Let’s talk about our friend Popeye, the sailor, to see what ideas he has about good health. What do you know about Popyeye? He knows what he needs to make him strong. Why does Popeye need to be strong? To stop the bully Bluto! What does Popeye use to make him strong? Yes, spinach. What is spinach? Yes, it’s a vegetable.

But, what is so important about spinach; why can’t some other vegetable do the job? Why must he have spinach? Let’s think about that for a minute, and then let’s ask some other questions about health.

What happens if we don’t drink water for a few days? We get sick. When we studied the kidneys in the human body, we learned that the kidneys use a lot of water to get rid of wastes. We have to urinate several times a day. We need to replace that water. But, do we need to drink water every day? Who knows how much water people need to drink every day? Yes, we will review some of these ideas in this lesson, and in the following activities we will discover answers to why the body needs fruits, vegetables and water.

What does the body need in order to do its work? (Food.) We also say that the body needs proper nutrition. What does the food provide? (Energy.) What foodsprovide energy? (Fruits, vegetables and grains because they give us sugar andstarch for energy.) We say that proper nutrition is the first principle of goodhealth. What does that mean? (Pause for student comments.)
Now let’s talk about what we did in the Mathematics Center. We worked withordinal numbers. Ordinal numbers tell us the position of an object. Look at theword “order”. Can you find part of that word in “ordinal”? Yes, “ord” is in
“order” and in “ordinal". That’s what ordinal numbers tell you — the order or theposition of objects. The ordinal numbers relate to the cardinal numbers. The cardinalnumbers are the numbers we are familiar with — they tell us how manythings are in a set or a group.
Now, why do you think that we say that nutrition is the first principle of goodhealth? Yes, proper nutrition is the first principle of good health because withoutnutrition the body cannot continue to live for a long time in good health. Whathappens when we are sick or do not have energy? Are we happy? Can we do thethings we want to do? No, nutrition is important, and so we say that it is the firstprinciple of good health.
When we studied about foods that give us energy, what experiments did youcomplete? What did we learn in our experiment using iodine? Yes, many foodsthat we eat contain starch, which is one food that gives us energy.
Nutritionists, people who study the kind and amount of food that people needto be in good health, measure the amount of food energy living organisms need byusing the unit of heat called a calorie. We use this unit to tell us how much foodwe need each day. If we know how much food we need each day, we will be ableto balance our meals and to avoid the weight we would gain if we ate too muchfat and too much starch.
But starch in our diet is not enough. What else do we need? What do fish,chicken, turkey and beef provide? (Those foods give us proteins that we need tobuild muscles and renew all the cells.)
As we saw from the activities on proper nutrition, all foods give us energy andhelp us build our bodies, but all foods give us more of one thing and less ofanother than the body needs. Very few foods give us everything the body needsall at the same time. That is why we need to eat balanced meals. The studentsconsider: Is fat necessary for the body? Is it an important food? How much fatshould we have in our daily diet?
You worked on an activity that required you to balance your body in order towalk from one end of the beam to the other. What did you have to do to stay inbalance? Yes, you couldn’t lean over too much on either side — you had to stayin the middle. What do you have to do in riding a bicycle? You can ride a bicycleonly if you balance on it. The same happens with your body and balanced meals.
You get energy and “building blocks” when you eat “balanced meals.” What doyou suppose “balanced” meals are? (Pause for student responses.) Yes, balancedmeals are meals that include foods from each of the five food groups. We don’twant to have too much of one thing and very little of another. (Display pictures offood from the Food Guide Pyramid.)
The Food Guide Pyramid is a guide, a suggestion, of the types and amountsof food that a person needs to be healthy. The Guide tells us that the group we 14 Unit 1 Good Healthshould select the most from is the Bread group, which includes oatmeal, Creamof Wheat, rice, spaghetti, for six to 11 servings every day. The next groups are the Vegetable group, which should include three to five servings every day, and the
Fruit group, which should include two to four servings each day. The Milk groupincludes cheese and yogurt, and should include two to three servings every day.
We should have the same number of servings per day from the Meat group,which includes beef, chicken, pinto beans, eggs and nuts. At the top of the pyramidand having the smallest triangle, are the fats, oils and sweets. This is notconsidered a food group because all foods contain fat and sugar. To be healthy,however, we should use fats, oils, and sugar barely, or with care. Fats and sugarare important, but they do not give energy and building blocks as do other foodsin a balanced diet.
We also said that one of the body needs is water. Do all living things need waterto live? We are going to look at the amount of water that living organisms need.

