Healthbeat by Deirdre Cox Baker

The way to a healthy lifestyle can easily overwhelm even the most stubborn soul.

Consider the challenges: To tackle a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and to end habits like smoking or risky drinking behavior could easily be too much to ask at once.

“Incorporating small changes into everyday life, like cutting 100 calories per day and getting 30 minutes of moderate exercise, can make the process of getting healthy more manageable,” said Dr. J. James Rohack, president-elect of the American Medical Association, or AMA.

New resources and tools are now freely available on the Web site: ama-assn.org/go/healthierlifesteps

Tips include:

1. Pack a healthy lunch at home instead of eating out.

2. To prevent overeating when out, ask for a box and wrap up half your entrée to take home right when it’s served.

3. Park at the furthest spot in a parking lot and walk to the door.

4. At the end of a long day, go for a walk. It’s great, especially for those who work at a desk or computer all day.

Healthy lifestyles are the simplest way to stave off chronic disease, which affects the quality of life and costs the U.S. health care system billions of dollars to treat.

The Healthier Life Steps program includes action plans and tip sheets on how to improve diet, increase physical activity and eliminate risky behaviors. A body mass index (BMI) calculator, and progress tracking calendars are also on the Web site and are intended to help people chart their progress and stay motivated.

One of the down-sides of growing older includes increased problems with one’s feet.
Women, especially, need to be concerned about choosing the right size and style of shoe to guard against health issues that never came up before: In-grown toenails, bunions, hammer-head nails and the like.
There is also health advice available about stockings. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, 29 percent of consumers buy socks made for high-energy activities such as running, hiking and skiing. Special attention is now being given to sock construction techniques to improve comfort and safety. Excess sweating of feet and bad foot odors are two areas of common concern.
Other sock-buying recommendations from the podiatric association:
1. Purchase socks made of a polysynthetic blend. This material will do the best job of wicking away moisture from the foot, which can prevent blister formation and irritation.
2. Avoid socks with large seams at the toe or in other areas. Those with diabetes or decreased circulation, who have an increased chance of developing irritation and blistering of the foot skin, should seek out seamless socks whenever possible.
3. Choose thickness of sock material based on personal preference and comfort.
4. Evaluate each sock’s fit, making sure that there is no loose fabric around toes or heels. Conversely, socks that are too tight can decrease circulation and comfort.
Now that colder weather is approaching, we’ll have to put those sandals in storage and dig out stockings, winter shoes and boots. Good luck with all that!

The workout routine I adopted about a year ago includes weight-lifting, twice a week. I do this because I actually enjoy it, and also because I know that weak muscles and bones are the bane of aging women.

The World Health Organization in 2003 reported that women are four times more likely than men to experience forearm fractures requiring cast immobilization. Almost half of the world’s women will break a bone at some point in life.

I’ve never broken a bone, yet, but I do deal with softer tissue issues. Nor was I surprised when Ohio University released a recent report that said women’s muscles require long, more intensive rehabilitation than men do.

A team of three researchers had their preliminary data published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

The researchers set casts to non-dominant wrists and hands of 10 healthy volunteers, five men and five women. Wrist muscle strength was measured at the outset, once each of three weeks and a week after the cast was removed.

Both men and women were found to have lost muscle strength at the same rate, but the men’s strength returned almost immediately to pre-cast levels while the women’s remained at 30 percent below those levels.

The researchers believe the slower restoration of strength among women is more likely due to different rates of muscular strength-building, as the nervous system of both sexes remains quite similar. (The nervous system helps to activate wrist muscles in humans.)

   The first time I fully realized honey could be used for something beyond food when I read “The Secret Life of Bees,” by Sue Monk Kidd.
   While the central theme of the book focuses on family love, the main character, Lily Owens, learns many uses for honey, including products to help the mind. The strength and wide produce of bees surprises Lily in the book, and this reader as well.
   The Cochrane Library, a respected Web site for health reviews and other medical information, reports a recent study out of New Zealand that shows honey might be useful in treating mild to moderate burn wounds. It could also reduce the time it takes to heal burns.
   Honey has been used to treat wounds since ancient times, but it’s unclear why it works. Current focus is on the antibacterial effect of medicinal honey.
   When I was a little girl, my mother used to put butter on my burns. I don’t remember how I got those burns in the first place (except that one time when I touched the stove she cooked on), but I do remember butter didn’t seem to help much.
   Since then, I’ve used running water, at a tepid-to-coolish temperature. Also, calamine lotion, and aloe vera.
   But never honey. I do keep a container of honey around for use as a sweetener, but does anyone have experience with using it for wounds? What other uses does honey have in your lives?

 Note: “The Secret Life of Bees” is coming out as a major motion picture on Oct. 17. The film version stars Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo.
 

The end of summer’s warmth means a lot more clothes on the body and, eventually, much less time in the great outdoors. I hate it that I cannot spend much weekend time doing chores in the garden or relaxing outside.

The Skin Cancer Foundation (found here online) recently passed along the following tips for those who got a little too much sun — although that would be a trick during our fairly chilly summer.

Here are a few ideas presented by Dr. Deborah Sarnoff, a dermatologist and foundation spokesperson.

Use sunscreen — Judicious use of sunscreen, even through the winter months, is one of the keys to more youthful, radiant skin. Studies have also shown that daily use of sunscreen can reduce the number actinic keratoses and may also decrease the long-term risk of skin cancer. By removing or reducing UV exposure, a proven carcinogen, you allow your skin time to heal and your immune system the chance to repair some existing damage.
Exfoliate — The buildup of stratum corneum (the dead outermost skin cell layer) can make skin appear blotchy and uneven. In addition, remnants of self-tanning sprays or lotions collect in certain areas of the skin and cause them to lose their luster and appear “dirty.” Use a loofah, scrub, alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) cleanser or a home microdermabrasion unit to exfoliate skin.
Bleach the brown spots — Unlike what detergent does to laundry, skin lightener will not make the skin white; it will simply help to lighten and brighten accumulations of unwanted pigment. Dr. Sarnoff recommends using an over-the-counter product that contains kojic acid in combination with Hydroquinone, Retin-A and a mild steroid cream, which is very useful for stubborn brown spots and blotchy brown discoloration.
My mom used to be bothered by brown spots on her hands; I remember she rubbed lemon juice to try and make them go away. Now, at 50, I also have spots, but they just do not bother me that much. Interestingly, the brown spot on my right hand is in about the same place as my mother’s.
Hydrate — All the exposure to sun, chlorine and salt water can do a number on the skin, drying it out. Even your heels can suffer from dry skin due to wearing sandals. A hand and body cream works great for the skin and a moisturizing foot cream can help to correct damage on the heels. In addition, a moisturizer with AHAs or a facial serum with hyaluronic acid can plump up dry skin around the eyes, making skin instantly appear less dry, less wrinkled and less parched. Continued use may also help promote increased collagen formation.