Healthy
Lifestyles
July 30, 2010
2 - Ravalli Republic, Friday, July 30, 2010
A votre santĂŠ: Wine is an elixir of good health JEFF SCHMERKER Ravalli Republic
DAVID ERICKSON - Ravalli Republic
Drink up. Red wine tastes good and is good for you. Customers occasionally ask Jim Wood, owner of the Bitterroot Grocery Emporium in Hamilton, about the health benefits of wine. Wood’s store has a wine selection focusing on small vintners and lesser known grapes. Modest amounts of wine consumption promote the elasticity of blood vessels, a factor which helps fight heart disease. Meanwhile, red wine also has resveratrol, a substance believed to have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-lowering and other beneficial cardiovascular effects. Resveratrol is found in the highest concentration in wines from Sardinia. Grocery Emporium sells a Sardinian cannonau -- a grape similar to zinfandel -- for about $14. Pinot noirs from Oregon’s Willamette Valley are also tagged as being healthful wines. Good bottles from that area start at around $20. “It is what’s called the French paradox,� Wood said. “The French have a high fat diet
but they drink wine with all their meals. It tends to balance it out so they don’t have heart issues.� Doctors warn, however, that there are certainly negative benefits to alcohol consumption, and a fact sheet from the Mayo Clinic says that it’s likely not worth it to start drinking wine just to reap its healthful benefits. The beneficial antioxidants found in red wine are found in a number of other foods, including oranges, grape juice, apples, onions, tea and dark chocolate. Other types of alcohol, like white wine and even beer, may also contain antioxidants, though not as many as red wine. The resveratrol in wine comes from the skin of grapes. Because red wine is fermented with the grape skins -- and white wine is fermented without skins -- the resveratrol levels in red wine are higher. Other foods that contain some amounts of resveratrol include blueberries and cranberries -- no word on huckleberries just yet. If you want to your resveratrol without the wine, however, you can simply troop down to your local drugstore and buy a bottle.
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Ravalli Republic, Friday, July 30, 2010 - 3
For the love of
swimming
DAVID ERICKSON - Ravalli Republic
SEPP JANNOTTA Staff Reporter
Kids almost invariably think of swimming as play. Of course, adults know that it’s a great way to be fit. And once they’re swimming, you never know how far they might take it. The key is getting them into the water as early as you can, says Fern Schreckendgust. And with that in mind, the Bitterroot Aquatics Center in Hamilton has baby swim classes – Baby Bobbers – scheduled twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday mornings 9:30-10:30 a.m.). “The more your child is in the water, the more comfortable they are and the better they do,” Schreckendgust says. “And it’s really fun.” The next step takes toddler types on up the learning curve. “At that point, we’re getting them even more comfortable,” she says. “They’re learning to hold their
breath, blowing bubbles and putting our face in the water and working on buoyancy.” From there it’s on to flutter kicking and beyond as they progress into the world of water locomotion. Soon they’ll be ready to move into paddling, then rhythmic breathing, then actual swimming strokes. And the best part, Schreckendgust says
the kids don’t even know it’s good for them. “They just think we’re in there having a blast and they have no idea that we’re learning,” she says. “Each level is about confidence and independence and teaching water safety and survival techniques. They have no clue but we just sneak it in there.” The Bitterroot Aquatics Center has as many as 10 instructors who help with the process of bringing valley kids into the fun (fitness and water safety) of swimming and classes for kids up to 18 years old are running Monday through Thursday. As they go, the staff is always on the look out for kids who might take swimming up as a sport, because, Schreckendgust says, that’s when it gets really fun, not to mention healthy. She guesses about half of the kids who do early learning swim classes end up trying the swim team. “We always push it, because it’s such a healthy lifestyle,” Schreckendgust says.
