WASHINGTON — Whole-grain crackers, low-fat yogurt, fruit and water could become the school snacks of the future, driving out fattening fancies such as cola and fried chips.

The Institute of Medicine this week recommended new standards for school snacks and foods that sharply would limit calories, fat and sugar while encouraging more nutritious eating.

Concerned about the rise of obesity in young people, Congress asked the institute to develop the standards. Lawmakers now will consider them, as will state and local school officials.

“Making sure that all foods and drinks available in schools meet nutrition standards is one more way schools can help children establish lifelong healthy eating habits,” said Virginia A. Stallings, head of the committee that prepared the report.

“Foods and beverages should not be used to reward or to discipline for academic activities or behavior,” said Stallings, director of the nutrition center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Food sold in school cafeterias under federally assisted lunch programs already must meet nutritional standards. The institute’s recommendations cover items considered competitive with those foods. Examples include snacks in vending machines and other food and drinks sold at school but not under the federal program.

Selling these foods is a money maker in some communities. Janey Thornton, president of the School Nutrition Association, said she expects complaints about losing this source of money if the recommendations are adopted.

“Shame on us if we try to balance the school budget based on the nutritional health of kids,” Thornton said, whose organization represents school food service directors.

The standards would not apply to bag lunches that students bring from home.

Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, said the recommendations “offer a tool kit for local, state, and federal policymakers who already know that we need to do more much more — to promote sound child nutrition and prevent childhood obesity.”

Thornton said she thinks the report does not go far enough because there is no system for enforcement.

“We would like to see national standards for (school) food and beverages” that the Agriculture Department could enforce, she said.

The standards would help children learn the principles of good nutrition which they could also apply at home, said Thornton, child nutrition director for the Hardin County School District in Kentucky.

But the Center for Consumer Freedom worried that the report could lead to a government “no child with a fat behind” program.

The growing rate of obesity is caused by lack of physical activity rather than overeating, according to the group, which describes itself as representing restaurants, food companies and individuals.

The American Beverage Association, which represents companies that make and sell nonalcoholic beverages, said it is working with schools to “improve the product mix” sold in schools.

The report lists a first tier of foods that would be allowed at all grade levels during the school day and during after-school activities.

These foods would have to provide at least one serving of fruits, vegetables, whole grains or nonfat or low-fat dairy. There would be limits for fat, sugar and salt.

Examples are whole fruit, raisins, carrot sticks, whole-grain low- sugar cereals, some multigrain tortilla chips, some granola bars and nonfat yogurt with no more than 30 grams of added sugars. Drinks would be limited to plain water, skim or 1 percent milk, soy beverages and 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice.

A second tier of foods would be available only to high school students and only after school hours.

These foods would be limited in calories, salt, sugar and fat; drinks could have just have five or fewer calories per portion and no caffeine.

Examples include single servings of baked potato chips, low- sodium whole wheat crackers, graham crackers, pretzels, caffeine- free diet soda and seltzer water.

At the discretion of coaches, sports drinks would be available to students involved in an hour or more of vigorous athletic activity.

(c) 2007 Cincinnati Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

If Barry Kaplan has his way, no public facility in Pennsylvania will serve foods prepared with trans fat. In fact, Kaplan is spearheading the effort to ban trans fat, considered to be the most harmful fat to health.

Trans fats are artificially created oils found most often in margarine and fried foods - that extend the shelf life of snack foods and other processed foods. Scientific research shows that consumption of trans fat raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels, causing clogged arteries and increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The National Academy of Sciences recommended in 2002 that dietary intake of trans fatty acids be minimized. Since 2005, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) mandated that trans fats be labeled on all food products.

Kaplan, however, says the “FDA doesn’t go nearly far enough for our safety.”

The most vulnerable to the fatty danger are children who are just developing dietary patterns and the elderly in hospital and nursing homes who are captive to it.

“In public places, there’s no information and no choice,” he says. “These are the people who should be getting the best foods and, sadly, sometimes it’s the worst,” Kaplan says.

