Posts Tagged ‘Exercise’
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
Women absolutely need to exercise regularly. There are so many long-term health benefits to be enjoyed from this habit, such as increased longevity, improved heart health, and lower risk for age-related health risks. For these reasons alone, you should be working out. However, there are short-term advantages you’ll be enjoying in no time such as higher energy levels, improved mood, and better sleep. Get started with just twenty minutes three times a week and gradually increase this over time.
Tina Turbin
Tags: Advice, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, energy, Exercise, moms, momtherhood, tina turbin, Women's Health, women's issues
Posted in Advice, Author, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, Exercise, Goals, Health, High Quality of Life, Managing Life, Motherhood, Natural Alternatives, Women's Health, Women's Issues | 13 Comments »
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
How much sleep you get can make or break your day and also your health. Read on for some tips for how to get a better sleep by some simple changes to your diet.
Eating more plant carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains, can have a significant impact on your slumber. These foods help to produce a gradual, steady rise of blood insulin, helping the entrance into the brain of the amino acid tryptophan, a neurotransmitter that helps induce sleepiness and improve mood. (This explains why a glass of warm milk before bed can help to improve sleep, as it provides a dose of tryptophan while also inducing a release of insulin.)
It’s important to eliminate the foods and drinks that can disturb sleep. Caffeine—found in soda, coffee, some teas, and chocolate—will interfere with sleep if you ingest it within four hours of bedtime—sometimes even within six hours. Alcohol can cause drowsiness, but metabolizing the sugar can disrupt slumber and also cause body temperature to rise too much. Sugary foods eaten right before bed can also raise body temperature and leave you restless during the night.
Diet can also indirectly affect your sleep. If you’re overweight, you’re more likely to experience sleep apnea and its symptoms of heavy snoring and interrupted breathing. Eating a lot of simple carbohydrates (sugary treats) and refined starches (white flour and white rice), which cause blood sugar to spike and fall, may cause an imbalance in the hormones that regulate metabolism, disrupting the body’s natural rhythms and thus disrupting sleep.
It may not require a total makeover of your diet to reap the benefits of good sleep, but even some minor adjustments with these tips in mind can be helpful. The changes you make will not only improve your sleep but your overall health. There’s nothing to lose in making these changes—except your sleep troubles!
Tina Turbin
Tags: Advice, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, diet, Exercise, Health, helpful tips, nutrition, sleep, tina turbin, Women's Health
Posted in Advice, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, Exercise, Health, High Quality of Life, Managing Life, Motherhood, Natural Alternatives, Women's Health, Women's Issues | 21 Comments »
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
Step climbing is a great way to exercise for heart health while taking it easy on your joints. If you own a stair-climbing machine at home, you can use it while watching your favorite TV programs instead of sitting on the couch. You can also climb real stairs. This can be convenient for people who work in a large office building, as they can bring their tennis shoes and fit in a thirty-minute workout during lunchtime. Another alternative is to use a step platform and use it with a low-impact step aerobics DVD. Make sure to choose a DVD that’s specifically geared toward low-impact.
Tina Turbin
Tags: Baby Boomers, Exercise, Health, low-impact exercise, stairclimbing, tina turbin, Women's Health
Posted in Advice, Author, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, Exercise, Health, Motherhood, Women's Health | 31 Comments »
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
Recently, I’ve begun talking about how important it is for women to maintain balanced hormones as they age. Hormones are essential to every cell in the body. When they’re out of balance, you yourself are out of balance!
Getting more sleep is the most effective way of naturally increasing growth hormones. Usually seven to eight hours of sleep is sufficient. Go to bed a little earlier or get up later by getting certain morning activities out of the way the night before, such as showering and packing your lunch before bed.
A diet change is also an effective way to change the balance of your hormones. Eliminate all artificial sweeteners, making sure to take fish oil and vitamins D, B and CoQ10 in your daily supplements, and avoiding foods that stress your adrenals such as alcohol and caffeine. As you age, you may also need to begin avoiding dairy and wheat products, as the body can becomes less able to process them, causing physical stress. I maintain a gluten-free diet and find that my hormonal levels have benefited from this diet change.
Exercise helps to stimulate the body’s production of hormones, making you feel better. Going for fast-paced walks for at least thirty minutes three times a week can make a big difference, especially if you’re usually sedentary.
It is becoming clearer with increased research that hormone levels have a lot to do with how a person feels physically, mentally, and emotionally. It’s also becoming clear that not regulating these hormones can have serious effects on your health and well-being. Try these natural remedies to bring balance to your hormones!
