise is one of the best ways to jolt you awake by increasing your body temperature and raising your heart rate. Even if you don’t normally exercise in the morning, get up and do as many pushups as you can to get heart pumping blood. For the same reason, starting a normal morning exercise regimen can pay off in giving you alertness and energy for the rest of the day.
Eat an Energizing Breakfast Many Americans skip breakfast because of a lack of appetite or time. However, studies suggest eating breakfast may have many health benefits, including weight management, increased likelihood of healthy eating choices through the day, and increased energy and alertness in the mornings. With breakfast, your goal is to eat food that will give you controlled energy to keep you energized, satisfied, and feeling full through the morning into lunch.
The key to a good breakfast is balancing high fiber, complex carbohydrates, protein and some good fats, all of which increase satiation and will make you less likely to be tempted by poor nutrition choices. Additionally, the combination of protein and complex carbs will help raise your blood sugar, giving you controlled energy, without creating a blood sugar spike that will lead to a crash in the early afternoon. An easy example of a good breakfast meal is an open-faced sandwich made with whole wheat toast (high fiber and complex carbs), eggs (protein), spinach (protein, fiber and vitamins) and ham (protein and fat). So what about caffeine? Is it helpful or harmful? Studies on caffeine’s positive and negative effects seem to be inconclusive, but it’s probably fair to say to use it sparingly and not as a way to wake up every morning. Save caffeine for the really rough mornings because drinking it every day can both make your body partially immune to its effects and also create an addiction.
Expect More from Your Mornings Finally, try to give yourself purpose in the morning. If all you expect to accomplish is waking up, eating a quick bowl of raisin bran and getting out the door no less than 5 minutes late, that’s probably all that will happen. For many people, mornings can be the most productive, most focused time of their day. Make goals to exercise more, read more, write more, or do whatever is meaningful to you. If you train yourself to reserve an hour of mind-engaging, productive time before you begin getting ready for the commute or check your email, who knows what you’ll accomplish. The alertness, energy, and purpose you gain from these suggestions can make your mornings less a meaningless, perfunctory preamble and more of an engaging first chapter of every day. We hope you learn to love your mornings and have more of those conquer-theworld feelings when starting the day.
SOURCES
www.bonappetit.com www.health.com www.prevention.com
HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
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FITNESS
STRETCHING the Evidence
How stretching doesn’t actually do what you think it does GYM TEACHERS, SOCCER COACHES AND PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES DRILLED IT INTO OUR HEADS: STRETCH BEFORE YOU EXERCISE, OR YOU COULD SUFFER INJURY. But modern research doesn’t actually agree on the subject; many exercise science professionals now say to limit stretching before workouts, because it may be counterproductive to our best athletic performance. First of all, stretching might make us weaker. Researchers from the University of Zagreb in Croatia compared groups of weight lifters who did static stretches before lifting with groups of lifters who didn’t stretch, and found that the stretchers were able to lift 5 to 8 percent less. So are we paying that price to prevent injury? Research investigating whether
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WRITTEN BY MICHAEL RICHARDSON
or not stretching really keeps us from injuring ourselves is far from conclusive. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention combined a number of studies on stretching, and their findings, published in the American College of Sports Medicine, showed that people who stretch are no more or less likely to suffer an injury like a pulled muscle.
“Stretching is good for day-to-day movement,” he says. “It improves quality of life.”
“There is limited if any data that show that flexibility prevents injury,” says Brigham Young University professor of exercise sciences Allen Parcell.
Stretching can help us, but it doesn’t form a complete pre-workout plan.
Parcell adds that stretching probably helps with general comfort, and can help maintain and improve posture and balance.
How to Prepare For a Workout
Parcell says these studies that question the value of stretching probably aren’t meant to put a negative attachment on it, since there still many accepted benefits.
Instead of just focusing on stretching before a workout, balance the pre-workout time with something that will actually warm the muscles. Consider doing jumping jacks, or a light run, both of which may do more than stretching to prevent injury.
For example, stretching increases range of motion, Parcell says, which means your body can simply do more things, and requires less exertion to do tasks.
For more intense workouts, make sure the warm up takes your body through all the range of motions your body will undergo during the intense portion of exercise.
So What Is Stretching Good For?
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A new expert committee commissioned by the Institute of Medicine said that there was no rationale for a person aiming to decrease sodium consumption below 2,300 milligrams a day. In fact, the committee found that consuming both too much and too little sodium can have serious negative health consequences.
RUB SOME DIRT ON IT
Researchers from Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute conducting research on various clays have found that some clays have the capacity to fight against E. coli and the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA (methicillen-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Clays have been used for centuries to treat wounds, and now the treatment method may be getting some validity. ASU researchers found that clays containing five metal ions— iron, copper, cobalt, nickel and zinc—work as antibacterial agents. They warn, however, that clay components are extremely variable, and can contain harmful substances. Source:www.eurekalert.org
science says / energy
DON’T EAT TOO LITTLE SALT
1,128 CALORIES DINING OUT ON A CALORIE BUDGET IMPOSSIBLE? Researchers from the University of Toronto analyzed nutritional information from food ordered at 19 sit-down restaurant chains, and found that the average meal contains 1,128 calories, which is more than half of the normal daily recommended calories for the average adult. Unless you really skimp on your other meals, you’ll probably consume more calories than your body needs that day. Interestingly, the average fast food meal delivers only 881 calories. Source: JAMA Internal Medicine
FAST FOOD DIFFERS BY COUNTRY
International researchers compared the nutritional characteristics of fast food in different countries, and found that food from the same restaurants is by no means uniform across the world. Consider the salt content in Chicken McNuggets from McDonalds, per 100 g, for example. Australia: 1.1 g Canada: 1.5 g France: 1.2 g New Zealand: 1.1 g United Kingdom: 0.6 g United States: 1.6 g Source: medicine.ucalgary.ca
DIET SODA HURTS TEETH AS MUCH AS METH
Methamphetamine and crack are two illegal drugs known to seriously damage the mouths of users. New research published in General Dentistry finds that those who drink large quantities of diet soda can experience similar damage in the mouth. Author of the study, Temple University School of Dentistry professor Dr. Mohamed Bassiouny, says that meth, crack cocaine and soda are all highly acidic, which is the source of the problem. Critics of the study point to the fact that one subject of the study hadn’t received dental services for years. Still, it is generally accepted that excessive soda consumption can lead to deep brown stains and changes in the integrity of a tooth. It is recommended that those who regularly drink diet soda, which is no better on the teeth than regular soda, should wash out their mouths after drinking, to take away the acidity.
CLENCHING FISTS TO AID MEMORY
GROSSEST FOOD INGREDIENT?
Artificial raspberry, vanilla or strawberry flavoring comes from an unexpected source: the beaver. From the dried perineal glands of the beaver comes castoreum, which a beaver uses to mark its territory. It is usually listed as “natural flavoring” on food labels, something the FDA approves of. Castoreum is also used in perfumes. Facebook.com/HealthyIdaho
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Researchers from Montclair State University recently found that simple body movements may change how the brain functions, thus affecting our memory. Their research showed that clenching the right hand may help form memories, and that clenching the left hand may help us remember memories later on. Source: PLOS One HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
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FI TN ES S
Workout Shortcuts: FACT OR FICTION? WRITTEN BY WHITNEY LEWIS Some exercisers think that weight loss results can happen with short, high-intensity workouts instead of longer, aerobic regimens. Can you really get results from frantically exercising in the time it would take to read this article? Dr. Grubbs reports in The National Magazine for Nurse Practitioners that, “Exercise programs of low to moderate intensity, long duration and high frequency seem to be most beneficial, with the most popular forms of exercise being walking/jogging, cycling and swimming.” This report would suggest that frantic workouts are not the best way to lose weight, but don’t think your only road to fitness is marathon running. Knowing the ideal duration and intensity of weight loss exercise is key for success.
What’s the Best Length for Weight Loss Exercise? Intensity, frequency, and duration do matter if you want to get past just heating up your body and instead really burn baby, burn fat deposits. So how long should you work out? According to University of Michigan scholars, at least 30 minutes or more is the best burn for your buck. For approximately the first 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, the body uses up glycogen storage (the easy-access, already broken down carbs) and glucose. Only after using those fuel sources does your body switch to burning fat deposits. More than 30 minutes of exercise is required to get optimal health benefits from a workout.
What’s the Right Intensity for Burning Fat? The answer is the intensity that gets your heart going, where your heart rate is within your target heart rate zone. Your target heart rate zone is about 70 – 85% of your maximum heart rate. To calculate, subtract your age from 220 to get your approximate maximum heart rate and then multiple by .7 and .85
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to find what your heart rate should be during exercise. If you are 40, your approximate maximum heart rate is 180 (220-40). So your target heart rate zone is between 126 (180 x.7 ) and 153 (180 x .85). This method is very approximate and may vary as much as 10 or 15 beats per minute. You may also consult a physician for a more accurate reading. Be attentive to your body to make sure you’re going to be in that optimal range so you can get past the warm-up and into the bonfire to lose weight. When you feel slightly breathless and are sweating, you are in your moderate to intense exercise range, the best place to be for optimal health benefits and weight control.
Can You Speed Up Workouts without Sacrificing Quality?
30
MINUTES OR MORE IS THE BEST BURN FOR YOUR BUCK
If you don’t want to run or cycle for so long, you can work through some of that glycerol and glucose with anaerobic training beforehand. Anaerobic exercise is composed of brief, strength-based exercises like sprinting and weightlifting. It has been shown to increase muscle mass which leads to more efficient calorie toasting. Sahand Rahnama from the University of Michigan medical school recommends that, “…high intensity training is completed prior to aerobic exercise for individuals who are trying to maximize fat burning.” Lift weights, do the 8 minute ab routines, and let your body work through some of those sugars, so when you jog out the door, your body is ready to fuel up using those fat deposits you want to burn off this summer. If 10 minutes is all you have, getting your heart rate up for that amount of time still can do some good, but the best results come from intensity, frequency, and 30+ min. workouts, regardless of what your washboard-ab neighbors may say.
