Ernie Medina Jr. is a preventive care specialist with Beaver Medical Group in Redlands. He specializes in areas of behavior change concerning lifestyle-related diseases, specifically focusing on exercise, nutrition, stress management and smoking cessation. He is also an assistant professor at Loma Linda University and co-founder of a family fitness and wellness center in Loma Linda called Xrtainment Zone. Medina tackles exercise issues.Question: In weight training, is there a minimum amount that’s needed to help build bone density?

Answer: Minimum: usually two or three times a week, two sets of 10-15 reps. If you can do two sets of 15 reps easily, then up the weight. That increase will stimulate bone health and density. In Miriam Nelson’s classic book “Strong Women Stay Young,” she showed a very simple chair-exercise program where they did an eight-week strength program and showed both fat loss and bone density increase.

Q. Should cardio and weight training be mixed in the same day — or the same workout session — and which should be done first?

A. You can do cardio and strength on the same day. If someone is doing five or six days a week of cardio, which is the recommended amount for fat weight loss, then you’ll have to do both on some of the same days. You can do in separate workouts or in the same workout sessions, and as for order, it doesn’t really matter. Some like to do the cardio first so they’re all warmed up for the strength, while

others like to warm up first with a little cardio and then do their strength, followed by the rest of their cardio workout. (Some get too tired in their cardio to do a hard strength workout). So it depends on your goals and how hard you’re working out on cardio and strength, which would dictate which would be first. Bottom line: You can do either one first, as long as you warm up before both.

Q. In weight training, it’s common to add more weights as you progress. What about in cardio? Do you add more time or more intensity or both? Or do you get the same benefit by staying at or near the level you began with?

A. Both. As you get in better shape, that 2-mile walk that took you 30 minutes, will now only take 20 minutes. You went from a 15-minute/mile pace to a 10-minute/mile pace because you’ve gotten in better shape, which is good. If you want to maintain the 50-minute rule, you then will have to walk farther at the faster pace to get 50 minutes in. Or you could wear a weight vest to increase the intensity while you’re walking (though I’m against ankle and wrist/handweights because they’re attached to moving parts and could strain joints, throw you off balance, increase risk of injury, etc.)

One needs to keep one’s heart rate up in the fat burning zone for most of the 50 minutes, so do what you have to to accomplish this. That usually means going faster or wearing extra weight safely.

When someone first starts exercising, they’re huffing and puffing, and could easily be burning 7-12 calories/minute because they’re out of shape. But as they get in better shape, their burn will drop to three to six calories/minute. So they have to increase their burn rate by pushing harder if they want to burn the same number of calories.

So yes, in both strength and cardio, you want to keep challenging your body if you are still trying to reach certain body and health goals.

Q. What gadgets are out there to help stay motivated and help me improve in my fitness quest?

A. There are numerous gadgets on the market to help track your exercise and fitness program. Most of these focus on measuring your exercise and calorie expenditure. The most common and least expensive gadget is a pedometer, which attaches to your body (usually your waist, but they have versions that you can attach to your shoe, put in your pocket, or hang around your neck). Pedometers count the steps you take in a day, and some models will also tell you how far you have walked and how many calories you have burned.

When it comes to pedometers, you usually get what you pay for in terms of accuracy. Focus more on steps because the mileage will usually be way off by the end of the day. A “couch potato” usually walks 3,000 steps per day, while a healthy goal to shoot for is 10,000 steps per day. If you’re trying to lose weight, aim for 13,000-20,000 steps per day.

There are more expensive gadgets that do a similar thing. Nike+ SportKit, which uses a sensor in or on your shoe, sends information to a receiver on your iPod Nano or iTouch. You can then sync your iPod to the Nike+ online community to download your data, track yourself, compete with friends anywhere in the world and complete challenges.

Q. After working out for a couple months, can I take a week off? Won’t that help me recover and get psyched for another couple months?

A. Taking a week off probably won’t hurt anything, unless you’re training for a specific event and it’s an unplanned break in your training schedule. The danger is that week turning into two weeks. Before you know it, it’s been a month and you’re still on break.

What would be better is instead of taking a complete break, change your program to something easier. Try something new that is still fitness-related and maybe you can add it into your regular routine for cross training.

It’s a good idea to change up your workout every six to eight weeks, partly because your body will get used to what you’re doing and partly because you might be getting bored. Most exercisers don’t want to take a break or they start to feel “blah” and not 100 percent. It has become a way of life, so stopping isn’t such a good feeling. To avoid the problems of overtraining, doing a variety of activities keeps it fresh and works out a variety of physical and mental muscle.

