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Dr Art Hister – Exercise makes you better

I know you’re probably sick of hearing by now about how you need to exercise more in order to prevent so many conditions, especially, of course, cardiovascular problems like heart attacks, heart failure, and strokes.

In fact, exercise is such an effective “preventer” of illness, if it came in the form of a pill, everyone would be lining up to get more than their fair share to swallow.

But what’s so amazing about the benefits of exercise to me is that it’s not only the best weapon we have to fight off many conditions, it’s an effective tool to make a person feel better even after they’ve become sick with such conditions, and the latest evidence of that comes from a Spanish study presented at the recent American Stroke Association meeting.

In this study which involved 159 patients, the researchers concluded that the higher the level of fitness in a stroke victim, the better their chances of surviving the stroke with less damage.

That is, if you are unlucky enough to suffer a stroke, the wee bit of good news is that the more fit you were to begin with, the more effectively the anti-clotting drugs that prevent stroke damage if given shortly after a stroke will work on you.

Goal-setting—How to set and reach your goals

A study in 2007 by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol showed that 78% of those who set New Year’s resolutions fail, and those who succeed have 5 traits in common.* Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

Goals—specifics vs. generalities

Businesses set goals to achieve growth or profitability over time, and competitive athletes set training goals so they’re ready for important competitions. Individuals may have big picture goals, such as eating healthier or becoming more active, but how can you make sure you actually get there?

Setting goals that are specific gives you a long-term vision and short-term motivation. When you set goals that are clearly defined it lets you set milestones and see your progress, giving you the self-confidence to carry on and achieve your objectives.

How to set personal health goals

Think about what your end goal is, and then put it into specific terms. For example, if you want overall health, what does that mean to you? Does it mean you can run five kilometres non-stop, or does it mean you reach a particular measurement such as a lower BMI? Whatever your final goal is, write it down in a journal.

What is a reasonable amount of time to achieve this goal? For health goals, you should check with your doctor or London Drugs personal care pharmacist for guidance. Note in your journal the date by which you want to accomplish your goal.
Set milestones between today (or your start date) and the date you want to achieve the goal. For example, if running five kilometres is your goal, and you’ve given yourself two months to do it, break the five killometres into smaller increments over that time period. That may mean you want to run one kilometre after one and a half weeks, two after three weeks, etc.
There are certain things you know you’ll need to start doing to achieve your goals, and certain things you’ll need to stop doing to be successful. For example, to achieve your five kilometre goal you’ll need to start running on a regular basis. That may mean you’ll need to stop doing other things to make this happen, such as swapping TV watching time in the evening to run. You may also need to change what you’re eating to allow your body to literally fuel your goal. Break down the time between your milestones even further to create a step-by-step blueprint to reach your end goal.
Reward yourself along the way! When you reach milestones, celebrate them. You could buy yourself new running shoes after you run your first full mile, or treat yourself to a deep tissue massage.
Join social groups to help you stay motivated. You could download an app to track and share your results with others who have the same goals. Share your goals with your friends and family and let them know about your success and challenges along the way. Ask their help if you need it—like changing family pizza night to a family swimming night.
Be flexible. Sometimes life can get in the way of achieving your goals. Don’t give up—just re-work your plan to allow for a new schedule. Your goals are important, and worth pursuing. Stay strong and you’ll realize them!

* Blame It on the Brain: The latest neuroscience research suggests spreading resolutions out over time is the best approach, Wall Street Journal, December 26, 2009

Where to start with diet and exercise

When you decide you want to make changes in your lifestyle, it can be confusing to know where to start. Nutrition advice and opinions from friends, the news or the Internet can be confusing. And reading about the benefits of anaerobic vs. aerobic exercise, or strength training vs. cardio can seem overwhelming. The easiest place to start is with Canada’s Food and Physical Activity Guides.

Included in the package you receive when you take a London Drugs Nutrition Clinic are two simple guides to point you in the right direction. Canada’s Food Guide breaks down the quantities of different food groups you need in order to get the essential amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients to help reduce your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other health conditions. It also addresses the specific food needs of children, women of childbearing age and individuals over 50. On the back you’ll find tips about reading nutrition labels and how to eat (not just what to eat.)

Canada’s Physical Activity Guide, published by the Public Health Agency of Canada, is an even simpler guide. It focuses on one thought—sit less, move more. It follows with suggestions for how to do this, breaking activities into endurance, flexibility and strength. Everyday activities such as strolling or dusting count, as do swimming or jogging at the other end of the exertion spectrum. Fun activities like dancing or playing hockey are also covered. The key is to start slowly and build from there. Try taking one flight of stairs at work instead of the elevator all the way, or walk to the corner store instead of driving.

Both guides are included in the package you receive when you register for a London Drugs Nutrition Clinic.

Where will YOU start?

You can get the best advice by making an appointment with your family doctor, or registering for a Nutrition Clinic at London Drugs. Download the schedule and store information at https://blog.londondrugs.com/2011/12/london-drugs-nutrition-clinics.html, and call to book your one-on-one consultation for a nominal fee.

Also, take part in our conversation by following us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LondonDrugs. We have daily topics that we’d love your thoughts on.

Watch for next week’s article, “Goal-setting—How to set and reach your goals“

Dr Art Hister – Huge spike in knee replacement surgery

If you pardon this poor attempt at a pun, depending on where you stand, it’s either good news or bad news that according to a huge American survey, there’s been a very steep rise in the number of knee replacement procedures over the last several years.