He’s working with Rep. Jim Wansacz, (D-Lackawanna) to introduce legislation that will virtually ban trans fat in every restaurant, school and health-care facility Kaplan’s mission against trans fat is only part of his story. He’s been a proponent of healthy living practically all his life. In 1985, when he opened.

Everything Natural, an organic food and natural products store in Clarks Summit, health food stores were fringe businesses and Kaplan was considered a “health nut” in popular culture.

But time has a way of resolving indignities. Today, Kaplan is a trim and healthy 50-something with a modulated enthusiasm for healthy living. General society has finally realized “you are what you eat.” And big business is paying attention to him.

Kaplan’s foray into the health food business really began in his teens when he decided he “didn’t want to eat animals:’ Then in the early 1970s, he worked at a downtown Scranton health food store.

“More than being a vegetarian it was eating healthy,” he explains,” Then it was studying, educating yourself, reading voraciously and taking classes.”

Everything Natural was the normal evolution to those years of discovery Twenty years ago most people didn’t pay attention to the fact that they were ingesting the residue of pesticides in fruit and vegetables or that most physical ailments could be traced to diet, he explains. Now people are beginning to realize these things and Kaplan’s mission is to help them.

Last month, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell agreed to support a national health initiative for the state where businesses pledge to provide quality and price information about doctors, hospitals and other medical providers for enrollees in their healthcare insurance programs. The information offers employees information to make educated choices.

“The Pennsylvania Health Initiative can help people have a better lifestyle,” he explains noting that besides the dangers of stress which drains personal health and relationships, had choices in diet cause deleterious physical responses. “Arthritis inflammation is a response to food triggers,” he says.” Everyone has different responses. Another person may get arteriosclerosis. Alzheimer’s is related (to bad nutrition) as well.”

What Kaplan realized all those years ago, science has vatidated.” Now we’re mainstream, people are seeing the value, we’re the authority and big business is listening,” he says, gesturing into the store.

According to wikipedia.org, “organic food is produced according to certain legally regulated standards. Crops are grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers or sewage sludge, and they are processed without ionizing radiation or food additives.”

Animals “are raised without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. Also, at all levels, organic food is produced without the use of genetically modified organisms.”

According to the same source, “natural” refers to food or food products which are minimally processed and remain as close as possible to their whole, original state. Because they are less tampered with, natural foods are generally more nutritious than their refined counterparts.

Kaplan banned trans fat in his own business 10 years ago and he explains that “there are compelling logical reasons” for eating healthy.

He says he and his partners, wife Donna and her sister, Michele Cooper, as well as his staff of 18, are committed to providing healthy choices.

Childhood obesity and diabetes, as well as missed productivity in industry, are just some of the adverse effects of eating badly. “This isn’t just a business,” he insists, “it’s a lifestyle. We are not here to get rich. We all live it.”

Lifestyles

When Carol Rinaldi an employee of Burkavage Design, Clarks Summit visited Everything Natural looking for natural remedies to treat her allergies and her daughter’s and her own asthma, she found an educated staff who pointed her in the right direction.”

There are two pluses to shopping there, Rinaldi says, “the knowledge base and customer service.”

Today, after identifying her “triggers” - additives like fragrances and food coloring to name two - Rinaldi is off most medicines. Interestingly, nuts - a huge problem for many people with allergies - was also a trigger, but once she tried organic, “I could eat them again,” she explains. Rinaldi also uses Burt’s Bees products, a natural, fragrance-free product line.

Gwen Kovolenus, 35, of Tunkhannock, the mother of three young children 8, 3 and 4 months makes her weekly trip to Everything Natural on Wednesday or Thursday when the “raw milk order comes in. “Raw milk is the unprocessed (not homogenized, not pasteurized) byproduct of organic grass-fed cows. Everything Natural gets its milk from a supplier in Gratz, Pa.

The Kovolenus family, including husband Daron, 37, came by their healthy lifestyle early on. Gwen grew up on the family farm in Tunkhannock. “The farm was as organic (USDA organic certification) as you can get without being certified,” she explains. “We always ate healthy. My mother and I canned and froze food. Daron’s family had a huge garden. We took it one step further going organic. We make our own soup, and do our own freezing and canning.”

