It was an oversight.  Anyway, don’t forget to look at familylifepharmacy for your non-insured pharmacy needs.

Vitamins and Health products.  Pet meds too!!  We compare prices and save you money!!

We are going to work at bring you interesting health news in the future at this site so please stay tuned.

We will try and make this a fun and interesting resource.  Spring is in the air and its time to dust off those sneakers and get moving!!  What will you do to get your muscles moving again?  Have you been hibernating or have you kept active over the winter??

You may have noticed the blog has been a little quiet. We have had both technical difficulties. PC’s in the shop for repairs. Plus the end of the school year brought us graduations, June birthdays, and many other things that overwhelmed us.

I don’t exactly know what got us going on the house renovations, but we somehow got into that as well and we have the whole house in a state of ‘adjustment’ right now. These are the smaller renovations like painting walls and cleaning out closets; not removing walls or anything. We also have our yard and hot tub in progress too. We are in a really transitional state. I think it goes with the graduations and stuff. The change part.

Regardless, we have to watch our health overall. Medicines, exercise, vitamins, supplements, etc. So FamilyLifePharmacy.com is still part of our life always. It is always there for you too. Please visit and find your needs.

I will try and keep in touch more often. You take care.

Cane may ease the load on arthritic knees

Last Updated: 2008-05-12 13:00:19 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Older adults with knee arthritis may be able to reduce some of the load on their knee joint by walking with a cane, a new study suggests.

Australian researchers found that when they had 20 knee arthritis patients walk with a cane, it lessened the force on the inner side of the knee joint with each step.

All of the study participants were older than 50 and suffering from medial knee osteoarthritis — a common form of arthritis that affects the side of the joint closer to the midline of the body.

The findings suggest that the majority of people with this type of knee arthritis can reduce the “load” on the inner knee by using a cane, senior researcher Dr. Rana S. Hinman told Reuters Health.

In theory, this could slow the progression of the arthritis, though that is not yet proven, said Hinman, a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne School of Physiotherapy.

“This may have implications for a reduced risk of disease progression over time,” she said, “but research is needed to determine whether this really is the case.”

Hinman and her colleagues report the findings in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

The study included 40 men and women with painful medial knee arthritis. The researchers used a six-camera motion analysis system to closely study each patient’s gait as he or she walked — both barefoot and while wearing comfortable shoes.

Half of the study participants also had their gait analyzed while using a cane on the side opposite of the painful knee.

In general, Hinman’s team found, the cane reduced the force on the inner knee.

On the other hand, walking while wearing shoes put more stress on the joint than walking barefoot did.

It’s not clear why shoes had this effect, according to the researchers. And since walking around barefoot is not practical, at least outside of home, no one is recommending that knee arthritis sufferers try it.

Instead, more studies are needed to see what types of shoes are best for people with medial knee arthritis, Hinman and her colleagues say.

In the meantime, it is a good idea for women with the condition to avoid high heels, Hinman noted, since they are likely to increase the force on the inner knee. She added that shoe inserts called laterally- wedged insoles — which are angled to be higher on the outer edge of the foot — can also reduce the force on the inner side of the knee.

However, Hinman said, studies have not yet conclusively shown that the insoles actually improve knee arthritis symptoms.

If for whatever reason you are like me, trying to get the biggest bang for your exercise buck. I don’t know, maybe you are really busy or something. Maybe you hate to exercise, maybe its the last thing you squeeze into your day, or you don’t have the physical ability for long work outs. Whatever it is; I thought maybe this article would be useful.

Don’t forget to visit us at www.FamilyLifePharmacy.com for all your medications, supplements, vitamins, and pet medications.

7 Most Effective Exercises

Experts say there is no magic to exercise: You get out of it what you put in. That doesn’t mean you have to work out for hours each day. It just means you need to work smart.
That said, experts agree that not all exercises are created equal. Some are simply more efficient than others, whether they target multiple muscle groups, are suitable for a wide variety of fitness levels, or help you burn calories more effectively. So what are the best exercises? We posed this question to four fitness experts and compiled a list of their favorites.

1. Walking.

Any exercise program should include cardiovascular exercise, which strengthens the heart and burns calories. And walking is something you can do anywhere, anytime, with no equipment other than a good pair of shoes.

It’s not just for beginners, either: Even the very fit can get a good workout from walking.

“Doing a brisk walk can burn up to 500 calories per hour,” says Robert Gotlin, DO, director of orthopaedic and sports rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. Since it takes 3,500 calories to lose a pound, you could expect to lose a pound for every seven hours you walk, if you did nothing else.

Don’t go from the sofa to walking an hour day, though. Richard Cotton, a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise, says beginners should start by walking five to -10 minutes at a time, gradually moving up to at least 30 minutes per session.
“Don’t add more than five minutes at a time,” he says. Another tip: It’s better to lengthen your walks before boosting your speed or incline.

2. Interval training.

Whether you’re a beginner or an exercise veteran, a walker or an aerobic dancer, adding interval training to your cardiovascular workout will boost your fitness level and help you lose weight.

