Bartley Center Wellness News – 72

December 2006

1.    Some essential nutrients for your review

2.    Stopping that Rebound in Weight

3.    Stress and the holidays: tips for coping

4.    Quotes

5.    A Wellness Challenge

Wellness News quiz:

1.      Of the eight different types of vitamin E, experts have determined that alpha-tocopherol vitamin E (AT) is the most useful of the vitamin E forms. True/False

2.      Even in the best medically supervised diet programs, 80 to 90 percent gain back their within five years. True/False

3.      Spending just 15 minutes alone, without distractions, may refresh you enough and relieve enough stress to handle everything you need to do. True/False

4.      Who said - “I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.”

Answers are below in the reading material.

1.  Some essential nutrients

        -- from calcium to vitamin D for you to review.

An essential nutrient is a nutrient required for normal body functioning that cannot be synthesized by the body. Categories of essential nutrient include vitamins, dietary minerals, essential fatty acids and essential amino acids.

Most essential nutrients are needed only in small quantities, and are stored and reused by the body. As a result, unlike absence of air or water for humans, absence of essential nutrients usually leads only gradually to the development of a deficiency disease .

Nutritional wisdom is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to isolate all of the substances in our food which are important to good nutrition. Therefore nutritionists advise us to eat as wide a range of foods which are as little processed as possible. This gives us the best chance of regularly obtaining small amounts, at least, of a wide range of essential nutrients, and reduces the chance of poor nutrition and ill health that may result. Further advice on essential nutrition is based on the circumstances of the person, e.g. their age, occupation, even their location.

Some essential nutrients may be toxic in large doses, for example, an iron overdose can lead to the production of free radicals beyond what the body's antioxidant system can handle. Others can sometimes be taken in amounts several orders of magnitude larger than in a typical diet, with no apparent ill effects.

Below is a partial list of essential nutrients followed by a more detailed description of some critical nutrients that you or someone you know may be lacking. Read on for your review.

1. Calcium: Essential Nutrient for Muscles, Bones, and More

You don't outgrow your need for calcium just because you're all grown up. While calcium is necessary to bolster developing bones, it's also needed to keep your skeleton strong throughout life. And that's not all. Besides participating in maintaining a normal heart rhythm, calcium plays a role in blood clotting and muscle function. The Institute of Medicine (IOM), the group of experts that sets nutrient quotas, has determined that calcium needs increase with age. Here's what you need every day:

19- to 50-year-olds: 1,000 milligrams

51 years and up: 1,200 milligrams

Three servings of dairy foods each day, as part of a balanced diet, provides most people with the calcium they need.

• Fiber: Essential Nutrient for Overall Health

Fiber is best known for keeping bowel movements regular and preventing other intestinal woes, including diverticular disease, an intestinal inflammation. Years of research on fiber underscores its importance in overall health, too.

Fiber-rich foods lower the risk of developing chronic conditions, including heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Fiber is also filling, and it's found in foods that are relatively low in calories, so it's central to weight control.

Fiber needs are based on calorie requirements. That's why men and women generally differ in their daily fiber needs, and why quotas decline with age:

Men 19-50 years: 38 grams; 51 and older: 30 grams

Women 19-50 years: 25 grams; 51 and older: 21 grams

It's beneficial, so why don't many people get enough fiber? Experts blame a lack of plant foods, including whole grains.

• Magnesium: Essential Nutrient for Bones, Immunity & More

Magnesium is an unsung hero of sorts. This mighty mineral participates in hundreds of bodily functions that foster good health, yet few people know that magnesium contributes to bone strength; promotes peak immunity; and normalizes muscle, nerve, and heart function.

You need this much magnesium every day:

Men, 19-30: 400 milligrams; 31 and older: 420 milligrams

Women, 19-30: 310 milligrams; 31 and older: 320 milligrams

• Vitamin E: An Essential Nutrient to Combat Free Radicals

A misplaced fear of fat may harm health by preventing you from getting the vitamin E you need.