She offers up macaroni and cheese as an example of an easy processed and fast meal many people make for their children. The Kovolenuses, however, prefer to make their own. “We avoid trans fats, hydrogenated oils, monosodium glutamate and dyes and preservatives.” Other than Everything Natural, they shop at Wegman’s which she says has “the largest organic and health food section in the area.”

Likewise, the Ray Parchinski family in Moosic chooses organic. Ray is the owner of Uno Fitness Center at the Icebox in Scranton and works out four times per week. He brings his lunch to work so he doesn’t have to dine out and shops at Everything Natural for his organic foods. Parchinski is not a vegetarian and notes that most other area supermarkets are dedicating space to the natural food market.

“It’s organic or not,” he says. “If you are going to buy commercial meat products you’re not going to get organic food. “He advises people who are becoming health-conscious to start out with organic fruits and vegetables.

Everything Natural is also a gift and department store, stocked with items made from natural food and fibers. Just like in the grocery store, shoppers can find frozen foods suitable for lunch on the run - albeit organic; organic fruit and vegetables and just about every necessary staple.

According to partner, Michele Cooper in company Literature “customers are starting to be more aware of organic clothing and are looking for it.”

Indeed, mainstream grocery and department stores are picking up on the demands of the aging baby boomers who are more apt to read ingredient labels and shop accordingly, but not averse to the occasional cheeseburger out.

Kaplan finds satisfaction in the fact that his business was there first.” Now you see it all over the place, it’s part of all our lives now.”

He also finds his new journey rewarding; he’s eyeing a possible meeting with the governor and hopefully a law to ban trans fat down the road. “This is how we live, with health as the goal, not profit. We want to do the right thing.”

Kaplan is also a realtor with Classic Properties, Clarks Summit.

Copyright Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal Apr 01, 2007

(c) 2007 Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Although multivitamins can easily supply needed nutrients, a recent report from the National Institutes of Health says not enough evidence exists to make a firm recommendation for or against the use of multivitamins for disease prevention, according to the April issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource.

The best source of needed nutrients is a balanced diet.

Doctors continue to recommend multivitamins for people whose health conditions, dietary choices, lifestyle habits or medications impede their bodies’ ability to get or absorb proper amounts of key nutrients from foods. For example, people older than 60 are often encouraged to take a multivitamin because aging can make it more difficult for the body to absorb vitamins.

Doctors need to know the vitamins and supplements their patients take because some may not be recommended with certain health conditions. A doctor also can advise when supplements could provide health benefits based on the patient’s age, health and diet.

CANCER DEFENSE

GETTING CHECKUPS: If you’re 50 or older, seeing your doctor every year or two for a checkup may be a good defense against cancer, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California at Davis, the University of Washington, and Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.

The study, appearing in Archives of Internal Medicine, concluded that regular preventive health exams increase the likelihood that older adults will get recommended cancer screenings.

CPR FACTS

NO MOUTH-TO-MOUTH: Even people who have never been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation know that it involves a series of chest compressions combined with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

For years, scientists have questioned whether the mouth-to-mouth part was necessary, saying the focus of CPR should be on chest compression, which keeps blood flowing to vital organs after cardiac arrest.

Last month, a study of more than 4,000 cases of cardiac arrest, the largest on the subject to date, found that patients were more likely to recover without brain damage if their rescuers had focused on chest compressions alone. Published in The Lancet, the study found that 22 percent of people who received chest compressions alone survived with good neurological function, compared with 10 percent who received combination CPR.

Those findings echoed those of a study in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2000.

ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO

MEMO: WORTH NOTING

(c) 2007 Richmond Times - Dispatch. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

WASHINGTON — Whole-grain crackers, low-fat yogurt, fruit and water could become the school snacks of the future, driving out fattening fancies such as cola and fried chips.

The Institute of Medicine this week recommended new standards for school snacks and foods that sharply would limit calories, fat and sugar while encouraging more nutritious eating.

