Healthy Living 2018

YOGA, PILATES, BARRE: WHICH IS BEST FOR YOU? HEALTHY, EASY DINNERS A REALISTIC GUIDE TO ORGANIC HOW ELECTRONICS AFFECT YOUR HEALTH

WINCHESTERSTAR.COM

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2018

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Healthy Lifestyle 2018

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Easy, healthy sheet pan dinners Pilates, Yoga, Barre: Which is best for you?

Does gluten free benefit everyone?

A realistic guide to organic Why running slow can eventually help you run faster Brain-healthy habits to embrace Electronics may have surprising effect on health

Healthy Living is printed by The Winchester Star 2 N. Kent St., Winchester, Va. 22601

The Winchester Star

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Saturday, August 25, 2018 — 3

Healthy Lifestyle 2018

Stephanie Ralls MPT, OCS Physical Therapist

Nichole Braithwaite MS OTR/L Rehabilitation Services Manager

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EASY, HEALTHY

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Healthy Lifestyle 2018

The Winchester Star

SHEET PAN DINNERS

By JACKIE PUGLISI Special to The Winchester Star

As the kids go back to donning backpacks, families are returning to schedules filled with homework, soccer practice and parent-teacher conferences, all while making sure everyone has a full belly at dinnertime.

With a small amount of prep time required, sheet pan meals can be a great way to put a healthy dinner on the table without a lot of effort. Every element of the meal goes on one sheet pan and into the oven, which also saves on cleanup at the end of the day.

Chef and owner of The Chef’s Market & Cafe (120 N. Indian Alley), Phil Anderson, put together a roasted chicken sheet pan meal that takes about 20 minutes to prep and about 50 to 60 minutes in the oven.

“It’s so simple everyone can do it,” he said of the meal.

The recipe features one large roasting chicken — about 3 pounds — and a variety of fresh vegetables and spices. Anderson said the vegetables can be swapped out for other options to make the dish your

own.

The recipe yields a lot of food that can feed the family for more than one night of the week.

“I would encourage people to make it at the beginning of the week,” Anderson said. “You can do so much with the leftovers... You can put the chicken on salad or make mini burritos. You can also make a nice little soup.”

It’s also not just for the adults to put together, but everyone in the family can get involved. Older children can chop the vegetables, while younger children can help sprinkle on spices and arrange the ingredients on the pan.

“Kids need to learn basic fundamentals in the kitchen,” Anderson said. “Parents can make it a fun activity. I learned almost everything I know in the kitchen — science, math and even history... Getting the whole family involved in at least one meal a day is amazing and something every family should try to do.”

Barbara Hineline is also a fan of sheet pan meals the whole family can create together. The chef and owner of Fresco Kitchen (6 S. Loudoun St.) said her

sheet pan chicken fajitas are fun for everyone in the family. The vegetables and chicken cook at the same rate, taking the guesswork out of the meal.

The fajitas are also versatile to any taste. Instead of using chicken, flank steak or London broil can be substituted and cooked at the same temperature and time frame. Shrimp is also an option and can be added to the sheet pan halfway through the cooking time.

“You can add cheese, and sour cream, and kids love to build their own,” Hineline said of the fajitas. “They can be low carb — you can omit the tortillas.”

Families can also prep the fajitas ahead of time so that when they come home from a busy day all they have to do is season the ingredients and pop the pan into the oven.

Hineline loves sheet pan meals because of how easy they are to make — similar to a crock pot meal, but utilizing less time. However, there are benefits to sheet pan meals over a crock pot or pressure cooker. “[With a sheet pan meal] you can control the doneness of the vegetables,” she said. “I suggest leaving them more crisp [in the fajitas] so they reheat better.”

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Ingredients Seasoning 2 tsp chili powder 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground paprika 1/2 tsp ground coriander Salt and freshly ground black pepper Fajita filling 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2-inch thick strips (slice extra wide strips in half) 1 of each red, green and yellow bell peppers, cored and sliced into strips (3 whole total) 1 medium yellow onion, halved and sliced from top to root 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro For serving 8 taco size flour tortillas Sour cream, avocado slices or guacamole diced tomatoes, Mexican cheese blend (toppings are optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Spray an 17 by 12-inch rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

For the seasoning: In a small mixing bowl whisk together chili powders, cumin, paprika, coriander, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper, set aside.

