wellness weekly

METS: Okay, I said that I would tell you about METS this week and so now I have to do it. This means I have to finish reading the section on them. Geez. What I am about to share with you is my interpretation from the Physical Activity Guidelines. A MET is the metabolic equivalent of energy expenditure used to describe exercise. If you are not doing any activity then your MET is one and anything above one can be catalogued and counted towards your better health. Scientists determine the MET of each exercise, though one activity will have different METS based on how you do it. For example a slow pace in walking might have 2 MET while a brisk walk could have 4. Running will obviously be higher in METS. However long you do that activity, for example 30 minutes, times the MET level will equal your MET minutes. A thirty minute activity that equals 4 MET will be worth 120 MET minutes. The people who worked on the guidelines offer us a number of MET minutes for which we will improve health. And it comes with a range. There is no upper limit. They do suggest at least 500 MET a week to improve health, but more than that is necessary to lower disease risk for breast cancer. Remember too, that you can do an 8 MET activity for half the time you do a 4 MET activity and still have the same MET total. Some examples offered in the guidelines include a ten minute mile pace for runners being equal to 10 MET and a twenty minute walking mile (three miles per hour) as being a 3.3 MET. IF you do fifteen minute walking miles your MET would be higher. A cyclist would need to be able to do a 6 minute mile to be considered vigorous. These are all the low end of vigorous BTW. It seems that 1000 MET is a good goal. (PS your exertion and your fitness levels change, for instance my running is more often moderate than vigorous)

Forty is NOT the end: I found it surprising that an article would say that it is difficult to find world class athletes over the age of 40. Surely the author is aware of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The article regarding some research about the body and brain’s decline in motor control that begins, perhaps, at the age of forty, explains. A healthy brain or central nervous system is one that sends and receives messages very quickly. One way to test this is to count how many times an average person can tap their finger in ten seconds. I ALWAYS wondered why doctors tell people to tap their finger really fast! Anyway, the brain circuitry (nerve fibers) works best when in is coated in myelin. The researchers in this study found that the slower tappers had broken down or frayed myelin in the finger tapping area of their brain. We do have a system that can repair myelin and the more physically and mentally active we are and remain, the healthier our brains will be. This is assisted also by preventing disease processes associated with sedentary lifestyles and malnutrition.

C Reactive Protein: When an article came out in the WSJ this week on the same topic we discussed last week, it had exactly the opposite conclusion. CRP is a very important heart disease indicator and should be addressed with medicine. I am sticking with the news from the week before however, that the inflammation level is a marker and the problem is a disease process that yes may be medically treated but more importantly lifestyle prevented.

President’s Cancer Panel: I don’t know about you, but I was not aware that we had such a council. We do and they came out with a report recently that urges government to get on board with more funding and diligence. The council is afraid that the message is getting damped down when “every day 4000 people in the US are diagnosed with some form of cancer.” WOW. I read about this in a Washington Post article where I was also surprised to learn that 40 % of us will develop some form of cancer in our lifetimes. That is a very high number. In the article, which calls for direct White House action, Dr. M Kripke of the Anderson Cancer Center in Texas reminds us that many types of cancer can be prevented and she states that tobacco causes at least 15 types, accounts for at least 30% of all cancer death and 87% of lung cancer deaths.


Migraines: Ever have a migraine? I have had two for certain and I think a few sub migraines.. I say sub because now that I know what they feel like I would never minimize that suffering. I cannot imagine what life would be life to have one every day. In fact, I believe that true chronic pain can destroy a person’s soul. I was interested then in reading an article whose headline promised to ease migraines. This is what I learned. (nothing. I haven’t read it yet! I actually read this stuff while writing the blog more often than not as life has gotten busy!) There is a medication that helps with migraines now but it has to be used with caution in persons with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and blood flow diseases. A new medication, made by Merck, may be able to treat migraines without constricting blood vessels. I hate that it is medicine again and I hate that it is from the makers of Vioxx because I still have fears about having used that medicine. Still, I was happy to see at the end of the USA Today story that a neurologist recommended that one pay attention to lifestyle factors, including sleep, nutrition and exercise. AMEN. I do myself have more headaches when I am unable to run.

Vytorin: Another drug associated with Merck. As you may recall, I have been against this cholesterol lowering medication combo from the very beginning. The latest news comes rather full circle and addresses my initial point to a degree. The Vytorin had the commercials about having Aunt Martha’s genes and eating Aunt Sally’s pie or some such nonsense. The commercial could easily mislead a person into thinking that taking the medication would obviate the need for healthy eating. This in my most professional opinion is bullshit. Merck and Schering-Plough also claimed that this medication worked better than older generics, which research has proved untrue. There are investigations and inquiries in place on both issues currently.

Goals: Make them achievable and it will build self efficacy and self esteem. I have really been struggling with my running and was feeling pretty down on myself because I couldn’t meet the mileage goals in the training plan I had devised. I revised it and you know what, it feels better to come in and check off the four or six mile run than having to put an X on the ten mile one…………



Happy weekend. I think I will get up and make some spaghetti sauce now. I love to smell it simmering on the stove. I use diced up onions (and maybe green pepper and mushroom) and garlic, simmered/sautéed in a splash of wine, then I add chopped tomatoes and basil, oregano and a bay leaf. I let it cook for a half hour or so. When it is all done I remove the bay leaf and stir in one packet of sweetener.

Ahhhh…………