What is yoga?

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College of DuPage Nursing Student Brooke Valtman wrote for Healthy Lombard that Yoga is a total body work out that can be as intense or as laid back and you choose. It allows you to gain strength, flexibility and mind-body awareness. Yoga targets just about every core muscle and it helps build strength in your arms and legs. The most basic form of yoga is called “Hatha” which combines basic movements and breathing. There are many other kinds of yoga that can be practiced. Yoga helps you to burn calories and tone your muscles, as well as relax your mind with meditation and deep breathing.

How much will it cost me?

The cost of practicing yoga is up to you. There are classes that you can attend, or you can practice for free at home or outdoors. There are many online videos that you can follow. If you are going to be practicing yoga regularly, you may want to use a yoga mat to help you maintain stability and cushion from the floor.

Health benefits:

There are many health benefits to yoga, both physically and mentally. This form of exercise takes on a holistic approach. Yoga is great if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or high cholesterol. It can help to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol and manage your glucose levels. It may be a good idea to consult with your doctor before attempting this form of exercise because certain positions may not be safe for you.  Arthritis is another health condition that has benefits from yoga. It helps you to stay flexible and strong without adding stress to your joints. Yoga is an amazing practice if you are pregnant. It helps can help you stay relaxed, strong and in shape. Read more

Metabolisms

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Glenbard District 87 High School Student Nicole Palmieri wrote for Healthy Lombard that Metabolism is the process the body uses to convert food into energy (i.e. breathing & digesting food). It is not the process of digestion, which is a common misconception. Rather, your metabolism is how your cells utilize energy from the food absorbed during digestion.

You can not significantly speed up your metabolism as easily as you can slow it down. There are minuscule beneficial tips and habits that will “speed up” your metabolism, like drinking lemon water. While this drink is known to “speed up” your metabolism, it is really the lemon’s acidic property that acts as an alkalizer, which helps aid in digesting proteins and fats, as well as fueling your muscles. The most efficient way to “speed up” your metabolism deals with an increase in muscle mass. Muscle burns calories, versus fats which just store them, therefore building more muscle mass is beneficial for increasing your metabolism.

Digestion-3 Stages of Your Food being Processed  & Digested

  1. In the mouth: chewing your food is broken down by the enzyme, amylase, in saliva. This enzyme breaks down some food into simple carbohydrates.
  2. In the stomach: as the food moves down your esophagus, it eventually arrives in the stomach, where the enzyme pepsin breaks down proteins, and the stomach environment being acidic helps to kill off bacteria that might have been present in the food.
  3. In the intestines: the small intestine absorbs nutrients and water from the food and sends them through the bloodstream for the purpose of serving various tasks to different parts of the body. The large intestine holds the unabsorbed and undigested food until it moves to the rectum and eventually leaves the body.

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The Use of Mobile Devices in Healthcare

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Michael Leavy, the Managing Director of Home Healthcare Adaptations, a family-run company that specializes in adapting homes for the elderly and less-abled, explains for Healthy Lombard below how the rising use of mobile devices in healthcare is forming a new frontier in medicine.

In recent times, a wide range of professions have started to use mobile devices in their daily work; the healthcare sector is no exception to this. Mobile health (usually shortened to mHealth) technologies have enabled healthcare professionals to provide a superior standard of care to their patients.

What is mHealth?

The term “mHealth” refers to the use of mobile devices (e.g. smartphones or tablets) in medical care. In order to deliver a diverse range of services, mHealth technologies typically make use of smartphone functionalities such as SMS messaging, applications, web browsing, Bluetooth connectivity and more.

 

The Rapid Rise of mHealth Technologies

The mHealth industry has shown phenomenal growth globally. Powered by constant innovations and increasing global connectivity, mHealth technology has become embedded in the lives of patients and professionals alike. According to a report from Market Research Engine, the mHealth industry will achieve a global value of $60 billion this year.

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Why Drinking Diet Soda Makes You Crave Sugar

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  shared on his blog, NutritionFacts.org that recommendations on limiting sugar consumption vary around the world, with guidelines ranging from “[l]imit sweet desserts to one every other day” to “[k]eep sugar consumption to 4 or fewer occasions per day.” In the United States, the American Heart Association is leading the charge, “proposing dramatic reductions in the consumption of soft drinks and other sweetened products” and recommending fewer than about 5 percent of calories a day from added sugars, which may not even allow for a single can of soda.

Why is the American Heart Association so concerned about sugar? “Overconsumption of added sugars has long been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease,” meaning heart disease and strokes. We used to think added sugars were just a marker for an unhealthy diet. At fast-food restaurants, for example, people may be more likely to order a cheeseburger with their super-sized soda than a salad. However, the new thinking is that the added sugars in processed foods and drinks may be independent risk factors in and of themselves. Indeed, worse than just empty calories, they may be actively disease-promoting calories, which I discuss in his video Does Diet Soda Increase Stroke Risk as Much as Regular Soda?.

