This Week's Healthy SC Challenge Tips

This Week's Healthy SC Challenge Tips

First Family Encourages Healthy Changes in Nutrition, Exercise and Tobacco Use

Columbia, S.C. - June 6, 2008 - The Healthy SC Challenge is the Sanford family's effort to get all South Carolinians to do just a little more to live a healthier lifestyle. The tips are designed to encourage individuals and communities to live healthier lifestyles in three categories - nutrition, exercise and help to quit smoking. The tips can also be found on the challenge's website,

Healthy Tips

Nutrition

Summer is a big season for weddings. Help jump-start your newlyweds on years of fun and healthful cooking. For most people it takes time and experience to stock a kitchen. Good gift ideas include: A rice steamer with a variety of rices, a slow cooker with easy recipes, a roasting pan with a meat rack for low-fat cooking, nonstick baking dishes which will help cut down on added fat when cooking, microwave dish sets that can be used for both cooking and storing, fresh spices and herbs in colorful containers, and cookbooks (the old standbys) always get any kitchen off on the right foot.

-American Dietetic Association,

Physical Activity

Swimming is a healthy activity with both physical and mental benefits. Increase your fitness with water exercise, be it lap swimming or water aerobics; besides the benefits to your heart, lungs, and muscles, you will feel better about yourself. Take a break from your hectic daily schedule and enjoy playing at the beach on a hot summer day. Being able to swim also enhances your enjoyment of other recreational activities like scuba diving, sailing, or rafting, even going to the beach.

Swimming is probably the most nearly perfect form of exercise. It is non-weight bearing and imposes no stress on the bones and joints; it improves cardiovascular conditioning; it is an effective weight-control exercise -- one hour of swimming burns about as many calories as running six miles in one hour; and it is a form of meditation that helps calm the nerves. Swimming also uses most of the major muscle groups, and strengthens both the upper and lower body.

As you swim, think about a straight line from head to hips to legs. All parts of the stroke are integrally linked. Head position and kick determine how high you ride in the water. The timing of your breathing affects your alignment and also, to some extent, the path of your arms.

Keep your head straight down as you swim; roll your body both ways, even if you only breathe on one side; don't overkick or you will tire out your legs. Alternate different strokes within the same workout to reduce boredom and work different muscle groups.

Warm up and stretch before swimming hard. A few minutes of stretching before and after swimming will make your stroke smoother and more efficient, and will help relieve muscle soreness.

After warming up and stretching, swim continuously for 10 minutes. Once you can do that comfortably, increase your swim time by 2 minutes every third session. Then add in a set of 10 sprints of about 50 yards each. Rest for about 30 seconds in between sprints.

Do a total-body conditioning program. It is extremely important to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles to keep the shoulder joint tight, so make shoulder-strengthening exercises part of your regular workout routine. Free weights allow you to isolate the rotator cuff muscles better than exercise machines.

Drink plenty of fluids before and after your workout. It's easy to become dehydrated, even during water workouts.

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Tobacco

Once you quit smoking, your taste buds come back to life. So you'll start to enjoy food in a new way. Always eat three meals a day, including breakfast. If you skip a meal, you may become too hungry, which makes it hard to fight the urge to smoke. If you get hungry, have healthy snacks between meals.

-Submitted by Arielle Riposta on behalf of the American Heart Association Mid-Atlantic Affiliate,

Please share these tips with your friends, family, and co-workers. Encourage them to sign up for e-alerts and weekly tips at

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The Healthy SC Challenge is an outcome-based, cooperative effort aimed at encouraging individuals, communities and organizations across the state to show shared responsibility in developing innovative ways to improve the health of South Carolina's citizens. For more information about the Healthy SC Challenge, please visit