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My wife and I are looking for a new place to live these days. Our lease on our apt is about to expire at the end of June, which means we want to find a new place to move into by the end of May. I’ve been talking to a number of friends about their housing options and they all seem to have made their decisions based on the following aspects:

• Schools for their kids
• Price
• Commute time

Price and schools seem to be the most important items for most people with commute time coming in a close third. However, I have to ask, where is health in all of this?

Healthy Living In The News

There have been a number of recent articles that have discussed the impact of home location on health. From Science Daily is an article about how tree lines streets can help childhood asthma. From the Dallas News come this article about the connection between obesity and easy access to fast food. Along the same topic is this article from the LA Times which discusses the link between poor health and poor eating options in a neighborhood. Finally, From Reuters, comes this article about how walkable towns reduce health problems and pollution.

With all of this evidence, plus numerous other articles that discuss the benefit of walkable streets, quality food sources and non car commutes, I find it difficult to believe that health should not be part of a housing decision.

Our Criteria

My wife and I are looking at housing with a number of different criteria.

Money - Yes, money is a factor in a housing decision, but money doesn’t just mean the rent.  For example, our current housing complex has a nice gym which I use on occasion.  Losing that would cost us an extra $50 a month in gym fees.  So that factor goes into the cost of a new house.  At the same time, we’re looking for a house with hardwood floors that would be easier on my wife’s allergies, so that’s another health factor that changes cost.

Commute - Commute is important.  That’s why we’re looking for a home within biking range of the train station.  That would allow me to continue my bike / train commute which is healthy, cheap and good for the environment.

Yard - We want to raise our own vegetables because it’s cheaper and healthier, so we’re looking for a place with a backyard as opposed to a small balcony.

Walkable - We want somewhere that is walkable so we don’t have to take the car everytime we want to go shopping for groceries or out to a restaurant.  That lowers our fuel costs while also adding a healthy walk to our daily routines.

The Health Factors

Notice how health subtly changes each one of the criteria for housing.  For example, health tends to go hand in hand with reducing cost.  A healthy home ends up costing you less in terms of groceries (raise your own vegetables), fuel (walk to store, bike to work) and overall medical care (less allergy medication, lower weight).  However, if you looked at rent or buying price alone, you might not notice this.

It’s also good for your kids.  Numerous studies have shown a connection between health and school performance.  So that park close by or the daily walk to school isn’t just about health, it’s also about their education and mental development.

Even the commute factor is changed by health.  It’s no longer about how close you are to work but how close you are to public transportation, and that gives you a much larger range of housing areas to look at.

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When you look for a home you worry about your commute, your wallet and your kids education.  Shouldn’t you also be worried about your and your kids’ health?

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A week or so ago I mentioned that you should be measuring more than just your weight. One of the measures I mentioned was resting heart rate. Well, I got a couple of emails from people asking how to measure heart rates and what do the measurements mean.

Please note that all of the numbers mentioned below are averages. They vary by age, weight, gender and a number of other factors. Please don’t try to apply these numbers to yourself without consulting with a doctor. They are intended only as a guideline, not absolute recommendation.

How To

Let’s begin with how to. There are a variety of places you can measure heart rate but the easiest I found is along the wrist. Place both your hands palms up in front of you. Now take one of your hands and place the index and middle finger of that hand on the outside of the wrist of the opposite hand. The fingers should lie together on the opposite wrist about 1/2 inch on the inside of the joint, in line with the index finger.

Feel for a pulse. When you find a pulse, count the number of beats in a ten second section of time and then multiply by 6. If you want to be more accurate, count heart beats for 15 seconds and multiply by 4, count for 30 seconds and multiply by 2 or count for 60 seconds. The more time you count for, the more accurate your measure.

Resting Heartrate

For resting heart rate, you should measure in the morning, a minute or two after you wake up. Don’t measure your heart rate if you just woke up from some horrible nightmare or especially exciting dream. Those tend to elevate heart rate and will make for an inaccurate measure. Try to measure on three or four separate days and then average the number for more accuracy.

Normal resting heart rate is about 60 to 80 beats per minute. It will be lower for people who are in good shape and it increases as you age.

