Archive for August, 2011

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LOCAL READS: WHERE TO BIKE PHILADELPHIA

A new book is the perfect guide for our city's cyclists

Posted by Kathryn Siegel on 8/31/2011 at 3:39PM | No Comments

Pick up a copy of Lorch's guide to Philly bike routes

Finding safe and varied cycling routes through the city can be tough, especially for beginners or those new to the urban-biking scene. Thankfully, Philly native and avid cyclist Julie Lorch leant her expertise to Where to Bike Philadelphia, her new book detailing over 70 rides in the area geared toward recreational bikers.

A launch party for the book will be held on September 8th at the Cadence Cycling and MultiSport Center in Manayunk, preceded by an easy 30-minute ride along the Schuylkill led by Lorch herself. Reps from local charitable groups Cadence Cycling Foundation,  Neighborhood Bike Works and Gearing Up—who all serve and empower Philly’s neediest citizens through cycling—will also be there to offer support.

To get a signed copy of the book (and some tasty finger food and drinks), hit up the party at 6 p.m. If you’re swept up with cycling fever, you can register on the spot for Bike Philly 2011, the city’s largest annual, family-friendly bike ride taking place just three days later!

Pre-party ride: September 8, 5:30 p.m., Lloyd Hall, 1 Boathouse Row, Kelly Drive.

Launch party: September 8, 6 to 8 p.m., Cadence Cycling and Multisport, 4323 Main Street, 215-508-4300.

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STUDY: WE DRINK WAY TOO MUCH SODA

Save your pocket change and back away from the vending machine—it's time to switch to water

Posted by Emily Leaman on 8/31/2011 at 2:04PM | 2 Comments

America, I think we have a drinking problem.

One in 20 Americans consume 567 calories from sugary drinks on a given day in the US, according to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s the equivalent of guzzling more than four cans of soda every day.

I’m going to pause for a minute and let that sink in.

Four cans. Of soda. A day.

Does that seem excessive to anyone else? The American Heart Association recommends that we get just 450 calories a week from sugary drinks—that’s a little more than two cans of soda every seven days.

It gets worse: Half of us drink sugary drinks every day. Boys between the ages of 12 and 19 consume the most calories a day from sugary drinks of all age groups—273. Girls in the same age bracket consume 171 calories. The lowest is women aged 60 and over, who consume 42.

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TELL US: HOW DO YOU SNEAK IN MINI-WORKOUTS?

Do you find ways to burn extra calories throughout the day? Tell us how.

Posted by Emily Leaman on 8/31/2011 at 1:01PM | No Comments

Yes, this exists—presenting the Walkstation by Details.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve pretty much mastered the ability to multitask. And if you’re anything like me, that means you’re pretty busy from the minute you wake up to when you finally hit the hay.

On days when I can’t get a good workout in, I try to sneak in mini-workouts throughout the day—taking the stairs or choosing the long way for my walk home. Some folks here at Philly Mag HQ keep stability balls in their office, so they can get a little core conditioning while they work. And then there are standing desks—and even ones with treadmills—to help keep your calorie burn going throughout the day.

Experts say these “mini-workouts” can really add up, and that even though you might not be breaking a sweat, every burned calorie is just that—a burned calorie. It counts.

How do you sneak in workouts throughout the day? What tips do you have for your fellow desk-bound Be Wellers?

(By the way, all this talk has me thinking of that Friends episode where Monica helps Chandler drop a few pounds, and she has him doing butt clenches at his desk. Sigh. Why did that show ever go off the air?)

Take it away, commenters!

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LAUGHTER REALLY IS THE BEST MEDICINE

A new study shows it’s good for your heart

Posted by Sandy Hingston on 8/31/2011 at 10:30AM | No Comments

I knew there was a reason I don’t like scary movies. Those scenarios in which

an innocent young lass makes her way into a blackened

basement, armed only with a cell phone that for sure is about to go dead—sorry, Aaron Mettey, but they’re not for me. Nor do I care for alien invasion flicks (with all due apologies to Christine Speer). I also can’t stand war movies—or, for that matter, anything that doesn’t have a happy ending. Life’s hard enough. I don’t need stress when I’m trying to relax.

Now it turns out that stress isn’t only in my head. University of Maryland researchers have been tracking a group of 300 men and women for the past decade in hopes of learning more about heart disease. One recent experiment, reported on ScienceDaily.com, involved showing the subjects two movies—the lighthearted comedy There’s Something About Mary, the other the scary, stressful opening minutes of Saving Private Ryan. When they watched the latter, their blood flow was constricted by narrowed blood vessels. When they laughed at the comedy, blood vessels expanded, increasing blood flow. “The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium after laughing was consistent and similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic exercise or statin use,” lead investigator Michael Miller says. And he added that laughing regularly might be as important as eating the right foods and working out. Finally, something good for me that I actually enjoy!

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THE CHECK-UP: ELECTRONIC NOSE TO DETECT HEART FAILURE

Plus how your dryer vents might be hurting you and the comeback of the bird flu—all in today's top health headlines

Posted by Emily Leaman on 8/31/2011 at 8:00AM | No Comments

Shut up—this could soooo be a heart-failure-sniffing nose.

