http://www.successmagazine.com/13-Ways-to-Create-a-Fit-Family/PARAMS/article/641/channel/221
Here is a good little article on how to keep your family active and healthy:
13 Ways to Create a Fit Family
Lay the groundwork for a lifetime of health.
March 17, 2009
One in three kids is overweight or obese, according to The New England Journal of Medicine, and an increasing number of children are showing early warning signs of heart disease.
Fast-food meals and sedentary lifestyles of watching TV and playing computer games are adding to the problem. The key for parents is to “live a healthy-body-weight message, every day, and your kids will naturally come along for the ride,” says author Tom Gilliam, co-author of Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy: The Simple Truth about Achieving & Maintaining a Healthy Body Weight.
He offers these tips for a fit family:
Teach kids good health is their responsibility. Explain that their body weight is connected to their overall health, and that their health is the most precious asset they will ever possess.
Use hard numbers to measure body weight. For kids 10 and older, teach them about BMI—a body mass index chart that uses height and weight data as a measuring stick for fitness or obesity. A BMI measurement between 18.5 and 25 is optimal. Visit NHLBIsupport.com/bmi/.
Educate older kids in how to read food labels. When kids learn how to read food labels, they will be able to see that sodas (for example) are prohibitively high in sugar.
Chart their progress. It’s always helpful for kids to see what they have achieved in black-and-white terms. Get a calendar and have your kids write down their fitness activities for the day, such as “walked the dog” or “went hiking.”
Find fun activities you can do as a group. Don’t just sip a cool drink and watch, be part of the action! Join your kids and take regular walks in the woods, go inline skating at the park, jump rope or do a yoga DVD.
Model good eating habits for your kids. When you reach for an orange instead of a bag of chips, your kids will go for the good stuff, too. Try stocking up on healthy snacks like fresh fruit, raisins and natural peanut butter.
Make a game out of shopping for healthy foods. Introduce an unusual fruit or vegetable—like artichokes or guava—to your children each week at the store.
Pair your child with a buddy for exercise. If your daughter’s friend is into horseback riding or ballet, encourage your daughter to get involved, too. Make peer pressure positive.
Challenge your kids to help you find ways to sneak in exercise. Take the stairs in the mall, not the elevator or escalator.
Connect exercise with activities kids already like to do. If your kids are interested in science, take them on weekly nature walks to identify plants or bugs.
Use books, videos and other stories to help drive the point home. If you have a teenager who loves to read, consider a subscription to a fitness magazine.
Let your child wear a pedometer every day. Kids who love gadgets will love measuring their steps.
Consider exercise in the morning. Between after-school events, dinner and homework, it’s difficult to squeeze in exercise at the end of the day. Try getting up earlier and going for a walk as a family. You will feel better all day.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
How your nails reflect your health
Here is an interesting article from sympatico msn:
http://healthandfitness.sympatico.msn.ca/News/ContentPosting?newsitemid=1666403032&feedname=CP-HEALTH&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=False&paginationenabled=false
Fingernails can reveal an amazing amount about a person's health, medical experts say, with a surprising number of conditions manifesting themselves with changes in the shape, colour or overall state of the nails.
"It may be the first sign, it may be the herald sign of ... an internal disease," says Dr. Yves Poulin, a Quebec City dermatologist and president-elect of the Canadian Dermatology Association.
Lung disorders, nasal polyps, anemia, inflammatory bowel syndrome and liver diseases can provoke changes in the fingernails.
In some cases those alterations can prompt people to seek medical attention, in the process bringing to light previously undiagnosed conditions. In others, the state of a patient's nails will help a physician clarify what is at play.
"For us, it helps to make the correct diagnosis to look at the nail," Poulin says.
The bed of the fingernails of healthy individuals should be a light pink. Nail beds that are white may suggest anemia - a red blood cell deficiency which itself can be a symptom of other, sometimes serious, diseases. When the nails themselves grow opaque and white, it can be a sign of liver disease.
White nails with a dark band at the tip - a condition called Terry's nails - can be a sign of aging but could also signal congestive heart failure, diabetes or liver disease, according to a photo slide show on fingernail conditions on the Mayo Clinic website. (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nails/WO00055)
Kidney problems are suspected with a condition known as half-and-half nail, in which the lower part of the nail bed is white but a portion towards the tip of the nail is pink.
