That's the question I had while working out at my gym this morning. Normally, I just jump on the treadmill or the elliptical machine and start going at it. This morning however, I remember my mother (who is very health conscious even at 77) telling me that I should always check my resting heart rate before beginning an exercise routine. So that is what I did.
I gripped the monitor on the side of my treadmill. The little red heart on the screen flashed out the number 71.
Okay, so my resting heart rate is 71, but what does that mean?
Is that good or bad? I didn't have a clue.
Fortunately, I have a great wife (who is very health conscious even at.....Nope, not going there. I might not know about heart rates but I ain't stupid about everything) so I gave her a call. She went on the internet and sent me a link from Dr. Ed Laskowski with the Mayo Clinic, whom provided the following information.
For an adult, a normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm). For a well-trained athlete, a normal resting heart rate may be as low as 40 to 60 bpm. In healthy adults, a lower heart rate at rest generally implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness.
To measure your heart rate at home, simply check your pulse. Place two fingers on the thumb side of your wrist, or place your index and third fingers on your neck to the side of your windpipe. When you feel your pulse, look at your watch and count the number of beats in 15 seconds. Multiply this number by 4 to get your heart rate per minute.
Keep in mind that many factors can influence heart rate, including:
Activity level
Fitness level
Air temperature
Body position (standing up or lying down, for example)
Emotions
Body size
Medication use
Although there's a wide range of normal, an unusually high or low heart rate may indicate an underlying problem. Consult your doctor if your resting heart rate is consistently above 100 bpm (tachycardia) or below 60 bpm (bradycardia) — especially if you have other signs or symptoms, such as fainting, dizziness or shortness of breath.
So now that I know 71 ain't too shabby I'm going to hit this treadmill for the next 30 minutes. Will get back at you all later.
Peace.
It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... All before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...
God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!
God's Pharmacy!
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
Tomatoeshave four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
Walnuts look like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys. Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
Olivesassist the health and function of the ovaries
Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.
Happy New Year, I wish all of you all the best in 2010. This prescription was offered by a friend as one of the best ways to achieve a happy and fulfilled life.
Let me know what you think.
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water 2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar 3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants 4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy 5. Make time for prayer 6. Play more games 7. Read more books than you did in 2009 8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day 9. Sleep for 7 hours 10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day ---- and while you walk, smile
Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment 13.. Don't over do ; keep your limits 14. Don't take yourself so seriously ; no one else does 15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip 16.. Dream more while you are awake 17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.. 18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness. 19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others. 20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present 21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you 22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime. 23. Smile and laugh more 24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Community:
25. Call your family often 26. Each day give something good to others 27. Forgive everyone for everything 28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6 29. Try to make at least three people smile each day 30. What other people think of you is none of your business 31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick... Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right things 33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful 34. GOD heals everything 35.. However good or bad a situation is, it will change 36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up 37. The best is yet to come 38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it 39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
In my quest to stay healthy I have routinely turned to taking vitamins. But, I haven't always taken the time to research exactly what it is that I am putting in my body in the name of good health.
According to a recent NY Times article: Americans love vitamins. About half of adults take a daily multivitamin, according to industry data. And according to some theories, the economic downturn has inspired them to fortify themselves by swallowing more.
Sales over the last decade had been growing by about 4 percent annually. But this year, as more people are taking their health into their own hands, perhaps hoping to stave off doctor bills, vitamin sales are expected to grow by 8 percent to a total of $9.2 billion, according to Nutrition Business Journal, a market researcher and publisher.
About 42 percent of shoppers purchase their vitamins at natural and specialty retail outlets, like GNC and Whole Foods, according to the journal, while only 23 percent take the discount approach and buy their bottles at supermarkets and club stores. The other 35 percent buy through mail order or from a health care provider.
Of course, it’s controversial whether we should be taking vitamins at all. Recent studies have indicated that taking a multivitamin won’t protect you from heart disease or cancer. And experts maintain that if you eat well, you don’t need vitamin supplements.