For the fajitas filling: Spread bell peppers and yellow onion onto baking sheet.

CHICKEN FAJITAS

Created by Barbara Hineline at Fresco Kitchen

Top with chicken strips then sprinkle garlic and seasoning evenly over chicken strips.

Drizzle olive oil over top then toss everything to evenly coat. Spread into

an even layer working to keep chicken from overlapping.

Roast in preheated oven, tossing once halfway through cooking, until veggies are tender and chicken has cooked through, about 18 - 25 minutes (test a few of the larger pieces to make sure they are 165 in the center).

Wrap tortillas tightly in foil and warm in oven during last 5 minutes of fajita filling cooking.

Drizzle lime juice evenly over top of the chicken fajita filling, sprinkle with cilantro and more salt to taste and toss to coat.

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Healthy Lifestyle 2018

The Winchester Star

ROASTED CHICKEN

Created by Phil Anderson at The Chef’s Market & Cafe Serves 8 Ingredients 1 large roasting chicken, cleaned 8 large red potatoes, quartered 6 large carrots, large dice 1 sprig rosemary chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil Sea Salt and Freshly ground pepper

Directions Be sure that the chicken has been cleaned of the neck and giblets, patted dry.

In a large mixing bowl combine the potatoes, carrots, rosemary, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper, mix well.

Pour contents on to a 13 x 18 sheet-pan, add the chicken and coat the chicken with the remaining oil and seasoning.

Place the chicken on top of the veggies and roast in a 350-degree oven for 60 minutes.

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Healthy Lifestyle 2018

Saturday, August 25, 2018 — 7

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The Winchester Star

Healthy Lifestyle 2018

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PILATES, YOGA, BARRE: Which is best for you?

PILATES What is Pilates?

Created in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, Pilates was originally called “Contrology” and combines elements of yoga, martial arts, gymnastics and Western forms of exercise.

“Pilates is an exercise technique that focuses on proper body alignment, breathing techniques, proper muscle recruitment patterns in order to create a more balanced body, more efficient movement,” said Michelle Dowell, owner and instructor of Pilates Connection Winchester in Creekside Station.

“Often when we move we use way too much tension, or we begin the movement with an unnecessary amount of tension and muscle. So it’s meant to cause you to pay attention to where you move and how you move, which relieves stress and tension within the muscle and creates a much more healthy joint structure.”

What are the different types of Pilates?

Dowell offers variations of the method at her studio.

Restorative classes use the Reformer to restore movement through gentle exercises that align bones, calibrate the muscles, and relieve pain and stress. The reformer was created

by Joseph Pilates, along with other apparatus like the Cadillac, the Wunda Chair, and spine corrector. This style of Pilates is ideal for people with joint issues.

Progression classes can be taught on the mat, reformer, Cadillac, or tower and usually include a combination of equipment. This style is ideal for beginners through intermediate.

Advanced classes use all of the equipment and utilize a flowing pattern of the most challenging Pilates exercises. Prior Pilates experience is required.

Barre Fusion is a cardio and Pilates fusion style that is designed to burn fat and improve posture, utilizing the ballet barre.

A newer trend is Aerial Pilates, which combines

the beauty and benefits of aerial training with the precision and balance of Pilates utilizing a silk hammock apparatus. Dowell also offers Aerial Fitness, which is inspired by circus training. A prerequisite training class is required.

Who benefits the most from Pilates?

Pilates is beneficial to everybody, but Dowell said there are some groups she sees more than others at her studio: people recovering from some type of pain, especially pain caused by a repetitive motion injury or sports injury, and back patients.

“The reason we started the restorative program is because I get so many referrals from neurosurgeons, the pain management doctor in town, because it works for people with back issues who are not candidates for surgery.

It’s a safe way for them to move,” said Dowell.

Others she sees include moms who are looking for a fun and functional workout, and equestrians who are

looking for very precise movements with as little tension in their bodies as possible.

Dowell feels that teenagers would be an ideal group to start taking Pilates.

“I was an athlete and gymnast and I had back pain all the time. I really feel that younger generations should be doing it, because we don’t talk enough about how we move, we just push through and move,” she said.

Benefits of Pilates • • •

• •

Improved posture Better joint health Less risk of injury for other sports (“Once your body is balanced you are less likely to have injury from repetitive movement,” said Dowell.)

