Don’t Let Ninjas Sabotage Your Health

I am a child of the 80’s: Michael Jackson, the Breakfast Club, parachute pants, and Ninjas! Ah, the good old days. As a martial artist, I always was intrigued by the Ninja – depicted by the movies as warrior heroes with their roots in ancient Japan. The truth however, is that back in feudal times, the ninja were not heroes – instead they were assassins, specializing in stealth, espionage, and sabotage. The real heroes of the time were the Samurai – bound by honor and discipline.

We deal with Ninjas in modern times as well, specifically in the health world. Everyone has to deal with these “health ninjas,” stealthily trying to sabotage our efforts to eat right and exercise. It is important that we, like the samurai, maintain patience, strength, and discipline at all times. Let’s go over some of the common saboteurs:

1) “Health food”

This includes things like salads, “fat free” food, convenience foods like microwave meals and canned foods, sports drinks and juices and anything that you do not know its source. The specific enemies in these foods are sodium, sugars, unhealthy fat, and chemicals. Salads can be a healthy source of nutrients, but not when loaded with useless iceberg lettuce, fat/sugar/salt or chemically ridden dressings, processed cheese, salty croutons, bacon bits, etc.

The same is true for foods that would be healthy but are not because of how they were cooked. Soaking vegetables and lean meat in unhealthy oils usually takes away from their health benefits. Fat-free food that is supposed to have fat (like cheese, meat, etc.) is fake – filled with salt, sugar, and chemicals that alter the way nature intended it to be.

Convenience often means cheap, quick, and easy. As Tom Hanks said in the movie A League of Their Own, “If it was easy, everyone would do it” – wait a second, everyone does do it, that’s why our country is getting fatter and less healthy.

Sports drinks and juices do have a place in our nutritional world, however, these drinks are generally taken in excess of what would be beneficial. The vats of sugar that people are essentially drinking are not doing bodies any good. You can claim that ignorance is bliss when you don’t know where the food you are eating came from, but that bliss won’t shrink your waistline or improve your health.

I’m not telling everyone to go out and start buying organic, especially since that term gets used often when it shouldn’t (another ninja), but a common problem with meat and seafood is where it comes from. Animals raised in an environment that is not natural and fed food that is not what nature intended does not bode well for our bodies when we eat them.

2) Alcohol

Light/low-carb beer healthier? Are you serious? Give me a break! Alcohol is about seven calories per gram of alcohol. The problem is that those calories are empty, which means useless for your body, hence the “beer belly.” When calories have no purpose they have to accumulate somewhere. I can speak from experience when I tell you that alcohol can be a metabolism killer (Health and Leisure, November 2008, Politically Incorrect Weight Loss) – just ask any college freshman suffering the “freshman 15” if alcohol played a role in that. While some types of alcohol do have a health benefit, drinking red wine by the truckload is generally a bad idea.

3) Media

People need to find humor in what the media presents as “healthy,” because if taken too seriously, you are only being set up for failure. The “liposuctioned, anorexic, roid-raged, plastic people” (we’ll call them LARP’s) that you see in magazines, movies, and TV have gotten that way either by what I just described them as, or by some means other than what they are trying to sell you! This is the reason why women are afraid to lift weights – for fear of becoming “too bulky.” Guess what ladies, don’t take steroids and you probably don’t have to worry. Also, there is no magic pill, drink, equipment, or method (other than visiting a plastic surgeon) that will allow anyone to lose weight while laying in bed, eating pizza, drinking beer, etc. Sorry, but you can keep using that Thighmaster.

4) Friends/Family/Coworkers

It’s nice to be loved, but sometimes the loving can really screw you up! Who has heard these words from the ones who are supposedly looking out for your best interests:

“You don’t need to exercise/diet – you look fine.”

“Spend time with me, don’t go workout.”

“Have a drink/dessert with me.”

“I made this meal especially for you.”

“Just have one bite.”

“It’s a special occasion/holiday.”

“But the program says you can have a cheat day once a week.”

This list goes on.

The basic truth is that while these people may love you, if they don’t do the program with you, they just don’t get it. These people don’t have the same goals as you, so will naturally want you to go down with their ship. Rather than supporting you to do whatever you need to maintain your program and not cheat – even a little bit – they will do you the favor of finding every possible loophole for you. Misery does love company, so try not to even let the possibility of their sabotage be an option.

5) Grocery Stores

Look out for sale items and the stuff at eye level. We are all looking for ways to save money these days, but do you really need to buy those cookies just because they are on sale. At the same time, some of those sale items are often the lower quality ones – watch out for getting what you pay for. Eye level items are usually reserved for the products paying the highest price for the quality space. The companies that can afford to continually buy this premium space are often the larger ones that did not make their money by providing vast amounts of health.