Vitamin E, found primarily in fatty foods such as nuts, seeds, and oils, is a potent antioxidant. It combats free radicals, the unstable oxygen molecules that result from normal metabolism as well as from exposure to air pollution, cigarette smoke, and strong ultraviolet rays.

Many people are constantly trying to lose weight are eliminating healthy high-fat foods and that's costing them vitamin E.

Try one ounce of sunflower seeds that supplies two-thirds of an adult's daily vitamin E quota. An ounce of almonds provides almost half.

Vitamin E is a complex nutrient; food supplies eight different types of vitamin E. Experts have determined that alpha-tocopherol vitamin E (AT) is the most useful of the vitamin E forms. Men and women over age 19 need 15 milligrams of AT every day.

• Vitamin C: Essential Nutrient for a Healthy Immune System

It's touted for helping the body repel germs and cancer, but it's not solely responsible for a healthy immune system. Research on diet and cancer prevention focuses on the benefits of consuming a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, not single nutrient supplements like vitamin C.

Vitamin C is also vital for the production of collagen, the connective tissue that keeps muscles, skin, and other tissues, including bone, healthy. And, like vitamin E, vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps ward off cellular damage.

You need this much vitamin C daily:

Men, 19 and older: 90 milligrams

Women, 19 and older: 75 milligrams

Your body can't store vitamin C or make it, so you need some every day. Include some of these vitamin C-rich foods in your choice of fruits and vegetables:

Raw sweet red pepper, 1/2 cup: 142 milligrams

Medium kiwi: 70 milligrams

Orange juice, 6 ounces: 61-93 milligrams

Strawberries, 1/2 cup raw: 49 milligrams

Cantaloupe, 1/4 medium: 47 milligrams

Broccoli, cooked, 1/2 cup: 51 milligrams

Bonus nutrients: Vitamin C-rich foods also provide potassium and fiber. Sweet red pepper and cantaloupe are rich in carotenoids. Consuming vitamin C at meals or snacks improves the absorption of iron from plant foods and iron-fortified grains.

• Vitamin A and Carotenoids: Essential Nutrient for Eyes

An important player in good health, vitamin A is essential for normal vision, gene expression, tissue growth, and proper immune function, among many other duties.

Vitamin A comes in two forms: as retinol (preformed and ready for the body to use) and carotenoids, the raw materials the body converts to vitamin A. Americans have no trouble consuming adequate retinol, but they don't get nearly enough carotenoids. Concentrating on including colorful produce will likely get you more carotenoids than you're eating now.

Top picks include:

Carrots, Sweet potato, Pumpkin, Spinach, Cantaloupe, Sweet red pepper, and Broccoli

• Potassium: Essential Nutrient for Nerves and Muscles

Potassium is present in every cell of your body. It plays a central role in normal muscle contraction, transmission of nerve impulses, and fluid balance. Potassium even serves to promote strong bones, and it's necessary for energy production. Adequate potassium intake hedges against high blood pressure, which creeps up with age. Men and women over age 19 need 4,700 milligrams of potassium every day.

These potassium-packed foods will help you meet your daily quota:

1 cup canned white beans: 1,189 milligrams

1 cup cooked spinach: 839 milligrams

Medium sweet potato, cooked: 694 milligrams

1 cup fat-free yogurt: 579 milligrams

1 cup orange juice: 496 milligrams

1 cup cooked broccoli: 457 milligrams

1 cup cantaloupe: 431 milligrams

Two more nutrients that are particularly important to child-bearing women are:

• Folic Acid:

Folic acid is the synthetic form of the B vitamin folate. Once you conceive, folic acid (and folate, the natural form) help protect your baby against neural-tube defects (and possibly cleft lip and/or palate) during the first 30 days.

Getting the recommended 400 micrograms of folic acid every day from supplements or foods along with a diet rich in folate-filled foods is critical for women who may become pregnant.

The body absorbs folic acid with twice the efficiency of food folate, which explains the recommendation for the man-made variety. Even so, folate-rich foods are important, too.