Maximum Heart Rate

Maximum heart rate is the level above which your heart is in danger. You really shouldn’t cause your heart to go up this high. Maximum heart rate is roughly calculated as 220 minus age. There are more accurate formulas out there but this one will do for now. Note that maximum heart rate doesn’t really change except with age. It does not go up if you’re in shape. However, people who are in shape can take a lot more physical strain before their heart is pumping this hard. For example, a person who is in shape can run for miles and never even come close to this number while someone who is badly out of shape may be close to their maximum heart rate after climbing one flight of stairs. For most exercise, you should aim for 60 to 80% of your maximum heart rate.

So for me, being 34 years old, my maximum heart rate 220 - 34 or 186. My target heart rate for exercise is between 111 and 149 beats per minute. If it goes a bit over 149 that’s probably ok but I shouldn’t be close or over 186 for a sustained period of time.

Recovery Rate

Recovery rate is another important factor when it comes to heart rate. It measures how quickly your heart rate goes back to normal after exercise. To measure it, simply check your heart rate right after your peak exercise point. Now rest for two minutes and measure your heart rate again. The more in shape you are, the quicker your heart rate will return to normal.

So I measure my heart rate at my peak exercise point and find it to be about 140. Now I wait two minutes and measure my heart rate again. This time I find a heart rate of about 100. I subtract 100 from 140 and divide by 2 to come up with a recovery rate of 20 beats per minute. If your recovery rate is below 12 beats per minute, then you’re in trouble. It means your heart doesn’t recover very well from the stress you put on it.

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Heart rate is one of the most important measures of health and fitness that we have. It’s relatively easy to measure at home and is a far better indicator of progress and general well being than weight. Go ahead and give it a try, and don’t forget to consult with your doctor during your yearly physical.

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For most of last year, I was caffeine free. I had kicked the caffiene habit back in 2006 and I stuck to my guns most of the way through 2007. However, towards the end of 2007, I decided to see if I could use caffeine as a substitute for my sugar cravings. I would drink an occasional diet coke if I felt the urge to snack on chocolate or candy bars. This seemed to be working and I thought I had things under control. Unfortunately, my recent surge of travel has tossed all that out the window.With the time zone changes, the constant meetings, endless restaurant meals and an expense account that makes little things like sodas seem meaningless, my caffeine habit has grown from a controlled experiment into an out of control issue. Now if you read the title of this post, you’re probably wondering what all this has to do with drug addiction. The fact is that caffeine is a drug. It is a stimulant and you can in fact get addicted to it. Unfortunately, most people refuse to believe that. Tell them that they’re addicted to caffeine and they’ll say “no way! I just need that morning coffee to get out of bed.” Well, I am addicted to caffeine.

So What?

The first question is, so what? So what if I need/want/crave caffeine? Is that bad? And the answer is, absolutely. There are a variety of ways in which caffeine harms your life. They range from physical to financial to a few less tangible. Let’s start with health.

Health Impact of Caffeine

Here’s a list of potential side effects of caffeine taken from the University of Columbia’s health information site.

• Osteoporosis
• Birth defects
• Miscarriages
• Infertility
• Cancers
• High blood pressure
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Ulcers and heartburn
• Fibrocystic breast disease
• Heart disease

That’s right, caffiene can increase your chance of all of these conditions. Sure, it’s not as bad as smoking, but it’s pretty bad.

Financial Impact of Caffeine

Want an extra million dollars when you retire? Take a look at the Latte Factor. It’s a term that’s been bounced around quite a bit in the personal finance side of the internet. It essentially says that cutting out small expenses can have a huge impact on your overall financial health. Here’s a link with more information.

Because most of the past few week’s travel was for business, I kept all my receipts and added them up when I did my expense reports. A quick check showed that the latte factor was absolutely accurate. In fact, it seemed to be underestimating things. On average, I spent about $6.50 EVERY DAY on caffeinated drinks. By the way, I don’t drink coffee, so all of this money is being spent on relatively cheap sodas. I can only imagine the daily caffeine bill of someone who likes high priced Starbuck’s lattes.

