Safe Exercise Strategies

Now that summer is almost here, people are getting out and exercising more often. Exercise can have substantial health benefits, such as prolonging our lives, improving our immune system, and boosting our energy. While exercise is good for us it can be harmful if not done correctly. No matter if you are a recent participant in exercise or a master athlete, there will always be risk for injury. When faced with a goal or deadline that is near, we often push ourselves too hard or fast, which can potentially result in injury. While there will always be a risk for injury, you can still take precautions to prevent them from happening.

Tips for Preventing Injury

1. Set Realistic Goals: You cannot lose fifty pounds in two weeks, so set goals that challenge but can actually be achieved.Additionally, be specific with your goals instead of being vague or unclear. Eg: “I plan to run a mile in less than seven minutes this week.” instead of “I want to improve my mile time.”
2. Don't Overdo It: This most common cause of injury is pushing yourself too much. Instead of just jumping in a lifting 150 lbs, work your way up to it. Start at a low intensity and gradually increase it with each workout.Use the 10% rule when working out—do not increase your training load such as time, intensity, or distance by more than 10% each week
3. Pay Attention to any Pain: "Feel the burn, love the burn", "no pain, no gain" we often hear these said while working out and while we should feel some burning and maybe slight pain while working out pay attention. If the pain is continuous or occurs in the chest of neck area this is not beneficial. General muscle soreness is fine but it may indicate that you are not warming up sufficiently or you are exercising too long/strenuously. 
4. Control Your Movements: Keep you movements under control. Anything that is rapid or jerky movement can result in an unwanted injury. If you cannot keep control of your movements, slow things down and exercise at a more moderate pace. 
5. Watch Your Form: Poor form and posture during a specific exercise can result in a torn or strained muscle along with damage to your joints.By keeping your back aligned and straight, knees at the correct angle for movements, and tucking your buttocks, you can prevent injury. These are most important if lifting above your head, jumping, or squatting.   
6. Don't Bounce While Stretching: "Ballistic" stretching  is when you bounce in and out of a stretched position. While it is thought to be beneficial to your flexibility, it can also increase your chance of muscle tears and soreness. Switch out ballistic for static stretches to prevent these injuries. Static stretching, in which you gradually stretch to a full range of movement, will help loosen muscles without straining them. 
   It is also important to warm up before you start stretching. This can be done with a brisk walk or light jog.
   
   
    
7. Use Good Footwear: Wearing improper shoes that are worn out, do not fit right, or provide no support can add stress to your hips, ankles, and feet. This is where the majority of sports injuries occur. Choose shoes that are fitted to you and replace them when they become worn out. 
8. Go Low Impact: Try to stick with the gliding or marching motion that is not as hard on your joints versus the jolting up and down movements. This can protect your back, calves, shins, ankles, and knees from injury.  
9. Drink Up: Keep hydrated and replace any fluids that you may have lost during a workout. If your are working out in any hot weather this is especially  important to keep from over heating. Heatstroke can be extremely dangerous. Even if you are not thirsty try to drink a gulp or two of water in between intervals.  

References:
http://www.berkeleywellness.com/fitness/injury-prevention/slideshow/9-safe-exercise-strategies

Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit...

Beans have always been widely known for having a bad reputation for causing gas. Due to this reputation it seems as if people try to avoid them more often than they should. If there is anything you want to improve in your diet and cost of grocery's it is to eat more beans. In countries other than the United States, beans are valued and used quite creatively in ethnic recipes that are flavorful and unique. There are several reasons as to why so many other nations consume such a large quantity of beans, so lets spill the beans on the bean...

Beans and your Health

Beans are rich in vitamins, particularly in folate. Depending on the type of bean you can get 80-150 mg of folate in a half a cup of beans. The recommended daily value of folate is 180 mg; consume just over a half a cup and you have hit that marker. Folate is an important vitamin that falls under the Vitamin B group. Folate works with B12 to form red blood cells. It is needed for the production of DNA, which is needed for tissue growth and cell function. This is extremely important for woman during pregnancy. Low levels of folate can cause birth defects like spina bifida. 

The More You Eat the More You...

When eating beans it is always a concern that you will have gas the next day. This is due to the fermentation of the complex carbohydrates found in beans. These complex carbohydrates are called oligosaccharides. Although this is a common reason as to why people avoid beans you should not let this stop you. Here are some ways in which you can prevent getting gas. 

• Soak beans prior to cooking in some water with some baking soda added. If you are using canned beans rinse them under some water before preparing. 
• Beano or any other similar product can be taken orally by a capsule or in liquid form. Beano contains an enzyme that helps break down oligosaccharides.
• Eat beans frequently. Your body will slowly adapt and learn how to break down the oligosaccharides, just be sure to do this gradually.  

