HealthBeat

HealthBeat This month’s feature topics are

Nutrition and Athletic Training

HealthBeat March: Nutrition & Athletic Training

The Benefits To Joining A Local Gym

R

esolving to get healthy is a worthy goal. A healthy lifestyle that includes a nutritious diet and routine exercise can improve quality of life and decrease a person’s risk for various ailments, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

In an effort to exercise more, many men and women choose to join local gyms. Such a decision can have a profound impact on efforts to get healthier, benefitting men and women in myriad ways.

Gym members exercise more than non-members.

It’s long been assumed that joining a gym motivates people to exercise more often, as few people want to pay monthly membership fees for facilities they don’t use. But researchers at Iowa State University backed up that assumption in a study of 405 relatively healthy adults. Half of the study participants had belonged to a gym for at least 30 days, while half had not been gym members for at least three months. Participants who belonged to a gym exercised an average of 484 minutes per week, greatly exceeding the 150-minutesper-week minimum recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services. Non-members exercised an average of just 137 minutes per week, with only 18 percent meeting the recommended weekly exercise guidelines.

Joining a gym improves overall health.

While common sense suggests joining a gym improves overall health, the Iowa State study actually proved that to be true. The study found that, compared to non-members, gym-goers tended to have lower resting heart rates, higher cardiorespiratory fitness and smaller waist circumferences. Researchers

found that those benefits were especially prevalent among participants who had kept their gym memberships for a year or more.

Joining a gym can increase the chances of getting more well-rounded workouts.

DHHS guidelines say adults need at least 150 minutes of moderateintensity physical activity and should perform muscle-strengthening exercises on two or more days each week. Nonmembers may be able to meet the guidelines for aerobic activity on their own, but the Iowa State study found that only about 20 percent of Americans meet guidelines for strength training. Gym memberships provide access to weights and strength-training machines that non-members do not necessarily have at home, increasing the chances that gym members will enjoy fuller, more wellrounded workouts.

Joining a gym can be a social endeavor.

While many people join gyms to get healthy, it’s important that prospective members not overlook the potential social benefits of gym memberships. Exercise classes hosted at local gyms can provide great opportunities to meet like-minded individuals, and such individuals may ultimately become support systems people can lean on to achieve their fitness goals.

Joining a gym can serve as a catalyst for men and women looking to get healthy.

HealthBeat

HealthBeat is an excellent

opportunity for you to reach a health-conscious audience of readers.

Next Month’s Topics:

Acupuncture & Foot Health To advertise your business, contact your advertising representative.

March: Nutrition & Athletic Training

E

Spearfish 642.2761 • Lead 584.2303

Eating Clean

ating clean is a great way to hit the “refresh” button on your eating habits and take an active interest in what you feed your body. Clean eating is about trying to make the best and healthiest choices from each food group — and cutting back on refined grains and added salts and sugars.

Familiarize Yourself With The Pyramid

The food pyramid was a graphic developed by the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services to help educate people on the basic food groups, the nutrients provided by these groups, and how to make the best eating choices.

The pyramid has since been joined by the Healthy Eating Plate, which indicates how much space on your plate a certain food group should hold.

Both of these guidelines will help you make better eating choices.

Shop the Outer Ring of the Grocery Store

The freshest and best-for-you foods

are generally located around the perimeter of the store (the bakery, produce, dairy cases, butcher and deli). This also will help you cut back on processed foods, which are loaded with preservatives and are generally higher in salt and sugar, which is not good for the heart.

Don’t avoid the middle completely, however. You may need to visit specific aisles for other nutritious items such as peanut butter, cereals and dried fruits.

Pack Snacks

When we bring food with us, we not only control what we eat but how much we eat.

You will reach a point of hunger at which buying the loaded nachos for $15 will seem like the best idea that ever was — filling your body with unnecessary preservatives and salt, not to mention wasting money that could have been spent elsewhere.

Address Emotional Eating Issues

Emotional eating involves consuming, abstaining or purging to fill an emotional need. It’s an unhealthy behavior and should be addressed immediately.

If you or someone you know suffers from an eating disorder, please find help. You are not alone.

Call the National Eating Disorders Association’s toll-free, confidential helpline at 800-931-2237.

Go Organic

According to the Organic Consumers Association, organic crops are “grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers and organic livestock are raised without antibiotics, growth hormones or other drugs.”

Basically, organic food has not been genetically modified in any way. This means a healthier impact on your body.

OF

BENEFITS OF

OLIVE OIL

• Good for Heart Health • Pack with Antioxidants • Prevents High Blood Pressure • Controls Blood Sugar Levels • Reduced Inflamation • Fights Depression • Fights Osteoporosis • Aids in Weightloss • Relieves Constipation • Prevents Alzheimers

@FOTOLIA

NAKED GARLIC CHICKEN 1/4 C. Naked Olive Garlic Olive Oil 1 TBSP. Fresh Grated Ginger 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts Pour Naked Olive Garlic Olive oil and grated ginger in a large resealable bag. Close the bag and shake to combine. Open the bag, drop in the chicken breasts. Close the bag and shake to coat evenly. Place bag in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes up to 24 hours.

Heat a grill or grill pan. When the grill is hot, place the chicken on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. You can also bake the thawed chicken at 375 for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.

Junk Drawer & Naked Olive

THE

Eating clean is not about dieting but nutrition. There is no need to count calories or give up entire food groups.

Here are just a few strategies to help you eat clean:

611 N. Main St. Spearfish, 57783 • 605-641-5766