Concerned about the rise of obesity in young people, Congress asked the institute to develop the standards. Lawmakers now will consider them, as will state and local school officials.

“Making sure that all foods and drinks available in schools meet nutrition standards is one more way schools can help children establish lifelong healthy eating habits,” said Virginia A. Stallings, head of the committee that prepared the report.

“Foods and beverages should not be used to reward or to discipline for academic activities or behavior,” said Stallings, director of the nutrition center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Food sold in school cafeterias under federally assisted lunch programs already must meet nutritional standards. The institute’s recommendations cover items considered competitive with those foods. Examples include snacks in vending machines and other food and drinks sold at school but not under the federal program.

Selling these foods is a money maker in some communities. Janey Thornton, president of the School Nutrition Association, said she expects complaints about losing this source of money if the recommendations are adopted.

“Shame on us if we try to balance the school budget based on the nutritional health of kids,” Thornton said, whose organization represents school food service directors.

The standards would not apply to bag lunches that students bring from home.

Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, said the recommendations “offer a tool kit for local, state, and federal policymakers who already know that we need to do more much more — to promote sound child nutrition and prevent childhood obesity.”

Thornton said she thinks the report does not go far enough because there is no system for enforcement.

“We would like to see national standards for (school) food and beverages” that the Agriculture Department could enforce, she said.

The standards would help children learn the principles of good nutrition which they could also apply at home, said Thornton, child nutrition director for the Hardin County School District in Kentucky.

But the Center for Consumer Freedom worried that the report could lead to a government “no child with a fat behind” program.

The growing rate of obesity is caused by lack of physical activity rather than overeating, according to the group, which describes itself as representing restaurants, food companies and individuals.

The American Beverage Association, which represents companies that make and sell nonalcoholic beverages, said it is working with schools to “improve the product mix” sold in schools.

The report lists a first tier of foods that would be allowed at all grade levels during the school day and during after-school activities.

These foods would have to provide at least one serving of fruits, vegetables, whole grains or nonfat or low-fat dairy. There would be limits for fat, sugar and salt.

Examples are whole fruit, raisins, carrot sticks, whole-grain low- sugar cereals, some multigrain tortilla chips, some granola bars and nonfat yogurt with no more than 30 grams of added sugars. Drinks would be limited to plain water, skim or 1 percent milk, soy beverages and 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice.

A second tier of foods would be available only to high school students and only after school hours.

These foods would be limited in calories, salt, sugar and fat; drinks could have just have five or fewer calories per portion and no caffeine.

Examples include single servings of baked potato chips, low- sodium whole wheat crackers, graham crackers, pretzels, caffeine- free diet soda and seltzer water.

At the discretion of coaches, sports drinks would be available to students involved in an hour or more of vigorous athletic activity.

(c) 2007 Cincinnati Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

If Barry Kaplan has his way, no public facility in Pennsylvania will serve foods prepared with trans fat. In fact, Kaplan is spearheading the effort to ban trans fat, considered to be the most harmful fat to health.

Trans fats are artificially created oils found most often in margarine and fried foods - that extend the shelf life of snack foods and other processed foods. Scientific research shows that consumption of trans fat raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels, causing clogged arteries and increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The National Academy of Sciences recommended in 2002 that dietary intake of trans fatty acids be minimized. Since 2005, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) mandated that trans fats be labeled on all food products.

Kaplan, however, says the “FDA doesn’t go nearly far enough for our safety.”

The most vulnerable to the fatty danger are children who are just developing dietary patterns and the elderly in hospital and nursing homes who are captive to it.

“In public places, there’s no information and no choice,” he says. “These are the people who should be getting the best foods and, sadly, sometimes it’s the worst,” Kaplan says.

He’s working with Rep. Jim Wansacz, (D-Lackawanna) to introduce legislation that will virtually ban trans fat in every restaurant, school and health-care facility Kaplan’s mission against trans fat is only part of his story. He’s been a proponent of healthy living practically all his life. In 1985, when he opened.

