Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - North Mississippi - (Page 25)

7 TAKING A DAILY MULTIVITAMIN Ensuring you’re getting the recommended daily value of vitamins and nutrients sounds like a good idea, right? Actually, Americans aren’t as deﬁcient in vital nutrients as vitamin companies would have us believe. And with today’s abundance of fortiﬁed products, including milk, orange juice, bread and cereal, most of us are getting sufﬁcient amounts of essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin D, iodine, folic acid and iron. Furthermore, a review by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that multivitamins had no effect on helping to prevent cancer and heart disease. And smaller studies have even suggested that taking a multivitamin actually raises the risk for breast, prostate and colon cancer. WHAT YOU SHOULD DO INSTEAD: Eat a balanced diet. “There are guidelines that people over 50 should take a vitamin with B12 and women of childbearing age should take folic acid,” Heller says. “But in most cases, pills have never been shown to give the beneﬁts of eating a really healthy diet. The whole food is much healthier than its individual parts.” 9 DRINKING BOTTLED WATER If most of your drinking water comes from a bottle, you may be missing out on one of the greatest public health advancements of the 20th century, according to the CDC. That’s because ﬂuoride, found in tap water, helps prevent tooth decay and ﬁght cavities. It’s not included in the vast majority of bottled waters. WHAT YOU SHOULD DO INSTEAD: It’s simple: Drink tap water. If you don’t like the taste, get a ﬁlter or mask the ﬂavor with a bit of lemon or orange juice or a slice of cucumber. If it’s convenience you crave, buy a reusable bottle and ﬁll it with water from the tap. Five Habits You Should Keep Not all general health wisdom is bad. Here are five habits you should keep in your repertoire: Eat fish. Get at least two servings of fatty fish per week to protect your heart, says the American Heart Association. Try salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines and bluefish. Eat your yogurt. Yogurt contains probiotics, which have been found to promote healthy digestion and reduce yeast infections in women. Opt for whole grains. The fiber in whole-grain products may reduce your risk for heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. It also reduces constipation. Get a flu shot. It’s the No. 1 way to prevent contracting the flu virus. Make time for friends. Connecting with others is important for your mental health and stress reduction. And conversations help reduce your risk for dementia. 8 WEARING FLIP-FLOPS OR BALLET FLATS Ladies, you know that 4-inch heels are bad for your body. They cause bunions, corns, and foot, knee and back pain. So you may think that giving your feet a break by slipping into a pair of ﬂip-ﬂops or ballet ﬂats is doing them a service. But in fact, these options come with their own problems: They provide no support and little stability. And ﬂip-ﬂops in particular place undo stress on the toes as they require a constant gripping action to keep them on your feet when walking. WHAT YOU SHOULD DO INSTEAD: Opt for well-ﬁtting shoes with proper arch support that are sturdy enough for the activity you’re doing. Choose sandals with ample support and protection and with multiple straps to keep them in place. ONLINE Log On and Live Well North Mississippi Medical Center is helping improve the health of the communities we serve so that citizens can live longer, happier lives. Learn more about NMMC’s community health initiatives at www.nmhs. net/community_ health.php. FAL L 2013 25 http://www.nmhs.net/community_health.php http://www.nmhs.net/community_health.php http://www.nmhs.net/community_health.php

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - North Mississippi

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - North Mississippi
Opening Thoughts
Recognized for Excellence
Step It Up
Your Mightiest Muscle
Well, Well, Well
Are You Doing More Harm Than Good?
Is Your Shut-Eye Serving You Well?
Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge
Anatomy of an ER Visit
Next-Gen Surgery
Attack From Within
Virtual Health
Working for You
Catch the Spirit

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - North Mississippi