Tasty Bites: Are We There Yet?

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

Preparing for vacation is daunting. Count underwear, match one pair of shoes with four outfits, and find someone to feed the cat. Rarely does the preparation turn to you – are you physically ready for your trip? It’s important not to forsake healthy habits in the haste of making your plans. Travel, particularly long airline flights, can wreak havoc on your body, so here are some tips to get you safely at your destination, feeling as well as you can possibly feel.

What Not to Wear

Choose loose fitting clothes and slip-on shoes. You don’t want to be tying tennis shoes when navigating through security. Wear either low-cut socks or better yet, a pair of compression stockings. Blood tends to pool in your feet when you sit, the back of your knees hugs the seat, and it’s important that you minimize the risk of “traveler’s thrombosis,” better known as a blood clot.

Click to read more ...

Stereotypes with Stereos

By Alan

Most people who think about those who like technology usually picture the stereotypical image: someone who avoids the sun, skips physical fitness as boring, and stays on the couch playing on the computer rather than doing anything else. However, it's pretty obvious to anyone who might have ventured into a fitness center, gym, or even a YMCA, that technology plays a pretty significant part in modern physical activity.

Technology has played an primary role in organized physical fitness ever since 1952, when Dr. Robert A. Bruce, took the treadmill and stuck it under a human for stress testing of the heart and lungs. If you think about it, exercise equipment has to be able to last through thousands of repetitions, look cool, provide good behavior, all while not killing the person using the thing. Exercise provides stimulation to the heart, lungs, muscles, nerves, and even digestion. And while exercise is definitely beneficial to the brain, the act of exercising is not necessarily all that stimulating. When you run outside, at least you have the scenery changing, but running on the treadmill is... well... boring. The only scenery change will be the next sweaty person on the mill next to you, who is also disappointed in the brain stimulation going on.

Click to read more ...

Do Hand Sanitizers Work?

"Yes," says Dr. Jose Munoz, the director of pediatric infections diseases at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla, New York. But, he cautions, sanitizer and wipes shouldn't replace soap and water, especially if hands are visibly soiled. "You need to physically remove dirt to remove the germs," he explains.

For the best results, Dr. Munoz has these tips:

Use sanitizer sparingly. Many products contain alcohol or other ingredients that shouldn't go into little mouths. So teach your kids to use only a dime-sized dollop (adults should apply sanitizer to toddlers' and babies' hands). "Once the alcohol has evaporated, there's no risk of poisoning," he says.

Apply it thoroughly. Hand sanitizer evaporates quickly and doesn't spread as effectively as, say, a lotion might. So be sure to rub sanitizer all over your hands for at least 15 seconds.

Don't wipe it off. Hand sanitizer needs to air-dry. "The drying process is actually part of what kills germs," says Dr. Munoz. "As the alcohol evaporates, it essentially dehydrates them."

- Taken from the December/January 2010 issue of Family Fun Magazine (I highly recommend this magazine!)

It's Time To Get Off The Couch And Start Running!

By Kevin (Shooting the Breeze)

I want to share with you a running program that I have used to help me go from couch potato to runner!  It is called the Couch to 5K program.  This is a fantastic program that's been designed to get just about anyone from the couch to running 5 kilometres (that is 3 miles for my friends in the USA) or 30 minutes in just 9 weeks!  Its secret is that it's a gentle introduction to getting the body moving, starting off alternating between walking and running small distances, and slowly building up until after 8 weeks, you're ready to run 5 kilometres or 30 minutes non stop.

Too many people have been turned off of running simply by trying to start off too fast. Their bodies’ rebel and they wind up miserable, wondering why anyone would possibly want to do this to themselves.  This was me!  I must say that I was a little sceptical when I started the program.  I hadn’t run in more that 20 years but it worked!  By following the easy schedule outlined by the program I was able to overcome my scepticism.

Each session should take about 20 or 30 minutes, three times a week. That just happens to be the same amount of moderate exercise recommended by numerous studies for optimum fitness.  Be sure to space out these three days throughout the week to give yourself a chance to rest and recover between efforts. And don't worry about how fast you're going. Running faster can wait until your bones are stronger and your body is fitter. For now focus on gradually increasing the time or distance you run.

Here is the schedule:

Week One: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Week Two: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Week Three: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then do two repetitions of the following:  Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)/Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)/Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)/Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Week Four: Day 1-3  Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)/Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)/Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)/Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Week Five: Day 1 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Week Five: Day 2 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)/Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)/Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)

Week Five: Day 3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking. 6

Week Six: Day 1 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Week Six: Day 2 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)

Week Six: Day 3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking. 7

Week Seven: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).

Week Eight: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).

Week Nine: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

I am planning on re-starting the program.  Unfortunately, I stopped running through the summer because of busyness but I am ready to get going again!  Who is willing to join me in getting off the couch and starting running?

Kevin Martineau has been married 16 years and has three beautiful daughters (10, 7 and 4). He has the honour of serving God through his role as Pastor at Port Hardy Baptist Church on Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He enjoys blogging, reading, photography and watching hockey.

Clean Your Cleaning Items To Help Keep Sickness Away

By MAD21

Lifehacker posted a good article with a few tips on keeping your house clean to try and stave off all the fall/winter sicknesses looming around us.

I never really thought much about cleaning the items I use to... clean.

Of course, all I can think of at this point is the episode of Friends where Monica has a vacuum to clean her vacuum...