Tag Archives: hot weather

July 13, 2021 · 11:20 pm

5 ways to protect your heart in extreme heat

With many areas of the country facing triple digit temperatures and summer heat and humidity elsewhere, the American Heart Association, a global force for longer, healthier lives for all, is urging people to take extra steps to protect their hearts. Precautions are especially important for older adults and individuals with high blood pressure, obesity or a history of heart disease and stroke.

Temperatures over 100 or even temperatures in the 80s with high humidity can cause a dangerous heat index that can be hard on the heart. Recent research published in Circulation, the flagship journal of the American Heart Association, found that when temperatures reach extremes of an average daily temperature of 109 degrees Fahrenheit, the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease may double or triple. Another study, featured at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference, suggests that the more temperatures fluctuate during the summer, the more severe strokes may become.

In hot weather, the body tries to cool itself by shifting blood from major organs to underneath the skin. This shift causes the heart to pump more blood, putting it under significantly more stress.

“If you’re a heart patient, older than 50 or overweight, the American Heart Association suggests you take special precautions in the heat to protect your heart,” said Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D., Sc.M., FAHA, the American Heart Association’s new volunteer president and chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

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June 29, 2018 · 10:58 am

How to Beat the Heat

I wanted to reblog this item from last year on dealing with the heat as we seem to be entering another hot spell.The Weather Channel reported that 90 million of us will be under heat warnings this weekend. Please check this post out for suggestions on staying healthy and alive without maybe risking your life during extreme heat. Discretion is the better part of valor.

Tony

Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger

I personally prefer extreme cold to extreme heat, because you can always add layers and go out, but with heat, no matter how much you take off, you are still uncomfortable once you are outside.

I cruised the web and wanted to share some of the suggestions of others in the same situation.

Our friends overseas at the Daily Mail offered some very down to earth ones, including: “Eat small meals and eat more often. The larger the meal, the more metabolic heat your body creates breaking down the food. Avoid foods that are high in protein, which increase metabolic heat.”

A similar concept came up in my blog item The Brain is an Oxygen Burner explaining why we often feel sluggish after eating a big meal because digestion requires a lot of oxygen that would be going to the brain, but is diverted to the gut.

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June 17, 2018 · 8:46 am

Be careful exercising in this hot weather

As regular readers know, I feel strongly about the great outdoors, savoring the experience of it as well as exercising outdoors. Summer has made its presence known with a vengeance this year and there is a time and a place for everything.

Tips-For-Exercising-In-Hot-Weather-610x350.jpg

I have been riding my bike around sunrise lately as a method of avoiding the oppressive heat. I am 81 years old and in excellent shape, but my doctor said that she tells even her 40-year-olds not to push exercise in extreme heat. You can check out my Page – How to deal with extreme heat for lots more examples.

Meanwhile the Go4Life folks offer the following excellent suggestions for heat extremes:

• Walk on the treadmill, ride the stationary bike, or use the rowing machine that’s gathering dust in your bedroom or basement. Or use one at a nearby gym or fitness center.
• Work out with an exercise DVD. You can get a free one from Go4Life.
• Go bowling with friends.
• Join a local mall walking group.
• Walk around an art gallery or museum to catch a new exhibit.
• Check out an exercise class at your neighborhood Y.
• If you like dancing, take a Zumba® or salsa class.
• Try yoga or Tai Chi.
• Go to the gym and work on your strength, balance, and flexibility exercises or set up your own home gym. All you need is a sturdy chair, a towel, and some weights. Soup cans or water bottles will do if you don’t have your own set of weights.
• Go to an indoor pool and swim laps or try water aerobics
• How about a game of indoor tennis, hockey, basketball, or soccer?
• Go indoor ice skating or roller skating.
• Maybe it’s time for some heavy duty cleaning. Vacuum, mop, sweep. Dust those hard-to-reach areas.

Tony

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June 11, 2017 · 12:07 pm

How to Beat the Heat

I personally prefer extreme cold to extreme heat, because you can always add layers and go out, but with heat, no matter how much you take off, you are still uncomfortable once you are outside.

I cruised the web and wanted to share some of the suggestions of others in the same situation.

Our friends overseas at the Daily Mail offered some very down to earth ones, including: “Eat small meals and eat more often. The larger the meal, the more metabolic heat your body creates breaking down the food. Avoid foods that are high in protein, which increase metabolic heat.”

A similar concept came up in my blog item The Brain is an Oxygen Burner explaining why we often feel sluggish after eating a big meal because digestion requires a lot of oxygen that would be going to the brain, but is diverted to the gut.
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June 28, 2016 · 12:05 am

Exercise ideas for hot weather

As regular readers know, I feel strongly about the great outdoors, savoring the experience of it as well as exercising outdoors. Summer has made its presence known with a vengeance this year and there is a time and a place for everything.