“The evidence shows that a healthy diet and exercise are the best way to ward off disease; a vitamin cannot replace those benefits,” says Eric Rimm, associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.
But what if you don’t eat well or are chronically stressed out? Then, Professor Rimm says, there may be some benefit from taking a multivitamin.
As for the matter of cost: If you take only a daily multivitamin mainly as a medical insurance policy, it certainly won’t hurt your health — as long as you do not already eat a lot of fortified food. And it could help. But it will require spending some money. And if you take a multivitamin and a few individual vitamins and minerals, it’s even more worth your while to make sure you’re not paying more than you need to.
Here’s how to get the most vitamin for the least money.
USE ONLY WHAT YOU NEED Popping too many vitamin pills is not only a waste of money but can be bad for your health. Talk to your doctor about what added vitamins or minerals you might require; you can ask for a blood test to learn what you might be lacking.
For example, if you don’t get enough vitamin D — many people who live in the northern states or who wear sunscreen everyday are low on this crucial vitamin — then buy just a D supplement. Standard multivitamins will probably not have the levels of D you require (many doctors suggest taking 1,000 to 2,000 international units a day).
If your doctor recommends a specific supplement, like omega-3, ask in what form you should be taking it.
FIND A REPUTABLE SOURCE Vitamins and minerals are commodity items, and every manufacturer has access to the same ingredients. For that reason, researchers and scientists say paying more for a name brand won’t necessarily buy you better vitamins.
“When we measure levels of vitamins in the blood, we find the levels are the same whether the person was taking a generic brand or a name brand,” says Dr. Rimm, who has been studying the effects of vitamins for 20 years.
That said, don’t be too cheap. Purchase your vitamins from well-known retailers that do a brisk business and restock frequently, whether that’s Costco or Drugstore.com. Vitamins lose their potency over time and must be stored at, or below, room temperature. If bottles are sitting on a shelf in warm room or in direct sunlight, they may degrade even before their expiration date.
PRICE MAY NOT MEAN QUALITY While the Food and Drug Administration regulates vitamins as part of the nutritional supplement industry, it does not test them before they are put on the shelves. The F.D.A. places the responsibility on the manufacturer to ensure that its dietary supplement products are safe before they are marketed. All of which means that no matter what the price, quality is not assured. ConsumerLab.com, a company based in White Plains that tests hundreds of vitamins each year, finds that 30 percent of multivitamins have a quality problem: the pills might have more or less of a stated ingredient, or they might not dissolve properly.
“We haven’t found any brand with a broad product line that makes every product well,” says Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of the company.
Taking exception to such assertions is the vitamin industry’s trade group, the Council for Responsible Nutrition. In response to questions, the council released a statement from Andrew Shao, a vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs.
Mr. Shao said that the F.D.A. allowed for “a reasonable amount of variation” — which he characterized as up to 15 percent more of an ingredient than the label might indicate. Mr. Shao said that manufacturers frequently add slightly more of an ingredient to ensure that the amount is at least at the level claimed on the label as the product nears the end of its shelf life.
In any case, ConsumerLab.com says it has found a few patterns that consumers may find helpful. Products sold by vitamin chains tend to be more reliable than drugstore brands, and Wal-Mart and Costco’s vitamin lines are usually worth considering. In a recent test of multivitamins, ConsumerLab.com found that Equate-Mature Multivitamin 50+ sold by Wal-Mart was just as good as the name brand Centrum Silver, but at less than a nickel a day is half the price.
Puritan’s Pride, a catalog and online retailer, also has very good prices, and Dr. Cooperman says that its products are generally good.
Curious consumers can subscribe to ConsumerLab.com for $30 a year and learn how other supplement brands fare in the lab’s tests.
CERTIFICATION SYMBOLS One quality check you can make, although it is not a perfect screening, is to see whether a product is certified by one of several nonprofit organizations that check supplements for purity and quality.
