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LearnWell Dental Institute
TopWell
Center:
The Top Wellness Lifestyle
| Course Number |
LW03-4263-05004 |
| Objectives |
At the end of this course, you will
1. Describe the dimensions of health, namely MoveWell, CareWell, EatWell,
CleanWell and PreventWell.
2. Discuss the contribution of MoveWell to
your physical fitness.
3. Relate JoyWell to your daily life.
4. Identify ways that EatWell contributes to your total wellness. |
| Credit Hours and Fee |
3.0 CE Credit Hours with a fee of $24.00 |
| Instructor |
Rudolf Klimes, PhD (Indiana University), MPH
(Johns Hopkins University); Adjunct Professor, Folsom Lake College,
Folsom, CA |
Welcome
to this
3-contact-hour Continuing Education course with instant online processing and
certification 24/7. Study the course below, take the 12-question
multiple-choice
TEST, register and pay $24 online. If
you score 75% or above, you may print your CE certificate on your printer as
soon as you finish.
If you have difficulty printing your certificate,
click here.
Questions
for Self-study:
Study the below page in
depth and submit only the quiz at the end of this page.
Take a pre-quiz:
Most Americans get enough exercise.
Practicing a health lifestyle should be enjoyable.
To eat well you need to count the calories you take in.
For good health, eat a lot of meat.
Wellness Assessments:
Personal Wellness Quiz
50 Wellness Quizzes
http://www.healthstatus.com/
Wellness
Wellness is defined as the optimal functioning and creative adapting that
involves the whole person. Four essential ingredients of wellness are: A
lifelong approach emphasizing permanent lifestyle changes. Taking responsibility
for one’s own actions. Adding to the quality of one’s life, not simply extending
the length of life. Making choices which improve an individual’s position on the
lifestyle continuum. (Adapted from: Cardinal, Bradly J. & Krause, J. V. (1989).
Physical Fitness: The Hub of the Wellness Wheel. Dubuque:Kendell Hunt
Publishing. )
Fitness
Fitness can be defined as the capacity for sustained physical activity without
excessive fatigue or a the capacity to perform everyday activities with reserve
energy for emergency situations. It also provides a degree of protection against
hypokinetic disease, and a basis for participation in sport. A common way of
viewing fitness is by dividing it into the realms of health-related and
sport-related.
Health-related physical fitness is an activity aimed to improve health. It
exists within five domains: Cardio-respiratory endurance, Body composition,
Muscular strength, Muscular endurance, and Flexibility The goal of health-related
fitness is the prevention of or rehabilitation from disease as well as the
development of a high level of functional capacity for daily tasks.
Sport-related physical fitness is directed towards optimizing athletic
performance, recreational activity, increasing ability to work, and avoidance of
injury.
Exercise is an organized, regular program of physical activity designed to
develop or maintain the components of physical fitness. Exercise interrupts the
homeostatic state of the body which in turn initiates a stimulus to positively
adapt to the new state. This eventually leads to improved fitness levels.
The Leading Health Indicators will be used to
measure the health of the Nation over the next 10 years. Each of the 10 Leading
Health Indicators has one or more objectives from Healthy People 2010 associated
with it. As a group, the Leading Health Indicators reflect the major health
concerns in the United States at the beginning of the 21st century. The Leading
Health Indicators were selected on the basis of their ability to motivate
action, the availability of data to measure progress, and their importance as
public health issues.
The Leading Health Indicators are—
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Physical Activity
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Overweight and Obesity
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Tobacco Use
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Substance Abuse
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Responsible Sexual Behavior
-
Mental Health
-
Injury and Violence
-
Environmental Quality
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Immunization
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Access to Health Care
www.healthypeople.gov
TopWell helps prevent heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes,
obesity and Alzheimer's disease. By moving well, enjoying life well, and eating
well, you can reduce your risk of heart disease and many common health problems.
TopWell consists of five parts, namely MoveWell,
CareWell, EatWell, CleanWell and PreventWell.
1.
MoveWell
Walk or exercise daily at least 1/2 hour.
If you are overweight, or have total cholesterol
over 160 mg/dL, walk 3-5 miles daily.
If possible, walk outside and walk vigorously.
Fresh air contributes to health.
Sauntering is better than sitting, but not as effective as brisk walking or
jogging. Pace yourself. Use
proper shoes and equipment and slow down or rest when exhausted. A 10-minute
walk after each meal aids in digestion.
