A Little Help From My Friends: How Do YOU Do (A Healthier) You?

[Me from ME]

Hi Brooks. I have to look into this whole UV light - Vitamin D thing. I am well aware that sunscreens contain toxic ingredients but at this point I am not sure which is the lesser of two evils.

 Meanwhile, I am on the side of "cows milk is for growing heifers into very big cows" side of the spectrum.

[ClareWalks]

@Brooks I would really refrain from offering advice like this in this forum, you are not a medical doctor (right?) and the things you are espousing as absolute gospel truth are a terrible idea for a huge subset of the population that is vulnerable to melanoma or sunburns.

[Brooks]

I'm saying what I'm doing for my health, which was the purpose of this thread.  And I'm saying be open to doing the research for yourself because so much of what we have been spoonfed is wrong or incomplete.

I offered a way to avoid sunburns.  In addition, by making sure you have plenty of early morning and late afternoon sun you can build up a sun callus that helps protect against midday sun.  I'm not talking about a tan.  It's conditioning of the skin the way we were designed/evolved to do.  And it helps you get the much greater sun exposure you need for health.  Because the science has shown up for a long time that the sun is our friend.

Too many  people with melanoma got that way because they didn't get enough of the right kind of sun.

We need more Vitamin D and we need to figure out how to do that.  Megadoses of Vitamin D in supplemental form often don't help.  That should be a clue there must be another way.  But we also need more natural sunlight for all the reasons we have opsins throughout our skin.  They are there for a reason.  Even if you can't buy into that, we still to mitigate the amount and type of artificial light we expose ourselves to.  It isn't controversial that night shift work is bad for our health.  It isn't controversial that blue light by itself is bad for our health.  Technology is going to make all of this much harder so we need to develop personal plans, what might work for our individual circumstances.   That's my hope for fellow forum members.

[Colleenna]

21 minutes ago, Brooks said:

I'm saying what I'm doing for my health, which was the purpose of this thread.  And I'm saying be open to doing the research for yourself because so much of what we have been spoonfed is wrong or incomplete.

I offered a way to avoid sunburns.  In addition, by making sure you have plenty of early morning and late afternoon sun you can build up a sun callus that helps protect against midday sun.  I'm not talking about a tan.  It's conditioning of the skin the way we were designed/evolved to do.  And it helps you get the much greater sun exposure you need for health.  Because the science has shown up for a long time that the sun is our friend.

Too many  people with melanoma got that way because they didn't get enough of the right kind of sun.

We need more Vitamin D and we need to figure out how to do that.  Megadoses of Vitamin D in supplemental form often don't help.  That should be a clue there must be another way.  But we also need more natural sunlight for all the reasons we have opsins throughout our skin.  They are there for a reason.  Even if you can't buy into that, we still to mitigate the amount and type of artificial light we expose ourselves to.  It isn't controversial that night shift work is bad for our health.  It isn't controversial that blue light by itself is bad for our health.  Technology is going to make all of this much harder so we need to develop personal plans, what might work for our individual circumstances.   That's my hope for fellow forum members.

You do realize that the article you cited was only for women , and specifically for women in low sunlight intensity regions? No part of the USA qualifies as low sunlight intensity. 

[Dot]

https://wapo.st/2G1EWWo

A WaPo article about step-counting (taking 10,000 steps daily).

[Gramto6]

I use the Stepz app on my iPhone. I have a really bad back and balance issues so my goal is set at 7,000 steps a day, all done inside the house.  I was pretty much around that give,or take a thousand steps until my cat died in December just before Christmas. He was old and sick and spent a lot of time in my lap... Nowadays I am doing well over 13,000 steps a day, but I would go back to 7,00 in a heartbeat to have my buddy back!

[Gramto6]

Oh and I should add I am almost 70 years young...

