LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Fitness at the Beach: Health In The News |
by Rick Moore |
Scanning the newspapers this past week, I came across a couple new developments in the health field that you may find as interesting as I did, because they affect my friends and loved ones. Several of these sound very promising in the prevention and treatment of some serious and common health problems. Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a disease which causes bone mass to decrease and the bones to become more porous. This makes them much more fragile, so people who have this disease also have an increased risk of hip, spine, and wrist fractures. In the U.S. alone, 10 million people have osteoporosis and 18 million more have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk. Treating this disease and its related fractures costs our health care system over $14 billion dollars a year! A common myth is that only women can get osteoporosis. Guys, you can get it too. In fact, the National Institutes of Health says osteoporosis will be a significantly greater issue for men in the coming years. Here are the risk factors you can change:
Heres what you can do to help prevent osteoporosis. Theyre important for your overall health, too. See your doctor first to get a check-up and determine your hormonal condition, nutrition level, and current bone density. 1. Improve your diet. National nutrition surveys have shown that many people consume less than half the amount of calcium recommended to build and maintain healthy bones. Good sources of calcium include low fat dairy products, like milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream; dark green, leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, collard greens, bok choy and spinach; sardines and salmon with bones; tofu; almonds; and foods fortified with calcium, such as orange juice, cereals and breads. Depending upon how much calcium you get each day from food, you may need to take a calcium supplement. Vitamin D is also important, because it is involved in maintenance of the bones. 2. Quit smoking and excessive drinking. These two bad habits seem to be implicated in nearly every serious disease these days. Need I say more? 3. Start exercising. Like muscle, bone is living tissue that responds to exercise by becoming stronger. The best exercise for your bones is weight-bearing exercise that forces you to work against gravity. Examples include walking, hiking, jogging, stair-climbing, weight training, tennis, and dancing. If you have access to a gym with a treadmill, stair-stepping machine, and weights, you can plan to work out no matter what the weather. In fact, one of my personal training clients began coming to my gym because her doctor told her she was starting to lose bone. Her health has really improved over the past few months. One bit of good news last week was a finding in the New England Journal of Medicine that shows the spread of breast cancer in a womans body can be greatly reduced by taking an osteoporosis drug from the same family of drugs as the well-known Fosomax. The study found the osteoporosis drug not only prevented cancer from spreading to the bone, but to other organs as well. It might turn out that one drug will soon be used to fight the two diseases simultaneously. Crohns Disease This is one of those subjects that people dont talk about at social gatherings. I know for a fact, because Ive had Crohns disease for the past 15 years. Luckily, it has been under control for the past 10 years. Its a chronic inflammation of the intestines resulting from an extreme reaction of the immune system. No one knows the cause, but genetics play a role. Two of my brothers also have Crohns. The doctors used to tell me it was just "stress." But after years of suffering with weight loss, cramps, a bloated feeling, and chronic diarrhea, I was diagnosed with Crohns disease after finally going into the hospital for tests. I eventually had a couple of major surgeries. I was lucky to live, especially because my case was so severe, and treatment for Crohns at the time wasnt too sophisticated - usually just corticosteroids or immune suppressing drugs. You dont have to be a doctor to realize that the side effects are sometimes worse than the disease itself. Chances are, you probably know somebody with a bowel disorder, whether its Crohns, colitis, or ileitis. Crohns disease affects an estimated 500,000 Americans. Luckily now, theres a big breakthrough for people who have Crohns. A study published in last weeks New England Journal of Medicine found that 9 milligrams daily of slow-release budesonide led to remission of the disease in 69 percent of the patients after eight weeks. Thats a big improvement over current drugs, which cause remission in only 45 percent of cases. Budesonide is a new corticosteroid that is less easily absorbed and causes fewer side effects, making it safe enough for patients with mild to moderate Crohns. With all the bad news we read these days, its good to see that there is plenty of hope for the future. See you at the beach! Rick Moore is a personal trainer certified by the American Fitness Professionals & Associates. He believes in common-sense, drug-free training. Visit him at Ricks Fitness & Health, Inc., in beautiful downtown Milton. Check out his website at http://www.enrapt.com/ricksfitness, or give him a call at (302) 684-3669. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 8, No. 11, August 14, 1998. |