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TRAMPOLINES ARE NOT TOYS

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Daniel Fagbuyi, MD, FAAP a former emergency medicine pediatrician at Children’s Nationa wrote for the Rise and Shine Newsletter that exercise is important for kids, but there’s one form of exercise most pediatricians will caution against trampolines. Trampolines are not toys.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently published an article showing that trampoline injuries have increased over the past decade, and the organization advises against recreational trampolining altogether. Furthermore, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons states that children under the age of 6 should never use trampolines.

Collisions, falls and improper landings can all cause severe harm, and the youngest kids are the ones most at risk. If your kids do play on trampolines, here’s some advice on how to keep them safer.

Trampoline safety tips

  • Only one person should be allowed to jump at a time.
  • There must be adult supervision at all times.
  • Do not jump with any sharp objects in hand, like a rock or a pencil.

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Cycling Accidents Do’s & Don’ts

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Andries from UpPedal asks, “Have you ever had a big fall from your bike?”  Most people who ride bikes fall at some point…it is just how it is. A rite of passage even! Usually, it is nothing serious. Just a slight tumble where you get up again and dust yourself off. But sometimes it can be a bit more serious. So when there is a serious cycling accident, what should you do?

Not too long ago, Andries and her friends went for a ride and one of her friends had a big fall (the dust cloud from the tumble looked like a nuclear mushroom cloud!). Luckily there were no broken bones or serious injuries (just a cut requiring a trip to the emergency room for some stitches that resulted in an awesome scar). But the incident made us realize that they were not prepared for such a situation. After that, they figured out what they would need to do and what they should carry with them to be able to handle a similar situation again.

Below she outlines a list of do’s and don’ts that anyone involved in a cycling accident should keep in mind. Obviously your choice of cycling (road cycling, cycling to work, mountain biking, etc) will have its own unique set of circumstances. But hopefully, the information below will help you when you don’t know what to do! Read more

Watching TV ‘has strongest link’ with childhood obesity

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Simon Weedy reported for “Child In The City” that the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) did a study of 1,480 children to identify the lifestyle habits that influence the risk of becoming overweight and obesity at a young age.

The youngsters involved were from the cities of Sabadell and Valencia, along with Gipuzkoa province, and had been enrolled in the birth cohort of the INMA Environment and Childhood Project, a Spanish research network which studies pollutants during pregnancy and their effects on children.

‘TV had the strongest association with obesity’

Researchers looked at five lifestyle habits: physical activity, sleep time, television time, plant-based food consumption and ultra-processed food consumption. The youngsters’ parents were also questioned on the kids’ lifestyle habits at the age of four. To make the calculations, researchers looked at the children’s body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and blood pressure at four and seven years.

Television watching was found to have the strongest association with overweight and obesity, as youngsters who were less active and spent more time in front of the TV aged four were at greater risk of being affected by weight issues, obesity, and metabolic syndrome – a group of medical problems that put some children older than 10 years old at risk for heart disease – at seven years of age. Read more

Set your fitness goals for 2020!

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Go 4 Life suggests that as you start another year, it’s important to set firm goals for your physical fitness—you’ll be more motivated throughout the year. Goals are most useful when they’re specific, realistic, and important to you. Think about the following questions as you begin:

  • What can you do in the next week that will help make physical activity a habit?
  • Where do you want to be in the next 6 months? A year?
  • How are you doing a few weeks in? Check-in with your progress and celebrate your successes.

Many people find that having a firm goal in mind motivates them to move ahead on a project. Goals are most useful when they are specific, realistic, and important to you. Be sure to review your goals regularly as you make progress or your priorities change.

Download and use the Goal-Setting Worksheet to document where you want to be in both the short-and long-term.

STEP 1: Write Down Your Short-Term Goals

Write down at least two of your personal short-term goals. What will you do over the next week or two that will help you make physical activity a regular part of your life? Think about the things you need to get or do to be physically active. For example, you may need to buy appropriate fitness clothes or walking shoes. Make sure your short-term goals will really help you be more active.

If you’re already active, think of short-term goals to increase your level of physical activity. For example, over the next week or two, increase the amount of weight you lift or try a new kind of physical activity. No matter what your starting point, reaching your short-term goals will give you the confidence to progress toward your long-term goals. Read more

CELIAC FAMILIES MAY NOT NEED TO KEEP COOKING ACTIVITIES SEPARATED

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The Rise and Shine Newsletter shared that parents of children with celiac disease may be able to rest easier thanks to a preliminary study of cooking habits by experts at Children’s National Hospital.

Using the same toaster, knives or pots and pans for gluten-free and gluten-containing foods may not pose a high risk of gluten exposure for people with celiac disease. What’s more, routine washing of utensils and equipment with soap and water and handwashing can further reduce or eliminate gluten transfer. So, cutting cupcakes with different knives at the next birthday party your child attends may not be necessary.

The study was conceived and led by Vanessa Weisbrod, executive director of the Celiac Disease Program at Children’s National Hospital and a board-certified nutritionist. She also has celiac disease, as does her son.

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