Review these
LearnWell online courses:
Better Fitness, Physical Fitness for Life,
Drug Prevention.
1.1 Why exercise?
Exercise helps digestion, breathing and mental outlook. Without exercise, you
become sluggish and accumulate fat.
1.2 Why walk? Walking gives all the
benefits of good exercise without putting joints at risk.
1.3 Why walk 3-5 miles daily?
To burn calories and really benefit from exercise, walking has to be
prolonged.
Physical Activity
hysical
inactivity contributes to 300,000 preventable deaths a year in the United
States. Some 40% of deaths in the United States are caused by behavior patterns
that could be modified. A sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor across the
spectrum of preventable diseases that lower the quality of life and kill
Americans.
Significant
health benefits can be obtained by including a moderate amount of physical
activity (e.g., 30 minutes of brisk walking or raking leaves, 15 minutes of
running, 45 minutes of playing volley- ball). Additional health benefits can be
gained through greater amounts of physical activity.
Physical
activity has been identified as one of the Leading Health Indicators (LHI) in
Healthy People 2010, the government's publish- ed health goals and
objectives for the next decade.
Moderate
daily physical activity can reduce substantially the risk of developing or dying
from cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers, such as colon
cancer. Daily physical activity helps to lower blood pressure and cholesterol,
helps prevent or retard osteoporosis, and helps reduce obesity, symptoms of
anxiety and depression, and symptoms of arthritis.
Cardiovascular
disease (heart attacks, strokes) is the number one killer of men and women in
the United States. Physically inactive people are twice as likely to develop
coronary heart disease as regularly active people. The health risk posed by
physical inactivity is almost as high as risk factors such as cigarette smoking,
high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Source:
http://fitness.gov/physical_activity_fact_sheet.html
Physical Fitness
Physical fitness is most easily understood by examining its
components, or “parts.” There is widespread agreement that these four
components are basic:
Cardiorespiratory Endurance - the ability to deliver oxygen
and nutrients to tissues, and to remove wastes, over sustained periods of time.
Long runs and swims are among the methods employed in measuring this component.
Muscular Strength - the ability of a muscle to exert force
for a brief period of time. Upper-body strength, for example, can be measured
by various weight-lifting exercises.
Muscular Endurance - the ability of a muscle, or a group of
muscles, to sustain repeated contractions or to continue applying force against
a fixed object. Pushups are often used to test endurance of arm and shoulder
muscles. A minimum of two 20-minute sessions per week that include exercises for
all the major muscle groups. Lifting weights is the most effective way to
increase strength.
Flexibility - the ability to move joints and use muscles
through their full range of motion. The sit-and- reach test is a good measure
of flexibility of the lower back and backs of the upper legs. 10-12 minutes of
daily stretching exercises performed slowly, without a bouncing motion. This
can be included after a warmup or during a cooldown.
Body composition is often considered a component of fitness. It refers to the
makeup of the body in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone, vital tissue and organs)
and fat mass. An optimal ratio of fat to lean mass is an indication of fitness,
and the right types of exercises will help you decrease body fat and increase or
maintain muscle mass. Source:
http://fitness.gov/fitness.html
Fresh Air Breathing
When you're playing sports, swimming, or riding your bike,
you probably don't think about taking your next breath—but for millions of
people, even simple breathing can be hard if they have a lung disease. More than
30 million Americans live with lung diseases, including lung cancer, emphysema,
asthma, and chronic bronchitis, and may have a hard time breathing. Think about
how you felt during the last cold you had. Did you have a harder time breathing?
Being short of breath can make everyday activities harder and can make you feel
more tired. When you breathe in
air, your lungs take the oxygen your body needs and puts it into your
bloodstream for other organs and tissues to use. When you breathe out, your
lungs get rid of carbon dioxide. The lungs have many tiny air sacs (called
alveoli) that work to keep the lungs in shape. While your lungs are inside of
your body, they are unique in that they are always exposed to the world outside
your body and must work to filter out things we don't need, such as pollens,
dust, viruses, bacteria, smoke, and toxins. Breathing in too much of these
things can cause colds, allergies, asthma, or emphysema or it can make these
conditions worse. Exercise is a
great way to keep your lungs healthy—since the lungs help you breathe, the more
you exercise, the stronger they will become! Source:
http://www.girlpower.gov/girlarea/10oct/lungmonth.htm
2. CareWell
Joyously meditate or read daily at least 1/2
hour and eliminate harmful drugs.