Less pain Less stress and tension

“Most people leave saying they feel taller, they can move with ease, they’re actualy looking forward to their day instead of feeling how are they going to get through it.”

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Healthy Lifestyle 2018

By JENNY BAKER

From left: Michelle Dowell, owner of Pilates Connection in Winchester, oversees the use of the reformer.

Pilates Connection now offers aerial pilates. Amanda Lindquist, owner of Drishti Fit in Winchester, shares common movements you can expect to do in a barre class. Photos by Jenny Baker/The Winchester Star.

BARRE The Winchester Star

What is Barre?

“Barre is ballet barre-inspired fitness based workouts,” said Amanda Lindquist, certified trainer and owner of Drishti Fit in Old Town Winchester.

“It fuses together the best of pilates, yoga, and strength training exercises that ballet dancers do.”

Barre was created in 1959 by London ballerina Lotte Berk. After injuring her back, Berk combined her ballet barre routines with her rehabilitative therapy to form an exercise system. In 1959 she opened The Lotte Berk Studio in her West End basement, where actreses Joan Collins and Barbra Streisand were among her students.

The Barre workout

“Barre is designed for every level,” said Linquist.

“You have a wall-mounted barre, a free-standing barre, to help you with balance, but then I also challenge you not to use anything at all. It also incorporates a little bit of aerobics, so

your heart rate does increase during the workout.”

Class attendees can expect to perform a variety of ballet movements in succession— like a plié, where you stand with your feet turned out and heels firmly on the ground, and bend the knees and straighten them again — but there isn’t any actual ballet dancing.

“When you come into a position in barre, you come into your plié, you’re holding the plié, and then you have these little movements you’re doing to strengthen the muscles. So it’s just tiny movements, but it really isolates the small muscles in the thighs, the outer thighs and back of the legs,” said Lindquist.

Barre is a whole-body workout, because light weights are also used for arms to mirror leg movements. Lindquist said she ends her classes with floor-based core exercises.

“Because there’s so much balance and posture, your core is working full-

time, even when you’re standing at the barre doing the pliés, your core is working to help stabilize you,” she said.

Lindquist said there are a few different styles of teaching barre, which may be more ballet-inspired, but her class is taught in a group fitness style.

Who benefits the most from Barre?

Lindquist said barre is great for everyone, due to it being low-impact. One area she feels it gives a lot of attention to is balance.

“I think the balance element is key. We don’t really work on that enough. As we get older, balance is something we all need to be working on so that definitely maybe targets a little bit older group for that reason,” she said.

“It’s fun, it’s something that everybody can do, and it’s a little different. People love yoga, people love Pilates, and people like to dance, and people like music, so by fusing it together it appeals to a lot of different people.”

Benefits of Barre • • • • • • • •

Improved posture Strength building Better joint health Increase in body awareness Improved balance Core strength Increased flexibility Greater range of motion and endurance for other activities and sports

YOGA

10 — Saturday, August 25, 2018

What is Yoga?

“Yoga is the practice of being present. Whatever that means for the practitioner, it’s being able to be in the moment and let go of what happened before. And any worry and anxiety of what is yet to come,” explained Caroline Felix, owner of Shine Yoga in Winchester.

“Yoga is for well-being. It’s defined peace and wellness. Sometimes it’s emotionally, sometimes it’s physically, sometimes it’s mentally. It’s all those components, specific to the person and what they mean.”

Yoga is perhaps one of the oldest forms of exercise — it was developed up to 5,000 years ago in India as a system for wellbeing on all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

What are the different types of Yoga?

There are a great many types of yoga practices, which range from the deep breathing of Pranayama yoga, to the more intense Bikram yoga, where one practices a series of poses in a room heated at 105 degrees.

Shine Yoga’s classes are mostly heated, where the temperatures are 85 to 90 degrees, which mimics the temperature of India where yoga originated. The heat warms the muscles quickly and allows for practitioners to go deeper into poses.

“The heat really helped my muscles release, my joints open, and it was a good detox for the body,” said Felix.

“Some studios try to go into 105, 108 degrees, I think there is a fine line with the heat and I don’t think that it’s great for everyone. There are a lot of things to consider.”

Another popular style of yoga is vinyasa.

Healthy Lifestyle 2018

Whatever style of yoga you are interested in, Felix said it’s important to find the right yoga for you.

