| How Much Power Do You Have Over Your Health?
Tri-City Voice, August 13, 2008
Local family
practice physician to 'clear the air' on
the question of diet and exercise as
effective weapons against chronic
disease "In my practice, I
see many people with chronic illness who
believe they are victims and, beyond
taking medication, there's nothing they
can do," observes Steven Curran, M.D.,
local family practice physician and
member of the Washington Township
Medical Group. "This is not necessarily
true, and I want to clear the air on
this question."
Dr. Curran will do just that at an
upcoming free community seminar,
"Healthy Weight Management and a Healthy
Heart," on Tuesday, Aug. 26 from 1 p.m.
to 2:30 p.m., at the Conrad E Anderson,
M.D. Auditorium (Washington West, 2500
Mowry Avenue) in Fremont. At the
seminar, Dr. Curran will explain how a
healthy diet and regular exercise can be
the basic ingredients of good health.
He'll answer your questions about what
lifestyle changes are good for your
health and for the health of your
family. Diet and exercise habits can
have a positive impact on health
problems like heart disease, diabetes
and high blood pressure, Dr. Curran
asserts. For example, he knows of people
who have been able to drop their
cholesterol by more than 100 points or
return their high blood pressure to the
healthy range or lower their blood sugar
- all through lifestyle changes. "Too
many people are convinced there's not
much they can do," adds Dr. Curran.
"They'll try 'yo-yo' diets or simply
throw up their hands and give up. In
many cases, I think they don't know what
to do specifically or they're confused
by all the conflicting information out
there." In planning a healthier diet
and regular exercise, people should
start with the basics, Dr. Curran
recommends. For example, remember that
the basic rule for weight loss or weight
control is "calories in, calories out."
In other words, the best way to lose
weight is to eat fewer calories and burn
more. This can be achieved by cutting
back on calorie-laden foods and
increasing your exercise routine.
It's also important to understand
that each person is different, so the
diet and exercise regimen should be
tailored to the individual. What works
for one person may not be successful for
someone else. "Some people make the
mistake of trying one of the more
extreme weight loss diets," states Dr.
Curran. "We won't address specific plans
at the seminar, but I will say any diet
that takes an extreme approach to
cutting out or including certain foods
is likely to be unsuccessful." There
are also tools available on the internet
to teach you about nutrition and help
with sensible meal planning. According
to Dr. Curran, people need to increase
their awareness of the specifics about
carbohydrates and fats, both good and
bad. An understanding about the role of
micronutrients, such as vitamins,
minerals and phytonutrients will also be
helpful. One useful web site is
www.whfoods.org (World's Healthiest
Foods) which begins, "Food is the source
of nutrition and energy to support the
health of our body." This site includes
a section on how incorporating the
World's Healthiest Foods as a regular
part of your diet can help prevent or
reduce the severity of certain
illnesses. Another web site to check
is
www.calorie-counter.com, a free
weight loss tool that also connects
visitors to a community of others so
they can get support in losing or
maintaining weight safely and
effectively. "When it comes to
exercise, one of the basic principles is
to include a combination of both aerobic
activity and resistance training,"
explains Dr. Curran. Besides the
information you'll gain at the upcoming
seminar, you can learn more about
exercise and fitness by visiting the web
site of the American Heart Association
at
www.americanheart.org. For more
information on the free public seminar
on healthy diet and exercise or to
reserve your space, call Washington
Hospital's Health Connection line at
(800) 963-7070. |