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Why not deal yourself a workout?Phil Black, a San Diego resident who bills himself as a fitness entrepreneur, figured out a fun, simple way to get people moving is to deal them a few cards.

And so FitDeck was born three years ago, primarily catering to the physically fit who wanted more challenges. FitDeck cards demonstrate hundreds of exercises, stretches and movements.

Two weeks ago, Black expanded his repertoire to include a 56-card FitDeck for seniors.

“You just shuffle the cards to create thousands of routines with unexpected combinations, sequences and intensity levels,” he boasts on his Web site, fitdeck.com.

Q. You have some 20 FitDecks _ including exercises to do with a baby stroller. How did you come up with this concept?

A. I was a student at Yale and my roommates and I played poker and also challenged each other to physical games. I challenged them to a push-up contest saying I would deal out 18 cards and guarantee to do as many pushups as the cards told me to do. I flipped the cards over one and a time and did more than 70 pushups.

We found out it was a simple way to get a little workout in.

Q. But how did you get from Yale to this card deck?

A. I was in the finance industry on Wall Street. Followed my dream and became a Navy Seal for five years and learned a huge repertoire of body weight exercises. Then I became a personal trainer and eventually a firefighter. When I was doing personal training, I had to write down exercises on index cards. Then I thought back to my Yale days and that’s how this idea was born.

Q. What do you know about exercise?

A. I have been a personal trainer. I also worked with exercise physiologists, particularly in areas like yoga and pilates.

Q. Is it a good idea to vary exercise so much?

A. There’s a huge body of evidence that repeating exercises for three weeks makes the muscles accommodate to the exercise. By mixing and matching, you change intensities and repetition. Besides, you don’t get bored and in a rut.

Q. This deck for seniors…well, what’s a senior?

A. It can be a 40-year-old deconditioned person. A 60-year-old in fantastic shape might find it too base level. Nothing requires you to get on the ground. You don’t compromise hips and knees. If you achieve all the senior exercises, you can graduate to FitDeck Body Weight. That can be very rigorous.

Q. These exercises look simple but are actually tough if you do them the maximum number of repetitions.

A. The deck has only been out for two weeks and there is high demand.

Q. Then there’s a deck for travel?

A. This is a great workout for travelers _ particularly those sitting in the middle seats. There are neck stretches, calf raises. You literally put the tray table down and do a couple of exercises to feel refreshed at the end of the trip.

Q. Some of your other FitDecks are for prenatal exercises, and postnatal also. There’s office exercises and even baby stroller exercises.

A. Why not use the baby stroller to do some exercises as well as a couple of laps around the park or the neighborhood?

Q. I like the type size and the illustrations on the senior cards. Where are they available?

A. Because we just launched them, they are only available from our Web site (fitdeck.com) and some affiliate Web sites. Eventually we hope to have them in retail stores.

Q. Are there more FitDecks in the offing?

A. Check the Web site for updates.

___

(Jane Glenn Haas writes for The Orange County (Calif.) Register. E-mail her at jghaas@cox.net)

___

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Some one million Jordanians suffer from high blood pressure, or vascular hypertension, which is the second leading cause of kidney failure in the country after type II diabetes, according to health experts.Mohammad Ghneimat, director of the Jordan Kidney Patients Association, said 30 per cent of kidney failure cases in the Kingdom are caused by high blood pressure, while diabetes is responsible for 40 per cent of the cases.

He added that if hypertension patients are given suitable medication, it lowers the risk of suffering a stroke, heart attack and kidney failure.

“Unfortunately, 50 per cent of blood pressure patients in Jordan are not diagnosed with the disease, while the other half are not controlling the condition,” Ghneimat explained at a seminar organised by Novartis, a healthcare products company, on Wednesday evening.

According to Osama Braiwish, who heads the Novartis Jordan office, high blood pressure is one of the most common illnesses all around the world, not just in Jordan.

He cited some studies that predicted the number of hypertension sufferers would double during the next 30 years.

“Currently, around a third of the world’s population aged above 35 suffer from high blood pressure,” Gneimat noted.

According to the US Centres for Disease Control, high blood pressure is often called the “silent killer” because it usually has no noticeable warning signs or symptoms until other serious problems arise.

Therefore, many people with high blood pressure do not know they have it.

In addition, high blood pressure can result in damage to the eyes, including blindness. The blood vessels in the eyes can rupture or burst from high blood pressure leading to impairment of sight.