Take care of yourself and others. Substitute joy for stress, relax and
avoid harming yourself.
Harmful drugs include
alcohol, nicotine products, caffeine, misuse of prescription drugs, and illegal
drugs. Three other factors that contributes much to a wellness lifestyle are
relaxing periods during the day, adequate sleep at night, and a positive
spiritual outlook on life.
Review these LearnWell online courses:
Healing Meditation,
Healing Humor,
Managing Stress,
SmokeFreed,
Spiritual Health.
2.2
Why meditate? Meditation helps put all thoughts in order.
2.2 Why read? Reading helpful books is relaxing.
2.3 Why abstain from harmful drugs?
Harmful drugs harm the body and the mind.
Harmful Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco, Caffeine
All are
drugs and to some degree harm the body and mind. Avoid them completely.
Meditation
| There was this article in Newsweek
about disease prevention that asked for one hour of meditation a day. I was
exercising daily, I was eating well, but meditation? What is that? I had
often repeated that verse about the meditation of my heart being acceptable,
but that is as far as I got. There is no
doubt that my life is somewhat in disorder. I experience stress because all
the parts of my life do not fit together well. I have some square pegs in
round holes, and that can be unhealthy and painful. So in meditation I put
out my life before God and He helps me set things straight. He helps me in
my priorities and tells me what is really important and what is unimportant.
He help he put things in my life in order and that is healing.
As I was walking on my meditation walk, I came
across 19 bags of grass clippings on the curb in True Value bags. The slogan
on them read: Help is just around the corner. But it is amazing how seldom
we seek that help from God. We go on in life, neither turning to the right
or left.
After a talk on meditation, a lady came up to me,
telling me that she was healed from paralysis by meditation. For me,
meditation reduces the stress in my life. Meditation can help in both
specific and general healing.
Meditation is considering a subject in the mind through
serious reflection and contemplation. It may be healing, leading to goodness
and health. But meditation on negatives can be harmful.
Healing meditation fosters peace and
reduces stress by a) putting
all aspects of life into their proper places, and b)
reducing negative thinking which
harms the person.
Stress is the internal or external
force that causes a person to become tense, upset or anxious. Meditation is
one of the forces that counteracts stress. It does so by bringing the body,
mind and spirit into peaceful harmony. |
Get a Good Night's Sleep
Set a schedule:
Go to bed at a set time each night and get up at the same time each
morning. Disrupting this schedule may lead to insomnia. "Sleeping in" on
weekends also makes it harder to wake up early on Monday morning because
it re-sets your sleep cycles for a later awakening.
Exercise:
Try to exercise 20 to 30 minutes a day. Daily exercise often helps
people sleep, although a workout soon before bedtime may interfere with
sleep. For maximum benefit, try to get your exercise about 5 to 6 hours
before going to bed.
Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol:
Avoid drinks that contain caffeine, which acts as a stimulant and
keeps people awake. Sources of caffeine include coffee, chocolate, soft
drinks, non-herbal teas, diet drugs, and some pain relievers. Smokers tend
to sleep very lightly and often wake up in the early morning due to
nicotine withdrawal. Alcohol robs people of deep sleep and REM sleep and
keeps them in the lighter stages of sleep.
Relax before bed:
A warm bath, reading, or another relaxing routine can make it easier
to fall sleep. You can train yourself to associate certain restful
activities with sleep and make them part of your bedtime ritual.
Sleep until sunlight:
If possible, wake up with the sun, or use very bright lights in the
morning. Sunlight helps the body’s internal biological clock reset itself
each day. Sleep experts recommend exposure to an hour of morning sunlight
for people having problems falling asleep.
Don’t lie in bed awake:
If you can’t get to sleep, don’t just lie in bed. Do something else,
like reading, watching television, or listening to music, until you feel
tired. The anxiety of being unable to fall asleep can actually contribute
to insomnia.
Control your room temperature:
Maintain a comfortable temperature in the bedroom. Extreme
temperatures may disrupt sleep or prevent you from falling asleep.
