Fitness trackers collect an impressive amount of data these days. But with endless metrics to sift through, it’s not always clear whether you’re meeting your health and fitness goals. Do steps matter most? Or are exercise minutes more important? What’s the difference between activity and exercise anyway? In today’s episode, we learn how to effectively use our fitness trackers and how the payoffs can benefit our health. 

Hosts: Zach Moore, Katie McCallum (interviewer) 

Expert: JJ Rodriguez, Clinical Exercise Physiologist 

Notable topics covered: 

• Whether someone who exercises routinely can still be too inactive 
• JJ warns us about the effects of “the sitting disease”
• Where 10,000 steps a day came from (and whether that number really means anything)
• The health benefit of simply wearing a fitness tracker
• How to know if you’re getting enough exercise
• Tips for setting activity goals on your tracker that make sense for you
• The universal fitness tracker metrics JJ recommends we all keep our eye on
• Which fitness tracker metrics aren’t yet ready for primetime

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Whether you’re on the fence about getting an air fryer or have one but aren’t quite sure how best to use it, you might have some questions about this trendy cooking appliance. Is food cooked in an air frier always healthier, even fries and wings? What else can you make in it? In today’s episode, we talk all things air fryer — including how they work and tips for cooking with one.

Hosts: Zach Moore (interviewer), Katie McCallum

Expert: Amanda Beaver, MS, RDN, LD, Wellness Dietitian

Notable topics covered: 

• How an air fryer works, and how this differs from a deep fryer or oven 
• Which cooking oils Amanda recommends while using your air fryer 
• The times when air frying may not actually be healthier than deep frying 
• How worried you need to be about acrylamides and other chemicals formed during cooking 
• Amanda’s favorite foods to cook in her air fryer 
• How an air fryer can help take your veggie game up a notch 
• Tips for making crispy, nutritious and delicious food in your air fryer 

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Forming good habits is tough. Breaking bad ones can be even harder. But why? There’s perhaps no better time to explore this question than at the start of the new year, when many of us are resolving to make healthy changes in our lives. In today’s episode, we discuss the psychology of habits and get tips for sticking to our New Year’s resolutions and other goals we set for ourselves. 

Hosts: Zach Moore, Katie McCallum (interviewer) 

Expert: Dr. William Orme, Psychologist 

Notable topics covered: 

• What happens in your brain while making and breaking habits 
• Why will power and guilt aren’t enough to sustain lasting behavior change 
• Habit reinforcers, including whether change becomes easier when tied to the new year 
• Why smart goal setting and consistency are critical for habit formation 
• How long does it take for a behavior to become a habit? 
• The importance of giving yourself “emotional credit” when forming habits 
• How many New Year’s resolutions are too many? 
• Dr. Orme’s habit hacks that can help you stick with your resolutions beyond January 

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Hosts Zach Moore, Katie McCallum and Todd Ackerman kick off the second season of On Health with Houston Methodist, sharing what listeners can expect each Tuesday for the next ten weeks.

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We're all aging, so it's never too soon to think about how to enter your golden years as healthy as possible. In today's episode, self-proclaimed "resident old guy", Scott Jones, shares his journey toward healthier aging. As he takes us inside appointments with his health care team, we learn steps we can take today to avoid some of the worst pitfalls of getting older — no matter our age.

Hosts: Zach Moore, Katie McCallum, Scott Jones (interviewer) 

Experts:  Dr. Joshua Septimus (Primary Care Physician), Emma Willingham (Clinical Dietitian Specialist) 

Notable topics covered: 

• How muscle mass, body fat, bone density, thirst and more change with age 
• Chronic inflammation, the "bogeyman for aging"
• Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome: how they sneak up and the serious issues they lead to
• How easy it is to spot these problems through regular wellness checkups and bloodwork
• The ideal eating pattern, including the foods, drinks and habits we should avoid as we age 
• How protein intake and resistance training can help maintain muscle mass as you age 
• Why you’re never too young to start thinking about healthy aging 

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Nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, or hypertension. What's more, only about 1 in 4 of those have the condition under control. What can you do to control high blood pressure — or better yet, prevent it from developing in the first place? In today's episode, we get the lowdown on high blood pressure, the leading cause of stroke and major risk factor for other concerning health conditions.