“Varying your pace throughout the exercise session stimulates the aerobic system to adapt,” says Cotton. “The more power the aerobic system has, the more capacity you have to burn calories.”

The way to do it is to push the intensity or pace for a minute or two, then back off for anywhere from two to -10 minutes (depending on how long your total workout will be, and how much time you need to recover). Continue doing this throughout the workout.

3. Squats.

Strength training is essential, the experts say. “The more muscular fitness you have,” says Cotton, “the greater the capacity you have to burn calories.”
And our experts tended to favor strength-training exercises that target multiple muscle groups. Squats, which work the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteals, are an excellent example.
“They give you the best bang for the buck because they use the most muscle groups at once,” says Oldsmar, Fla., trainer David Petersen.
Form is key, though, warns Petersen.
“What makes an exercise functional is how you perform the exercise,” he says. “If you have bad technique, it’s no longer functional.”
For perfect form, keep feet shoulder-width apart and back straight. Bend knees and lower your rear, says Cotton: “The knee should remain over the ankle as much as possible.”
“Think of how you sit down in a chair, only the chair’s not there,” suggests Gotlin.
Physical therapist Adam Rufa, of Cicero, N.Y., says practicing with a real chair can help.
“Start by working on getting in and out of a real chair properly,” he says. Once you’ve mastered that, try just tapping the chair with your bottom, then coming back up. Then do the same motion without the chair.
Gotlin sees lots of patients with knee pain, and says quadriceps weakness is the cause much of the time. If you feel pain going down stairs, he says, strengthening your quads with squats may very well help.

4. Lunges.

Like squats, lunges work all the major muscles of the lower body: gluteals, quadriceps, and hamstrings.
“A lunge is a great exercise because it mimics life, it mimics walking,” only exaggerated, says Petersen.
Lunges are a bit more advanced than squats, says Cotton, helping to improve your balance as well.
Here’s how to do them right: Take a big step forward, keeping your spine in a neutral position. Bend your front knee to approximately 90 degrees, focusing on keeping weight on the back toes and dropping the knee of your back leg toward the floor.
Petersen suggests that you imagine sitting on your back foot. “The trailing leg is the one you need to sit down on,” he says.
To make a lunge even more functional, says Rufa, try stepping not just forward, but back and out to each side.
“Life is not linear, it’s multiplanar,” says Rufa. And the better they prepare you for the various positions you’ll move in during the course of a day, the more useful exercises are.

5. Push-ups.

If done correctly, the push-up can strengthen the chest, shoulders, triceps, and even the core trunk muscles, all at one time.
“I’m very much into planking exercises, almost yoga-type moves,” says Petersen. “Anytime you have the pelvis and the core [abdominals and back] in a suspended position, you have to rely on your own adherent strength to stabilize you.”

5. Push-ups. continued…

Push-ups can be done at any level of fitness, says Cotton: “For someone who is at a more beginning level, start by pushing from the kitchen-counter height. Then work your way to a desk, a chair, the floor with bent knees, and, finally, the floor on your toes.”
Here’s how to do a perfect push-up: From a face-down position, place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Place your toes or knees on the floor, and try to create a perfect diagonal with your body, from the shoulders to the knees or feet. Keep the glutes [rear-end muscles] and abdominals engaged. Then lower and lift your body by bending and straightening your elbows, keeping your torso stable throughout.
There are always ways to make it harder, says Rufa. Once your form is perfect, try what he calls the “T-stabilization” push-up: Get into push-up position, then do your push-ups with one arm raised out to the side, balancing on the remaining three limbs without rotating your hips.

6. Abdominal Crunches.

Who doesn’t want firm, flat abs? Experts say that when done correctly, the familiar crunch (along with its variations) is a good choice to target them.
For a standard crunch, says Cotton, begin lying on your back with feet flat on the floor and fingertips supporting your head. Press your low back down and begin the exercise by contracting abdominals and peeling first your head (tucking your chin slightly), then your neck, shoulders, and upper back off the floor.
Be careful not to pull your neck forward of the rest of your spine by sticking the chin out; don’t hold your breath, and keep elbows out of your line of vision to keep chest and shoulders open.
For his part, Petersen teaches his clients to do crunches with their feet off the floor and knees bent. He says that with feet kept on the floor, many people tend to arch the back and engage the hip flexors.
“Crunches can be excellent, but if they’re not done correctly, with the back arching, they can actually weaken the abdominals,” Petersen says.
To work the obliques (the muscles on the sides of your waist), says Cotton, take the standard crunch and rotate the spine toward one side as you curl off the floor.
“Twist before you come up,” he says. “It’s really important that the twist comes first because then it’s the obliques that are actually getting you up.”
But keep in mind that you won’t get a flat stomach with crunches alone, says Cotton. Burning belly fat requires the well-known formula: using up more calories than you take in.
“Crunches work the ab muscles; [they're] not to be mistaken as exercise that burns the fat over the abdominals,” he says. “That’s the biggest myth in exercise going.”