“If you go to a studio and it doesn’t resonate with you, it’s important that you keep trying to find the right style and right studio. I believe there is yoga for everyone, and there are a lot of different avenues and ways to go about it,” she said.

Who benefits the most from Yoga?

Felix said that there truly is a yoga practice for everyone.

“It’s just finding the right way to approach whoever is coming to do it,” she said.

“You have to meet them (the student) where they are, whether it’s injury or age, there are so many factors that come in.”

Felix said some people think yoga is about wearing perfect attire and being able to stand on your head in class, but that isn’t the case.

“It’s really about being present and connecting to your breath, it’s that simple. But we can find different ways to do that and keep us coming back and inspired. If it’s a big arm balance, standing on your head that gets you there, that’s great, if it’s slowing down and breathing, it’s all still yoga,” she said.

“We try to make it accessible to all.”

Benefits of Yoga • • • • • • • •

Increased flexibility Muscle tone and strength Lessening of chronic pain Lower blood pressure Reduced insomnia Improved respiration Stress management Mental clarity and calmness

“Ashtanga is the stem of yoga where Vinyassa comes from,” said Felix.

“It’s finding a flow linking movements and one pose to the next, so there is a fluid motion throughout the class.

That’s mostly what we focus on here, unless it’s a yin or restorative class,” she said.

Caroline Felix demonstrates two common yoga poses, the low lunge (top) and downward-facing dog (bottom). Photos by Jenny Baker/The Winchester Star.

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The Winchester Star

Saturday, August 25, 2018 — 11

Healthy Lifestyle 2018

Does gluten-free benefit everyone?

If the number of gluten-free products stocking store shelves and appearing on restaurant menus are any indication, then the general public has embraced gluten-free living. Many people eat gluten-free diets despite not having Celiac disease, which is a condition that requires people to avoid gluten. However, a voluntary gluten censorship may not be all that it’s cracked up to be.

Less than 1 percent of Americans are gluten-intolerant or afflicted with Celiac disease. Despite this, the popularity of gluten-free diets tripled between 2013 and 2014, according to reports from The Kitchn. Although people who are sensitive to gluten may feel better avoiding it, Dr. Daniel A. Leffler, director of clinical research at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, has said others will derive no significant benefit from gluten avoidance and will simply waste money buying the more expensive gluten-free alternatives.

People with perceived gluten sensitives may not have aversions to gluten at all. According to a study conducted by Monash University and published in 2013, people with self-reported non-celiac gluten sensitivity, gluten only caused negative symptoms when subjects knew they were eating it. When they believe the food to be something else, participants experi-

Are You...

Those with no reason to avoid gluten could be putting their health at risk by skipping wheat and other grains. enced no symptoms.

Other medical experts say that gluten may not be to blame for sensitivity, which may be a result of fermentable, poorly absorbed, short-chain carbohydrates (FODMAPs), like grains, beans, dair y, and some fruits. By removing the grain (gluten included), affected individuals feel better, thinking gluten is to blame.

Those with no reason to avoid gluten could be putting their health at risk by skipping wheat and other grains. A recent study from Harvard Medical School says those who avoid gluten may be harming their heart health. The study, which tracked the eating habits of 64,714 women and 45,303 men over a period of 26 years, found that long-term avoidance of gluten in adults sometimes caused the reduced consumption of heart-healthy whole grains that affect cardiovascular risk. Study leader Andrew Chan said

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that individuals who consumed the lowest levels of dietary gluten had a 15 percent higher risk of heart disease. The study concluded that the promotion of gluten-free diets among people for whom it is deemed medically unnecessary to avoid gluten should not be encouraged.

There may be other reasons to continue to eat gluten. A study published in The British Journal of Nutrition, titled, “Effects of a gluten-free diet on gut microbiota and immune function in healthy adult human subjects,” found a gluten-free diet may adversely affect gut flora and immune function. This potentially puts people at risk for an overgrowth of harmful bacteria in their intestinal biome. Another study published in Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry found that gluten may boost immune function.

After roughly a week on added gluten protein, subjects experienced increased natural killer cell activity, which could be helpful in improving the body’s ability to fight viral infections and cancer.

A gluten-free diet isn’t necessarily a healthy one.

