Diet and Exercise Can Reduce Your Risk of CancerUp to 30% of all cancers in the United States are related to low physical activity, poor nutrition or excessive weight. These health factors are some of the major in?luences on your chance of…
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May 02, 2017
Cancer Interviewer: Diet and exercise can help reduce cancer risk. Talk about that next on The Scope. Announcer: Health tips, medical views, research and more, for a happier, healthier life. From University of Utah Health Sciences, this is The Scope. Interviewer: Cancer can be caused by many different factors, but some of them like diet and exercise is actually something a lot of us can control. Dr. John Sweetenham is a medical oncologist from Huntsman Cancer Institute. And how much of cancer risk is related to diet? Dr. Sweetenham: Well, overall in the U.S., the current estimates are that about 20% to 30% of all cancers are related in some way to either excess body weight, to poor nutrition, or to inactivity and lack of exercise. Interviewer: So to round up, maybe around a third. That's pretty substantial. Give me an idea of how that fits in context with maybe some of the other risk factors that are out there like genetics or smoking or stuff like that. Dr. Sweetenham: Sure. I mean, if you look overall at risk factors for kind of cancers globally, we know for example, that tobacco and smoking is a very significant cause for lung cancers. And we can kind of rest the blame for certain types of cancer on certain types of lifestyle changes and behaviors. For excess weight and for inactivity, it seems like it affects a whole breadth of different types of cancers. So there are many cancers which are more common in folks who are maybe overweight and folks who are inactive and who have deficiencies of whatever type in the diet or excesses of diet in the diet like high fat and so on. Interviewer: Yeah. I'd like to delve into some of those details here. But before we kind of get into the how's and why's of some of those details, let's just lay out what a good diet and exercise plan for cancer prevention would look like, and then we'll go from there. Dr. Sweetenham: Sure. So we don't know the absolute details of that, but some general rules are to eat plant based foods as much as you can, plenty of vegetables, beans, any other plant-based foods, they're helpful in that regard. They seem to reduce cancer risk. And stay away particularly from cured and processed meats and red meats. They seem to be particularly risky. And then finally, the other components of the diet that's well known about is high fat foods. So it's difficult to eliminate those from diet, but if you can reduce the amount of high fat food that you have, that can be a big help. Interviewer: So this might be a bit of a technicality, but is it plant-based foods are good just because they're not the bad foods? Or are there actually some positive health benefits to those? Dr. Sweetenham: Yeah. That's a great question. There are very definite health benefits from those. For example, the fiber content of your diet, we know that that can reduce your risk of certain cancers like colon cancer. So it isn't just about not eating bad foods, there are positive benefits from a lot of vegetables and fruits and so on. Interviewer: Yeah. So the bad foods, what's going on there? How are they causing damage? Dr. Sweetenham: So we don't really know in detail. We know for sure that if you are for example, overweight, that can affect the way that your body reacts to levels of insulin, and that is thought to be one reason why some folks develop cancer as a result of the way the body handles insulin. Some of the hormone levels are affected by excess weight. Estrogen levels are thought to be affected by how heavy somebody is, and that may be responsible for certain types of cancer such as breast cancer. But exactly why it is that excess weight causes cancer is still something that a lot of people are researching. Interviewer: Yeah. So we have pretty good research to show that the diet that you laid out, plant-based diet, avoiding a lot of red meats and processed foods, we just don't know the why's kind of that. Dr. Sweetenham: Absolutely, yeah. The evidence for that is very good. The cause is still a little unclear. Interviewer: Got you. So what about a lack of activity? We started out by talking about food and exercise. So you're talking about how people that have excess body fat could be at more risk of cancer. Is the activity just about keeping a lean physique so that doesn't happen, or are there actually benefits to activity? Dr. Sweetenham: There are clear benefits to activity, and we see that at several levels. Partly in cancer prevention it seems to reduce the risk. But also there's increasing information around how someone who already has cancer, how they may respond to their treatments and what their likely outcome is going to