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NYSE:NVS,

ch Publication date: 2009-06-20Q: An acquaintance was describing her efforts to lose weight: She goes to a local park after work most days and runs/walks up to 8 miles. Still, she hasn’t lost any weight and pointed to her flabby midsection as evidence. She may be a few pounds overweight but is not obese. Someone joked that she hasn’t changed her eating habits. What might she be doing wrong? Answer: It’s good your friend is attuned to the dangers of abdominal obesity. Experts say extra weight carried around the waist (as opposed to the hips) raises the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Generally, for nonpregnant women, if your waist measures more than 35 inches, and for men if more than 40 inches, you may be at greater risk for these chronic conditions. But experts say you can’t spot-reduce specific areas of fat.

Dr. Katherine Dec, medical director of CJW Medical Center Women’s Sports Medicine, offered some advice.

Physiological age, factors related to metabolism and any potential medical issues may affect how successful one is at weight loss, Dec said.

“Her friend is correct. A combination of ‘correct’ eating habits and exercise has the highest rate of success in losing those few pounds,” Dec said. “Another factor could also be in what type of exercise and if she is continuing to challenge herself with the exercise she selects. For example, walking or running at the same pace, same terrain, may not challenge her system enough to utilize the different nutritional sources she is using for fuel.

“In addition to addressing eating habits, she may want to vary her pace with short 30 seconds or one-minute running versus a jog pace during her exercise session. She could change the intervals of time as she finds it is easier to do each session. Also, weight training could be an exercise option.

“Consulting her medical physician could provide assistance in answering the above concerns and assure she has no risks in progressing through different types of exercise or intensity of exercise.”

Contact Tammie Smith at (804) 649-6572 or TLsmith@timesdispatch.com.

ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO

MEMO: HEALTH Q&A

Originally published by SMITH; Times-Dispatch Staff Writer.

(c) 2009 Richmond Times - Dispatch. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

Online comments and product reviews influenced 65% of U.S. adults who recently used a diet or weight loss program, according to the Spring 2009 Ad-ology Media Influence on Consumer Choice survey.These consumers are very interested in the effectiveness of diet programs and are actively seeking out the opinions of other users.

Online media also impacts health/fitness club choice, especially among the 18-to-24-year-old demographic (60.8%).

Of health club members, 89% say variety of equipment is an important factor in their selection decision, and 88% say the same for quality of equipment. Looking at factors by gender, women are more interested in the variety and availability of classes, while noticeably more men want to work out where their friends/family go, perhaps because men view working out as a social experience.

For the vitamin and nutritional supplement market, one in five consumers prefers to shop at a specialty health food/vitamin store, with 35-to-44-year-olds most likely to seek out these stores. More than 60% of that age group cite brand name as an important factor in their purchase decision and are most likely to be influenced by manufacturer Web sites.

“Consumers are researching diet and other wellness topics online much like they would research a consumer electronics purchase,” said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. “Anybody in this industry must maintain a strong online presence to provide the information these health-conscious consumers crave,” Smith said.

Other key findings from the survey:

For health/fitness clubs or gym choice, direct mail was the most influential traditional media type

Television was the most influential traditional media for 18-to-24-year-olds looking for diet and weight loss products and services

Of traditional media, newspapers had the most influence (35.3%) on recent over-the-counter vitamin or nutritional supplement purchasers

12% of Hispanics researched personal trainers online, the most among all ethnic groups

The Media Influence on Consumer Choice survey is conducted throughout the year by Ad-ology Research to study online, traditional, and social media influence on buying decisions.

All three reports: Media Influence on Consumer Choice: Diet & Weight Loss, Media Influence on Consumer Choice: Vitamins, and Media Influence on Consumer Choice: Health Clubs are available for purchase and immediate download through Ad-ology.net. Each includes data charts, consumer-spending estimates by market, and additional marketing insights.

About Ad-ology Research

Ad-ology Research analyzes key marketing and advertising trends in over 400 industries and what motivates end-customers. The company’s research is used by over 2,000 advertising agencies, media properties and product marketing departments across the United States. Ad-ology Research is a division of Sales Development Services (SDS), Inc. - a Westerville, Ohio firm founded in 1989.

Methodology

Ad-ology Research surveyed an online consumer panel of 1,213 adults in a manner that is 98% representative of the adult population of the United States from January 5-8, 2009. The margin of error for this survey is +/- 2.2 percentage points.

Editor’s Note: The Ad-ology trade name should be hyphenated in all printed references.

