Healthy Memphis

The organizer of the new Fit City Race Series hopes to attract Mid-South athletes looking for challenges close to home. "With the cost of traveling on the rise, racers will be doing even more local race events and we are already offering three," said Doug Ruddle, who is launching the new series with support from WellWorX Sporting Clubs. "My goal is to help motivate Memphians to get fit. The races are spaced out in such a way to give athletes goals throughout the year to help everyone stay fit all year long."

 The series kicks off with an August 9 triathlon at Herb Parsons Lake.

 The Fit City Dash n Splash is set for October 10 at WellWorX, 6161 Shelby Oaks. The event will include two 150-yard swims and two two-mile runs. "I designed this race to lure those people that would otherwise not participate in a multisport event. The distances are much more palatable," said Ruddle, who is also a personal chef.

 The series finishes up March 7 with a four-mile run through Downtown Memphis.

 Ruddle said series proceeds will benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

 For more information or to register, visit the Fit City Race Series web site.

Free dental checks for those age 5 through 15 will be offered in two Memphis locations beginning July 1.

 The Memphis & Shelby County Health Department's School Based Dental Program staff will provide dental examinations and protective sealants to guard against cavities. Services will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis weekdays in July. The clinic will be closed July 4. Appointments aren't necessary.

The July clinics are set for Latino Memphis, 2838 Hickory Hill, and Southside Boys & Girls Club, 677 Richmond. There will be Spanish-language translators at the Hickory Hill clinic.

 Young people must either be accompanied by a parent or guardian or bring a signed parental consent form. The necessary forms will be available at the clinics.

We're hosting an online conversation with Joan Carr, assistant public information officer at the Health Department. She will answer questions about heatstroke and ways to beat the heat. Read more at http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/lifestyle/ 

Ask your question or post your comment here. She'll respond.

An e-mail arrived recently from a pharmaceutical company offering this truly useful service - an informational Web site ranking public restrooms nationwide.

The makers of Cystex, an over-the-counter urinary pain reliever, have partnered with The Bathroom Diaries in a project that might reduce the number of times you gingerly open the door of a public bathroom and find yourself immediately backing out.

Each entry includes the bathroom's location as well as space for an overall ranking plus space for commentary on the bathroom's style and practical information like cost, handicap accessibility, safety and cleanliness.

The 11 Memphis-area entries include four Old Navy Stores (every retailers dream), a Borders Books, two Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Bookstar (including helpful advice on exactly where to find the bathroom), The Peabody, Wild Oats Natural Marketplace and the Texaco at 3975 Summer. Wild Oats and Texaco get the biggest raves.Here's the address. Check it out and add your own. (Personally, I think fast food restaurants aren't a bad option.)

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."

We’re hosting an online conversation with Dr, Mace Coday, a behavioral health psychologist with expertise in weight management, tobacco use, health promotion and stress-related disorders. She cares for patients at UT Medical Group, Inc., and is an assistant professor of preventive medicine and psychiatry at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
 Coday will answer your  questions about stress and stress management. Ask your questions here and read more on the subject at  http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/lifestyle/health-fitness/
 

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.

Family Cancer Center has launched a hotline for Mid-South physicians with questions about cancer or blood disorders. The toll-free number is designed to provide doctors with access to expert advice day or night. To request the number, physicians should call Rola Obaji, marketing director for the eight-member Memphis medical group. Call Obaji at 850-0272.

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.

Come join the conversation
We’re hosting an online conversation this week with Dr.  Jim Bailey,  the Callison Professor of Medicine at University of Tennessee Health Science Center and a board-certified internal medicine physician with UT Medical Group.  He will be discussing high blood pressure and what you should do about it. Read more about it at commercialappeal.com/news/lifestyle/health-fitness/

Got a question? Ask it here.

Dr. Bailey will respon.