be, if they're able to exercise during the treatment after the diagnosis. So now, some really interesting evidence that exercising during and after your treatment can reduce your risk of a cancer coming back. Interviewer: Yeah. So is it generally thought that it's chemical reasons? Again, for the exercise and for the food it's the chemical changes that are going on in the body that might be affecting the cell division? Dr. Sweetenham: Yes, it probably is. Again, a number of large research programs addressing that and we have some big research programs at Huntsman Cancer Institute which are specifically looking at why that is and how it is that exercise can reduce your cancer risk, and improve your cancer outcome if you do develop the condition. Interviewer: Yeah. Here's what I think I know. I want you to tell me if this is right, and then fit it into the context of this conversation. So cancer is an uncontrolled division of cells which is caused by genetic mutation. So every time your cell divides there's a chance of a genetic mutation happening. Some are . . . it doesn't matter, some could be bad, some could be good. Dr. Sweetenham: Correct. Interviewer: Over time, you get enough of these genetic mutations, then the cancer or the cell loses its ability to control its division speed. Dr. Sweetenham: Yeah. The brakes come off. Interviewer: Okay, the brakes come off, and that's when you start to get cancer. Dr. Sweetenham: Exactly. Interviewer: So eating red meats, we don't know why that's causing that genetic breakdown. Dr. Sweetenham: There are clues. It may be that there are substances within the red meats, or within the processed meats that actually kind of accelerate that mutation, that genetic change within the cells. But again, we don't know in great detail why that is. Interviewer: Got it. Are some people more susceptible to one trigger than others? Meaning, for one person it might be the foods they eat or don't eat, but for them smoking isn't quite as much of a risk. I guess what I'm trying to ask here, is there a cumulative protection in all of it? Like the more right things I do, the better chance I'm going to have of not developing cancer. Dr. Sweetenham: At the moment, all the evidence would suggest that's the case. Yeah. The more healthy behaviors that you're able to follow, the lower your risk of cancer. So that as you eliminate one of these risk factors from your life, your risk of cancer goes down in proportion. So if you stop smoking, you reduce your risk of certain types of cancer. If you lose weight, you're reducing your risk of additional types of cancer. So absolutely. It all adds up. Interviewer: Yeah. And all 30% of it you can control. Dr. Sweetenham: Absolutely. Interviewer: With just diet and nutrition. Dr. Sweetenham: That seems to be the case. Yeah. Absolutely. Announcer: Want The Scope delivered straight to your inbox? Enter your email address at thescoperadio.com, and click "Sign me up" for updates of our latest episodes. The Scope Radio is a production of University of Utah Health Sciences. |
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You Might Not Be Drinking Enough Water When You HikeIn Utah’s dry climate, you might not notice how much water you’re losing through sweat. Even for short, hour-long hikes, dehydration can set in faster than you realize, which can lead to…
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June 16, 2021 Interviewer: Coming up next we're going to talk about a common hiking hazard and how to make sure it doesn't happen to you. That's next on The Scope. I want you to think about it. When you go hiking, what problems do you normally run into? Maybe sore feet, tired legs, blisters. Pretty common problems, but today Dr. Emily Harold, a sports medicine specialist at University of Utah Orthopedic Clinic, is here to tell us about one of the more common hiking problems that isn't something that a lot of people really think about, and that's dehydration. And when I heard about this I'm like, "Really? Dehydration? Don't we all drink enough water? It seems like everybody's got a bottle of water." Dr. Harold: Well, I think we all drink some water. I think that we don't all drink enough water. I mean, I think that we are blessed to live in a great state that has an amazing climate, and it's a very low humidity climate. And because it's a low humidity climate, when you're outside and it's hot outside and the sun's beating down, a lot of times your sweat dries quicker and you don't really realize how much you're sweating. And it can almost be pleasant when it's 80 degrees outside in this environment versus 80 degrees in Houston, Texas, in which case everybody knows they're sweating. And so a lot of times people are sweating more than they realize and they're losing more water than they realize and they don't replenish enough, and that can lead to headaches, and tiredness, and in extreme forms can even lead to