Tips-For-Exercising-In-Hot-Weather-610x350.jpg

I have been riding my bike around sunrise lately as a method of avoiding the oppressive heat. I am 76 years old and in excellent shape, but my doctor said that she tells even her 40-year-olds not to push exercise in extreme heat. You can check out my Page – How to deal with extreme heat for lots more examples.

Meanwhile the Go4Life folks offer the following excellent suggestions for heat extremes:

 •    Walk on the treadmill, ride the stationary bike, or use the rowing machine that’s gathering dust in your bedroom or basement. Or use one at a nearby gym or fitness center.
    •    Work out with an exercise DVD. You can get a free one from Go4Life.
    •    Go bowling with friends.
    •    Join a local mall walking group.
    •    Walk around an art gallery or museum to catch a new exhibit.
    •    Check out an exercise class at your neighborhood Y.
    •    If you like dancing, take a Zumba® or salsa class.
    •    Try yoga or Tai Chi.
    •    Go to the gym and work on your strength, balance, and flexibility exercises or set up your own home gym. All you need is a sturdy chair, a towel, and some weights. Soup cans or water bottles will do if you don’t have your own set of weights.
    •    Go to an indoor pool and swim laps or try water aerobics
    •    How about a game of indoor tennis, hockey, basketball, or soccer?
    •    Go indoor ice skating or roller skating.
    •    Maybe it’s time for some heavy duty cleaning. Vacuum, mop, sweep. Dust those hard-to-reach areas.

Tony

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December 18, 2012 · 8:49 pm

The Mayo Clinic Book of Home Remedies

I don’t write about a lot of books here, but I try to get some of the most useful ones. The Mayo Clinic Book of Home Remedies is just such a book.

I have been paging through it and reading it all evening. I feel like that guy in the commercial where someone asks him, “Are you a doctor?” and he responds, “No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.”

But, in this instance, I would respond, “No, but I did read the Mayo Clinic Book of Home Remedies.”

MayoClinicBookOfHomeRemediesCover

The idea for the book came from numerous discussions physicians, nurses, health educators, and other health care providers about the questions and concerns they hear most frequently from visitors to Mayo. Or, what are the main reasons people go to a doctor? Their stated goal is to develop a simple resource that could guide health decisions, offer easy remedies to treat many health problems and possibly reduce the need for a visit to a clinic or an emergency room.

The book is arranged by each topic alphabetically. Each topic is introduced in a summary that may include signs and symptoms, causes and possible outcomes. Then there is a ‘Home Remedies’ that describes simple actions you can take to help prevent, treat or manage the condition. This may include advice on diet, exercise, a change in behavior or a supplement to relieve signs and symptoms.

There is also a ‘Medical Help’ segment that identifies serious signs and symptoms and tells you when you need to contact a doctor or other health care provider and what kind of treatment you might expect.

I like the scope of their coverage. They give you the symptoms first, tell you what they mean and possibly why they are occurring. They they tell you what to do to remedy the situation. As the writer of this blog, I was gratified to see so many that improving your diet and exercising more actively were  part of the remedies.

So, what are we talking about here? Topics include but are not limited to: back pain, burns, cold sores, dry skin, dry mouth, ear infection, fatigue, high blood pressure, indigestion, motion sickness nosebleeds, shin splints, snoring, ulcers, to name a few.

At this time of year, the Mayo Clinic Book of Home Remedies is a good candidate for that student who is going off to college and will be on his/her own for the first time ever. For the favorite senior aunt or uncle who is transitioning into old age. It is also a super resource for a young family or just a guy or gal on their own who doesn’t feel like running up big medical bills.

You can pick it up at Amazon.

It sells for the discounted price of $17.13.

Tony

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August 1, 2012 · 3:17 pm

How to Protect Yourself from Sunburn and Skin Cancer

Here are some basic facts from skincancer.org:

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 3.5 million skin cancers in over two million people are diagnosed annually.
• Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
• Over the past 31 years, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.

I had a procedure done by the Dermatology Department of Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Along with the info on how to care for my ‘wound,’ they included some powerful suggestions on how to protect yourself from skin cancer. I wanted to share it with you as it seems to be very thorough and helpful. Maybe it will help you to avoid the situation I found myself in – needing skin cancer surgery. I certainly learned some useful facts from it.

Sunlight contains ultraviolet radiation that can damage your skin. Ultraviolet A (UVA) is responsible for tanning, wrinkling and premature aging. Ultraviolet B (UVB) causes sunburns. Both UVA and UVB can damage the skin and cause skin cancer. There is no “safe” ultraviolet radiation. There is no such thing as a ‘healthy’ tan. (Emphasis mine)
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July 9, 2012 · 9:52 pm

You Need to Moderate Your Exercise in Extreme Heat

Extreme heat is really the ultimate test for someone committed to a healthy lifestyle that includes some kind of daily exercise. The recent heat wave in Chicago proved very difficult for me. I wanted to recount my actions on the final day of it because I made some mistakes that you might be able to avoid by reading this.

