Asthma and Exercise

Most people with Asthma can exercise and become fit. But the type, and intensity of exercise Asthmatics can do varies greatly from person to person. Here's a video that outlines the rules of thumb.

Asthmatic or not, be sure to consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program. Asthma is a chronic disease of the airways. It causes bronchial passages to become inflamed and arrowed in response to triggers like cold, exercise, and stress, and allergens like dust mites, dander and smoke.

Breathing becomes labored and difficult, and in extreme cases, Asthma attacks can be fatal. Asthma is on the rise. Asthma affects about 25 million people in the U.S. according to the National Institutes of health.

The cause has been debated for decades. The hygiene hypothesis: it was thought that living in a too clean environment, like suburban America, and smaller family size decreased a child's exposure to bacteria and viruses, thus preventing the immune system from developing normally and allowing it to instead set its sights on allergic triggers like dust.

More recent studies in less clean urban areas suggest Asthma causes are more complex and no one explanation has come to the forefront.

There are many types and degrees of Asthma. There is no cure, but modern medicine has provided options that help keep most Asthma symptoms under control most of the time. They include, drugs, swallowed, inhaled and injected, and lifestyle changes like diet and exercise. Yes, people with Asthma can exercise.

The most common symptoms are wheezing, shortness of breath and coughing.
But exercising with Asthma is a two edged sword. Exercise is an irritant trigger.

It can induce Asthma. In fact, there is a whole category of asthmatics for which exercise induced Asthma, EIA for short, is the main issue. However this can be overcome. Studies show that exercising for fitness, particularly aerobic exercise, strengthens and builds the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems to the same extent as it does in non-asthmatics.

Asthmatics can become very fit. Many Olympic and professional athletes, have exercise-induced Asthma.

So what kinds of exercise can and should asthmatics do and, what precautions should they take.

Pick an exercise that gets your heart rate up without putting too much pressure on your breathing.

Generally, low intensity activities like walking, biking, moderate aerobics and swimming outdoors where fumes from pool chemicals are less of an irritant, are more easily tolerated. Activities like high intensity aerobics or calisthenics can be more problematic and should be approached gradually.

Exercise limitations; vary greatly from person to person. Some asthmatics have trouble with even low intensity exercise, while others can do almost anything most of the time.

First and foremost consult your doctor before you begin.

Rules of thumb:

· Depending on your particular condition, you may need to take medication, or take a puff or two from your inhaler before you begin.
· If you use a peak flow meter, test yourself and don't exercise unless you're in normal range.
· Keep your emergency inhaler handy during exercise just in case.
· Avoid triggers whenever possible.
· If it's too cold or the pollen count is high outside, exercise indoors.
· Exercise outside when the air is clear and humidity is higher.
· If you exercise in the cold, wear a scarf over your nose and mouth to warm and moisten the air as you breathe.
· Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise.
· Take time to warm up with slow dynamic movements like marching in place or gentle stretching.
· Start slowly and monitor how the exercise is affecting you.
· Avoid sudden bouts of intense exercise.
· Breath through your nose if possible in a relaxed controlled pattern
· Try using pursed lip breathing. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth with lips pursed as though whistling. It helps avoid hyperventilation and manages shortness of breath. It helps your airways relax and dilate so you can expel carbon dioxide and take in oxygen.
· If exercise induces your Asthma more severely, with your doctors approval, you may want to try easing in with gentle movements while seated in a chair.

The bottom line is exercising with Asthma is a very individual undertaking. One size does not fit all. Some people can do almost anything, while others have trouble with even light exercise.

Talk to your doctor, listen to your body, Start gently and build up. Stay in your comfort zone. Take precautions, get fit and live well.

How Regular Exercise Can Make You Look and Feel Younger

There are several daily habits that can keep you looking and feeling young, and exercise is one of them. Studies have shown that exercising can even turn back the clock on aging, reversing some of the effects of time, and restoring your youth, inside and out.

Youthful Skin

A recent study performed by McMasters University in Ontario found that the skin of people who exercised regularly was structurally much younger than those who don’t. Even people over 50 had a dermis and epidermis resembling someone in the 20-40 age range when they exercised vigorously at least twice a week.

Improved Posture

One of the sure signs of aging is a tired, stooped posture. Maintaining core strength through exercise gives you the posture of a much younger person. If your posture is already suffering from age, it can be improved through exercise. Yoga and pilates are particularly effective with improving posture.