[cherenkov]

On 1/26/2019 at 1:40 PM, Me from ME said:

Hi Brooks. I have to look into this whole UV light - Vitamin D thing. I am well aware that sunscreens contain toxic ingredients but at this point I am not sure which is the lesser of two evils.

Yeah those ingredients did cause cancer in rats when they were fed enormous quantities of them.

Don't drink sunblock.

As for what Brooks is saying, yes, melanoma is relatively rare though it is extremely serious. Melanoma, however, is not the only cancer that can be directly caused by sun exposure. Both basal cell and squamous cell cancers that are directly linked to damage caused by sun exposure. UV exposure damage differs by the type of UV light, but both UVA and UVB exposure are known carcinogens. More than 95% of all melanoma and 99% of all other skin cancers are caused directly by sun exposure.

Risk of melanoma doubles if you have had five sunburns in your lifetime.

It baffles me, really, that the same people who will tell you that WiFi, LTE, nuclear power plants, and LED light bulbs are going to kill you with harmful radiation will then turn around in the next breath and tell you to expose your body's largest organ, completely unprotected, to the cumulative cell damaging effects of a nuclear reactor more powerful than any ever designed on this planet. They will warn you, despite having no evidence whatsoever a mobile phone can cause any form of cell damage to any human tissue, that your mobile will give you brain cancer right before they tell you to go on outside and add to your lifetime UV dose when we know for absolute fact that 97% of the three most common forms of skin cancer are cases directly induced by sun exposure.

That giant yellow thing in the sky, sure it provides us with warmth and light and the ability to make Vitamin D, but it can also kill us. So wear your sunblock. Don't end up like Bob Marley.

[Colleenna]

1 hour ago, cherenkov said:

As for what Brooks is saying, yes, melanoma is relatively rare though it is extremely serious. Melanoma, however, is not the only cancer that can be directly caused by sun exposure. Both basal cell and squamous cell cancers that are directly linked to damage caused by sun exposure. UV exposure damage differs by the type of UV light, but both UVA and UVB exposure are known carcinogens. More than 95% of all melanoma and 99% of all other skin cancers are caused directly by sun exposure.

Yup. All of my skin cancers have been BCC or SCC, and all of them have been in a place where you can't wear sunscreen. But you can bet that I have since learned to WEAR A DAMNED HAT. 

[minamreeka]

On 1/26/2019 at 8:14 PM, ClareWalks said:

We require very little sun exposure per day to get our vitamin D, maybe 10-15 minutes. And we can still produce vitamin D even while wearing sunscreen.

Yes.  I live in the Arabian Gulf and it sounds surprising but Vitamin D deficiency is a big health problem here because the summer months are so hot that we just don't go outside during the day.  For people with diagnosed as vitamin D deficient the advice is always to go outside for 10-15 minutes.  And it's the same advice for local people who cover their whole bodies and heads (both men and women).  It doesn't take much more time and you can certainly still be clothed and wearing sunscreen/makeup.

[Lovecat]

16 hours ago, cherenkov said:

Yeah those ingredients did cause cancer in rats when they were fed enormous quantities of them.

Don't drink sunblock.

As for what Brooks is saying, yes, melanoma is relatively rare though it is extremely serious. Melanoma, however, is not the only cancer that can be directly caused by sun exposure. Both basal cell and squamous cell cancers that are directly linked to damage caused by sun exposure. UV exposure damage differs by the type of UV light, but both UVA and UVB exposure are known carcinogens. More than 95% of all melanoma and 99% of all other skin cancers are caused directly by sun exposure.

Risk of melanoma doubles if you have had five sunburns in your lifetime.

It baffles me, really, that the same people who will tell you that WiFi, LTE, nuclear power plants, and LED light bulbs are going to kill you with harmful radiation will then turn around in the next breath and tell you to expose your body's largest organ, completely unprotected, to the cumulative cell damaging effects of a nuclear reactor more powerful than any ever designed on this planet. They will warn you, despite having no evidence whatsoever a mobile phone can cause any form of cell damage to any human tissue, that your mobile will give you brain cancer right before they tell you to go on outside and add to your lifetime UV dose when we know for absolute fact that 97% of the three most common forms of skin cancer are cases directly induced by sun exposure.

