Managing Your Health
July 2012 Edition
Declare Your
Independence
Start a Revolution
Pledge Your Allegiance
2
Through the Night with
a Light from Above
3
July is National Ice
Cream Month!
Enjoy Yourself the
Healthy Way!
____
Remember to BBQ
4
Decrease Your
Cancer Risk
5
Spotlight on…
Swimming
6
Life, Liberty and the
Pursuit of Happiness
July is a month of sunny mornings, hot afternoons, and star-spangled nights.
To ensure that you and your family have a fun and safe summer, this issue
of Managing Your Health uses the month’s patriotic themes to present
several health and wellness tips for your favorite summer activities.
There are two educations.
One should teach us
how to make a living,
and the other,
how to live.
– John Adams
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HOME
Start a Revolution
When the Founding Fathers were
displeased with British taxes, they
stood up for their freedoms and
fought for their ideals. There’s
nothing more taxing on your body
than those few extra pounds, so
liberate yourself with a health and
wellness revolution! Whether
it means changing your diet or
amping up your workout schedule,
this new regimen will certainly
have its own set of obstacles, but
if you fight through the cravings
and the sweat, you’ll come out the
other end as sculpted as Mount
Rushmore.
Declare Your
Independence
With so much pressure to exploit
the good weather with your friends
and family, summer can turn your
social calendar into a stressful
game of tag that leaves your
laundry undone and your walking
shoes unused. In the spirit of
national independence, designate
one night each week (or even just a
few hours after the kids have gone
to sleep) for some private time to
catch up on the most important
person in your life: you!
better
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Pledge Your
Allegiance
It’s easy to neglect your body if
you can’t see or feel the negative
effects. Stay committed to
your body with regular visits to
the doctor and routine physical
checkups. Be sure to schedule
appointments for the preventive
tests suggested for your particular
age group, and don’t forget to
check in with your dentist and
ophthalmologist—your oral and
visual health deserves the same
devoted attention as the rest of
your body.
It is
to offer no excuse
than a bad one.
– George Washington
If you still need that extra push, check out
this motivational site (also available on your
iPhone or Android) that combines healthy
fitness strategies with a social network of moral
support: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
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Through the Night with a Light from Above
Ten Safety Tips to Ensure Your Fireworks Don’t Lead to Any Waterworks
1
Always buy fireworks from
a reliable seller so that you
know they’re legal. Be sure
to obey local laws. Illegal explosives
are extremely dangerous and
should never be used.
2
Read the warning or caution
label carefully, follow all
directions, and always light
outdoors away from combustible
material, buildings and plants. Only
use fireworks as intended; don’t try
to alter or combine them.
3
No part of your body should
be over the firework while
lighting it; eye protection is
recommended.
4
It’s always a good idea to
have a hose or a bucket of
water handy when having a
fireworks display.
smooth
5
Except for sparklers, a
punk should be used to
light fireworks. A punk is
a wooden stick that resembles a
stick of incense. Punks are safer
than matches or lighters, because
they can be applied from a farther
distance and don’t use an open
flame. However, a match or lighter
is required for sparklers.
6
You should light only one
firework at a time, keeping
others at a safe distance,
and never try to re-light a firework
if it didn’t work the first time. Wait
15 to 20 minutes and then dump
the firework in a bucket of water
and let it soak.
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In fact, to dispose of any
discharged fireworks, soak
them in a bucket of water
before disposing of them in a
trashcan.
Always take hold
of things by the
8
If at all possible, don’t store
fireworks. If you have to
store them, store them in
a cool dry place out of children’s
reach and carry them in their
original bag or box.
9
Close adult supervision
is always required when
children or teenagers handle
and shoot fireworks. Only persons
over the age of 12 should be
allowed to handle sparklers of any
type.
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handle.
lighter.
– Thomas Jefferson
It is not okay to drink
and light fireworks;
have a designated
*Source: National Council on Fireworks Safety
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July is National
Ice Cream
Month! Enjoy
Yourself the
Healthy Way!
Founding
Fathers Fun
Fact: According
to urban legend,
ice cream was
first brought
to the United
States in the late
18th century by none
other than Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin recorded the recipe in
Paris while he was ambassador
to France and shared it with
his fellow Americans when he
arrived back home.
Celebrate the month in
style with ice cream’s
lighter cousins: frozen
yogurt, sorbet, and
popsicles!
