Sleep and skin

Most people require at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
It is during this time that your body produces collagen
and elastin; two proteins which help your skin stay smooth
and look younger.

DANGEROUS BACTERIAL

DANGEROUS BACTERIAL

There has been a lot of news lately about a strain of the bacterium, methicillian-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In the past it has been found mostly in hospitals and has been resistant to antibiotics. The strain has now moved from hospitals to the community. This strain, while less deadly than that found in hospitals is still dangerous. It has been found in gyms and health clubs. What can you do to avoid it? Be careful. Do not share towels, use a clean towel over workout mats, and wipe down the equipment with the cleanser provided. If you have any signs of skin infection that do not heal, see your doctor. Again, be careful and wash your skin.

Coffee

We like our coffee and it comes in many forms. Coffee is virtually fat free and calorie free and it has antioxidants. However, the story does not end there. We like our coffee not plain, but as a grande, mocha latte. Many of these specialty coffees have as many calories as a full meal. Even with 2% milk the calories and fat are still high. If you are having trouble with weight loss and are stopping for a specialty coffee everyday, think about the calories. Remember, weight loss of two pounds a week requires you to burn 1000 more calories than you take it. Not easy if your coffee has 400-500 calories.

Weight Training

Unless you are a body builder, you only need strength training twice a week for each muscle group. Make sure you do 8 to 12 repetitions and one set is enough. Make sure the weight challenges you. If you are older or frail you might want to lower the weight and do 10 to 15 repetitions. Make sure to take at least a day off between the weight training. On off days you can do cardio training such as walking 10,000 steps a day.

Good Cholesterol

There is good cholesterol and then there is bad cholesterol. LDL is the bad and HDL is the good. You want to keep your HDL high! By keeping it high you help lower the bad LDL. Low HDL also greatly increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.

According to the University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter, it is estimated that for every 1mg/dl increase in HDL, there is a drop in the risk of cardiovascular disease by 2 to 3 per cent. HDL over 60 mg/dl is considered protective, even though it adds to your total cholesterol. So always get your cholesterol readings broken down and not just as a total number.

An Easy and Cheap Exercise Program

An easy and cheap exercise program is walking. By walking an average of 10,000 steps per day you will meet the government standards for exercise. This will help you to be healthier in all ways (weight loss, lower blood pressure, etc.) But how do you measure these 10,000 steps? The easiest way is to wear a pedometer. However all pedometers are not the same. The cheaper the pedometer, the less accurate it probably is and may be off by as much as 50%. In tests only 26% of cheap pedometers got an acceptable rating. According to the September 2006 issue of TUFT's HEALTH and NUTRITION LETTER, the Yamax Digiwalker SW-200 is the "gold standard." It cost about $20.00. So for $20.00 and a little time you can be on the road to a Healthier You!

Fat Issue

As Americans we are totally focused on the fat issue. The problem is we do not look at anything else and as I once heard, you become what you think about. We are thinking about fat and are becoming fatter. There is more to weight loss than cutting out fat. Many times when manufactures cut fat they add sugar to keep the taste. Read the labels! Keep your fat low but also keep your sugar intake low. Look for foods with less than 15 grams of sugar per serving.

Recently I looked at a container of yogurt that was 99% fat free. It had 15 fat calories, but 41 grams of sugar for a total calorie count of 240. I compared this to a carb and sugar control yogurt that had 25 fat calories, but 3 grams of sugar and 60 total calories.

Remember Fat free is not calorie free.