REPORTING POINT 10/06
HEALTH NEWS
“Live healthy...live well”
Dedicated to providing pertinent information on health, fitness, and nutrition to foster a culture of wellness among Southwest Airlines flight crews and their families.
by Larry Kline
SWAPA Voice Mailbox 4337/email: livehealthy-livewell@cox.net
Past issues of “Health News” are available at http://health.theballfamily.org. It includes a search engine; just enter a key word to find past articles. LK
EXERCISE FOR YOUR BACK – there is a 30 percent decrease in the risk of a disabling back injury for those who participate in regular recreational physical activity. Men’s Health 1/06.
POND SCUM OR SUPPLEMENT? – many people are consuming capsules, pills, and powders containing what is basically pond scum: algae, the green and blue varieties. Suppliers of blue-green algae make all kinds of health claims as to the curative effects of their product, from curing asthma, allergies, anxiety, depression, fatigue, hypoglycemia, digestive problems, ADD, and even weight loss and the ability to “detoxify” the body.
An important part of the food chain in lakes and ponds worldwide, blue-green algae or microscopic plants with characteristics of both bacteria and algae (such as seaweed), but are more closely akin to bacteria. The two main blue-green types are Spirulina and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA). AFA is chiefly harvested from Upper Klamath Lake in southern Oregon and then freeze-dried and sold in capsules and other forms.
Blue-green algae contain small amounts of protein, vitamins (including C, E and folate), beta carotene, and some minerals. But unless you consume large amounts of algae, they are a negligible source of nutrients. Like green plants, they are rich in chlorophyll, a pigment that enables them to turn sunlight into energy, but is of no use to the human body. Given the high price of algae supplements, there are far cheaper and better ways to get nutrients.
As for the medical claims, there is no scientific evidence that blue-green algae can treat or cure any illness or has any health benefit. The state of California has warned the marketers of blue-green algae to cease making medical and health claims.
A big concern with blue-green algae, especially AFA harvested from natural lakes, is that they are easily contaminated with toxic substances, notably microcystins and heavy metals. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 6/04.
BORED WITH WORKOUTS? Or having difficulty getting to the gym? Try adding your favorite tunes to a cardio or strength-training session. A study published in Heart and Lung found that those who exercised to music that they enjoyed had a significantly improved mental function in a post-exercise test. Those exercising to their favorite music had clearer post-exercise thinking and elevated, positive mood which may result in more consistent exercise sessions. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 6/04.
BROKE-BACK (not the movie)-SAVING TIPS - the back pain cycle: irritated spinal nerves cause muscles to spasm, which irritates more nerves, which causes more pain. If this happens to you, try the following tips to reduce back pain:
CHECK YOUR POSTURE. It is easy to slouch on long flights sitting in the cockpit or on long car trips or tense up on stressful ones. Angle your rearview mirror in your car just a little too high so that every time you check it, you remember to relax your shoulders and sit up straight.
LOSE THE LAPTOP. The laptop is designed for portability – and poor posture, because the keyboard is connected to the screen. If you cannot work without one, use a detached keyboard if typing for long periods of time.
KNOW HOW TO LIFT. Whenever you lift anything, remember to lift from the legs in a squat and never, ever bend at the waist. Placing the flight bag in the cockpit places the back at risk as it involves a lifting and twisting motion at the same time. Hold on to the back of the seat as you lift and twist to take weight off the back and support your spine and movement.
TAKE THE TIME. Shortcuts brutalize backs. Take the extra time you need to correctly lift a shovelful of dirt or snow. Take the time to walk stairs instead of moving walkways or elevators; allow frequent breaks when hunched over a household project where the back is strained. Do not carry more weight than you should, especially if your core muscles are not well conditioned.
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
Training your core muscles and strengthening your core will protect your back and allow you to engage in full-range motion without risk of injury. Activating and training the deepest layer of muscle in the core where they attach to the joints, prevents the muscles from shutting off when you have back pain. Small, deliberate movements allow the smaller muscles to be engaged. If you work too fast, the big muscles will compensate for the small muscles and the core muscles will not develop in balance.
Being flexible allows better stability of the core. Stretching and strengthening are the keys to treating lower back pain. Sixty percent of back pain does go away after three weeks, no matter what people do. The best treatment with most back pain is activity. If the pain persists, especially after seeing a therapist or chiropractor, see a physician.
SURGERY?
If other therapies are not successful, consider seeing a spine surgeon, either a neurosurgeon or an orthopedic surgeon, who concentrates on back and ideally has completed a fellowship in spine surgery. Preferably you want someone who does at least 100 spine operations a year.
They surgeon will take x-rays and an MRI and look for anything that may be inflaming nerves – misalignment, narrowing disks, bone growths called osteophytes, but especially a herniated disk. That would mean the rubbery nucleus of a disk is protruding through its fiberous casing, the annulus, possibly compressing a nerve. If a large piece of extruded disk is pressing on nerve endings and the pain is continual, then surgery may be the only solution. Spine surgery is always serious, but if just a small portion of the nucleus protrudes, ask about less-invasive endoscopic surgery, in which the nucleus is trimmed through a tiny tube inserted between muscles. Most endoscopic patients go home the day after surgery. Open operations typically mean a night or two in the hospital and several months of rehab before resuming athletics. As with all invasive procedures, get a second opinion. Men’s Health 5/05.
CRACKER TIPS – some popular crackers supply as many calories and as much fat per ounce as cookies or a candy bar. To be a wise and health-conscious shopper, look for whole grains; whole wheat or whole rye should be the only flour, or at least the first ingredient (don’t be fooled by “hearty wheat,” or “stoned wheat,” or “multigrain” crackers, which are made from refined wheat flour). The healthier crackers will contain at least 3 grams of fiber and less than 4 grams of at per ounce. The fat usually comes from hydrogenated oil, with its artery-clogging trans-fat. Some good options include Scandinavian-style flatbreads or crispbreads (Wasa, Ry Krisp, Ryvita, or Kavli, for example). University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 10/03.
FOOD SYNERGY - The American Dietetic Association reports that ongoing research about foods and their nutrients has given rise to a new dietary concept called synergy. This concept implies that the key to good health and cancer prevention may not only be what you eat, but how you eat. According to the
American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), synergistic interactions among the chemicals found in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and other healthy foods, rather than the nutrients found in single foods, may have the most positive impact on lowering your risk of cancer.
What is Food Synergy?
Food synergy, according to the AICR, simply means that eating food combinations that chemically balance each other may offer increased protection from cancer and other diseases. We know that vitamins and minerals are essential for good health. Phytochemicals – cancer-fighting chemicals
(antioxidants) found in plant foods - are also necessary components for a healthy, well-balanced diet. The UC Berkeley Wellness Newsletter reports that certain vitamins and minerals in combination with phytochemicals allow food nutrients to be used more efficiently by the body and protect against disease.
According to the AICR, studies have shown that there are specific minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals in many plant foods that interact with each other to prevent or decrease the development of tumors. No single food can
