Walk Stairs Two at a Time to Burn More Calories

Most weight-loss experts advise people to walk the stairs and avoid elevators. What's the best way to burn calories during a stair climb? Jinger Gottschall and colleagues from the Pennsylvania State University found that walking every other step with alternating feet burns more calories than walking one step at a time. People move faster and use more power during alternate step climbing. Stair climbing is an excellent exercise that can be included easily in a physically activity program.

(Journal Strength and Conditioning Research, 24: 2558-2563, 2010)

Onion Dip for Veggies

Do you get tired of the same snacks, and sometimes you need to just change it up. Dips are nice that way. You can still get your veggie in, but you can do it by dipping them in something yummy and healthy. Here's a new take on an old-favorite. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

-1 tsp olive oil
-1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
-1 cup VOSKOS nonfat Greek Yogurt
-1/2 cup fat-free mayo
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-1/4 tsp garlic powder
-1/4 tsp onion powder
-1/4 tsp white pepper
-1/8 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:
Sauté thinly sliced onions in olive oil over medium heat until starts to brown. Combine onion with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Either serve immediately or keep in fridge. Each servings is roughly 1/4 cup. Serve with fresh veggies.

Nutrition:
Calories 54; Calories from Fat 7.0; Total Fat 0.78g; Cholesterol 2.5mg; Sodium 310.06mg; Total Carbohydrate 6.65g; Dietary Fiber 0.53g; Sugars 2.7g; Protein 4.19g

Question of the Week:

Q: Does any proof exist that exercise can help a person live longer?

A: Absolutely. One of the largest study measuring fitness

ever conducted found that exercise will indeed help a person live longer.

Led by Dr. Steven Blair of the Institute of Aerobics Research in Dallas, the eight-year study evaluated the fitness and mortality levels of 13,344 men and women. Researchers involved with the study found that exercise reduces the death rate from all causes, particularly cancer and heart disease.

Physical fitness was measured by each subject's performance on a standardized treadmill test - a test which is designed to accurately assess aerobic fitness (the most commonly accepted indicator of physical "health"). Based on the test results, the subjects were then grouped by gender into 5 categories ranging from least to most fit. The results of the study showed that the higher the fitness level the lower the death rate, after the data was adjusted for age differences between the subjects.

Compared with the most-fit subjects, individuals in the least-fit category had death rates 3.4 and 4.6 times higher for men and women respectively. The differences in mortality rates held relatively constant even after obvious causal factors, such as smoking and cholesterol level, were considered. For both men and women, the largest drop from one fitness category to another was from the least-fit to the next most-fit group. Expressed as deaths per 10,000 person-years, the age-adjusted death rates for men and women in the sedentary category fell from 64 and 39.5 to 25.5 and 20.5 respectively in the next most-fit group, a decline of more than 60 % for men and 48 % for women.

The implication of Blair's findings are extraordinarily significant, particularly for a sedentary individual. On a major scale, this study documents the fact that a modest amount of exercise can and does go a long way. The equivalent of walking 30 min a day is all that is required to move from the most sedentary category to the next most fit category.

Bryant, Cedric

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"

"You can't make a great play unless you do it first in practice"

- Chuck Noll