January 11 Section B

The Leader • Saturday, January 11, 2020 • Page 1B

Wellness trends tied to technology

By Betsy Denson

DIRECTORY

betsy@theleadernews.com

In the new year, there are a host of online pundits with predictions about health trends in 2020.

This week, we look at some of them and get thoughts from readers.

Tech-abetted home gyms here to stay This prediction is courtesy of Andy Petranek, co-founder of the Whole Life Challenge, who told Outside Magazine that in 2020, there will be a significant increase in the number of people who exercise using virtual training programs in their homes.

While Peloton and Zwift might be on your radar, there are new programs

by Mirror and Tonal that bring your gym and trainer to you at home.

Peloton, at least, seems to be catching on in area neighborhoods.

Oak Forest resident Charity Autry said she had tried everything over the past 30 years from running to classes, but it came to a point when her body could not take the constant impact.

“I needed to do cardio to stay healthy, but everything hurt,” Autry said. “I had a friend get a Peloton after a recommendation from her orthopedic surgeon. The Peloton has provided me a positive and always-changing cardio experience that works with my schedule and is non-impact.”

Mangum Manor resident Carolina Chavez agrees.

“We were at the YMCA for so many years and there have been periods when we wouldn’t step foot in the gym,” Chavez said. “The cost for the equipment appears high at first, but the membership is cheaper, so spread out over time is actually less expensive than the gym. In addition, the bike is in our bedroom. We literally roll out of bed, put the shoes on and trek for a good 45-minute workout.”

Even brick-and-mortar gyms are getting in on the home gym action.

The owners of League Elite Training Facility on West 34th Street recently created their own app (www. terrythetrainerapp.com) for users to stream workouts with little to no equipment demonstrated by co-owner Terry Williams as well as to get diet help and other support.

Runners take your mark Alex Hutchinson, Outside Sweat Science columnist, tells the magazine that 2020 will be the year of the runner. According to stats collected

by RunningUSA, there was a running peak in 2013, when 19 million people signed up for U.S. road races.

But since then, numbers have been in decline, hitting 18.1 million in 2018.

Thanks to the Olympics this summer, the numbers are expected to increase.

Shepherd Park Plaza resident Kara D’Agostino said she enjoys running because she can do it anywhere - in her neighborhood, at a park, even at work.

“It is low cost and I can easily pack my sneakers for any trip I go on and

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Contributed photo Ricky Cruz, left, and his wife, April, are the co-owners of HTX Fightcamp, one of several personal training gyms available in the area.

find a running trail near where I am staying,” D’Agostino said. “I do prefer to run with a partner for the social aspect of it but also enjoy throwing in my headphones, turning on some ‘80s beats and focusing on me for the time that I hit the pavement.”

Candlelight Place’s Shannon Benesch said that although burning calories is great, the mental health benefits are key.

“Running in the morning gives me time to reflect or just enjoy some quiet time alone before I face the day,” Benesch said.

Let wearable technology ‘encourage’ you The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) does an annual survey of worldwide fitness trends that is now in its 14th year.

No. 1 on the list this year is wearable technology, as it has been most years since 2016. This includes fitness trackers, smart watches, heart-rate monitors and GPS tracking devices which can track heart rate, calories, sitting time and more. Wearable technology is about a $95 billion industry.

Everyone has their favorite, but Fitbit Versa, Apple Watch, Garmin, WHOOP and Fitbit Charge 3 got shout-outs in an informal poll.

“I use my Apple Watch and the Runkeeper app on my phone and love them both,” Crissy Wabnitz said. “My watch got a little sassy with me over the break telling me that I’m usually more active and maybe I should go exercise. It worked.”

Wellness coaches for accountability The ACSM said this a growing movement to incorporate behavioral science into health promotion and lifestyle medicine programs. It uses a one-on-one or sometimes smallgroup approach, with a coach providing support, goal-setting, guidance and encouragement. Previous surveys included wellness coaching, but for the 2019 survey, the term “health” was added, which better describes the trend. Wellness coaching has been in the top 20 trends since 2010 and was listed as No. 17 in 2014 and No. 11 in 2019.

Rachel Hibbs, a certified nutrition coach with Stronger U Nutrition (https://strongeru.com/), said that support is the top feature of the program.

“The reason so many see great results is due to three things – accountability, ease of adherence and sustainability,” Hibbs said.

Personal trainers continue to trend One-on-one training has been a top-10 trend in the ACSM survey since its inception. It continues to be as the profession of personal training becomes more available online, in health clubs, at home and in worksites that have fitness facilities.

Ricky Cruz, who runs HTX FightCamp (www.htxfightcamp.com) in the Heights with his wife, April, said they continue to grow their location because of demand. In addition to

the 6,000 square feet of boxing fitness and weight equipment, Cruz said they have an in-house nutritionist, a personal chef for pre-made meals and five personal trainers.

