Volume 3, Issue 2
Nov. 2009
To promote and support healthy lifestyle choices that
improve the wellness of all district employees.
Step Up Wellness News - Men’s Health
What’s Coming Up
Thank you to all staff members that took the wellness survey! We had 209 employees participate and we will
be using the results to plan this year’s program. We will have a complete list of wellness topics, events and
activities in the December newsletter.
Stress Reduction will be our December topic. But we are also implementing a "Recipe of the
Month" contest. Beginning today, please email your favorite healthy recipe to Tammy
Christel at [email protected]. Each month the wellness committee will
choose a recipe to be featured in the newsletter. The person that submitted the winning
recipe will receive a $10 gift card to Just Food in Northfield. A collection of the healthy
recipes submitted by staff will be posted on the wellness website during December.
Short Workouts Good for Heart
How much exercise do you need to fight heart disease? Is an hour breaking a sweat at the gym what you need?
Or will 30 minutes gardening or 15 minutes walking around the block suffice? While it has been
well known that exercise is important in keeping your heart healthy, there has been debate as to just
how much is beneficial.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that all adults engage in physical activity
for at least 30 minutes most or preferably all days, and they say that you can break up this
activity into 15-minute sessions if that works better for you. According to the AHA, you get most
health benefits from exercising longer or at more vigorous levels, doing such things as brisk
walking or aerobics. However, the AHA also says that even doing moderate-intensity activity such as walking for pleasure, doing yard work or dancing - will help you lower your risk for
cardiovascular disease.
Make 15 minutes count
Physical activity does not have to be arduously long to be beneficial according to the Harvard School of
Public Health. Short sessions lasting 15 minutes appear to be helpful. This may motivate some sedentary
individuals to take up physical activity. They say you don't need to be an Olympic athlete to reap the benefits
of exercise, but you do need to push yourself to get your heart rate up.
Researchers found that men who trained with weights for 30 minutes or more per week reduced their risk for
coronary heart disease by 23 percent compared to those who didn't train with weights. Men who ran for an
hour or more each week reduced their risk by 42 percent compared to non-runners, and walking at a brisk
pace for more than half an hour was associated with an 18 percent reduction compared to non-walkers' risk
What makes exercise so good for the heart? Exercise is good for the heart because it helps increase the
HDL cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol) in the blood. The HDL cholesterol is a marker of lower heart
disease, and it can help drop the LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol), which increases the chances of
getting a fatty buildup inside the arteries. Exercise also helps make the endothelial cells that line our arteries
healthier. These cells are vital in preventing the clogging and hardening of the arteries.
Step Up Wellness News, Nov. 2009
Page 2
Does More Fiber Equal Less Cancer?
Should you "give a fig" about fiber?
Maybe. Fiber might play a role in protecting you from colon cancer,
according to two major studies. People who ate the most fiber had a
drastic reduction in their risk of colon cancer. Diets averaging 35 grams
of fiber a day translated into the risk for colon cancer dropping by 40
percent, compared to people eating only 15 grams, according to the
largest scientific study to investigate the links between diet and cancer
risk.
The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) report, published in the British medical journal The
Lancet, tracked the diets of a half million people in 10 European countries for an average of four-and-a-half
years.
Complementing that study is a separate report from the United States appearing in the same journal issue.
People who ate more than 30 grams a day had their risk of polyps reduced by 20 percent compared to those who
ate less than 15 grams. Scientists with the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening project
team compared the fiber intakes of 34,000 subjects without colon polyps. Experts say while these results are
encouraging, this research still does not prove how fiber prevents colon cancer or if fiber works alone.
Other health habits?
However, many other studies show a spectrum of answers, baffling researchers and consumers alike.
"It's hard to pinpoint fiber alone as a factor. This is probably because diets high in fiber are high in many other
potentially protective factors such as folate and other vitamins. Also, people
who consume high fiber diets also tend to follow other healthy lifestyle
behaviors by exercising and not smoking," says Marjorie McCullough, D.Sc.,
R.D., an epidemiology researcher at the American Cancer Society.
