Fit vs. Fat

How much you exercise and what the scale says both play a role in determining whether you will develop problems like high blood pressure and bad cholesterol—so does the amount of body fat you are carrying. A new study has entered the debate over whether someone can be heavy but heart healthy.

Researchers included more than 3,100 healthy men and women who volunteered for at least three check-ups. Those who maintained or improved their fitness between the first two check-ups were less likely to develop high blood pressure or cholesterol problems during the next six years. Those who put on more body fat were more likely to develop these problems.

That’s not surprising, but here is the interesting news. If people who put on fat kept their fitness levels up, their risk of problems did not increase as much. According to researchers, exercising to become more fit can trigger improvements within your body, regardless of how your body fat changes. So if you are exercising but not losing the weigh you’d like, you are still doing your heart a favor.

*Submitted by Lisa Bohrer, RN, BC, Health and Wellness Manager for The PharmaCare Network. 

National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Lisa Bohrer presents "Don't Text and Drive" to a
group of elementary school students.

Safe driving is about more than two hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.  It is about exclusively focusing on the task of driving.  When drivers engage in two activities that require a great amount of mental focus, the brain quickly switches between those tasks sequentially.  As a result, the brain suffers from inattention blindness.  Drivers using cell phones to talk or text look out the windshield, but do not see up to 50% of the driving environment.  In fact, the brain is so overloaded that not all critical driving cues such as red lights, stop signs and pedestrians are delivered to the brain.

“Joe was a vivacious 12 year old boy.  On a January day in 2004, Joe’s mother was driving him to an after-school activity when a 20 year old woman ran a red light and slammed into their car, killing Joe.  The driver was talking on her cell phone at the time of the crash.  She passed four cars and a school bus that were all stopped at the red light, but never applied her brakes.  Witnesses say she was looking straight out the front window.  She didn’t see the red light because she was distracted by her conversation.  Joe was killed because of a cell phone conversation.”(www.focusdriven.org)

If you are tempted to use your cell phone when driving:

•          Change your voicemail greeting to indicate you are driving and will call back when safely parked.

•          Put your phone in your trunk or glove box.

•          Turn your phone to “silent”.

•          If you need to contact someone, pull over to a safe location and put our vehicle in “park” before dialing.

Fifty-seven percent of drivers recognize talking on cell phones is a very serious threat to their personal safety, yet 2 out of 3 admit to talking on their cell phones in the past month  (according to results from a AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey).

For more information, visit www.focusdriven.org.

This article was submitted by Lisa Bohrer, R.N.,BC, the Community Health and Wellness Manager for the PharmaCare Network. She is available to speak on various health and wellness topics. For more information, contact her at 301.689.2909 or lbohrer@3ipc.com

Help Your Child Develop a Healthy Approach to Eating

Girls can develop an unhealthy body image and unhealthy eating habits just by watching how others look at their bodies and treat food.

The womenshealth.gov website says the following factors can trigger an unhealthy attitude among girls toward food:

• Seeing that their mothers are very concerned with their weight
• Having a mother who worries too much about her daughter's appearance and weight
• Gaining weight naturally during puberty
• Being influenced by peer pressure about appearance and weight
• Having issues with self-esteem. Seeing examples of the "ideal" very thin body among images in the media.

For more information, visit www.womenshealth.gov

What is Colon Cancer?

Colon cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer, yet many people are uncomfortable talking about it. Colon cancer begins as a growth on the lining of the colon or rectum. This growth is called a polyp. Over time, some polyps may develop into cancer. Each year nearly 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colon cancer. It affects men and women equally. Studies have shown that those who fall into the following
categories are at a greater risk of developing the disease:

· Individuals with a family history of colon polyps or cancer

· Those with a personal history of colon polyps or cancer

· Those with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s
disease

· People over the age of 50

· Certain ethnic groups including African-Americans, Native Americans, Alaskan
Natives and Jews of Eastern European
descent

What You Can Do

· Get screened for colon cancer beginning at age 50 or sooner if you are at higher risk.

· Maintain a healthy weight throughout life.

· Adopt a physically active lifestyle.

· Eat a healthy diet.

· Don’t use tobacco products.

· Limit alcohol intake.

Source: www.ccalliance.org

*Submitted by Lisa Bohrer, RN. BC, Community Health and Wellness Manager for The PharmaCare Network.

Folic Acid

Folic acid is a B vitamin. Our bodies use it to make new cells. The CDC urges women to take 400 mcg of folic acid every day, starting at least one month before getting pregnant, to help prevent major birth defects of the baby’s brain and spine.

Every woman needs folic acid every day, whether she is planning to get pregnant or not.  Folic acid helps the skin, hair, and nails stay healthy. 

There are two ways to be sure to get enough folic acid each day:

1. Take a multivitamin that has folic acid in it every day.

2. Eat a bowl of breakfast cereal that has 100% of the daily value of folic acid every day.

Source:  www.cdc.gov

Submitted by Lisa Bohrer, RN, BC, Community Health and Wellness Manager for The PharmaCare Network.

15 Minute Black Bean Salad

In need of the perfect side dish for your weekend gathering or get-together? 15 Minute Black Bean Salad is quick, easy, and healthful!

 _________________________________

1/2 cup minced onion

2 medium cloves garlic pressed

2 cups black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

8 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

 2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and serve. This salad will keep for a couple of days and gets more flavorful if you let it marinate in the refrigerator.

Recipe submitted by Lisa Bohrer, RN, BC, Community Health and Wellness Manager

High Blood Pressure In Women

Many people mistakenly believe that high blood pressure is more common among men. The truth is nearly half of all adults with high blood pressure are women. Having high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, but it raises the risk of stroke, heart failure, and kidney failure. It is a “silent killer”.  No one knows exactly what causes most cases of high blood pressure. It usually can’t be cured, but it can be managed. Not treating high blood pressure is dangerous.

Groups at risk for high blood pressure include:

· African Americans

· People over age 35

· Overweight people

· Inactive people

· People who eat too much salt

· People who drink too much alcohol

· People with diabetes, gout, or kidney disease

· Pregnant women

· Women who take birth control pills and who are overweight, have had high blood pressure during pregnancy, have a history of high blood pressure, or have mild kidney disease

*Submitted by Lisa Bohrer, RN, BC, Community Health and Wellness Manager for The PharmaCare Network.