New Year’s Resolution No. 3: Guard Against the Bone Thief

This may not sound like a popular health resolution, but it is a crucial one for women and girls of all ages.

“A lot of women feel that when they’re not babies anymore, they don’t have to worry about their bones, but it’s quite the contrary,” says Taub-Dix. “Watching calcium in your diet even as a young child or teen is very important, because that is the setup for what your bones may look like later on in life.”

Osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease, is major public health threat for 44 million Americans, 80% of whom are women, according to the National Institute of Health Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases. One out of every two women over 50 years old will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime.

To help prevent osteoporosis, Taub-Dix suggests getting at least three servings of dairy a day. Healthy sources of dairy include skim milk, low-fat cheeses, and yogurt. There are also nondairy options for calcium, such as canned salmon with bones, dark green vegetables, dried beans, and calcium-fortified juices and cereals. Calcium supplements can also help women meet their recommended daily intake.

Adequate intakes of calcium for women:

* From age 11 to 24, between 1,200 and 1,500 milligrams daily
* From age 25 to 50, 1,000 milligrams daily
* For postmenopausal women 1,000-1,500 milligrams daily if on menopausal hormone therapy
* For pregnant and breastfeeding women, 1,200-1,500 milligrams daily

Women also should be aware that without vitamin D, calcium absorption is reduced. This vitamin is found in some foods sources including fatty fish, fish liver oil, and diary products that are fortified with vitamin D. An adequate intake of vitamin D for adults ranges from 200-600 international units a day.

Weight-bearing exercises, which use gravity to put pressure on the bones, can also help strengthen bones. Examples include walking, running, aerobics, and dancing. Resistance-training exercises are also valuable as they help enhance muscle mass and bone strength.

Be aware that certain foods and medications may help weaken bones. There is some evidence that soda drinking can contribute to bone loss, primarily because many soda drinkers tend not to drink milk. Research also shows nicotine can slow down bone cell production and cause faster bone loss.

“It’s important that you talk with your doctor about how much calcium you get in your diet, whether you smoke cigarettes, your family history, whether you’ve been on Depo-Provera, or you’ve had a history of other diseases that have required you to be on steroids or thyroid medications,” says Mark.

The FDA recently issued a strong warning about potential bone density loss with use of the contraceptive Depo-Provera. Use of steroids and an overactive thyroid have also been associated with weak and thinning bones.

SOURCE: women.webmd.com

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New Year’s Resolution No. 2: Jump Outside the Box

Many women who resolve to become more physically active think of going to the gym. They tend to hit the aerobic machines or join group exercise classes. They may get discouraged easily because they don’t achieve desired weight loss or muscle tone in a certain time frame. They may quit because of lack of time, energy, or money. Or, they may tire of the gym atmosphere.

There are dozens of reasons why the best of workout intentions fall by the wayside come February. Yet they don’t have to end up that way if you’re willing to step outside of a certain mode of thinking — that exercise has to be done a certain way, at a certain place, at a certain time, and for a certain amount of time.

“Sometimes people have this ‘all or none’ mentality and they’re so gung-ho and so excited when they set the resolution that they judge themselves too harshly if they don’t perfectly adhere to what they’ve established,” says Cedric Bryant, PhD, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise.

He says many people make resolutions that are either unrealistic or too vague. A woman, for instance, may resolve to lose 10 pounds in two weeks. If she doesn’t see desired results, she becomes discouraged and gives up.

It’s better to set fitness goals that are realistic, achievable, and well defined. For example, a woman may strive to lose one to two pounds per week by exercising three to four times per week and holding off on seconds at the dinner table.

While the trend is changing, too many women don’t do valuable resistance training, says Bryant. According to the Mayo Clinic, enhanced muscle mass can not only help better manage weight, it can also improve endurance, maintain the flexibility of joints, and reverse age-related declines in strength, bone density, and muscle mass.

Even very busy women can do resistance training and aerobic exercise, as they do not necessarily require a visit to a fitness center. “If you can’t get to the gym, what can you do today to be more active?” asks Saralyn Mark, MD, senior medical adviser for the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Can it be walking a little bit further in the parking lot, and using the stairs, or raking your leaves?”

“There’s a lot you can do with just what is around you,” says Mark. “The best part is that you don’t have to get into a fancy gym outfit. You can be comfortable and you can do it while you’re watching the news.”

SOURCE: women.webmd.com

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New Year’s Resolution No. 1: Eat, but Don’t Pig Out
Experts share their thoughts on the top 5 things women can do to get healthy and well in the new year.

When women resolve to lose weight, they are often black and white about it, says Bonnie Taub-Dix, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. She says women tend to want to cut out major food groups, telling themselves they cannot have any candy, dessert, or carbohydrates.

