Can you fill a fitness bank now, so you experience benefits later?

The answer is yes, you can exercise now to build up your fitness in order to accomplish future activities. You can also get strong in the present so that it’s easier to best illness when it hits you. Your strength, endurance and bone density decrease rapidly from being bed-ridden. Take advantage and get active while you’re healthy.

It’s best to maintain a high level of fitness for yourself as long as you can in your lifetime. Being fit makes daily tasks easier. It also improves recovery from surgery and pregnancy.

Fill your bank with a minimal level of fitness. You should perform cardiovascular exercise no less than 150 minutes a week. If you’re already active and fit, do a little more. Push yourself to get even stronger.

Listen in as Dr. Brian Parr joins Melanie Cole, MS, with tips on how to get fit now and reap the benefits later.

The ACSM’s yearly American Fitness Index compares fitness levels across the nation.

The report is a combination of personal health indicators and community/environmental indicators. Cities are scored, and the top 50 cities are ranked.

Indicators measured are things that can be changed. Smog and other factors that can’t be altered right away by individuals or city councils are not measured for the ranking.

The top city for 2017 is Minneapolis. One element of personal fitness scoring is having exercised in the past 30 days. A whopping 81 percent of Minneapolis residents reported such activity. Washington D.C. came in second at 78 percent. Minneapolis spends $211 per person for their parks in order to keep them available and safe for exercise during winter months.

Cities that rank in the bottom five tend to have lower personal fitness achievements. Obesity, smoking, lack of exercise and high death rate from cardiovascular disease are also common factors for these cities. Park expenditures are lower and these communities don’t always provide physical education through high school, impacting community health.

Visit American Fitness Index to investigate how your city measures. You can also use the Community Action Plan for ideas on how you can make personal change and community impact. Use the scores to change your community.

Listen as ACSM President Elect Dr. Walt Thompson joins Melanie Cole, MS, to share how to improve your city’s ranking in the American Fitness Index.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that can be found in fatty foods like fish. We can also generate it in our bodies if we’re exposed to sunlight.

This vitamin is essential for the body’s absorption of calcium, magnesium, phosphate, iron and zinc. It helps your bones stay strong, improves red blood cell count and reduces risk for heart disease.

Fifteen minutes of sunlight per day should help you reach the recommended amount of vitamin D. Most people need about 400 IU per day. If you don’t get enough sun exposure or vitamin D in your diet, a supplement may be your best option.

Listen as Dr. John Higgins joins Melanie Cole, MS, to share how to get more vitamin D into your diet.

Many people have dental emergencies. How well prepared are you?

Here are some quick tips for common dental emergencies.

Going to the emergency room for a non-urgent matter will be expensive. It’s wise to wait until your dentist’s office hours for anything that doesn’t have pain, blood or swelling.

Listen as Dr. Karson Kupiec joins Melanie Cole, MS, to advise on how to handle dental emergencies.

The idea that Americans need more protein in their diets is untrue. Protein consumption isn’t a problem.

You don’t store extra protein as muscle mass. It actually turns into fat.

Are you eating so much protein that you’re denying yourself fiber and carbohydrates?

Consuming too much protein can deplete your body’s calcium stores. It taxes your kidneys and can contribute to heart disease.

How much protein do you really need?

The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. That’s about 56 grams for men and 46 grams for women. It should be 20 percent of your daily caloric intake. Athletes may need a little more.

Do you need more protein? Journal your eating habits for a week. Note your likes and tendencies. See where you could improve your nutrient intake.

And, be sure to get plenty of rest if you’re trying to build muscle.

Listen as Dr. Felicia Stoler joins Melanie Cole, MS, to debunk the protein myth.

The bee population is dwindling. Their habitat is changing.

We need bees and other pollinators for our food supply.

How to Help the Bees
Plant flowers. Weed killers and development are removing flowers from the landscape. A few planters on your deck will support more bees.

Bees are active from late winter through fall. There are many types of bees. You can plant different types of flowers that bloom at different points in the year to help care for the pollinators as long as possible.

Reduce or eliminate weed killers and pesticides. Some of them wind up in the nectar and pollen. Prolonged exposure can cause flying issues for bees, sometimes resulting in death.

If everyone took one step toward saving the pollinators, we would see marked improvement for the bees.