Popsicles are especially easy
to make yourself—all you need
are some fruits, molds and a
blender! Ice pops can be a fun
alternative to fruit salad, and
are a cool and healthy way to
satisfy your sweet tooth. Try
your hand at some of these
tasty summer recipes:
http://www.
womenshealthmag.com/
nutrition/popsicle-recipes
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Remember to BBQ
B
e sure to
include
vegetables
on your
A study recently
conducted by Dr. Paul
Rozin at the University of
Pennsylvania reveals that
men tend to associate
meat with masculinity
and therefore fail to
eat their prescribed
servings of vegetables
more often than they
should. Don’t forget
to include seasonal
vegetables like corn,
zucchini, mushrooms,
and asparagus on your
barbecue menu. Onions
and bell peppers make
for healthy and colorful
additions to your kebab
skewers.
grill
B
uy lean meats
When it does
inevitably
come down
to meat, try to select
lean cuts, and consider
removing the skin from
your chicken. Cutting
back on fat doesn’t have
to mean cutting back
on taste—season your
meats with flavorful
spices and brush them
down with delicious, light
marinades.
Q
uality over
quantity
It’s a tired
saying, but
that doesn’t make it any
less true. Holidays and
barbecues foster prime
bingeing environments,
with women slightly
more likely to partake
in this unhealthy eating
practice than men. To
avoid uncontrollable
snacking on artificial
sugars and saturated
fats, offer to bring your
own fresh fruit salad and
homemade ice pops.
cookery,
In general, mankind,
since the improvement in
eats twice as much as nature requires.
– Benjamin Franklin
Grill This,
Not That!
The latest book from the
Eat This, Not That! nutrition
series has come out just in
time for the cookout season.
Check out Grill This, Not That!
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Decrease Your Cancer Risk
PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and HCAs (heterocyclic amines) are substances formed on the surface
of well-done meat cooked at high temperatures. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) recently
concluded that the evidence that these two substances increase the risk of cancer in humans is “limited but
suggestive.”
PAHs, in particular, come from smoke, which is formed when fat drips from meat onto the grill. “Technically,
anything that spends any time around smoke will contain some level of PAHs,” explains Glen Weldon, head of
education and communications at the AICR. Keep in mind, however, that grilling vegetables and fruit produces
negligible HCAs or PAHs.
Here are a few grilling suggestions to reduce your cancer risk:
• Use a low-fat
marinade. Some
research suggests that
marinating meat (even
briefly) significantly
reduces the formation
of HCAs. Including
garlic and onions in the
marinade may also help
reduce HCA formation
on cooked meat.
• Select leaner cuts
(and trim any visible
fat), to prevent dripping
fat from causing flareups, which may deposit
carcinogens on the
meat.
• Flip the meat on
the grill often. This
will help reduce the
amount of carcinogens
that are potentially
deposited on the meat.
• You can also
reduce flare-ups
by spreading
aluminum foil on
the grill. Make small
holes in the foil to allow
fat from the meat to
drain.
*Source: WebMD
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Spotlight on…
Swimming!
If you’re looking for a break from the
summer heat, then a dip in the water might
be exactly what you need! Swimming is an excellent
way to cool off, and it also makes for fun, healthy, and
refreshing exercise. The workout is low-cost, sweat-free,
and can be done either solo in the pool lap lanes or as a
recreational family activity at the beach.
Studies have shown that swimming regularly
can lower high blood pressure and help
prevent heart diseases and stroke. Swimming
is also an ideal activity because it supplies a workout
for your whole body, resulting in more burned calories
and a fitter overall shape. Moreover, if you get tired of
a given stroke, there are plenty of others to keep your
workout engaging.
Swimming develops your general strength,
cardiovascular fitness and endurance.
Kicking workouts, water aerobics, pool running, and
just regular swimming can all provide a productive
exercise session without the weight of your body
pounding you with each move. Because swimming
is such a low-impact sport, it’s a perfect exercise for
pregnant women.
Swimming burns calories at a rate of about
3 calories a mile per pound of bodyweight. This
means that if you weigh 150 lbs. and it takes you an
hour to swim one mile, then you will be burning about
450 calories for each hour that you swim. (Chances are,
you’ll be burning even more calories than that, since your
average pace is likely faster than one mile per hour.)
Reduced stress has also been linked to
swimming. Not only is the feeling of water
very soothing in itself, but the constant, full-body
movement of swimming pumps oxygen through your
muscles and forces you to regulate your breathing.
Additionally, swimming prevents joint pain and
provides great exercise for your lungs, gradually
increasing their capacity. These two functions are
particularly healthy and beneficial for older individuals.
It is recommended to perform some warm-up and
cool-down exercises before and after swimming in
order to gain maximum health benefits.
best medicine
pleasant country, in easy stages.
Let me recommend the
in the world: a long journey, at a mild season, through a
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–James Madison