Someone always been thin and never struggled with weight problems…so what changed? The truth is, women’s bodies do change as they get older and go through menopause, but weight gain isn’t inevitable; we have more control over our bodies and how they age than we think.

What Happens During Menopause

Beginning around the mid-thirties, the ovaries decline in hormone production. This accelerates in the 40’s, which makes hormones fluctuate and by the 50’s, periods usually end completely. What many women don’t like about this process are the symptoms and problems that come with these shifting hormones such as:

• Hot flashes
• Depression, stress and anxiety
• Sleep disorders
• Irritability
• Osteoporosis
• Cardiovascular disease

Another experience many women have is weight gain, especially around the belly and waistline. Part of this has to do with those declining hormones, though researchers aren’t sure how or why. Experts at Oregon Health & Science University have found intriguiging evidence that, for some, menopause may increase appetite. By studying hormones in monkeys (which are virtually identical to humans), researchers concluded that, with decreased hormones, many monkeys increased their food intake by 67%.

Menopause isn’t the only cause of middle-age spread. Other factors include:

• Reduced activity. Women often exercise less when they enter menopause, which can lead to weight gain.
• Decreased metabolism. One reason metabolism declines with age is the loss of muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so when you lose that muscle (about 1/2-lb a year if you don’t preserve it with weight training/exercise), you don’t burn as many calories.
• Increase in calories. As metabolism drops, many people don’t adjust their calories accordingly, which often leads to weight gain.
• Genetics. Your genetic makeup and where you’re predisposed to gain and store fat also plays a role in weight gain, making it more difficult to maintain your figure.

  Easing into Menopause

  There are any number of ways to manage menopause symptoms, from alternative therapies (such as acupuncture) to eating a healthy diet. However, one simple thing you can do right now is exercise. As the American Council on Exercise states: "The good news is that a regular program of physical activity can help manage many of the uncomfortable symptoms of menopause as well as the related health concerns, such as heart disease and osteoporosis."

  Other benefits of exercise include:

  • Reduced stress. Menopause can often lead to depression, anxiety and stress. Exercise is proven to help reduce stress and improve your mood.
  • Weight loss. Exercise can help create a calorie deficit, which is what you want when it comes to losing body fat.
  • Reduction of hot flashes. Some research has found that exercise increases estrogen levels, which can decrease the severity of hot flashes.
  • Increased bone mass. Strength training and impact activities (like walking or running) can help strength the bones and prevent osteoporosis.
  • Reduced risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.

  The North American Menopause Society goes even further, stating that "Exercise may cause the same magnitude of change as that induced by estrogen therapy." (The Effects of Physical Activity on Menopausal Symptoms and Metabolic Changes around Menopause) If I’ve convinced you how much exercise can help, it’s time to get moving.

  Getting Started

  Even if you’ve never formally exercised, it’s never too late to start…nor is it too late to reap the benefits. The key is to start slowly and do things you enjoy such as:

  • Walking
  • Cycling
  • Vigorous yard work
  • Swimming
  • Cardio machines
  • Group fitness classes

  Strength training is equally important, especially if you want to increase your metabolism and lose body fat. You don’t have to train like a bodybuilder to get the benefits, but you do need to use resistance (such as dumbbells, machines or resistance bands) and you do need to challenge your muscles and body. You might want to work with a personal trainer to get started or visit Workouts for Beginners to find cardio, strength training and flexibility workouts specifically for those just starting out.

  Whatever you do, make the commitment now to become more active. Move more throughout the day…get a pedometer and start tracking your steps…get your family involved and spend some quality time with them through movement. Taking control of your health is one way to make menopause a more pleasant experience.

