Friction. Clap your hands, stomp your feet, or give them a mini-massage. But you already know that one, so consider…

Yoga. Lie on your back with legs against wall, perpendicular to the floor for as long as comfortable. When leg muscles relax, blood vessels open up and circulation improves.

Aerobic exercise. Take a walk, ride a bike, or do jumping jacks—anything that makes you work up a sweat.

Still feeling frosty? Consider thermal bio-feedback, a natural therapy that trains patients to warm their hands and feet in about 20 sessions. For a referral, talk to your care provider or go to bcia.org.

How to Shake Off a Chill The Saturday Evening Post

Up/Down Planks

1. Get on floor in push-up position, supporting body with hands beneath shoulders and feet flexed so base of toes touch floor.
2. Hold body in straight line from top of head to heels.
3. Drop to right elbow.
4. Drop to left elbow.
5. Return to push-up position described in step 1.

Repetitions: Start with 5 reps. Work up to 20 repetitions as you gain muscle control. If too difficult, start on elbows and feet. Then, hold for as long as comfortable.

Find more workout tips from Warner here.

5-Minute Fitness: Planks for Core Strength The Saturday Evening Post

So, you popped your cholesterol meds then tucked into a juicy steak. The pill can handle a little cholesterol surge, right? “At times, patients don’t think they need to follow a healthy diet since their medications have already lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol—and that is wrong,” says Mahshid Dehghan, Ph.D., study author and nutritionist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Eating well offers benefits beyond standard drug therapy.

In fact, researchers found patients taking drugs to prevent recurrent heart attacks and strokes who also ate a heart-healthy diet reduced their risk of cardiovascular death (by 35 percent), congestive heart failure (28 percent), stroke (19 percent), and new heart attacks (14 percent) compared to those with less healthy eating habits.

No License to Binge The Saturday Evening Post

Today, some researchers are convinced that the widespread halting of hormone therapy in 2002 was an overreaction.

About five years ago, Sally Shepard, a 52-year-old human resources consultant from Santa Cruz, California, began experiencing hot flashes and especially heavy and irregular periods as part of perimenopause, the few years leading up to menopause. Shepard, who surfs, skis, golfs, and runs 20 miles a week, felt less motivated to stay active. But when Shepard asked about hormone therapy, her doctor discouraged her.

Throughout the ’90s, the pills and patches that delivered a combination of estrogen and progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone) were prescribed freely to menopausal women. By the end of that decade, an astounding 22 percent of women over 40 were being prescribed hormone therapy. It was considered a godsend, not just to ease the discomfort, but to ward off the risk of heart disease and brittle bones associated with menopause, not to mention the gloom and misery that sometimes accompanies “the change.”

But problems with hormone therapy arose in 2002 when a large clinical trial (the Women’s Health Initiative) sponsored by the National Institutes of Health was shut down after it became clear that taking the medication resulted in higher rates of stroke, heart disease, and breast and ovarian cancers. In a hastily assembled press conference in July 2002, the researchers shocked the world by announcing that the risks of taking the popular drugs outweighed the benefits. The news also came as a surprise to doctors, who had expected the trial to show hormone therapy protected women’s hearts. Droves of frightened menopausal women threw out their pills and hormone patches, leaving those with severe symptoms to endure the embarrassing hot flashes and sheet-drenching night sweats that disrupted their sleep and left them weary, dazed, and cranky.

“The pendulum had swung from hormone therapy is good for all women, to hormone therapy is bad for all women,” says Dr. JoAnn Manson, a WHI investigator and chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, an affiliate of Harvard University. But it appears the pendulum is swinging again. Today, more than a decade after the WHI trial, a new consensus is emerging that, at least for younger women with moderate to severe menopausal symptoms, the benefits of short-term hormone therapy may outweigh the risks.

Shepard discovered the shift by doing some exploration of her own: “It didn’t seem those studies that had been so hyped in the news [back in 2002] were relevant to my circumstance.” She went back to her doctor, intent on reopening the discussion. To her surprise, this time her doctor was on board. “I don’t know if she had a change of heart … or if it took me being aggressive about it,” Shepard says. But, since she began hormone therapy, the hot flashes and abnormal bleeding are gone, and she has a lot more energy and what she can only describe as a “happiness factor.”

No one had predicted the outcome of the Women’s Health Initiative hormone studies. When they were first planned in 1992, they were designed as large, scientifically rigorous randomized trials to test whether hormone therapy could protect women from heart disease — something that had already been seen in smaller, less rigorous scientific studies.

So confident were scientists about the benefits of hormone therapy that the drugs were already widely prescribed not just to relieve symptoms of menopause, but to prevent heart disease. “Cardiologists were even starting women on the drugs in their 70s and 80s,” says Dr. Wulf Utian, founder of the North American Menopause Society and author of the 2011 book, Change Your Menopause: Why One Size Does Not Fit All. “There was a lot of wild use of hormones.”