Tina Turbin
Tags: Aging, Baby Boomers, diet, Exercise, Health, hormonal imbalance, hormones, nutition, tina turbin, Tina Turbin researcher, vitamins, Women's Health, women's issues
Posted in Advice, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, Exercise, Health, Natural Alternatives, Women's Health, Women's Issues | 26 Comments »
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
The National Sleep Foundation offers a few tips which I’ll pass along. First, make sure bedtime is a routine and relaxing affair; keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and cool. Make sure to exercise regularly, but make sure you don’t exercise in the evenings, as this can interfere with your ability to fall asleep. Next, avoid caffeine for at least eight hours and alcohol for a few hours before you go to sleep. You may not think your cola from dinner at five o’clock is disrupting your sleep at midnight; not only can it prevent you from falling asleep, but it can interrupt your sleep throughout the night. Finally, make your bedroom your bedroom, removing work, paperwork, computers, and the TV; by associating your bedroom only with sleep, you’ll find it much easier to get a good night’s sleep.
I truly believe that the quality of your sleep determines the quality of your waking life. Just as you can’t afford to not eat right and exercise, it’s imperative to handle any sleep problems you may be having.
Tina Turbin
Tags: Advice, Baby Boomers, diet, Exercise, Health, helpful tips, nutrition, sleep, tina turbin, Tina Turbin researcher, Women's Health
Posted in Advice, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, Exercise, Health, High Quality of Life, Managing Life, Motherhood, Natural Alternatives, Women's Health, Women's Issues | 13 Comments »
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
First, remember that it’s never too late to start. No matter your age or your fitness level, you can get started now and soon see your work pay off. Remember, though, to check with your doctor before starting an exercise regime if you’re currently experiencing any health conditions such as high blood pressure.
Start off gently. In your first workouts, remember you’re a beginner and don’t overdo it. Start off by warming up and stretching every time you exercise, and gently cool off after each work out as well.
Find what works for you. What really gets you going? Do you like to go for a jog with the dogs and reflect upon your day, or do you prefer competitive games with others such as one-on-one basketball? There are a variety of ways to get exercise, and every woman is different—going to the gym, doing laps in your pool, or working out to DVDs. Discovering the ways you love to get active can be lots of fun.
Studies show that keeping variety in your exercise is the key to keeping your body challenged and keeping you interested in working out. How would you like to eat the same thing for dinner every night? Exercise isn’t very different.
Make sure to have a high-protein snack of about 200 calories before your workout in order to stay energized, and drink water before, during, and after your workout. Taking your multi-vitamin and supplements such as calcium and magnesium will deliver to the body the nutrients it needs for exercise. A healthy diet and exercise go hand in hand.
With the above tips, soon you’ll be enjoying a regular exercise regimen just like I do—as well as the incredible benefits such as increased happiness, more energy, and improved self-esteem.
Tina Turbin
Tags: Advice, anti-aging, Baby Boomers, Exercise, Health, helpful tips, tina turbin, tips, Women's Health
Posted in Advice, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, Exercise, Goals, Health, High Quality of Life, Managing Life, Motherhood, Natural Alternatives, Women's Health, Women's Issues | 15 Comments »
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Boomers these days are looking to strengthen their heart with regular cardiovascular exercise while avoiding the wear and tear on joints that such exercise can cause. The answer is to look for low-impact exercise that works the heart while at the same time preserving your joints. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 3-5 days of cardio for about 30-60 minutes. A regular routine of cardio exercise has many benefits, such as weight loss, stronger heart and lungs, increased bone density, reduced stress, and reduced risk of heart disease, some cancers, and depression and anxiety. It also boosts mood, reduces stress, improves the quality of sleep, and increases energy, among other advantages. With so many benefits, no wonder why so many boomers are getting into a regular routine of cardio exercise!
It’s important, however, to choose low-impact exercise which is gentler on the joints, especially if you suffer from arthritis. Low impact doesn’t mean low intensity, though. Low-impact exercise can be quite intense when you increase the energy in your moves. Luckily, there are a variety of low-impact choices available for boomers to choose from.
Tina Turbin
Tags: Advice, Aging, anti-aging, Baby Boomers, cardio exercise, Exercise, Health, low-impact exercise, tina turbin, tips, Women's Health
Posted in Advice, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, Exercise, Health, Women's Health | 13 Comments »
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Omega-3 oils reduce your risk of age-related problems, decreasing your chances of developing macular degeneration, the number one cause of blindness in people over the age of sixty-five, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia. The physical appearance changes that go along with aging are also reduced. Omega-3 oils will return to your skin its natural oils, which the environment, sun, and harsh weather conditions strip away. This results in a glowing complexion. Studies also show a link to increased effectiveness of weight loss programs, probably due to the fact that polyunsaturated fats increase the ability of enzymes to burn fat.