Cooking Beans

When making dishes that call for beans we tend to grab a precooked can of beans to help us save time. This can make our lives convenient but it can also increase our sodium level intake greatly. Canned beans are high in sodium so it is always best to use fresh beans when cooking. However, if you do not have the time, try purchasing the low sodium cans or rinsing beans under water to help lower sodium intake. If you do have time to cook beans here is how you can do it. Depending on the type of bean it can take from 30 minutes to 2 hours. To speed up the cooking process it always helps to soak your beans overnight for 6-8 hours or soak them in boiling water for 1-2 hours. Before soaking it is always important to sort beans to discard any pebbles or shriveled beans that may be in the mix. Once this process is done, drain your beans and throw them in a pot with what ever fixings and seasonings you want. Cook until your beans are at the softness that you want. 

Resources:
Blonz, Edward. (2013) "How to Buy Beans." Berkeley Wellness. Retrieved from     http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-eating/food/article/how-buy-beans?ap=202

USA. (2012). "Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Folate." USA. Retrieved from http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/

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What do you want to know?

This week we are conducting a Q&A so that we can collect ideas for what you want to know on the topic of wellness. Please comment below for a topic or question that you would like to have us write about. We will do our best to take everyone's requests and write a blog for each one.

Question about Common Health concerns? Follow the hyperlink to get your answers:
BYU-Idaho Student Health Center

Environmental Health

Smog, acid rain, a fading ozone layer, air pollution, water pollution: these all take a heavy toll on our environment and our health. Your environment plays a significant role in your health and well-being. However, in order to guarantee that it will have a positive effect on us, we need to make sure that our environment is healthy. Some common conditions and diseases that are influenced by our environment are asthma, cancer, and lung disease. Sometimes in order to take care of ourselves we need to take care of our environment to guarantee a healthy lifestyle. There are many ways in which we can do this such as recycling, going green, or reusing. At home most of us probably have some system of recycling and access to green products. But when we come to school, it gets a little trickier. A lot of the time environmentally safe products are more expensive and access to recycling is limited. As students, our funds are small and our access is limited. But here are some ways in which you can still continue to live a more environmentally conscious life while not making life inconvenient or financially straining.

Reduce

Here are some simple things you can do to reduce your consumption: 

• Turn off lights when leaving the room.
• Open the blinds during the day and leave the lights off. Take advantage of the daylight to lighten your home or apartment. 
• Instead of getting bottled water use a reusable water bottle that you can refill. If you do not like tap water or do not have a water filter try to buy large 5 gallon jugs to avoid the excess amounts of plastic that individual bottles create. Not only will this create less plastic waste but it will be cheaper as well. 
• Try to walk or bike as much as you can or car pool when traveling long distances. 
• For new parents use cloth diapers instead of disposable diapers. 
• Unplug electronics when you are not using them or when they are fully charged. 
• Eat at home more often. This will reduce the amount of garbage along with save you money. 
• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth except when rinsing. 

Reuse/ Alternatives

• Make your own cleaning products not only does this reduce but it can also prevent more harmful chemicals from getting into the environment. Vinegar, baking soda, and salt are all great cleaners as well as eco-friendly. 
• Get the most out of your food. Some products such as lemons can be used as effective deodorizers and cleaners by using the discarded peel. 
• Start a compost and use it for fertilizer for a garden. 

Recycle

If you have not noticed yet, the BYU-Idaho campus is very environmentally friendly. All over campus and in every building there are recycling unit drop offs where paper, cans, and card board can be recycled. All thought these containers are not great for large drop offs they are equipped to take small amounts of recycling. Just bring your recycling with you on your way to class and just drop it off at the recycling drop off. They are usually located near the entrance of each building. For large amounts of recycling you can easily take a short trip to the nearest recycle drop offs located in Rexburg. These drop offs can be found in the Walmart front parking lot, Broulims back parking lot, Madison middle school parking lot, or Madison high school parking lot. 

Things that can be recycled: 

• #1 plastics (water, soda, cooking oil, and salad dressing bottles)
• #2 plastics (shampoo bottles, milk jugs, and plastic grocery bags)
• Aluminum cans (aluminum cans only)
• Office pack (printer and notebook paper, envelopes, and manila folders)
• Newspaper / catalogs (newspapers, magazines, phone books, and catalogs)
• Corrugated cardboard (corrugated cardboard only)

Tips for when you are recycling: 

• Rinse out all containers. 
• Smash or crush containers so that they take up less space.
• Get small bins to collect and separate different recyclables. This will both make things easier and faster when it comes time to drop off your recyclables. 

Resources:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/
http://resident.rexburg.org/index.aspx?nid=234