Listen as Matthew Shepherd joins Melanie Cole, MS to discuss how you can help the bees.

It’s important to balance out your fitness program to make the most of your physical health.It’s too easy to stick with one aspect, especially if it’s all the rage.

Before starting a fitness program you should speak with your doctor. If you haven’t been active or are looking to increase your intensity, get a health screening.

A complete exercise program has four components.

Cardiorespiratory activities or aerobic exercises get the heart and lungs going. This category includes walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, and tennis. Pursue these activities three to five days per week.

Resistance training is important to building muscle. Choose activities that stress the muscles, like lifting weights, bodyweight exercises and using resistance bands. Work targeted muscle groups two to three days per week. Allow 48 hours between working targeted muscle groups for recovery.

Flexibility exercises are key for stretching the body. Do static stretches that are held for a period of time. You can also do dynamic stretches that flow through different positions. Balance exercises qualify. These should be done two to three days per week as part of a fitness program, or daily for faster improvement.

Neuromotor training helps your brain to move your body smoothly. This is important for your brain connection to your muscles. Tai chi, pilates and yoga done two to three days per week will satisfy this aspect.

You need all four components for stability. Pursue these activities at the gym or in your own home with minimal expense. Start at the intensity level that’s right for you. Set goals to become stronger and find balance between all four components.

Listen as Dr. Barbara Bushman joins Melanie Cole, MS to guide you on a well-rounded approach to fitness.

You can make the most of life by taking charge of your own health.

There is now a curriculum to incorporate exercise as medicine in medical school. Exercise is more powerful than any medication.

The three things that can really improve individual health are:
1. Exercise
2. Good nutrition
3. Eliminating behavior that is harmful to your health like smoking

Adults should do 150 minutes or more of moderate exercise per week. A brisk walk five days a week for 30 minutes would fulfill that requirement. It should be so intense you couldn't sing but not so intense you can't talk.

Small amounts of exercise will help. Fifteen minutes of physical activity per day can cut mortality by almost 15 percent. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator and parking the car farther away can improve your health.

Strength training can reduce bone and muscle mass loss. Weight lifting strengthens both bones and muscles. Women don't need to worry about bulking up from strength training.

Today's children have greater health risks, because we have a more sedentary culture. Make sure your children get moving. Physical education is important in schools. Community activities can be a fun way to get them moving.

Do what you can. Don't be afraid to start slow. Fixing your fitness level can help reduce your health care expenses.

Listen in as Dr. Bob Sallis shares how you can improve your health with the right dosage of exercise.

Have you ever watched an infomercial and said to yourself, “I could’ve invented something like that”?

If you are a home inventor, how do you find people to buy your products?

There are two types of media:

All marketing is designed to solicit a response. The question is how immediate you want that response to be.

How to Get Your Product Made

Ask yourself if you’re in love with your product, or does it have a potential place in the marketplace? Don’t mortgage your home to chase the dream if your product isn’t relatively viable. Does your product solve a common problem? Does it have mass appeal? Is it affordable? 

If you assess it to be a worthwhile investment, now it’s time to see what you have to spend on this project.

Get your patent so you can license production. Now no one can steal your idea.

Make a working prototype. It doesn’t have to be amazing. You need something to present to someone who can license production.

Seek a marketing partner. Most marketing partners charge 2-5%. They handle production, promotion and pathways to retail.

Listen as John Yarrington joins Melanie Cole, MS, to break down how you can get your at-home invention into the hands of consumers.

Hearing loss was once thought to be an elderly person's problem.

But, younger and younger folks are becoming hard of hearing.

Hearing loss does take time to develop after continuous noise exposure. If you have your headphones too loud too frequently, you may experience some hearing loss in your younger years.

Are You Endangering Your Hearing?

You take out your earbuds and experience a ringing sensation, dull hearing or you miss someone calling your name. You should recover in a few hours from a single exposure but it takes a toll.

Limit your exposure to loud noises. Consider headphones or earplugs when operating noisy equipment. Turn down the music.

Get your hearing checked every three to five years after age 40. Annual checks are a good idea when you are 50 and older.

There are discreet hearing aids now available if your physician discovers you need hearing assistance.

Listen as Dr. Tom Powers joins Melanie Cole, MS, to share how to prevent hearing loss.