SOURCE: www.umich.edu Healthy-Idaho.com
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| CLINICAL RESEARCH UNIT Selah Medical welcomes Amber Vania, DO Amber Vania, DO is board certified in Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulation. She specializes in women’s health and preventative medicine. Dr Vania is a native of a small town, Cuba, Missouri. She completed her internship and residency at McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. She completed her medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and her undergraduate training at Missouri State University. Dr Vania is a member of the American Academy of Family Practice, the American Osteopathic Association, and the American Medical Association. She lives in Boise with her husband, Cyrus, and two little girls Gabriella and Sophia. Hobbies include cooking, hiking, and spending time with her family. HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
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>> Advisor FITNESS
Ais anWARM UP essential beginning A WARM-UP IS THE BODY’S PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WAY OF PREPARING FOR SOME TYPE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OR ATHLETIC EVENT. PRIOR TO EVERY WORKOUT OR EXERCISE SESSION, YOUR BODY SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR THE CARDIOVASCULAR AND MUSCULAR CHALLENGES THAT IT WILL BE ENGAGING IN. THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS FOR WARMING UP
• Core Temperature
The body in general and, more specifically, muscles work better when they are warm. Increased core temberatures improve muscle elasticity, which in turn prevents injury and strain. Gradual increases in core temperature adequately allow your body to regulate its temperature by sweating.
• Increased Heart Rate
A warm-up prepares your heart for an increase in activity and prevents a rapid increase in blood pressure.
• Rehearsal Affect
Your warm-up should include movements that mirror a lighter or less intense version of what you will be doing for your workout or athletic activity. Many warm-up exercises will cross over and can be used no matter what event you are participating in but some require specific
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movement patterns. Boxers should implement movements in the transverse plane to mimic the rotational efforts that are produced with all the upper body movements. Dancers should focus on slowly lengthening levers and increasing range of motion. Volleyball players could incorporate altitude changes gradually preparing for drills that will take them from an explosive jump to dropping down for a dig.
• Prepare Muscles
To effectively prepare a muscle to lengthen and to contract, the intramuscular temperature should be increased which will improve productivity of muscle contraction and avoid the chance of injury. Particular movement patterns allow you more muscle control as they are prepared for certain movements. A prepared muscle can contract more forcefully as well as relax more quickly.
A warm-up allows you to practice how you will move. It allows you to safely practice what is to come and give you the confidence needed to push your skills when the time comes. It psychologically prepares you to work out at higher intensities because you have mastered the base movements.
KEY COMPONENTS OF A Warm-up
• Length—This should be
•
• Improve Range Of Motion
Movement around a joint is gradually increased as well as lever length. The warm-up gently prepares for greater range and increases on the stresses and force demands placed on the joints.
• Use Multi-Directional Movements Our body moves in multiple planes and our warm-up should include all of them. Start with linear and then progress to the sagittal and transverse planes.
• Mental Preparation
•
dependent on the type and length of the exercise session. The general guidelines for fitness class are 5-15 minutes. Specific sporting events will be longer depending on the activity. Collegiate or professional athletes can warm-up 2 hours before they perform. Fitness level should also be an indicator of the length of warm-up. Type—There is a lot of scientific data on dynamic or active stretching versus static stretching in the beginning of a work out. Strong evidence is lacking in regards to the benefits of using static stretches in a warm-up. Stopping to hold a stretch will drop core temperature and heart rate and may also cause trauma to muscles that aren’t ready to stretch. Warm-ups are individual and need to be geared to what you are doing and by what your muscles are requiring to get ready. Appropriateness—Your warm-
up should not only reflect your type of activity but also the climate you will be performing in. Cooler temperatures require a longer warm-up whereas warmer conditions should be watched so as not to produce premature overheating.
BENEFITS • Fewer injuries • Leads to efficient caloric expenditure by increasing core temperature • Leads to more effective and forceful muscle contractions • Your metabolic rate will be temporarily improved because of the increased oxygen demands of the muscle movement. • Improved neural pathway messaging from muscles practicing certain movements • Increased blood flow though tissues making muscles more pliable and able to contract • Improved coordination, muscle control and reaction times. To fully enjoy the benefits of all the exercise you are doing, you must include a warm-up. If done correctly it will enhance your activity, your longevity as an exerciser and quality of your overall health.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lisa Mathews
is a certified personal trainer and works at the Treehouse Athletic Club TacFitness.com Healthy-Idaho.com
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HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
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Be happy, be healthy! W
hat do making new friends, learning new skills, supporting your community and positively impacting your health have in common? They are all benefits of volunteering!
In a report published by the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS), a strong relationship has been established between volunteering and health. CNCS goes on to state that volunteering and physical well-being are part of a positive reinforcing cycle. A study from the Americans’ Changing Lives survey supports CNCS' findings concluding that those who volunteered reported higher levels of happiness, life-satisfaction, self-esteem, a sense of control over life, and physical health; while those who reported higher levels of happiness, life-satisfaction, self-esteem, a sense of control over life, and physical health were more likely to volunteer. (Source URL: nationalservice.gov/serve-yourcommunity/benefits-volunteering)
FitOne Fast Facts:
FitOneBoise.org We love our volunteers!
A team of nearly 1,000 volunteers are essential to the success of the FitOne 5K, 9K and Expo. Volunteers greet attendees, hand out race packets to participants at the FitOne Expo, help with race set-up, keep our courses safe and provide water to participants during the 5K and 9K run/ walk events. We thank our volunteers for their efforts and welcome each and every one as an integral member of our FitOne team.
Volunteer groups are welcome.
Do you have a club, organization or group of people who are looking to volunteer? If so, we can work with you to schedule your team together over a particular area or volunteer role at FitOne. For more information on the FitOne Volunteer Program, please visit FitOneBoise.org, email volunteer@fitoneboise.org or call 208.381.2221.
• Welcome to the Evolution of the 20-year St. Luke’s Women’s Fitness Celebration, now FitOne! • Early bird registration is open at FitOneBoise.org – register for the 5K or 9K before Aug. 1 to save a few dollars. • Give-A-Gift of healthy fun! Gift registrations for the 5K and 9K are available on our website – easy peasy! • Even our Facebook and Twitter pages are active – so let’s Move For Fun, Get Fit For Life. • Monthly meet-ups and fun goodies from our sponsors – if you’re a friend or a "tweep" you get them here first! • Healthy, fun ideas – we’re sharing them often so you can share them with friends and family.
FitOne Volunteer Program presented by KeyBank.
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HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
Healthy-Idaho.com
BIG LOSERS
$10,000 TREASURE VALLEY WEIGHT LOSS
Challenge O
Congratulations!
n June 6th, six Treasure Valley residents walked away a little bit richer – and a whole light lighter! A total of $10,000 in cash prizes were awarded to the top 3 men and the top 3 women who lost the largest percentage of body weight over the last five months in the St. Luke’s Humphreys Diabetes Center’s $10,000 Treasure Valley Weight Loss Challenge – $3,000 each to the top male and female, $1,500 each to the 2nd place male and female, and $500 each to the 3rd place male and female. “This is the fifth time we have hosted the Weight Loss Challenge, and the results continue to amaze and inspire us,” Marketing Director Lisa Gonser said. “We had 99 people as finalists in the Challenge, and they all had a story to tell about how they have lost weight, improved their health and changed their lives. And out of those 99 people, 72% lost more than 5% of their body weight, reducing their risk for type 2 diabetes by half!”
1st Place Woman Daphne Mallory Won $3,000 Lost 83.2 Pounds, 40.82 % of Bodyweightt
1st Place Man Shea Morin Won $3,000, Lost 124 Pounds 37% of Bodyweight
2nd Place Woman Heidi Milburn Won $1,500 Lost 72.2 Pounds 33.17% of Bodyweight
2nd Place Man Andrew Bolduc Won $1,500 Lost 88.8 Pounds 35.43% of Bodyweight
The region wide Challenge began in January with 634 participants from throughout the valley. They received weekly nutrition and fitness e-tips, participated in weekly support and walking groups, and attend free activities including cooking classes, support groups, zumba classes and nutrition talks! Collectively, they lost over 4,000 pounds! The next $10,000 Treasure Valley Weight Loss Challenge will launch on Saturday, January 4, 2014.
3rd Place Woman Michealle Flores Won $500 Lost 48.8 Pounds 30.27% of Bodyweight
3rd Place Man Doug Hoiland Won $500 Lost 80.6 pounds 35.35% of Bodyweight
To read the personal journeys of our challenge winners and to learn how you can help or participate in 2014, visit: www.hdiabetescenter.org
Facebook.com/HealthyIdaho
HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
21
Fashion advice from the Spine Academy Proper posture is essential to avoiding spinal injury, but what you carry can impact how you carry yourself, according to Dieter Saunto, West Valley Medical Center’s director of Spine Services
Spine Academy
Preparing patients for fear-free, successful surgeries WRITTEN BY EMMA PENROD Terrified about surgery? Dieter Saunto recommends education as a prescription for procrastination. Saunto is the director of Spine Services at Boise’s West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell, and oversees an educational program he calls “Spine Academy.” It’s a mandatory class for anyone planning on having spinal surgery at the medical center, but the prerequisite course has prepared numerous patients and their families for today’s spine procedures. West Valley introduced the class to help patients prepare for their procedures and to dispel many of the myths and misconceptions revolving around spine surgery. Saunto says many patients are exceptionally apprehensive about surgical procedures. Some believe spine surgery will require a large, even back-length incision, though many modern techniques are minimally invasive. Others, particularly younger patients, believe spinal procedures carry a risk of paralysis or disability. On the other hand, Saunto says, others believe they can come in for surgery, and walk out the next day ready to return to strenuous activity. They forget that recovery time and physical therapy may be involved. Fear of going “under the knife,” though knives are rarely used in spine surgery these days, can cause patients to put off procedures that could save them a great deal of pain in the long run—and, in many cases, this allows damage to the spine to continue and spread. According to Saunto, unnecessary fear can make these procedures traumatic for the patient.