WATERLOO — At least twice a week, Dave and Cindi Kaiser buy fresh fruit and vegetables at area farmers’ markets.The Waterloo couple is convinced, like many people who prefer locally grown produce, that it is healthier than store-bought food — especially processed items. The Kaisers know Americans are getting heavier — more than one-third of adults and 16 percent of children are obese, according to government figures — and they don’t want to be in that group.

Last Tuesday, the Kaisers shopped at the Kimball Ridge Family Market on the northeast corner of Kimball and Ridgeway avenues. Farmers were hawking everything from freshly picked radishes, turnips and onions to flowers and baked goods.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report obesity rates have doubled for adults and tripled for children since 1980. Rates are leveling off, but the CDC still calls obesity an epidemic that can lead to serious health problems like hypertension and stroke.

“There’s certainly a problem. Our (the nation’s) eating habits aren’t as good with all the fast food and larger portion sizes,” Dave Kaiser said. “The food here is definitely fresher, tastier and crisper. It’s not processed and doesn’t have added corn sweeteners or chemicals.”

Buying fresh, locally produced food isn’t the silver bullet to a thin existence, according to dietitians. A balanced diet and exercise — taking in and using the same amount of calories — is the magic formula.

In reality, dietitians say there is little or no nutritional or calorie difference between produce sold at farmers’ markets compared to fresh, canned or frozen counterparts in supermarkets.

“Will freshly picked spinach be the same as on the shelf (at a store)? Probably. But some vitamins are sensitive to heat and air,” said Doris Montgomery, a community health consultant and dietitian with the Iowa Nutrition Network at the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Stephanie Beenken, a dietitian at the University Avenue Hy-Vee, agreed. She also coordinates the farmers’ market in the store’s parking lot every Thursday.

“Nutritionwise it’s virtually the same,” Beenken said, referring to farmers’ market produce and that sold in the fresh produce section in the store. “In general, if you buy fruit and vegetables more often than processed food, you will consume less calories.”

For example, one serving of fresh green beans is 25 calories compared to 120 calories for green bean casserole that contains french fried onions and cream of mushroom soup.

Vegetable grower Mark Litteaur, a regular at the Kimball Ridge Family Market, said most customers truly believe his produce is healthier than food in grocery stores. And that is just fine with him.

Food experts and growers say buying local is only part of the answer to America’s obesity problem. Litteaur said he may start using the public’s belief that his produce will help them stay fit-and-trim when marketing goods.

“We really should,” Litteaur said. “By definition, (fresh produce) will be healthier than processed foods with trans fats.”

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The percentage of U.S. patients lowering their elevated “bad” cholesterol to within target levels nearly doubled in the last decade, researchers found.Dr. David D. Waters, an emeritus professor at University of California in San Francisco who was the lead author of the study, said the Lipid Treatment Assessment Project surveyed nearly 10,000 patients — average age 62 — from nine countries undergoing cholesterol-lowering and management efforts. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is known as “bad” cholesterol because it’s associated with increased cardiovascular risk.

The study, published in the journal Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, found:

– The number of patients successfully reaching low-density lipoprotein levels rose from 38 percent to 73 percent over the last 10 years.

– Among high-risk patients, 67 percent reached established goal levels.

– Thirty percent of very high risk patients — those with existing coronary artery disease and two or more other risk factors such as obesity, diabetes and smoking — successfully reached their LDL target of 70 milligrams per deciliter or less.

Boston Scientific Corp. said Tuesday a clinical study shows its heart resynchronization implant devices were better at preventing death or surgery due to heart failure than another popular type of device.The Natick, Mass., company said patients implanted with the devices, which recoordinate the action of the right and left ventricles, were 29 percent less likely to die or need surgery than patients who had implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

ICDs are designed to restore a normal heart rhythm by delivering an electric shock.

Boston Scientific said the results show that early implantation of a cardiac resynchronization device can slow the progression of heart failure. The MADIT-CRT trial included more than 1,800 patients with class I or II heart failure, the two mildest types according to a New York Heart Association scale.

The company said about 70 percent of all U.S. heart failure patients have the class I or class II type. It estimated that 5.5 million people in the U.S. have heart failure, in which the heart can’t adequately pump blood to the rest of the body.

Results of the trial have been watched closely by Wall Street as a potential booster for heart device sales, which have slowed in recent years following a series of product recalls.

Boston Scientific shares rose 27 cents, or 2.9 percent, to close at $9.51 Tuesday.