Fortified foods include:

1 ounce ready-to-eat breakfast cereals: 100-400 micrograms folic acid

1 cup cooked enriched spaghetti: 80 micrograms folic acid

2 slices enriched bread: 34 micrograms folic acid

Folate-filled foods include:

1 cup cooked lentils: 358 micrograms folate

1 cup cooked spinach: 263 micrograms folate

1 cup cooked broccoli: 168 micrograms folate

1 cup orange juice: 110 micrograms folate

• Iron: Iron is responsible for transporting oxygen to cells and tissues throughout the body.

It isimportant for women to consume adequate iron before pregnancy as well as during.

Pregnancy is a drag on iron stores and may cause iron-deficiency anemia in mothers.

To avoid health problems, experts say women should include foods rich in heme-iron, the highly absorbable form found in animal foods, and include iron-rich plant foods or iron-fortified foods along with vitamin C. Vitamin C enhances the absorption of non-heme iron. The ideal amount is about 18 milligrams of iron daily for women ages 19 to 50. Pregnant women should get 27 milligrams a day.

• Vitamin D:  For Older Adults, People with Dark Skin, and Those Who Avoid the Sun

What do these groups have in common? They may lack vitamin D.

make vitamin D, so older people may easily become deficient, even when they get enough sun. To make matters worse, vitamin D needs double after age 51 to 400 international units (IU) a day (the equivalent of four glasses of milk), and increase to 600 IU daily after age 70.  In addition, most foods are poor natural sources of vitamin D. That's why experts recommend consuming vitamin D from fortified foods, including milk and breakfast cereals, and from supplements. You may need a mixture of both to get the vitamin D your body requires.

2. Stopping That Rebound In Weight

Why are people unsuccessful at controlling their weight? One reason is that although many people manage to lose weight, they usually don't keep it off.

Even in medically supervised weight-loss programs, people often regain weight.

Even in the best medically supervised programs, nearly two-thirds of participants end up back where they started. Some are back within 6 months, others within three years.  80 to 90 percent are back within five years. For people who lose weight on their own, the relapse rate may be even higher.

Why Weight Bounces Back

Why is it so difficult to avoid putting those pounds back on? Biology, environment and the pressures of everyday life all play a role.

• Biology — The body's metabolism, programmed for survival in times of food shortage, works against dieters. Your metabolism slows down because it's trying to conserve energy. A person gets hungry, your body doesn't expend as many calories as before doing the same things, and you have to reduce calories even more."
• Environment — It's tougher to lose weight and keep weight off now than it was 20 years ago because there are so many incentives to eat more and move less.  Activity is reduced by labor-saving devices, sit-down entertainment such as television, and the growing number of people in desk jobs.
• Life pressures — "Weight control takes a lot of work, hard work.  If life gets in the way — a spouse gets ill, your child is going through behavioral problems — the disposable energy that you have for any project, including weight control, gets diverted. A person goes back to old habits, and you regain weight.

You Can Succeed

Is it possible to lose weight and keep it off for a long time? Plenty of highly motivated people have succeeded. Now, research is starting to provide a clearer picture of how they do it.

Some of the most detailed information comes from a national long-term study. The National Weight Control Registry contains information on 3,000 people who have lost 30 to 100 pounds (average, 60 pounds) and then kept their weight stable for at least one year (average, five years).

They lost weight using many different diets or programs. But those who keep it off have several things in common:

Exercise:

 People in the weight-control registry, on average, burn up about 2,700 calories a week in physical activity. That's equal to about one hour of moderately intense activity every day — for example, five miles of walking. A large body of research agrees that exercise is essential in counteracting the body's tendency to regain weight.  Guidelines about exercise to prevent weight gain:

• Consult your doctor and start slowly to avoid injury: If you have been inactive, start with 10 to 30 minutes of moderately intense activity, such as walking, three days a week. Build up to 30 to 45 minutes on most or all days of the week
• Reduce sedentary activities such as watching television. Build more activity into your day by parking farther from your destination, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, gardening, walking a dog, etc.
• Schedule your physical activity a week in advance, budget the time to do it, and use a diary to record the amount of time you spend exercising. Record the type of activity as well as the intensity.