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HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
“There is an enormous psychological impact from spine surgery, more than other procedures,” Saunto says. “By the time they come to class, there is amazing apprehension.” West Valley’s Spine Academy is a four- to five-hour long class aimed at stress-causing misunderstandings that also prepares the patients for their specific operations, and educates family members and caregivers about their role in the recovery process. After a core segment introduces patients to general hospital practices, what to expect during the operation and how to prepare beforehand, the class is divided into seven modules tailored to each specific patient’s procedure.
Handbags, purses and briefcases are among Saunto’s top pet peeves. Bags generally have one of three kinds of straps for toting, he points out: a “grip handle” that rises no more than a few inches from the top of the bag, a “mid strap” just long enough to slip over your arm, or a “shoulder strap” intended for hands-free hauling. The latter two might be popular with designers, but your spine prefers the former. Carrying weight in your hands, or at your elbow, encourages better posture, Saunto says. The mid strap, on the other hand, usually lends itself to tucking the bag under one arm, which forces your arm away from your body and puts you off balance. Shoulder straps, if worn across the chest, are a better option, but when they’re carried on a single should these too will impact your posture. Repeatedly bearing weight on one side of the body ultimately wears the bone on the corresponding side of the spine. Making this a habit could result in moderate to severe back pain, Saunto says.
These segments focus on the reason for the operation—be it an injury, an accident or whatever may have inspired the patient to seek medical attention—give an overview of what will occur during the procedure, who will perform the surgery and who will assist, and look forward to what physical or occupational therapy may be required. Other segments highlight injury prevention, wound care, proper post-surgical nutrition and maintaining a safe home environment. Family, caregivers and prospective surgical candidates are also encouraged to attend. Saunto highly recommends seeing a specialist to anyone experiencing pain they believe may be related to a spinal injury. Only about 5 percent are recommended to surgery—others are placed on alternate paths to recovery.
Healthy-Idaho.com
Nutrition
Metabolism/ Biochemistry Psychology or Beliefs
Behaviors
Why Should I see a medical weight loss specialist?
A medical weight loss specialist has undergone additional education, training, and testing to become board certified in weight loss medicine. Also to become board certified, the national board of Bariatric Medicine sends a previously board certified physician to observe Dr. Rader’s and Dr. Freshwater’s practice. This physician then reports back to a board of other physicians before certifying Dr. Rader or Dr. Freshwater. Dr. Rader and Dr Freshwater are the only MD’s in Idaho to pass all three of the processes to become board certified in weight loss medicine. Not only is Dr. Rader a treatment specialist, he is an instructor- teaching other physicians in his weight loss medicine methods. He has presented and lectured at national conferences from 2003 through 2008. Physicians have even trained with Dr. Rader by visiting his office. Local physicians refer patients to Dr. Rader but a referral is not necessary to visit the clinic. Dr. Rader has lectured in the following cities over the past several years; Tampa, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, Louisville, Chicago and St Louis. Because they are specialists, weight loss with a Bariatrician is a complete program focusing not only on weight loss but also on weight maintenance. Bariatricians are skilled in helping overweight patients deal with their personal highs and lows during a weight loss program. They are experienced in the roadblocks of becoming successful in controlling the disease called overweight and obesity.
W. Allen Rader, MD
Only Weight Loss Center In America With Three Physicians Certified By The American Board Of Obesity Medicine Facebook.com/HealthyIdaho
Scan this QR Code to see KTVB's recent coverage of Idaho Weight Loss
HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
23
Workout Music:
Helper or Hindrance? WRITTEN BY HEALTHY MAGAZINE STAFF
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HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
Healthy-Idaho.com
70
%
YOU WAKE UP TO YOUR 6:30 A.M. ALARM AND THINK, “THERE IS NOTHING I WANT LESS THAN TO GO RUNNING TODAY, BUT I REALLY, REALLY SHOULD.” THEN YOU SNOOZE YOUR ALARM ONLY TO WAKE UP 15 MINUTES LATER ANGRILY ROLLING OUT OF BED TO PUT ON YOUR RUNNING SHOES. AS YOU REACH FOR YOUR DOORKNOB, CONSIDERING THE PROSPECT OF RUNNING THE SAME TIRED STREETS YOU ALWAYS RUN, YOU REALIZE THAT YOU NEED YOUR IPOD PROBABLY MORE THAN YOU NEED YOUR SHOES. AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF EARLY MORNING DELIRIUM, AND IN A PLACE YOU COULD HAVE SWORN YOU’D LOOKED FIVE TIMES, YOU FIND YOUR MUSICAL SAVIOR AND LEAVE YOUR HOUSE ENCASED IN A BUBBLE OF SONIC DISTRACTION, ABLE TO FACE THE MORNING’S WORKOUT. THAT’S HOW IT COULD HAVE ENDED. BUT SUPPOSE YOU COULDN’T FIND YOUR IPOD AFTER YOUR THOROUGH SEARCH; WHAT DO YOU DO? DO YOU SIT STUPIDLY FOR A FEW MINUTES IN GRIM CONTEMPLATION BEFORE GIVING UP AND SLIPPING BACK BETWEEN YOUR STILL-WARM SHEETS? THE MUSICAL DIVIDE For a lot of people, music is essential to a good workout. The music isn’t just getting you out the door when you have no motivation, it’s also driving you to work out longer and harder than you would have without it. Your favorite song comes on and you’re suddenly able to run or bike a mile more than you would have without it. The pain doesn’t feel so bad, the route doesn’t seem so monotonous. But then there are other people who are vehemently opposed to music on workouts, considering it cheating or just for amateurs. These people agree with the many race organizers who ban headphones for competitors for safety and to eliminate a possible competitive edge. Ultimately, the consensus is that music is for people who actually don’t really like working out. They claim that music disconnects them with their surroundings and even their own bodies’ rhythm and signals. Distracting music takes them away from the experience of working out. Additionally, many in this camp claim that they rely on those few minutes of quiet concentration and reflection during their workout as a meditative, relaxing time that contrasts with their busy lives. Facebook.com/HealthyIdaho
ANY WORK ABOVE 70 PER CENT OF YOUR MAXIMUM EXER TION LE VEL ISN’ T AFFEC TED BY MUSIC
THE MENTAL GAME So what’s the story? There are strong opinions about music in exercise from both sides, but is there any science behind any of these fierce attitudes? As many who exercise know, there is as much mental exertion as physical during repetitive, endurance exercises. The reason these two camps differ in their musical preference is because of how they deal with exercise mentally. Sports psychologists have identified two different mental coping styles: associators and disassociators. Associators are the athletes who are thinking about their workout, considering their stride, paying attention to their heartbeat, pushing themselves forward with their inner thoughts. Disassociators need a distraction from the pain and the monotony of working out and receive their motivation from external sources. They’re thinking about what they’ll do later that day, how could she say that to him, and whether burgundy is the right color for the study, anything but the workout. On average, elite athletes tend to be associators, while more recreational athletes are disassociators. But don’t feel bad if you’re one or the other; the difference is just about as meaningless as whether you like chicken or beef tacos. You should pay attention to your thought processes and what motivates you as you exercise. Try to identify where you stand on the association spectrum. Whether you’re an associator or disassociator probably makes a huge difference on whether you listen to music or not while exercising. Associators should probably avoid listening to music because it can be distracting to their concentration. However, many disassociators (myself included), find music helpful to get us out of the door and perform our best.
THE SCIENTIFIC TAKE But how exactly do some pleasing sounds affect our physical performance? It turns out that fatigue is less about muscles and more about your brain. Recent studies have shown that our muscles rarely get to their physical limit; instead our brain sees how hard we’re working out and figures that if we keep going at that pace we may hurt ourselves, so it makes us feel tired much sooner than is necessary. That’s why music can keep you going longer and harder, by giving you more to focus on than how badly your muscles hurt and how little motivation and energy you can muster. Additionally, if the rhythm of the music is similar to your workout pace, it has a synchronous effect that seems to
increase energy efficiency and work output compared to music faster or slower than your pace, meaning a more efficient workout. But how big a difference can music make? Dr. Costas Karageorghis of Brunel University in London has been studying music’s effect on athletes for over 20 years. He claims that music can possibly help us perform 15 percent better than without it. But picking the right music for your workout matters. He claims that selecting music that has rhythm about the beats per minute as your pace can help you keep going longer. And obviously, picking mood-improving, upbeat, familiar music can best motivate you and give you an energy boost. The emotional response music gives is the catalyst to a harder workout. A workout isn’t the place for a sappy love song, but pop, rock, and dance music would be better choices because of their tempo and associated emotional responses.
THE LIMITATIONS But it’s wise to use restraint with music for several reasons. First, listening to energizing music at loud volumes for an hour-long run can damage your ears. Secondly, though music can be like a legal, safe performance-enhancing drug, like other drugs, if you use it all the time, the effects will diminish. Instead of listening to the entire time, save your music for the beginning of your workout to get you going and to possibly wake you up, and then take another listen at the end to help you finish strong. A study that supports this judicious use of music focused on musical responses for amateur cyclists on a 10km race. Only during the beginning and the end of the race did the racers with the music tend to push themselves harder compared to the control group. The middle of the race was nearly identical between the music and non-music racers. Finally, it turns out that music helps you only to a certain point; Turns out that music isn’t the universal cure to a poor workout, but it sure can help. Studies haven’t differentiated between associators and disassociators in terms of what is most effective, so it’s probably best to just experiment with music for yourself and see if you benefit or not. If you do like music and you rely on a distractor and motivator during exercise, start making those energizing workout mixes with gusto knowing that science is on your side. Source www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
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EXERCISE ADDICTION
The Surprising Dark Side of Fitness
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL RICHARDSON
YOU WATCH YOUR NEIGHBOR RUN BY EVERY MORNING WITH ADMIRATION. WHAT GREAT WILL-POWER AND STAMINA, AND WHAT A GREAT BODY. In most cases, your admiration is justified, but sometimes, surprisingly, it isn’t. Your neighbor may be running to avoid withdrawals and may feel a need to exercise that is disrupting relationships, mental wellness and physical health. Your neighbor may be an exercise addict.
REALLY?