Money is made with low quality and unhealthy products such as corn syrup, white flour, sugars, and fat – after all, they are cheaper – more bang for their buck. Look high and low to find what you actually need when walking down the aisles. Or better yet, spend most of your time on the perimeter of the stores, where the majority of the “real foods” are – fruits, vegetables, meat, etc.

6) Fitness “Experts”

These economic times are, in many ways, a breeding ground for crappy fitness trainers. People who are losing their jobs or having hours cut are looking for new careers and/or part time work. Personal training provides the unique opportunity for anyone to become a certified “expert” in 30 minutes online without an ounce of formal education or experience. At the same time, what a perfect career to make some decent money on a part-time basis. The truth is that while bad trainers are abundant, quality training is a whole different story (see Health and Leisure, September 2007, “Putting the Personal Back in Training”). The problem is that the lay public has no idea who is the real deal vs. a hack. The hacks have impressive sounding credentials, including certified _________, and the world’s top ___________. Let me clear up a few things: 1. Only a few quality certifications are out there.

2. There is no credential for the world’s top anything in fitness, or anything resembling that. This title is completely self imposed and the only time you may see something like that which is legit, will be for a time frame (i.e., 2009 Trainer of the Year) and will have an organization attached to it that designated that title.

Beware of the famous fitness experts out there. Not to say that some of them do not have knowledge, but “the richest are often not the most famous, the most famous are usually not the best, and the best generally are not the richest or most famous.”

Presently, one of the more well known trainers in the industry has been so successful in marketing himself, that many people (including those in the fitness industry) think that he has invented many of the popular fitness tools/methods currently being used. The truth of the matter is that NONE of these tools are his own, they were all founded and/or initially popularized by others.

However, he was able to market it better and quicker than the originials and has lead people to believe that they are the results of his efforts. Not to take anything from him – good job in being a savvy marketer, it has made him lots of money – but he is not necessarily what people think he is.

I recently heard another story of a woman who worked with a “specialist” trainer for three years with the goal of being able to run. In three years this lady, with no significant disabilities or dysfunctions, has not run a single step! This is a classic case of “paralysis by analysis” with a trainer claiming to be “functional” not having a clue what that means.

7) Research

Research is critical for advancement in any field. However, research is often only as good as the question being asked and the methods being used. It is not difficult to “skew” research in your favor to make your point look better. Since most people know little to nothing about research methods, researchers can often say whatever they want without question. The other problem is that many of the people who are interested in current research don’t really read the whole study. They skip right to the conclusion and only read the first couple of sentences, thereby taking the whole study out of context. Then, as the great people they are, looking to improve the world with their knowledge of the latest research, they present their limited and incorrect knowledge as “the truth” of what is current in the field. A very nice gesture, but maybe next time, either get it right or don’t do us any favors.

You

The truth often hurts. If you always need sunshine blown up your you-know-what, you may not want to read this section. I’ll be blunt (as always): bad things happen sometimes and you just have to deal with it! Maybe you were cursed with bad genes, maybe your environment is not conducive to good health or fitness. No money, no time, no support, blah, blah, blah. Stop making excuses for your lack of health, and change – IMMEDIATELY! Most people have some clue of a few of the unhealthy choices they are making. Make change a priority and do it.

So what should you do with these “ninjas” all around you? Stop being lazy! That’s what got you in trouble in the first place! Be like the samurai. Show some discipline and do your homework. Look around for what’s best, not what is quickest or easiest. Don’t believe everything you hear. Whatever you read, hear, or are told should make sense to you. If not, then challenge whoever is saying it.

In other cases, like influence from family/friends or eating out at the mercy of the food prepared by the cook, you may need to make some difficult decisions and prepare in advance, or be ready to “just say no.”  Stop worrying about upsetting others. You need to look out for yourself if you want to be healthy in the war for fitness. As Sun Tzu writes in The Art of War, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

For questions about why you should listen to anything Bob says in this article, email him at bob@functional-strength-training.com,

or visit his website at www.functional-strength-training.com

The Vitamin Alphabet Begins with “D”

It is common knowledge that healthy eating is an important aspect of one’s lifestyle in order to live longer and have an overall better quality of life.  However, many people are unaware of the various components that are needed.  Consuming ample fruits and vegetables is a key part in addition to getting necessary recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals.  This may be confusing to many people but can be done.