• Those Germans—they’re so clever. WebMD reports that German researchers are “a step closer to developing an electronic nose that can distinguish between people who have heart failure and those who don’t.” This news comes on the heels of my report two weeks ago that Germans have trained dogs who can sniff out lung cancer. So much German-backed sniffing! In the current study, the electronic nose used odorous molecules in sweat to correctly identify 89 percent of the people who had heart failure and 84 percent who didn’t. There’s no photo to go with this story (which, so far, is my biggest sadness of the day), so I’m left to imagine that the device is some sort of strap-on contraption that a doctor could wear, akin to those black-rimmed Groucho Marx glasses with the nose and attached mustache? Anyone else? Hello? [Cue crickets.]

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CHILDHOOD OBESITY: WHAT A DOCTOR SEES

A local pediatrician shares stories from the front lines of Philly's childhood obesity epidemic

Posted by Emily Leaman on 8/30/2011 at 1:45PM | No Comments

Did you catch this essay in yesterday’s Inquirer about childhood obesity in Philly? It’s written by local pediatrician Dr. Daniel Taylor.

An excerpt:

It never fails. As I make my way to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children each morning, I get stuck at a traffic light in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. The intersection is a hub for several elementary and high schools and a large YMCA.

Lately I have become obsessed by a small store with a line of children waiting at the counter, wiping the sleep out of their eyes and taking away black plastic bags full of doughnuts.

Why this obsession? To me, it is a small piece of a great health epidemic facing our nation and our city: childhood obesity.

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NEW LIST RANKS HOSPITALS FOR LGBT POLICIES

But no Philly hospitals made the cut—what gives?

Posted by Emily Leaman on 8/30/2011 at 11:44AM | No Comments

The Human Rights Campaign published a list today, which honors hospitals for LGBT healthcare equality. It was compiled through a survey that fielded responses from representatives of 375 facilities nationwide. The list is a companion to U.S. News and World Report’s Best Hospitals list, which landed on newsstands today and was published online in July. The US News list gave national honors to UPenn and CHOP, and regional recognition to 19 other Philly-area facilities.

Fourteen of the US News top hospitals also appeared on the HRC list. They include facilities in Nashville; Boston; St. Louis; and Ann Arbor, MI, of all places—but none in the Philadelphia area.

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MAKE: LEFTOVER LETTUCE WRAPS

Waste not, want not—make good use of leftovers with this tasty midday meal

Posted by Maura Manzo on 8/30/2011 at 10:30AM | No Comments

Well, this weekend was certainly a great time to eat some leftovers. With Hurricane Irene approaching, I found creative ways to use everything in my fridge, including my leftover quinoa. These easy lettuce wraps are just as convenient as sandwiches, but with less calories. Use any substitutions you like, such as your favorite sandwich fillers, and experiment with different types of lettuce. Personally, I love using red leaf lettuce or Boston bibb, as they have a softer, more pliable texture and won’t split open. These also make for a great way to eat up the last veggies of the summer harvest.

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THE CHECK-UP: HOSPITALS REPORT HURRICANE BABY BOOM

Plus more of today's top health and fitness headlines

Posted by Emily Leaman on 8/30/2011 at 8:00AM | No Comments

• Ok, I know you’re probably sick of the hurricane news, but indulge me just this once: MSNBC has a story about East Coast hospitals reporting a baby boom during the storm, with several clocking double-digit deliveries over the weekend. Some people point to the drop in barometric pressure as the cause, but studies have found little or no links between the two. Experts say it’s more likely that expectant moms were just a bit more trigger happy than usual, heading off to the hospital—and delivering—earlier than the normally would have, given the weather conditions and forecasts. The best news in the whole story is buried near the end, though: reports of two baby girls named Irene, and one given Irene as a READ MORE

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FOX CHASE DOC UNCOVERS GENETIC LINK FOR MESOTHELIOMA

A new study finds that a gene mutation makes people more susceptible to the aggressive cancer

Posted by Emily Leaman on 8/29/2011 at 2:28PM | 1 Comment

The discovery could help doctors diagnose mesothelioma earlier.

Local scientists have uncovered a genetic link to mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer usually found in the lungs that kills 3,000 people in the U.S. each year.

Dr. Joseph Testa of Philly’s Fox Chase Cancer Center teamed up with a researcher at the University of Hawaii to lead a study on the mutation of a gene called BAP1. They found that carriers of the mutated gene are particularly susceptible to mesothelioma, as well as a rare melanoma of the eye.

Mesothelioma is usually associated with exposure to asbestos. The cancer’s symptoms are vague during its earliest stages, so cases often go undiagnosed until stage 3 or 4—far too late in the game to operate. Patients usually die within six to nine months of diagnosis.

The findings could help doctors screen for individuals who are at particularly high risk for mesothelioma. “A genetic test could help doctors catch the disease earlier on, when it might still be treatable,” says Testa. Understanding the BAP1 gene could also lead to more targeted therapies for treatment.

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