Exercise addiction sounds like a lame excuse created by people who struggle to go to the gym, but in fact it is a real condition that’s just now becoming better understood. However, don’t confuse an exercise enthusiast for an addict; there is a fundamental difference between dedication and dependence. Heather Hausenblas of the University of Florida’s Exercise Psychology Laboratory and Danielle Downs of Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Kinesiology created criteria for the disorder, so it could distinguished from a simple enthusiasm for exercise:
•
Tolerance: increasing the
amount of exercise in order to feel the desired effect, be it a “buzz” or sense of accomplishment.
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HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
{ •
•
•
20-25% of those
belonging to gyms have some level of exercise addiction.
Withdrawal: in the absence of exercise the person experiences negative effects such as anxiety, irritability, restlessness, and sleep problems.
Lack of control: unsuccessful at attempts to reduce exercise level or cease exercising for a certain period of time.
IT COMES IN STAGES
For exercise to be effective, it needs to be done consistently, with a certain level of determination. So how can we distinguish between what is healthy and what is not? Consider the stages of an exercise addiction:
1. Recreational exercise:
You exercise because it’s pleasurable and rewarding. You like how your strength and appearance are changing. Your quality of life is improving.
Intention effects: unable to
stick to one’s intended routine as evidenced by exceeding the amount of time devoted to exercise or consistently going beyond the intended amount.
•
Time: a great deal of time is
•
Reduction in other activities: as a direct result of
2. At-risk exercise: You
discover that running or exercise helps you escape from worry. It alters your mood for the better, as endorphin production increases. Research shows that as intense exercise becomes more rewarding, other activities may become less rewarding. Therefore, people are driven to exercise more and more. The second phase sees increasing occurrence of unchecked injury and greater dependence on workouts.
spent preparing for, engaging in, and recovering from exercise.
exercise social, occupational, and/or recreational activities occur less often or are stopped.
•
Continuance: continuing
to exercise despite knowing that this activity is creating or exacerbating physical, psychological, and/or interpersonal problems.
3. Problematic exercise:
These criteria sound a lot like the criteria for substance addiction, and in fact they were formed from the DSM-IV’s sections on substance dependence. Marilyn Freimuth of Fielding Graduate University’s School of Psychology, a researcher of exercise addiction, says that among college students, about 5 percent suffer from the addiction.
In this phase, you begin to schedule your day around your exercise. Controlling how much you exercise becomes a difficult task. Your goals become clouded, meaning that even after you reach your goal of running a desired distance or desired time, you don’t rest. In the third phase, consequences begin to pile up, such as weakened relationships and less time
spent on more important things.
4. Exercise addiction:
Frequency and intensity of exercise continues until it becomes your life’s main organizing principle.
“Consistent with the paradoxical nature of addiction, a behavior that began as a way to make life more bearable by facilitating coping ultimately makes life unmanageable,” writes Freimuth. “As the life of the addicted person revolves around exercise, the pleasure of the behavior recedes as the primary motivation becomes avoiding withdrawal symptoms.”
TREATMENT
Since exercise addiction is not recognized in the DSM-V, it may be difficult to find professional help. The DSM-V does include behavioral addiction, such as gambling, and therefore mental health professionals should recognize exercise addiction as a legitimate problem. “For right now, best place to go for help is to a mental health professional—a psychologist or social worker—who has some experience with addictions,” Freimuth says. The goal may not be to help the patient stop exercising entirely, but rather to exercise in moderation. This may be difficult, as other types of addiction professionals encourage abstinence, according to Freimuth. Often, exercise addiction is tied to an eating disorder, Freimuth says. Treatment for the eating disorder, which should take priority, will hopefully resolve the exercise addiction. For additional information on recognizing addictions, check out Freimuth’s book: “Addicted? Recognizing Destructive Behaviors Before It’s Too Late.”
Pumped Vs. Addicted
Freimuth and her colleagues write that anyone can experience an altered mood with exercise, and that not everyone who continually increases their exercise levels will become addicted. In other words, just because you think about exercise often and feel good from it, doesn’t mean you’re addicted. Addiction is more likely to occur, they write, when a person is exercising not because they enjoy the activity, but because they feel relief from stress and unpleasant feelings, and feel improved self-esteem.The same is true for other addictions. “Addiction is most likely to occur when the behavior is the primary or sole means of coping with internal distress,” they write. Healthy-Idaho.com
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HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
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BE AU TY
BRUSHED BY FATE HOW HAIR COLOR MAY FORECAST THE FUTURE W RITTEN BY HEALTH Y M AGAZI NE STAF F
We gel it, comb it, color it and trim it, but no matter how hard we try to control hair, we can’t change how its natural color affects our health. BRUNETTE: A Thick Trick: Brown hair is generally thicker and coarser than blonde hair, meaning that there is actually less hair on a brunettes head than on a blonde’s head. So when brunettes lose hair, it is more noticeable, which isn’t a health problem, but still a significant issue. Eating more iron can help fight this problem. Cigarette Break: Brunettes have more melanin. Women’s Health suggests that melanin slows the metabolizing process
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of nicotine, which speeds up the process of addiction. Disease: On the bright side, researchers in Australia found that brunettes have less of a chance of developing multiple sclerosis. This may have something to do with having a darker complexion, which is generally more common for brunettes, compared with other hair colors. Unfortunately, dark hair also signifies a certain DNA coding that increases the odds of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to the National Cancer Institute. The same is not true for black hair, just darker shades of brown.
REDHEAD: Feeling the Pain: Strangely enough, redheads are resistant to general and local anesthetics, according to research from the University of Louisville. They may need more 20 percent more numbing
before procedures than individuals with other hair colors. Redheads are more than twice as likely to avoid going to the dentist as those with other hair types, a study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association found, and pain sensitivity is the most likely reason why. Before a procedure, tell your doctor if you’ve changed your natural red hair color. Mutation Problems: The gene mutation that causes red hair is probably at the root of why redheads are much more likely than other hair types to develop Parkinson’s disease. More bad news: A Harvard study of 90,000 women found that having red hair put people at a 30 percent higher risk of developing endometriosis, a painful gynecological disorder. Australian researchers found a tie between Tourette’s syndrome, characterized by motor and verbal tics, and red hair. Only 2-6 percent of the Healthy-Idaho.com
HAIR TYPE PREVALENCE normal Australian population has red hair, while of those surveyed who had Tourette’s, 13 percent had red hair. Furthermore, 55 percent of Tourette’s patients had relatives with red locks. Skin Issues: The pigment responsible for red hair’s distinctive color is associated with an increased risk of developing melanoma, the worst form of skin cancer. Researchers found that avoiding the sun might not be enough for redheads to avoid the risks of skin cancer. This gene mutation may also influence how well redheads deal with stress, decreasing production of anxiety-reducing hormones. Mutation Benefits: But with this bad news there is good. Pale skin, a common characteristic of redheads, is able to soak up more vitamin D, which is important protection against many diseases, and is vital to a Facebook.com/HealthyIdaho
2/3
BLACK HAIR: Estimates are that for every person without black hair in the world, there are two with black hair. BROWN HAIR: About 13 percent of the world has brown hair.
6%
1-2%
2%
RED: About 1-2 percent.
GREY/WHITE: This hair type accounts for the rest.
B LO N D E S :
Lack of a Shield: Blondes also produce less melanin, which gives skin its color and helps shield it from UV rays. This means less protection for the scalp, and a higher risk of melanoma. So you blondes out there, wear a hat when the sun is strong.
CHESTNUT/DARK AUBURN: About 6 percent.
BLONDE: Naturally blonde hair is actually very rare in adulthood, with some estimates putting the number at about 2 percent of the world’s population.
healthy bone system. Other research shows that redheads may have less chance of developing the lung disease tuberculosis.
Easy on the Eyes: Females are at a greater risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which can cause blindness. Light-haired females are especially prone to this disease. Green veggies are a blonde’s weapon of choice to fight AMD.
13%
WHAT GIVES HAIR ITS COLOR Two pigments give hair its color: •
PHEOMELANIN: Colors hair orange and yellow.
•
EUMELANIN: Colors hair two subtypes of black or brown.
The concentration of each type of pigment is what determines your hair color.
HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
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SKY WALKER mastering high heels
Short Stride
Just plan on taking forever to get anywhere when walking in high heels, be they cone, wedge or pumps. Your strides will be shorter, especially if you don’t wear heels very often. Overextending the stride looks lerpy and bizarre.
One Foot In Front of the Other
A helpful tip for many women is to walk in a straight line, instead of separating your footsteps at shoulder width. Pretend you are walking on a line about six inches thick.
Test Drive
Nothings worse than showing up at the big occasion, be it a wedding, dinner or whatever, and you find out you are incapable of walking in your heels. Trying out your shoes beforehand can also help you see if they hurt your feet. You might need insoles.
"GIVE A GIRL THE RIGHT SHOES, AND SHE CAN CONQUER THE WORLD," MARILYN MONROE SAID.
“A woman can carry a bag, but it is the shoe that carries the woman” Christian Louboutin French footwear designer
QUICK TIPS:
• TRY core workouts in your exercise. It will improve your heel-walking skills.
• MAKE sure your heels fit well. Feet bulging out of your shoes destroys any grace your step may have. • CARRY flip flops in your purse. 30 HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
Maybe this is a bit of an overstatement, but there is certainly something sublime about a woman who can rock high heels. It can change the whole aura of a woman. Unfortunately, heels can make a woman’s aura worse, just as they can make it better. Here is how to let heels raise you up and not let you down.
The Basics: Heel Toe
Grace in high heels requires a heel to toe approach to walking. Having the heel land first doesn’t need to be exaggerated, but it needs to happen. Otherwise your body weight is shifted awkwardly to your knees and you begin to almost waddle, when you could be gliding. The only times you shouldn’t walk heel to toe is when you are climbing or descending stairs, or when walking on soft ground, like lawns.
Take Breaks
Nobody expects you to spend an entire evening standing up in heels. Find a chair to park yourself in every so often, and you will find it easier to maintain that smoothness that heels can give.
Straight Leg
Make sure every stride involves the straightening of the leg. The same is true for walking in any shoe really, but heels can make the extension more difficult. Walking with bent legs makes you look wizened.
