Suzy's Massage* LMT #3745*'s Blog

How Many Daily Steps Do You Really Need for Better Health?​

June 11th, 2016 • Posted by Suzy Frick • Permalink

It takes 28 steps to walk from your bedroom to your refrigerator and 317 to get to work. If you manage to rack up even a couple thousand steps between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., it’s a pretty good day. Time to hit the gym if you’re going to get 10,000 steps, appease your fitness tracker and edge out your friends on the step-count leaderboard.
But do you really need to hit 10,000 steps per day for better health? Short answer: Not really.

What You Need to Know About the 10,000-Step Recommendation

Pedometers sold in Japan in the 1960s were marketed with the name “manpo-kei,” which means “10,000 steps meter,” according to a Sports Medicine review. Just like that, the number stuck.

And while the original 10,000-step recommendation was anything but scientific, overall, it holds up pretty well in helping the general population improve their health, says Daniel Neides, medical director of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. On average, healthy adults take between 4,000–18,000 steps per day, according to a review from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. And in a 2015 PLOS ONE study, people who increased the number of daily steps from 1,000 to 10,000 cut their risk of death by 46%.

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“What we know is that 10,000 steps equates to about 4–5 miles, or an hour to an hour and 15 minutes of brisk walking,” Neides says. “That’s about the midway point of what we are looking for from people in terms of physical activity.” To prevent cardiovascular disease, the sweet spot is 20 minutes–2 hours of aerobic exercise per day, says Neides, noting that heart disease, the number 1 cause of death in the U.S., kills more people than all forms of cancer combined.

That’s why he’s way more concerned with minutes than steps. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t have a step recommendation; instead it recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderate exercise like brisk walking or 75 minutes of vigorous activity like running per week. For anyone counting, that works out to anywhere from 3,500–8,000 steps per day. And, no matter how much aerobic activity you get, the CDC still recommends getting at least two hours of strength exercise per week. That raises an important point: Dumbbells lifted don’t count toward your step count, but they make huge improvements to your overall health, Neides says.

Hit Your Perfect Step Count

In the end, as long as you are more active today than you were yesterday — whether that means steps counted, minutes active or weights moved — you’re going to get healthier, Neides says. Improving health is about just that: improving, rather than hitting a magic number.

Case in point: In the PLOS ONE study, people who increased their daily step count from 1,000 to just 3,000 steps per day, five days a week, reduced their risk of death by 12%.

“If a previously sedentary person is getting 3-, 5-, 7,000 steps, that’s outstanding! I don’t care if it’s not 10,000,” Neides says. “And for people with some health conditions, 10,000 might not even be healthy.” Plus, some people just enjoy stepless workouts like weight lifting more than walking or running. No matter what, the best workout is the one you’ll stick with.

But, if you are already relatively healthy and active, there’s no reason to stop at 10,000. According to Neides, as long as you cap your aerobic exercise (including walking) at about two hours, 20,000 steps or 10 miles of brisk walking, your health will likely benefit. After that, maybe not so much. In a recent study in the European Heart Journal, people who ran seven miles per hour or faster for 2.5 miles or more per week actually did more harm than good to their overall health.

But however many steps you decide to take, they won’t score you better health if the rest of your lifestyle isn’t up to snuff. “For real benefit, steps have to be done in tandem with healthy eating, good sleep and stress management,” Neides says.


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Vegans may lack essential nutrient intake

April 30th, 2016 • Posted by Suzy Frick • Permalink

Written by: Food Executive

The health benefits of a plant-based diet is well-known, but the question remains: Could vegans be at risk for deficiency of essential nutrients? A retrospective review indicated that vegans should ensure adequate intake of a few nutrients.

According to a 2012 Gallup poll, 2% of the U.S. population follows a vegan diet, which is a strict plant-based diet that excludes all animal-derived foods. Increasingly, people are choosing to follow this diet for ethical, environmental, religious and health concerns. With the growing popularity of plant-based diets, the Mayo Clinic team compiled a review, recently published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, to monitor and advise vegans to ensure proper nutritional intake. Nutrients of concern are vitamin B-12, iron, calcium, vitamin D, protein and omega-3 fatty acids.
"We found that some of these nutrients, which can have implications in neurologic disorders, anemia, bone strength and other health concerns, can be deficient in poorly planned vegan diets," says Heather Fields, M.D., Community and Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Contrary to popular belief, "Vegans have not been shown to be deficient in protein intake or in any specific amino acids." The study points out that some vegans rely heavily on processed foods and may not eat a sufficient variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A whole food, plant-based diet is commendable, and a well-planned vegan diet can be adequate to achieve proper nutrition, but requires some education.
The Mayo Clinic review team recommends that health care providers monitor vegan patients for adequate blood levels of vitamin B-12, iron, ferritin, calcium and vitamin D.


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Why A Massage Tune Up / Maintenance?

April 12th, 2016 • Posted by Suzy Frick • Permalink

Maintenance massage simply means scheduling massages on a regular basis to prevent getting so tight and sore that you “need a massage right now!” Sometimes when you try to get in for an appointment as soon as possible, that means you may have to wait longer than you want to for an opening or take an appointment that isn’t an ideal time for you – but you take it anyway because you are so uncomfortable.

Why Maintenance Massage?

Besides the fact that massage feels good, there are other reasons to consider getting yourself on a regular schedule for massage:

If you are not able to change a job or lifestyle that leaves you with tight or sore muscles, then it is likely you are going to continue to experience the same discomforts that bring you to massage in the first place.
Massage is relaxing and helps ease your response to everyday stressful situations.
As you become aware of how much better you feel after massage, you may start to notice what it is that causes the discomfort in the first place. It is then that you can look for solutions that will help you minimize the wear and tear on your body.
Muscle tightness and stress will be addressed on a regular basis and you will feel better.
You have something to look forward to because you know when your next massage is scheduled.
You can get the appointment you want because you scheduled it ahead of time.
Save with pre-paid packages:

Package of 4: $240. ($60. per one hour massage)

regular price: $70. per one hour massage ..
Save: $40. with package


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