The benefits of exercise are many, from producing physically fit bodies to providing an out letfor fun and socialization. When added to a weight control program these benefits take on increased significance.
We already have noted that proper exercise can help control weight by burning excess body fat.
It also has two other body-trimming advantages 1) exercise builds muscle tissue and muscle use scalories up at a faster rate than body fat; and 2) exercise helps reduce inches and a firm, lean body looks slimmer even if your weight remains the same.
Remember, fat does not "turn into" muscle, as is often believed. Fat and muscle are two entirely different substances and one cannot become the other. However, muscle does use calories at a faster rate than fat which directly affects your body’s metabolic rate or energy requirement.
Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy required to sustain the body’s functions at rest and it depends on your age, sex, body size, genes and body composition. People with highlevels of muscle tend to have higher BMRs and use more calories in the resting stage.
Some studies have even shown that your metabolic rate stays elevated for some time after vigorous exercise, causing you to use even more calories throughout your day.
Additional benefits may be seen in how exercise affects appetite. A lean person in good shapemay eat more following increased activity, but the regular exercise will burn up the extra calories consumed. On the other hand, vigorous exercise has been reported to suppress appetite. And,physical activity can be used as a positive substitute for between meal snacking.

One thing is certain. Most people do not get enough exercise in their ordinary routines. All of the advances of modern technology – from electric can openers to power steering – have madelife easier, more comfortable and much less physically demanding. Yet our bodies need activity,especially if they are carrying around too much fat. Satisfying this need requires a definite plan,and a commitment. There are two main ways to increase the number of calories you expend:
1. Start a regular exercise program if you do not have one already.
2. Increase the amount of physical activity in your daily routine.
The best way to control your weight is a combination of the above. The sum total of calories used over time will help regulate your weight as well as keep you physically fit.

Active Lifestyles
Before looking at what kind of regular exercise program is best, let’s look at how you can increase the amount of physical activity in your daily routine to supplement your exercise program.
• Recreational pursuits such as gardening on weekends, bowling in the office league, family outings, an evening of social dancing, and many other activities provide added exercise. They are fun and can be considered an extra bonus in your weight control campaign.
• Add more "action" to your day. Walk to the neighborhood grocery store instead of using the car. Park several blocks from the office and walk the rest of the way. Walk up the stairs instead of using the elevator; start with one flight of steps and gradually increase.
• Change your attitude toward movement. Instead of considering an extra little walk or trip to the files an annoyance, look upon it as an added fitness boost. Look for opportunities to use your body. Bend, stretch, reach, move, lift and carry. Time-saving devices and gadgets eliminate drudgery and are a bonus to mankind, but when they substitute too often for physical activity they can demand a high cost in health, vigor and fitness.
These little bits of action are cumulative in their effects. Alone, each does not burn a huge amount of calories. But when added together they can result in a sizable amount of energy used over the course of the day. And they will help improve your muscle tone and flexibility at thesame time.

Exercise is important, but it also hard to persist. Here are 9 tips to Keep You Going

l. Adopt a specific plan and write it down.
2. Keep setting realistic goals as you go along, and remind yourself of them often.
3. Keep a log to record your progress and make sure to keep it up-to-date.
4. Include weight and/or percent body fat measures in your log. Extra pounds can easily
creep back.
5. Upgrade your fitness program as you progress.
6. Enlist the support and company of your family and friends.
7. Update others on your successes.
8. Avoid injuries by pacing yourself and including a warmup and cool down period as
part of every workout.
9. Reward yourself periodically for a job well done!

Can You Prevent Breast Cancer?

You already know that exercise helps reduce your chances of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. It also helps you lose weight, sleep better and feel better. But, what about the effect of exercise on breast cancer? While it’s not officially proven to reduce the risk of breast cancer, some studies show that exercise can offer some protection. The American Family Physician, discusses an investigation into the relationship between exercise and breast cancer, concluding that "physical activity during both leisure time and work reduced the overall risk of breast cancer in women, particularly among premenopausal and younger postmenopausal women." This is because exercise lowers a woman’s ongoing exposure to estrogen, which is believed to contribute to cancer growth.

The interesting thing is that exercise and weight control may work together in preventing breast cancer. Dr. Anne McTiernan, an internist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, found that the women in her study who exercised the most had a 22% decreased risk of breast cancer.

While some studies have found a positive relationship between exercise and breast cancer, others have found no relationship at all. Either way, exercise is important for staying healthy and, when it comes to recovering from breast cancer, that’s when exercise really becomes important.

Can you Exercise if You’re Recovering from Breast Cancer?

If you’re recovering from breast cancer, first of all congratulations! Second of all, you might be wondering what you can do to speed your recovery. Past studies have shown that exercise can be an effective treatment for cancer patients. About’s Sports Medicine Guide, Elizabeth Quinn notes in her article, Exercise as Cancer Treatment, "…exercise had a positive effect on physical and psychological functioning of cancer patients while in treatment." Cancer patients who exercised experienced fat loss, a decrease in nausea and fatigue, higher self-esteem and better quality of life.