The two most commonly used groups are the United States Pharmacopeia (www.usp.org) and NSF International (www.nsf.org), according to Mr. Shao. Manufacturers voluntarily submit a product for review and, if it passes, the product can bear an approval seal, such as USP or NSF. Because the process is voluntary, Mr. Shao points out, the absence of the seal does not necessarily mean the product is of poor quality.
But at least the seal should mean you know what you’re getting. And with vitamins, anything beyond that simple assurance may not be worth paying for.
I was heading home the other evening on the orange line of the Metro when the woman in the seat next to where I was standing in the crowded car, begins sneezing and sniffling. To her credit the woman did sneeze into the crook of her arm, just like the President showed us to do, but I still wasn’t liking the fact that I was standing so near to her.
I shifted on my feet for an uncomfortable for a few seconds, trying to figure out my course of action. Maybe I have an overabundance of the polite gene in my makeup, because I was hesitant about bolting and thereby calling attention to the sneezing woman. But when the lady sneezed again and followed it with a cough, I knew I had to book.
I slowly shouldered my way through the bodies pressed against me and worked my way to the far end of the car, as far away from Swine Flu Sue as I could get.
The sneezing woman shot me a dirty look, obviously taking offense at my retreat. I’m sure she didn’t appreciate me acting as if she were contagious. Hey, but you can’t fault a brotha for being cautious, particularly with all the buzz about H1N1.
That was a few days ago. Today, my head is throbbing and I’m sneezing. I’m hoping it is just a cold and nothing more.
To ease my suffering I resorted to the old school remedy of honey, apple cider vinegar and lemon, with a bit of a twist–whiskey. I’ve been downing spoonfuls of the elixir all morning long. And although I’m still sneezing, I’m feeling mighty good.
Getting the runaround Originally uploaded by van heland
By Carl Chancellor
I’m lifting weights. I’m burning up the miles on the treadmill. So why aren’t the pounds just melting away?
The reality is that without changing your diet and monitoring your caloric intake you are not going to shed those extra pounds.
Thinking that you will be able to gorge yourself at the kitchen table and then jog off the after effects of over indulgence is just not going to happen.
Researchers have found that people who exercise don’t necessarily lose weight. A study recently published in the The British Journal of Sports Medicine documents that disappointing but very real fact.
The study followed 58 overweight people as they underwent 12 weeks of supervised aerobic training without changing their diets. The results: the group lost an average of around seven pounds. Some of the study subjects lost less than four pounds.
How can that be? Hard exercise for 12 straight weeks and barely shed a few pounds. I mean, doesn’t exercise burn calories?
The quick answer is, yes. The problem is that most people only burn 200 to 300 calories in a typical 30-minute exercise session. You will put almost that many calories right back into your body when you reach for that bottle of Gatorade to cool off.
The only way to lose weight is through a combination of exercise and diet.
Push-ups ain’t going to help if you don’t push yourself away from the table first.
That fact comes across like an uppercut square to the chin in the new biography Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson, byWilHaygood.
The book captures the elegance, grace, pride and determination of one of the all time great boxers as it chronicles a life framed by the brutality of the ring and the turmoil of 20th century America.
Haygood, who is as artistic with the pen as Robinson was with his fists, crafts a lyrical biography that excites and enthralls as surely as Sugar Ray did in his many professional and amateur bouts. Robinson literally punches his way off the pages of Sweet Thunder to step away from mere facts and statistics–174-19-6 record; welterweight and 5-time middleweight champion–to become a flesh and blood character as real as a favorite uncle.
The prose of Haygood’s detail-rich book not only evokes the rage and fury of the ring but depicts the cultural upheaval of the 30s, 40s, 50s and early 60s.
Sweet Thunder is populated by iconic figures, who orbited around Robinson’s sun–Miles Davis, Lena Horne, Jake LaMotta, Langston Hughes, Sammy Davis, etc....The book faithfully paints a picture of the man and his times.
Be warned the book is a page-turner. Once you crack it open and start to read you will be down for the count.
I am a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a keen observer of the human condition. I have written and published a collection of short stories--Soul Songs.