The combination study was huge, involving more than 16,000 women aged 50 to 79, with most study volunteers at least a decade past menopause. (Significantly, the average age of study participants was 63.) The trial started in 1997 and was meant to be completed in 2005, but on May 31, 2002, a safety monitoring board found the number of breast cancers in women taking hormones exceeded a pre-specified limit and halted the study.

How bad was it? An initial analysis published in July 2002 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)found women taking combination hormone therapy had a 41 percent higher risk of strokes, a 29 percent higher risk of heart attacks, and twice as many blood clots as women in the placebo group. (They also had a 37 percent lower risk of colon cancer and a 33 percent lower risk of having a hip fracture, but that information didn’t make the headlines.)

As frightening as these results sound when expressed as percentages, the actual risk to any individual woman was still quite low. In a press release about the results, WHI Acting Director Dr. Jacques Rossouw explained that over the course of a year, only 8 more out of 10,000 postmenopausal women with a uterus who took combination therapy would have an invasive breast cancer; 7 more would have a heart attack; 8 more would have a stroke; and 18 more would have blood clots compared with women not taking hormone therapy.

Still, WHI investigators took an all-or-nothing approach, and for the once hormone-happy medical community, the result was a major about-face. Sales of Prempro, the drug used in the combination estrogen and progestin study, fell nearly 50 percent in the first two years following the study.

Manson credits the WHI study with stopping the gross overuse of hormone therapy, especially in high-risk women long past menopause. But Utian argues that many younger women, who may have benefited from hormone treatments for menopausal symptoms, suffered. “What happened unfortunately is we went from gross overuse to gross under use,” he says. He believes the net effect of the WHI study may have been to harm more women than it helped. “Even now, it’s very difficult to get an internist to prescribe hormones.”

Hormone Therapy Is Back The Saturday Evening Post

Recipe and photo from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week, by Ellie Krieger. www.elliekrieger.com © 2009 by Ellie Krieger. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Ellie’s 5-Minute Salad: Tricolor Salad 
with White Beans and Parmesan The Saturday Evening Post

Pasta Salad with Salmon, Peas, and Herbs The Saturday Evening Post

The robust marinade flavors are used in the dressing to give the salad a one-two punch. The result is so powerfully mouth-watering,
 it is sure to knock you out.

Grilled Thai Beef Salad The Saturday Evening Post

Check Your Meds

*Always consult your pharmacist and physician for personal recommendations. Dozens of other seemingly harmless medicine cabinet drugs have dangerous side effects that are amplified when mixed with other medicines. You can compare any meds you are thinking of taking together at nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html.

What’s in Your Medicine Cabinet? The Saturday Evening Post

MAD CAT UPPER BACK STRETCH
How:

• Begin on hands and knees with hands directly under shoulders and shoulder-width apart, and knees directly under hips and hip-width apart.
• Simultaneously drop chin to your chest, pull stomach towards spine, and arch back up like a mad cat.
• Hold 10-30 seconds.

Why: The Mad Cat stretch strengthens abdominal, shoulder, and back muscles, and helps loosen a tight lower back to ease nagging discomfort.

STANDING CHEST STRETCH
How:

• Hold arms about 6 inches from your sides with palms up.
• Squeeze shoulder blades together while pulling arms behind body, as though holding a ball in place with shoulder blades.
• Hold 10 to 30 seconds.

Why: The Standing Chest Stretch “frees up” the upper body by allowing neck and shoulder muscles to relax. It works wonders for anyone who spends hours crouched over a computer, counter, or conveyer belt.

SEATED INNER THIGH STRETCH
How:

• Sit on the floor.
• Bend knees and bring soles of feet together till they touch each other. (Don’t cross your legs!)
• Grasp ankles and, as able, lower knees toward floor. (Don’t use elbows to put pressure on your knees.)
• Hold 10-30 seconds.

Why: The Seated Inner Thigh Stretch helps the lower body move more freely through a greater range of motion. And it helps those who have trouble getting up off the floor or rising from chairs.

5-Minute Fitness: Stretch Away Pain The Saturday Evening Post

Research now suggests that starting hormone therapy well after menopause has more side effects than starting just at the time of menopause.

The North American Menopause Society’s (menopause.org) 2012 Position Statement on Hormone Therapy (HT) provides the following guidelines:

• HT remains the most effective treatment available for menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats that can interrupt sleep and impair quality of life. Many women can take it safely.

• If you have had blood clots, heart disease, stroke, or breast cancer, it may not be in your best interest to take HT. Be sure to discuss your health conditions with your healthcare provider.