While such a diet may be necessary for those with Celiac disease, unless a doctor has determined a person needs to avoid gluten, it is wise to include whole grains in a balanced diet

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Healthy Lifestyle 2018

A realistic guide to organic In a perfect world, chemicals would not be needed to produce any foods, all of which would be made in sustainable conditions and from all-natural ingredients. But even the most eco-conscious foodie routinely faces difficult decisions at the grocery store.

The Organic Trade Association says organic food is the fastest-growing sector of the American food industry, and organic food now accounts for more than 5 percent of total food sales. While many people understand the benefits to consuming organic produce, such foods tend to cost more, compromising shoppers' budgets as a result. Making smart choices and getting the facts about organic food can help consumers make informed decisions.

Smarter organic choices. According to the food and health resource the Environmental Working Group, certain fruits and vegetables are more likely to feature residual pesticides than others. They dub these foods the "Dirty Dozen," which include strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes, and sweet bell peppers. Shoppers who cannot afford strictly organic foods can opt for non-organic items that are less likely to contain residual pesticides.

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istration has strict guidelines in place to phase out the use of antibiotics in food animals to enhance growth or improve feed efficiency. They're also requiring farmers to select strains of microbials that are less medically important to humans who would need them to treat disease.

This means that conventional milk, meat and poultry may contain less antibiotics than consumers know.

Also, according to the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, poultry are not given growth hormones, so there's little need to pay more for hormone-free.

Organic and pesticides. To be "organic," foods produced and sold in the United States and Canada must be shown to conser ve natural resources and be devoid of GMOs, among other requirements. However, USDA organic certification allows for natural substances, such as pheromones, vaccines for animals and a limited number of natural pesticides. Also, a 2011 survey by the USDA showed 39 percent of 571 organic samples were found to have pesticide residues, but well below tolerance levels set by the EPA. Therefore, pesticide-free and organic are not exclusive.

Organic foods are seen as a healthy alternative to foods that do not fall into this category. While there are many positive reasons to go organic, including convential foods in one's diet is not necessarily unhealthy

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Healthy Lifestyle 2018

Saturday, August 25, 2018 — 13

Why running slow can eventually help you run faster

by CAROLEE WALKER Special To The Washington Post

I am a slow runner. I want to run fast, and, in fact, there are times when I think, “Wow! I’m going so fast!” Then, I glance at my pace on my running app, and, no, I’m not going fast. The last time my husband filmed me as I crossed the finish at a race, I thought he was experimenting with the slo-mo feature on his iPhone. Those people who look so good when they run? I’m not one of those people.

But as I researched the issue, I learned that there are reasons runners should slow down. I don’t mean slowing down during this hot, humid weather, when the moisture in the air makes it difficult to breathe and the heat makes it difficult to regulate body temperature. And I don’t mean slowing down to avoid injury or aid recovery. I mean slowing down with the goal to make yourself a better and even faster runner.

“When you’re running slowly, and your injur y risk is lower, you can run more often, more miles, and build up slowly,” according to Claire Bartholic, a coach at Runners Connect, an online community of runners and coaches. But running slowly also allows your body to improve the energy system most essential to running: your aerobic energy system.

Those people who look so good when they run? I’m not one of those people.

Your body relies on a few different energy systems to get you up and moving. For any sustained movement, it uses your aerobic energy system, meaning it creates energy with oxygen. Oxygen helps the muscles convert fat, protein and glycogen (the form of glucose stored in your liver and muscles, which your body generates from the carbohydrates you eat) into energy. If you want to be able to finish a marathon, for example, or even a 5K or a run around the block, this is the energy system you want to develop, says Bartholic, who is a competitive masters athlete herself. And to develop it, you should run at a pace where your muscles can get plenty of oxygen.

When you’re sprinting, or running so fast that you’ve reached your aerobic threshold, or, based on your level of conditioning, when your body runs out of oxygen, it switches over to another energy system - your anaerobic energy system. Without enough oxygen, your muscles convert glycogen into energy less efficiently, and you fatigue more quickly, which eventually forces you to slow down or stop. So if all your runs are too fast, according to Bartholic, you’re not developing the power system that you need for 97 percent of a race. “Your maximum aerobic benefit is going to be running slowly.”