See a doctor if your sleeping problem continues:
If you have trouble falling asleep night after night, or if you
always feel tired the next day, then you may have a sleep disorder and
should see a physician. Your primary care physician may be able to help
you; if not, you can probably find a sleep specialist at a major hospital
near you. Most sleep disorders can be treated effectively, so you can
finally get that good night’s sleep you need. Source:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/pubs/understanding_sleep_brain_basic_.htm
|
Stress and Helping Others
Self-centered
behavior is one of the causes of stress, while altruistic behavior reduces
stress. Stress affects most body systems and is one of the causes of many
diseases. Lack of life purpose, unhealthy lifestyles and negative thinking
patterns contribute to stress. Vengeful behavior is stressful, forgiveness heals
stress.
Focusing away from
oneself reduces life stress. Helping someone makes you forget your own problems.
It empowers you, gives you a courage, purpose and peace of mind. But in this,
like in everything, it is important to pace yourself, for excessive care-giving
can cause stress.
3.
EatWell
Eat mainly a variety of whole grains products and whole fruits, vegetables,
legumes and nuts.
If
your are overweight or have total cholesterol over 160 mg/dL, eliminate animal
products, free fats and free sugars.
The emphasis here is on mainly eating the recommended foods while
minimizing other eatables. Whole grain products include whole grain breads, whole grain pastas, and brown
rice. Free fats are mainly oils, butter and margarine.
Any fat that is added to food is free fat. Any sugar that is added to food is
free sugar. The most nutritious
nuts are walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and pecans. Drinking 6-8 glasses of water
and a multi-vitamin-mineral capsule a day is also recommended. Use EatWell as guidelines but
do not stress over a small periodic deviation.
Review these
LearnWell online courses:
Better Weight,
Food for Health,
Cholesterol 160,
HealthTester.
3.1 Why eat plant foods whole?
Processed plant foods loose many nutrients and are not as beneficial as whole
plant foods.
3.2 Why eliminate animal products?
Animal products contain cholesterol that can contribute to elevated blood
cholesterol.
3.3 Why eliminate free fats? Fats
contribute to obesity. The fats from grains, fruits and nuts is adequate for a
balanced diet.
3.4 Why eliminate free sugars? Free
sugar clogs the system and hinder the function of helpful body functions.
Eat Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables look good, taste great and
contain vitamins and minerals.
Eating 5 to 9 Fruits and Vegetables A Day is
quick and easy. A serving is a medium-size piece of fruit; ¾ cup (6 fl.
oz.) of 100 percent fruit.
You can get your 5 to 9 A Day in many ways
because fruits and vegetables come fresh, frozen, canned, dried, and as
100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. Wash fresh fruit and vegetables
thoroughly in water.
Buy ready-to-eat packaged fresh vegetables
that are already cleaned. Pre-cut vegetables and salad mixes are a
terrific 5 A Day time-saver. You'll find them at your local
supermarket.
A fast food alternative? Your local
supermarket may offer prepared items, including sliced melons, fresh
pineapple, salad mixes, and a salad bar to satisfy your hunger.
Fruits and vegetables are nature's original
fast food. When it's snack time, grab
Fruit— an apple or orange, or a zip lock
bag and fill with sweet cherries, grapes, dried dates, figs, prunes,
raisins, or apricots
Vegetables— carrot sticks, broccoli, or
some red, yellow, and green pepper. Try dipping your vegetables in
low-fat or non-fat salad dressing.
|
Not sure how to eat 5 to 9 A Day?
Start the day with 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. Slice
bananas or strawberries on top of your cereal. Have a salad with
lunch, and an apple for an afternoon snack. Include a vegetable
with dinner and you already have 5 A Day. If you need more than
5 servings per day (see chart above), try adding a piece of
fruit for a snack or an extra vegetable (like carrots or green
beans) at dinner.
There are so many choices when
selecting fruits and vegetables. Have you ever tried kiwifruit?
How about asparagus? Try something new that helps you reach your
5 to 9 A Day.
Keep things fresh and interesting by
combining fruits and vegetables of different flavors and colors,
like red grapes with pineapple chunks, or cucumbers and red
peppers.
When you keep fruits and vegetables
visible and easily accessible you tend to eat them more; for
instance, store cut and cleaned produce at eye-level in the
refrigerator, or keep a big bowl of fruit on the table.
Source:
http://www.cdc.gov
Water
We hear a lot about what we should eat to stay
healthy, but there's one thing we need even more than food each day
- and that's water. Although we all know the importance of drinking
enough water during the hot summer months, many people don't realize
they need to drink plenty of water all year round. Every part of
your body needs water to work properly, but water is particularly
important for keeping the kidneys healthy. Dehydration (lack of
water) is one of the reasons why people develop kidney stones.