Vitamins are needed to maintain normal metabolism, growth, and development.  They are classified as any group of organic compound, other than proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and organic salts.  Vitamins are broken up into two categories, water-soluble and fat-soluble.  The difference is that the nine water-soluble vitamins (8 B vitamins and vitamin C) are easily dissolved and excreted from the body.  Since they are not stored, it is important to get them daily.  The four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are absorbed into the body from the intestinal track.  Since they are stored, it is easier for them to build up to toxic levels, so caution is advised.

Sunshine Vitamin

Vitamin D is essential to maintain normal amounts of calcium and phosphorus in blood.  A major function is to facilitate the absorption of calcium, indirectly helping form and maintain strong bones and preventing osteoporosis in the long run.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin not naturally found in many foods.  Fish is a great source to obtain the vitamins. Cheese and egg yolks also contain some vitamin D, but in small amounts.  Although it is not naturally found in a plethora of items, many food companies enhance their products with the vitamin.  For example, during the 1930’s the United States was having a problem with a high population getting rickets so they implemented a milk fortification program.  Doing so essentially eliminated the problem.  Since then, some brands of orange juice, cereal, and yogurt have also added the vitamin to their products.

Interestingly enough, vitamin D is also able to be absorbed through the sun’s rays and is a significant source of how people acquire the recommended amount.  Therefore, it has been nicknamed the Sunshine Vitamin.  Ultraviolet B (UVB) rays come through the clouds and are absorbed by the skin and converted into vitamin D.   The suggested amount of sunlight exposure varies slightly from each source; however, it is thought that as little as ten minutes a day is ample to prevent vitamin D deficiencies.  The time of day, amount of cloud coverage, sunscreen, and season can all affect the amount absorbed.  People living above the 42 degree north latitude line, which crosses from Boston to the northern border of California, will not be able to absorb the recommended amount from November until February.  During this time it is important for those individuals to make sure they get the adequate amount from their diets.

How much do I need?

If you take a multivitamin it is most likely you get anywhere from 50 – 1,000 International Units (IU).  The Adequate Intake level established by the U.S. Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences is 200 IU for those males, females, and pregnant/lactating women under the age of fifty.  Individuals 50-70 years of age are recommended to have 400 IU daily while those over 70 years-old are suggesting having 600 IU per day.  The upper limit for vitamin D in infants under one year is 1,000 IU per day and increases to 2,000 IU per day after turning one year.  This limit is important to follow because when taking doses that high it is possible for hypercalcemia (high blood calcium levels) to occur, along with other toxicities.

As stated previously, the recommended amount is the same for women who are pregnant or lactating.  However, it is important to keep in mind that in breastfeeding, the breast milk is low in vitamin D.  To prevent your child from having a deficiency supplementing may be necessary, starting within the first couple months after birth.  Be sure to consult with your physician to make necessary changes in diet.

What if you do not have enough?

Not obtaining enough vitamin D through diet, supplements, or UVB rays can lead to deficiency diseases.  Skeletal deformities caused by rickets are common in children, while adults suffer from osteomalacia, or weakness in muscles and bones.  Those at risk include the elderly, exclusively breastfed infants, obese individuals, along with people with limited sun exposure.  Being conscious of the amount of vitamin D in the foods you eat, getting enough exposure to sunlight along with considering taking a multivitamin are all key factors in making sure you get the recommended amount of vitamin D.

Thank you to Stephanie Perez, Dietetic Student at Michigan State University for preparing this article on behalf of Reconnect with Food at Inner Door Center.

Review: FSS BlueMax 70 Light

Let There Be Light!

Do you start getting depressed and lethargic about half way through the winter months? If so, and you are not normally like this the rest of the year, you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder, otherwise known as S.A.D. (of course it is). So what are you supposed to do if you do have S.A.D.? Well, if you can’t spend the winter months somewhere down south, one treatment option is anti-depressants; another treatment option is light therapy. You read that correctly, light therapy, and there is quite a bit of scientific data to back up its effectiveness.

So how do you get this light therapy? Well, fortunately you don’t need a prescription, though if you are feeling depressed you should see your doctor just to confirm that it really is S.A.D. and not something else. You also don’t need a degree in thermonuclear physics so that you can create your own mini-sun in your living room (let me know how that works for you though, if you try). Really, you just need to get yourself a light therapy unit from many of the companies that are out there. They come in all shapes and sizes, from literally a little light box, all the way to a huge floor lamp that can flood an entire room with simulated daylight.