That giant yellow thing in the sky, sure it provides us with warmth and light and the ability to make Vitamin D, but it can also kill us. So wear your sunblock. Don't end up like Bob Marley.

My oncologists and I wish we could like your post at least 37 more times.

[Pachengala]

21 hours ago, cherenkov said:

Don't end up like Bob Marley.

Holy shit, I thought Bob Marley died of a foot infection. TIL. Anyway, I don't go in the sun because I'm vain and don't want wrinkles. 

[Elizzikra]

Quote

Don't drink sunblock.

But it smells delicious! Just like a pina colada!

[cherenkov]

18 hours ago, Pachengala said:

Holy shit, I thought Bob Marley died of a foot infection. TIL. Anyway, I don't go in the sun because I'm vain and don't want wrinkles. 

His skin cancer started as a black spot under a toenail.

[Dot]

Update on my "sciatica"

Well, I got some bad new this morn from my doc's office. My spine was X-rayed yesterday to pinpoint the problem. It turns out not to be a pinched nerve or some similar form of sciatica. I have "severe osteoarthritis of the spine." I will have to see my doc to find out for sure what that means for my leg pain agony. But I know there's no cure for arthritis (knees). Hopefully, pain mgmt will be a relief. My doc mentioned that a few weeks ago when I saw him.

Anyone ever had a cortisone shot? A patient at the chiropractor's told me it was life-saving for her.

[Tosia]

i have bursitis of the hip on right side.  Got a cortizone shot but it did nothing.

However, my sister gets one for her achilles tendinitis and swears by it.   I am going to ask for it cuz I have it too.

Anything to try to relieve the pain.

good luck.

[Ketzel]

Oh damn, Dot. That really sucks. My scans show some spinal osteoarthritis too, but so far no pain. My mother had it also and she was persuaded to try the cortisone shots. That was nearly twenty years ago, so I wouldn't say her experience was typical, given there have been big changes in how spinal issues are treated nowadays. But in her day, the shots were pretty much all that was available  if you didn't want, or weren't in good enough shape for, spinal fusion surgery. For a large percentage of patients, the shots were an effective way to reduce or eliminate the pain, although for most people the benefits wore off eventually and the shots had to be repeated. (If you also have osteoporosis, that made for some additional risks.)  Most of the rest had no benefit from the shots and a miserable few found it made things much worse. My mother fell into that last sad category.

But her specific diagnosis was spinal stenosis and the treatment today for that particular form of arthritis damage has come a long way since then.

[Dot]

Thanks, @Tosia & @Ketzel for your info on cortisone shots. It sounds like a crapshoot: helpful for some, not so much for others.

I'll admit to being pretty depressed today. I felt hopeful about sciatica -- find the pinched nerve & fuck around with the vertebra til everything's OK. That ain't gonna happen with arthritis, I assume.

I see my doc Wed morn. I hope for the shot, but knowing him, I'll probably just get a referral to a pain mgmt specialist.

Until then, I'll continue to mimic James King: "Ow! Mah laig!"

[Dot]

https://wapo.st/2IEbcSv

This WaPo article suggests how to fall safely -- particularly if you're over 50 -- and get over a fear of falling.

[Colleenna]

On 2/1/2019 at 3:36 PM, Dot said:

Thanks, @Tosia & @Ketzel for your info on cortisone shots. It sounds like a crapshoot: helpful for some, not so much for others.

I'll admit to being pretty depressed today. I felt hopeful about sciatica -- find the pinched nerve & fuck around with the vertebra til everything's OK. That ain't gonna happen with arthritis, I assume.

I see my doc Wed morn. I hope for the shot, but knowing him, I'll probably just get a referral to a pain mgmt specialist.

