Family Living Focus: Fun Summer Days – Eating Better, Getting Active
Gail Gilman, Family Life Consultant, M.Ed., C.F.C.S. and Professor
Emeritus, University of Minnesota
School’s out. Things might be slower at work. The warmer weather brings
lots of new opportunities to improve your health with plenty of fresh, local
produce and more choices for outside activities. Here is how to make the
most of the summer months.
When the weather is nice, there are more opportunities for getting outdoors
and having fun with your family and incorporating exercise into day-to-day
life. Summer is a great time for getting out and increasing activity, if
done in a safe fashion.
There are almost endless choices. Take evening walks around the
neighborhood. Sign up for summer sports programs at the local community or
recreation center. Go swimming together. Ride your bike or take a hike
through a park. Plan a family softball or soccer game.
Just make sure to exercise a little caution. Heat is the biggest danger in
the summer months. Being hot for too long can cause many illnesses, some of
which can be deadly. Older people are at particularly high risk for
hyperthermia
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ability to respond to summer heat can become less efficient with advancing
years.
Look out for the warning signs of hyperthermia, which include headache,
nausea, dizziness, muscle spasms, and fatigue. If you suspect someone is
suffering from hyperthermia, get the person out of the sun and into a cool
place. Offer fluids, preferably water. Urge the person to lie down and
rest in the coolest place possible. Encourage them to shower, bathe, or
sponge off with cool water.
Heat stroke is an especially dangerous form of hyperthermia. It can be life
threatening, so you need to get medical help right away. A person with heat
stroke has a body temperature above 104° and symptoms such as confusion,
combativeness, bizarre behavior, faintness, staggering, strong rapid pulse,
dry flushed skin, lack of sweating or coma.
To avoid hyperthermia, do not try to exercise or do a lot of strenuous
activities in the midday heat. Make sure to drink plenty of liquids.
Another potential danger comes from the summer sun. It is a time of the
year when the sun’s intensity is greatest. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV)
radiation the invisible rays that are part of the energy that comes from the
sun and artificial sources like sun lamps and tanning beds is strongly
associated with skin cancer.
New cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Both UVB
rays, which penetrate the skin, and UVA rays, which penetrate more deeply
through the skin’s two layers and even a bit beyond, cause various types of
skin and eye damage including skin cancer.
To protect yourself from those UV rays, remember to slip, slop, slap, and
wrap. In other words, slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat and
wrap on sunglasses.
Slip on protective clothing. Choose shirts with long sleeves and long pants
to protect as much as your body from the sun as possible. Many modern
fabrics are light and breathable yet protect your skin from the sun. A good
rule is if you can see through the clothing, UV can pass through it, and it
will not provide you with optimum protection. Some clothes are now marked
with an “Ultraviolet Protection Factor” or “UPF.” UPF measures the amount of
UV radiation that can penetrate the fabric.
Slop on sunscreen. It may help prevent skin cancer, although sunscreen
cannot replace avoiding the sun during peak hours, staying in the shade, and
wearing protective clothing. Look for sunscreen with a sun protection
factor (SPF) of at least 30. A higher SPF offers even more protection.
Right now, unfortunately, SPF only measures protection from UVB rays. Since
both UVA and UVB cause damage to the skin, you should use a broad-spectrum
sunscreen, one that contains ingredients to protect against both UVA and
UVB. Look for product labels that mention UVA protection.
Slap on a hat. All hats are not equally protective. Choose hats that are
broad brimmed all around to shade the ears and neck as well as the face.
And finally, wrap on sunglasses. The label should say that the lenses block
at least 99% of UVA and UVB radiation.
Now that you have yourself covered, you can get outside and get active.
Do not forget there are also healthy eating opportunities that come with
warmer weather. It is easier to eat healthily during the summer. When you
are hot, a salad tastes really good. It is easy to grill some chicken and
make a salad with some grilled chicken or fish and fresh fruits and
vegetables.
There are more locally grown fruits and vegetables. You can have fun trying
what is seasonal and tasty.
Some people find it challenging to eat well during summer picnics and
barbeques. A lot of the side dishes, things like potato salad and cole
slaw, can be loaded with fat and calories. What you can do is offer to
bring a side dish yourself and bring a fresh fruit salad, a side salad or
some cut vegetables with some hummus. Stay away from the food table so you
are not tempted to eat things you would rather avoid.
Something else to think about in the heat is keeping foods cool to avoid
food poisoning. Microbes can grow quickly in food that is left out for too
long.
With some planning, you can enjoy the opportunities that summer brings and
avoid the health risks.
Healthy Summer Habits:
* Beat the sun and heat with an early morning or evening activity.
* Wear protective clothing, such as hats with broad brims all around,
long-sleeved shirts and long pants or skirts, to block out the sun’s harmful
rays.
* Use sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB with a sun protection
factor (SPF) of at least 30, preferably higher, and reapply frequently.
* Use sunglasses that block both UVA and UVB.
* Try to stay in the shade when outdoors during peak sunlight.
* Go to an air-conditioned gym, do water workouts, or use a fitness
video at home.
* Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise.
* Take advantage of seasonal fruits and vegetables at your local
farmers market or grow your own.
* Boost the flavor and nutrition of your meals with garden-fresh
herbs. Web sites:
Look for more Family Living Focus information from Gail Gilman, Family Life
Consultant, M.Ed., C.F.C.S., and Professor Emeritus – University of
Minnesota, in next week’s paper.