One of the companies that has probably the best and most stylish collection of lights would be Full Spectrum Solutions, which is based here in Jackson, Michigan. The folks at Full Spectrum Solutions sent me two of their BlueMax 70 watt High Definition Full Spectrum Desk Lamps to test out. I have been using one unit on my computer desk down in the basement of my house and the other unit has been used as a bedside lamp for my wife, the estimable Dr. Lockwood who most definitely gets S.A.D. every winter.

So the question is do they work? Well, I personally think that the literature in the medical journals put that question to rest quite a long time ago but from a personal standpoint I would have to give a slightly reserved yes. Now this isn’t to say that I haven’t been extremely happy with these lights, it is just that I don’t really get into my S.A.D. funk until about February so I can’t really assess how well the light does at bringing me out of that funk. I can definitely say though that I feel better now after using these lamps for two months than I normally do at this time of year and my wife agrees that she feels better as well.

So how does light therapy work? Typically you get a light that simulates the full light spectrum of the sun (the lamps you normally have in the house only put out light in a rather narrow band) and sometimes even blue light is used. Typically you just need the light next to you (you aren’t supposed to stare at it or anything like that) for about an hour a day. Some doctors may also recommend that patients use a dawn simulator that gradually brings up the light as they get close to their waking hour so that it is a more natural way of waking up.

I have been using it for several hours every day since I spend most of my non-working/sleeping hours down in the basement either on my computer or on my Xbox which is right next to my computer desk (I literally have a guy cave). I couldn’t think of an easier way to use this light since I have to have a light on next to my desk anyway even during the day. This is by far the easiest and most passive medical treatment I have ever used!

While my recommendation for the lights’ usefulness in S.A.D. may be on the reserved side, my recommendation just as a normal lamp is not reserved in any way. These are by far the best lights I have ever used. I kind of scoffed when I read in the literature they sent me about these being High Definition lights since everything seems to be HD nowadays, but for once I was genuinely surprised by a product I tried out. When I first turned on these lights in my house, I almost had to pick my jaw up off the floor. The quality of the light is like nothing else I have seen, they really are like having perfect sunlight (without the nasty UV rays) in my house. My wife even commented that once she thought she had left the blinds open in our bedroom and the sun was coming in, when really the light streaming into the hallway was from the lamp.

When they say High Definition, what they really mean is that since the light is like what your eyes were intended to see, you really do get a different look at things in your house. Be careful though, you will find all kinds of things in your house that you might have overlooked using dingy incandescent lights. I’m already a neat freak and unfortunately now I see dust the minute it shows up, though I do have to say that I’m keeping my house even cleaner than I normally do. Also if you are like me, you will have a much easier time reading under this light and I already have 20/10 vision.

Now you might think that these lamps must draw a ton of electricity to mimic the light of the sun, but really these lights use special fluorescent bulbs that utilize unique phosphors that are ‘tuned’ to mimic sunlight. So not only do you get a great light that can help ward off S.A.D. but you are also helping the environment and your pocket book by using less electricity. Also like any other fluorescent light, these bulbs last thousands of hours longer than incandescent bulbs.

Being the amateur photographer that I am, I also wondered how these lamps would do for photography. Many professional photographers use ‘daylight balanced’ bulbs in their photography and I wondered if these would work the same way, and indeed they do. While the models I have are desk lamp sized, they were great for doing some still life work in my little home studio. Full Spectrum Solutions does sell daylight balanced bulbs in the normal compact fluorescent spiral form we are all used to, and I’m going to see about buying a few of these for use in a full photographic light set-up.

As I stated at the beginning of the article, Full Spectrum Solutions has a huge variety of shapes and sizes of their lamps as well as bulbs for use in your own lamp fixtures. They have everything from those dawn simulators, to personal light boxes, to desk lamps, all the way to large floor lamps and torchieres. Now I will say that these lamps are a bit more expensive than your average table lamp but here you truly get what you pay for. Those other cheap lamps only give you a part of the light spectrum and here you get the whole shebang. Once you get one of these lights you are going to want to replace all of your lights with them since you will really notice the difference between your Full Spectrum lamp and your other lights.

If you are interested in learning more about these lights, I encourage you to check out their website at www.fullspectrumsolutions.com or give them a call at 888-574-7014. Remember that they are also a Michigan company so not only are you getting a great light, you are also helping out the Michigan economy.

As always, if you have any questions about this article or any other gadgets, please feel free to write to me at jeff@healthandleisureonline.com. Have a great new year!

Discover You Allergy Nemesis

With Edward Zoratti, MD

With the fall season around the corner, you may think it is a strange time to talk about allergies. After all, flowers are not blooming, pollen is not in the air, and grass is getting cut less. However, according to Dr. Edward Zoratti, the fall season is not the time to discount allergies, it is the time to take notice.