Holistic health makes happier you Lifestyle medicine debuts for the first time in the fitness trends survey at No. 16. Its inclusion speaks to the importance and evidence behind helping individuals and families adopt and sustain healthy behaviors that affect health and quality of life. Examples include eliminating tobacco use, improving diet, increasing physical activity and moderating alcohol consumption.

Local registered dietitian Shana Tatum said health coaching is on the rise, partly due to the accessibility of health information but also because of the awareness and importance of lifestyle medicine in today’s society of chronic disease.

“With behavior change, the slow and steady approach ensures more success and allows for time to be the strength in optimal health habit formation,” Tatum said. “A health coach can fill this role, without the high costs of a personal physician.

Having someone support you as you make these changes can provide accountability and ensure more success toward your goal.”

For more 2020 trends, see https:// www.outsideonline.com/2407214/ biggest-health-trends-2020-predictions and http://www.acsm.org/ read-research/acsm-fitness-trends.

Sleep is important, so get more of it

By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com

It’s the thing we think we can scrimp on – the seven or more hours of sleep per night that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that we get.

If you look at the list of bad things that can happen to you as a result of burning the midnight oil, you might rethink it.

According to WebMD’s “10 Things to Hate About Sleep Loss,” there are a number of things that might befall a drowsy person.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that fatigue is a cause in 100,000 auto crashes and 1,550 crash-related deaths a year in the U.S. Sleep disorders and chronic sleep loss increase the risk of heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, stroke and diabetes.

In the “Whitehall II Study,” British researchers studied both the sleep patterns and mortality rates of more than 10,000 British civil servants for 20 years. The results, published in 2007, showed that those who slept five hours or fewer a night nearly doubled their risk of death from all causes. Specifically, lack of sleep doubled the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

And not to mention, lack of sleep kills your sex drive, ages your skin, dulls your memory and makes you gain weight.

So how do we get more of it?

Preferred Health

Stock photo The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend at least seven hours of sleep for adults.

A lot of people rely on their wearable technology to guide them.

“I use my WHOOP,” Oak Forest resident Aleksa Pilc said of the fitness tracking device. “It gives me a time frame of the optimized number of hours for me to sleep based on how active I was throughout the day.”

Jenna Taylor of the Heights relies on her Fitbit but said even without it she can usually tell if she falls short of eight hours more than a few days in a row.

“Watching my sleep cycles on the Fitbit and comparing with the day before helps me find patterns of eating, activity or just plain sleep disruption that I can be mindful of and make adjustments as needed,” Taylor said. “Some things are out of my control, but I can go to bed earlier when I’m short

on sleep that week and wear my eye mask if extra deep sleep is needed.”

Area resident Imelda Johnson, a British transplant, said she read “Why We Sleep” by Stephen Walker over the holiday break and wants to make a change.

“This lifelong night owl is trying to train myself to be more compliant with the crazy obsession with early a.m. culture, finally after 28 years of resistance, that I am immersed in in the U.S.,” Johnson said.

“Unfortunately. my geography doesn’t allow for my natural circadian rhythm.”

Others say they take melatonin or listen to meditation apps or relaxing podcasts. I have to admit here that my go-to is listening to an episode of Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting. For me, it always works. It goes without saying, however,

that looking at a screen is not going to help you get to sleep.

My favorite sleep tip came from Montrose resident Lillie Besozzi, who uses a free app called Sleepwatch which automatically tracks sleep with the Apple Watch. If you don’t have one, you can enter sleep times on the app manually.

“I have two friends who also use this app,” Besozzi said. “If we have a super deep heart rate dip, (or) exceed our oneor three-day targets, we send screenshots and brag about it.

But it’s really us checking on each other’s self-care.”

And speaking of that, the first step in getting more sleep is knowing you deserve it.

“Discovering that I need (and deserve) more sleep has been life-changing and given me superpowers,” Heights resident Alison Schmieder said.

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Page 2B • Saturday, January 11, 2020 • The Leader

Food for thought: Nutrition impacts brain health

By Shana Tatum statum@wellness-collaborative.com

selenium. Adding 2 cups of leafy greens at most meals can help increase fiber, polyphenols and mineral intake. A 1-ounce serving of goat cheese adds the texture of creaminess and protein as well as phosphorus.

Snack: 8-10 almonds or walnuts provide fiber and the plant form of Omega 3 alpha linoleic acid, important for inflammation.

Dinner: Shrimp stir fry over cauliflower rice. A 4-ounce serving of shrimp provides 20 percent of the needed Vitamin B12 critical for energy metabolism. Adding assorted vegeta-

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bles like broccoli, carrots and onions to the stir fry increases antioxidants and fiber as well as Vitamin A and C. You can find cauliflower “riced” in the bagged produce section of the grocery store. Steam and use in place of white rice to increase nutrient density.