After checking with your doctor first, consider taking a page from Jill Forrest’s book. Jill Forrest, a breast cancer survivor, started Better Than Before Fitness, Ltd. which has created the first rehabilitative/exercise video for breast cancer survivors. The video takes you through the first day after surgery to six weeks later and all participants are breast cancer survivors. Visit their website for information about the video and to find answers to your questions about exercise.

Whatever exercise you choose, remember that moving your body can help heal both your mind and your body.

Just about everybody seems to be interested in weight control. Some of us weigh just the rightamount, others need to gain a few pounds. Most of us "battle the bulge" at some time in our life.
Whatever our goals, we should understand and take advantage of the important role of exercisein keeping our weight under control.
Carrying around too much body fat is a major nuisance. Yet excess body fat is common inmodern-day living. Few of today’s occupations require vigorous physical activity, and much ofour leisure time is spent in sedentary pursuits.
Recent estimates indicate that 34 million adults are considered obese (20 percent abovedesirable weight). Also, there has been an increase in body fat levels in children and youth overthe past 20 years. After infancy and early childhood, the earlier the onset of obesity, the greaterthe likelihood of remaining obese.
Excess body fat has been linked to such health problems as coronary heart disease, high bloodpressure, osteoporosis, diabetes, arthritis and certain forms of cancer. Some evidence now existsshowing that obesity has a negative effect on both health and longevity.
Exercise is associated with the loss of body fat in both obese and normal weight persons. Aregular program of exercise is an important component of any plan to help individuals lose, gainor maintain their weight.
 Overweight or Overfat?
Overweight and overfat do not always mean the same thing. Some people are quite muscularand weigh more than the average for their age and height. However, their body composition, theamount of fat versus lean body mass (muscle, bone, organs and tissue), is within a desirablerange. This is true for many athletes. Others weigh an average amount yet carry around too muchfat. In our society, however, overweight often implies overfat because excess weight is commonlydistributed as excess fat. The addition of exercise to a weight control program helps control bothbody weight and body fat levels.
A certain amount of body fat is necessary for everyone. Experts say that percent body fat forwomen should be about 20 percent, 15 percent for men. Women with more than 30 percent fatand men with more than 25 percent fat are considered obese.
How much of your weight is fat can be assessed by a variety of methods including underwater
(hydrostatic) weighing, skinfold thickness measurements and circumference measurements. Eachrequires a specially trained person to administer the test and perform the correct calculations.
From the numbers obtained, a body fat percentage is determined. Assessing body composition hasan advantage over the standard height-weight tables because it can help distinguish between  "overweight" and "overfat."
An easy self-test you can do is to pinch the thickness of the fat folds at your waist andabdomen. If you can pinch an inch or more of fat (make sure no muscle is included) chances areyou have too much body fat.
People who exercise appropriately increase lean body mass while decreasing their overall fatlevel. Depending on the amount of fat loss, this can result in a loss of inches without a loss ofweight, since muscle weighs more than fat. However, with the proper combination of diet andexercise, both body fat and overall weight can be reduced.
Energy Balance: A Weighty Concept
Losing weight, gaining weight or maintaining your weight depends on the amount of caloriesyou take in and use up during the day, otherwise referred to as energy balance. Learning how tobalance energy intake (calories in food) with energy output (calories expended through physicalactivity) will help you achieve your desired weight.
Although the underlying causes and the treatments of obesity are complex, the concept of energybalance is relatively simple. If you eat more calories than your body needs to perform your day’sactivities, the extra calories are stored as fat. If you do not take in enough calories to meet yourbody’s energy needs, your body will go to the stored fat to make up the difference (Exercise helpsensure that stored fat, rather than muscle tissue, is used to meet your energy needs.) If you eat justabout the same amount of calories to meet your body’s energy needs, your weight will stay the same.
On the average, a person consumes between 800,000 and 900,000 calories each year! Anactive person needs more calories than a sedentary person, as physically active people requireenergy above and beyond the day’s basic needs. All too often, people who want to lose weightconcentrate on counting calorie intake while neglecting calorie output. The most powerfulformula is the combination of dietary modification with exercise. By increasing your dailyphysical activity and decreasing your caloric input you can lose excess weight in the mostefficient and healthful way.