Until then, I'll continue to mimic James King: "Ow! Mah laig!"

How did it go with the doc? Did you get the shot? If you did, did it help? 

[Dot]

43 minutes ago, Colleenna said:

How did it go with the doc? Did you get the shot? If you did, did it help? 

I haven't gotten a shot yet & remain in pain. My doc told me as a GP he couldn't give me a cortosone shot but referred me to a pain mgmt doc. I am calling her tomorrow for an appt.

[3girlsforus]

OUCH!! I upped my dumbbell weight in my body sculpting class on Monday. Today I used the new higher weights for the whole class and we did pyramids for biceps and triceps. I can’t lift my arms LOL

Is that a ‘healthier you’ or just a death wish 🙂

[IllinoisGirl7]

2 hours ago, 3girlsforus said:

OUCH!! I upped my dumbbell weight in my body sculpting class on Monday. Today I used the new higher weights for the whole class and we did pyramids for biceps and triceps. I can’t lift my arms LOL

Is that a ‘healthier you’ or just a death wish 🙂

Sounds like a stronger you. I just started to up my weights in my Body Works/ Power Circuit class again. I have no regrets. 

Side note I hate winter, and it has made me want to EAT everything in sight. 

Edited February 27, 2019 by IllinoisGirl7

[Colleenna]

3 hours ago, 3girlsforus said:

OUCH!! I upped my dumbbell weight in my body sculpting class on Monday. Today I used the new higher weights for the whole class and we did pyramids for biceps and triceps. I can’t lift my arms LOL

Is that a ‘healthier you’ or just a death wish 🙂

LOL. Been there done that. Waaaay back in the 90s when Les Mills first introduced Body Pump, I decided to take it. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Body Pump is a group exercise class involving weights (barbells) and music. LOTS of reps (which I didn't know before I took the class.)

Well, I walked in, and thought to myself, I lift pretty heavy, so I'll just max out the bar. Bad idea. 100 barbell curls. 100 clean and press. 100 skull crushers. 80 squats. 80 lunges. 

It was 3 days before I could comb my hair because I couldn't lift my arms.  😄

[ClareWalks]

I went snowshoeing for the first time in my life today. Covered about 5 miles in 90 minutes, it was super fun and easy and scenic and I was totally alone in the forest. And unlike Whitney, I got through the entire thing without whining, screaming, or flailing! I guess my Clareathon was more successful than the Whitathon 😛

[3girlsforus]

43 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

I went snowshoeing for the first time in my life today. Covered about 5 miles in 90 minutes, it was super fun and easy and scenic and I was totally alone in the forest. And unlike Whitney, I got through the entire thing without whining, screaming, or flailing! I guess my Clareathon was more successful than the Whitathon 😛

That sounds fabulous. I’ve never been snowshoeing either but that seems like a pretty nice pace. What a fun thing to be able to encorporate beautiful scenery and great exercise. I bet Whitney never even noticed that Alaska (note there is no R in Alaska) is spectacularly gorgeous. 

[ClareWalks]

51 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

That sounds fabulous. I’ve never been snowshoeing either but that seems like a pretty nice pace. What a fun thing to be able to encorporate beautiful scenery and great exercise. I bet Whitney never even noticed that Alaska (note there is no R in Alaska) is spectacularly gorgeous. 

It felt like a brisk enough walking pace considering I had big-ass feet 😉 And yeah, it was really fun! It was nice to not have that "oh it's too snowy" excuse to be lazy. Plus I discovered a bird-watching area on my walk and saw tons of birds at the feeders and I was so happy to hear all the chirping during this long, awful winter!

Edited to add: just mapped it out and it was about 5.5 miles, so around a 16.5-minute mile. Which is about 3x faster than Whitney did in Hawaii, LOL.

Edited March 7, 2019 by ClareWalks

[Dot]

@ClareWalks, is snowshoeing where you wear those things that look like tennis rackets? I've only seen them on TV.