The Intangible Effects

Didn’t have enough caffeine this morning? You’re going to experience:

• sleepiness
• feeling overtired (from not having had any caffeine to energize you)
• a terrible headache (when you abruptly stop having caffeine regularly)

From the University of Columbia’s health information site

Had too much? You’re in for:

• anxious
• excitable
• restless
• dizzy
• irritable
• unable to concentrate
• gastrointestinal (GI) aches
• headaches that don’t seem to go away
• trouble with sleeping

From the University of Columbia’s health information site

Worried about the environment? That drink container has an impact.

• The amount of glass bottles Americans throw away every two weeks would have filled both World Trade Center towers.
• Americans throw away enough aluminum cans to rebuild our commercial air fleet every three months, and enough iron and steel to supply all our nation’s automakers every day.
• Throwing away one aluminum can wastes as much energy as if that can were 1/2 full of gasoline.

From the Clean Air Council

Bottom Line

Every time you pick up a can of soda or a cup of coffee, you are making a decision to pay money in return for destroying your health and the environment around you. What kind of a decision is that? To me, it’s a choice I’m no longer willing to make. My little experiment became something much worse and I have no desire to keep going. So as of today, it’s no more caffeine for me. I’ll take the pain of withdrawal for the next few days. In the end, it’ll be worth it.

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First, a disclaimer.  I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice, simply my own experience.

Today’s post is inspired by the cold I woke up with this morning.  I have a sore throat and a mild fever.  In the past, I would have pushed myself to workout even in this condition.  To do otherwise would seem like cheating to me.  I felt guilty over not working out and the sickness seemed like just an excuse.  However, I’ve seen realized how silly this is.

Working Out Might Make Things Worse

Workouts, especially strenuous ones like cardio, take a lot out of your body.  You’re sweating, you’re tired and your body is straining to keep up.  Now you’re trying to do this while also fighting off some illness.  It’s just too much.  The few times I’ve worked out while sick I’ve actually made things worse rather than better.  I would get a slight endorphin rush while working out but, once that wore off, I felt sicker than I did before.  Let your body rest and give it time to fight off the illness.

Danger to Yourself

While sick, your coordination suffers.  You’re paying less attention and you’re tired.  That’s a recipe for disaster while working out.  You won’t pay attention to where you’re running on the treadmill or you’ll drop a weight on your foot because you coughed while lifting it.  A gym can in fact be a dangerous place and it’s no place to be while sick.

Danger to Others

Also, by working out while sick you’re being irresponsible with your fellow gym goers.  You’re quite literally spreading germs over every weight and machine you touch.  That’s unfair to those around you who are trying to get healthier, not sicker.

A Mild Workout Might Be Fine

What I found works for me is a very mild and slow workout which is essentially just stretching.  I spend about 5 to 10 minutes stretching or doing slow exercises with no weight.  Nothing too strenuous, no lunges or crunches.  Just enough to get my body warmed up.  That actually seems to make me feel better and healthier.

Summary

Remember, your body is busy fighting off a sickness.  It might not have enough resources to do that and workout at the same time.

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After talking earlier this week about healthy toy options for kids, I happened to find this article about healthy gift options for adults. I read through it and was amazed at the sheer amount of junk people try to sell these days. Stylish calf skin gym bag?!? Seriously? I’m not sure who came up with this list of gifts but they seem crazy to me. I suppose if you have an extra $20,000 to spend you may want to consider an “elite gym membership” but I happen to have better things to do with my money. So I went ahead and made my own list of good gifts for the fitness inclined. I’m linking to Amazon items here, but you can also find these items at most sporting goods stores.  I’m also linking to a lot of places which are local to me here in the SF bay area.  Obviously, if you live somewhere else, you’ll need to find your own local version of these, but I wanted to provide an example of what to look for.

Apex Polished Chrome Adjustable Dumbbell Set - No need to spend $500 on some fancy adjustable weight set when $60 will do the trick. This is the kind of dumbbell set I have at home. They’re reliable, easy to use and provide me with a nice variety of weights to use. Because the weight plates are detachable, I can always buy heavier ones if I want higher weights.

Valeo Burst Resistant Body Ball (65 cm) - Another really useful item, the exercise ball. It allows you to do a variety of exercises that you couldn’t otherwise do without some complex gym equipment. At $15, this will be far healthier than any calf skin gym bag.