Of course, “ ‘slow’ is highly individualized and varies a lot between people,” according to Carwyn Sharp, chief science officer at the National Strength and Conditioning Association in Colorado Springs, Colorado. That means you need to calculate how slowly you need to run to maximize your aerobic capacity, or, in other words, to maximize the amount of oxygen

your body can use before it switches to anaerobic energy. First, Sharp suggests this updated method for estimating your maximum heart rate (forget the old 220-minus-your-age equation). Multiply your age by .7 and subtract this number from 208, which would then be your estimated heart rate maximum, or the number of beats per minute that your heart is likely to be able to beat at its fastest.

From there, you can look at your heart rate during exercise. For a slow run, most recreational runners will want to stay within about 60 to 70 percent of their maximum heart rate, Sharp says. For a typical 60-year-old like me, whose maximum heart rate is 166, a slow run means keeping my heart rate between 97 and 116.

A less-scientific approach would be to use the “talk test,” Sharp says. “It’s like the tale of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears.’ If you can’t have a conversation with your running buddy then you’re running too fast. If you can talk easily but are barely sweating, then you’re probably too slow. If you can talk fairly easily as you are running but have to pause occasionally in the conversation to catch your breath, that’s going to be fairly spot on.”

In summer when it’s hot and humid, you’re putting the same amount of stress on your body when you run slow as you would if you were running fast in ideal, cool conditions, according to Bartholic, so you’ll want to slow down even more to avoid overstressing your body and risking injury. Running in hot weather is sometimes called “the poor man’s altitude training,” Bartholic says, because it can simulate the kind of stress your body experiences running in high altitudes. The benefit of this kind of training is that when you’re back at sea level, or back in cooler temperatures, your pace tends to be faster with less effort.

This can be helpful if one of your goals is to participate in a fall race. And, according to Sharp, there is research showing that aerobic training can increase both ligament and tendon strength, which could help prevent injury, especially during marathon training.

Still there are obstacles — mostly societal — to running slow, according to Jennifer Sacheck, chair of the exercise and nutrition sciences department at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. The time factor is the biggest hurdle to doing slow runs, Sacheck says. “Physical activity has been engineered out of our day, so people have to plan their physical activities. So, planning an hour or an hour and half is much more difficult than saying, ‘I’m going to bang out 10 minutes.’ “ Sacheck suggests that one way to fit in a long, slow run might be to run to work or home after work.

Another hurdle is thinking that running slow might be “less manly,” according to Sacheck, or that you can’t get an endorphin rush from taking it slow. “For guys especially, who stereotypically turn to ‘manly’ activities such as speed workouts, I’ll tell them they can ‘man-it-up’ by wearing a backpack or by going out for a long adventure hike.” And, she says, most people can get the same endorphin rush from about 35 minutes to an hour of slow running as they can from 10 minutes of sprinting.

Lifelong distance runner and Road Runners Club of America certified distance coach, William Etti, 41, of Burtonsville, Maryland, says he was never a fast runner, but through slow running training was able to improve his marathon time from 5 hours and 51 minutes in 2014 to 3 hours and 57 minutes in 2016. He thinks this is because he began doing more mediumto long-distance runs when he ran at a conversational pace with the Montgomery County Road Runners Club and when he ran on his own without looking at his pace. “You think you have to do a lot of speed work to get faster,” he said, “but after doing most of my runs at a slow pace my marathon finish time was much faster.”

After a car accident injured his knees in 2017, Etti says now he runs slow for longevity in the sport. His hope is that “by running slower, I would be able to keep pain down and keep running in my life, because it’s a part of me I do not want to lose.”

14 — Saturday, August 25, 2018

The Winchester Star

Healthy Lifestyle 2018

Brain-healthy habits to embrace

Becoming more active can improve brain volume, reduce risk for dementia and improve thinking and memory skills. The journal Neurology found that older people who vigorously exercise performed better on cognitive tests than others of the same age, placing them at the equivalent of 10 years

Foods that are good for the heart and blood vessels also are good for the brain. These include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish-based proteins, unsaturated fats, and foods containing omega-3 fatty acids. Neurologists state that, while research on diet and cognitive function is limited, diets,

Caf feine may help boost memor y performance and brain health. A Journal of Nutrition study found people ages 70 and older who consumed more caffeine scored better on tests of mental function than those who consumed less caffeine. Caffeine may help improve attention span, cognitive function and feelings of well-being. Information from Psychology Today also indicates caffeine may help in the storage of dopamine, which can reduce feelings of depression and anxiety. In addition, compounds in cocoa and coffee beans may improve vascular health and help repair cellular damage due to high antioxidant levels.

