Health is Wealth
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Alcohol is a Group-1 carcinogen—but one that happens to be woven into our daily lives and often viewed as a go-to way to cope with stress or disappointment. Here are 5 ways to change that mindset, writes
The Hidden Cost of an Evening Glass of Wine
“I need a stiff drink!” “Let’s drown our sorrows.” “I just need to unwind with a glass of wine.”
Phrases like these are so common, we barely think twice about them. Alcohol has become deeply woven into our daily lives and culture. It’s often seen as a go-to way to cope with stress, disappointment, or just the pressures of everyday life. Got bad news? Feeling overwhelmed? Need to relax? Society has taught us that it’s totally normal—even expected—to pour a big glass of wine, toss back a couple of tequila shots, or order a double whiskey.
In fact, using alcohol to handle stress is often not only accepted but actively encouraged by friends, coworkers, and the media. Movies and TV shows constantly show characters doing the same, reinforcing the idea that this is just how we deal with life.
But here’s the truth: alcohol is the one of the most widely used drugs in the world. And the way we’ve normalized it’s use as a coping mechanism deserves a closer look.
Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive substance that can lead to dependence. It’s also been officially classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer—putting it in the same category as asbestos, radiation, and tobacco. Research shows that alcohol contributes to at least seven different types of cancer, including some of the most common, like colon cancer and breast cancer. In fact, earlier this year, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy issued a public health advisory warning about the clear link between alcohol use and cancer risk.
What’s concerning is that less than half of Americans are aware that drinking alcohol increases their risk of cancer. As a psychiatrist who often discusses alcohol use with patients, this lines up with what I see in practice. Many people simply don’t know that alcohol is a carcinogen. Even more common is the belief that low levels of alcohol—like a glass of wine a day—are actually good for your health, especially for the heart and brain. But that idea is being seriously questioned. In January 2023, the World Health Organization published a statement in The Lancet Public Health making it clear: When it comes to alcohol, there is no safe amount that doesn’t affect your health.
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Are your kids interested in sports or just want to feel stronger? Strength training can be safe and beneficial for children when it is done the right way. Light weights, proper form and age appropriate guidance matter. Curious about when kids can start and how to keep it safe?
Strength training offers kids many benefits, but there are important warnings to keep in mind. Here’s what you need to know about youth strength training.By Mayo Clinic Staff
Strength training for kids? Great idea! Done right, it offers many benefits to young athletes. Strength training is good even for kids who just want to look and feel better. In fact, strength training might put your child on a lifetime path to better health and fitness.
Don’t confuse strength training with weightlifting, bodybuilding or powerlifting. Trying to build big muscles can put too much strain on young muscles, tendons and areas of cartilage that haven’t yet turned to bone, called growth plates. Also, being more focused on lifting large amounts of weight than on form can make strength training riskier.
For kids, light weights and controlled movements are best. Using good form and being safe are most important.
Children can do many strength training exercises using their own body weight or resistance tubing. Free weights, machine weights and medicine balls are other options. But keep in mind that some equipment designed for adults might be too large for many children.
Done right, strength training can:
Keep in mind that strength training isn’t only for athletes. Even for children who don’t want to play sports, strength training can:
During childhood, being active improves kids’ body awareness and control and their balance. Strength training can become a part of a fitness plan as early as age 7 or 8.
Younger children who start sports activities such as baseball or soccer also might benefit from strength training. To strength train, children should be able to follow directions and practice proper form.
The Department of Health and Human Services says that school-age children should get 60 minutes or more of daily activity. As part of this activity, muscle- and bone-strengthening exercises are suggested at least three days a week.
For children who have an interest in strength training, remind them that strength training is meant to increase muscle strength and endurance. Increasing muscle size, also called bulking up, is something else.
You might also check with your child’s healthcare professional for the OK to begin a strength training program. Be sure to check with your child’s healthcare professional if your child has a known or suspected health problem, such as a heart condition, high blood pressure or seizures.
A child’s strength training program isn’t just a scaled-down version of an adult program. Here are some things you can do to help your child train safely:
Urge your child to:
Results won’t come overnight. But in time, your child will have more muscle strength and be able to work the muscles harder
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We all want to protect our kids whether it be from falls, bumps and bruises — or avoidable infections and diseases. To help your child avoid illness, it’s important to encourage good habits and take steps to boost their immune system from an early age.
“Most of what makes a child’s immune system strong is common sense,” says pediatrician Adriane Lioudis, MD. If you keep these five tips in mind, you’ll stack the deck in your child’s favor for a healthier life.
While it’s a very personal decision (that isn’t always possible), if you are able to exclusively breastfeed your child for at least six months, it may have benefits. Some research shows that breastfeeding your child might possibly reduce allergies, Dr. Lioudis says.
Eighty percent of infections are spread by touch. Teach your little one to take the time to wash their hands after sneezing, coughing and going to the bathroom. Washing hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds can remove bacteria and viruses and can reduce the chance of lung infections by up to 45%.