Valeo Speed Jump Rope - Jump rope is one of the best cardio tools out there. You can easily take it with you on trips and provides a very good cardio workout while also working on your balance and coordination. Of course, you could buy a $700 treadmill, but this $6 gift seems a bit better.

SPRI ES501R Xertube Resistance Band with Door Attachment and Exercise Charts (Red, Medium) - Another great exercise gift for the frequent traveler in your life. Exercise bands are a way of doing resistance training without carrying a lot of weight. They’re available in a variety of resistance levels and they’re cheap, so you can buy several for under $20.

YOU: The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger - I can’t say enough good things about this book. It’s easy to read, informative and provides you with a lot of information about your body and how it works. This is exactly the kind of information you need when you’re first starting out on your healthy lifestyle. Buy a copy for a loved one and another for yourself if you haven’t read it yet.

Dance Lessons - This link is for the Starlight Ballroom, a dance place in Sunnyvale, CA, but you can easily find similar places around your home. $10 to $20 a week is what dance lessons will cost you at a place like this. They’re fun and physically active. You can give them as gifts to people who aren’t that interested in fitness because it’s just a fun activity to do. They’ll never know you’re concerned about their health.

Horseback Riding Lessons - Again, this is a link to a place close to where I live, but you can probably find places around you as well. Horse back riding, as my wife proved to me, is very good exercise for both adults and children. Why not give it a shot and see if you like it? It’s a bit more expensive than dance lessons but still more reasonable than buying a soloflex home gym system that will just end up collecting dust in the garage.

A Bike - This is my local bike store.  They have a wide variety of bikes and a very helpful staff who’s always willing to help me pick out the right stuff.  A bike makes an excellent gift because it’s practical as well as healthy.  With gas prices soaring, bikes are a great way to save money while also getting a bit of exercise.  You don’t have to look at the high end bikes which can cost multiple thousands of dollars.  A good commute bike can cost around $100 or you can find them even cheaper if you look for used bikes on places like Craig’s List.

Summary

All of these gift ideas are cheap and healthy, proving that you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars just because your loved ones want healthy presents.  If you have your own healthy gift idea, feel free to add it in the comments.  Would love to see what other people are buying.

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A few weeks ago, I moved from the second floor of my office to the first. It was part of a bigger move by my whole department and it let me make a change to my workspace that I’ve been hoping to do for a while now.

I’ve always had minor issues with my lower back and sitting on an office chair all day working on a computer didn’t help. If you look at most people as they sit at their desk, their posture is horrible. They either slouch in their chairs or they bend over their desks. Either way, there’s a lot of unnecessary pressure on your lower back. Unfortunately, I was no exception. I tried several little tricks like sitting up straight or sitting on an exercise ball but I kept finding myself slouching back. So when the opportunity to reorganize my cubicle presented itself, I decided to make a major change.

Here’s the new workplace:

The Changes

As you can see, the desk itself is raised to be about 4 feet. This is more than a foot taller than a normal desk level. The point to all this is to allow me to stand while I work rather than sit down. I usually stand firmly on both feet not favoring either leg. My feet are spread about 18 inches from one another. This keeps me stable and prevents my legs from getting tired.

Standing this way forces me to stay in a posture that’s much better than sitting. There’s a slight benefit in terms of using the leg muscles as I work, but the real benefit is in my lower back. The improved posture is really helping me out and I’m feeling a lot better when I do exercises like deadlifts.

In case you’re curious, my legs do get tired after a while and I do take breaks sitting in a chair high enough to fit this desk. I’m guessing I spend about 75% of my time standing and the other 25% sitting in the chair.

Work Place Ergonomics

For many of us, the desk is where we spend a good portion of our day. So it makes sense to keep this area as healthy as possible. If your workplace is making you unhealthy, you are less likely to exercise, more likely to suffer injuries and more likely to be stressed out. You’re also less likely to be productive, so your employer has a vested interest in providing you with a healthy and safe workplace. As long as you don’t go overboard and ask for a personal masseuse in your cube, most companies will be happy to help you with basic changes to improve your cube or desk.

