The Rehab Connection

Going Green with Your Fitness!

With Earth Day last month (April 22^nd) there has been a lot of talk about “Going Green” to help save the environment and improve your health. So, this month I thought I would look at ways to “green” up our workouts.

Did you know that electronically powered exercise machines require a lot of energy to operate? Now that the weather is beginning to warm up, you should consider unplugging your workouts and take to the great outdoors. The only energy required for these workouts is your own. Walking, hiking, biking, and running are all great cardiovascular exercises. Lunges, squats, push-ups, pull-ups and step-ups are strength training exercises that require your body weight for resistance. Why not consider combining these two types of exercises every few minutes to create a circuit. Not only will you get a great workout, but some fresh air and re-connection with nature.

If you cannot get outside, you can still save on your energy bill by creating at-home workouts using equipment that does not need to be plugged in. Of course, you can do body weight exercises as described above, you could also use dumbbells, elastic tubing, jump-ropes and self-powered cardio machines such as spinning bikes and rowing machines. Think outside the box!

Believe it or not, you can “Go Green” with your workout clothes, too. When choosing workout gear, consider choosing clothes made of organic cotton, bamboo or other natural fibers. Look for clothes that contain a minimal amount of (if any) synthetic fibers like lycra and are created by companies with sustainable business models and fair labor practices. Also look for clothes made of recycled materials, such as sneakers with recycled rubber soles, vegan and biodegradable materials. Check out www.GreatGreenShoes.com and www.Brooksrunning.com for some great buys.

Speaking of recycling, there are actually places where you can recycle your worn out clothes. Patagonia has a “Common Threads Garment Recycling” program where you can recycle Polartec® fleece clothing and cotton T-shirts. Visit www.pategonia.com for more information. Nike is now recycling old sneakers and turning them into basketball courts, running tracks and playgrounds, too.

Of course the best way to be eco-friendly is to stop buying water in bottles and consider using your own water bottle with filtered water. Even if you recycle your water bottles (less than 20 percent of water bottles are recycled each year), think of the money you would save bottling your own tap water!

So, I hope that you will all try to take some baby steps in “Going Green” with not only your workouts, but in other aspects in your life as well.

Fitness, Not Fat, Better Predictor of Health

Many of us battle with weight and trying to lower our body fat levels in an attempt to be healthier. According to the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, people over age 60 who had higher levels of cardio-respiratory fitness lived longer than unfit adults, independent of body fat.

Researchers looked at the association between fitness level, body fat and death in 2603 men and women aged 60 or older over a period of 12 years. Participants who died during the study (there were 450 deaths) were older, had lower fitness levels and had more cardiovascular risk factors than survivors. However, there were no significant differences in body fat measurements.

As reported in the December 5 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (2007; 298 (21), 2507-16), participants in the fitter groups were less likely to have cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, or high cholesterol. Death rates for fitter subjects were less than half the rates of those who were unfit.

“...we observed that fit individuals who were obese (such as those with BMI of 30.0-34.9, abdominal obesity, or excessive percent body fat) had a lower risk of all-cause mortality than did unfit, normal-weight, or lean individuals. Our data therefore suggest that fitness levels in older individuals influence the association of obesity to mortality,” the authors write.

“Our data provide further evidence regarding the complex long-term relationship among fitness, body size, and survival. It may be possible to reduce all-cause death rates among older adults, including those who are obese, by promoting regular physical activity, such as brisk walking for 30 minutes or more on most days of the week.”

This is great news for all of us who may struggle with exercise and losing weight.

Energy Drinks May Pose Danger!

Downing an “energy drink” may boost blood pressure as well as energy, researchers said in a small study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2007.

In the study, conducted by Wayne State University researchers, blood pressure and heart rate levels increased in healthy adults who drank two cans a day of a popular energy drink.

While the increases didn’t reach dangerous levels in the healthy volunteers, the increases in blood pressure and heart rate could prove to be clinically significant in patients with heart disease or in those who consume energy drinks often, said James Kalus, Pharm.D., senior manager of Patient Care Services at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich., and a former Wayne State researcher who led the study.

Most energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine (as much as one to two cups of coffee) and taurine, an amino acid also found in protein-containing foods such as meats and fish. Both have had effects on heart function and blood pressure in some studies. In contrast, “sports drinks” in general contain various mixtures of water, sugars and salts alone, without chemicals aimed at increasing “energy” or alertness.

“While energy drinks increase concentration and wakefulness, people with risk factors for heart disease could have a bad reaction.”

The researchers are unsure what effect exercise, or the combination with alcohol, has on a person who drinks energy drinks. Blood pressure and heart rate naturally go up during physical activity, Kalus said. “This could be further augmented by energy drinks. Energy drinks could affect some individuals if they didn’t know they had a problem in the first place,” he said. “The study raises some concerns.”

Visit www.americanheart.org for more information

Diabetics: 'Low Glycemic' Diet Helpful

Glycemic index, or GI, refers to how rapidly a food causes blood sugar to rise. High-GI foods, like white bread and potatoes, tend to spur a quick surge in blood sugar, while low-GI foods, such as lentils, soybeans, yogurt and many high-fiber grains, create a more gradual increase in blood sugar.

Dr. Tonja R. Nansel of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and colleagues tested the effects of high GI and low GI meals on blood sugar levels.

The findings, reported in the journal Diabetes Care, suggest that a low GI diet can improve blood sugar control "to a clinically meaningful degree above that obtained by careful carbohydrate counting and contemporary insulin regimens," Nansel noted in comments to Reuters Health.

"When consuming the low GI diet, blood glucose (sugar) levels were in the target range 66 percent of the time compared to 47 percent of the time when consuming the high GI diet," she explained. "This difference was statistically significant."

When consuming the low GI diet, study subjects also demonstrated significantly lower daytime average blood sugar levels compared to the high GI diet and fewer blood sugar excursions.

"It is plausible" based on the results of this study, Nansel said, "that a low glycemic index diet may reduce the dose of insulin required while improving blood sugar control.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care April, 2008.