On Sunday the weather forecast was for another plus 100 degree day, extending our recent heat wave. We had already had at least a half dozen deaths from the heat, the youngest of which was 53 years old. Being considerably older than that, I was a bit nervous about riding.

In the past I have been able to finesse extreme heat by rising at the crack of dawn and getting my bike ride in ahead of the sun’s full blast later. On Sunday, I was out on the bike just after 6:00 a.m. So far so good, however, the temperature had already crossed the 80 degree mark with high humidity. I realized it was hot, but thought it was still 20 degrees under the 100 forecast for later.

Besides rising early, I also tried to accommodate the heat in other ways. I soaked a bandanna in cold water and wrapped it around my head. I wore another cold-water soaked bandanna around my neck. To the extent possible, I rode in the shade as opposed to direct sun. Because I ride on the lakefront there are water fountains at regular intervals. When I felt troubled by the heat I would stop at a fountain and fill my dog’s bowl with water and pour it on each of my arms to lower my body temperature. Also, sometimes I poured it over my head. You can see that I felt I was meeting the heat head on. I thought I was holding my own.

So, with all that good stuff going on, how did I goof up?

Here’s how.
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July 8, 2012 · 2:52 pm

What is a Simple Summer Salad from Mr. Lazy Cook?

The extreme heat in Chicago finally got to Mr. Lazy Cook. He decided to ‘go light’ this afternoon with a simple salad. Not having made a salad for a while, he chose to go slow at the beginning.

Herewith the fruits, so to speak, of his labors. As Mr. Lazy Cook lives by himself, this recipe serves one.

Here are the fixins for the salad

The ingredients included:

Pistachios
Blueberries
Romaine Lettuce
Crumbled blue cheese
Garbanzos
Newman’s Salad Dressing

Cut several slices of lettuce into strips to fill the bowl.
Add 1/2 ounce  pistachios
two tablespoons blueberries
two tablespoons garbanzos
two tablespoons blue cheese (or to taste)
two tablespoons Newman’s Salad Dressing (or to taste)

As if by magic the groceries become a tasty nutritious salad

As you can see from the photo this makes a nice salad with a variety of tastes and textures with all very nutritious ingredients.

Total prep time less than 10 minutes.

The pistachios and cheese provide protein while you get a nice helping of anitoxidants from the blueberries.

Tony

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June 28, 2012 · 12:31 pm

What To Do If You Get Overheated

Hot summer weather can pose special health risks to older adults. The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, has some advice for helping older people avoid heat-related illnesses, known as hyperthermia.

Hyperthermia is an abnormally high body temperature caused by a failure of the heat-regulating mechanisms of the body to deal with the heat coming from the environment. Heat fatigue, heat syncope (sudden dizziness after prolonged exposure to the heat), heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are commonly known forms of hyperthermia. Risk for these conditions can increase with the combination of outside temperature, general health and individual lifestyle.

Lifestyle factors can include not drinking enough fluids, living in housing without air conditioning, lack of mobility and access to transportation, overdressing, visiting overcrowded places and not understanding how to respond to hot weather conditions. Older people, particularly those with chronic medical conditions, should stay indoors on hot and humid days, especially when an air pollution alert is in effect. Continue reading →

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June 23, 2012 · 9:09 pm

How Dangerous is it to Exercise Outdoors in a Heat Wave?

O’Hare airport recorded a 94-degree high Saturday –the 9th 90-degree day so far this month and 14th of the season

Yesterday I delineated the danger signs of exercising in hot weather, but didn’t explain exactly how heat impacted the body itself.

Also I mentioned in an earlier post that my doctor told me not to go biking when there are 90 plus degree heat advisories. My daily biking has brought my resting heart rate down below 50 and I have less than 17 percent body fat on me. I am in great shape and prior to my doctor warning me about it, I had ridden regularly in heat waves. She said that despite my conditioning it was not safe for me. She said that she also told her 40 year old patients not to go out either.

I have to confess that I was skeptical about this. I do believe in following ‘doctor’s orders’ and I have not gone out in the hottest part of the day on my bike, but I have been tempted. I feel great and know how well my body responds, so it seems safe. BUT, I don’t plan on doing it.
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June 22, 2012 · 10:18 pm

What are Danger Signs During Hot Weather Exercise?

Summer officially started a week ago, but summer temps have been with us sporadically since March. For those of us who work and play outdoors, hot weather is a potentially dangerous environment.

