--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: F1G00000Date: 01/10/98 From: PETER TOKAR Time: 11:21pm \/To: VERN FAULKNER (Read 1 times) Subj: physical movement and exercise On (01 Jan 98) Vern Faulkner wrote to Dia Spriggs... DS> Have you tried a massage therapist? THere are some DS> really fantastic ones that really understand muscles VF> The problem here is simply mechanical. My kneecap rubs. Much more friction VF> than needed. VF> Basically, at this point in day 7 of 10 days without bike, I am pretty much VF> resigned that nothing conventional approaches can think of will work. So VF> I'm going to get back on the bike, try glucosamine sulfate, work on the VF> muscle balance, and try and ignore the discomfort. VF> I can't go back to being a vehicularly-dependant blob. I've gained at least VF> four pounds in the last two weeks of near inactivity. Hello Vern, I want some input from you in making some healthy lifestyle changes. Can an inactive blob that sits in front of a computer monitor most nights make worthwhile changes in day-time persuits so as to become an active and healthy long distance walker or runner? My basic health is below average for a male at age 38. My breathing capacity at my normal rate is shallow and weak. I need to do whatever I can, all on my own, since groups or classes are time wasted in my opinion. Health Goals: I'd like to lose 1 pound per week, from my present weight at 190 pounds to about 145 pounds by next December. I live a very sedentary life, getting a few hours of keyboarding done most nights; and I operate a B.B.S., so my hands and wrists become cramped often. I am supplementing my intake of foods with Saw Palmetto for a stricture that my urologist told me could be corrected with surgery. I have been taking three capsules of "a source of Saw Palmetto" per day, for a month. It seems to be helping me, so I intend to see if the surgery can be held off indefinitely. Walking long distances, from three miles up to seven miles per day, I would like to aim at this, and see what state of health that I am in, about next Christmas. I also would like to swim about four times a week at an indoor pool. I bought the December 1997 issue of TRIATHALON magazine for tips and motivation to get started with a distance-walking program that will improve over a long period of time. I see life as a progression of training sessions and marathon walks, leading up to refinement of my breathing, my heart rate, my physical endurance, and working to run and swim and bike (stationary bike) ever faster. I need someone to coach me. Someone to take me from this present lack of fitness conditioning, flabby-and-lazy, to a well-toned, muscular participant in daily exercise and muscle-toning, and swimming in an indoor pool. An aerobic workout in my home might be a way to start on a routine of physical fitness. I hate group exercises and wedding receptions. If this topic is wrong for this echo, then we might continue this discussion in Fidonet Netmail. Peter Tokar, aka Pete Zephyr Online .. Fidonet (1:247/110) 1-905-892-3079 --- PPoint 1.88 * Origin: .. Zephyr Online 905-892-3079 (1:247/110) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: F1H00000Date: 01/11/98 From: VERN FAULKNER Time: 12:43pm \/To: DIA SPRIGGS (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: Query: Bromylene? DS> I heard something on TV about a substance they are DS> using made from rooster's combs...it takes the place of DS> the cartilage in the knee and I guess cushions DS> everything...one shot lasts about 6 months...says Well, I'm not that wrecked... yet. So far, one week back on the bike, 95km in five days, the last 15 relatively hard tests of the knees. No real problems - still some discomforts, but they're fading, or so it would seem. --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Fox n' Dragon Inn BBS (472-8313, Victoria, BC) (1:340/44) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: F1H00001Date: 01/12/98 From: VERN FAULKNER Time: 11:51pm \/To: PETER TOKAR (Read 1 times) Subj: physical movement and exercise PT> Can an inactive blob that sits in front of a computer monitor PT> most nights make worthwhile changes in day-time persuits PT> so as to become an active and healthy long distance walker PT> or runner? Well, I did. I wasn't that physically active for about a year, due to injuries and lack of desire among other things. PT> Health Goals: PT> I'd like to lose 1 pound per week, from my present Starting June of 1997, I was 232 Lbs. Currently, I am 189. I have maintained 189 for about a month, despite some ... er... dietary transgressions and the forced 10 days of inactivity. I am 6'2", 32 years of age. Last winter I had a separated shoulder, and in spring I had two months on the couch with bronchitis. That's what made me think "never again." It can be done. PT> weight at 190 pounds PT> to about 145 pounds by next December. I live a very sedentary life, Keep the goals realistic - or, more politely put, how tall are you? I've had to move my "180 by Feb 15" back a bit due to my fling with bad knees. PT> getting a few hours of keyboarding done most nights; PT> and I operate a B.B.S., so my hands and wrists become cramped often. I've done the same, and written 6,000 words a day for a couple of weeks on end. No problems. Solution here is good ergonomics, and regular breaks. PT> me, so I intend to see if the surgery can be held off PT> indefinitely. If it can't, the after-effects of anasthesia will be much reduced if you're at a lower