• How long you should take HT depends on whether you take estrogen alone or a combination of estrogen and progesterone. For combination therapy, the time is limited by the increased risk of breast cancer that is seen with more than three to five years of use. For estrogen alone, no sign of an increased risk of breast cancer was seen during an average of seven years of treatment, a finding that allows more choice in how long you choose to use estrogen therapy.

• Most healthy women below age 60 will have no increase in the risk of heart disease with HT. The risks of stroke and blood clots in the lungs are increased but, in these younger age groups, the risks are less than 1 in every 1,000 women per year taking HT.

• Estrogen therapy delivered through the skin (by patch, cream, gel, or spray) and low dose oral estrogen may have lower risks of blood clots and stroke than standard doses of oral estrogen, but all the evidence is not yet available.

Hormone Safety and You The Saturday Evening Post

Experts agree that a daily 1,500 mg dose of glucosamine sulfate is generally safe and well tolerated—the main exception being for pregnant and nursing mothers. Some studies show benefits in reducing joint pain and improving function, while others have failed to show any value. Stick with national brands when selecting a product, and make sure you’re buying glucosamine sulfate, rather than glucosamine hydrochloride. (The latter formula needs more clinical testing.)

As always, ask your doctor or pharmacist about potential interactions with prescription medicines before starting any new supplement.

Glucosamine Guide The Saturday Evening Post

Tiny seeds of the flax plant, high in fiber and omega-3s, produce big drops in blood pressure and may prevent heart attacks and stroke, according to new research.

In the study, people with clogged leg arteries taking flaxseed supplements reduced their top blood pressure (systolic) reading by 10 points and the bottom (diastolic) by seven after six months. This change is the largest decrease in blood pressure ever shown by a dietary intervention, says Dr. Delfin Rodriquez of Cuba who presented the results at the American Heart Association 2012 Scientific Sessions.

The promising findings suggest that people with hypertension turn to the safe and inexpensive dietary supplement before starting drug therapy.

Flaxseed Slashes Blood Pressure The Saturday Evening Post

Studies show that starving oneself causes changes in the brain that can lead to the inability to see oneself objectively. It’s “distorted body image,” according to Cleveland Clinic eating disorders specialist Ellen Rome, M.D., M.P.H.

Women suffering from anorexia, for example, tend to draw their silhouettes or estimate their hip width disproportionately larger than they actually are. This is not a coy way of denying their condition; when confronted with the truth, they will firmly deny their true size. Altered perceptions of body image are predictable and painful—but they are often reversible, says Rome.

For help, turn first to a medical doctor who is well-versed in eating disorders. Contact the National Eating Disorders Association (nationaleatingdisorders.org, 800-931-2237) for local specialists.

Distorted Body Image: Objects in Mirror May Appear Larger Than Actual Size The Saturday Evening Post

Your number one health concern with rehabbing an old house is protecting kids from lead exposure—and the go-to source for specific information and local referrals is the Environmental Protection Agency (epa.gov). You have a lot of work ahead of you, but before the dust starts to fly …

1. Hire a certified lead inspector. It’s best to go with a professional when checking for lead paint: Home lead tests aren’t always reliable.
2. Test the water. Water can pick up lead from home plumbing. State testing programs vary, so call your water company for details.
3. Shut off the heating and cooling system if possible, or tape plastic over the ductwork while you’re working. Lead dust and other nasty particles from remodeling can get into ductwork and linger for years.
4. Have ducts professionally cleaned when renovation is complete.
5. Keep your house healthy once you move in by encouraging family and friends to take off their shoes when they enter. The soles of shoes can track lead, pesticides, and plenty of other grimy stuff into the house. Tip: Encourage the practice by placing a storage bench near your home’s primary entrance.

Rehabbing an Old House: A Safety Checklist The Saturday Evening Post

Subbing healthier options for salty favorites cuts back on sodium and can help your heart and blood vessels. Values are based on USDA and manufacturer websites.

• Say “no” to croissants and “yes” to thin-sliced wheat bread.
  Sodium Savings: 324 mg per piece
• 
Stock up on frozen veggies, not canned ones.
  Sodium Savings: 342 mg per cup green beans
• 

Skip chicken labeled “enhanced with chicken broth” and purchase hens with no added salt and water.
  Sodium Savings: 180 mg per 4-ounce serving
• Grate Swiss cheese over salads and pizza in favor 
of Parmesan.
  Sodium Savings: 377 mg per ounce
• Buy reduced-sodium deli meats.
  Sodium Savings: 300 mg per 4-ounce serving of oven-roasted turkey
• Check labels on breakfast cereal, soda, 
and ice cream for hidden sodium. (Versions of the same product can vary.)
  Sodium Savings: 214 mg per cup of Mini-Wheats versus Wheaties

Smart Swaps for Salty Foods: How to Eat Less Sodium The Saturday Evening Post