things like heat exhaustion, heatstroke, which can cause a lot of damage over time. Interviewer: So if I was just going out for like an hour or two hike, do I really need to take water? Is that enough time to start getting symptoms of dehydration? Dr. Harold: It's enough time. We would recommend at least a quart an hour. So if you're going to go out for a two-hour hike, one, we recommend probably drinking a liter before you go. And then while you're out, at least a quart an hour while you're out. More if you are running, trail running, doing activities that are more than just walking. Interviewer: You've covered more endurance-based events like marathons and whatnot, and you say that it can really be common in those events. Explain that a little bit. Dr. Harold: It's a common problem. A lot of times in marathons, people are out on the course for four, five, six hours. On a hot day, they don't drink enough fluid when they're out running and a lot of times when they come in after they cross the finish line, they can have some dangerously high body temperatures, 103, 104, 105. And so we really kind of institute a rapid cooling part and we try to give IV fluids for hydration, but it's very important that you drink enough water, especially when the temperature gets up above 70. Interviewer: And when that sun's out, is it even worse? Dr. Harold: Yeah, because the sun dries the sweat off a little quicker, and so you don't get the same cooling effect as you get when it's a little cloudier. Interviewer: So drinking water, very easily preventable of dehydration. What about extra salt in those situations? Dr. Harold: It is recommended that if you're out for more than an hour that you do ingest some salt. Interviewer: Really? And above and beyond what I would normally get in my diet? Dr. Harold: I think that's why trail mix became so popular. Because people realized if they went walking for a long time, that salt that comes from peanuts and that kind of thing can actually help to retain some of that water that you're drinking, and that helps to replenish their water stores a little easier. Interviewer: Gotcha. And then also we're talking about kids. If you go out hiking for a couple hours with kids, that has a different effect on a kid than it might an adult. Dr. Harold: Exactly, and if you're like my kids, you like to run ahead and you're constantly exploring. So you're not drinking water and no matter how much you tell them to drink water, by they time they're to start drinking when they're thirsty, they've already gotten a little bit dehydrated. So it gets really important just to watch your kids' water bottles. I usually recommend bringing a water bottle for each kid and having them drink from it, so you can monitor how much they're consuming. And if you get somewhere and you realize they haven't really drunk very much water at all, then you can push their fluids a little bit just to keep them from getting dehydrated. Interviewer: How often does heat exhaustion and heatstroke really lead to things? I mean is that not too common, more common than I might think? Dr. Harold: I think both. I think we'll see a lot of hyperthermia or high temperatures sometimes in the emergency room. Usually if you catch them early and you cool people quickly, it doesn't lead to bad outcomes. Now if you have someone who is in Canyonlands or Moab and gets lost and wanders, that's something that can lead to heatstroke and it can lead to some, exactly, brain injury. Interviewer: Just kind of wrap up, then, for myself or for my kids, what would I look for for symptoms to indicate they need to be drinking more water? Or is it just monitor water drinking? Dr. Harold: I think it's easy enough to monitor water drinking. A lot of the symptoms are kind of difficult. Things like fatigue, they get that when they hike anyway. Headache is a common one. So if your child or you notice that you are starting to get a headache when you're walking, a lot of times that's because you're dehydrated. So that's the earliest one. Interviewer: So in that instance drink water, get out of the sun for a little bit, rest for how long? Dr. Harold: Exactly. Find a shady spot. Interviewer: How long would you want to rest for? Dr. Harold: Some people find a shady spot, drink some water, you want to rest for probably a good 10, 15 minutes until you start to feel better. Interviewer: Yeah, and that will start to go away. And then you're fine to go back out again? Dr. Harold: Absolutely. Interviewer: I mean, this seems just like one of those topics that I don't think a lot of people think about and a lot of people don't think is really all that serious in their life. Dr. Harold: Yeah, I think that's my final thought. It's something that I know I could do better at and most of us can do a better job of hydrating, but it is something that can lead to problems and it does make for a much more comfortable walk if you're properly hydrated.