Everything Natural, an organic food and natural products store in Clarks Summit, health food stores were fringe businesses and Kaplan was considered a “health nut” in popular culture.

But time has a way of resolving indignities. Today, Kaplan is a trim and healthy 50-something with a modulated enthusiasm for healthy living. General society has finally realized “you are what you eat.” And big business is paying attention to him.

Kaplan’s foray into the health food business really began in his teens when he decided he “didn’t want to eat animals:’ Then in the early 1970s, he worked at a downtown Scranton health food store.

“More than being a vegetarian it was eating healthy,” he explains,” Then it was studying, educating yourself, reading voraciously and taking classes.”

Everything Natural was the normal evolution to those years of discovery Twenty years ago most people didn’t pay attention to the fact that they were ingesting the residue of pesticides in fruit and vegetables or that most physical ailments could be traced to diet, he explains. Now people are beginning to realize these things and Kaplan’s mission is to help them.

Last month, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell agreed to support a national health initiative for the state where businesses pledge to provide quality and price information about doctors, hospitals and other medical providers for enrollees in their healthcare insurance programs. The information offers employees information to make educated choices.

“The Pennsylvania Health Initiative can help people have a better lifestyle,” he explains noting that besides the dangers of stress which drains personal health and relationships, had choices in diet cause deleterious physical responses. “Arthritis inflammation is a response to food triggers,” he says.” Everyone has different responses. Another person may get arteriosclerosis. Alzheimer’s is related (to bad nutrition) as well.”

What Kaplan realized all those years ago, science has vatidated.” Now we’re mainstream, people are seeing the value, we’re the authority and big business is listening,” he says, gesturing into the store.

According to wikipedia.org, “organic food is produced according to certain legally regulated standards. Crops are grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers or sewage sludge, and they are processed without ionizing radiation or food additives.”

Animals “are raised without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. Also, at all levels, organic food is produced without the use of genetically modified organisms.”

According to the same source, “natural” refers to food or food products which are minimally processed and remain as close as possible to their whole, original state. Because they are less tampered with, natural foods are generally more nutritious than their refined counterparts.

Kaplan banned trans fat in his own business 10 years ago and he explains that “there are compelling logical reasons” for eating healthy.

He says he and his partners, wife Donna and her sister, Michele Cooper, as well as his staff of 18, are committed to providing healthy choices.

Childhood obesity and diabetes, as well as missed productivity in industry, are just some of the adverse effects of eating badly. “This isn’t just a business,” he insists, “it’s a lifestyle. We are not here to get rich. We all live it.”

Lifestyles

When Carol Rinaldi an employee of Burkavage Design, Clarks Summit visited Everything Natural looking for natural remedies to treat her allergies and her daughter’s and her own asthma, she found an educated staff who pointed her in the right direction.”

There are two pluses to shopping there, Rinaldi says, “the knowledge base and customer service.”

Today, after identifying her “triggers” - additives like fragrances and food coloring to name two - Rinaldi is off most medicines. Interestingly, nuts - a huge problem for many people with allergies - was also a trigger, but once she tried organic, “I could eat them again,” she explains. Rinaldi also uses Burt’s Bees products, a natural, fragrance-free product line.

Gwen Kovolenus, 35, of Tunkhannock, the mother of three young children 8, 3 and 4 months makes her weekly trip to Everything Natural on Wednesday or Thursday when the “raw milk order comes in. “Raw milk is the unprocessed (not homogenized, not pasteurized) byproduct of organic grass-fed cows. Everything Natural gets its milk from a supplier in Gratz, Pa.

The Kovolenus family, including husband Daron, 37, came by their healthy lifestyle early on. Gwen grew up on the family farm in Tunkhannock. “The farm was as organic (USDA organic certification) as you can get without being certified,” she explains. “We always ate healthy. My mother and I canned and froze food. Daron’s family had a huge garden. We took it one step further going organic. We make our own soup, and do our own freezing and canning.”