Bluish nails can signal a lack of oxygen, a sign a person might be suffering from one of a number of lung conditions. Green nails can be caused by infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium which is common in the environment. Antibiotics can clear up this condition.
Poulin says respiratory tract problems - such as nasal polyps and chronic sinusitis - can trigger yellow nail syndrome, which he describes as rare. It can be corrected in some cases, depending on the cause.
"I had a guy in recently, he was an attorney, he was 40 and he had yellow nails on all his nails. And he had a nose surgery and it all went away," Poulin says.
Strangely shaped or marked nails are also indicative of a variety of conditions.
Thickened, misshapen and cloudy nails - sometimes on the fingers, but more often on the toes - are generally a sign of infection with a fungus. Called onychomycosis, the condition is unsightly and makes the nails difficult to trim and maintain.
Onychomycosis can and should be treated, Poulin says, and the earlier the better. The longer the problem festers, the harder it is to treat, he says.
And while thickened toe nails may be merely an esthetic problem for a 60-year-old, when that person is 80 and diabetic, toenails that can't be trimmed can trigger infections in the skin around the nail bed, erode foot health and threaten mobility.
"It may be an open door for cellulitis, for infections of the skin, in diabetic people," Poulin says. "(But) this is often neglected. People don't look too much at their toenails."
A brown or black streak or dot under a nail that persists can be skin cancer - melanoma, which can be deadly if it isn't caught early. And if there is no evident reason for the change in pigmentation, it should be checked out, says Dr. Mark Davis, a dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minn., campus.
"If patients can remember some trauma to their nail - that they actually have a reason for getting blood under their nail and it's usually painful - then it's nothing to be worried about," Davis says.
"But if somebody develops a new pigmentation on their nail, just like a new mole on your skin, it's best to have a dermatologist look at it and make the judgment as to whether it could be a melanoma or whether it's just a mole. And sometimes that can be quite difficult even for the dermatologist to decide."
Melanomas under the nail aren't common, but they do occur. But because people don't necessarily know of the possibility, such melanomas can go undetected, threatening chances of survival.
"People come very late with melanoma of the nail plate," says Poulin. "They have a black streak in the nail for years."
Someone who has horizontal groves across all their fingernails has experienced an illness that has interrupted the growth of the nails. The condition, called Beau's lines, is associated with uncontrolled diabetes, circulatory diseases or illnesses associated with high fever, the Mayo Clinic says.
While nail changes can signal something is going on with a person's health, sometimes the message they send isn't specific to a particular disease.
"For example, when you see clubbing of the nails, there's like 20 different things that can be associated with that," Davis says. He adds the warning, though, that "if that happens and it's new, it can be a sign of lung cancer."
The term clubbing is used to describe the swelling or enlarging of the tips of the fingers, with the nails curving downwards over the tip. While some people are born with clubbing, if it develops later on it can be a symptom of lung disease, congenital heart disorders, inflammatory bowel disease or liver problems.
Spoon nails, on the other hand, come about when the fingernails soften and curl inward from the sides, creating a concave surface. Also known as koilonychia, spoon nails can be a sign of iron-deficiency anemia.
Davis suggests paying attention to, but not fretting unduly, over changes to fingernails.
"If they notice a change in their nails, I think it's reasonable to check on it, but not to get overly alarmed about it. Because there's lots of things that happen to the nails themselves that have nothing to do with any underlying conditions."
http://healthandfitness.sympatico.msn.ca/News/ContentPosting?newsitemid=1666403032&feedname=CP-HEALTH&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=False&paginationenabled=false
Fingernails can reveal an amazing amount about a person's health, medical experts say, with a surprising number of conditions manifesting themselves with changes in the shape, colour or overall state of the nails.
"It may be the first sign, it may be the herald sign of ... an internal disease," says Dr. Yves Poulin, a Quebec City dermatologist and president-elect of the Canadian Dermatology Association.
Lung disorders, nasal polyps, anemia, inflammatory bowel syndrome and liver diseases can provoke changes in the fingernails.
In some cases those alterations can prompt people to seek medical attention, in the process bringing to light previously undiagnosed conditions. In others, the state of a patient's nails will help a physician clarify what is at play.