An Underage Attitude

One of the top aging factors in our lives is stress. It hastens the signs of aging both physically and mentally. Exercising reduces stress, along with our risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. It also increases your energy levels, so you can live a high quality, youthful lifestyle. Those who exercise have a greater sense of self-confidence as well.

Increased Sex Drive

One of the greatest fears people have about aging is that they or their partner will lose interest in sex because of hormonal changes. Exercising has been shown to boost libido in a couple of ways. For one, it evens out hormone levels, leaving you feeling in the mood more often. The second thing exercise does for you in this area is to make you feel more attractive and comfortable in your own skin, which will make you feel more open to birthday suit time. Regular exercise is often the key to maintaining a youthful sex life.

Start Living the Younger You Today!

Troy

Continue Here: http://www.good4utah.com/story/d/story/how-regular-exercise-can-make-you-look-and-feel-yo/28900/7rgSNFNzIkS33utZlhdWjg

Wine and Exercise: A Promising Combination

The European Society of Cardiology is currently convened in Barcelona for its annual congress, where an abundance of promising heart-disease research has been unveiled. Envious American eyes are on a study of regular wine consumption and its apparent health benefits.

Many studies in the past have found that wine drinkers have healthier hearts than abstainers, but the current trial—called In Vino Veritas (In Wine, Truth)—is one of the first studies to actually introduce wine into people’s lives and track its effects on their bodies.

Lead researcher Miloš Táborský, head of cardiology at the Palacký University Hospital in Olomouc in the Czech Republic, revealed the study's results in a presentation over the weekend, saying, “We found that moderate wine drinking was only protective in people who exercised. Red and white wine produced the same results.”

For one year, subjects drank “moderate” amounts of wine five days per week. For men, that meant 0.3 to 0.4 liters daily, about two to two-and-a-half glasses. For women it meant 0.2 to 0.3 liters, about one to two glasses. (A more common definition is one glass for women and two glasses for men.) Half of the 146 subjects drank pinot noir, and half drank a white “chardonnay-pinot.” The participants logged any and all alcohol consumption in journals, where they also kept track of their diets and physical activity.


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By itself, drinking wine did not appreciably affect cholesterol, blood glucose, triglycerides, or levels of inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein. It also did not appreciably damage people’s livers during the year, at least, based on liver-function tests.

But then Táborský and company ran a more specific analysis that looked at people who exercised. Among those who worked out twice per week and drank wine, there was significant improvement in cholesterol levels (increased HDL and decreased LDL) after a year of wine—red or white, no matter.

"Our current study shows that the combination of moderate wine drinking plus regular exercise improves markers of atherosclerosis," said Táborský, "suggesting that this combination is protective against cardiovascular disease."

Continue Here: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/working-with-the-wine-not-against-it/379504/

Wearing A Scarf Can Get you Kicked Out in Planet Fitness

A Planet Fitness branch in Albuquerque denied Tarainia McDaniel, a Muslim convert to wear an informal head scarf while working out. The gym claims that the headscarf is a violation of their dress code.

Avoid Flu by doing Vigorous Exercise

By doing a minimum of two and a half  hours of vigorous exercise a week can help you prevent from having a flu.

A total of 4800 participants took the survey online conducted by  the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

A moderate exercise will  not help prevent the flu and flu rates have been down this year's winter.

There health status are monitored weekly and  are then required to log in each week and note how they are feeling, and whether or not they have any flu-like signs.

The study shows that 100 cases of flu per 1,000 people can be avoided just  by doing vigorous exercise. 


This data is also the lowest for the past five years the survey was conducted. During the winter season only 4.7 percent catch flu for this year compared to 6 percent last year and 5 percent of the children reported flu symptoms compared to a 7.9 percent last year.

According to Dr Alma Adler, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that results should be taken with cautions but results prove the benefits of exercising. A fine weather is a chance to exercise and increase your immunity during spring time.

Flu Survey helps government in their health programs, and can be access into Public Health England's national flu surveillance programmes and is released at the beginning of National Science & Engineering Week.

Spending A Lot of Time in Facebook can Lead to Eating Problems

A new study shows that young women who invest a lot of time on Facebook are more conscious on how they look and their body image looks like which  can help   raise the risk of eating problems.

This study  was conducted on 960 college students and how much time they spent on social media sites, how relevant are the "LIKES"  to them and if they have "UNTAGGED" pictures of themselves.