Following an anti-inflammatory diet similar to the MIND plan is not only good for the brain but many other systems, such as cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and endocrine systems. Who knows, 2020 may be the year of a bigger brain for you!

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This year for my contributions to The Leader, we will be taking a tour through the body and learning how nutrition can support different body systems.

In Integrative and Functional Nutrition, which I follow in my practice, we look at whole systems biolTatum ogy. While specialists are needed to care for particular body systems, we always come back to the biology as a whole. Many recommendations you hear me describe may have specific value for the heart or the skin, but in most cases those benefits are not limited to just that one area.

So true is it of the brain. Our microcomputer with the intelligence to discover planets in the solar system and chart the ocean tides of the sea can be nourished in ways to support all that cognitive function. The news has been full of brain health research in the last few years as advances in nutritional treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions have shown connection.

An example is the MIND diet, a blend of the Mediterranean and DASH diets. MIND stands for MediterraneanDASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. DASH Diet stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension and both are rich in fruits and vegetables, fish, nuts and seeds as well as whole grains. The core of the food plans are the antioxidants which support cognitive function and the Omega 3 fatty acids that reduce inflammation.

Antioxidants are key to our good health. They keep free radicals (single-oxygen species specializing in damage to tissue) and oxidative stress from tipping the balance away from wellness. They are found in many of the plant foods recommended on the MIND diet.

Fatty acids such as the Omega 3s found in fatty fish like S.M.A.S.H (sardines, mackerel,

anchovies, salmon and herring) can reduce inflammation not only in the brain but also for the heart.

It has been reported that a higher-quality diet, including these foods, can lower the risk for dementia. A study conducted with more than 4,000 participants demonstrated the growth in brain volume -- increase in the region of the brain that regulates emotion, motivation, learning and memory -- while following a MIND food plan.

With these positive results, the researchers questioned if an improved dietary intake full of fruits and vegetables, fish and nuts and seeds impacted the brain in a positive way, would eating a low-quality diet cause brain shrinkage resulting in cognitive decline and potentially lead to dementia?

Correlations certainly exist with higher body mass index as well as with reduced activity levels and poor stress management, but if including more of these beneficial foods could improve the tissue volume size of our brain, who wouldn’t choose a diet full of these foods?

Good nutrition is not that hard. Start with a good protein, add a variety of vegetables, include fruits for occasional sweetness and snack on nuts and seeds. A few brain-healthy examples below: Breakfast: Veggie scramble.

Two scrambled eggs with 1 cup spinach, 1/8 cup chopped onions and 1/4 cup sliced red bell pepper, with 1/4 cup blueberries on the side. This gives you protein and minerals such as magnesium and calcium from leafy greens. Quercitin comes as a powerful antioxidant found in onions with Vitamin C and other polyphenols in the red bell pepper and onion. The blueberries have long been touted as excellent brain food due to the flavonoid compounds helpful in reducing inflammation. Or, consider intermittent fasting as a brain-healthy way to start your day. More on that in another article …

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The Leader • Saturday, January 11, 2020 • Page 3B

New Well Puppy & Kitten Exam

Adding a feathered friend to your flock?

Would you like your bird to talk?

African Gray parrots and Amazon parrots are considered the best talkers. However, just like with any animal, a talking bird takes time and commitment to establish a relationship to teach your bird how to talk and what to say.

keets, canaries, finches or lovebirds will be your best option. Would you like a baby bird? Baby birds called “unweaned” birds require hand-feeding until they can eat on their own. While this is great for developing a very intimate relationship with your bird, it does require a unique level of commitment to properly care for your baby bird. If you are unsure, it is recommended to adopt a weaned bird that is able to eat on its own.

Most birds live eight years or longer, but the average lifespan is between 30 and 50 years. Some even live as long as humans! It is important to fully understand the potentially lifelong commitment you may be making when adopting a bird.

What about maintenance?

For less maintenance, smaller birds such as para-

Lifespan The other important thing to take into consideration is the lifespan of most birds.

Do you have a question for Tabby? If so, email her at deartabbyquestions@gmail. com.

it would be ideal to have a fully enclosed room where you can let your bird fly freely from time to time.

Dear Tabby, We’d like to get a bird as a pet but hate the idea of buying one from a breeder. Is it possible to adopt a bird? What do we need to know prior to getting one?

Bringing Home A Birdie in Brooksmith Dear Bringing Home A Birdie, Thank you for your willingness to explore bird adoption before heading directly to a breeder or pet store!