Follow your pediatrician’s advice when it comes to the childhood vaccination schedule. Immunizations start in infancy and continue to adulthood and prevent measles, mumps, chickenpox, rotavirus and other infections.
“Get the flu shot for your child yearly, as well,” Dr. Lioudis says. This is particularly important for children with asthma and other chronic health conditions.
Also, if your family will be traveling internationally, it’s important to seek advice from your child’s healthcare provider about any needed vaccinations.
To maximize immunity, children must get enough sleep.
Sleep requirements for each night vary by age:
Not getting enough sleep limits the body’s ability to produce proteins called cytokines that help fight infection and reduce inflammation.
A healthy diet is also important for your child’s immune system.
Dr. Lioudis recommends encouraging your child to “eat the rainbow” when it comes to fruits and vegetables. A good selection of whole grains should be part of their diet as well. Keep processed foods to a minimum. Proper food choices can help ensure that your child gets enough vitamins — such as vitamin A and E. These vitamins are needed to maintain good health and a strong immune system.
“Even if you follow these tips, your child might still get between seven and 11 colds each year,” says Dr. Lioudis. She adds that you can expect each one to last up to two weeks.
Also, keep in mind that some things billed as common “remedies” aren’t effective in boosting immunity. For example, there’s no definitive proof that large amounts of vitamin C or echinacea help prevent colds or shorten them, she says.
However, if your child has a compromised immune system, work closely with your pediatrician to find ways to improve his or her immunity. Each child needs a personalized approach because their individual immune system varies, Dr. Lioudis says.
“There’s generally a different protocol with immunocompromised children. There are some vaccines we have to add in on top of what most children have, but it’s something that we must determine on a case-by-case basis.
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Among all fruits, #bananas are one of best sources of potassium, with about 450 milligrams (mg) per banana. https://bit.ly/39sYzFj#HarvardHealth
If you run regularly, whether it’s an easy jog around the block to stay fit or an intense training regimen to prepare for a marathon, you need proper nutrition.
Here are some tips to help keep runners well-nourished and ready to win.
A good diet can boost your physical health and help you meet your fitness goals. Make sure your meals emphasize the following basic components:
Individuals may have different optimal balances, but in general, people who include running or jogging as part of their fitness regimen should get 60% to 70% of their calories from carbohydrates, with lean protein and healthy fats each accounting for 15% to 20% of their remaining calories.
Although low carbohydrate diets are popular go-to’s for people wanting to lose weight, they’re not ideal for distance runners, who thrive on carbohydrates for endurance.
That is why very low carbohydrate diets, such as the ketogenic diet, plus running is not a good idea. Experts do not recommend keto to runners unless they have been told by their doctor that this a medically safe option for them and they are being monitored while in ketosis.
Distance runners need more carbs than people who aren’t training. Undereating carbohydrates can be hard on your body and affect your recovery after your run.
Here’s why: Running uses both glucose in the blood and your stores of glycogen. Glucose is the form of sugar that circulates in the bloodstream, and glycogen is the sugar stored in your liver and muscles that acts as the primary fuel for endurance exercise.
Eating plenty of carbs helps ensure that these energy stores are ready to support your training. When those stores get too low, runners are more likely to run out of energy and “burn out” or “hit a wall” while training.
Running changes your body and your nutritional needs. Often when people start a running regimen, they are trying to lose weight or get in shape quickly, and they don’t realize they need to adjust their diet.
Especially in women runners, dietitians report seeing a tendency to overdo the running while not eating enough, and this can have an effect on health if they do not adequately replenish lost vitamins and minerals in their diet.
For women in particular, calcium and vitamin D are essential for bone health to avoid loss of bone mineral density and the risk of stress fractures.
For more vitamin D, include these foods in your meals:
For more calcium, try:
Iron deficiency can affect women and even have an impact on their running performance. Menstruation puts people at higher risk of iron deficiency, and if iron isn’t replenished in the diet, decreases in hemoglobin can occur and bring on anemia. Hemoglobin is what carries oxygen throughout the body, including the muscles, so if there is a deficit, the muscles may feel the effect of insufficient oxygen during exercise.
Iron-rich foods include:
Dietitians recommend eating eating iron rich foods in combination with foods high in vitamin C, such as citrus, bell peppers or berries, since vitamin C helps increase the body’s absorption of iron.
The best time to eat a full meal is about two to three hours before you hit the road, track or trail. Have a good source of carbs paired with protein, making sure the meal focuses on a healthy carb source.
If it’s been more than three to four hours since you’ve eaten, a carbohydrate-rich snack a half-hour before running can ensure you have adequate glucose available before you head out. Directly before a run, it’s best to stick with easy-to-digest carbohydrates to avoid gastrointestinal [GI] distress such as cramping or diarrhea.