Wachovia analyst Larry Biegelsen said the results would benefit Boston Scientific Corp. as well as competitors St. Jude Medical and Medtronic - who are also expected to promote the findings to physicians. An uptick in sales of heart resynchronization devices could also benefit the companies since those devices generally cost more than ICD implants, Biegelsen stated in a research note.

Shares of St. Jude Medical rose $1.01, or 2.6 percent, to $40.55.

IT WAS the ultimate diet of the Nineties and now the meal replacement shakes are back.Slim Fast style dieting, the most popular and talked about weight loss system of 10 years ago, has returned to the fore this summer as more and more women take up the new Lighter Life and Exante Diet schemes.

The back to the future diets have replaced recent weight loss fads such as Atkins, GI, South Beach and many of the other popular crazes.

The Lighter Life regime, which costs pounds 66 a week and involves taking in only 500 calories worth of food per day and various soups and shakes, as well as group sessions, has come to prominence this summer after Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen’s wife Jackiewas pictured looking great after losing five stones.

While Exante Diet has its clients on 600 calories a day and a mix of healthy balanced meals, and is also growing in popularity.

The success and boom in popularity of Lighter Life - 150,000 have already completed the diet - and others, have been compared to the Slim Fast mania of the Nineties, when it seemed like every woman on the planet was on the diet at some stage.

Meal replacement diets have come in for lots of criticism from nutritionists and dieticians over the years and some critics have claimed that such a low calorie intake can cause health problems, such as heart conditions and anorexia.

Howewver, Lighter Life insist that the plan is safe if followed to the letter and they only accept clients who have been approved by their GP for the programme. And despite the controversy which is associated with every dieting fad, the meal replacementtrend is definitely back, and booming once again.

Here is a guide to some of the other dieting fads popular over the years… ATKINS POSSIBLY the most popular fad diet for years was the anti-carb craze which saw millions of people ditch potatoes, bread, rice and pasta in favour of protein, no matterwhat the fat content.

Millions of people saw impressive results from the diet, which was controversial from the start.

Pioneered by Dr Robert Atkins in the Seventies, the diet took hold six years ago when celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Bill Clinton and Geri Halliwell were said to be big fans. But fears over heart health, with the increased intake offatty meats to the exclusion of carbs, led to criticism and the diet, and similar regimes, lost popularity in the last few years.

MEAL REPLACEMENTS THE idea behind meal replacement diets is to have as low a calorie intake as is healthy, usually with one meal per day, and two specially created and fortified shakes or soups to take the place of the other two meals.

These were especially popular in the Nineties, when Slim Fast was in its heyday - it was recently voted as the Ultimate Brand of the Nineties.

Slim Fast is still popular, but there are other new companies pioneering the boom return.

Lighter Life is the biggest new name at the moment, but others include Howard’s Way Very Low Calorie Diet, while there is also the Exante Diet, and other brands in the field include Nature’s Best and HerbalVitality. SOUTH BEACH WITH a glamorous namecoming from its home in Miami’s South Beach, the popular craze was originally invented by cardiologist Dr Arthur Agatson to improve heart health for his patients. The diet begins with a phase one similar to Atkins in that you cut out carbs almostcompletely for the first two weeks.

Phase Two sees you re-introduce carbs with a low glycemic index, such as fruits, granary bread, pasta and low fat milk.

Phase three is a wider selection of healthy foods being introduced to allow a more enjoyable diet over a lengthy period. It is reported that you can lose between eight and 13 pounds in the first two weeks, and later, one to two pounds per week. GI THE GIdiet (which stands for glycemic index) is based around the theory of how food impacts upon your blood sugar levels, with high GI foods raising your blood sugar levels faster than low GI level foods. It was developed by Dr David Jenkins, a professor ofnutrition at the University of Toronto, and popularised recently by author Rick Gallop who published a book about the diet. He claims it can reduce the risk of cancers, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and strokes.

Low GI foods include cereals like All-Bran, whole wheat bread, carrots, broccoli, some pastas including spaghetti.

BIOTIC WOMAN: Madonna High GI foods include cornflakes, watermelon, rice cakes, mashed potatoes, white bread, bagels, baguettes and parsnips.

MACROBIOTIC DIET THE celebrity favourite originated in Japan, but came to America in the Fifties. It consists of healthy wholefoods, with complicated balances of cereal grains, vegetables, beans and legumes, as well as fish and seafoods.

It excludes processed or additive rich foods. Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow are said to be devotees.

(c) 2009 Daily Record; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.