weight. PT> Walking long distances, from three miles up to seven miles PT> per day, I would like to aim at this, and see what state of Walking is good - but not as aerobic as other activities. I can't find the chart I was after, but I'll see if I can find it... PT> health that I am in, about next Christmas. PT> I also would like to swim about four times a week at an indoor pool. PT> I bought the December 1997 issue of TRIATHALON magazine for PT> tips and motivation to get started with a distance-walking Swimming is damnedly hard, and difficult to fit into your lifestyle. I'd recommend cycling, but purely because I've had the best fitness results from when I was cycling. So that's my main suggestion: it is aerobic, low-impact, useable anytime, and can be incorporated into regular lifestyles easily. (Replace a trip in the car to the corner store for a coke and chips with a trip on the bike to the grocery store for a carton of orange juice and a grapefuit.) Alternately, try badminton. I do have strong feelings about Badminton's capacity for increasing conditioning slowly, and yet providing a social forum as well. PT> run and swim and bike (stationary bike) ever faster. Stationary bikes are... boring. If you can incorporate commuting into your lifestyle (eventually) you'll be heading somewhere. I've taken the insurance off my vehicle, and invested in a very solid bike. I now bike everywhere. In fact, I just went for a 2.5 hour joy-ride in the snow. (It doesn't snow much here.) The key? Attitude adjustment. I had a badly sprained knee in '95. If I did the same thing now, I'd be much more determined to rehab myself.... I think the discomfort I had in my knees from the PFS was just as intense, if not more, than when I had strained ligaments in my knee. I just got down and did what had to be done to make things better. PT> I need someone to coach me. Start with yourself. Attitude. What happened to me may happen to you - all of a sudden, you go "hey, I'm not looking like a blimp anymore." I gained four pounds during the 10-day break. I lost that in 10 days. I simply returned to a regular eating schedule, and cut back a bit. PT> Someone to take me from this present lack of fitness conditioning, PT> flabby-and-lazy, to a well-toned, muscular participant The only person who can do that is YOU. Depending on someone else is a crutch. And a crock. And not going to work. I say this without intending to be anything but honest, and I say it based on the "been there, done that" principle. PT> in an indoor pool. An aerobic workout in my home might be PT> a way to start on a routine of physical fitness. Ignore weights. Now, this comes from a chap who has purchased a set of weights for himself, and uses them relatively regulary. Reason I say forget them? Most people do anyhow. The only reason I have them is for off-season training. My fitness goal is to run a 62Km offroad mountain-bike race June 21st. I still have to lose at _least_ 9 more pounds, probably more. And gain muscle tone and endurance. I need to get to the point where blasting off 80k on hilly terrain is just another day's work, and my weekly distance runs close to 400k. This is where commuting comes in. Just by going to work and back, I'm guaranteed a minimum of 100k/week. I made lifestyle decisions to maintain that level of exercise, by taking the opportunity to get a place where I had that kind of distance between myself and work, and by taking the truck off the road. It is _vital_ to increase aerobic activity - but do so slowly. You should learn to sweat, and hopefully enjoy it. PT> If this topic is wrong for this echo, then we might PT> continue this discussion in Fidonet Netmail. I think we can probably squeak it in. Why? Diet. Not the "starve yourself silly" diet. But knowing what foods are which, and why. Learning to read labels. Kicking soft drinks and coffee or other sugared drinks. Keying in on fatty foods, and cutting _down_ on them (not necessarily cutting them _out_) to aid your physical activity. [A change in diet is useless without a complementry increase in aerobic exercise.] Switch to juices - and know that any product with the words "beverage", "drink", "punch", "cocktail" or "medley" is going to contain added sugars. There's importance in knowing that if you're sedentary for any while, that you have to consume less calories - but not necessarily less *volume* in your daily diet, yet allowing for some flexibility and rewards/incentives. For example: I just came back from a 2.5 hour ride, slogging through heavy, heavy snow. I just finished having some hot chocolate, and a bagel, even thoug it was late. Why? I ate less at dinner, anticipating the ride. If I had not ridden, and gone to sleep, I wouldn't have had that snack... yet it _does_ contain fats... but I made allowances for that. I've probably burned off 350-500 calories with that ride (minimum guess: cycling burns off around 500+ calories an hour, adjusted by exertion - and slogging through snow is hard work), so I can take in half that with a trashy drink and a healthy(ish) bagel. That's not a bad way to work for me. See what it does for you. --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Fox n' Dragon Inn BBS (472-8313, Victoria, BC) (1:340/44) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: F1H00002Date: 12/30/97 From: JANE KELLEY Time: 06:39am \/To: DIA SPRIGGS (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: advice please DS>There's a good article in the Alternative Medicine Digest about Arthritis..y DS>might want to pick up a copy.. My software is crazy again. This time I have a Zip drive and am making copies of everything that I use. Hopefully this will end the problem. Can't tell if I thanked you or not, if I didn't, thanks and I will look for the magazine. * SLMR 2.1a * --T-A+G-L-I+N-E--+M-E-A+S-U-R+I-N-G+--G-A+U-G-E-- - JetMail v1.20*6 - Unregistered QWK Mail Door for Spitfire --- FreeMail 1.10 alpha-3 * Origin: PEACHY KEENO INN BBS * Tacoma,Wa * (206)539-0804 (1:138/190.