[ClareWalks]

13 minutes ago, Dot said:

@ClareWalks, is snowshoeing where you wear those things that look like tennis rackets? I've only seen them on TV.

Yes! Although the newer style snowshoes look a bit more rectangular than those. They're about 8 inches wide and 22 inches long and you just strap 'em onto your shoes 🙂

[Me from ME]

Quote

 is snowshoeing where you wear those things that look like tennis rackets?

Perfect description Dot. I even have a pair of Vermont Tubbs with sinew woven by hand into a bent wood frame  which keep one on top of deep powder but walking bowlegged is kinda necessary. I also have a pair of army surplus snowshoes which are white - to camouflage a soldier. My favorite pair are very light weight and engineered for most conditions, however when we have one foot of new powder I go back to my bear paws.

[Dot]

9 hours ago, Me from ME said:

Perfect description Dot. I even have a pair of Vermont Tubbs with sinew woven by hand into a bent wood frame  which keep one on top of deep powder but walking bowlegged is kinda necessary. . . .

I've always loved your "name" since it is so clever. Now I realize I could have asked you directly about snowshoes. It makes sense that someone who lives in Maine might have 3 or 4 pairs! 😁

[Nicmar]

On 2/27/2019 at 4:36 PM, Colleenna said:

LOL. Been there done that. Waaaay back in the 90s when Les Mills first introduced Body Pump, I decided to take it. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Body Pump is a group exercise class involving weights (barbells) and music. LOTS of reps (which I didn't know before I took the class.)

Well, I walked in, and thought to myself, I lift pretty heavy, so I'll just max out the bar. Bad idea. 100 barbell curls. 100 clean and press. 100 skull crushers. 80 squats. 80 lunges. 

It was 3 days before I could comb my hair because I couldn't lift my arms.  😄

Body Pump is still being offered @ Golds Gym. I am too afraid of taking the glass.

[Colleenna]

Hey @cherenkov, did you run the Pirates charity 10K ?

[cherenkov]

21 hours ago, Colleenna said:

Hey @cherenkov, did you run the Pirates charity 10K ?

I did not. I'm preparing for the marathon next weekend. Hopefully I will survive that without too much pain in the legs. :)

[Colleenna]

9 minutes ago, cherenkov said:

I did not. I'm preparing for the marathon next weekend. Hopefully I will survive that without too much pain in the legs. :)

When will you start tapering? This weekend, or midweek?

[cherenkov]

2 minutes ago, Colleenna said:

When will you start tapering? This weekend, or midweek?

I'm going to do a long run tomorrow and then take it very easy for the rest of the week with no running over 2 miles.

[ronanb027]

For me, exercise plays big role in losing excess weight or if you want to stay healthy. If it would be quite hard, then at least you should find an activity that will make you sweat more. Control on food, when you feel hungry, I usually ask myself if I am hungry or thirsty (after decision making, 99% I drink water bec. I am hungry :) ). Replace junk food with fruits, snack with them.

[TurtlePower]

42 minutes ago, ronanb027 said:

For me, exercise plays big role in losing excess weight or if you want to stay healthy. If it would be quite hard, then at least you should find an activity that will make you sweat more. Control on food, when you feel hungry, I usually ask myself if I am hungry or thirsty (after decision making, 99% I drink water bec. I am hungry 🙂). Replace junk food with fruits, snack with them.

I've learned to not mind feeling hungry. I think in our culture of plenty, for many people, feeling "hungry" is not how it used to be for us as a species. Feeling "hungry" can be slightly uncomfortable, but as long as one isn't hypoglycemic or lightheaded, is not dangerous. 

I do intermittent fasting, sometimes working in 6-8 mile runs on an empty stomach. I'll then drink water and have a small, protein-complex carb meal several hours later in the afternoon/evening (not every day, just now and then). 

