HIV and Exercise
People with HIV can slow down their HIV infections and improve their health by doing four things: eating a healthy diet, managing stress levels effectively, getting sufficient sleep and getting some regular exercise.
A study by the Department of Health and Environmental Control in South Carolina showed that HIV patients who exercised three to four times per week were less likely to develop Aids than those who did no exercise at all. It not only slowed HIV progression, but increased blood counts as well. (more…)
Get moving: Cancer survivors urged to exercise
Cancer survivors, better work up a sweat.
New guidelines are urging survivors to exercise more, even — hard as it may sound — those who haven’t yet finished their treatment.
There’s growing evidence that physical activity improves quality of life and eases some cancer-related fatigue. More, it can help fend off a serious decline in physical function that can last long after therapy is finished.
Consider: In one year, women who needed chemotherapy for their breast cancer can see a swapping of muscle for fat that’s equivalent to 10 years of normal aging, says Dr. Wendy Demark-Wahnefried of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
In other words, a 45-year-old may find herself with the fatter, weaker body type of a 55-year-old. (more…)
Bad Karma: How Yoga Can Lead to Serious Injury
Sloppy teaching and overly competitive students are giving yoga lovers serious and scary injuries.
I remember only one pose from my first yoga class seven years ago: a modified seated forward bend known in Sanskrit as Paschimottanasana. I sat on a mat with my legs slightly bent in front of me, my arms wrapped beneath my thighs as my forehead reached toward my toes. It was about an hour into class, and my body felt like a stuck door slowly easing open.
A warm current of something—call it blood, call it chi—coursed from shoulder to shoulder. I felt the muscles unfurling from my spine; then, in the other direction, the vertebrae unsticking from each other—click, click, click. It was a sensation of freedom and release I remember as vividly as the first time my husband touched me. This was how I was supposed to feel.
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A Call to Fitness Professionals
Meeting the Physical Activity Guidelines – A Call to Fitness Professionals
Physical activity has been shown to improve cardiovascular and muscular fitness, mental health, and the ability to perform activities of daily living. And though I hope it’s of no surprise, this holds true for everyone.
For the most part, the guidelines for people with disabilities are not much different from the guidelines designated for “active” adults. The main difference seems to be the incorporation of the phrase “who are able to” into the specific recommendations as well as the removal of the suggestion that individuals should continue to increase or progress activity to reap even further health benefits (i.e. “the more the better”). There is also an additional recommendation for people with disabilities to consult a health-care provider about the amounts and types of physical activity that are appropriate for their abilities. (more…)
Natural Steps to Liver Health
When I suspected liver malfunction in one of my patients recently, he protested. He assumed that his liver was fine since he didn’t drink large amounts of alcohol.
His assumption was a common one. Whenever I mention liver problems, most of my patients think of cirrhosis (associated with excessive alcohol consumption) or hepatitis, a viral disease with particular risk factors. They assume there’s not much else to worry about when it comes to liver health. Perhaps it’s an assumption you’ve made yourself. (more…)