will moss- Ravalli Republic
4 - Ravalli Republic, Friday, July 30, 2010
On your feet! WILL MOSS Staff Reporter
Finally, summer has returned. Time to break out the boat, the tent, the backpack and start enjoying the great outdoors; it’s the reason many of us decide to call this place home in the first place, right? Not so fast there, Man vs. Wild. If you’re itching to make the most of your summer, there’s one thing you’ll need to do first: look down. What do you see? It’s your feet, dummy, and if you want to have a long and enjoyable summer
you’re going to have to make sure that they are healthy and properly equipped to take you to all the places you want to go. According to Chad Dickemore, DPM, a podiatrist with the Bitterroot Foot & Ankle Clinic in Hamilton, summertime can be good business for a foot doctor. Sure, people can have issues year-round, but in the summer, Dickemore said, folks really start to wail on their feet. “In the summer time you see more repetitive injuries like plantar fasciitis or ankle sprains or ingrown toenails,” he said. “When people hike, that’s a lot of stress on the feet.” Plantar fasciitis describes pain that occurs in the heel caused by the inflammation of a ligament on the bottom of the foot and is a common occurrence in those who are spending a lot of time on their feet. “Most people who have heel pain, that’s typically what they’ve got,” Dickemore said. “That ligament gets sore from chronic pounding.” Other common foot injuries that can be aggravated in the
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summer include in-grown toenails, ankle and foot sprains, stress fractures and blisters. Strenuous hiking or running can create or complicate these problems, especially stress fractures and other injuries from repetitive trauma. “Hamilton’s got a fair amount of athletic and competitive runners and they tend to get out more in the summer time, so you see more of those injuries too,” Dickemore said. Aside from repetitive stress, Dickemore points to two main causes of summer time foot woes: improper shoe choice and lack of preparation. “The best thing they can do is to wear appropriate shoes. I think that’s the biggest mistake [people make],” he said. “Especially in the summer time - they don’t want to wear an athletic shoe or a running shoe or a good hiking boot - they wear the flip-flops or the sandals. Teva makes a very good sandal, but if you’re going to hike five miles it’s a poor choice in foot gear.” Dickemore suggests buying shoes from a store that not only
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has a good selection, but one that also has a knowledgeable staff that can find the right show for your foot-type and activity. “Not every shoe is going fit the same person,” he said. “It just depends on your foot type.” Also, he added, ease yourself into summer recreation. If you’ve been sitting on the couch or at your desk for the last 6 months, it’s probably not a great idea to jump right into a long-distance excursion without working up to it. “You always see the weekend warrior; the guy that hikes 10 miles when he hasn’t hiked for the whole summer,” Dickemore said. “He’s in a lot of pain, his feet are sore and he’s wearing poor shoes .... That’s the most common thing.” In other words, when it comes to the summer time, be foot smart. Pay attention to how they feel and what they’re telling you and, whatever you do, take care of your shoes. As for that pesky summer time foot odor? Good luck.
Ravalli Republic, Friday, July 30, 2010 - 5
Heavy
advice: Don’t neglect workouts
PERRY BACKUS Ravalli Republic Editor
“Gardening gives me all the exercise I need.” “I don’t need to lift weights in the summertime because I’m outdoors doing something every weekend.” “It’s only a couple of months. I’ll be back in the gym this fall.” Beth Humble has heard all the excuses. Every summer, gym rats everywhere look to the great out-of-doors to replace regular sessions of lifting weights to maintain muscle tone. It doesn’t work that way, said Humble, the owner of Hamilton’s Iron Horse Gym. “Resistance training is something that you have to keep doing or you start loosing muscle mass in a hurry,” Humble said. For folks under 50, the rule of thumb says muscles begin to atrophy within 72 hours following a good workout. People older than that don’t even have that long before muscles begin to turn to flab. “Older adults really need to stick to their regular workout regime,” Humble said. “They will really feel it if they don’t. It just doesn’t make any
sense to stop doing it just because summer is here.” To keep making gains in developing and toning muscles, people need to do resistance training at least three times a week. To maintain what they have, it takes a minimum of two workouts a week. There are a lot of reasons for keeping your body fit. “You don’t have to do resistance training
to make your body buff,’ Humble said. Resistance training can help stave off diabetes, osteoporosis and a host of other maladies. Since muscles burn calories more efficiently than fat, resistance training is also a great way to keep that waistline in check. People are never too old to get started. Studies have been completed at nursing homes that have shown people well into their 80s, even 90s, have shown improvements lifting weights. “People really do begin feeling better in a relatively short period of time,” Humble said. And that means they feel better when they go hiking or swimming or biking in the summertime. “People can even garden longer, harder and better,” Humble said. “I have people who tell me they get all the cardio they need pushing their lawnmower around … most likely they’re not going long enough or hard enough to really replace a good workout.” There’s just really no excuse for not taking care of yourself, she said. “In these difficult economic times, we all need to do a good job of taking care of ourselves. Being fit helps reduce medical bills.” SEPP JANNOTTA - Ravalli Republic
6 - Ravalli Republic, Friday, July 30, 2010
Fun salutations: the yoga way DAVID ERICKSON Staff Reporter
Yoga is becoming increasingly popular in the Bitterroot valley as a way for retirees and baby boomers to keep fit, according to Jill Hughes. She owns Yoga in the Root, a yoga studio in Stevensville, and she says yoga has never been more popular. “What I’ve found for Bitterroot residents especially - I have an older population here - what has surprised them is how much better their joints feel,” Hughes said. “Their range of motion improves, and people on the verge of surgery who are now pain free. Yoga develops strength in joints, and opens them up to begin to move.” Hughes said that there are many things that people don’t realize about yoga. “It stimulates the endocrine system,” she said. “It cleans the glands out. The poses trigger all the glands to flush and renew, and balances the hormones. We even have a class for hormone balancing that will begin in the fall that will trigger those kinds of things.” Hughes said yoga just tends to make people happier. “It brings people general happiness, a general lift in mood,” she said. “It gives you a greater sense of well-being all the time, a little bit more even keel, a little bit more joyful. With a great knowledge of yoga you can manipulate the practice that helps each person’s individual needs. And seniors are always surprised at how much better their joints feel.” Yoga classes are appropriate for any age and fitness level, Hughes said.