She offers up macaroni and cheese as an example of an easy processed and fast meal many people make for their children. The Kovolenuses, however, prefer to make their own. “We avoid trans fats, hydrogenated oils, monosodium glutamate and dyes and preservatives.” Other than Everything Natural, they shop at Wegman’s which she says has “the largest organic and health food section in the area.”

Likewise, the Ray Parchinski family in Moosic chooses organic. Ray is the owner of Uno Fitness Center at the Icebox in Scranton and works out four times per week. He brings his lunch to work so he doesn’t have to dine out and shops at Everything Natural for his organic foods. Parchinski is not a vegetarian and notes that most other area supermarkets are dedicating space to the natural food market.

“It’s organic or not,” he says. “If you are going to buy commercial meat products you’re not going to get organic food. “He advises people who are becoming health-conscious to start out with organic fruits and vegetables.

Everything Natural is also a gift and department store, stocked with items made from natural food and fibers. Just like in the grocery store, shoppers can find frozen foods suitable for lunch on the run - albeit organic; organic fruit and vegetables and just about every necessary staple.

According to partner, Michele Cooper in company Literature “customers are starting to be more aware of organic clothing and are looking for it.”

Indeed, mainstream grocery and department stores are picking up on the demands of the aging baby boomers who are more apt to read ingredient labels and shop accordingly, but not averse to the occasional cheeseburger out.

Kaplan finds satisfaction in the fact that his business was there first.” Now you see it all over the place, it’s part of all our lives now.”

He also finds his new journey rewarding; he’s eyeing a possible meeting with the governor and hopefully a law to ban trans fat down the road. “This is how we live, with health as the goal, not profit. We want to do the right thing.”

Kaplan is also a realtor with Classic Properties, Clarks Summit.

Copyright Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal Apr 01, 2007

(c) 2007 Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Although multivitamins can easily supply needed nutrients, a recent report from the National Institutes of Health says not enough evidence exists to make a firm recommendation for or against the use of multivitamins for disease prevention, according to the April issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource.

The best source of needed nutrients is a balanced diet.

Doctors continue to recommend multivitamins for people whose health conditions, dietary choices, lifestyle habits or medications impede their bodies’ ability to get or absorb proper amounts of key nutrients from foods. For example, people older than 60 are often encouraged to take a multivitamin because aging can make it more difficult for the body to absorb vitamins.

Doctors need to know the vitamins and supplements their patients take because some may not be recommended with certain health conditions. A doctor also can advise when supplements could provide health benefits based on the patient’s age, health and diet.

CANCER DEFENSE

GETTING CHECKUPS: If you’re 50 or older, seeing your doctor every year or two for a checkup may be a good defense against cancer, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California at Davis, the University of Washington, and Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.

The study, appearing in Archives of Internal Medicine, concluded that regular preventive health exams increase the likelihood that older adults will get recommended cancer screenings.

CPR FACTS

NO MOUTH-TO-MOUTH: Even people who have never been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation know that it involves a series of chest compressions combined with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

For years, scientists have questioned whether the mouth-to-mouth part was necessary, saying the focus of CPR should be on chest compression, which keeps blood flowing to vital organs after cardiac arrest.

Last month, a study of more than 4,000 cases of cardiac arrest, the largest on the subject to date, found that patients were more likely to recover without brain damage if their rescuers had focused on chest compressions alone. Published in The Lancet, the study found that 22 percent of people who received chest compressions alone survived with good neurological function, compared with 10 percent who received combination CPR.

Those findings echoed those of a study in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2000.

ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO

MEMO: WORTH NOTING

(c) 2007 Richmond Times - Dispatch. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

The lovely spring weather is a pleasant wake-up call after a long, cold and sometimes dreary winter in my home state of Minnesota.

We should be invigorated by the sunshine and warmer temperatures. But many of us are more fatigued than ever. A new study by the University of Virginia has found overwhelming evidence that regular exercise can play a significant role in reducing fatigue.

The researchers analyzed 70 previous exercise trials that had originally looked at whether exercise helped prevent or improve symptoms of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity. This time around, they also examined whether exercise reduced fatigue.

