Archive for January, 2009
January 20th, 2009
Last month, when we were preparing to make a HealthyRockford.com year-end video for 2008, I looked online for the top quotations ever made on the subject of health for help in writing the introduction.
I was just rifling my desk for something else and found the printout I made of the quotes. Upon reading them again, I thought “Gee, some of these are actually pretty good advice.” Here’s a sample of their wisdom:
“As I see it, every day you do one of two things: build health or produce disease in yourself,” — Adelle Davis.
“What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn’t much better than tedious disease,” — George Dennison Prentice.
 ”Health is not valued till sickness comes,” — Dr. Thomas Fuller.
“Health is not simply the absence of sickness,” — Hannah Green.
“To insure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life,” — William Londen.
Even some that were meant to be funny are worth thinking about.
“There’s lots of people who spend so much time watching their health, they haven’t got the time to enjoy it,” — Josh Billings.
“It’s no longer a question of staying healthy. It’s a question of finding a sickness you like,” –Jackie Mason.
And, of course, “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”Â
January 19th, 2009
One of the more enthusiastic people I’ve met since starting to work on HealthyRockford.com is Willow Junya, the owner of Thai Cuisine restaurant on E. Riverside Boulevard.
In Willow’s culture, everything that goes into the body is medicine — food as much as anything — and he is an avid student and practitioner of healthy eating.
So it was interesting when he included in a newsletter he writes for his customers and other acquaintances, his thoughts Â
about foods to help boost the immune system.Â
Here are his recommendations:Â
 Yogurt — Packs a healthy dose of good bacteria that can protect the body against harmful bacteria and infections.
 Turmeric — Found in every yellow curry, and its golden color comes from curcumin, a polyphenol with strong cold and flu-fighting properties.
Garlic — Much of its immune-boosting properties come from its sulfur-containing compounds, which also give the bulb its aroma, particularly one called allicin. The compounds are effective against bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections. They also enhance the immune system and have anti-tumor and antioxidant features which help guard cells from everyday wear and tear.
Oregano — Its antioxidant activity is due to a high content of phenolic acids and flavonoids, color compounds that are also anti-inflammatory. It can protect against the common cold, influenza, fevers and indigestion. One of the little-known facts about Willow is that he loves to cook Italian and has developed several healthy recipes along that line.
Red bell peppers – They have twice the vitamin C of most vitamin C-containing fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C is know to maintain the skin, which is the body’s first line of defense against microbes and viruses. It may also help to increase white blood cel count and antibody production.
Green tea — Has undergone minimal oxidation during drying and processing and some studies highlight a compound called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, a powerful antioxidant that has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
Ginger — Often recommended as a tea or bath for those with a cold or flu because it is helpful in increasing sweat production, which may help get rid of germs and sweat out toxins.
Oyster — Often thought of as one of nature’s most potent aphrodisiacs, probably because of their high zinc content which is necessary for testosterone production. In any event, zinc is good for protecting the body against colds and flu.Â
Broccoli — A source of vitamins, A, C and E. It is also high in glucosinolates, which stiumulate the body’s immune system. It also has a high concentration of sulforaphanes, which are potent anticancer agents.
 Willow advocates incorporating these foods into your diet as well as regular exercise to help boost your immune system, stay healthy and boost energy levels.
January 8th, 2009
As people survey the scene of a disaster, it seems someone always says, “Well, at least we have our health.”
Of course, they’re right.
And with the ongoing disaster known as the current U.S. economy threatening to hang on for a long while, it’s more important than ever to make sure the health you have is good health.
As an example, one of my personal training clients who operates several manufacturing plants in northern Illinois, says that because of the financial collapses on Wall Street the plans of every one of his employees aged 62 to 64 to retire in the next one to four years have been destroyed.
 If they’re lucky enough that my client can keep them in jobs for that long — and he’s not so sure of that — they will have to work an extra three to five years, until they are 68 or 69, and hope things get substantially better in that time just to get close to where they were before last year.
That’s another 600 to 1,000 times that they have to be healthy enough to answer the bell. My guess is that the same is probably true for every other worker, regardless of age.
If, like me, you can’t remember the last time you saw your primary care physician, I suggest you make an appointment. If you don’t exercise regularly, start. If you smoke, try to quit.
You know the rest — eat right by giving up the refined carbs and sugars and going for more whole grains and fruits and vegetables, including the green, leafy kind; get plenty of sleep; learn ways to deal with stress and so on.
The main thing is to find a plan that fits you and stick to it, even if it takes several tries before you succeed.
Nobody knows how bad the economy is going to get, but you’ll always have your health.
January 5th, 2009
When I read the story on HealthyRockford.com today about an exercise room designed for holding meetings, I was reminded of the reaction of Will Smith’s character in the movie “Independence Day” as he looks inside an alien space ship he has just downed in a dogfight.
It goes something like “I gotta get me one of these.”
The story, at http://www.healthyrockford.com/homepage/x1277304555/Board-meeting-too-boring-Take-a-hike-instead talks about a Buffalo, N.Y.-area health club that has opened a room in which the meeting participants can get a workout on treadmills or elliptical trainers during their discussion instead of munching donuts, falling asleep or whatever.
It seems like Rockford, which traditionally does a lot of its meeting in the early morning, would be a perfect place for this. The participants could get in a morning workout, get their business accomplished and be ready to hit the office invigorated for the day.
Of course, there would be a couple of things to work out about the workout. The meeting participants would most likely want a place to wash off the workout and they would probably still need to eat breakfast so a place that could provide the workout might also have to offer those too.
I can think of only two or three places in town that might be able to pull this off without a huge new investment but fitness trends change all the time and we can always dream.