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Treating Olympic AthletesWhat is the difference between a regular athlete and an athlete ready to compete on the world’s biggest stage? Sports medicine specialist Dr. Stuart Willick says it comes down to dedication,…
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August 17, 2016
Sports Medicine Interviewer: Olympians are some of the strongest, fastest, hardest-working athletes in the world, pushing their bodies to the limit. But what's it like for a doctor who takes care of them? That's coming up next, on The Scope. Announcer: Health tips, medical news, research, and more for a happier, healthier life. From University of Utah Health Sciences, this is The Scope. Interviewer: I'm here with Dr. Willick, and he is a sports medicine physician at the U. He's worked with the international Olympic and Paralympic medical communities and has worked with some athletes himself. When you're working with an athlete, what kind of considerations do you have to take in when compared to, you know, just someone that hurt their leg when they're hiking, or something like that? Dr. Willick: One special consideration with any athlete who might get tested for doping is that we have to make absolutely, 100% certain we don't make any mistakes when prescribing medications. So for every single medication that we prescribe with an athlete, we always check, double check, and triple check whether or not it is on the prohibited list to make sure the athlete doesn't inadvertently get into trouble. It turns out that a lot of anti-doping violations are actually mistakes made by healthcare providers unknowingly prescribing a prohibited substance to an athlete when they shouldn't. Another important consideration when you're taking care of elite athletes is, what is their training and competition and travel schedules. We often have Olympic and Paralympic athletes come to clinic who may only be in town for three days. They may be in between one World Cup event and the world championships, for example. Sometimes you have to prearrange things to get a lot done in a short period of time. You have to know when their next major competition is, because that's going to affect your workup and your rehabilitation protocols. For a recreational athlete, for example a hiker, we often have more time for the workup and rehabilitation. Interviewer: So, with these extraordinarily driven athletes and things like that, what is it like when, you know, maybe they're injured, or, do you ever come up to a situation where they want to compete, and they're going to compete, and it's against what you want, what's best for them? You're saying, "Hey, I'm your doctor, no, you shouldn't be doing this"? Do you ever run into those types of things, or, how do you deal with those? Dr. Willick: The short answer to your question is yes, of course. We run into that with recreational athletes as well as the world's best athletes. People want to do their sport, they want to continue being active, they want to compete. Every case is taken individually. There are times when it might be okay for an athlete to compete with a particular injury, knowing that maybe it'll give them a setback, but if they have one chance to compete in the Olympics, sometimes they just have to go for it. And that's very different than if you have one chance to compete in the next 5K that's being run in town, knowing that there's going to be another 5K a week later and another 5K a week after that or a month after that. But often, there's only one opportunity to actually compete in the Olympic or Paralympic Games and the fact of the matter is, that can be reflected in the medical decision-making. However, if it is truly unsafe or unwise for the athlete to compete, we absolutely have that discussion with the athlete, along with their coach, sometimes with their family and other members of the team. Interviewer: So coming up, we have all these people sitting down, watching the athletes, right, and cheering for their country, their favorite athletes, watching their favorite sports and stuff like that. What is something you would want the viewers, our American listeners who are sitting and supporting their country, to know about these athletes? What is something that they should appreciate and know about these athletes? Dr. Willick: The viewer should appreciate the thousands of hours of hard work the athletes have put in to be on TV at the Olympic or Paralympic Games for a few seconds, or a few minutes, or maybe an hour. Thousands of hours of strength training, and flexibility training, and motor skills training, and meeting with a sports nutritionist, trying to regulate their sleep, meeting with a sports psychologist, and the dozens or hundreds of support staff behind every athlete. From all the specialists, to the coaches, to the coaches they had in their earlier days, and yes, even the medical staff supporting that athlete. Interviewer: So you'll be watching? Dr. Willick: I will be watching, yes. Announcer: Thescoperadio.com is University of Utah Health Sciences Radio. If you like what you heard, be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at thescoperadio.com. |
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Listener Question: My Arch Hurts After Just Three Miles of WalkingThis week’s Scope listener question is about acute arch pain when walking long distances. The pain usually goes away by the next day, but the pain stops long walks and makes hikes short.…
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August 08, 2016
