Health

Molokai Fitness: Warming Up

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Ayda Ersoy

Do you warm up properly before you start your exercise, and cool down at the end?

A good warm-up helps increase your heart rate before you start your exercise, it raises your body temperature and increases the blood flow to your muscles to get your muscles ready for action. This will help you burn more calories during your exercise. It will also help minimize potential muscle tears and injury, and can also help improve your muscle strength.

A warm-up also helps you focus more on your workout, and that will lead to a more effective workout and better results. …

Community Care Partners

Wednesday, May 14th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Daria M. Gray, Speech Pathologist

During my visits to Molokai last November and again this past March, I saw the challenges facing care partners struggling to meet the needs of their kupuna who live at home.  It takes great patience and a lot of encouragement to help restore the abilities and skills that have been lost due to the challenges brought about by aging, stroke, brain injury or surgery.  It also requires new ways to adapt daily activities and communication to meet changing needs.  Through the process of rehabilitation, a speech pathologist addresses these concerns through individualized treatment programs.…

Molokai Fitness: Attention to Drinks

Wednesday, May 14th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Ayda Ersoy

Are you really thinking about what you’re doing to improve your health?

This week I’d like to pull your attention to drinking. No, not alcohol – this would probably take quite a few articles… I want to talk about other canned drinks.

When you drink coke, soda or most other canned pop drinks, do you know how much sugar you’re taking? Without even realizing it you’re taking on average between 25 and 49 grams sugar (1 tablespoon is 12 grams!).

Within 20 minutes of drinking your blood sugar level shoots up, your liver responds and your insulin levels increase.…

Molokai Fitness: Weighing Yourself

Thursday, May 8th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Ayda Ersoy

When was the last time you weighed yourself? Don’t be scared! It’s your own body; you need to know everything about it. Check your weight once a week – make sure it’s always at the same time of day (for example, always first thing in the morning), and wear the same clothes every time. Then write it down.

You need to keep track of your weight. If you need to lose some weight, then think about it this way: imagine you are holding a glass of water for five minutes. That’s no problem, right? Let’s say 10 minutes – now maybe your arm starts getting tired.…

Taking Your Meds the Right Way

Monday, April 28th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Jon Mikami, RPh, and Kelly Go, RPh, Molokai Drugs, Inc.

Medications can make a world of difference—if you take them the right way. Half the time, though, this doesn’t happen, at least when it comes to drugs doctors prescribe for chronic conditions.

Sometimes people miss doses. Or they might stop refilling the prescription or never get it filled in the first place. Why does this happen? Costs or side effects of drugs can be an issue. Also, complex dosing schedules or multiple drugs can be really confusing.

The problem is not taking medications the right way can threaten your health, increase complications, and lower your quality of life.…

Molokai Fitness: Nutrition Tips

Monday, April 28th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Ayda Ersoy

We’ve talked already about how important exercise is. This week we’re going to take a little break from discussing exercise, and go back to nutrition.

Why is nutrition so important? Because you become what you eat. But why is it so hard to control what you eat? Because you have got in the habit of eating the way you do. So, you need to create a new habit. Your habits control most of what you do, and if you can create a habit to eat more healthfully then you will do it. It is not about following a diet, because no matter how strict you are, if you just see it as a temporary diet then it won’t have a long lasting effect.…