Try these:
If you are training for a marathon or distance event and are going to be out for over an hour, you will want to bring some fuel with you. Energy drinks, gel tubes and other sources of quick blood-glucose boosters are available, but you can also use something as simple as fruit snacks.
Try practicing with these items as you train so you can pick the formulas that are best for you, and you can work on accessing and ingesting them smoothly without breaking stride.
Before a run or the night before a big race, Eidel recommends going easy on:
It might. Carb loading is the practice of eating a lot of carbohydrates ― particularly those that are easily absorbed, such as white bread, pasta and rice ― for 24 to 48 hours before a big race or distance run, to shore up your body’s stores of glycogen and lessen the risk of burnout before finishing the event.
Some studies show carb loading is beneficial for people preparing for a race, but it’s important to make sure during that time you’re also allowing your body to rest and giving it time to store what you are ingesting. The number of carbohydrate grams will be differ from person to person, but in general, evidence shows carb loading can be beneficial prior to a distance event.
In contrast, casual runners likely do not need to carb load. Ensuring that their day-to-day diets include extra carbohydrates can be sufficient.
It’s common for people not to feel hungry after a run, but a snack or light meal of complex carbohydrates and protein within the first hour after running can help replenish glycogen stores and to support recovery and rebuild stressed muscles. For example:
If you’re interested in running as part of a weight loss plan, getting adequate nutrition is a must. Even casual running or jogging burns calories and can be hard on the body. Runners can become undernourished at first because they don’t understand how much energy they’re burning when they run and what they need to properly recover.
Eating enough is also essential to building muscles, which can aid in fat burning ― a plus for people working on achieving or maintaining a healthy weight.
For optimal weight loss, your plan should not rely on running alone but also include strength training and proper nutrition.
If you run regularly, you should pay attention to the effects of what you eat and when, especially on running performance. Learning what works best for you can take some time and a little trial and error, but it is worth it, since running, jogging and other regular aerobic exercise offers so many health advantages.
Always feel free to consult a dietitian or doctor, and listen to your body if you’re not keeping up with your training goals.
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Many older adults focus on exercise and diet to stay healthy. But one of the worst offenders to health—poor balance—is often an afterthought. “I see a lot of older adults who are nonchalant about balance,” says Liz Moritz, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Unfortunately, imbalance is a common cause of falls, which send millions of people in the United States to emergency departments each year with broken hips and head injuries. But there are many things you can do to improve your balance. The strategies below are some of the most effective.
Physical therapy for balance focuses on the ability of the joints and brain to communicate, the balance system in the ear (the vestibular system), and vision. “We coordinate all three with exercises such as standing on one foot, first with the eyes open, and then with the eyes closed. We also work on joint flexibility, walking, and lower-extremity exercises on one or two legs,” says Moritz. Other exercises that boost balance include chair stands (see “Move of the month”) and squats. Make sure you get training before attempting these exercises at home.
“Core strength is very important for balance. If the abdominal muscles in your core are weak, they cannot support your limbs, especially when you’re walking. If the gluteal muscles in your buttocks and hips aren’t strong, they won’t be able to propel you forward,” says Moritz. Muscle strengthening can help. Moritz suggests starting with gentle core exercises like a pelvic tilt (lie on the floor with your knees bent up, then roll your pelvis up) and then moving to more intense exercises such as wall planks (stand six inches from a wall, keeping your body rigid, then lean forward with your forearms flat against the wall, and hold the position for 20 seconds). Leg lifts will strengthen the gluteal muscles, and adding resistance bands to leg lifts makes the exercise even more effective.
“Tai chi and yoga are exercises that make you pay attention to the control and quality of movement, rather than the quantity, which improves your balance,” says Moritz. In tai chi, you practice slow, flowing motions and shift your weight from one limb to another. Yoga incorporates a series of focused postures and breathing. Both exercises increase flexibility, range of motion, leg and core strength, and reflexes. The result: you become better at balancing in a number of different positions, which helps you avoid falling if you encounter uneven pavement or obstacles in your path.
“If you can’t see where you’re going, your fall risk goes up,” says Moritz. “A lot of people I treat for balance are here be-cause they tripped when they didn’t see something on the floor.” The fix may be as simple as a new eyeglasses prescription. Get a comprehensive, dilated eye exam every one or two years if you’re 65 or older, every one to three years if you’re age 55 to 64, and every two to four years if you’re 40 to 54. If you have an increased risk for other eye conditions, you may need an eye exam more often.
A cane or a walker can complement your balance and give you more stability and confidence walking. But don’t buy a device on your own. “If it’s too high or too low, that can cause a fall. You need to get it measured, and you need training to learn how to use it,” says Moritz. Training takes just a few physical therapy sessions. Walkers are available with wheels intended for different terrain, lockable brakes, seats, baskets, and other features such as headlights. Canes are available with various handgrips and bases.