Thus, based on data released by the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, between 2007 and 2010, the number of knee replacements done in the US rose by 157 % in women, and 144 % in men.

The good news is that so many more people who need a knee replaced are getting that procedure done, including lots of elderly, who used to be excluded from getting this kind of operation.

But now that the elderly are living so much longer, it’s become much more routine for a senior in decent health to get a knee – or a hip – replaced – because there’s a very good chance they’ll live a long time with that new joint.

The bad news is that knee replacement operations have risen most dramatically among baby boomers, and the most likely reason for that is excess weight since obesity is a major risk factor for wearing out a large weight-bearing joint like a knee or a hip.

And the even worse news is that this trend is only going to get worse as all those overweight and obese kids out there trudge their way into middle age.

Dr Art Hister – Yet Another Reason to Exercise

A terrific talk on aging I heard a while ago pointed out something that I had never considered but which seems to be quite true, and it’s a very depressing thought.

This aging expert pointed out that although you often see pictures of a 70-year-old doing something quite amazing like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, for example, but you never see an 85-year-old doing something similar.

That’s because, he said, of age-related frailty, meaning that we lose our muscle strength as we grow older.
Thus, it’s commonly said that we lose roughly 1 % of our muscle mass every year beyond the age of 40, and eventually – sometime between 75 and 85 for nearly all of us – we reach a tipping point of lost muscle mass when we can’t do so many – or even any – of the things we used to do so easily years before.

So the great news is that maybe that doesn’t have to happen.

In a study with terrifically hopeful possibilities, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh examined 40 competitive athletes – runners, cyclists, swimmers – between the ages of 40 and 81, and the researchers found that – quite to their surprise – that not only did those athletes have as much muscle tissue as people decades younger than them, they also remained nearly as strong as many people a couple of decades younger than them.

Now, clearly these were elite athletes and very few of us are able to train as much as these people do.

But this isn’t an all-or-none situation so seems to me that even some regular exercise can delay or postpone that heretofore seemingly inevitable frailty that the elderly suffer and which condemns so many seniors to having to give up their independence.

And honestly, doesn’t some exercise done a few times a week seem like a small price to pay for raising your chances to live a longer independent life down the line?

Dr. Art Hister – Think Positive to Live Better

Although most cultures have long acknowledged that how “sick” we are is often a function of how we feel about the rest of our lives, i.e. that the mind and body are intimately connected, western medicine has been pretty sceptical about that link, mostly because it’s very hard to measure that kind of connection, and what scientists can’t measure, they generally ignore or even worse, disparage.

But the truth is that there is an intimate connection between “the head” and “the body”, and that connection is at the root of lots of what works and doesn’t work in medicine.

Take this very interesting study published recently in the American Heart Journal.

In this study researchers took 30 people who were suffering with chest pain and who were undergoing angiography (a procedure to check the state of the heart arteries), none of whom actually had significant heart disease, although they all thought that that in fact was the reason for their pain, and gave them all the same medication.

However, the researchers told half the patients that they were getting a drug that would not only relieve their pain, but that the drug would also improve their arterial function.

The truth, however, is that the patients were just being given a saline solution.

Not surprisingly, those people who were told they were getting an active drug not only reported a dip in the amount of pain they were suffering, but their arteries actually changed as a result of the suggestion that they were getting an active drug.

The control group had exactly the opposite reaction: they reported an increase in pain and their arteries changed in the opposite direction to the “suggestion” group.

In other words, expect a drug to work and it is very much more likely to work than if you go into the therapy expecting no results.

Dr Art Hister – Smoking and Pregnancy

For any woman who is pregnant right now (or even one thinking of getting pregnant one day) and who is still smoking, here’s a very encouraging piece of news.

A study that looked at 50,000 pregnancies concluded that if a woman gave up smoking soon after she conceived, she had the same chance of a giving birth to a normal-weight baby as a woman who has never smoked.

And the reason that matters is that low birth-weight is a major marker for lots of other health problems. Not to mention that smoking is also related to other key problems during the pregnancy and during labour, as well as in the post-partum period. And, that smoking by a parent, either the mom or the dad, and worst of all by both, is linked to some pretty negative health measures in children forced to live in a smoky environment.

Anyway, the bottom line from this study is pretty simple and should hit home hard to any woman still smoking after conception: quit smoking early in your pregnancy, and there is no harm to the baby.

Dr Art Hister – Exercise makes you better

Goal-setting—How to set and reach your goals

Goals—specifics vs. generalities

How to set personal health goals

Where to start with diet and exercise

Where will YOU start?

Dr Art Hister – Huge spike in knee replacement surgery

Dr Art Hister – Yet Another Reason to Exercise

Dr. Art Hister – Think Positive to Live Better

Dr Art Hister – Smoking and Pregnancy

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Dr Art Hister – Exercise makes you better

Goal-setting—How to set and reach your goals

Goals—specifics vs. generalities

How to set personal health goals

Where to start with diet and exercise

Where will YOU start?

Dr Art Hister – Huge spike in knee replacement surgery

Dr Art Hister – Yet Another Reason to Exercise

Dr. Art Hister – Think Positive to Live Better

Dr Art Hister – Smoking and Pregnancy

Archive

Categories

Pages

Newsletter

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