Healthy Memphis

Evolv Pilates and Fitness Studio set July 25 for the grand opening of its facility at the 6159 Poplar. It is located near the intersection of Poplar and Ridgeway.

Elena Jenkins, the studio's owner and a certified Pilates instructor and fitness coach, is marking the event with a weekend workshop featuring Siri Dharma Galliano. Galliano owns Life Arts Pilates studio in Los Angeles, which Jenkins said has attracted a host of celebrity clients.

For more information, call 461-9948. 

Report cards have arrived. Sunset is inching toward 8:15 p.m. Vacation Bible schools are opening their doors. This week The Commercial Appeal's Health & Fitness section is marking summer's start with a story about summer time weight gain. Mid-South physicians said too many young people spend summers snacking in front of a screen.

This week Dr. Pedro A. Velasquez of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center will answer reader questions related to childhood obesity and the risk of summer weight gain.

 Send in a question and then check back for his reply. He will periodically check the blog and post answers.

 Here is a question to start the chat. Where do you place diet sodas in the hierarchy of healthy or unhealthy drinks? Would you always chose the diet option for children and adolescents? 

Dr. Velasquez sent in this answer: "In regards to health, neither one will be my first choice. It is associated with increased intake of caffeine, fructose, sodium, phosphates etc.. It also may promotes long-term abnormal mineral changes in bone. Soda has become the preferred drink for the youth.It is the substitute for water, milk and healthier drinks. In our clinic we have children that soft drink represents a significant amount of the extra calories (300-2000 cal/day). It is really hard to promote healthier weight in patients drinking sodas. There are studies that supporting sodas are the best predictor of obesity in children regardless if the are diet or regular. There is very limited information suggesting that drinking diets drinks promote weight loss.

However, in patients with diabetes, drinking diet drinks may help to control the increase in glucose values but it does not mean that it is healthy. My inclination is to include soda in the unhealthy category and limiting their consumption is my strong suggestion."

Celebrate the long July 4th weekend by joining the Red, White and Blue Metric Century Ride. For the math challenged, that translates into a 60-mile ride.

Organized by the Memphis Hightailers bike club, all routes depart from the Lakeland Factory Outlet Mall on July 5 at 7:30 a.m. On-site registration begins at 6:30 a.m.

The cost is $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers. For more information or to check out other club activities, visit the group's web site. 

This landed in my electronic in-box recently and it sounded interesting enough to pass along to readers of the Healthy Memphis blog. (If you are planning something equally interesting on a health or fitness topic, please send it our way.)

On June 21, Midtown Yoga is hosting a workshop on yoga for depression. It is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. at the studio, 524 S. Cooper. The agenda includes time for discussion about the problem as well as breathing exercises, meditation and yoga poses. There's even an reading assignment. Sarla Nichols, the studio's owner and workship teacher, requests participants read "Against Happiness" by author Eric G. Wilson.

The workshop costs $35, although Nichols indicates prospective students with financial limitations should call her at the studio. The number is 270-5373.

She asks students to register in advance. For more information, visit Midtown Yoga's web site and click on "workshops."

Tammy Bright of AutoZone forwarded news of a campaign that kicked off last month urging New Yorkers to take the stairs. The strategy touts the enviornmental and health benefits participants should enjoy. With stairs climbing burning almost 700 percent more calories than standing in an elevator, it is not a surprise that New York campaign organizers promise two minutes of daily stair climbing is enough to help adults avoid weight gain.

In her e-mail, Bright noted: "It is something Memphians should be doing, too. Our building in downtown has a main staircase with windows looking out onto Front St. We also have stairs in our garage, and they are easily accessible, but not pretty. I try to use them as much as possible (depending on what shoes I have on that day! -- some shoes just aren't made for stair-climbing!).

How often do you take the stairs? Send in your testimonials or suggestions.

Skin cancer is the most common American cancer diagnosis. But not all skin cancers are equally deadly.  The most common are cancer of the basal and squamous skin cell. More than 1 million cases of the slow-growing, highly-curable cancers will be diagnosed this year. They will result in about 2,700 deaths.

Melanoma, which affects the pigment-producing melanocyte cells, will be diagnosed in far fewer, but kill more than twice as many. This year melanoma will be diagnosed in roughly 62,480 Americans. It will be linked with 8,420 deaths.

 Dr. Brad Somer, an oncologist with West Clinic, said early diagnosis is key to surviving melanoma. "If melanoma spreads it is a very deadly disease," he said.

The American Cancer Society suggests the following strategies for finding melanoma early, when odds of a cure are highest.

1.  Do a monthly skin check. Get to know your moles, freckles, blemishes and other blemishes. Don't forget to check palms, nails, back, scalp and other hard to see areas.

2. Make sure to get any new, changing or suspicious mole examined by your primary care doctor or dermatologist.

 3. Most moles are harmless. The cancer society recommends an ABCD approach to determine when to seek medical advice. ABCD stands for:

Asymmetry: One half of a mole doesn't match the other.

Border irregularity: A mole with ragged, irregular or notched borders.

Color: A mole that isn't a single color.

Diameter: A mole larger than the size of a pencil eraser.

Remember, not all melanomas fit the description.

Skin cancer's been linked to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. The National Weather Service posts a daily estimate of the UV index at noon in Memphis and dozens of other U.S. cities.  Click here to check today's UV forecast.

The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports just rolled out a new fitness challenge. This one is aimed at adults, not junior high students.

