Balance is the key

Some people think that they can eat anything if they have a regular exercise program. The famous runner Jim Fix who wrote The Complete Book Of Running thought he could. In an interview with a newspaper he said that it he was not concerned about his diet because a running program of 10 miles a day would sufficiently burn up whatever he ate. He said for breakfast he had fried egg, sausage, fried potatoes, butter and cream-talk about cardiac disaster! As you may recall, Jim Fix died suddenly while on a daily run.

On the other hand, some folks watch their diet religiously but are rarely physically active. They eat grains, fruits and vegetables and know the latest nutrition facts, but they don't move their bodies. They approach doesn't work either. What does work is the balance of a healthy living style that includes a low fat way of eating and regular exercise. Balance is the key.

Building stronger leg and stronger hips through training

Falls are very dangerous as you get older. Can you prevent them? Yes, strength training helps you regain your balance after having been slightly knocked off center. Building stronger leg and stronger hips through strength training can postpone and possibly even preven these highly destructive falls. Strength training gives you more confidence, more control over your own body. With that, you have a less chance for injury and less chance for falls.


In one experiment that was done they took 10 people (average age 90) and had them do simple leg exercises three times a week over eight weeks. They not only built up their strength but saw improvement in their lives from moderate muscle pumping. They became more mobile, more flexible, and their walking speed noticeably improved. They had a doubling, even tripling of the muscle strength in their legs. Two of them threw away their canes!

If 90 years old were able to do strength training and benefit from it. Surely it will help you.

Few tips that may help keep your weight down

At buffet or dinner, fill your plate with fruits and vegetables. Then add very small portions of other foods. Be the last one in line to get your food, and then eat slowly. This way you won't finish eating before others and be tempted to go back for seconds.

First, put your food on your own plate and eat from that only. Don't hang around the food plate. Get involved in conversation and activities. Sip on a low calorie drink with lot's of ice all evening. Nibble on vegetables and not chips. Don't drink. Alcohol is high on calories.

Strength training

People often ask me " What kind of exercise do you do? " I walk briskly for thirty minutes a day on my sationary bike and do at least one-half hour of floor exercises using wrist and ankle weights, Walking hours burns calories and provides aerobic conditioning. The floor exercises increase flexibility, and weights firm muscles.

I began doing strength training when I learned it provides a definite increase in bone. How? Our bones respond to pressure, and strength training provides the pressure- more so than aerobic training.

Food headaches

Researchers believe that what you eat and drink may contribute to certain kinds of headaches-especially migraines. But proving a definite link between diet and headaches is often difficult, and no single food affects all sensitive people. The following have been most commonly involved: aged cheeses, alcoholic, alcoholic beverages, nuts and peanut butter, yogurt, sour cream, cured or processed meats, caffeine rich drinks, freshly baked yeast products, chocolate, MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and aspartame(artificial sweetener).

Most of the suspect foods and beverages contain substances that may constrict or dilate blood vessels of the brain. One major culprit is tyramine, a chemical that occurs naturally in may foods. Nitrites, used in cold cuts and frank-furters, can also dilate blood vessels. For some people, not eating for many hours, or suddenly, abstraing from certain foods-such as coffee- may bring on headaches.