It seems an opportune time to look at it in detail.

When I asked my doctor about bike riding during heat advisories, she said not to do it and that she advised her 40-year-olds not to do it either.

I wrote about my bicycling workaround last July during a Chicago heat advisory. You can read about it here.

I also wrote up the impact of a some outdoor exercise the same week. You can find it here.

But besides my anecdotal evidence, how about some authoritative info straight from the horse’s mouth.

The Mayo Clinic suggests drinking enough fluids, wearing proper clothing and timing your workout to avoid extreme heat.

Here is what The Mayo Clinic says about the warning signs:

“During hot-weather exercise, watch for signs and symptoms of heat-related illness. If you ignore these symptoms, your condition can worsen, resulting in a medical emergency. Signs and symptoms include:

Muscle cramps
Nausea or vomiting
Weakness
Headache
Dizziness
Confusion
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July 21, 2011 · 11:06 am

What About Bicycle Riding in a Heat Advisory?

Much of the nation is suffering under a heat advisory which includes the home town of this blog, Chicago.

The dangerous heat wave blamed for as many as 22 deaths spread into the eastern United States on Wednesday, extending its reach across nearly half the U.S. population, officials said.

About 141 million people in a 1 million-square-mile area were under heat advisories and warnings, according to Justin Kenney, spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The National Weather Service said, “These triple-digit temperatures are forecast to remain in place across the eastern U.S. through Saturday before cooling off slightly to the mid-90s by Sunday.”

For folks like me who try to exercise every day, this advisory is extremely problematical. I want to exercise, but I don’t want to become a statistic. In an effort to beat the heat, I rode my bicycle very early every morning this week.

I wrote about my actions two days ago in trying to get in a bike ride early in the morning before the heat really got going. You can read the details here.

Yesterday was the second day of the heat advisory, but with some significant differences. When I walked the dog first thing in the morning, I noticed that the heat did not feel as oppressive as the day before. I didn’t come home sopping wet as I had previously. It turns out there was a lovely north wind blowing that provided a pleasant coolness to the air and was very helpful when I got out on the bike. It was possible to ride and enjoy a constant cooling from that north wind. I finished with an enjoyable 25 mile ride and came back home comfortably unlike the previous day when I barely managed 20 miles and was wiped out at the end of the ride.

The fascinating development occurred later in the day. By noon I had showered, walked the dog and fixed myself a lunch. I was watching a recording of the Tour De France stage that occurred earlier in the morning when I began to feel a little tired. Now, as I am retired, I can nap any time I feel like it and usually take one or two naps a week in the afternoons extending 20 to 40 minutes. I wake up refreshed and continue with my day. So, it was no surprise to me that I felt like a nap.

I lay down in my bed around 1:15 PM.

Here’s the interesting part. I didn’t wake up until 4:30 PM and I felt like it was the middle of the night. A three hour nap is an extreme rarity for me. I can’t remember the last time I took one. Was this a delayed result of riding the bike earlier? Keep in mind that when I rode, the heat was not at all intolerable like later in the day. Perhaps it was residual from my tiring ride of the previous day.

I have to assume that this nap was a result of the heat even though my body never sent me any fatigue messages during the early morning ride.

If any readers care to offer an insight into this, I would love to hear it. I pride myself on listening to my body and acting healthy in every way I can. I thought I had done so yesterday, too. The temp when I was riding didn’t exceed high 70’s F at most.

For some further suggestions on dealing with extreme heat, check out How to Beat the Heat and Hydration – Cool, Clear Water. What are danger signs during hot weather exercise?, How dangerous is it to exercise outdoors in a heat wave?,What to do about exercise in very hot weather? How to beat the heat?

Remember: A bicycle can’t stand alone; it is two tired.

If you would like to read more about cycling and see some of the photos I shoot on my rides check out my new blog Willing Wheeling.

Tony

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July 18, 2011 · 3:33 pm

What About Exercise During a Heat Advisory

We in Chicago are living under a Heat Advisory today which possibly will extend for the rest of the week. As a guy who wants to ride his bike every day possible, that is not good news.

This is what the National Weather Service says:

A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT WEATHER IS EXPECTED. HIGH TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DURING VERY HOT WEATHER IT IS CRITICAL TO STAY HYDRATED BY DRINKING PLENTY OF WATER. IN ADDITION CHECK UP ON RELATIVES… ELDERLY AND NEIGHBORS.
TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS… IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. WHEN POSSIBLE… RESCHEDULE STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY MORNING OR EVENING. KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE. WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER.

I am a senior citizen who is in pretty good physical condition. I asked my doctor about riding my bicycle during a heat advisory. She said that I shouldn’t do it and that she tells the same thing to her 40-year old patients.
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