"For us, it helps to make the correct diagnosis to look at the nail," Poulin says.
The bed of the fingernails of healthy individuals should be a light pink. Nail beds that are white may suggest anemia - a red blood cell deficiency which itself can be a symptom of other, sometimes serious, diseases. When the nails themselves grow opaque and white, it can be a sign of liver disease.
White nails with a dark band at the tip - a condition called Terry's nails - can be a sign of aging but could also signal congestive heart failure, diabetes or liver disease, according to a photo slide show on fingernail conditions on the Mayo Clinic website. (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nails/WO00055)
Kidney problems are suspected with a condition known as half-and-half nail, in which the lower part of the nail bed is white but a portion towards the tip of the nail is pink.
Bluish nails can signal a lack of oxygen, a sign a person might be suffering from one of a number of lung conditions. Green nails can be caused by infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium which is common in the environment. Antibiotics can clear up this condition.
Poulin says respiratory tract problems - such as nasal polyps and chronic sinusitis - can trigger yellow nail syndrome, which he describes as rare. It can be corrected in some cases, depending on the cause.
"I had a guy in recently, he was an attorney, he was 40 and he had yellow nails on all his nails. And he had a nose surgery and it all went away," Poulin says.
Strangely shaped or marked nails are also indicative of a variety of conditions.
Thickened, misshapen and cloudy nails - sometimes on the fingers, but more often on the toes - are generally a sign of infection with a fungus. Called onychomycosis, the condition is unsightly and makes the nails difficult to trim and maintain.
Onychomycosis can and should be treated, Poulin says, and the earlier the better. The longer the problem festers, the harder it is to treat, he says.
And while thickened toe nails may be merely an esthetic problem for a 60-year-old, when that person is 80 and diabetic, toenails that can't be trimmed can trigger infections in the skin around the nail bed, erode foot health and threaten mobility.
"It may be an open door for cellulitis, for infections of the skin, in diabetic people," Poulin says. "(But) this is often neglected. People don't look too much at their toenails."
A brown or black streak or dot under a nail that persists can be skin cancer - melanoma, which can be deadly if it isn't caught early. And if there is no evident reason for the change in pigmentation, it should be checked out, says Dr. Mark Davis, a dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minn., campus.
"If patients can remember some trauma to their nail - that they actually have a reason for getting blood under their nail and it's usually painful - then it's nothing to be worried about," Davis says.
"But if somebody develops a new pigmentation on their nail, just like a new mole on your skin, it's best to have a dermatologist look at it and make the judgment as to whether it could be a melanoma or whether it's just a mole. And sometimes that can be quite difficult even for the dermatologist to decide."
Melanomas under the nail aren't common, but they do occur. But because people don't necessarily know of the possibility, such melanomas can go undetected, threatening chances of survival.
"People come very late with melanoma of the nail plate," says Poulin. "They have a black streak in the nail for years."
Someone who has horizontal groves across all their fingernails has experienced an illness that has interrupted the growth of the nails. The condition, called Beau's lines, is associated with uncontrolled diabetes, circulatory diseases or illnesses associated with high fever, the Mayo Clinic says.
While nail changes can signal something is going on with a person's health, sometimes the message they send isn't specific to a particular disease.
"For example, when you see clubbing of the nails, there's like 20 different things that can be associated with that," Davis says. He adds the warning, though, that "if that happens and it's new, it can be a sign of lung cancer."
The term clubbing is used to describe the swelling or enlarging of the tips of the fingers, with the nails curving downwards over the tip. While some people are born with clubbing, if it develops later on it can be a symptom of lung disease, congenital heart disorders, inflammatory bowel disease or liver problems.
Spoon nails, on the other hand, come about when the fingernails soften and curl inward from the sides, creating a concave surface. Also known as koilonychia, spoon nails can be a sign of iron-deficiency anemia.
Davis suggests paying attention to, but not fretting unduly, over changes to fingernails.
"If they notice a change in their nails, I think it's reasonable to check on it, but not to get overly alarmed about it. Because there's lots of things that happen to the nails themselves that have nothing to do with any underlying conditions."
