Summer Tips for Total Health
 

Summer is right around the corner and with it comes an array of fresh fruits and vegetables available for daily consumption to enhance our diets. Fortitude wishes you a healthy, fun, and safe summer with some health tips to enhance your day-to-day health. We want you to remember to boost your intake of high fiber cereals, fruits and vegetables, water, and eat four (4) smaller meals daily about every three (3) hours. The daily recommendation of fiber is 25-35 grams. Fiber can reduce risk of diabetes, heart disease, and add to weight reduction. The more fiber you eat, the less you want to eat. Some foods high in fiber by grams are:

• Black Beans ((1/2 cup) 7 grams
• Corn ((1/2 cup) 2 grams
• Green Peas (1/2 cup) 3.5 grams
• Spinach leaves (2 cups) 5.5 grams
• Tomatoes (1/2 cup) 3.5 grams

What is Your Exercise Edge?

Summer is also a great time to start healthier eating habits and working on becoming fit. There are so many fun outside activities available, such as swimming, volleyball, cycling, jogging, soccer, and hiking to name a few.

Reducing calories is not enough to lose weight. If one person reduced calories without exercising and another increased exercise without reducing calories, the first person would lose weight faster. It is easier to cut 500 calories from your diet than to burn 500 extra calories by exercising. One would need to walk or run about five miles a day or 35 miles a week to lose one pound of fat. Remember if you only cut calories, you're more likely to regain weight you lose. The body reacts to weight loss as if starving, and in response, slows metabolism where fewer calories burn, even at rest. When you burn fewer calories, three things can happen.

1. Weight can be more difficult to lose.
2. You can stop losing weight altogether.
3. If you increase caloric consumption, you can gain weight more quickly than you have in the past.

A solution is to increase physical activity to counteract the metabolic slowdown caused by reducing calories. A regular schedule of exercise raises energy expenditure while you exercise and rest. Resting energy expenditure remains elevated as long as you exercise at least three days a week on a regular basis. Because it accounts for 60 to 75 percent of your daily energy expenditure, any increase in resting energy expenditure is extremely important. Remember, the more muscle you have, the more energy your body burns.


Know Your Stress Triggers

Situations that create stress - the condition we experience when demands exceed our ability to cope - are as unique as you are. Your genes, personality and life experiences all influence the stress response in your body. For example, one person may find it stressful to plan and host a holiday celebration for friends or family. Someone else might enjoy the creative aspects of hosting such an event and even find it gratifying.


Overcome Burnout

If you dread going to work, feel burned out, or stressed over a period of weeks, your situation could affect your professional and personal relationships and even your livelihood. Overwhelming frustration, indifference toward your job, persistent irritability, anger, sarcasm, and a quickness to argue are indicators of a stressful condition. Below are some helpful strategies:

• Take care of yourself. Eat regular, balanced meals, including breakfast. Get adequate sleep and exercise.
• Develop friendships at work and outside the office. Sharing unsettling feelings with people you trust is the first step toward resolving them. Minimize activities with "negative" friends that only reinforce bad feelings.
• Take time off. for a vacation or a long weekend. During the workday, take short breaks.
• Set limits. When necessary, learn to say no in a friendly but firm manner.
• Choose battles wisely. Don't rush to argue every time someone disagrees with you. Keep a cool head, and save your argument for things that really matter. Better yet, try not to argue at all.
• Have an outlet. Read, enjoy a hobby, exercise, or get involved in some other activity that is relaxing and gets your mind off work.
• Seek help. If none of these things relieves your feelings of stress or burnout, ask a health care professional for advice.

So keep in mind that a healthy lifestyle requires healthy nutrition - eating the right foods, in the right amounts, at the right time; physical activity must be consistent and structured; and stress reduction requires identification of stress triggers, modification of stress reactions, and a conscious effort to take life a day-at-a-time; keep it simple.
 

Health Screenings - Changing the Paradigm
 
We at Fortitude Health and Wellness, Inc. seek to make a difference in the lives we touch. For the past 15 years, I've attended health fairs throughout the United States. Amazingly, most remain the same and have not changed. Many offer the same screenings year after year - blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with these screenings, but in a corporate health fair setting, they can be a waste of money, especially if data is not evaluated and tracked. If your company provides health care insurance, these screenings are a part of an annual physical. In essence, you are paying for the same screenings twice, which is redundant. A better idea would be to provide incentives to employees so that they take advantage of their annual physical. Surprisingly, 37 percent of employees don't get an annual physical; you, the employer, pay for it as a part of your health insurance package so you should ensure that your employees take advantage of their insurance plan.

Health fairs have many purposes, one of which is to provide employees with new, informative, and innovative screenings they would not get during a normal physical or doctor's visit. Listed below are a few of these new and innovative screenings. Since cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of all Americans, I'm going to concentrate on screenings that do a good job detecting those risks.


Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) is a quick, painless, and non-invasive way to measure body composition. The BIA measures and tracks changes in body fluids, fat, and lean body mass, which includes muscle and organs. Balance of these body structures is paramount to the health of one's body. It measures:

• Body Mass Index (BMI)
• Immune System Health
• Hydration Levels
• Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
• Body Cell Mass
• Extra Cellular Mass
• Fat Free Mass (Muscle)
• Fat Mass

BIA can help find what is going on inside the body; it is also a good way to make sure one is healthy and provide information for therapeutic interventions. The procedure takes less than a minute and involves placing electrodes on the right hand and foot. The cost is $25.