“More than 90 percent of the studies showed the same thing: Sedentary people who completed a regular exercise program reported improved fatigue compared to groups that did not exercise,” says Patrick O’Connor, co-director of the University of Georgia exercise psychology laboratory. “A lot of times when people are fatigued, the last thing they want to do is exercise. But if you’re physically inactive and fatigued, being just a little more active will help.”

The researchers found in their analysis that nearly every group benefited from exercise.

And though it may seem counterintuitive that expending energy will give you more energy, study after study told the same story.

“We live in a society that’s always looking for the next sports drink, energy bar or cup of coffee that will give them the extra edge to get through the day,” said the lead author of the University of Virginia study. “But it may be that lacing up your tennis shoes and getting out there and doing some physical activity every day can provide that spark of energy that people are looking for.”

I don’t need a study to tell me about exercise. I’ve been doing it all my life. It just makes me feel better, gives me energy to work more productively and, I hope, live longer. My philosophy is exercise doesn’t take time; it makes time.

Back in the 1960s, I attended Stanford University for three months for its Graduate School of Business Executive Program. There were many people from other countries in the group who were addicted to running, and they asked me to join them. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve been a runner ever since and have run 10 marathons.

I also swim regularly and play a lot of golf. And I walk the courses whenever possible. Mark Twain quipped that golf was a good walk spoiled. And while my game isn’t always on, I can’t emphasize enough how much I disagree with that quote. There’s never a bad day if you can spend part of it on a golf course.

I’m not talking hard-core here. I don’t go for the “no pain, no gain” mentality. Just get moving, even if it means taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or parking at the far end of the parking lot. You don’t need a personal trainer or a special wardrobe.

At Mackay Envelope Co., we have groups of employees that go out every noon hour for a walk — year-round, even in the snow.

A 12-year Harvard Medical School study showed that as little as 10 to 15 minutes a day of private time can cut down on tension, headaches, colds, poor sleep and can reduce stress . . . and increase your productivity.

Block out time in your planner to exercise!

Mackay’s Moral: Too many people confine their exercise to jumping at conclusions, running down their friends, sidestepping responsibility and pushing their luck.

Harvey Mackay is author of the New York Times best-seller “Pushing the Envelope” (Ballantine Books). He can be reached through his Web site: www.mackay.com; or Mackay Envelope Corp., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, MN 55414.

(c) 2007 Tulsa World. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

In a study that tracked 143,000 people with an average age of 63 over 10 years, 413 people developed Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers found that those with moderate to vigorous activity levels — an average of one-half hour per day or more — were 40 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those with no or light activity levels, according to lead author Evan L. Thacker of the Harvard University School of Public Health.

The findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 59th Annual Meeting in Boston.

This study does not prove that exercise caused the lowered risk of Parkinson’s disease — it’s possible that something else lowers the risk, Thacker said in a statement. But considering all of the other benefits of exercise, it certainly doesn’t hurt to make sure you get some moderate or vigorous exercise several times a week.

Discomfort is one of the most common reasons given for stopping an exercise routine.

Muscle burn during a workout and/or mild soreness a day or two after working out are to be expected, but sometimes, pain or chronic soreness occurs. This can become so preoccupying that even with modifications, exercise becomes too difficult to continue. The low back, shoulders, knees and feet are a few of the most commonly affected areas of discomfort felt during physical activity.

Figuring out the source of exercise-related problems can be difficult. They may arise as a result of previous injuries, medical conditions, biomechanics, doing too much too soon and, often, simple overuse.

Overtraining is common among avid exercisers. If left unchecked, this eventually weakens the body, leaving it vulnerable to illness and injury.

When planning your exercise routine, consider the frequency, duration and intensity, and plan for days of rest. The harder you work the body, the longer the time needed between workouts to recover.

Don’t automatically assume that just because you are performing a particular exercise when difficulty arises that it is to blame, as not all exerciserelated discomfort occurs immediately. Instead, look at your entire workout regimen when trying to pinpoint the source of the problem.