Some Things To Watch For

• Forearms - Try to position your desk and chair heights so your forearms are parallel to the desk as you work.
• Wrist Rest - Your wrists should be resting on something as you type. Otherwise, you’re exposing yourself to repetitive stress injuries.
• Posture - You don’t have to stand in order to have good posture. You just need to keep your back straight. Don’t hunch forward over your desk and don’t slouch back in your chair. Either one of these positions is bad. Ideally, your back should be flat against the back rest of the chair and straight.
• Stretch - Just like on long plane flights, you really shouldn’t spend too much time sitting down. Make sure to get up and stretch at least once per hour. Focus on your back and legs. A few slow lunges, squats and toe touches will do the trick.
• Shoes - If your job involves a lot of walking, make sure you’re wearing padded shoes. Feet are vulnerable to stress fractures and other ailments that are caused by too much walking.
• Water - Another thing people tend to forget while at work is water. Keep a water bottle by you and take a quick drink every 30 minutes or so. It will keep you hydrated and prevent you from snacking.
• Monitors - Bad monitors or bad settings on good monitors can cause eye aches and head aches. Make sure your monitor is set correctly and talk to your IT or computer support department if you’re unsure how to do it.
• Phone Handsets - If you’re on the phone a lot, make sure you pick up a hands free headset. Holding a handset up to your head either by hand or by pressing it up against your shoulders can cause strain.

Summary

Remember, both you and your employer have a vested interest in keeping you healthy and productive. So talk to your employer about some little things you both can do to make sure your workplace isn’t harming your health.

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I don’t usually like reposting information from other sites on 60 in 3. It seems lazy to me, like I’m stealing material from someone else and using it as my own. However, I recently read an article from Real Age and I felt like this was important enough to copy and link to on my own site.

Full Credit

Before I move on, let me give you the link back to Real Age since they’re the ones who deserve the credit for this article idea. I couldn’t figure out a way to link to the article itself, so here’s the link to their site. The authors of the site have put out several books on personal health which I have found to be tremendously useful. I reviewed one of them a few months ago and you can find the review here.

Personal History

My family has a history with cancer. I’ve watched loved ones battle with various forms of the disease and thankfully they’ve all come through it with their health relatively intact. The same cannot be said of the millions of families who lose loved ones to cancer and heart disease every year. So this topic has a lot of personal meaning to me.

That’s why, when I first read this headline on Real Age it piqued my interest. I really wanted to see what these methods were that could reduce the risk of cancer. I thought they were going to tell me about drug regimes, new vaccines or medical treatments. Instead, here’s what they had:

1. Don’t smoke (a no-brainer).
2. Limit red meat, alcohol, fat, and . . .
3. Eat fruit, veggies, and whole grains — lots of them!
4. Exercise regularly.
5. Watch your weight.

At first I felt a bit cheated. Was this all there was? Then I understood. Yep, this is all it takes to significantly reduce your chance of cancer and heart disease. It’s not complicated, it’s not hard to understand, it’s just basic healthy guidelines that we all already know.

That’s why I felt like I should repost this. Anyone out there who’s struggled with cancer or who’s seen loved ones struggle with the disease knows what a horrible toll it takes on people. You know how brutal the treatment can be and how much it takes out of people. Even those who come through it with their lives and bodies intact live in fear of the day the cancer might come back.

So it seems important to me that we all recognize that these five simple changes to your life can make a huge difference. I’m not talking about making you look better or fit into those jeans, I’m talking about preventing you from going through one of the most painful and horrible experiences a person can go through and possibly dying.

Yes, even if you do adopt these changes, you may still get cancer. These are not a vaccine nor are they a cure. However, these five simple things will significantly reduce your chances of developing cancer or heart disease. Just as an example, every 1.7oz of processed meats you add to your daily diet adds 21% to your chance of colorectal cancer.

Remember this when you’re talking to other people about why health is important to you. Too often people look at healthy habits as something superficial, something we do just to look good. The truth is far deeper than that, and if you’re looking to convince someone to start living a healthier lifestyle “I love and want to spend many healthy years with you” works much better than “your ass is too big”.

Summary

Sometimes we lose sight of this. We think fitness and health is all about losing weight, looking good, being stronger and running faster, but the bottom line is healthy habit will quite literally keep you alive and improve the quality of your life.

Update

Quick addition to today’s post. Another article that discusses the link between cancer and eating healthy.

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