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Massachucetts Doctor Accused of Fabricating Results in Pain Studies
A US doctor has been accused of fabricating results in nearly two dozen studies of pain results after surgery, pertaining to vioxx and celebrex.
http://healthandfitness.sympatico.msn.ca/News/ContentPosting?newsitemid=1141437026&feedname=CP-HEALTH&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True
http://healthandfitness.sympatico.msn.ca/News/ContentPosting?newsitemid=1141437026&feedname=CP-HEALTH&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True
Canadians are Healthier than Americans
When I was travelling in Florida, I was surprised that I felt surprising slim. In a weak moment, I thought maybe I should move there, it would be good for my self esteem! Many Floridians that I had seen were seemingly overweight. I thought that Canadians were much leaner than Americans, however my research shows that we are not far off.
According to statistics, 23.1% of Canadians have a body mass index over 30 compared to 31% for Americans. In other countries such as England it is 24%, Spain 15%, Italy 10% and France 7%. These lower ratings in Spain, Italy and France may correlate with a Mediterranean diet, working less hours and spending more time walking and less time sitting and in cars. The Mediterranean diet consists of many fresh fruits and veggies, beans, olive oil and fish, not to forget the daily glass of red wine.
I did some research on this topic and I found an interesting article posted by
Sound Medicine from the University of Indiana
In the ages-old US vs. Canada debate, the U.S. has a few clear advantages. Our climate, overall, is better. And our professional football league definitely puts Canada's to shame. But when it comes to health, Canadians have the advantage. According to a study recently published by the American Journal of Public Health, Canadians are, on average, healthier than Americans.
To wit: Americans are 42% more likely than Canadians to have diabetes and 32% more likely to have high blood pressure. Also, not surprisingly, Americans are fatter than Canadians. Of those surveyed, 21% of Americans reported being obese, compared to 15% of Canadians.
What makes Canadians healthier? Some experts surmise that Canada's system of universal health coverage makes a large difference. According to the study, Canadians on average endure longer waits for doctor appointments, but more Canadians overall receive care. And, also according to the study, many more Americans than Canadians can't afford the medicine they need to ward off disease.
There is a bit of good news on the American side. According to the study, we tend to smoke less than Canadians. Still, less smoking hasn't enabled us to match the healthiness of our northern neighbors.
To wit: Americans are 42% more likely than Canadians to have diabetes and 32% more likely to have high blood pressure. Also, not surprisingly, Americans are fatter than Canadians. Of those surveyed, 21% of Americans reported being obese, compared to 15% of Canadians.
What makes Canadians healthier? Some experts surmise that Canada's system of universal health coverage makes a large difference. According to the study, Canadians on average endure longer waits for doctor appointments, but more Canadians overall receive care. And, also according to the study, many more Americans than Canadians can't afford the medicine they need to ward off disease.
There is a bit of good news on the American side. According to the study, we tend to smoke less than Canadians. Still, less smoking hasn't enabled us to match the healthiness of our northern neighbors.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
National Body Urges Three Provinces to Regulate Lab Techs
An interesting article by MSN on Health news:
http://healthandfitness.sympatico.msn.ca/News/ContentPosting?newsitemid=0444095027&feedname=CP-HEALTH&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True&pagenumber=2
National body urges three provinces to regulate lab technologists
04/03/2009 10:51:00 AMTara Brautigam, THE CANADIAN PRESS ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Patient safety in three provinces and northern Canada may be at risk because medical laboratory technologists there aren't regulated, a national body warned Wednesday in the wake of Newfoundland and Labrador's botched breast cancer testing scandal.
Kurt Davis, executive director of the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science, urged Newfoundland, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and the Territories to introduce professional regulation of lab technologists.
"This is very concerning because employers can basically hire whoever they want," he said at a news conference. "There are no restrictions on who can work in a medical laboratory in the absence of professional regulation.
"There's issues of patient safety, in worker safety, in patient confidentiality."
Davis singled out B.C. for "procrastinating" on a 10-year-old proposal to regulate the profession.
He also called on P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Territories to implement mandatory external accreditation of their medical labs to meet internationally accepted standards.
The laboratory medicine director of the Newfoundland health board at the centre of the faulty tests said she agrees regulation and accreditation are needed.
