Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By Colin E. Champ, MD, CSCS – Radiation Oncologist
Let’s face it, life can be busy year-round. But, the magic of Summertime – with its longer days, warmer temperatures, and endless out-door exploration – is a terrific time to slow down.
Shedding our hectic lifestyles, even if only in the Summer months, can be tremendously beneficial for our health. By slowing down, we can focus on ourselves – our eating, exercise, and emotional well-being.
Home-cooked meals:
It’s true: the health benefits of a home-cooked meal outweigh almost any other method of dining, no matter the recipe. Namely, home cooking allows you to control the ingredients, so you know exactly what you’re eating, including salt, added sugars, fats (butter), and calorie intake. This is important not only for people with dietary restrictions but also for anyone trying to loose weight or just eat healthier.
For your next Summer get-together or block party, plan to grill or opt for some no-oven meals, like vegetable salads (think tomatoes, cucumbers, and maybe a feta or mozzarella cheese), gazpacho, or ceviche.
Choose in-season fruits and veggies:
Warmer weather means more fresh produce, which makes it simple to eat a huge variety of produce rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients. Eating in-season produce is also often less expensive because those fruits and vegetables don’t have to be transported as far. And, they’re more nutrient rich because they stay on the branch longer.
Farmers markets are a fantastic place to find the freshest in-season produce. Buying at markets allows you to ask famers where their produce is grown and if pesticides or other chemicals were used in the process. Store-bought strawberries, for example, tend to be imported from far-away lands like Mexico and have heavy pesticide residue. Same story with apples, peaches, tomatoes, greens, and other Summertime staples, according to the Environmental Working Group.
Grilling – the healthy way:
Nothing quite says Summer like a backyard BBQ, so it’s a bonus that it can also be healthy. Grilling is known as the “lightest” cooking method, as it doesn’t require the extra oils or breading used in frying or baking. Additionally, our food preserves more of its vitamins and nutrients when grilled compared to other cooking methods.
When grilling, choose healthier proteins such as fish, chicken, turkey, or ground poultry for burgers. Avoid processed meats like hot dogs and sausages. If eating red meat, cut visible fat off before grilling and opt for leaner cuts, like center-cut pork chops or sirloin steaks. Grilling red meats helps to melt and minimize the unhealthy fat, so is a healthier cooking option.
Avoid grilling over open flames or charring. Food – especially meats – grilled at such high temperatures can form chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that can cause cancer. Marinating your meat for at least 30 minutes before grilling can also reduce HCAs.
Drink up:
Hydration is always important, but especially in hot and humid weather, as we tend to lose a lot of our body fluids through sweat.
Not all beverages are created equally, however. Water is ideal to ensure hydration, as it keeps the body cool. Foods high in water, such as cucumber, tomatoes, watermelon, strawberries, and cantaloupe can also help hydrate. If exercising in hot weather, a low-calorie sports drinks or coconut water are options to help replace the sodium and potassium lost in sweat.
What’s so great about summer months is that there’s no shortage of simple ways to replenish our hydration. Add herbs like mint and basil, or slices of fruits and cucumber to your water glass to fill up with flavor. You also have the option of sipping iced tea or iced green tea, which is full of EGCG, an antioxidant which has been shown to boost your metabolism.
Get moving:
Summer’s weather opens the door on a multitude of ways to work out. Take advantage of the cool mornings and evenings to get moving.
Taking a walk is probably the easiest and most available form of exercise we can all do. If you prefer more of a challenge, though, you might want to consider hiking. Studies show exercising in nature lowers stress levels, heart rate and most importantly, blood pressure.
Gardening is a low-intensity work out that can also be therapeutic and nutritious! Routine garden upkeep activities, like raking, weeding and trimming, engage multiple muscle groups at once, improving your overall fitness level. Digging holes with a shovel (for planting) is one of the highest-intensity gardening activities. Start by planting a simple garden with herbs you tend to use in cooking, and extend into easy-to-grow vegetables, like greens, peas, green beans, and tomatoes. Gardens can be started in advance with seeds or purchased seedlings and can be potted on decks or planted in a prepared ground garden.
Keeping cool with water activities can be a fantastic way to exercise. Water aerobics, like walking, jumping, or lunging in waist-deep water, provides some resistance to your normal movement, which will give you a slightly tougher workout. Water aerobic classes are often offered at local pools. For higher intensity water workouts, consider swimming, kayaking or paddleboarding.
Summer is a great time to explore a new form of exercise. Whatever it is – pickleball, , aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week.
Summer is a time to slow down and have fun. Why not do it healthily?
INSPIRE EXERCISE MEDICINE
239.429.0800
www.Inspireem.com
3555 Kraft Road, Suite 130, Naples, FL 34105
Dr. Colin Champ, MD, CSCS
Dr. Colin Champ, MD, CSCS, is a radiation oncologist with board certifications in radiation oncology and integrative and holistic medicine. Dr. Champ is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, and his research interests include the prevention and treatment of cancer with lifestyle modification, including exercise and dietary modification.
