Posts Tagged ‘healthy living’
I used to walk 3 miles UPHILL in the snow every day to school! Sound familiar? Yea, my parents say it all the time, too. But a recent study shows that (not surprisingly) all that walking was doing them a lot of good. According to the new University of Buffalo study, a simple morning walk to school could reduce stress reactivity in children during the school day, curbing increases in heart rate and blood pressure that can lead to cardiovascular disease later in life.
The study showed the students who took a short walk to school in the morning reported less stress when taking exams and also experienced smaller elevations in blood pressure than students who got carted to and fro.
“The cardiovascular disease process begins in childhood, so if we can find some way of stopping or slowing that process, that would provide an important health benefit,” says James Roemmich, UB associate professor of pediatrics and exercise and nutrition science and senior investigator on the study, which he completed with graduate students Maya Lambiase and Heather Barry. “We know that physical activity has a protective effect on the development of cardiovascular disease, and one way it may be doing so is by reducing stress reactivity.”
Roemmich explains this study is the first to show that moderate-intensity exercise can reduce children’s cardiovascular reactivity during later, stressful activities.
So all of this leads me to my question…do your kids walk to school? Why or why not? If work schedules allow, it might be a nice activity for YOU to walk with them — that way you don’t worry about their safety and you get a work out, as well. What are your thoughts on this, I’d love to hear them!
Hello lovely readers of The Daily Balance! My name is Heather, and I was introduced to fell in love with healthy lifestyle blogs back in April. J I just adore the community of like minded people that I have found that are all striving for or otherwise keeping up a healthy, balanced lifestyle. I love to write and thought that my own experiences with working towards the aforementioned healthy balance could contribute to this wonderful community as well. So, in May, I took the leap of faith and started www.junkfoodbreakup.wordpress.com.
Why junk food break up though? See, I figured that a lot of us have a special place in our hearts for the stuff that’s not always good for us. Maybe we just never knew how to let the “not always good for you” food be only a part of our lives – and if we face facts we know we can’t cut it all out completely, because, well, true love never dies. That’s where that balance comes in! Learning that there are other fish (and salads and yogurts and fruits) in the sea, and knowing that you don’t have to cut everything you love out of life makes the journey so much better!
Here are a few pearls of wisdom that have helped me out along the way in my journey to the land of balance, and I hope you find them helpful too!
- Have a piece of pizza for a meal once in a while – as long as your other meals aren’t doughnuts and cheeseburgers.
- Explore the produce section – before, I used to think that salads were confined to iceberg lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes. Imagine my surprise and delight when I learned that a salad (and the produce section) is basically just one big endless opportunity. My favorite salad concoction? Fresh spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onions and goat cheese with dressing on the side.
- Develop a love for dark chocolate in place of milk chocolate – not only is it better for ya, but there’s something about dark chocolate that just feels decadent and luxurious.
- Venture off the beaten path and visit a farmers market or local grocery store – you just might find something new that you hadn’t seen at your regular store.
- Make exercise a priority. I used to think “oh, I’ll workout if I get around to it.” Now I know that it’s going to be a part of my day before I tackle other things.
- Dining out is going to happen – it is part of life and an experience that’s meant to be enjoyed to the fullest. I will say that it took me a while to not go straight for the French Fries, but now I love to explore other options on the menu (but I won’t lie, the fries still get ordered from time to time).
- Stick with it for at least 3 weeks and let your body get used to the changes you are making.
