Q: How much exercise do I need each week? 
Here in Oregon the weather has been unseasonably cool…until today when it shot up to 95 degrees. While I was excited to see the (finally) warmer temperature, I realized that because my apartment has no air conditioning I once again will have to find natural ways to keep cool. I thought that I would share the following info, as heat stroke is a very serious condition and it won’t be long before it becomes a daily concern.
Here are natural ways to keep your body cool this summer:
1. Drink plenty of water. You might consider upping your water intake from the usual 8 to 10 glasses a day to 10 to 12. A lot of that water is going to be lost via sweat, and you want to make sure that you don’t dehydrate. Water is also a natural coolant for your insides!
2. Exercise earlier in the morning and later in the evening. Dawn and dusk are the best times for exercise during the summer because it is light out and the heat either has yet to arrive or has started to dissipate.
3. Eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. Lighter meals of fresh fruit and vegetables will not only save you the time of standing over a hot stove or diving into a hot oven to retrieve a baked dish, the coolness of the fruit and salad will help cool you down!
4. If you wear hats, pour some cool or cold water into the hat and then turn it inside out when you put it back on your head. This will help you keep your head cool during the day!
5. Avoid direct sunlight and surfaces like asphalt which can store and radiate heat. During the hottest part of the day, stay inside with a fan and some ice water.
If you like eating at fast food restaurants, but want to get out of that habit, I’d recommend watching Super Size Me. Super Size Me is a movie created by and starring Morgan Spurlock. It is an account of what happens to him when he decides to eat solely from the McDonald’s menu for 30 days. In addition to that, if a worker asked him if he’d like to “Super Size” his meal, he forced himself to say, “Yes.”
Morgan is monitored by a group of doctors/experts ( a cardiologist, gastroenterologist, general practitioner, personal trainer, and nutritionist) who will track the effects that the food has on him. We all can guess that this diet will lead to weight gain, but the conclusions that the doctors made were much worse. In fact, after the first couple weeks, Morgan was advised by some doctors to completely stop his “experiment”. They say that even though he can lose the weight, some of the damage done to his liver is most probably irreversible.
If you don’t have time or access to the entire movie, I recommend watching a clip of the movie on Youtube. In this clip, Morgan tests how long various burgers/fries stay fresh-looking over time. After ten weeks, the McDonald’s french fries still looked pristine! It makes you wonder if the fries you eat are made from preservatives or potatoes.
Did you notice that the option to Super Size is no longer available? Not long after the release of the movie in 2004, McDonald’s got rid of that option (though they claim their choice was not a reaction to the film), but it doesn’t make the rest of the food any healthier. Most experts conclude that fast foods actually should never be eaten, though won’t impact you a great deal if eaten just one time every one to two months.
In our sister publication, Parched No More, LJ Dovichi wrote a great article about how a cure for asthma is a shot of hard liquor. So, if you’re an asthmatic, you may want to get a shot of tequila, rum, or scotch to snap out of your attack.
When we think of fitness, we often conjure images of exercise equipment, leg warmers (remember those?), and Sweatin’ to the Oldies. What you may not know is that it is just as important to exercise your mental health. You can keep your memory sharp and your brain healthy by doing some challenging activities daily.
Play Games: Play some board games for fun and for mental fitness. Play them with a friend for an added benefit. Here are some to get you started:
Physical Exercise: Dust off those aerobics tapes and exercise your body – it helps your mind too. If you haven’t exercised in a while, check with your doctor before starting and proceed slowly. Here are some suggestions:
Work Puzzles: Working through puzzles can exercise your mind. Try some of these:
Take up hobbies: Enjoy a variety of hobbies to make life interesting, bring joy and relief from work, and keep your mind active. Here are some ideas:
Music:Try listening to some classical music. It’s relaxing and good for the mind. Take up a musical instrument to give those mental muscles a workout.
Eat right: Make sure to include a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in your diet. Try to avoid prepackaged foods, fast foods, and foods loaded with chemicals, fats, and sugars. Eating right helps your body – and your mind.
Read: Read a variety of material. Read classics; read the newspaper to keep up with current events; read the comics for a good laugh.