Bone Health Announcer: Need reliable and wellness information? Don't listen to the guy in the cube next to you, get it from a trusted source, straight from the doctor's mouth. Here's this week's listener question. On The Scope. Interviewer: All right. Today's listeners question: "When I go walking, I feel great except for about after 3 miles, my left arch gets really sore. So bad usually, I have to turn around and head back. Usually gone by the next day, but I'd like to be able to walk more than just three miles. What can I do?" Dr. Harold: That's a good question. I think, a lot of times, arch pain comes from a muscle that helps to support the arch. One thing you could do is to look in the mirror at home and stand flat on your feet barefoot and see if one foot has more of a collapsed arch than the other. That could be an indication that that muscle might be a little bit weak. The other thing you can try is to stand on just the foot that hurts and do toe raises just on that foot. Do them repetitively, 10, 15 toe raises and see if that recreates the pain. If it does and the pain is coming from this muscle that helps to hold up your arch, then what's happening is that that muscle is getting a little fatigued as you hike. And then, after a while, it can no longer support the load and it causes pain. That's something that can be fixed with good arch supports when you hike, as well as some therapy to strengthen that muscle. Other possibilities, some people can get foot pain and the arch that's unrelated to that muscle. It's more sometimes a burning pain they get in the arch with prolonged walking. Sometimes it's also related to either footwear or occasionally is related to socks as well in the shoe that cause some friction and some abrasion and some pain there. So maybe try and change the socks or the shoes around and see if one shoe is better than another. Announcer: You are listening to the Scope, powered by University of Utah Health Sciences. This is The Scope. Find us online at thescoperadio.com. |
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Environmental and Behavioral Factors for Getting CancerCancer is the result of back luck, bad genes, unhealthy behavior, or a combination of all three. While you can't control your luck or your genes, you can control your behavior. Dr. Kirtly Parker…
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July 28, 2016
Cancer Dr. Jones: Cancer in humans is a result of bad luck, bad genes or bad behavior, or a combination of the three. You can't change your luck or your genes, but let's talk about behavior. This is Dr. Kirtly Jones from Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah Health Care and this is "Cancer and Bad Behavior" on The Scope. Announcer: Covering all aspects of women's health, this is "The Seven Domains of Women's Health" with Dr. Kirtly Jones on The Scope. Dr. Jones: It's been said that the risk of getting cancer is about one-third chance, one-third your genetic predisposition, and one-third your behavior. Now, you can argue about those rough fractions and some would add another one-third environmental factors, but oops, that's four-thirds. But anyway, cancers are us. There is a gene that helps prevent cancer called p-53. Elephants rarely get cancers. Now, they don't smoke and they don't get sexually transmitted diseases that we know about. Anyway, they have 20 pairs of p-53 and we all have one pair. People who inherit a faulty copy of that one and only p-53 gene have a 90% chance of getting cancer in their lifetime. Those of us who have our normal one pair have about 25% chance of dying from cancer in our lifetime. So cancers are us. It's how we evolved and one of the many reasons we are different from elephants. But does that mean there's nothing you can do about getting cancer? I said cancer was one-third bad luck, one-third genes and one-third bad behavior, and let's throw in the environmental risk into that group. Of course, most cancers are a combination of several of these factors, but what cancers are more likely to be influenced by behavior and what can we do? The poster child for bad behavior causing cancer is lung cancer and cigarette smoking, or exposure to secondhand smoke. In developing countries where women don't smoke cigarettes, they do smoke the irritating small hydrocarbon molecules involved in cooking over wood fires in an enclosed area, small house or a hut. Some of this is bad behavior that can be changed. Cigarette smoking, either directly or with secondhand smoke, can be changed and we are changing by helping different cooking tools for women in poor countries. We can do something about this. Of course, some lung cancers are generic and some are bad luck. There's an increased risk of lung cancer with radon exposure, but you can check the radon in your house and the basement easily by calling your health department. And if your radon levels are elevated, you can put a little fan in your basement, an easy behavioral change. While we're on smoking, we can talk about oral cancers and esophageal cancer, which are increased in smokers and smokeless tobacco products. We might as well throw an alcohol, which is a risk factor for oral cancers as well. Of course, we all know the people who smoked or chewed all their lives and didn't get cancer, and that's where luck comes in or maybe these people had some elephant genes. Now, cervical, rectal and oral cancers are related to sex and smoking. The two together are particularly risky. The sex part is that these cancers are related to the HPV virus, which is transmitted sexually. So if you never smoke and you never had any kind of sex, you won't get these cancers. "Wait," you say, "No sex ever?" Well, it's hard to know if your partner or partners have HPV and it's hard to choose a life with no sexual contact ever, although some people do. But you can be careful. Limit your numbers of sexual partners. Practice safer sex with condoms and have your parents get you the HPV vaccine when you're 13 to lower your risk. Liver cancers and hepatitis B and C. The most common kind of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, has about 80% association with hepatitis B and C. You can get hepatitis B and C from blood and sexual exposure. We screen our blood supply for these viruses, but people who do injected drugs and share needles are at risk. You can also get these viruses passed down from your mom. Hepatitis B is more likely to be passed on to your baby than C, but there are good vaccines for hepatitis B and babies of moms with hepatitis B can get special treatment at birth to decrease their risk. Again, you have to be careful with your needles and your sex. Now, skin cancers are related to sun exposure. Sixty-five percent to 85% of melanomas, the most deadly kind of skin cancer, are related to sun exposure. Ninety percent of non-melanoma basal cell and squamous cell cancers are related to sun exposure. Well, we evolved in the sun and sunshine is good for us in