Hosts: Zach Moore, Todd Ackerman (interviewer)

Expert: Dr. Kershaw Patel, Cardiologist

Notable topics covered:

• Why high blood pressure is known as the silent killer 
• Symptoms suggesting high blood pressure might be affecting you
• The health conditions that high blood pressure can cause 
• The level at which blood pressure is too high — or too low 
• Whether there's a need for continuous blood pressure monitoring 
• The reliability of those blood pressure kiosk machines 
• Ways to control high blood pressure without medication 
• The latest on when's best to take blood pressure medication 

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You may assume you’re getting enough vitamin D, but some 42% of American adults are deficient in the nutrient, according to the National Institutes of Health. Moreover, the problem is becoming more common, according to doctors. What are the consequences? And how treatable is a deficiency? In today’s episode, our expert talks about how worried we should be about the trend.

Hosts: Zach Moore, Todd Ackerman (interviewer)

Expert: Dr. Lola Okunnu, Primary Care Physician

Notable topics covered: 

• The signs you might be deficient in vitamin D 
• How much vitamin D you should get daily, depending on age 
• The group of people at greatest risk of a deficiency 
• Sun, food, supplements, the best way to get vitamin D 
• How much vitamin D you’ll get from 10-15 minutes in the sun 
• The best food sources of vitamin D 
• Whether vitamin D is the miracle supplement it’s touted to be 
• Why too much vitamin D can be a bad thing 

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Germs are everywhere. Not all are bad, of course, but you may be wondering what it takes to protect yourself from the ones that can make you sick. Should we disinfect our phones every day? How long is too long to use a towel without washing it? In today’s episode, we get an answer to these and other questions about how best to live among germs. 

Hosts: Zach Moore (interviewer), Katie McCallum

Expert: Dr. Ashley Drews, Infectious Disease Physician

Notable topics covered: 

• The most important rooms in your home to keep clean 
• The less obvious items and places where germs may be breeding 
• Smartphones, towels, beards, air purifiers, pools: the germs edition 
• The truth about sharing a straw with anyone — even a family member 
• Two of the germiest public places we encounter in our day-to-day lives 
• Hand sanitizer do’s and don’ts 
• The most important times to wash your hands and how to do it right 
• Whether there’s such a thing as washing your hands too much 
• Important food safety reminders, including why it’s important to wash your vegetables

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Hydration powders and products are flooding the wellness space these days — promising to maximize water uptake and prevent dehydration. The concept is nothing new, of course. Sports drinks have existed for decades. But is staying hydrated really more complicated than just drinking plain old water? In today’s episode, we discuss everything from hydration basics to when water may not be enough.

Hosts: Zach Moore, Katie McCallum (interviewer) 

Expert: Emma Willingham, MS, RD, LD, CSSD, Clinical Dietitian Specialist

Notable topics covered: 

• Emma's take on the “8 glasses of water a day” rule 
• The many ways dehydration affects your body 
• Whether coffee, alcohol and salty foods are dehydrating 
• When hydration products are (and aren’t) needed 
• All about electrolytes, including how we all sweat them out differently 
• The times and situations to choose a sports drink over regular water 
• If the pH of water matters for your hydration status 
• Whether you can drink "too much water" 

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Most American adults take some sort of nutritional supplements, according to recent surveys, often without looping in their doctor. But since the FDA stopped regulating the industry decades ago, consumers don't know whether the supplements they take are beneficial or dangerous — or worth the (often pricey) expenditure. In today's episode, we enlist a primary care physician well versed in the subject to help navigate the terrain.

Hosts: Zach Moore, Todd Ackerman (interviewer)

Expert: Dr. Joshua Septimus, Primary Care Physician

Notable topics covered:

• The mind-boggling number of supplements on the market
• What it means that the FDA doesn't regulate supplements
• Websites to visit that certify whether a supplement is safe
• What studies have found about supplements' usefulness
• The debate about supplements among some doctors
• Whether tablets, capsules or gels are better absorbed
• The herbal supplement Dr. Septimus often prescribes

If you enjoy these kinds of conversations, be sure to subscribe. And for more topics like this, visit our blog at houstonmethodist.org/blog.