[cherenkov]

Those of you who aren't Yinzers may not know that yesterday was the Pittsburgh Marathon. Despite a training plan that left a lot to be desired, an extreme avoidance of all bad weather and almost every long run I was supposed to do, I went out there with 3420 other participants and took on the full Marathon. Between full and half marathon, there were 15,165 of us on that course. I finished my worst marathon ever due to poor training and teh decision to spend the evening before eating delicious but greasy food.

I did the 5K on Saturday as well, so that netted me a Steel Challenge for the weekend.  The first Medal Monday of 2019:

[Colleenna]

44 minutes ago, cherenkov said:

Those of you who aren't Yinzers may not know that yesterday was the Pittsburgh Marathon. Despite a training plan that left a lot to be desired, an extreme avoidance of all bad weather and almost every long run I was supposed to do, I went out there with 3420 other participants and took on the full Marathon. Between full and half marathon, there were 15,165 of us on that course. I finished my worst marathon ever due to poor training and teh decision to spend the evening before eating delicious but greasy food.

I did the 5K on Saturday as well, so that netted me a Steel Challenge for the weekend.  The first Medal Monday of 2019:

Darn, I was hoping you'd get your personal best for the marathon. Ah well. Next marathon. 

What's the next race up?

[cherenkov]

7 minutes ago, Colleenna said:

Darn, I was hoping you'd get your personal best for the marathon. Ah well. Next marathon. 

What's the next race up?

Mud on the Mountain at Seven Springs this Saturday.

[Colleenna]

58 minutes ago, cherenkov said:

Mud on the Mountain at Seven Springs this Saturday.

Ass kicker. Good luck!

[Colleenna]

Bahahahaaa. Here's a fun fact: I am a klutz. I am always sporting bruises --- it comes with the territory of being active. I'm always banging into the pool wall, or a weight rack, or a piece of equipment. 

Well, today I found a new and creative way to bruise myself. I dropped my water bottle (full) and it landed squarely on that vein that runs alongside my ankle bone. Puffed up and turned purple instantly. Didn't stop me from finishing my workout, but I shall limp around the house tonight lamenting "ow, my laig!" (For those who also watch M600PL.) 

😄

[cherenkov]

Another one done:

[Colleenna]

3 hours ago, cherenkov said:

Another one done:

How was it?

[Nicmar]

On 5/10/2019 at 3:57 PM, Colleenna said:

Bahahahaaa. Here's a fun fact: I am a klutz. I am always sporting bruises --- it comes with the territory of being active. I'm always banging into the pool wall, or a weight rack, or a piece of equipment. 

Well, today I found a new and creative way to bruise myself. I dropped my water bottle (full) and it landed squarely on that vein that runs alongside my ankle bone. Puffed up and turned purple instantly. Didn't stop me from finishing my workout, but I shall limp around the house tonight lamenting "ow, my laig!" (For those who also watch M600PL.) 

😄

There is some who has that user name that posts in KKUWK forum. 😂

[Colleenna]

36 minutes ago, Nicmar said:

There is some who has that user name that posts in KKUWK forum. 😂

I have no clue what forum that is. 

[OnceSane]

10 hours ago, Colleenna said:

I have no clue what forum that is. 

Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

[cherenkov]

On 5/13/2019 at 10:50 PM, Colleenna said:

How was it?

Lots of fun. The up and down the ski slopes made the non-obstacle parts of the run really challenging (insider secret is most everyone walks up the slopes) and most of the obstacles were pretty good. Some of them are more of a mental challenge than others, like Human Frogger, that take a lot of focus. Nailed 27 obstacles out of 30. The Slice o Pizza was a good one, and the mud and water in Pole Land were frigid as all hell. Actually made the lake in Dunk Dunk Goose feel like a warm bath by comparison. Hit a few bumps on the Water Cooler.

It's a fun race. Loads and loads of mud. Definitely into doing it again.

[Nicmar]

21 hours ago, Colleenna said:

I have no clue what forum that is. 

Kardashians forum lol