Monthly Archives: January 2010

Your BMI Score: Are You Fit or Just Acceptable?

Do you know that you don’t have to be overweight to have too much body fat? You can weigh in at what you think is your ideal range and normal body size, but still be considered obese and thus, at risk for future heart problems. This phenomenon of “normal weight obesity” is the focus of a report by the Mayo Clinic, whose authors estimate that as many as 30 million Americans fall into this category.  An informative feature story about this appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s HeartBeat Column this week.

Apparently, what’s most critical in evaluating whether you’re really fit or just acceptable is not your BMI score, the traditional measure for obesity,  but how much body fat you’re carrying around. … [Read more]

A Wallet Friendly Approach to Fitness

January is a time for setting new goals…and crowded gyms.  It happens every year.  Resolved to get fit and healthy, new members (or those who have been MIA) fill up group classes and the wait for using the cardio equipment becomes too long for my schedule.  So, I’ve learned to be patient because I know that in just one month, most of them will be gone and I can return to my own, stress-free pace. Until then,  I hit the outdoors for long walks and do Pilates floor exercises at home.  It’s always a fresh reminder that there’s really no excuse for not exercising.

For one thing, there’s so much available on the web to help us plan our workouts and monitor how we’re doing.  Here are just a few examples. … [Read more]

Does Calcium Really Build Strong Bones?

If you’re concerned about losing bone strength during the menopause transition, you’ve probably been advised by your physician to increase your intake of dairy foods and/or take a daily calcium supplement of at least 1000 mg every day to help prevent bone loss. But you’ll be surprised to learn that Calcium may not be the answer at all.

In their book,  Building Bone Vitality: A Revolutionary Diet Plan to Prevent Bone Loss and Reverse Osteoporosis–Without Dairy Foods, Calcium, Estrogen, or Drugs, authors Michael Castleman, and Amy Lanou, Ph.D., a senior nutrition scientist for the Physician’s Committee on Responsible Medicine, argue that the highest incidence of hip fractures have actually occurred in countries where dairy consumption was the highest.   Moreover, the science doesn’t support dairy’s usefulness in reducing the risk of fractures.  They point out that of the 86 studies that have examined the connection between calcium supplementation and bone health,  two-thirds showed no impact on bone health above 500 mg.  So if fortifying our bodies with added Calcium is old, conventional thinking, what is the new answer when it comes to preserving bone vitality as we age? … [Read more]

Fanning in Style

I found these beautiful fans in a small, Barcelona shop last month and just couldn’t resist buying one.  There was a time when I considered a fan a mere tool for alleviating menopausal hot flashes.   Now, I see it as a feminine, fashion accessory that I can whip out on hot days or during a particularly claustrophobic plane trip. Who has to know why you’re fanning anyway?  If you have a fan that’s as pretty as these are,  you’ll likely be asked where – not why – you bought it.