7. Bent-over Row.

Talk about bang for the buck: This exercise works all the major muscles of the upper back, as well as the biceps.
Here’s how to do it with good form. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, then bend knees and flex forward at the hips. (If you have trouble doing this exercise standing up, support your weight by sitting on an incline bench, facing backward.) Tilt your pelvis slightly forward, engage the abdominals, and extend your upper spine to add support. Hold dumbbells or barbell beneath the shoulders with hands about shoulder-width apart. Flex your elbows, and lift both hands toward the sides of your body. Pause, then slowly lower hands to the starting position. (Beginners should perform the move without weights.)

Technique

These seven exercises are excellent, efficient choices, the experts say. But with just about any strength or resistance exercise, says Petersen, the question is not so much whether the exercise works as how well you execute.

“Done with good technique, all exercises do what they’re supposed to do,” says Petersen.

The trouble is that poor form can change the whole exercise, putting emphasis or even strain on different areas than intended. This can hurt, rather than help you.

So especially if you’re a beginner, it’s a good idea to seek the advice of a fitness trainer – whether it’s a personal trainer or a trainer at your gym — to be sure your form is safe and correct.

Cola May Be Bad To The Bones

SATURDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) — While enjoying a cola or two every day might seem harmless enough, recent research suggests that those tasty drinks could be compromising your bone health.

“There is enough evidence that high consumption of soda and carbonated beverages is associated with somewhat lower bone mass in children, and that’s a real concern and people should be aware of it,” said Dr. Lawrence Raisz, director of the University of Connecticut Center for Osteoporosis.

The exact mechanism behind the problem isn’t clear, but experts believe that drinking soda — particularly colas — affects bone density in several ways. One reason may be that people who drink colas are simply less likely to get enough calcium and vitamin D in their diets, because the soda is replacing more nutritious beverages, such as milk or calcium-fortified juice.

Or, it could be related to the caffeine in colas, because caffeine has been linked to a higher risk of osteoporosis.

The third possible explanation focuses on one of the ingredients found in colas: phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid can cause an imbalance in the body as the body seeks to neutralize the acid with calcium. If there isn’t enough calcium in the diet, the body will take calcium from the bones.

“Phosphate is in milk, but milk also contains calcium and vitamin D. In soft drinks, there is just phosphoric acid and no calcium. Extra overzealous drinking may lead to a phosphoric acid imbalance, and if there’s not enough calcium, the body goes to the bones to restore the balance,” explained Dr. Primal Kaur, director of the Osteoporosis Center at Temple University Health Sciences Center in Philadelphia.

Low levels of calcium are associated with the development of osteoporosis, a disease that thins the bones so much that they’re at risk of fracture. More than half of Americans, especially postmenopausal women, have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

In a study that included more than 2,500 people with an average age of about 60, researchers from Tufts University found that cola consumption by women was associated with lower bone mineral density at three hip sites, regardless of age, menopause, total calcium and vitamin D intake. The women reported drinking an average of five carbonated drinks a week, four of which were colas.

There was less of a problem with decaffeinated cola, but the findings were similar for diet soft drinks. The researchers didn’t find an association between cola drinking and lower bone mass in men.

Results of the study were published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“Moderation is really important. If you really like soft drinks, you don’t need to take them out of your diet completely, but limit yourself to one or two glasses” a week, Kaur said.

And, she added, make sure you’re getting enough calcium and vitamin D to protect your bone health. Vitamin D needs vary by age, and where you live, so check with your doctor to find out how much vitamin D you should be consuming each day. Kaur said that if you’re not getting at least 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium daily from your diet, you should take a calcium supplement to ensure you’re getting adequate amounts of the mineral.

Another important way to prevent osteoporosis, according to Raisz, is to exercise.

“The standard recommendation is a half an hour a day for adults and an hour a day for kids, but anything is better than nothing,” he said. “Try to walk at least a half a mile a day, and engage in a weight-bearing exercise of some sort.”

Be Sure To Visit

www.familylifepharmacy.com

Family Life Pharmacy

First off, what is the Family Life Pharmacy. It is an online pharmacy first; designed primarily for people without prescription medication coverage. We have prescription medications at a discount of up to 70% percent. Go ahead, give us a try. I think you will be presently surprised at your shopping cart.

Second, we have a vitamin store for all those important vitamins and healthy supplements we all need to be taking for our health. You know the ones, the multivitamins of course; and the extra ones our doctors recommend and then all those additional supplements like fish oils and glucosamine. Go visit our vitamin store and you will find them all right there for you to just click and order. They’ll be delivered right to your door.

Our third store is natural products. In a time when we are all more aware of our environment and concerned about taking care of it as well as what we are putting into or onto our bodies many of us are looking for my environmentally save products. Our Native Remedies store is just the place for those items. From hair shampoo to pet food!! Check it out!

The fourth store is for those other additions to our household that we love and care for dearly. It is a 1800PetMeds store; and has discounted prices for pet medications to chew toys. Go ahead, take a look and see if you can resist getting Sparky something.

Again, I’d like to welcome you to our Weblog. Our mission is to bring you interesting health and wellbeing news as we come across it. To be honest, there may be some humor thrown in now and then, because that’s just my nature. Please join us with comments, questions, whatever, whenever – just be polite….

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