Healthy-Idaho.com
Varicose veins holding you back?
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Weary WARY
Diseases that Make You Tired
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL RICHARDSON AND WHITNEY LEWIS
DRAINED, BUSHED, WORN-OUT. THESE AND A DOZEN OTHER WORDS DESCRIBE WHAT ALMOST EVERY HUMAN FEELS ON A DAILY BASIS: FATIGUE. SOMETIMES FATIGUE AND SATISFACTION GO HAND IN HAND, LIKE AFTER A HARD DAY’S WORK, BUT IN OTHER CASES EXHAUSTION IS A HOUNDING, INEXPLICABLE ENEMY OF OUR WELLBEING. Although it’s common to feel tired, weariness can sometimes indicate serious health problems. If you're unable to explain constant weariness, here are a few common conditions of which you can be wary.
1 5 in
It is estimated that 1 in 5 women and half of pregnant women in the United States, suffer from iron-deficiency anemia.
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Running In the Veins: Anemia
Women need to pump iron too, but maybe a kind more important than the dumbbells found in your neighborhood gym. Anemia is a problem that occurs when blood cells lack hemoglobin, the iron-rich protein that transports oxygen through the blood stream. This deficiency is usually caused by blood loss, an iron-deficient diet, or the body’s inability to absorb iron. Although men and children can also suffer from anemia, pregnant women and teens are the most anemic groups. Teens use iron rapidly during growth spurts, especially females as they begin their menstrual cycle. This deficiency may be one reason why moms and teens feel so tired.
Anemia may cause symptoms such as: ›› Fatigue
Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common blood disorder according to the National Blood, Lung, and Heart Institute. Fortunately, this type of anemia is usually quite simple to cure through a diet rich in iron. Foods such as the following, consumed with vitamins A & C (to help with absorption and distribution) can increase your iron levels, energy, mood, and overall health.
Foods high in iron: ›› Lean red meat ›› Dark turkey & chicken meat ›› Tuna ›› Crab, shrimp, halibut ›› Oatmeal ›› Iron-fortified cereal
›› Loss of memory
›› Beans (kidney, lima, navy, black, pinto)
›› Mood problems
›› Dark leafy greens
›› Weakness ›› Dizziness ›› Pale skin ›› During exercise: shortness of breath & chest pains
Iron supplements can help, but unless recommended by a doctor, should not be taken by children, adult men, or postmenopausal women. Soda and other sources high in sugar decrease the body’s ability to use iron. So lay off the pop ladies, and keep pumpin’ that iron.
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The Sleep Slayer: Sleep Apnea Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by intermittent interruptions during sleep, usually for at least ten seconds at a time. This disorder is leading cause of fatigue.
There are multiple varieties of the disorder:
1. Obstructive sleep apnea: This is generally what people refer to when they are talking about sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the muscles in the back of the throat cannot keep airways open. Your body loses oxygen to the brain for a moment, causing the body to interrupt sleeping patterns. The body compensates by gasping for breath. Sleep apnea is usually diagnosed also by very irregular, loud snoring. Obstructive sleep apnea can result in low blood oxygen levels, along with fragmented sleep. These factors can combine to lead to hypertension, heart disease, mood problems and memory issues, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
2. Central sleep apnea: This is when the brain fails to properly control breathing during sleep. This is far less common than obstructive sleep apnea.
Symptoms There are certain common indicators
that a person has sleep apnea. Chronic snoring is one of the biggest indicators. General sleepiness beyond what is normally experienced is another indicator. A person suffering from sleep apnea may also have trouble concentrating, may be depressed and may be irritable. Here are some other potential symptoms: ›› Sexual dysfunction. ›› Learning and memory problems. ›› Falling asleep during the day in inappropriate situations, such as while on the phone or while driving. ›› High blood pressure If left untreated, sleep apnea can even contribute to heart attacks, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia, stroke and depression.
Causes Certain factors increase the risk of having
sleep apnea. For example, unchangeable physical characteristics put people at a disadvantage, such as having a small upper airway or large tongue and tonsils. A recessed chin, small jaw, large neck or large overbite can also increase the risk of developing the disorder. Obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption are three factors people can change to improve sleep apnea or stop it from getting worse.
In fact, a recent study from the Oivauni Sleep Clinic in Kuopio, Finland, found that sleep apnea was about half as likely to progress to more severe disease in obese people who had extended weight loss training, versus obese people who had little help to change their weight. "With these results, we can say that if we change our lifestyle... we really can stop the progression of sleep apnea," Dr. Henri Tuomilehto, leader of the study, told Reuters Health.
Diagnosis and Treatment If you suspect you may suffer from sleep apnea, get help, because the problem’s progression can be a serious blow to overall wellness.
The disorder is generally diagnosed through a sleep study, where doctors will monitor your sleep, possibly even through the night. They will examine breathing, eye movement, muscle activity and more. A common remedy for sleep apnea is a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, which fits over the nose and mouth and moves air into the airways to keep them open. Other remedies come in the form of dental devices, which can modify the position of the jaw and tongue. Surgery is sometimes performed to remove tissue in the airway.
>>>>>>> page 34
More than
18 MILLION
American adults suffer from sleep apnea. Source: National Sleep Foundation
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>>>>>>> from page 33
Going for the Throat: Hypothyroidism Those bewildered by fatigue, along with constipation and inexplicable weight gain, may be suffering from a condition called hypothyroidism, where the thyroid doesn’t produce enough vital energy-regulating hormones. Millions of Americans today suffer from hypothyroidism, many of whom are ignorant of their condition.
Symptoms
Hypothyroidism upsets the balance of chemical reactions within the body, leading to a variety of symptoms that severely decrease an individual’s quality of life. Many dismiss hypothyroidism as part of old age, since the first apparent symptom is fatigue. But left untreated, symptoms worsen, and can include:
Certain drugs, like lithium and amiodarone, can also cause the thyroid to be underactive. Birth defects and cancer treatments are other causes for underactivity. More rarely, it is caused by defects in the brain or the pituitary gland. More recently, international researchers and a team from McGill University in Canada discovered a hereditary form of hypothyroidism that is more prevalent in males than in females.
Testing and Treatment
A number of tests check for healthy thyroid function, according to the ATA: •
TSH test: This test measures the amount of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in your blood. This hormone is produced in your pituitary gland. The test requires a blood sample.
•
T4 test: This tests for T4 (thyroxine), which is a hormone produced by the thyroid gland. It also needs a blood sample.
•
Physicians can also test cholesterol levels, do a complete blood count or test liver enzymes.
›› Pale, dry skin ›› A puffy face ›› Hoarse voice ›› Elevated blood cholesterol ›› Pain and swelling in the joints ›› Abnormally heavy menstrual periods ›› Brittle fingernails and hair ›› Obesity ›› Thin eyebrows ›› Slow speech ›› Infertility The disease runs in families and is much more common among women than men. Incidence also increases with age, though those of all ages can suffer from thyroid problems. The American Thyroid Association (ATA) estimates that 20 million have some form of thyroid disease, but that 60 percent of these people are unaware of their condition.
Causes and Diagnosis
The most common cause of hypothyroidism is thyroiditis, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Thyroiditis is damage to the thyroid gland due to swelling and inflammation, caused by a variety of things, like the immune system mistakenly attacking the thyroid gland (Hashimoto’s Disease), or a respiratory infection like a cold, or pregnancy. Hypothyroidism’s lack of symptoms in its early stages make it a difficult disease to track, and is part of the reason for its underdiagnoses.
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Hypothyroidism is usually treated with a synthetic thyroid hormone. Levothyroxine (a.k.a. Synthroid) is the medication most commonly used for this purpose. Sometimes a hormone replacement isn’t enough, however, especially when the hypothyroidism is caused by an autoimmune disorder, like Hashimoto’s, the most common cause of hypothyroidism. Specific action must be taken to stop the body from attacking itself, along with the replacement of missing hormones. Proper treatment generally has good results, although patients usually remain on hormone replacements for the rest of their lives, according to the NIH. While hypothyroidism can’t be cured, almost every patient can gain complete control of the disease, according to the ATA. Sources: www.sleepfoundation.org www.medscape.com www.mayoclinic.com www.Prevention.com American Thyroid Association National Institutes of Health
Hypothyroidism is such
a common condition that medication for it is the fourth most commonly prescribed drug in the US, with more than
70 million prescriptions filled annually, according to Prevention.com.
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ALMOST 1 I UNITED STAN 10 CHILDREN IN THE WITH AND ATES ARE DIAGNOSED FOR A DISO RE BEING MEDICATED ADHD – AT RDER KNOWN AS HYPERACT TENTION DEFICIT THE CONTR IVITY DISORDER, BUT REALLY IS A OVERSY OVER WHAT IT IT HAS NOT ND HOW TO DEAL WITH IN THE 50+ YBEEN RESOLVED EVEN STUDIED AN EARS THAT IT HAS BEE N D DIAGNOS ED. 36
HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
When my neph ew Daniel spill s an entire ba bounds off with g of flour and out a second thought, or ca enough to fin n’t sit still long ish just one ho m ework assignm wonder: is it a ent, his parent chemical imba s lance, too muc discipline, a so h sugar, a lack cial problem or of so psychologists m et hi ng el se still aren’t en ? Doctors and tirely sure. Ha diagnosis may nding out an be the fastest ADHD way to get him him, to settle , and kids just down, so mill like ions of childre and given drug n are labeled th s, instead of re at way ceiving indivi for the variety dualized treat of problems th ment at could potent of the issue. ially be at the heart “The rate of ch ildren who w ere diagnosed by about 24 pe with ADHD ju rcent between mped 2001 and 2010 study publishe ,” according to d January 2013 a new in JAMA Pediat surge in medic ric ated, energetic s. Now, with th e youngsters, it’ to pay attentio s time for pare n to the ADHD nts hype.
