Paying Attention to What You Eat and Getting Regular Exercise Affects More Than Your Waistline!
Studies show that the foods we eat and the exercise (mental and physical) we get can help our brains work better, our hearts and bodies be healthier and help us overall feel better.
Many of the illnesses that we treat with medications today can be better controlled and in some cases prevented by changing how we eat and exercise:
- Diabetes
- High Blood Pressure
- Alzheimers disease
- High Cholesterol
- Depression
- Arthritis
- High Triglycerides
- Osteoporosis
- Attention Deficit Disorder
- Gastrointestinal Reflux Disease
Do you know how many calories you eat everyday? Take a few days and write down everything that you eat and drink. Click here for a printable food journal page. Or even easier, visit a website that will keep track of your food choices and give you a breakdown of nutrients. Click here to go to http://nutritiondata.self.com/ and click on track. Or try http://www.fitday.com/products Choose at least 1 weekend day and 1 week day because diets vary on weekdays and weekend days.
Are you curious if you are eating too much or too little? To get a ballpark idea of how many calories that you should eat in a day based on how much you currently weight and how active you are, Visit Ask the Dietician Website at http://www.dietitian.com fill in the questions it asks and put their Healthy Body Calculator to work for you. (If you don’t have a computer or don’t know how to use the internet, we can help you fill this information out at Kemper Drug). You will be provided with a printout of the total number of calories that you should be eating along with essential nutrients.
Do you recommend any good healthy eating guide books? One is called "The Skinny on Losing Weight Without Being Hungry" by Louis J. Aronne. M.D. another Entertaining Read was "Mindless Eating - Why we Eat More Than We Think" by Brian Wansink Ph.D. Dr Wansink tells about studies that show how we don't rationally choose how much to eat. And he gives pointers to better manage the amounts and kinds of foods we eat. Another good book is You On a Diet. by Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz. It explains how the foods that you eat affect your body in an easy to understand way. They also have a great website full of insights on how food affects your health www.realage.com that is worth going to!
How much exercise is enough?To keep your body healthy, 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise (brisk walking for most people)is sufficient. If you are short on time, you can exercise harder for a shorter amount of time. You want to exercise on 5 days a week.
Can I exercise too much? It is good to be active and 150 minutes a week should be looked at as a minimum. If you are exercising more than that you are hungry all the time and gaining or maintaining your weight, you could actually be exercising too much.
Can exercise affect medication for blood pressure or diabetes? Medications can affect how your body reacts to exercise. Ask your Pharmacist or Doctor or Dietician for advice on your specific medication.
I have put together a list of websites that can help you learn more about how the way you eat and exercise can affect you. This isn’t about losing weight - although it could be a good side effect from changing how you eat and exercise. Remember, making small changes can have big results.
If after looking at these websites you have questions or need help making changes to how you eat, you can schedule an appointment to sit down and talk about it. Call 763-441-1353 or email Wendy at Kemper Drug
The first website I suggest is The Nutrition Source. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/ This is a Website maintained by the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. Aside from not smoking, the most important determinants of good health are what we eat and how active we are. The Nutrition Source is designed to get you started down the path toward the healthiest diet possible.
The second website I suggest is an Ask the Dietician Website. http://www.dietitian.com/ibw/ibw.html/ This website will help you figure out approximately how many calories you should eat in a day. Have a tape measure ready and think hard about how active your lifestyle is. One of its strengths is that it can let you decide what percent of your calories should come from carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The number of calories you eat is only part of the key to healthy eating.
For information on the composition of different foods go to Nutrition Facts and Calorie Counter http://www.nutritiondata.com/ This site provides complete nutritional information for any food or recipe
Information on this site is provided for informational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice provided by your pharmacist, physician or other healthcare professional. You should not use this information for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease or prescribing any medication. You should read carefully all product packaging. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, promptly contact your health care provider.
Any links on this web site to web sites operated by third parties are provided for your convenience only. We are not responsible for the content and performance of these web sites or for your transactions with them. Our inclusion of links to such web sites does not imply any endorsement of the material on such web sites.
Statements regarding dietary supplements are provided solely to offer our customers additional information about alternative medicine. No health claims for these products have been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), nor has the FDA approved these products to diagnose, cure or prevent disease. Please consult your healthcare provider before starting any course of supplementation or treatment, particularly if you are currently under medical care. Make sure you carefully read all product packaging prior to use. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, you should consult your healthcare provider.