Wellness on the Rise

Our “health care” system is failing and it’s no surprise why. Currently in the United States 95 cents of every health care dollar is being spent on treating illnesses or conditions after they occur. This means that LESS than 5 cents on every dollar is being spent on health education and prevention. This is staggering knowing that we are spending almost all of our health care costs on diseases and conditions that are completely preventable.

“Right now, some 75 percent of health care costs are accounted for by heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and obesity. What these five diseases and conditions have in common is that they are largely preventable and even reversible by changes in nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle,” Said Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa.

Author, M.D. and Founder of Preventive Medicine Research Institute Dr. Dean Ornish agrees saying, “Studies have shown that changing lifestyle could prevent at least 90 percent of all heart disease. Thus, the disease that accounts for more premature deaths and costs Americans more than any other illness is almost completely preventable, and even reversible, simply by changing lifestyle.”

True prevention isn’t going to your doctor to have lab work done, mammograms, vaccines or taking any sort of medication. True prevention is about living a natural lifestyle, keeping your body moving correctly, exercising, eating healthy, managing your stress and breathing healthy.

As President Obama said in his speech to Congress earlier this year: “[It is time] to make the largest investment ever in preventive care, because that's one of the best ways to keep our people healthy and our costs under control.”

Health Tip: No More Vegetable Oil

If you are going to accomplish just one health task today, it should be to throw out all the vegetable oil in your kitchen. It is one of the unhealthiest things you can have in your home.

Vegetable oil is loaded with Omega 6 fatty acids, which throws off your Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acid ratio. When you overload your system with excess Omega 6’s, as they are found in vegetable oil, it throws off the ratio in your body causing a great amount of inflammation throughout your body. Inflammation can lead to almost any disease, including cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and depression.

Replace vegetable oil with extra virgin olive oil for anything with low to no heat. If you are cooking anything above 110 degrees (to the point it will steam) use coconut oil.

Happy Fathers Day!

The bond between a family is like no other, and it gives people the power to do incredible things. Dick and Rick Hoyt are one of the amazing examples of a family who has given each other the ability to achieve something they would have never been able to do without the other. 

Dick Hoyt’s son, Rick, was born with cerebral palsy and is unable to walk or talk. In 1977, when Dick was 40 years old, Rick asked his dad if he would run with him in a local 5k. Dick already had heart conditions and was not a runner but agreed to enter the race with his son. The Hoyts came in second to last in the race, but when they got home that night Rick typed to his dad, “When I’m running, it feels like my disability disappears.” 

As of August 2008, Team Hoyt had competed in 984 fitness events, including 229 triathlons, 6 of them being IronMan competitions and 66 marathons.

How's Your Running Form?

Running can be a great way to get exercise given it’s done right. Every time your feet come into contact with the ground it disperses the impact throughout the rest of your body. Our bodies are made to run a specific way but with all the new types of un-natural footwear and altered postures most people tend to run with bad form and posture.

 

Altered running postures are ultimately going to lead to sprains, strains, fractures and eventually degeneration, typically in the hips or low back, which causes many runners to give up running for the rest of their lives.

If every single joint in your spine and hips isn’t moving correctly eventually the joints are going to degenerate. This is because the impact between your foot and the ground needs to be evenly dispersed throughout your body joint by joint, if any of these joints is fixated or stuck the impact is going to go to this same joint over and over causing it to degenerate.

Click here to view a video from New Jersey Sports Medicine and Performance CenterNew Jersey Sports Med Gait Video. After watching this video pay close attention to your form the next time you are out for a run.

Sprinters Versus Marathon Runners

What does your dream body look like? Are you setting the right goals and taking the right steps toward achieving this body?

Different types of workouts and exercises will cause your muscles to develop differently. For example, sprinters are built for speed and power where as marathon runners are built for endurance. Because of this, sprinter’s muscles tend to be much larger and burn fuel at a very fast rate, whereas marathon runners tend to have smaller muscles that burn fuel at a much slower rate.

Most people think that doing sprint workouts are only for high level athletes, but sprint workouts can be very effective for anyone at any age. Also, they typically take much less time than going for a long run. Sprint workouts can be done not only by running, but by bicycling, swimming, jump roping or any other way you can alternate fast bursts with rest periods.

Pain Killers or Proper Joint Motion?

If someone slaps your arm why does rubbing that area make it feel better? The rubbing motion actually helps to regulate the pain signals going to your brain. Every joint in your body works the same way.

When the joints are moving correctly through their full range of motion it will create the same rubbing motion which will inhibit the pain signals. When a joint isn’t moving correctly the pain signals will travel to the brain causing the sensation of pain. Would taking any sort of pain killers fix the problem or just cover it up?

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