I don't need water because I don't get thirsty, some people say. But
that's because thirst can be slow to develop - often we don't feel
thirst even when our bodies need fluid. We often confuse thirst with
hunger too. Sometimes when you think your body is asking for food,
what it really needs is water. This is why it's a good habit to
drink water regularly - whether you feel thirsty or not. Source:
http://www.mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au/health-public-affairs/mhcs/publications/3055.html
Cholesterol Two types of lipoproteins and
their quantity in the blood are main factors in heart disease risk:
- Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)--This
"bad" cholesterol is the form in which cholesterol is carried into
the blood and is the main cause of harmful fatty buildup in
arteries. The higher the LDL cholesterol level in the blood, the
greater the heart disease risk.
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL)--This
"good" cholesterol carries blood cholesterol back to the liver,
where it can be eliminated. HDL helps prevent a cholesterol
buildup in blood vessels. Low HDL levels increase heart disease
risk.
One of the primary ways LDL cholesterol
levels can become too high in blood is through eating too much of
two nutrients: saturated fat, which is found mostly in animal
products, and cholesterol, found only in animal products. Saturated
fat raises LDL levels more than anything else in the diet.
Several other factors also affect blood
cholesterol levels:
- Heredity--High cholesterol often runs in
families. Even though specific genetic causes have been identified
in only a minority of cases, genes still play a role in
influencing blood cholesterol levels.
- Weight--Excess weight tends to increase
blood cholesterol levels. Losing weight may help lower levels.
- Exercise--Regular physical activity may
not only lower LDL cholesterol, but it may increase levels of
desirable HDL.
- Age and gender--Before menopause, women
tend to have total cholesterol levels lower than men at the same
age. Cholesterol levels naturally rise as men and women age.
Menopause is often associated with increases in LDL cholesterol in
women.
- Stress--Studies have not shown stress to
be directly linked to cholesterol levels. But experts say that
because people sometimes eat fatty foods to console themselves
when under stress, this can cause higher blood cholesterol.
Cholesterol levels are measured in
milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). The National Cholesterol Education
Program developed the following classifications for people over age
20 who do not have heart disease:
- Desirable blood cholesterol--Total blood
cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL; LDL is lower than 130 mg/dL.
- Borderline high cholesterol--Total level
is between 200 and 239 mg/dL or LDL is 130 to 159 mg/dL.
- High blood cholesterol--Total level is
greater than 240 mg/dL or LDL is 160 mg/dL or higher. For patients
with heart disease, LDL above 100 mg/dL is too high. In addition,
an HDL level less than 35 mg/dL is considered low and increases
the risk of heart disease. Source:
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1999/199_chol.html
HDL (good) cholesterol protects against
heart disease, so for HDL, higher numbers are better. A level less
than 40 mg/dL is low and is considered a major risk factor because
it increases your risk for developing heart disease. HDL levels of
60 mg/dL or more help to lower your risk for heart disease.
Triglycerides can also raise heart disease
risk. Levels that are borderline high (150-199 mg/dL) or high (200
mg/dL or more) may need treatment in some people.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/chol/wyntk.htm#numbers
Much of the world population averages a
total cholesterol level of under 160. High levels of cholesterol are
found mainly in developed nations. In many cases, total cholesterol
may be lowered by reducing or eliminating the eating of animal
products. All animal products contain cholesterol.
EatWell to
Protect against Heart Disease:
To remember LDL, think as "L" standing for
"Litter Bugs". In the same way, in HDL, the "H" stands for "Helper
Bugs." In a simple way, the Litter Bugs (LDL) are the bad guys that
clog up the system and you want less than 100 of them. The Helper
Bugs (HDL) are the good guys that clean it out and you want more
than 60 of them.
TopWell advocates changes mainly through
MoveWell, JoyWell and EatWell. Medications to lower cholesterol
levels may be needed in some cases but usually should be used in
conjunction with TopWell. (This is a general health education
statement and not medical advice.)
4.
CleanWell
Use
clean water, clean hands, clean food, clean air and sanitary
elimination and healthy reproduction.
The
CleanWell
course is Hygiene and Sanitation.
5.
PreventWell
Use all
means at your disposal to prevent diseases and accidents. Know the
risk factors.
PreventWell
courses are
Disease Prevention,
Personal Safety and
Wellness
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Psychological Self-Help
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