“One thing that a lot of people think is that they have to be flexible to do yoga, and it’s kind of opposite,” she explained. “It’s kind of daunting when you see the pictures of people in these crazy poses. We have people in their ‘80s who are still receiving benefits.” Hughes said that while Hamilton and Missoula have a little bit of a younger crowd that mostly participates in yoga, Stevensville has a lot of people from age 40 to 60 plus. SEPP JANNOTTA - Ravalli Republic “It’s really for everyone,” she said. “The purpose is to bring mobility, you don’t have to have it already. There are very few forms of exercise that help every part of the body heal. These ancient sciences, they have been around three or four or five thousand years. They have been around that long for a reason. There aren’t any downsides - it’s all benefits. There is something for everyone.” Hughes opened her studio right before the American economic meltdown, but she says she has weathered the storm. “It seems to be growing,” she said. “Yoga studios in general seasoned the recession pretty well. The business has become more stable. When it comes to people’s health, we are only given one body, so when we start to see that not working well it affects every minute of our lives, so we have to keep some investment in it.” Yoga in the Root can be reached at 777-7011. They are located at 4071 Eastside Highway, Suite A in Stevensville.
Ravalli Republic, Friday, July 30, 2010 - 7
Don’t opt for organic for the wrong reason I saw a message posted on the web that a person lost a lot of weight by eating only organic foods. Is that possible? Sure, it’s possible, but it’s also possible to just maintain or actually gain weight following an organic diet. The fact is, organic foods normally have just as many calories as their conventional counterparts. If you choose to eat organic foods, that’s great, but you can’t assume that your body will automatically slim down. That may seem like a simple message, but it can be a difficult concept to internalize. A study in the June 2010 journal Judgment and DecisionMaking illustrates the point. The researchers reported that most people hold such strong associations between “organic” and “healthy” and “calorie restriction” and “healthy,” that they often judge organic foods as having fewer calories even if that’s not the case. For the study, the researchers showed participants a Nutrition Facts label either for a conventional cookie or a cookie “made with organic flour and sugar.” Both types had 160 calories per serving clearly marked on the label. Participants were asked if they thought the type of cookie they were reviewing had more or fewer calories than other kinds of cookies. They also were asked how often they thought the cookie should be consumed. As the researchers suspected, the participants who
saw the “organic” nutrition label believed the product had fewer calories than other cookies and could be eaten more often. In a follow-up study, the researchers asked participants how much of a concern it would
be if a person decided to skip exercise after choosing to eat either a conventional dessert or an organic dessert. Again, they tended to be more lenient toward the person who chose the organic dessert, even though both desserts contained the same number of calories. Ironically, although most people strongly associate “organic” with “healthy,” there is still scientific debate over that issue. In the July 2010 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers systematically reviewed studies over the past 50 years and could find very few that even attempted to link consumption of organic food to specific health outcomes. They recommend more highquality, randomized controlled trials be conducted with large enough sample sizes to reliably detect the presence of effects of eating organic foods. In the meantime, determining whether or not to choose organic foods can be challenging. The Mayo Clinic offers guidance on sorting out the issues in an article, “Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious?” available online at http://www.mayoclinic.com/ health/organic-food/NU00255. Chow Line is a service of Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.