So how much should you take? The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating fish twice a week, especially fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon. These are high in EPA and DHA. The AHA also recommends eating tofu and other soybean products and canola, walnut, and flaxseed, and their oils, which contain (LNA), which can become omega-3 fatty acid in the body, but more research is needed in order to establish that there’s cause-and-effect relationship between alpha-linolenic acid and preventing heart disease. On the AHA website, you can find exact recommendations on how much omega-3 oils to eat each day.
As with a many good-for-you supplements, you may not notice changes right away, but within a few weeks, I suspect you’ll start to reap the benefits of an improved complexion, higher endurance, and increased ability to concentrate. In the end, you’re investing not only in your current physical and mental well-being, but also in your future as you age.
Tina Turbin
Tags: Aging, anti-aging, Baby Boomers, diet, Exercise, fish oil, Health, nutrition, omega-3 oils, tina turbin, Women's Health
Posted in Advice, Author, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, Cooking, Gluten-Free, Health, High Quality of Life, Natural Alternatives, Recipes, Women's Health, Women's Issues | 11 Comments »
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
This means eating a real breakfast in the morning packed with protein. You may think you’re saving time by skimping on breakfast or you’ll insist that you’re not that hungry in the mornings, but I’m telling you that if you’re missing out on this meal, you’re missing out for the rest of the day on valuable energy. Skipping a meal is like trying to run your car without fuel; it’s totally unworkable. Without enough blood sugar, you won’t be able to think or function clearly, and even if you eat later on, your blood sugar level won’t recover. Nutritional studies show that not getting enough blood sugar in the morning affects you the entire rest of the day. This causes your adrenal glands to go into action, raising the level of the hormone, cortisol. Draining your adrenals and running on cortisol will make you feel exhausted and crave sugar and caffeinated drinks for a quick fix. I recommend eating a little, healthy protein-filled meal every three hours to keep yourself fueled.
Another important aspect of diet is increasing your daily intake of protein. Many women don’t get enough of this nutrient. Protein keeps you energized by sustaining your blood sugar level much longer than carbohydrate-packed foods. It also stimulates dopamine production, a neurotransmitter that keeps you more alert, and keeps your energy up by raising your metabolic rate. Cut out carbohydrate-packed snacks and replace them with healthy proteins like walnuts, almonds, cheese, etc.
Drinking enough water is also an essential way to keep your energy up. Some people often mistake signs of dehydration for fatigue. Your cells need water in order to function at their optimum level, and coffee or diet soda isn’t going to cut it. Tea is often a good idea, but I recommend keeping a water bottle with you and sipping from it all day. You should aim for eight glasses of water daily.
Tina Turbin
Tags: Advice, anti-aging, Baby Boomers, diet, energy, Exercise, Health, nutrition, protein, tina turbin, tina turbin author, Tina Turbin researcher, Tina Turbin writer, vitamins, Women's Health
Posted in Advice, Author, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, Cooking, Exercise, Gluten-Free, Health, High Quality of Life, Managing Life, Motherhood, Natural Alternatives, Organize, Parents, Recipes, Women's Health, Women's Issues | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
What you gain by exercising on your overall well-being include a variety of advantages—increased relaxation and ability to handle stress, better sleep, a more positive mood, and boosted immune function. What’s more, it decreases your chances of developing serious health conditions, such as osteoporosis and cancer, and can lengthen your life span.
Studies show that overweight women are more likely to develop serious health risks such as heart disease, cancers, and stroke. By using up oxygen and causing the body to burn stored fat, exercise can help you maintain a normal weight. If you go for a four-mile walk four times a way, you’ll burn about 1,600 calories—about half a pound a week. After a year, this amounts to a loss of twelve pounds—twenty-four pounds after a year! Studies estimate that for each pound of muscle you add to your body, you will burn an additional thirty-five to fifty calories per day; an extra five pounds of muscle will burn about 175-250 calories a day, or an extra pound of fat every two to three weeks.
Another healthy benefit of regular exercise is stronger bones. Regular, moderate exercise, in particular weight-bearing exercises, increases bone mass, making bones stronger and making you less likely to develop osteoporosis and arthritis and suffer debilitating accidents such as falling as you age.
Finally, exercise can also help women deal with stress better and improve their mood. Studies show that regular exercise reduces the release of stress hormones and it produces chemical changes which affect your mood, reducing symptoms of depression and other psychological disorders. Research suggests that lower stress levels and a happier mood boosts immune function and lengthens the life span significantly.
It’s important for women to understand the benefits of exercise on their overall physical and mental well-being, and it’s easy to get started on implementing a regular exercise routine!
Tina Turbin
Tags: Advice, Baby Boomers, Exercise, Health, moms, Motherhood, nutrition, tina turbin, tina turbin author, Tina Turbin researcher, Women's Health, women's issues
Posted in Advice, Author, Baby Boomers, Being a Mom, Exercise, Goals, Health, High Quality of Life, Managing Life, Motherhood, Organize, Women's Health, Women's Issues | No Comments »