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POSSIBLE CAUSES OF ADHD, AND HOW IT’S DIAGNOSED
On occasion, I care for my brother’s five children, and when I do, I make sure not to leave the Oreos out on the counter or start a movie after 9pm. That sugar surge and lack of sleep can contribute to hyper, irritable kiddos. Thousands of factors contribute to a child’s behavior, energy, and emotions. Among the major contributing factors are what and how much children eat, sugar intake, how much sleep they are getting, amount and consistency of exercise, family tension, parental expectations, and their school social environment.
he shares what he learned as an academic counselor helping students get into college: “…if a funding applicant was diagnosed with a disability, he/she not only had a much better chance at getting approved but also was given more leeway in terms of making academic progress. A disability diagnosis was a veritable get-out-ofjail-free card.”
One study from the University of Washington called “The Evolution of ADHD” has associated ADHD with certain genes and brain receptors, but this connection is only present in a small portion of ADHD cases. ADHD is diagnosed by doctors and counselors based on a checklist of behaviors listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). If someone exhibits a certain number of behaviors for a certain amount of time, the individual can qualify for this disorder, but there is still a wide range of inconsistency in the diagnosis. In New Jersey, 15 percent of children are diagnosed with the disorder as compared to 6 percent in Nevada or the .5 percent, yes, point five percent, of children diagnosed in France, according to researchers at UC-Berkeley studying Ritalin consumption.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH CURRENT DIAGNOSES AND FACTORS YOU HAVEN’T CONSIDERED
Everyone falls along an activity continuum and somewhat arbitrary lines have been drawn defining what is normal and abnormal. Matthew Smith, author of Hyperactive: The Controversial History of ADHD, makes the analogy that, “It’s not like you have a broken arm or you don’t. It’s more subtle…” which makes diagnosis, and even the definition of the disorder, very difficult. Clair Mellenthin, Director of a family therapy clinic in Salt Lake City, pointed out that it is easy to misdiagnose ADHD because the symptoms overlap with anxiety and PTSD. In fact, prescription of ADHD medication has spiked in recent years, which is a concerning trend, according to Smith. “Medication is often the first port of call when it should be an absolute last resort,” he says. “If you know anything about kids, you know that their behavior is influenced by thousands of factors… Although medication is often the easiest and often seems the most effective approach, I think we should value our children enough to try other interventions before medicating.” Some schools, in a flourish of goodwill, are eager to label kids as having ADHD at the first parental suggestion in order to help struggling students, while other school counselors hold out on the diagnosis hoping to protect an ever-shrinking budget and resources. Some kids and counselors vie for the diagnosis hoping to qualify for scholarships, test modification, and funding. In Smith’s book Facebook.com/HealthyIdaho
Kids who exhibit some of the characteristics on the DSM checklist can be diagnosed and often receive medication to go with it, as casually as an order of fries on the side. Smith poses the question, “…why did we ignore the complex backgrounds of these young people in seeking an explanation for their behavioural, social and educational problems, preferring to explain away their problems in life on a genetic, neurological glitch?”
A new version of the DSM was recently released (DSM V), and the diagnostic tools for ADHD have been altered somewhat. A new addition to the manual is that some of a person’s ADHD symptoms must be present before 12 years of age, versus before 7 years of age, as the DSM IV says. The next step for parents is to understand what things can contribute to a child lacking attention or being hyperactive. Think about all the factors that influence your child’s behavior, and which ones you can modify. Examine the expectations set on this child. Is this little individual being pressured to go down a certain path like law or medicine that may not cater to his/her interests and strengths? Is this child provided with structure at home and school which encourages self-discipline and self-control?
Parents and many teachers are actively involved in the ADHD debate because of the effects, positive and negative, of medicating kids. Mellenthin and Smith agree that distributing psychostimulants can be detrimental to a child and should not be a first response. Many researchers are adamantly opposed to using pills to control children, whereas other doctors and therapists will vouch for the stabilizing effectiveness of using medication to help kids function.
If you’re an aunt like me who likes to spoil nieces and nephews with cookies and movies, consider alternative activities and foods. Maybe testing all the types of apples from the local market and hula hooping can build those same family bonds. Competent, informed psychologists, therapists and doctors are readily available to help in a plethora of effective and individualized ways. You can be active in helping those hyperactive individuals in your life.
A central complication in the debate is that some children do in fact need medication, while others don’t. If the problem is a chemical issue, Mellenthin treats patients with a combination of counseling and medication, but other times, coping strategies can be learned to help kids focus, and the medication can be avoided all together. And even when drugs are used, they must be individualized, as medication is metabolized differently by each person, creating unique responses. An alternative to traditional American approach can be seen in France. French child psychologists classify ADHD as a medical condition with psycho-social and situational causes, instead of a biological imbalance, as the root of the issue. French doctors prefer to look for underlying issues somewhere in the child’s social context, then this underlying problem is treated with family counseling instead of medicine.
A GUIDE FOR PARENTS
An obvious first step for parents is to understand how ADHD is diagnosed, according to the DSM. Symptoms are divided into two categories: inattention and hyperactivity and impulsivity, and include things like fidgeting, inability to remain seated and failure to pay attention to close details. In order to be diagnosed, a child must have at least six symptoms from either or both categories. Those over 17 must have five symptoms from either group of criteria.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER How does ADHD impact career? Smith admits that one of his family members was diagnosed with ADHD, never finished high school, then figured out that he was good at electrical work and now makes as much money as Smith does without Smith’s 10 years of postsecondary education. He was able to use his energy towards his trade.
Are the children close to us getting enough opportunities to expend their energy? Less than 48 percent of children in the United States walk or bike to school, stated the Associated Press in 2004, but the average child spends 5-7 hours in front of a screen every day according to a National Institutes of Health report. Smith purports that getting out and expending energy can help hyperactive kids’ energy levels to be more stable.
Sources: “The Evolution of ADHD”, www.faculty.washington.edu “ADHD: Biological Disease or Psychological Disorder?”, www.irle.berkeley.edu Hyperactivity: the Controversial History of ADHD by Matthew Smith www.dsm5.org
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CAFF THE AMERICAN
T
he word energy is almost synonymous with caffeine in many American’s minds. Energy drink, 5-Hour Energy, Monster Energy Drink. Students rely on caffeinefilled products for late-night study sessions, commuters for alertness, and early risers for functional mornings. In fact, nearly
90% of Americans intake caffeine every day. The US Food and Drug Administration
has historically given the psychoactive drug a cautious GRAS rating, or “generally regarded as safe.” However, recent, heavily marketed products containing unprecedented amounts of the drug as additives in unprecedented types of food have the FDA starting investigations on the safety of caffeine in food, especially for children and adolescents. Depending on what these investigations find, the FDA hasn’t ruled out imposing limitations to not only the amounts of caffeine allowed in food but potentially age restrictions similar to alcohol and cigarettes.
90%
nearly of Americans intake caffeine every day 38
HEALTHY IDAHO JULY 2013
Current Troubling Trends
Recently companies have been heavily marketing more and more products that feature “energizing” effects to counteract lack of sleep, concentration, or motivation. Caffeine and the more natural guarana, which contains concentrated caffeine, have been finding their way into jellybeans, chewing gum, syrup, waffles, sunflower seeds, marshmallows, bottled water and even oatmeal. Of course these new sources only add to the already well-known sources like coffee, tea, and most notably energy drinks, which industry enjoys over $10 billion in sales annually. The FDA, among many other groups, is concerned with children consuming more amounts of caffeine as the drug is found outside the realm of the high-octane energy drink world and into seemingly innocuous, appealing foods and candies. Historically, caffeine has enjoyed a nearly unchecked proliferation; the fear is that companies are benefitting from caffeine’s understudied effects on children, adolescents and adults. The FDA recently published their intent to study caffeine’s effects, reporting that “Our concern is about caffeine appearing in a range of new products, including ones that may be attractive and readily available to children and adolescents, without careful consideration of their cumulative impact.” Their ultimate goal is “to better understand caffeine consumption and use patterns and determine what is a safe level for total consumption of caffeine.”
Should We Be Concerned?
In the past decade, energy drinks have become increasingly popular and their producers more and more able to build extremely appealing and convincing marketing campaigns. But in response to the increase in energy drinks has also come a troubling increase in caffeinerelated ER visits and possibly even deaths. A government agency called Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has reported that from 2007 to 2011 the number of emergency department visits involving energy drinks doubled from 10,068 to 20,783. These hospital visits were generally listed as adverse effects to large amounts of caffeine, causing insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat, seizures, and severe anxiety.
5-Hour Energy was cited in 13 deaths and Monster Energy drink was cited in 5 more Furthermore, the FDA acknowledged in 2012 that 5-Hour Energy was cited in 13 deaths and Monster Energy drink was cited in 5 more. In fact, since 2009, 5-Hour Energy has been mentioned in a total 90 various filings with the FDA. The connection between these beverages and negative health conditions doesn’t mean energy drinks alone are to blame, but the reports, considered together, are worrying nonetheless. Healthy-Idaho.com
FEINE EPIDEMIC W R IT T EN BY DA LLIN LAW
How Much is Too Much?
The FDA has designated a fairly arbitrary number of 400 mg as the recommended limitation on caffeine intake for adults per day. That’s about 3 or 4 cups of average coffee or 1 energy drink. The median amount of caffeine fatal to humans is 10 grams, but its consequences at lower doses needs to be better understood. Many manufacturers like 5-Hour Energy market their products as supplements rather than beverages, meaning that they can get away with keeping their ingredients and caffeine content secret. Even products with published caffeine contents can be confusing with varying sizings and brandings. Consult a chart like this one to get a better idea how much caffeine common beverages contain: www.cspinet.org/new/ cafchart.htm. Reactions to caffeine vary greatly from person to person, so for now it’s best to be mindful of caffeine intake and consider following the FDA’s conservative, self-imposed limit.