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: F1H00003Date: 01/13/98 From: JANE KELLEY Time: 01:03pm \/To: SUE ALEXANDER (Read 1 times) Subj: It Is Happening Again SA> I presume here that you are talking about the influenza virus. This (a SA>I am sure you know) is a yearly vaccine for the reason you state, and all th SA>epidemiologists can do is take an educated guess as to which flu viruses wil SA>be most prevalent and make a vaccine to those viruses. Getting the "flu shot SA>does not mean you will not get influenza...it just means that you will not SA>get the influenza that they expect may make the rounds that year. In my case I get whatever is in the flu shot plus whatever is going around. I decided to take my chances with the latter. --- SLMR 2.1a This tagline stolen by Silly Little Mail Reader! * Origin: My Desk, Puyallup, WA (253) 845-2418 (1:138/255) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: F1H00004Date: 01/13/98 From: JANE KELLEY Time: 01:03pm \/To: DIA SPRIGGS (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: Advice Please DS>There's a good article in the Alternative Medicine Digest about DS>Arthritis..you might want to pick up a copy.. Thanks. Now to find a copy. --- SLMR 2.1a I'm in shape ... round's a shape isn't it? * Origin: My Desk, Puyallup, WA (253) 845-2418 (1:138/255) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: F1I00000Date: 01/12/98 From: GARY PETZ Time: 08:39pm \/To: DIA SPRIGGS (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: bromelain Thank you for the information. Do you have any idea why instructions on the bottles of Bromelain say take with food. I have been getting good anti-inflamatory effects taking on the empty stomach. --- Maximus/2 2.02 * Origin: The Health Center (1:106/6355) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: F1J00000Date: 01/14/98 From: DIA SPRIGGS Time: 4:43:am \/To: GARY PETZ (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: bromelain > Thank you for the information. Do you have any idea why > instructions on the bottles of Bromelain say take with food. > I have been getting good anti-inflamatory effects taking on > the empty stomach. Yes because it's sold NOT as an anti inflammatory but as a digestant. If take it with food..it will NOT be an anti inflammatory but a digestant..to get anti inflammatory results you MUST take it on an empty stomach. --- D'Bridge 1.30/002111 * Origin: THE SOURCE BBS Miami, Fla 305-624-2190 135/68 (1:135/68) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: F1J00001Date: 01/14/98 From: DAVID WILSON Time: 03:31pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Anti-oxidants In last Sunday's USA Weekend supplement the following blurb appeared in the column "Eat Smart" by Jean Carper. EXERCISERS NEED EXTRA ANTIOXIDANTS Don't forget: When you exercise heavily, you need additional antioxidants, according to leading researcher Lester Packer at the University of California at Berkeley. Exercise, he explains, stimulates your body's production of "free radicals" that attack cells, leading to long-term damage -- and a higher risk of cancer. To counteract the exercise hazard, experts suggest taking antioxidant supplements, notably vitamin E (400IU) and vitamin C (1000mg). I thought I had read everything there was on the subject of anti- oxidants, but I never encountered the above idea before. I am 72 and have always been a "heavy" exerciser ... currently swimming 1200 meters per day. Also, I have taken the above dosages of C and E for at least ten years, knowing that they are antioxidants and good for the body's cell growth. Am I taking the right pills for the wrong reasons?? Isn't there a contradiction here? Regular vigorous exercise has always been touted as the BEST immune-system enhancer and age fighter there is. Any comments or additional info? --- InterEcho 1.18 * Origin: IC_STARS BBS * Madawaska,ME USA* 207-728-6427 (1:326/438) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: F1K00000Date: 01/14/98 From: GERALD ALBION Time: 12:23pm \/To: VERN FAULKNER (Read 1 times) Subj: bromelain VF> Anyhow - pain/discomfort with one knee, then both. Likely caused or ided VF> in no way by my cycling. VF> The "traditional" treatment (see: standard medical quack) involved rest VF> and Ibuprofin. The ibuprofin did nothing. Sitting aroudn the house, iced VF> knees, serious discomfort. Ibuprofen was probably not the appropriate drug. It's an anti-inflammatory, which points to an assumption on your GP's part as to the nature of your pain. I hope no one gets the wrong idea from this about Ibuprofen's effectiveness when properly used; it's been a life saver for my toothaches. I've found it will completely relieve the pain of an abscess when a fistful of T-3's will not. VF> On day 4 of a 10-day rest, I started with Bromalain, as suggested by my VF> chiropractor. The rest, not the drug, could have been the greater influence on your healing. Ever sleep off a migraine? -=( T )=- --- GoldED 2.40 * Origin: Tommy's 250-361-4549 V.34 35000 Textfiles (1:340/26)