SMARTHEALTHYOUR GUIDE TO HEALTHY LIVING

LOSEBELLYFAT

YOGAWHAT YOU NEED

TO KNOW TODO IT RIGHT

Motivating YourMETABOLISM

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6YOGA4WHAT YOU NEED TOKNOW TO DO IT RIGHT

MOTIVATINGYOUR

METABOLISM

SMARTHEALTH

8SPICEOF LIFEA TASTY WAY TOIMPROVE YOUR HEALTH

11FADETOGRAYGOING GRAY? EVERYBODY DOES IT

10

12LOSE BELLY FATTHE GOOD NEWS ONLOSING THAT GUT

14

SAY WHAT?TURNING DOWN

THE MP3 VOLUME

ARE YOUVITAMIN D-EFICIENT?THE FOODS YOU MUST EAT

The information in this publication does not constitutemedical advice and is not intended to be a substitutefor proper medical care provided by a physician. Entirepublication © Digital Access 2009. All rights reserved.Any reference to other organizations or companies,including their Internet sites, is not an endorsementor warranty of the services, information or productsprovided by them.

COVER IMAGE BYENTHUSIAST_ROCKS

YOGAWHAT YOU NEED TOKNOW TO DO IT RIGHT

Yoga is more popular than ever,with classes offered in just aboutevery health club and yoga studiosopening across the country. Itgoes beyond the usual sort ofworkout, combining strength andflexibility training with stress-relief techniques. And once youlearn some yoga, you’re free todo it anywhere you like: at home,on vacation or on a business trip.Yet many people are afraid to tryyoga because they think theyhave to be as fit as Madonna andready to bend into a pretzel.

It’s true that Madonna’s favorite,Ashtanga yoga, is pretty strenuous(it’s also called Power Yoga), but thereare milder types, such as Hatha andIyengar, that are good for beginners.There are also classes out therespecifically for seniors, children orpeople with medical conditions. Ifyou have a condition or are new toexercise, it’s a good idea to checkwith your doctor before trying a class.

Most sessions begin with breathingexercises and chanting “Om,” which hasa relaxing effect and helps you to con-centrate on themovements to come. Therest of the class consists of a series ofstretching and strengthening poses, anda good teacher will tell you the impor-tant thing is to stretch in a certaindirection, not necessarily to touch thefloor with your palms, for example. Mostclasses, even some more challengingones, will provide you with blocks, cush-ions and bands to help you achieve theposes without overextending yourself.

If any move or pose becomes too much,it’s OK to take a break. Your goal shouldbe to test your body’s limits, but nottoo much. At the end of the session,your reward is to lie on your mat, relaxand meditate on how good your bodyfeels after all your hard work.

And you never know; if you keepat it, you may find that you’re up totrying Ashtanga!

YOGA FOR BEGINNERS >GET STARTED ON YOUR NEW JOURNEY WITH AN INTRODUCTION TO YOGA

SMARTHEALTH 5

EAT YOURBREAKFASTYou heard it fromyour mother for years.Breakfast is the most

important meal. Though you may not behungry when you first awake, eating some-thing will kick start your metabolism andkeep it going all day long. Carbohydratesand whole grains are your best bet for gen-erating energy and curbing your hunger.

MOTIVATING YOUR METABOLISMDoctors and nutritionists agree that a fast metabolism is a key to long

term health, fitness and weight control. The idea: energy, calorie burning and

immunity to some sicknesses are among the benefits of a healthy metabolism.

HERE ARE SOME SIMPLE TIPS TO SPEEDING UP YOUR METABOLISM:

SHORTENUPON SUGAR

Foods with processed andrefined sugar slow down yourmetabolism because they takelonger for the body to process.Complex carbohydrates aremuch better: they have the

right amount of sugar for yourbody digest efficiently and

quickly. Fresh fruits, peanuts,beans and cheese fit the bill. THINK B

These eight water-solublevitamins play importantroles in cell metabolism.When deprived of these

vitamins, the body is left feeling fatiguedand depressed which can cause weightgain, offset some diseases and slow downthe metabolism. Foods high in B vitamins(including thiamine, ribolfavin and niacin)include spinach, broccoli, beans, asparagus,melon, broccoli, eggs and chicken.

MORE B6 AND B12 RICH FOODS >

6 SMARTHEALTH

DRINK UP!Drinking water will help flush

the body of poisons andhelps keep the metabolismon an even keel. Ice coldwater has been proven to

actually jump start themetabolism while staving

off feelings of hunger.Conversely, alcohol is adepressant. It depresses

your metabolism and causesan increase in appetite.