“It’s a setup for failure, because by the time mid-January comes around, those resolutions are already in line for the next new year,” says Taub-Dix. “It would be a much wiser decision to say, for example, ‘I’m going to cut back on desserts.’ Maybe pick a Saturday to have dessert.” Instead of deprivation, practice moderation during the holidays.

The reduction approach is much more realistic than the all-or-nothing technique, which labels foods as “good” or “bad.” When people see certain edibles as “bad,” they can end up obsessing about it. Or they may see dieting as punishment for a year of unhealthy eating. Concentrate on getting adequate servings of whole grains, calcium, fiber, fruits and vegetables. This can be as easy as having a high-fiber cereal with milk and a banana.

SOURCE:
By Dulce Zamora
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

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How to Address Potential Christmas Home Health and Safety Issues

It is important to take the proper precautions to ensure that your home is safe during those winter holidays.
Step 1
Put short table cloths on the table on which you will be serving Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Young children just learning to walk and stand may accidentally grab long cloths and could fall or pull hot food items or dishes onto themselves.

Step 2
Remove all bones, gristle and hard-to-chew pieces of meat, especially from turkey or other poultry, before feeding the meat to children under the age of six, to prevent choking.

Step 3
Before adding nuts or hard-to-chew diced fruit, like apples, to any salad or deserts, set aside a portion of the food items large enough to give to (or feed) children under seven years old. Even older children are often in a hurry to eat on the holidays and may gulp their food or not chew enough to keep items like nuts from becoming a choking hazard.

Step 4
Make sure there are no artificial (or real) grapes, nuts, holly berries or other small items in holiday centerpieces as they pose a choking hazard for young children who may think the centerpieces are real.

Step 5
Keep candy dishes on top of fireplace mantles, grandfather clocks, china cabinets or other very tall pieces of furniture and out of the reach of young children.

Step 6
Place the electrical cords for strings of Christmas or other lights at the back of the tree so that they cannot be easily reached by young children. Unplug the cords when you retire for the night. When you put lights around a window, try to position a big easy chair, couch, recliner or other piece of furniture with a back, so that you can keep the cord behind the furniture.

Step 7
Water real Christmas trees daily and completely fill the tree stand to keep the tree needles from drying out before the holiday is over. A dry tree is a fire hazard. Wrap a sheet or holiday tree holder cover around the bottom the tree so that young children will not be tempted to play in the water and possibly pull the tree over on themselves.

Step 8
Hang plastic ornaments on the lower branches of the tree if there will be any young children in your home over the holidays. Try to purchase shapes other than round ornaments as young children may think the ornaments are balls to be played with.

Step 9
When cutting paper and wrapping packages, make sure that you don’t leave scissors, pieces of ribbon, knives or sharp-edged paper cutters out where young children could get to them. Place tools used for cutting and wrapping in a locked cabinet or on top of the highest kitchen cupboard to prevent easy access to the tools.

Step 10
Do not place candles on trees or on tables that are low enough for young children to get to them, as candles start several dozen fires a year and children could get burned on the hot wax. When leaving home or going to bed, double check to make sure that any candles or tapers you lit have been put out and placed well out of the reach of young children. Do the same with lighters, matches or other implements used for lighting them.

Step 11
When leaving home for several hours, unplug your indoor holiday lights, including those for the tree to avoid the potential for creating a fire hazard. Do not leave your porch light on when you leave for an extended period of time because that indicates to thieves, who are very active during the holidays, that you are not home. Leave one or two lights on in your house, but not the bathroom light.

SOURCE: ehow.com

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CDC Mobile Web site

Your Mobile Source for Credible Health Information

CDC’s health information is now available on your mobile device. Visit m.cdc.gov on your mobile phone or PDA for information on seasonal flu, H1N1 flu, public health emergencies, and more.

This site is designed to be easily read and navigated from mobile devices and will soon feature even more health and safety topics.
H1N1 Flu Mobile Texting Pilot
Overview

Sending the CDC a Test Message

Sign up now to have important CDC information about H1N1 flu and other topics delivered directly to your mobile phone! In September 2009, CDC launched a three-month text messaging campaign pilot to share important, timely health information directly to users. Your feedback is very important to us and we look forward to receiving your input during this pilot.

To subscribe to the pilot, text HEALTH to 87000. Once you sign up for this pilot, you will be asked a few questions and begin receiving short health tips from CDC. Subscribers can expect to receive about three health messages a week during the three-month pilot. Standard text messaging rates will apply. You can opt out at any time by simply replying HEALTH QUIT.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How do I sign up?
Send a text message with the word HEALTH in the body of the message to 87000.
2. Is there a cost?
CDC does not charge subscribers to participate in this pilot program. Standard text messaging rates from your wireless carrier may apply.
3. How many messages will I receive?
When you sign up, you will receive four introductory messages/questions. After that, you should expect to receive three health tips each week.
4. How do I opt out?
You can opt out at any time by sending a reply with the word HEALTH QUIT in the body of the message.

SOURCE: http://www.cdc.gov/mobile/

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