Health

Get Fit With Fido

Trying to lose weight? Need support? Look no further than your couch potato pooch (who probably shares in your midnight snack raids) for an instant work out pal.

Walking can be a great form of exercise; but truth be told, it can be boring strolling by yourself everyday. It’s also really easy to find a good excuse not to venture out-windy weather, hint of snow, bad hair day.

Once faithful Fido gets into the work out routine, you’ll have to justify your day off to a sad faced pooch. My dog Stella takes it a bit further. If she even suspects I’m thinking of chickening out of our walk, she starts bumping me. In the morning, it may be a gentle nudge with a whimper. By afternoon, I might get body slammed by a 96lb boxer if I try to leave the house without her (just kidding-but she is getting more adamant-and I wouldn’t want to push her too far).

In December, Banfield Veterinary Hospital sent me a postcard. It advertised a widespread campaign to encourage humans and their furry companions to get healthy together in 2007. Stella and I jumped on board. My Stella keeps me on track. She refuses to let me take a day off. To keep up with our progress, you can read more about our work out journey in my Fitness Buddies blog located in the 451 Press Pets Channel.

As you may have read earlier, the Food and Drug Administration is warning folks not to consume Peter Pan or Great Value Peanut Butter (both made by Con Agra) out of suspicion that they may be causing an outbreak of Salmonella Tennessee, which is a bacterium that leads to foodborne illness. According to the SparkPeople article on the subject,

The affected jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter have a product code located on the lid of the jar that begins with the number “2111.” Both the Peter Pan and Great Value brands are manufactured in a single facility in Georgia by ConAgra. Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers is not affected.
If consumers have any of this Peter Pan or Great Value brand peanut butter in their home that has been purchased since May 2006, they should discard it.

The FDA has also published a warning on their website, which lists the warning signs of Salmonella. These symptoms include abdominal cramps, fever, and diarrhea. If you have a weakened immune system of poor health in general, Salmonella can be life-threatening, causing infections and invading the bloodstream. According to the FDA, “Individuals who have recently eaten Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter beginning with product code 2111 and have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately. Any such illnesses should be reported to state or local health authorities.”

More information is available from the FDA, as well as the CDC. Don’t hesitate to visit your doctor if you think you have any of the symptoms listed above, but don’t feel like you need to avoid other types of peanut butter or food - the outbreak is linked to one factory in Georgia only.

AP Photo.

Peanut Butter, Salmonella, FDA, CDC, Peter Pan

A Nap a Day Keeps a Heart Attack Away

I’ve always teased my husband for taking naps on the weekend. After reading this blog, I’m sure he’ll fire back with an “I told you so!” What I have been mistakenly labeling as decadent laziness on my husband’s behalf researchers have now pronounced to be healthy behavior.

According to a study by American and Greek researchers, my husband’s habit of napping could reduce his chance of having a heart attack. The mechanisms behind the hidden benefits that naps provide have not been determined. Some speculate that naps are natural stress reducers.

Naps are an acceptable part of life in many cultures. Even in America, parents encourage babies and young children to take a daily afternoon snooze. In many European cultures, the siesta is an important part of the work day.

It is important to note that naps provide additional health benefits. A 15-30 minute siesta boosts energy levels, mental awareness, cognitive functions, and emotional stability. I guess I owe my husband an apology. Go ahead, honey. Take a nap. I won’t tease you this time. I promise.

The long winter days almost make the most active person, want to hibernate. I for one, always feel rather lethargic from October to March, until the outdoor temperatures begin to warm. The most exercise I do is grabbing food from the fridge to the couch, and back again. This in itself seems to be a sufficient calorie burn. Weeks into this routine, I begin to notice a large bulge develop around my middle, and an added extension in the back. The clothes I sported over the summer months, begin to fall apart at the seams, making me wonder, should I start to exercise?

If you live in a part of the world where the winter months aren’t brutal, you can continually jog, bike, and walk, to keep fit. If you’re the other half that has to endure cold temperatures and high snowdrifts, it makes for keeping active, difficult.

As we all know, getting into an exercise routine is never easy. In fact, it normally never lasts. We try it for a few days, find the weight isn’t coming off as fast as it should, and quit. I know, because I have done this time and time again. Losing weight and keeping fit is an on going process, that takes commitment and dedication. If working out in a gym is not for you, this may also deter a person from staying fit in winter.

Last year I decided to try something different. My husband and I gradually purchased a treadmill, an exercise bike, an eliptical trainer, and a weight gym, to add to our basement. I found this was great, because I could exercise in the comfort of my own home, and at the same time, not have to pay a gym fee. With a walkman for company, I began the long hard journey to fitness. After awhile, I got bored with this and purchsed a portable DVD player. I set this up in front of the machine I was using, and started watching sitcoms. After trying so many methods, I have to admit this one is the best. Not only do I get a chance to watch my favorite shows, I also keep fit in the process.

In this day and age with obesity on the rise, we need to get creative in order to keep healthy!

Mandatory Cancer Vaccine for Young Girls?

Many people have died waiting for a cure for cancer. A recent scientific breakthrough has brought about a vaccination that can prevent most cases of cervical cancer. We should be leaping for joy. As a nation, we should be profoundly grateful. I was dumbfounded to discover that not everyone is rejoicing.

The vaccination in question is Gardasil and it protects women from two types of HPV (human papillomavirus). These HPV strains are the main culprits in the development of cervical cancer and genital warts. The CDC suggests that girls should be vaccinated as young as 9. The question whether the vaccination should be mandatory has sparked national controversy.

I am amazed that there is a debate on this issue. There are some who argue that since HPV is transmitted sexually a mandatory vaccination against the virus would be seen as an endorsement of premarital sex. Others are wary of giving the government more control over parental rights.

I respect the American right to voice objections, but this is a life and death issue. Gardasil can give our daughters protection against a potentially terminal illness. We need to educate parents of the ramifications of denying their daughters access to this life saving vaccination.

If I close my eyes and listen closely, I can almost hear the collective voice of all the women before me whose life was cut short by cervical cancer. Their grave intention to warn others, “The time to act is now.” Can you hear it too?

When I was on the debate team in high school, our topic one year was about the environment, and people would often quote statistics saying that 64,000 people died a year of air pollution, which justified government intervention to stop fossil fuel emissions and such. Opponents would counter these claims with ones about indoor air pollution, and how some ridiculous percentage of pollution comes from inside the home. According to Personal Finance Advice (thanks, Lifehacker!), however, the fact that “Some studies have shown that air quality during the winter months is 1000% worse in homes than during other times of the year” isn’t a reason to panic. They offer “10 Ways To Improve Indoor Air Quality,” and while not all of them are mindblowing (you shouldn’t smoke indoors? Who knew?), I didn’t realize that taking off your shoes indoors, or having plenty of green plants, could really make a difference for your health. It’s an interesting read, and one that can only help fight off those nasty winter colds.

Image via Company Flowers

air quality

Melissa Summers, writer of Suburban Bliss and a column at AlphaMom called Melissa’s Buzz Off, has written a great guide to detecting and dealing with outbreaks of head lice. It’s not something I think about often, since I don’t have any kids and I’m unlikely catch lice from either my cat or college debaters, but it seems like a handy thing to have around just in case. Plus, she’s funny, so you’ll feel less gross about your infestation.

Image via the CDC

head lice