Injury that occurs during one type of exercise can lead to symptoms that may not flare up until later in the day or even the next day when you are performing a different type of exercise or task. An example might be someone who runs for many miles on a daily basis. The person goes jogging in the morning and then after work heads to the gym to do a weight-training workout that includes a set of lunges. While performing lunges, the knees begin to ache. Fearing further problems, the decision is made to avoid this particular exercise in the future.

A better way to determine the cause of discomfort would have been to eliminate all possible exercises affecting the area, rest and recover, and, once ready to workout again, choose only one exercise (the one normally least overdone) to see if the problem goes away or flares up again.

Once the source of the problem is identified, you can take steps to modify and/or restructure your workout routine.

Keep in mind that discomfort can arise from overtraining and undertraining. The weekend warrior who is physically active only once in a while and then suddenly engages in intensive exercise is just as likely to pay the price as someone who exercises too much on a continual basis. Although most people try to work through pain, this typically only makes matters worse. Far better to listen to your body if you are experiencing pain than to risk injury.

The ability to identify and distinguish between normal and abnormal responses to exercise has literally meant the difference between life and death for thousands of individuals each year. Sudden shortness of breath or weakness, extreme fatigue, unusually rapid or weak heartbeat, pain, dizziness, speech or sight disturbances and/or nausea that occurs during physical activity are warning signals. If any of these symptoms occur, stop exercising and tell someone what you are experiencing. If your symptoms don’t go away quickly, immediate medical attention should be obtained. If they go away but then return, this should be reported to your doctor.

Marjie Gilliam is an International Sports Sciences Association Master certified personal trainer and fitness consultant. She owns Custom Fitness Personal Training Services. Write to her in care of the Dayton Daily News, call her at (937) 878-9018 or send e-mail to OHTrainer@aol.com. Her Web site is www.ohtrainer.com.

Next week: More on staying safe while exercising.

(c) 2007 Dayton Daily News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Two federal lawsuits accuse Vitamin Shoppe of fraudulently selling a supplement that contained unacceptably high levels of lead.

The suits claim that the North Bergen-based vitamin vendor failed to warn consumers about the potentially harmful effects of its “Especially For Women” multivitamins. The company voluntarily pulled the multivitamins from its stores and Internet sales site in January after allegations that the product contained trace quantities of lead in excess of California labeling requirements.

Ronald M. Neifield, Vitamin Shoppe’s general counsel, said the company wouldn’t comment on pending litigation.

“We don’t believe the product causes any health concerns,” he said.

In a suit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Newark, two California users of the vitamins say Vitamin Shoppe committed “numerous deceptive acts and unconscionable business practices.”

The women, who seek to represent all similar users in a class action, demand more than $5 million in damages.

“Vitamin Shoppe misled the public into believing that its ‘Especially for Women’ multivitamins would be good for their health and provide long term benefits,” the lawsuit says.

As a result, users were subjected to a health risk and purchased more of the product than they otherwise would have, the suit alleges.

It says the lead levels were discovered by ConsumerLab.com, an independent testing company that found the product contained 15.3 micrograms of lead per daily serving. The other suit, filed on April 2, makes similar claims, and says the lead in the vitamin is “10 times the allowable level in California.”

Both suits say Especially For Women also contains only 54 percent of the 200 mg of calcium claimed on the label.

Vitamin Shoppe, which was started in 1977, has 316 stores and 2,500 employees.

The suits accuse Vitamin Shoppe of violating the state consumer fraud act and of unjust enrichment. In addition, the April 2 suit which is also filed against Vitamin Shoppe subsidiaries accuses the companies of intentional misrepresentation, negligence and breach of implied warranty.

The defendants named in the suit include Nature’s Value Inc., a Bayshore, N.Y.-based company that made and supplied the Especially For Women vitamins.

The suits seek damages and a court ruling that the company change its marketing and packaging of the vitamins. Neifield said the Especially for Women case was the first time the company pulled a product from the shelves “in response to a report of this nature.”

Neifield noted that all customers are entitled to a refund on the product.

“We will continue to honor that offer,” he said.

***

E-mail: morley@northjersey.com

(c) 2007 Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.