"Accreditation has certainly been a needed entity in laboratory medicine to ensure standards of practice, competency in training," said Lynn Wade of Eastern Health.
Up to 85 per cent of decisions by physicians are based on medical lab results, according to the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science, which represents more than 14,000 medical laboratory technologists across Canada.
Davis's call for action came a day after the release of a public inquiry report that found glaring errors at the St. John's lab that processed hundreds of botched breast cancer tests in Newfoundland.
Quality control at that lab was "so little and so haphazard as to be non-existent," provincial Supreme Court Justice Margaret Cameron wrote in a 495-page report.
"We are concerned that similar situations exist but have not erupted in this fashion across Canada," Davis said, citing cutbacks to medical lab sciences across the country in the 1990s.
Cameron issued 60 recommendations that, among other things, call for more training for clinicians, improved record-keeping and mandatory continuing education for laboratory technologists.
She has asked the Newfoundland government to report on the status of her recommendations by March 31, 2010.
The inquiry was launched in 2007 to probe how at least 386 men and women had their breast cancer tests botched.
The tests were intended to determine the most appropriate course of treatment.
At least 108 patients whose tests were misread have died in what is the province's biggest public health failure. But it will likely never be known how many of them, if any, died as a result of missing out on potentially life-saving treatment.
http://healthandfitness.sympatico.msn.ca/News/ContentPosting?newsitemid=0444095027&feedname=CP-HEALTH&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True&pagenumber=2
National body urges three provinces to regulate lab technologists
04/03/2009 10:51:00 AMTara Brautigam, THE CANADIAN PRESS ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Patient safety in three provinces and northern Canada may be at risk because medical laboratory technologists there aren't regulated, a national body warned Wednesday in the wake of Newfoundland and Labrador's botched breast cancer testing scandal.
Kurt Davis, executive director of the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science, urged Newfoundland, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and the Territories to introduce professional regulation of lab technologists.
"This is very concerning because employers can basically hire whoever they want," he said at a news conference. "There are no restrictions on who can work in a medical laboratory in the absence of professional regulation.
"There's issues of patient safety, in worker safety, in patient confidentiality."
Davis singled out B.C. for "procrastinating" on a 10-year-old proposal to regulate the profession.
He also called on P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Territories to implement mandatory external accreditation of their medical labs to meet internationally accepted standards.
The laboratory medicine director of the Newfoundland health board at the centre of the faulty tests said she agrees regulation and accreditation are needed.
"Accreditation has certainly been a needed entity in laboratory medicine to ensure standards of practice, competency in training," said Lynn Wade of Eastern Health.
Up to 85 per cent of decisions by physicians are based on medical lab results, according to the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science, which represents more than 14,000 medical laboratory technologists across Canada.
Davis's call for action came a day after the release of a public inquiry report that found glaring errors at the St. John's lab that processed hundreds of botched breast cancer tests in Newfoundland.
Quality control at that lab was "so little and so haphazard as to be non-existent," provincial Supreme Court Justice Margaret Cameron wrote in a 495-page report.
"We are concerned that similar situations exist but have not erupted in this fashion across Canada," Davis said, citing cutbacks to medical lab sciences across the country in the 1990s.
Cameron issued 60 recommendations that, among other things, call for more training for clinicians, improved record-keeping and mandatory continuing education for laboratory technologists.
She has asked the Newfoundland government to report on the status of her recommendations by March 31, 2010.
The inquiry was launched in 2007 to probe how at least 386 men and women had their breast cancer tests botched.
The tests were intended to determine the most appropriate course of treatment.
At least 108 patients whose tests were misread have died in what is the province's biggest public health failure. But it will likely never be known how many of them, if any, died as a result of missing out on potentially life-saving treatment.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Health Canada Warns of Side Effects from MS Drug
A drug called Tysabri, used in the treatment of MS, has been in the news. It has been found that this drug has been linked to a brain infection called PML in five cases. PML or progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy usually happens in those with a weakened immune system.
Toronto Medical Officer is Calling for An Increase in Funding for Food
Dr. David McKeown, Medical Officer for Health in Toronto is requesting an increase in monthly funding for those on social assistance. Many people on social assistance are using foodbanks, which is on the rise. People are having to chose between less expensive food or rent. Fresh foods are more pricey and people's health is suffering.
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