Digital Pulse Analyzer (DPA)

The DPA provides information on arterial wall stiffness and determines the biological age of arteries in less than 3 minutes. This FDA approved user-friendly, non-invasive device uses a finger probe to observe changes in pressure, blood flow, velocity and profile throughout the whole pulse wave. The cost is $40. It measures:

• Heart Rate
• Artery Flexibility
• Left Ventricle Ejection level
• Hydration levels
• Peripheral Circulatory Disturbance
• Overall Cardiovascular Health
• Aneurysm Screening (Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm)

The aorta is the main artery that supplies oxygenated blood from the heart to the body. An aneurysm is a bulging of the wall of a blood vessel. It forms where the wall has weakened, often due to plaque build-up. The Aneurysm is a painless, non-invasive procedure where the transducer is passed lightly over skin above the abdomen mid-line. Because aortic aneurysms often have no signs, anyone at risk for developing an aortic should consider this screening. In particular, guidelines recommend persons with high uncontrolled blood pressure, men ages 65-70 that have ever smoked, and men 65 and older with a family history of aortic aneurysm. Ruptures are painful events that cause massive internal bleeding and a 95% chance of sudden death. The cost is $45.


Ankle-Brachial Index

Ankle-Brachial Index screens for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). PAD is a type of atheroscierosis where arteries in legs become hardened and narrowed. The primary symptom of PAD is pain in the limbs (claudication) usually in legs. The screening is painless and non-invasive. The cost is $45.

Let's continue to move forward by not using strategies from 30 years ago to prevent disease states. For more information on how to provide these screenings at your next health fair, contact us at (214) 288-8273, info@fortitudehw.com or join us at the 66th Annual HR SOUTHWEST Human Resources Conference and Exposition held at Fort Worth Convention Center in Forth Worth, Texas, October 23-26, 2007, where FORTITUDE will present on changing the health screening paradigm. For information about the conference, please go to www.hrsouthwest.com 


Larry D. Tate BIS, BA, MS
VP Program Development
 

Does Skin Care Matter?
  
It does not matter if you are male or female; your lifestyle should include pampering skin care. With age, skin gradually becomes thinner and finely wrinkled. Oil-producing (Sebaceous) glands grow less active leaving skin drier. The number of blood vessels in skin decreases, skin becomes more fragile, and you lose your youthful color and glow.

Healthy skin care, such as avoiding the sun, washing your skin gently and applying moisturizer regular can help delay the natural aging process and prevent many skin problems. These skin-care habits will help you protect your skin to keep it healthy and glowing for years to come.


Protect Your Skin from the Sun

The best way to take care of your skin is to protect it from the sun. Ultraviolet light - the invisible but intense rays of the sun - damages your skin, causing deep wrinkles, dry, rough skin, liver spots, and more serious disorders, such as non-cancerous (benign) and cancerous (malignant) skin tumors. For the most protection, use all three methods:

1. Avoid the sun during high-intensity hours between 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
2. Wear protective clothing such as long sleeves and hats
3. Use sunscreen and apply liberally 20 minutes before going outdoors and reapply every two hours, after heavy sweating or after being in the water.

Don't Smoke

Smoking can accelerate the normal aging process of your skin, contributing to wrinkles. Skin changes from smoking can be seen in young adults that have been smoking for as few as 10 years. Smoking causes narrowing of blood vessels in outer layers of skin. This decreases blood flow, depleting the skin of oxygen and nutrients, such as vitamin A, that are important to skin health. All of these factors increase damage to the elastic fibers (elastin) and collagen, which give the skin strength and elasticity.


Wash Your Skin Gently

Cleansing is an essential part of skin care. The key is to be gentle with your skin.
 

• Use warm water and limit bath time to 15 minutes.
• Avoid using strong soaps that strip oils from the skin.
• Avoid irritating additives such as products that contain perfumes or dyes.
• Remove eye makeup carefully to avoid damaging the delicate tissue around your eyes by using a soft cloth or cotton balls.
• Moisturize your skin regularly

Moisturizers help maintain skin's natural moisture levels. They work by providing a seal over the skin to keep water from escaping and slowly releasing water into the skin. Select a moisturizer with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 to help protect your skin from damaging ultraviolet rays. If you have sensitive skin, look for products free of heavy dyes, perfumes, and additives. Every skin type (oily, normal, and dry) needs a moisturizer.


Shave Carefully

Shaving is a common and inexpensive way to remove hair, but shaving can cause skin irritations especially if your skin is thin, dry, or very sensitive. For a smooth shave:

Press a warm washcloth on your skin before shaving to soften hair, or shave after a warm bath or shower.
Don't shave dry skin, which can cause razor burn. Apply shaving cream, lotion or gel before shaving to protect and lubricate the skin.

• Use a clean, sharp razor. If using an electric razor don't use the closest setting, which can irritate the skin.
• Shave in the direction of hair growth, not against it.
• After shaving, rinse skin with warm water.

Visit our on-line skin care products at Cheryl's Choices and Faces. These skin care products are natural and enhance the skin's elasticity and youthful glow.