FDA’s Possible Reaction
Does this new investigation mean that there may be new limits on caffeine set? It’s very possible. The FDA actually explicitly approved caffeine in colas in the 1950s, but since then the uses of caffeine have expanded and our understanding of its overuse have made the issue more serious. Michael R Taylor, a deputy commissioner at the FDA, has stated that “we
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are prepared to go through the regulatory process to establish clear boundaries and conditions on caffeine use. We are also prepared to consider enforcement action against individual products as appropriate.” There may be an upper limit to how much caffeine a drink can have and even what kinds of foods are allowable to include caffeine.The FDA has set a precedent for this behavior when they banned certain types of alcoholic drinks with caffeine in them when studies showed danger behavior associated with the combinations. When questioned whether the FDA would impose age restrictions with caffeine, Taylor responded “We have to be practical; enforcing age restrictions would be challenging. For me, the more fundamental questions are whether it is appropriate to use foods that may be inherently attractive and accessible to children as the vehicle to deliver the stimulant caffeine and whether we should place limits on the amount of caffeine in certain products.” Look to see more in the future from the FDA and caffeine. In the meantime, be mindful and reasonable with your caffeine intake. SOURCES www.samhsa.gov, www.nytimes.com, www.fda.gov
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Farmers Market 101:
BE A SAVVY LOCAL SHOPPER
W R IT T EN BY DA LLIN LAW
SHOPPING AT A FARMERS MARKET IS A LITTLE LIKE TAKING A TRIP BACK INTO THE GOLDEN AGE OF FOOD. FARMERS WORK VERY HARD PLANTING, CARING FOR, AND HARVESTING THEIR CROP. EVERY FRUIT OR VEGETABLE IS PICKED WHEN IT’S SEASONALLY RIPE AND LIES ON A TABLE OR IN THE BACK OF A TRUCK FOR YOU TO SURVEY. PEOPLE BUSTLE FROM STALL TO STALL, STOPPING FOR FRIENDLY CONVERSATION WITH THEIR GROWERS; HOME BAKED GOODS SMELL LIKE THEY JUST CAME OUT OF THE OVEN; HANDMADE GOODS, FROM JEWELRY TO WOODWORK, LINE AISLES; A MAKESHIFT GRILL AND SOME RECIPES OBVIOUSLY HONED OVER A FEW GENERATIONS PRODUCE AMAZING BARBEQUE.
in important ways. There are things both newcomer and veteran should keep in mind to understand how to get the most out of your experience and fit in with the culture that surrounds these local gatherings.
Maybe that description waxes a little poetical on what others might see as a rag-tag group of locals hawking their wares, but farmers markets are one of the best ways to connect with the faces and places where your food actually comes from. Shopping at a farmers market encourages sustainable, smallscale, local growing practices in addition to helping you get some of the best produce available anywhere. Farmers markets are an amazing experience, but they are inherently different from the grocery market experience
It’s easy for your eyes to get larger than your stomach—or your wallet, for that matter. When the samples start getting passed around, it’s easy to justify spending way more than you initially thought, so bring only a predetermined amount of cash unless you really feel like splurging.
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Preparation is Key Got a Bag?
Only some vendors will have bags, so be sure to bring some bags yourself, preferably cloth bags that are reusable and sturdy. Also consider bringing a container for easily damaged items like berries.
Bring Cash
Larger markets may have ATMs around, but save yourself the ATM fees by bringing cash; small bills are very helpful for the farmers and vendors making change. Paying in quarters might be a godsend for some change-strapped farmers.
Set a Budget
Plan a Menu
It’s helpful to have a general idea of what you’re looking for at the market, but don’t think in terms of “one cup zucchini, chopped” but more
in terms of any good vegetables for roasting or greens for salad or berries to make a tart. This way you can search out the best looking produce instead of filling a checklist but still know what to do with your purchases when you get home.
Go Early What You See is What You Get
It’s no secret that, unlike grocery stores, what the farmers bring to the market is all that is for sale. The best offerings will sell out first, so go early for a wide selection. Any baked goods will likely be fresh and fragrant early in the day. Samples will be plentiful, and you’ll avoid the sticky mid-day heat.
Greedy for Attention?
In the morning there are fewer people around, so you’ll get more attention as a customer which means you’ll be able to ask more questions from the people who know the vegetables best—the farmers who grew them. However, if you arrive when the market is busy, be sure not to be too needy, especially if you can tell the stall is busy. Asking for samples of every variety of jam while they’re trying to make change is rude and likely will negate any good feelings between you.
The One-Two Punch
Go early enough to take a run through all of the stalls to see what’s available and the exact prices of the things that look good. Avoid the rotten feeling of discovering better looking Healthy-Idaho.com
zucchini for cheaper a few stalls down. After you survey the offerings, then go for a second pass to make purchases. This twostep process may take longer but makes for a better experience.
Closeout Deals
Some people find that going late allows them to pick up some good deals. Often farmers will be willing to haggle to unload leftover produce for cheaper, but remember you’ll be getting the dregs of the bounty.
The Best of:
Magazine Food Bloggers’ Farmers Market Recipes It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the farmers market and come home with amazing looking and smelling produce that you don’t really know how to use. Knowing exactly that feeling, two amazing Magazine food bloggers lend us a few fresh, seasonal recipes that feature produce you will probably find at your local market.
Build a Relationship with Your Farmers
About Becky & Project Domestication:
Becky is a Magazine native and proud of it. She authors Project Domestication, which chronicles her journey in seasonal cooking, baking, the Magazine food scene, traveling and all things domestic. She loves using high-quality, local ingredients, especially if it means learning something new and enjoying a special treat with those she loves. Becky has been a La Nay Ferme share member since its inception.
These are the people that are throwing this food party, so treat them nicely and you’re likely to get some expert advice, a solid recipe, and some excellent service.
Don’t Be Question-Shy
Ask them for what you’re looking for. Many farmers are passionate about what they’re selling and are quick to help you see why their produce is excellent. Ask them to identify the produce that you don’t recognize. Often farmers grow a variety of heirloom varieties that wouldn’t be suitable for mass production and shipping, but have a taste and texture many times better than supermarket varieties. Don’t be afraid to ask them what an unfamiliar variety tastes like or how they like to eat it. Chances are if they grow it they also know a few good recipes they would be willing to share.
No Touching
As a courtesy to the farmer, don’t handle the produce. While in the supermarket it’s common to squeeze every peach and avocado to check for firmness, if everyone takes a squeeze fruit will become badly bruised and likely unsellable for the farmer. Instead, ask the farmer to identify very fresh fruit if you want to eat them today or to identify fruit that will be ready in a few days.
Haggling and Prices
Vendors are usually unlikely to haggle, especially early in the day. But if the market is bit empty or it’s late in the day, a polite offer might get you a solid deal. However, you’re unlikely to earn any favor comparing their produce’s price or appearance with grocery market equivalents. Farmers, more than anyone, know the hard work that goes into bringing a lowly tomato from the ground to the market and also know that a slightly blemished apple is definitely much tastier than anything in a store. While it’s commonly thought that farmers markets are more expensive than supermarkets, a recent comparison published in The Atlantic shows that prices might be more comparable than you think. See: The Atlantic, The Farmers Market Myth
Be Courteous to Others Aisles in farmers markets are usually extremely narrow for the amount of people who go. Strollers are often problematic and dogs are often frowned upon and sometimes even banned. Bringing the whole family is often cute, but be very cautious to not cause traffic jams or to overwhelm a vendor’s stall preventing others from looking at the wares and communicate with the vendors.
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Spinach & Chickpea Spread with Za’atar Seasoning
This is my play on hummus. Not something smooth and creamy in texture but rather in taste. This spread is loaded with spinach, an entire plentiful bag of spinach, and my favorite bean, the chickpea. Add in the brightness of fresh lemon juice, the punch of garlic and some creaminess of sour cream and to make the perfect filling for a delicious pita bread sandwich. Ingredients: 6-10 oz. spinach 1 Tbsp. garlic cloves, sliced 1 Tbsp. za’atar seasoning (or to taste) 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 2 Tbsp. sour cream salt (to taste Directions: Pulse spinach in food processor until it appears as if you finely chopped with a knife. Place remaining ingredients except for sour cream in and pulse until slightly chunky. Add in sour cream and pulse until it’s combined evenly. Serve with pita bread (or in lettuce cups) and tomatoes. Notes: Za’atar is a Middle Eastern seasoning made up of dried herbs, sesame seeds, salt and most importantly, sumac. If you've never had it, sumac has a slightly astringent, lemony flavor. It can be powerful on its own, which is why it’s balanced with the other flavors in this mix. You can find za'atar in Middle Eastern groceries, at many natural food stores, or online at places like Penzeys or The Spice House. You can also easily make your own blend at home using either fresh or dried ingredients. Here's a basic formula: Za'atar Seasoning Blend 2 Tbsp. dried thyme 2 Tbsp. dried sumac 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted or un-toasted as you prefer You can simply shake these ingredients together in a spice jar or grind them in a spice grinder for a finer powder. Some mixes will also add a tablespoon of marjoram or oregano to the mix. If you like the flavor of these herbs, feel free to add them.
Swiss Chard (or Kale) Cashew Dip by Becky of Project Domestication Ingredients: 1 ½ c. raw cashews Zest of 1 lemon Juice of 1 lemon (about ¼- c.) ½ - ¾ c. water ½ tsp. Redmond Real Salt ( + more to taste) 1 - 1 ½ tsp. red pepper flakes 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 c. shallots, sliced thin 5 cloves garlic, sliced thin 2 Tbsp. water 6-7 oz. Swiss Chard, chopped well Directions: Place cashews, lemon zest, lemon juice ½ c. water, salt and red pepper flakes in high-speed blender or food processor. Blend until smooth like sour cream. Add more water to achieve desired consistency. Set aside. Bring olive oil to a shimmer over medium heat in large saute pan. Saute shallots until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Then add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes being careful not to burn. Add chard and stir using spatula, making sure to coat the chard with oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes until limp. Add water and cover, cook for 1 minute or until all water is dissolved. Take off heat and let cool until room temperature. Combine spicy cashew cream mixture with sauteed chard. Serve warm with bread, carrots and other vegetables. Also good chilled. For Kale & Cashew Dip: Substitute 12-16 kale leaves for chard. Keep the kale stalk and chop small, sauteeing with shallots and garlic. (Also great without shallots and garlic.)
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Magazine Food Bloggers’ Farmers Market Recipes About Lindsey & Cafe Johnsonia :
Lindsey Johnson lives in Magazine County with her husband, Fred, and their three great kids. She works as a food stylist and photographer, writer, blogger, and recipe developer. Over the past three years, Lindsey has been making the journey to eating a gluten-free and plantbased diet. On her blog, Cafe Johnsonia, there is a little something for everyone--herbivores and carnivores alike.