Engaging in mentally stimulating activities can create new brain connections and more backup circuits, states Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. Working the brain through puzzles, reading and participating in social situations can stimulate the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a molecule essential for repairing brain cells and creating connections between them.

A good way to combine these lifestyle factors is to take an exercise class with friends, mixing the social, stimulation and exercise recommendations together.

Cognitive decline can come with aging, but through healthy habits, people can reduce their risk of memory loss and dementia.

E G RY ER E RID BU IV H D ER T T R EL D TO A AN H E W ILY RC R C A O E D T ST A IN E G TM LA S IL WE D

Eat healthy foods

The Alzheimer's Association indicates that evidence shows smoking increases the risk of cognitive decline.

Smoking can impair blood flow to the brain and cause small strokes that may damage blood vessels.

Consume caffeine

Work the brain

N

Exercise

Quit smoking

such as Mediterranean and Mediterranean-DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), may contribute to a lower risk of cognitive issues.

V

younger. Increased blood flow that occurs with physical activity may help generate new neurons in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved with learning and memory.

The Harvard Medical School says aerobic exercise may help improve brain tissue by improving blood flow and reducing the chances of injury to the brain from cholesterol buildup in blood vessels.

A

Cognitive decline is a condition that is often associated with aging, but even middle-aged people can experience memory loss or cognition issues.

The Alzheimer's Association says that more than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. By 2050, that number could rise to as high as 16 million people. More than 747,000 Canadians are living with Alzheimer's or another dementia, says the Canadian Alzheimer's Association.

Although there is no definitive way to prevent dementia, living a long, vibrant life may be possible by encouraging some healthy habits for the brain.

It is never too late or too early to begin health and lifestyle changes.

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The Winchester Star

Saturday, August 25, 2018 — 15

Healthy Lifestyle 2018

Electronics may have suprising effect on health Cancer from phones

According to the latest annual visual networking index forecast from Cisco, there will be four networked devices and connections per person across the globe by 2021. While there is no denying the many positive attributes of electronics and global connectivity, research indicates that some health concerns may be tied to our devices.

Smartphones, flip phones and their predecessors give off a form of energy known as radiofrequency, or RF. As the amount of time spent on phones has increased, concerns have been raised as to the possible health ramifications of RF exposure on the body.

The American Cancer Society says RF waves are a form of non-ionizing radiation. They are dif ferent from the stronger, ionizing types of radiation that can affect the chemical structure of DNA in the body. But there is some concern that RF may contribute to the formation of cancer in the body.

A large study by the US National Toxicology Program (NTP) exposed large groups of lab rats and mice to RF energy over their entire bodies for about nine hours a day, starting before birth and continuing for up to two years. Results indicated an increased risk of tumors called malignant schwannomas of the heart in male rats exposed to RF radiation.

The International Agency for Re-

search on Cancer has classified RF fields as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." Although cancer risk is ver y low and not undeniably linked to phone use, it is something for people to keep in the back of their minds, and limiting phone use may help reduce risk.

cial media outlets is considered a risk factor for mental health problems. Researchers found people who reported using the greatest number of social media sites (seven to 11) had more than three times the risk of depression and anxiety.

Mobile device use and social media addiction

Other health concerns Neck pain, wrist and elbow strain, eye strain, and other fatigue factors have been linked to computer use.

A study published in the U.S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that people using tablets for at least four hours before bedtime took longer to fall asleep than people who hadn't used them.

And recently, popular exercise tracker FitBit® came under fire when people were shocked while wearing the devices, and these types of trackers may cause people to micromanage their fitness, detracting from the psychological benefits of exercise.

Electronics are important components of daily life. But devices may contribute to serious health problems.

Increased use of technology may be linked to decreases in attention and increases in behavior and self-regulation problems for adolescents already at risk for mental health problems, says a study from Duke University. One hundred fifty-one adolescents were studied using digital technologies for an average of 2.3 hours a day. The researchers found that, on days when adolescents used their devices more, both when they exceeded their own normal use and when they exceeded average use by their peers, they were more likely to exhibit conduct problems such as lying and fighting.

Also, as published in Psychiatric News, time spent on multiple so-

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16 — Saturday, August 25, 2018

Healthy Lifestyle 2018

The Winchester Star

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