EXERCISE.EXERCISE.EXERCISE.As the body ages, it burns calories more slowly. The bestsolution is to build lean muscle with cardio exercise, roughly20-30 minutes per day. Add to that a little weight trainingthree times a week for increased weight loss.

TRADE COFFEE FOR TEACoffee contains the kind of caffeine that places stress onthe body. Green tea contains the kinds of antioxidantsthat improve health and boost the metabolism.

SMARTHEALTH 7

TAKE THE PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGE >Find out how you can start a physical activity program today andstay active and fit for life while earning Presidential awards.

SPICE OF LIFE

We all know about micronutrients such as antioxidants andomega-3s that make healthy foods even healthier than wethought they were 20 or 30 years ago. Pomegranate juice,tomato sauce, nuts and fish are famously heart-healthy,anti-aging, anti-cancer foods. But suppose you could sprinkleadditional micronutrients onto your food, making it bothhealthier and better-tasting? Well, you can.

There is a whole body research showing thatherbs and spices, even the small amountsused in ordinary cooking, can have signifi-cant health benefits. Not surprisingly, a lotof these herbs and spices are used in thehealthy cuisines of the Mediterranean andAsia, but some good old American favoritesalso get high marks.

Mint, thyme, marjoram, oregano, basil androsemary are all good sources of terpenes,a class of micronutrients that has cancer-fighting properties. In fact, a few chemo-therapy drugs are made out of yew treeterpenes. Yew trees are all poisonous, butyou can use the familiar herbs in spaghettisauce, couscous, pilafs and other Mediter-ranean favorites. Even these mild terpenesmay shrink tumors and prevent cancer cellsfrom spreading, particularly breast and lungcancer. Mint and thyme also fight heart dis-ease by preventing platelets from clumping.

Garlic is known as a cholesterol fighter, buteating a moderate amount in your regular dietcan also reduce the risk of stomach cancerand colon cancer by as much as 40%, com-pared to someone eating a garlic-free diet.

Turmeric, the popular Indian spice thatmakes curry yellow, has been used for cen-turies as an anti-inflammatory in traditionalAyurvedic medicine. Curcumin, a componentof turmeric, inhibits the growth of a widevariety of cancers, helps prevent cataractsand fights heart disease. Turmeric’s effective-ness is dramatically increased when mixedwith black pepper, as it is in curry.

Ginger root, found in Indian, Chinese, Japan-ese and other Asian cuisines, is a powerfulantioxidant that’s even more effective thanvitamin E. It is also an anti-inflammatory thatacts against certain cancer cells.

On a less exotic note, you can get anti-cancerbenefits from eating ordinary celery. Thatfavorite salad ingredient and its close relative,parsley, contain apigenine, which inhibits thegrowth of cancer cells. Even the small amountof apigenine in a parsley garnish has significantcancer-fighting properties. And onions, shallots,leeks and chives have been shown to havesimilar cancer-fighting benefits to their closecousin, garlic.

CHECK OUT HERBS AT A GLANCE > Basic information about specific herbs or botanicals—common names, uses, potential side effects, and resources for more information.

SMARTHEALTH 9

Plenty of baby boomers who grew up attendinghighly amplified rock concerts have long sincenoticed the damage done to their hearing. Wehave learned from this mistake and now youngand old music fans make a habit of wearingearplugs in clubs and arenas. But another, evenmore pervasive menace to our ears is lurkingright in our pockets and backpacks, and evenin our work cubicles. You heard us right:

EARBUDS AND EARPHONESARE THE BIGGEST DANGER TOHEARING SINCE THE RAMONES.

Nearly 22 million Americans between the ages of 20 and69 have permanent hearing loss because of excessivenoise exposure, according to the Journal of the AmericanBoard of Family Medicine. Medical experts fear thatnew technologies are damaging more people’s hearing,starting at an earlier age, than ever before. Teens, noto-rious for being plugged in seemingly all the time, are atspecial risk.

Portable MP3 players and other devices let us pipemusic directly into our heads pretty much when-ever andwherever wewant: On the way to work,at work, at school, at home, at the beach,etc. Many people tend to turn up the vol-ume to drown out other noise, whether it’sthe subway, the boss or nagging parents.So the exposure to loud music is farmore frequent than seeing a couple of

bands on the weekend.

Experts say that if the volume is turned up so high thatyou can’t hear other people in the room talking, thenit’s too loud. Government researchers at the NationalInstitute onDeafness andOtherCommunicationDisorders(NIDCD) have recommended that users put the volumeup no higher than 60% of the maximum and listen forno more than 1 hour a day.