According to the website petfinder.com, many people do not realize there are thousands of birds that are looking for forever homes. Birds are beautiful, often exotic animals that are fun, social and smart creatures – some even talk!

These attributes have made birds popular pets in recent years. However, people often have unrealistic expectations about the amount of love and care it takes to properly care for a bird, which in turn has led to the unfortunate increase in birds at shelters.

In fact, January is officially “Adopt a Rescued Bird Month,” and so there’s no better time to bring a feathered friend into your flock.

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New research has found obesity and in ammation have a direct and complex relationship that effects overall health. The more weight pets and people gain, the more our joints hurt, we become less active and gain more weight.

New research also con rms the best treatment to reverse this vicious cycle remains eating correctly and gradually becoming more active.

Dogs love to walk and play, people need encouragement. Too often resolutions and unreachable exercise goals lead to disappointment.

A pleasant walk with an enthusiastic partner can warm your heart and reverse the aging process. Compliance is easy.

A daily walk will give you purpose to get up, go outdoors and make someone else happy. That wagging tail is a natural anti-depressant.

Even though walking will increase longevity and stave off disease, there are risks. Be aware of these when and where you walk. Also an annual health exam is essential for everyone.

Dogs can acquire diseases and parasites along the trail. They must be properly vaccinated and given prescription parasite preventive monthly. Also, be responsible and scoop the poop with plastic bags.

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So hit the trail today. Plan ahead and make it a fun routine you can’t miss. It will add years to your life while adding life to your years.

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Do you have sufficient space to keep a bird?

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Always call your Vet if you have any concerns or questions

Charlotte was rescued from a kill shelter, just minutes from death’s door. She and her brother, Charlie, are now in foster care and would love a loving home in the new year. They are sweet, playful kittens who will grow up to be show-stoppingly beautiful! Tabbies are known to be very playful and sweet, so there’s no doubt that Charlotte and Charlie will be the perfect addition to your family. To learn more, go to www.saveacatrescue.org.

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THE PUBLIC. The Leader • Saturday, January 11, 2020 • Page 4B

Heights chamber’s economic forecast luncheon set for Jan. 30 From Staff Reports The Greater Heights Aera Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Economic Forecast Luncheon from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30 at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel, located at 3000 N Loop W. This year’s featured speaker will be Bill Gilmer, the Director of the Institute for Regional Forecasting at the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business.

He will address the implications within the Houston re-

Gilmer

gion of the ramping down on new and expanded chemical plant investments that have been completed along the Houston Ship Channel, which

has a direct bearing on local employment.

Individual tickets to the event are $75 for chamber members and $95 for nonmembers.

Sponsorships, which include a table of eight, also are available for $2,500, $1,100 and $575.

Reservations may be made online at heightschamber.org, by calling 713-861-6735 or by emailing events@heightschamber.org. For more information, visit the event web page at heightschamber.org/ event/economic-forecast-luncheon-3/.

Houston man accused of murdering girlfriend From Staff Reports A Houston man suspected of shooting his girlfriend to death last week near Greater Inwood was arrested and charged with murder.

According to Harris County court records, 39-year-old Kendrick Akins has been charged with the murder of 33-year-old Dominic Kolawole, also known as Dominic Jefferson. Akins also has been charged with aggravated assault after allegedly opening fire on a good Samaritan who attempted to help Jefferson after she was shot shortly after midnight Saturday, Jan. 4.

Akins

According to multiple media reports, Akins and Jefferson became engaged on New Year’s Eve, just a few days before her death.

According to the Houston Police Department, officers

responded to a shooting call at the HollyView Apartments at 5555 Holly View Dr., where witnesses told investigators Jefferson had been shot.

Police say witnesses told them the suspect initially fled the scene. However, he returned to the scene and allegedly shot at a witness before fleeing on foot.

Akins’ bail has been set at $250,000 for the murder charge and $75,000 for the aggravated assault charge.

Court records show Akins had a previous conviction for aggravated assault in 2008 and a conviction for felon in possession of a weapon in 2016.

Man injured in auto-pedestrian crash in Heights From Staff Reports A man was injured and taken to the hospital as the result of an auto-pedestrian collision in the Heights earlier this week.

Houston Police Department spokesperson Kese Smith said a male driver was traveling southbound on Yale Street in a Nissan Frontier pickup truck shortly before 3 p.m.

Monday when he ran a red light near the intersection of Yale and West 19th Street in

the Heights, striking a pedestrian walking eastbound in the crosswalk on the south side of the intersection.

The pedestrian, a 66-yearold male, was transported to Ben Taub Hospital in an unknown condition, according to Smith.

Smith said the driver was detained and questioned at the scene before police issued him a citation for running the red light. As the injuries appeared non-life-threatening, according to Smith, he said

HPD does not anticipate filing additional charges.

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