The study also reveals that above 95% of the subjects spends almost 20 minutes on the site per visit and an hour each day. Women who spends time on Facebook are more likely stressed about their weight and body shape that can lead to eating disorders. These women  give value on received  comments and likes on Facebook, and constantly UNTAGGED themselves from photos and observe their photos with pictures of friends.


 Its not all bad for Facebook according to researchers.

 Facebook can also help women about the ethical ways to maximize social media sites that can lead to better self image and prevent eating problems.

 According to study author Pamela Keel, of the Department of Psychology at Florida State University "Facebook merges powerful peer influences with broader societal messages that focus on the importance of women's appearance into a single platform that women carry with them throughout the day," 

 "As researchers and clinicians attempt to understand and address risk factors for eating disorders, greater attention is needed to the emerging role of social media in young people's lives," Keel said. The study was published online recently in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

How To Have A Healthy Heart

Here are “life’s simple seven “develop by the American Heart Association to enhance heart health and improve total well being.

1 Get active: All you need is thirty minutes a day of moderate exercise to lower your chances of having a heart disease. Aerobic activity improves your heart and makes your blood pressure drop, increase good HDL cholesterol, fights stress, curbs blood sugar,  reduce weight and improves confidence.

"Walking is a great way to improve heart health and it's free, easy and almost anyone can do it. Remember to include weekly strength training, flexibility and balance exercises.

2. Control cholesterol: the safe cholesterol level must be below 200 mg/dL. Cholesterol clogs the arteries and increases your risk getting a heart attack and stroke.

"The cholesterol, saturated fat and trans fat in your food spikes up your cholesterol, together with amount the body makes naturally,

3. Eat better. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables is the best way to make your body healthy. The American Heart Association also suggest consuming fish at least twice a week—Salmon and mackerel has omega 3 fatty acids that help lessens blood clothing in the arteries and help protect arteries  from being stiff.

4. Manage blood pressure. One of three adults suffers from blood pressure and most don’t know they have it. . High blood pressure is the most important factor that can lead to heart disease. The safe blood pressure should be less than 120 over 80. If your blood pressure is normal, your heart don’t work hard as much to pump blood through your arteries, arteries are elastic and are not over stretched and all your body tissues receives the right nutrients from a correct blood flow.

5. Lose weight: having an extra weight can increase your chances of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Reducing the pounds helps lower your risk.

6. Reduce blood sugar: Diabetes is a big factor for cardiovascular disease.  Having a healthy blood sugar level avoids diabetes which reduces your risk for heart disease. Diabetics should watch out for their blood sugar to avoid problems like heart disease.

7. Stop smoking: Smoking can lead to a lot of health problems such as heart disease, stroke and heart attacks.

Smoking and Breast Cancer

Young women who smoke have a higher risk of common types of breast cancer based on the latest study.

This study showed that women between 20 and 44 who smoked a pack of cigarette per day for at least 10 years is 60 percent more likely than those who smoke less to have estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.

According to Dr. Christopher Li that there is a increase proof that breast cancer is another cause of smoking.

Prior researched showed evidence between smoking and cancer. This older studies have a different results for younger women who smoke.

Many unanswered questions were raised if smoking increased the risk of some forms of breasts cancers but not others. 

According to Li, a  senior author from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle that there are  sub types of breast cancer and they have examine how smoking affects its sub-type.This data came from Seattle who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2004-2010.

Base on the data from National Cancer Institute, there is one in every eight women that can develop breast cancer but the risk is lower for younger ones.

Young women who smoked were 30 percent to more likely develop breast cancer compared to those who never smoked.

The findings showed that women who smoked for at least 15 years were 50 percent more likely to have estrogen receptor positive breast cancer than smoker for a few years.

Risk for Diabetes Decreased greatly by Exercise

A joint US-Danish study has established that women who works out 3 1/2 hours a week reduces the risk for diabetes by about 40% and even those who works out for only an hour cuts their risk by 13%.  

Muscle strengthening exercise improve glycemic control among diabetics. 

Best results were was seen in those who exercises 150 minutes aerobic activity per week and 60 minutes a week of muscle strengthening.

The findings of the study revealed that muscle-conditioning activities with aerobic activity prevent the development of diabetes in women.

This research emphasizes that indeed having a dynamic lifestyle while eating nutritious meals can reduce the risk of having diabetes mellitus type 2, which is lifestyle associated.

These days many people are becoming more health conscious and more active. Many are on the lookout for easy ways to work out. The only difficulty is in keeping with your plans and determination.

It is recommended that we have at least about 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise in a week.