SAYWHAT?

ARE YOUVitamin D-EFICIENT?Even though Vitamin D is everywhere, more than 20 percent of ustest too low on vitamin D. The reason: the human body needssunshine to convert vitamin D to its active form and, for most ofthe United States, we are too far north to convert all that we need.That’s too bad because claims concerning Vitamin D includekeeping bones andmuscles strong, enhancing the immune systemand helping prevent certain cancers: breast, colon, pancreas,prostate. Others contend that it increases insulin production,works against multiple sclerosis and improves longevity.

WHOLE EGGS

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For most people, the answer are Vitamin Dsupplements sold over-the-counter at drugor natural food stores. Or shopping forbrands whose makers often add Vitamin Dsuch as yogurts and orange juice. But hereare the best foods in which the Vitamin Dis naturally occurring in significant amounts.

CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETELIST OF VITAMIN D SOURCES >

SMARTHEALTH 11

FADE TO GRAY

Natural hair color is the result ofpigments that our bodies activelyproduce. As we grow older, thispigmentation process shuts down,hair by hair, and we gradually gogray and finally white. The processhas always been a bit of a mystery,but a new European study in abiological publication called TheFASEB Journal poses an interestingexplanation. The study suggeststhat a hair goes white when anenzyme called catalase stops work-ing and allows naturally-occurringhydrogen peroxide in the follicleto bleach it from the inside out.

Researchers have long held thathair goes gray according to agenetically-determined time clock,not because of stress. But this newevidence raises the possibility that

stress may be a factor in the failureof catalase, so maybe we can yetblame the job, the kids or the econ-omy for our graying hair. The studyalso raises the possibility of findinga way to prevent the graying process.

Until a remedy for graying hair isfound, though, we can either try toage gracefully or dye our hair. ThePresident won’t say whether hecolors his hair or not, but if youcover your gray you should considergoing lighter than your natural shadeunless you can afford to keep yourroots from showing. According toCarla Anderson, owner of BalanceSalon in Jersey City, NJ, light or whiteroots growing out on dark-dyed hair“makes it look like you’re balding.”For many of us, that may be theonly thing worse than going gray.

President Obama’s graying hair may be big news, butit’s actually normal for men and women in their late40s to start going gray, no matter what their job maybe. According to experts, after we hit 30 our chance ofgoing gray increases 10-20% every 10 years.

SMARTHEALTH 13

The Web, magazines and TV bombard usdaily with diet and supplement ads claimingto help us lose belly fat. This plays to ourvanity, but an obese waistline (over 35” forwomen, over 40” for men) can pose serioushealth risks even if you’re not overweight.Excess belly fat, especially for women,is life-threatening, according to medicalexperts who found it significantly increasesthe risk of death due to heart disease orstroke. It also increases the risk of diabetesand adds stress on the lungs.

LOSEBELLYFAT

14 SMARTHEALTH

First, you need to be a little patient. Claims for diets such as “Lose 18lbs.

in 4 Days” (without exercise, no less) and acai berry supplements that

“Burn Belly Fat Fast” are simply untrue. The only way to lose 18lbs. of

fat in 4 days is to burn up an extra 63,000 calories, a feat that might

even strain Superman and would certainly require exercise. And since

the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t regulate supplements such as

the faddish acai berry pills, claims that they’ll change your metabolism

aren’t illegal. They’re just not true. If they were, everyone would be thin.

The good news is that belly fat can be lost faster than other body fat,

especially when you combine regular exercise with a sensible diet.

Researchers don’t recommend any particular exercise for “targeting”

belly fat; just get moving. And while there is no magic diet food, there

is evidence that eating a diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables,

with limited dairy and lean meat and few “white carbs” helps obese

people lose belly fat faster. That is just the sort of tasty, fresh, low-fat

diet that First Lady Michelle Obama has been promoting in the news,

and it’s hard to dispute her results.

BUT WHAT REALLYGETS RID OF BELLY FAT?

LOW CAL, LOW FAT FOOD ALTERNATIVES>When making a food choice, remember toconsider vitamins and minerals. Some foodsprovide most of their calories from sugar and fatbut give you few, if any, vitamins and minerals.

IN THE GARDEN>FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMASPEAKS ON HEALTH ANDNUTRITION

CALCULATE YOUR BODY MASS INDEX >BODY MASS INDEX IS A MEASURE OF BODY FAT

SMARTHEALTH 15

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