Mayo Clinic Health Letter - April 2003

Wednesday, April 16, 2003

How Much Exercise is Enough?

Thirty minutes a day? Sixty minutes a day? How much time should you be exercising? It depends on your goals, according to the April issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

Based on the growing girth of Americans — 61 percent are overweight or obese — the National Academy of Sciences now suggests an hour of moderate exercise every day. The academy said earlier recommendations for 30 minutes on most days isn't enough to prevent weight gain.

If weight loss isn't an issue, there are still health benefits to exercising one-half hour on most days. Studies have shown that the biggest boost in cardiovascular health and fewer people dying occurred when inactive people progressed to an intermediate level of fitness or at least 30 minutes a day. But if your goal is to lose weight, find more time to exercise. That increases the potential for fat loss.

Calcium From Outside the Dairy Case

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Calcium helps prevent osteoporosis. A daily calcium intake of 1,200 milligrams is generally recommended for men and women over age 50. While milk, yogurt and cheese are excellent sources of calcium, there also are other sources. The April issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter offers these suggestions:

• Fortified foods: Look for fruit juice, soy milk and even some cereals with added calcium. An eight-ounce glass of juice can have 300 milligrams of calcium.
• Fish and shellfish: Just three ounces of sardines (including bones) canned in oil and drained provides 324 milligrams of calcium. The same amount of pink canned salmon (with bones) provides 181 milligrams and canned shrimp, 50 milligrams.
• Tofu: A four-ounce serving has about 130 milligrams of calcium. Four ounces of tofu processed with calcium salts can have as much as 300 milligrams of calcium.
• Vegetables: One cup of rhubarb (sweetened and previously frozen) has 348 milligrams of calcium. Other good sources are spinach, turnip greens and kale.

Hallucinations: A Real Clue to Several Medical Conditions

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Seeing animals or people that you know aren't there. Hearing music or voices giving commands. These are hallucinations. And they aren't an uncommon experience, especially for older adults, according to the April issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

Talk to your doctor if hallucinations occur regularly, last longer than a few moments, are a new occurrence or are telling you to do something bad or dangerous. Hallucinations may be a symptom of a treatable medical or mental condition. Although some hallucinations may be harmless, others may signal a more serious problem requiring your doctor's attention.

Hallucinations can be a symptom of:

• Mental disorders: Hallucinations are associated with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Certain medical conditions: Parkinson's disease, strokes, tumors and seizures can produce hallucinations.
• Vision or hearing loss: Cataracts, macular degeneration or glaucoma may cause visual hallucinations. Hearing loss or deafness may trigger auditory hallucinations.

Mayo Clinic is a private group practice of medicine dedicated to providing diagnosis and treatment of patient illnesses through a systematic focus on individual patient needs. As a leading academic medical center in the Southwest, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale focuses on providing specialty and surgical care in more than 66 disciplines at its outpatient facility in north Scottsdale and at Mayo Clinic Hospital. The 205-bed hospital is located at 56th Street and Mayo Boulevard (north of Bell Road) in northeast Phoenix, and provides inpatient care to support the medical and surgical specialties of the Clinic, which is located at 134th Street and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale.

Mayo Clinic Health Letter is an eight-page monthly newsletter of reliable, accurate and practical information on today's health and medical news. To subscribe, please call toll-free 1-800-333-9037, extension 9PR1.

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