Self-Monitoring:

People in the weight-control registry are highly disciplined about this. They weighed themselves a lot and they recorded what they eat on a regular basis. This doesn't mean one gets overly concerned about every pound you go up or down, the way you reverse small weight gains is to have a specific plan.

Sustainable, Healthy Diet:

Although people in the registry originally lost weight using a variety of diets, the vast majority kept the weight off by following a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. Although new research indicates that low-carbohydrate regimes such as the Atkins diet can produce significant weight loss, very few people in the weight-control registry were following Atkins long-term. Another important rule is to control portion size,

Breakfast:

This is another important element for people in the weight-control registry. They ate breakfast, so they were spreading out their calories over the day. This pattern is important to reduce hunger and bingeing. You should eat breakfast. You have to spread your calories out and eat at least three or four times a day.

Support:

It's difficult to keep weight off, but research indicates that it helps to have some outside support. The form of support you need may depend on your personality.  Some people are solo dieters and some like buddies. The most consistent data show that consistent contact with a professional improves the long-term outcome.  But ultimately what matters is individual vigilance. Maintenance is a very active process. If you go with the tide, you will gain weight.

3.   Stress and the holidays: tips for coping

Stress can ruin your holidays and affect your health. Being realistic, planning ahead and seeking support can help ward off stress.

For some people, the holidays bring unwelcome guests — stress. And it's no wonder. In an effort to pull off a perfect Hallmark holiday, you might find yourself facing a dizzying array of demands — work, parties, shopping, baking, cleaning, caring for elderly parents or kids on school break, and scores of other chores. So much for peace and joy, right?

Actually, with some practical tips, you can minimize the stress and feelings that often accompany the holidays. You may even end up enjoying the holidays more than you thought you would.

The trigger points of holiday stress

Holiday stress and feelings are often the result of three main trigger points. Understanding these trigger points can help you plan ahead on how to accommodate them.

Here are the three areas that commonly trigger holiday stress or feeling depressed:

1.  Relationships. Relationships can cause turmoil, conflict or stress at any time. But tensions are often heightened during the holidays. Family misunderstandings and conflict can intensify — especially if you're all thrust together for several days. Conflicts are bound to arise with so many needs and interests to accommodate. On the other hand, if you're facing the holidays without a loved one, you may find yourself especially lonely or sad.

2.  Finances. Like your relationships, your financial situation can cause stress at any time of the year. Overspending during the holidays on gifts, travel, food and entertainment can increase stress as you try to make ends meet while ensuring that everyone on your gift list is happy.

3.  Physical demands. The strain of shopping, attending social gatherings and preparing holiday meals can wipe you out. Feeling exhausted increases your stress, creating a vicious cycle. Exercise and sleep — good antidotes for stress and fatigue — may take a back seat to chores and errands. High demands, stress, lack of exercise, and overindulgence in food and drink — these are all ingredients for holiday illness.

12 pre-emptive strategies for holiday stress

When stress is at its peak, it's hard to stop and regroup. Take steps to help prevent normal holiday depression from progressing into chronic depression. Try these tips:

1. Acknowledge your feelings. If a loved one has recently died or you aren't near your loved ones, realize that it's normal to feel sadness or grief. It's OK now and then to take time just to cry or express your feelings. You can't force yourself to be happy just because it's the holiday season.
2. Seek support. If you feel isolated or down, seek out family members and friends, or community, religious or social services. They can offer support and companionship. Consider volunteering at a community or religious function. Getting involved and helping others can lift your spirits and broaden your social circle. Also, enlist support for organizing holiday gatherings, as well as meal preparation and cleanup. You don't have to go it alone. Don't be a martyr.
3. Be realistic. As families change and grow, traditions often change as well. Hold on to those you can and want to. But understand in some cases that may no longer be possible. Perhaps your entire extended family can't gather together at your house. Instead, find new ways to celebrate together from afar, such as sharing pictures, e-mails or videotapes.
4. Set differences aside. Try to accept family members and friends as they are, even if they don't live up to all your expectations. Set aside grievances until a more appropriate time for discussion. With stress and activity levels high, the holidays might not be conducive to making quality time for relationships. And be understanding if others get upset or distressed when something goes awry. Chances are, they're feeling the effects of holiday stress, too.
5. Stick to a budget. Before you go shopping, decide how much money you can afford to spend on gifts and other items. Then be sure to stick to your budget. If you don't, you could feel anxious and tense for months afterward as you struggle to pay the bills. Don't try to buy happiness with an avalanche of gifts. Donate to a charity in someone's name, give homemade gifts or start a family gift exchange.
6. Plan ahead. Set aside specific days for shopping, baking, visiting friends and other activities. Plan your menus and then make one big food-shopping trip. That'll help prevent a last-minute scramble to buy forgotten ingredients — and you'll have time to make another pie, if the first one's a flop. Allow extra time for travel so that delays won't worsen your stress.
7. Learn to say no. Believe it or not, people will understand if you can't do certain projects or activities. If you say yes only to what you really want to do, you'll avoid feeling resentful and overwhelmed. If it's really not possible to say no when your boss asks you to work overtime, try to remove something else from your agenda to make up for the lost time.
8. Don't abandon healthy habits. Don't let the holidays become a dietary free-for-all. Some indulgence is OK, but overindulgence only adds to your stress and guilt. Have a healthy snack before holiday parties so that you don't go overboard on sweets, cheese or drinks. Continue to get plenty of sleep and schedule time for physical activity.
9. Take a breather. Make some time for yourself. Spending just 15 minutes alone, without distractions, may refresh you enough to handle everything you need to do. Steal away to a quiet place, even if it's the bathroom, for a few moments of solitude. Take a walk at night and stargaze. Listen to soothing music. Find something that clears your mind, slows your breathing and restores your calm.
10. Rethink resolutions. Resolutions can set you up for failure if they're unrealistic. Don't resolve to change your whole life to make up for past excess. Instead, try to return to basic, healthy lifestyle routines. Set smaller, more specific goals with a reasonable time frame. Choose only those resolutions that help you feel valuable and provide more than only fleeting moments of happiness.
11. Forget about perfection. Holiday TV specials are filled with happy endings. But in real life, people don't usually resolve problems within an hour or two. Something always comes up. You may get stuck late at the office and miss your daughter's school play, your sister may dredge up an old argument, you may forget to put nuts in the cake, and

    your mother may criticize how you and your partner are raising the kids. All in the same day. Expect and accept imperfections.

12. Seek professional help if you need it. Despite your best efforts, you may find yourself feeling persistently sad or anxious, plagued by physical complaints, unable to sleep, irritable and hopeless, and unable to face routine chores. If these feelings last for several weeks, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional. You may have depression.

Wellness note:  Exercise

It doesn't much matter why you exercise - for health, weight control, or stress relief. For all of these reasons and more, make exercise a part of your daily routine. Study after study shows that heart disease is almost twice as likely to develop in inactive people. The key to a new exercise program is to start slow. You'll feel better through daily exercise…so get moving.

4.  Quotes:

“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.” - Andrew Wyeth

 “How much easier is self-sacrifice than self-realization!” - Eric Hoffer

“Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country.” - Steven Wright

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world.… Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

Trust that little voice in your head that says "Wouldn't it be interesting if..."; And then do it.  - Duane Michals

“Let the gentle bush dig its root deep and spread upward to split the boulder.” - Carl Sandburg

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities.” - Theodor Geisel

5. A Wellness Challenge - keep it simple: find and preserve the simplicity in well-being, live healthy by eating healthy and participating in regular, meaningful physical exercise. Not only does it sound simple, it is simple.