People with high-fiber diets are also more likely to eat less red meat, drink less
alcohol, smoke less and get regular exercise - all healthy behaviors that can
reduce any kind of cancer risk. Previous studies looking solely at fiber and
colon cancer say dietary fiber may not be the magic ingredient that reduces the
risk of colorectal cancer and adenomas. A major 1999 report, published in the
New England Journal of Medicine, looked at 88,000 women participating in the
Nurses' Health Study. The women were followed for 16 years. Little, if any,
link between reduced colon cancer risk and fiber consumption existed.
Also, studies from Finland and Sweden have found no protective effect from
fiber. Traditionally, researchers have several reasons for thinking fiber would
protect against colon cancer, McCullough says. One theory suggests that by
binding carcinogens and reducing constipation fiber might reduce the time that carcinogens interact with cells in
the colon. Another theory suggests certain compounds produced in the colon when fiber is eaten may be healthy
for colon cells.
"If you look at the EPIC study, you'll see that the association with fiber and colon cancer is not enormously
strong," says Joel Weissfeld, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology of the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center.
He explains the study does not address the differences of diets in varying cultures and the mixture of fiber.
Fiber is found in whole grains, cereals with ingredients like bran, beans, fruits and vegetables. Generally, the
European study was high in grains and cereal.
continued
Step Up Wellness News, Nov. 2009
Page 3
Fiber continued
"The question is: How much fiber is protective, and what kind of fiber would that be?" he says, noting that
eating more than the recommended amount of 30 grams of fiber a day does not show an additional benefit.
It could be that fiber intake doesn't do much by itself. Consuming calcium could be a link in helping to prevent
colon cancer. Also, people following healthy diets and regular exercise tend to have lower glycemic levels.
"We don't know how much of a role dietary fiber plays in preventing colon cancer or if there are other factors.
There will always be that uncertainty. When you are dealing with complex diseases like colon cancer, there may
not be one cause or one intervention. Which factor it may be, we may never know."
Eating habits, not pills
Supplements may not be that magical elixir either.
Another study by the European Cancer Prevention Organization Study Group and published in a 2000 issue of
The Lancet, researchers gave fiber supplements, calcium supplements or placebo (a sugar pill) to 552 people
who earlier had precancerous polyps surgically removed from the colon.
After three years on fiber supplements, the patients were checked for new polyps. At least one new polyp was
found in 29 percent of those getting the fiber supplements, compared with 20 percent of those getting the
dummy supplements, making those getting the fiber supplements about one-third more likely to develop new
polyps. About 16 percent of study participants who took calcium supplements developed new polyps.
No matter what, experts stress that supplements for fiber intake are not the way to go. You are far better off
getting fiber the natural way - from your diet.
"We want a diet that is plant-based and contains a whole arsenal of nutrients and phytochemicals such as
lycopene and lutein," says Melanie Polk, M.M.Sc., R.D., F.A.D.A., consultant at the American Institute for
Cancer Research (AICR).
Consuming too much alcohol, fat or calories and too little carotenoids, fiber and vitamin C may cause an
increased risk for all cancers. An estimated one-third of all cancers may be diet-related, according to AICR.
And it's never too late to start including nutrient-rich plant foods in your diet, McCullough says.
"If a 65-year old man started increasing his intake of plant foods, - which are also high in fiber - such as fruits,
vegetables and whole grains, his risk of developing certain cancers and cardiovascular disease would be reduced
compared with someone who did not change their diet," McCullough says.
Sports Drink or Water...Which Goes Best With Your Workout?
Are sports drinks better for you than water? If you work out for fewer than 60 minutes, water is all you need. If
you work out for longer than 60 minutes, sports drinks do have their place. When you
sweat, you lose water and salts. If you don't replace them, you can become dehydrated.
Sports drinks contain electrolytes like sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and water.
This combination replaces the fluids in your body faster than water can. Sports drinks also
contain carbohydrates, which give you the calories you need for fuel.
Read the label on your sports drink. Make sure it contains no fewer than 6 percent and no
more than 8 percent carbohydrates. More than 8 percent can cause cramping, diarrhea and
nausea. Less than 6 percent will not provide you with enough energy.
Articles from https://www.bluecrossmn.com
Staff Wellness Committee Members: Elizabeth Bade, Tammy Christel, Denise Halvorson, Pam Haupt, Matt Hillmann, Heather
Kuchinka, Rhea Miller, Hannah Puczko, Michelle Steele, Molly Viesselman, Sheila Winegardner, and Mary Wojick.