“Fall is one of the worst times, starting in late August the rag weed season begins,” says Dr. Zooratti. “Mold is another concern that starts right when the kids go back to school in mid-September.”

With over 50 million U.S. Citizens suffering from a variety of allergies, there is no down season. In fact, over 55% of our population would test positive for some allergens. There are numerous types of allergens: food, pet, pollen, food, dust, and mold to name a few. It is no wonder that allergies cost the health system approximately $18 billion annually, and is the 6th leading cause of chronic illness.

So, how does one get an allergy? Dr. Zoratti explains, “In general, you are not born with an allergy. You get it over time, whether it is pollen, mold, dust mites… an allergy is an immune response to those substances. You have to be exposed to the allergen first.”

There are genetic connections that may give you a propensity to be allergic, but not a specific allergy. If a parent has an allergy, there is a 48% chance that the child will have an allergy, also. Although, Dr. Zoratti notes, it may not be the same type of allergy. The hot topic capturing headlines these days are peanut allergies. Peanut allergies are causing schools to create new policies regarding snacks, lunch rooms and what your child can take to school in their lunch bag. But, despite the media coverage, peanut allergies are a small percentage of cases, although potentially fatal.

“Most allergies are harmless,” says Dr. Zoratti. “You can develop an allergy at any time in your life, but about two percent of people turn negative to an allergen between the ages of 6 and 18 years. When we see children that are allergic to eggs and milk, they will generally outgrow those allergies. Losing allergy sensitivity is seen sometimes.”

Dr. Zoratti points out severe allergies like peanuts/nuts/fish are rare to outgrow. The same is true for things floating in the air; it is rare to lose those allergies, too. “Once you have sensitivity it tends to remain. The symptom severity goes up and down with grass or pollen allergies. You can have good and bad years in part due to pollen count,” says Dr. Zoratti.

So, as you begin spending more time indoors in the fall and winter months, how do you allergy-proof your home? Well, there may not be one simple solution however, there are some precautions you can make. “For mold and dust mite allergies, decreasing the humidity by 50% will decrease those allergens,” says Dr. Zoratti. “Humidity is a real important factor for dust mites. In high altitude communities, they don’t exist.”

He also points out that tearing up carpet, replacing curtains and other drastic measures, do not seem to eliminate dust mites enough to justify the cost and hassle. “The most effective way is to do hot laundering of your sheets once a week, and use allergy-proof pillows and covers,” says Dr. Zoratti.

There is no good way to eliminate pet allergens, says Dr. Zoratti. “There is just not a good way to allergy-proof your home. Even homes without cats and dogs have a lot of pet allergens. Those allergens get around.”

Dr. Zoratti notes that in one NHANE study, 15% of homes that did not have pets still had high levels of pet dander. However, in a clinical study performed at Henry Ford Health, and published in JAMA, Dr. Zoratti says that there was evidence that having pets early in life may be protective in later life for allergies or asthma. “But, I wouldn’t suggest allergic families buy a pet,” he says.

Directly tied in to allergies is the increase incidence of asthma. “It appears about 2/3 of asthma’s have allergic triggers. A vast majority of these triggers and allergies depend on what is most common in the area,” says Dr. Zoratti. “You become sensitized to what is in your environment.”

To treat or alleviate your allergy symptoms, Dr. Zoratti suggests there are three approaches:

1. Avoidance of the allergen(s) if known

2. Over-the-counter medications such as antihistamines or decongestants for mild symptoms

3. Prescription medications or vaccinations for severe symptoms

Treating symptoms such as eye irritations and nasal problems can be treated with eye drops or nasal steroids, but many of those treatments are simply for symptomatic relief.

A vaccine regimen that includes weekly injections over a six month period followed by monthly injections over 3-5 years have proven effective for some allergies, but it is time consuming, says Dr. Zoratti. This is usually reserved for people with a multitude of allergies. This regimen can help you build up a gradual immunity to the allergen and sometimes offer lifetime relief. However, this regimen is mostly used in people who are failing medication and who are severely allergic.

There is no reason to suffer through another allergy season. Be proactive and visit an allergist to discuss your signs and symptoms. With some simple testing, you may be able to identify your allergen(s) and learn how you can enjoy your first symptom-free season.

Dr. Zoratti is section head of Allergy and Immunology for Henry Ford Hospital. A leading specialist in his field in the metro area, he is board certified in allergy and immunology and internal medicine. He sees patients at the Henry Ford Medical Center-Sterling Heights.