Quick Cucumber Pickles
(adapted from Martha Stewart Living Cookbook to make 1 pint) Ingredients: 1 medium cucumber, cut into thick slices 1 cup white vinegar 1 tsp. sugar 3/4 tsp. sea salt 1 small sprig fresh dill plus flowers, if possible 1/4 tsp. dried dill seeds 1 garlic clove, sliced or smashed 1/2 tsp. peppercorns Notes: These pickles pack a punch. They are extra sour. If you prefer sweeter pickles, add some sugar. Probably even 1 Tbsp. would be fine. I prefer mine without sugar, so I only put in the tiniest bit to cut the acidity a little. They were gone in seconds and I was slicing up the next cucumber and putting it into the brine in the jar. Instructions: Place cucumber slices, sprig of dill and flowers, dill seeds, garlic and peppercorns in a clean pint jar. Bring the vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil--just long enough to dissolve the salt and sugar. Pour over the cucumbers. Put lid on the jar. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before using or eating, preferably one day. Place in refrigerator and use within 3-5 days. When pickle slices are gone, replace with fresh slices.
Tomato Zucchini Bisque with Pistou (Original recipes for soup and pisto adapted slightly from The Joy of Cooking)
and tomatoes have darkened in places. This will take anywhere from 45-60 minutes depending on the pan you use.
Ingredients:
While the zucchini and tomatoes are roasting, heat a little oil in a 3 quart pot. Add the onion and cook until it starts to brown. Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Add about 4 cups of water and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits. Simmer until the onions and garlic are very tender. The liquid will evaporate, and that's totally fine.
For soup: 2 lbs. ripe tomatoes, halved 1 lb. zucchini, sliced a little olive oil salt and pepper 1 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced water For Pistou: 4 cups packed fresh basil leaves 2 cloves garlic 1/2 cup Gruyere, grated 1/3 cup or more olive oil pinch of coarse salt Instructions: For Soup: Place tomatoes and zucchini in a roasting pan or baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven until the zucchini is very tender and both the zucchini
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Place the zucchini, tomatoes, any accumulated juices and the onion/ garlic broth in a high speed blender. Be careful when pureeing the hot vegetables and liquid. It can escape from the lid and burn you. (Trust me.) Pour back into the pan and add enough water to get it to the desired consistency. Season well with salt and pepper. For Pistou: Place the basil into a food processor, or a mortar and pestle (in batches), and process until very finely chopped. Add the garlic and cheese, Process until a very thick paste forms. Add the olive oil and keep processing, scraping down the sides as necessary, until the pistou is smooth. Taste and add a little salt, if needed. To Serve: Ladle soup into shallow bowls and top with a little of the pistou and swirl through the soup. Sprinkle with a bit of Gruyere, if desired. Makes enough for 4-6. Healthy-Idaho.com
play/ july 2013
Arts and Recreation 1-11
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34TH ANNUAL WATERCOLOR EXHIBITION
Held at Boise State University’s Student Union Gallery, this exhibition brings together the best watercolor paintings of artists living in Utah. Expect a wide variety of styles, subject matter and technique. events.boisestate.edu/
1-31 OLD IDAHO PENITENTIARY SITE
East of Boise lies an old building full of history: the Old Penitentiary. Open noon to 5 every day, this prison from the 1800s held some of the West’s most desperate criminals. The location, 2445 Old Penitentiary Road, includes dozens of buildings, historical exhibitions and more.
208-334-2844
208-426-1110
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> SEND YOUR EVENTS TO US AT EVENTS@HEALTHY-MAG.COM
Boasting a $400,000 payoff, the Snake River Stampede is one of the top 10 regular season professional rodeos in the nation. It has evolved from a small, local bucking horse competition in the early 1900′s to a major professional sports event. It will be held at the Idaho Center in Nampa. www.
www.eaglechamber.com/annual-events/eagle-fundays
MANILOW IN CONCERT
Don’t miss this unprecedented concert on its new date as Barry Manilow performs songs from his massive catalog of hits. From “Mandy” to “I Write the Songs” to “Copacabana (At The Copa)” and many more. He will perform at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise.
1-208-426-1766
www.tacobellarena.com
snakeriverstampede.com/
Run Events 13
15- 20 MORRISON CENTER SUMMER PERFORMANCE CAMPS
This six-day camp features acting, singing, dancing and confidence building skills. The camp is for students completing grades 1-12.
mc.boisestate.edu
JIMMY EAT WORLD
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bo.knittingfactory.com
RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S THE SOUND OF MUSIC IN CONCERT
The Sound of Music in Concert is the fourth in a series of a musical performed by Opera Idaho vocalists in an outdoor setting. The well-known Rodgers and Hammerstein musical tells the story of Maria, a nun turned nanny in Austria, and her influence on the Von Trapp family during the time of World War II. Stuart Weiser returns to conduct.
208.345.3531
FIT FOR LIFE HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K
One of a series of marathon, half marathon and other distance races that take place in the Boise area throughout the year organized by the City of Trees Marathon Association, the Fit For Life Half Marathon -- which also features a 10K and a 5K race -- is set to make its 10th annual running in the summer of 2013.
www.cityoftreesmarathon.com
208-426-1034
Performing music from their recently released album Damage, Jimmy Eat World will come to the Knitting Factory in Boise.
208-367-1212
SEE JANE RUN HALF MARATHON AND 5K
The See Jane Run celebrates women. The hope is that the run will change people who will bring that change to the world. It will be held in Greenbelt, in Boise.
16-20 98TH ANNUAL SNAKE RIVER STAMPEDE
One of the best community events Treasure Valley has to offer, the Eagle Fun Days include a parade, comedy, music and a rodeo.
17-18
screwtapeonstage.com/boise-id
www.seejanerun.com
history.idaho.gov
12-13 EAGLE FUN DAYS
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THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS
The Screwtape Letters is a smart, provocative and wickedly funny theatrical adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view. A hit in NYC and Chicago, the show is sure to please audiences in Idaho, where it will show at Boise State University’s Morrison Center.
IDAHO FALLS HALF MARATHON
From the western foothills of the Rocky Mountains just outside the city, runners follow a downhill course that loses some 1,300 feet of elevation between the starting line and the race finish line.
www.idahofalls131.com
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BLACKFOOT TRIATHLON
The Blackfoot Triathlon is a USA Triathlon Sanctioned SPRINT Distance event. With a 750 meter swim, 20 kilometer bicycle segment, and a 5 kilometer run segment, it traverses both areas in the City of Blackfoot and in the rural area of Bingham County.
www.blackfoottriathlon.com
www.operaidaho.org
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M.A.D. MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K
The scenic beauty of Eastern Idaho's Upper Snake River Valley, filled with rolling rural hills and snow-capped mountains to the southeast, will be on display for runners at the third annual running of Idaho Falls' M.A.D. Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K race in the middle of summer 2013.
www.themadmarathon.com
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Through a Child’s Eyes A guide for parents to preserve their children’s vision
My child passed the vision test at the pediatrician’s office. Should I still schedule a vision examination with an eye doctor for my child? Yes. The vision test at any pediatrician’s office or at school is simply a vision screening. While vision screenings can uncover some individuals with vision problems, they can miss more than they find. This is a major concern about vision screenings in general. The accurate assessment of visual acuity and visual performance requires specific equipment and instruments, and examination by an optometrist or ophthalmologist, who has the specialized training needed to make a definitive diagnosis and prescribe treatment. Pediatricians’ offices and schools do not have the equipment and instruments necessary to perform a thorough vision exam or an eye doctor on staff. Current vision screening methods cannot be relied upon to effectively identify individuals in need of vision care. They can create a false sense of security for those individuals who “pass” the screening, but who actually have a vision problem, thereby delaying further examination and treatment. Unfortunately, undetected and untreated vision problems can interfere with a child’s ability to learn in school and participation in sports or with an adult’s ability to do their job or to drive safely. The earlier a vision problem is diagnosed and treated, the less it will impact an individual’s quality of life.
Dr. Jeffrey C. Johnson Primary Care / LASIK
important to follow their eyes on a regular basis because they are growing and developing. Generally, if everything is healthy, the second eye examination should occur around the age of 3. If you notice anything about your child’s eyes that seems abnormal between 9-months and 3 years it is recommended that you bring your child in as soon as possible. Lastly, get your child’s eyes checked before starting kindergarten. Because a major aspect of learning is through vision, it is important to make sure your child is set up for success from the beginning.
My child has difficulties reading, is this an eye problem? There are many reasons why a child struggles with reading and the visual system is just one component. Some challenges with reading can be visual in nature. To be an efficient reader, a child must be able to keep the words on the page clear and single while they move their eyes from word to word and line by line. There are several visual skills at work during reading that extend far beyond reading 20/20 on an eye chart. The care team of a child with reading difficulties should include an optometrist who is able to assess the visual skills required to be an efficient reader. While the visual demands of reading may only be one barrier to success, it is important to rule out the eyes as a contributing factor to reading challenges.
How do I choose an eye doctor for my children? Choosing an eye doctor for your child is just like choosing any other type of doctor. It is important to find an optometrist who is comfortable around children and has clinical experience with pediatrics.
At what age should my child have her first vision examination with an eye doctor? A child’s first eye exam should occur within the first year of life, ideally around 9 months of age. Evaluating an infant’s vision at such a young age helps to determine if there are any ocular problems that may prevent the child’s vision from developing normally. If your child’s 9-month optometry visit is normal it is
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www.artisanoptics.com
Dr. Jill A. Kronberg Pediatrics / Primary Care
Dr. Ryan C. Johnson Neuro-Optometry / Vision Therapy
UPTOWN BOISE uptown@artisanoptics.com 7960 W Rifleman St #150 Boise , Idaho , 83704 USA 208-377-8899
DOWNTOWN BOISE downtown@artisanoptics.com 190 N 8th St, Boise Idaho , 83702 USA 208-338-0500 Healthy-Idaho.com
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