Committed to Being the Best	SUMMER 2004

THE HEALTHY CORNER by Karen Kaczmarek

Exercise Your Priorities We can all find the time to do something if it is important enough to us. The secret to fitting walking into your life is to change your perspective on how you spend your time, and to accept the value of allocating time for yourself.   Elderly Who Exercise Live Longer It doesn't matter whether you walk fast, ski, swim cycle, golf or jog. It doesn't even seem to matter if you do it only once a week. Researchers find that men and women aged 65 and older live 40% longer if they exercise just once a week compared with the elderly people who were physically inactive.   Rumble in the Jungle What do all of those stomach noises mean? Stomach noises are generated by the intestines, which undulate in a wave-like motion. This moving of food particles, acid and gas from one end of the intestines to the other produces a sound often likened to a gentle grumble. Different things can cause it to speed up or slow down. A lot of it is air and gas produced by carbonation or bacteria. It is functioning normally. A too quiet belly is far more frightening. The absence of bowel movements can speak to a serious problem, especially if there is pain in the abdomen. You may have appendicitis or a gallstone in the bile duct that is causing inflammation and irritating the small intestine. Check with your doctor if you are having digestive tract problems.   A Fluid Approach Water helps flush the system, when there aren't enough fluids in the colon, patients suffer from constipation. One solution to constipation is eating a diet rich in fiber, which can be found in fruits and vegetables and whole grains. But these can't work without adequate intake of fluids. Fiber draws water from all sources in the body to make stools softer and easier to pass. The long approved 8 cups of water a day has changed; now doctors are promoting a better gauge. Take a third of your weight in pounds and that is how many ounces of water you should drink. A 150 pound woman, for example, will need 50 ounces of water per day, which translates into a little more than 6 cups.