ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607090031
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
While rummaging through the archives of this newspaper, I happened on an 1918 Cascarets laxative advertisement that I believe could have worked against the product as much as it did in favor of it.
The ad was an interesting use of reverse psychology. A surprisingly modern-looking woman wearing a leotard that could pass at any health club today is shown lying on her back with legs extended straight up as though she were practicing leg lifts.
"Do this each morning, you won't need Cascarets," the ad says. "But if you insist upon taking your exercise in an easy chair, you simply must take a laxative occasionally."
I'm not going to get into that debate, except to say that we all know that exercise makes everything work better. Where I am going is to a little book, "Exercise a la Carte," published in 1994 by Dr. George L. Dixon Jr. of Albuquerque, N.M.
Dixon, at least when the book was published, was on the orthopaedic surgery faculty at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Dixon's philosophy was that every adult needs to accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderately intensive physical activity every day. His tactic to get us to do that was to translate exercise into food terms.
Small bits of exercise are appetizers; formal programs are entrees. He also included take-out munchies, condiments, indigestion remedies and kitchen gadgets. The idea is that each of us should assemble a daily menu of exercise experiences.
Here are the types of activities and categories to help you plan your "diet."
Appetizers: Take a set of 10 steps, up and down, one second per step; walk briskly for three minutes; get up and down from a chair five times and don't use your arms or the chair's unless you have to or want to add strength to your arms; whenever you sit, sit down and stand up two or three times; stretch your arms all the way overhead five times; get a cordless phone and walk around while talking on it.
Action snacks: 15 minutes of washing windows, digging in the yard, raking, push-mowing, mopping, tennis, dancing, vacuuming or sexual activity; or 10 minutes on a stationary bike.
Heartier appetites: Walking 30 minutes, abdominal curls, stretching, pushups.
Main course: 30 minutes of exercise that includes 5 minutes warm-up and cool-down.
Now that you have the idea, you can customize your plan. The point is to move the body, rev up the heart rate, tuck in your stomach and butt, and be aware.
Dixon's book is still in print; if you're interested in locating a copy, call (800)624-4952.
Weight loss talk
After reading "Protein Power," by Drs. Michael R. Eades and Mary Dan Eades, one book reviewer responded with "Bye-bye pasta."
Three employees of Bantam Books, which published the Eadeses' effort, tested the premise set out in the books and in eight months lost a cumulative 150 pounds.
These are the testimonials worthy of an infomercial, but Roanoke Valley residents have an opportunity July 13 to ask the authors to explain these reactions. The two weight-loss specialists will speak at 6 p.m. at Hotel Roanoke as guests of The Center for Bariatric Medicine. Admission is $5.
The two doctors basically preach what many other experts are saying: The low-fat diets that are all the craze can be bad for health. Their book grew out of experiences with patients at their Arkansas Center for Health and Weight Control in Little Rock.
Americans, they say, eat too many carbohydrates and too little protein. Weight, the Eadeses note, is linked to insulin. Carbohydrates encourage the production of insulin. Too much insulin encourages the storage of fat. Protein helps keep insulin production low.
If you're interested, tickets are on sale at Ram's Head Bookstore and at the center on Mountain Avenue Southwest near downtown Roanoke.
Understanding UV
If the UV Index is reported as being from 5 to 6, do you know what that means?
The UV Index was developed by the National Weather Service to tell us how much sun exposure we're likely to get on a particular day. We hear about it often. Now here's a refresher from the Lahey-Hitchcock Health Letter on how to make sense of what we hear:
* 0-2 Minimal UV: It might take up to 30 minutes for an unprotected person to get burned.
* 3-4 Low UV: Can burn after 15 to 20 minutes of unprotected time in sun.
* 5-6 Moderate UV: High risk of getting burned within 10 to 12 minutes of unprotected exposure.
* 7-9 High UV: Could get burned in 8 minutes.
* 10-plus UV: Dangerous because burning and skin damaged can occur in less than 6 minutes.
You can reach Sandra Brown Kelly at (800)981-3393, ext. 393, from outside the Roanoke Valley; at 981-3393 in the valley; or through e-mail at biznewsroanoke.infi.net.
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