many ways, but there's too much of a good thing. So sun block from the time you're a kid will very substantially decrease the risk of common skin cancers as well as melanoma. And you won't get wrinkled. Just think about how smooth the skin is on your tummy and how wrinkled it is on your hands and the face.Well, those of us over 60, we never had our tummies hanging out in the sun. And remember that you almost never get skin cancers on your tummy. These are just a few and those are the easiest targets for behavior of change. A paper in the scientific journal Nature from January 2016 looked at the risks of cancer contributed by external factors, not genes or bad luck. The title was "Substantial Contribution of External Risk-Factors to Cancer Development." I would suggest that all the Scope listeners look it up and read it, but the math was much too hard for me and it made me a little dizzy. So you can get the gist of it by scanning it or from this little podcast. The biggest risk for starting those bad behaviors that can lead to cancers are in young people, those who start smoking, have sex without protection and lay out in the sun. And you can tell your kids about these risks and they probably won't listen to you. But you can make sunscreen a habit for your kids from infancy. You can model good behavior by not smoking inside or outside your house, and you can get your kids vaccinated against HPV and hepatitis B. And then, you can wish for good luck or good genes, and thanks for listening to The Scope. Announcer: thescoperadio.com is University of Utah Health Sciences Radio. If you like what you heard, be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at thescoperadio.com. |
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Eight Steps to a Healthier HeartYour heart beats approximately 100,000 times every day, circulating your blood across a distance of about 12,000 miles. From dietary choices to physical activity, sleep habits, and managing…
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Is Exercising in Cold Weather Safe?Is it risky exercising outside when it’s cold? Is filling your lungs with cold, dry air unhealthy? What if there’s also an inversion? Are these just excuses some of us use to justify not…
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December 29, 2021
Family Health and Wellness
Sports Medicine Interviewer: Exercising outside in winter. I'm here with Dr. Russell Vinik, Internal Medicine at University of Utah Health Care. Dr. Vinik, should we exercise in the winter? Dr. Vinik: Absolutely. Exercise is good for you, whether it's summer or winter. There's always a fear of going outside in winter. We worry about frostbite, but frostbite is very rare especially if you're dressed appropriately. There is some risk in people with heart conditions. It does create a little bit more work on your heart to exercise in the extremes of temperature, whether it be very hot or very cold. But for most of us, it will do us a lot of good. And it's certainly not a good reason to stay at home and sit on the couch because you're worried about the temperature. People often dress very, very warmly, and there's actually a risk of overheating in the winter if you dress too warmly. So the most important thing you could do exercising in the winter is to wear layers that way, you can take off layers as you get too hot. But overall, it will do you a lot of good. You'll pump a lot of blood through your body and it'll help your cardiovascular health, as well as your mental health. Interviewer: I heard you mention, it's probably people with heart conditions shouldn't exercise as much. That surprises me. It seems like people would be more worried about the cold air in their lungs, and the cold and dry air. Dr. Vinik: Yeah. So even people with heart conditions can and should exercise because there's still benefit in doing that. I would just talk with the doctor before you do that. Now, obviously, we all feel that cold air in our lungs when we're exercising in the outside on cold days. That's not necessarily bad for you. If you have asthma, some people do have asthma that can worsen with cold and that's something to be cautious with, and even have an inhaler if you're going to run. One thing we worry about in Salt Lake City, though, is our inversion. And when it gets cold outside the inversion settles in the valley, and that increases air pollution. And the two together can actually make things worse on your body than just one or the other. So the times to be very cautious are those days when the ozone is collected in the valley, we see a lot of particulate pollution, and it's cold. Especially if you have heart or lung problems, then you should probably consider staying indoors. But for the most part, getting outside is a good thing. It's hard to get enough exercise indoors. Some of us have the ability to do it easier than others, but it shouldn't be a good reason to sit on the couch. Interviewer: So if we're middle-aged or younger, and pretty much healthy all the time, even when there's inversion, we shouldn't really worry about it, we should still go for that run? Dr. Vinik: Absolutely. You could still easily go out for a run. The risk to your body is very, very low. In fact, the benefit to your body is a lot more than the risk associated with going out in cold weather or the inversion. I think just getting out and working, and it doesn't have to be a huge amount of exercise, 20 minutes, three, four times a week would do a great deal for your heart/lungs, as well as your body, just weight and preventing obesity and all the bad things that come with a sedentary lifestyle
Is it risky exercising outside when it’s cold? Is filling your lungs with cold, dry air unhealthy? What if there’s also an inversion? Are these just excuses some of us use to justify not exercising during the winter or are they legitimate concerns? Get answers to common questions about exercising in the cold. |
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Eating for Fat LossIf your goal is to lose fat and retain lean muscle mass, you have to eat properly. But what does that mean? There are many myths and misconceptions when it comes to getting your body to let go of…
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