Designed for folks age 18 and older, it is designed to measure flexibility, strength and cardiovascular fitness. Participants can visit the council's Web site, enter their results and see how they compare with other Americans of the same age and gender.

Melissa Johnson, the council's executive director, told the Associated Press that the test was developed in response to Baby Boomers looking for exercise advice and a way to compare their performance to peers. Johnson said developers hope it will also inspire Americans to get moving.

The test involves:

-A one-mile walk or 1.5-mile run,

-Doing push-ups to exhaustion;

-Doing sit-ups for one minutes;

-A stretching exercise called sit and stretch.

More information is available online at the council's Web site.

Sorry, this time there is no patch. But if you take the challenge, let us know how you fare.

Tennis Memphis, the nonprofit organization that manages the city's seven tennis centers, received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Tennis Association's Tennis and Education Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

The funds will go to open a Neighborhood Education in Tennis or NET Center at the Eldon Roark Tennis Center in Whitehaven. The center will provide tennis instruction as well as academic tutoring and other life skills education to middle school students, said Stephen Lang, Tennis Memphis executive director.

Tennis Memphis, a nonprofit organization formed in 2001, contracts with the city to manage 50 outdoor and 12 indoor courts.

The group launched a similar program at Ed Rice Community Center in Frayser in 2007. Both are scheduled to offer summer and after-school programs. Registration is $25.

 For more information about Tennis Memphis or its programs, call 358-5425 or visit its Web site.

Transforming Bodies, a new gym in the Cooper-Young neighborhood, is hosting an open house Saturday, May 10. The event is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 937 N. Cooper.

Roland Genesy is the owner. His credentials include 15 national and state body building championships. He earned his personal trainer certification through the Cooper Institute in Dallas. For more about Genesy or the gym, visit his Web site.

Meanwhile, if you know of other gyms or fitness centers that have opened (or closed) let us know and we'll post the information on The Commercial Appeal's Healthy Memphis blog. Send the information to powers@commercialappeal.com.

  Dr. David LaVelle, an orthopedic surgeon with Campbell Clinic, sent in this report after completing his seventh 100-mile mile. LaVelle, of Memphis, took seven hours and 17 minutes to complete the 3-State, 3-Mountain Challenge on May 3. His cousin Mike Tomlinson traveled from Florida to Chattanooga for the event. The two men took a break at the 1,600-foot summit of Sand Mountain for this photo. Tomlinson is on the left and LaVell on the right.

Here is his report:

"The storm which caused so much damage and pain in the Mid-South Friday night went through Chattanooga on Saturday morning. Mike, my older cousin and riding partner for the 3-State, 3- Mountain Challenge, and I watched the Weather Channel Late into Friday night. Saturday morning we got up early, got our gear together and rode a little over
a mile to the University Tennessee, Chattangooa stadium where the ride was to take off at 8 a.m.

"The sky was very threatening and about the time we got to the stadium the thunderstorm began. We took shelter in a pavilion next to the stadium for about an hour and then the ride began.

"The ride organizers must have had their eye on the radar because just as the
last of the thunder had passed, they let us leave to begin the ride.

"It rained for the first 25 miles of the ride and then gradually cleared. It remained cloudy until the last 20 or so miles.

"One may ride safely in the rain but it is much less fun. Just like driving a car, it takes longer to break, and the wheels can slip out from under you, so you must go slower on the same roads than when the roads are dry. The rain gets on your glasses and when riding behind someone else to let them cut the wind in front of you (drafting) the water on the road sprays directly into your face. The end result is that my goal of doing the ride in less than 6 hours was doomed from the start. At that point the goal was to finish the ride upright.

"My time was 7:26. Last year I did it in 6:45.

"Mike lives in Tampa, Florida, where cyclists consider interstate over-passes hills to be conquered. He is 60 years old and he got on the cycling kick about the same time I did in 2006. Last year when we did the 3-State, 3-Mountain Challenge, he had to walk up the last section of the last mountain (Burkhalter gap on Lookout mountain). Luckily, I'd been able to train on the hills in Shelby Forest and while much lower and shorter, if you ride them repeatedly, you get the training you need to conquer the 1800 feet it is to make the last climb. So last year I didn't have to walk. Even though I'm 5 years younger than Mike, this has been on his mind for the last year. I made it up the two and a half miles of the climb and he didn't. So this year he emphasized something called interval training and work on this all year. And it paid off. He was able to make the climb.

"I almost gave up. It was much hotter after the rain cleared out. My current bike has fewer lower gears. I had not been able to train as much this year as last year.

"The reason I didn't give up? I really don't know, except that it is not in my makeup. I was panting and thought I'd get sick. But it passed. Then I recalled something my son, the wrestler, had on one of his tee shirts: "Pain is Temporary but Pride and Accomplishment are Forever." Funny how cheesy things might stick in your head.

"On the way into Chattanooga, we passed an accident where a bike rider went down. The ambulance was there picking him up. I have no idea who he was or how he was hurt. A car may have been involved, he may have had equipment failure or just missed a turn. It was a sober reminder that cycling is a dangerous sport. It makes you want to be extra careful, but every human activity carries risk. While working at The MED off and on over the last 20 years, I have seen people hurt every way imaginable. Of course I've seen cyclists but many more car and motorcycle victims. I've taken care of people hurt from falling out of trees, off mountains, ladders and out of bed or from slipping on ice, wet leaves and gum balls. So for me, it's like another corny but true quote, this one from "Braveheart": "All men die, but not all men really live."

"I tried living a safe, secure life from a couch and it nearly killed me. Now I feel like I'm really living."

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