Tag: side effects

Side Effects: Want to Look Younger? Get Up and Move!

Want to Look Younger? Get Up and Move! Instead of spending your time and money researching the latest anti-aging moisturizer, dermal filler, or surgical procedure, it appears that you can restore youthfulness to your skin through exercise!
jump

In an interesting set of studies from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada it was observed in the second study that adding 30 minutes of endurance training at a minimum of 65% of their maximum aerobic capacity twice a week for 3 months to a group of sedentary 65-year-old’s routine resulted in a significantly more youthful skin appearance.

As we age, the outer layer of skin becomes more dense, drier, and flakier and the underlying layer gets thinner and loses elasticity so that the skin becomes more translucent and begins to sag. This usually begins to happen around the age of 40. These changes could be observed in the skin biopsied from the sedentary 65 year olds. After the three months of exercise, a new biopsy showed skin characteristics similar to those observed in the 20 – 40 year old group included in the first study.

This is good. Why is this good? Unlike specialized eye cream, exercise won’t just help your skin. It will strengthen your heart, increase your flexibility, develop your muscles, improve your mood, aid in digestion, and possibly lower your blood pressure.

Find it hard to get started? I know. I can’t even remember how much I’ve spent through the years on fitness memberships I used once or twice. After that, every time work challenged my fitness schedule, I let work win. That didn’t mean I sat on the couch. I water skied, canoed, snow skied, and hiked. What I learned from this was that I have to really enjoy an activity or I won’t do it. My fitness plan can’t seem like “working out”. It has to feel like fun.

If you’re like me and you having trouble sticking with a workout plan, then try an experiment for one month. During that month, explore 4 or 5 different kinds of activity. Do each one a couple of times until you hit on the thing that you like so much it doesn’t seem like work. That will be the key to sticking with a program. When you love the activity and how it makes you feel, you won’t have to force yourself to participate regularly. You may even find yourself looking forward to it. That’s how I feel about swimming!
yoga
Of course there are many more possibilities than 4 or 5. There’s walking, running, cycling, climbing, weight lifting, CrossFit, Zumba, Pilates, barre workout, Jazzercise, ballroom dancing, pole dancing, belly dancing, trapeze workouts, yoga, swimming, rowing, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, kickball, soccer, basketball, golf, tennis, softball, gardening, bleacher walks, surfing, water skiing, snow skiing, snow boarding, trampoline workouts, rope jumping, and even walking the dog.

If you love variety, you can simply repeat the experiment over and over and you’ll have a widely varied fitness plan. If you feel more comfortable with a simpler rotation, you’ll have to narrow the list to the top few things you enjoy. One good way to begin paring down is to think back and remember what you loved to do as a child. If there’s a related activity, or an activity that puts you in a similar environment, that is age and health appropriate – choose that one.

Get up, get moving, and you’ll automatically be healthier and have younger looking skin. There’s some side effects I can get behind!

Be sure to consult your doctor before beginning a new fitness program.

http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/why-the-fountain-of-youth-might-taste-very-salty/

Does your doctor throw drugs at the problem?

Can I get a witness? Does your doctor throw drugs at the problem?

If you’re following a gluten-free diet, chances are that you’ve had quite a bit of experience with the doctor’s office. An undiagnosed hiatal hernia landed me there a couple of times recently leading to diagnostic procedures and then follow-up visits. One week, I’d had so many GI cocktails that I suggested to the nurse that they might want to offer Happy Hour.

I’m feeling better, but I continue to be perplexed by the practice of medicine. During the three week process, I’ve had 4 different drugs essentially thrown at me without discussion. I don’t know about you, but if my condition is not life threatening and can be improved or controlled with lifestyle changes, then I do not want drugs.

PillsWhen I told the GI doctor this, he looked confused and asked me if my insurance wouldn’t pay for the PPI that I had been taking since my first visit. I think my response confused him even more. I told him I did not want to have to take a drug every day for the rest of my life.

Instead I wanted to know what I could do with diet and exercise. Then I wanted a wean-off plan so that I wouldn’t have the rebound acid problem created from suddenly stopping the drug. After telling me that 99% of the population was not successful in making the lifestyle changes required to control acid reflux associated with hiatal hernia, he reluctantly agreed to devise a plan to transfer me to an over the counter proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and slowly spread out the doses until I am again drug free.

Why is it that standard medical practice seems to be primarily based on treating or masking symptoms? Why do physicians start throwing prescriptions out like Santa throws candy in the Christmas parade? Why isn’t it standard practice to present the patient with test results and all the options available so that patient and doctor work as a team to develop a plan for optimum health? Why do doctors assume I won’t be successful?

By the end of a week of taking the sample prescription, the side effects were making me feel worse, not better. The side effect list on the 2nd drug deterred me from ever starting it. As I wean off the PPI, I am feeling better day by day. I’ve limited my caffeine, eaten smaller meals at regular intervals, increased my amount of exercise, and paid close attention to how I feel after I eat so I will know what irritates the situation.

I feel grateful that I am healthy, and I feel grateful for this episode of discomfort. I have come to recognize that acid reflux for me registered as pressure in my chest and as hunger, so I tended to feed myself to reduce the symptoms. This brought temporary relief, but also caused me to gain weight over the past few months. The additional weight made problems with acid reflux more likely. The disruption of my normal routine was a chance to recognize how I was contributing to the problem.

Yesterday, I learned that my state is one of 9 states that prescribe antibiotics to patients at a higher frequency than that of other states in the US. Now I’m wondering whether this tendency bleeds over into a tendency to overprescribe other drugs. What’s your experience with your doctor? Is he/she supportive of using diet and lifestyle changes to control disease when possible? Do you feel comfortable asking your doctor questions? Am I the only one who prefers to stay chemical free?

It is clear that today I have many more questions than answers. Sharing your experiences will help all of us gain perspective. Thanks!

Server card ad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”