“Feel the burn!” Jane Fonda used to exclaim to her aerobics disciples. “No pain, no gain.”

These were popular exercise mantras, embraced by many American fitness buffs. Yet these days, you won’t hear many health experts repeating them.

Exercise, obviously, is a good thing. But even if you aren’t a triathlete in training, you still have options.

Intense, painful exercise dragging on for hours at a time isn’t necessarily “better” than a more temperate approach.  In fact, engaging in just 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day has been associated with many significant health benefits, even when the 30 minutes are divided into several shorter workouts.

Given that many people are more likely to squeeze in exercise when it seems easier or less painful, “intermittent” exercise may be the best option for some folks.

What exactly is intermittent exercise?

Fitness experts have used the term somewhat loosely to describe several types of physical activity, namely interval workouts and short, separated bouts of exercise. The premise behind both is simple: Follow a brief period of exercise with a varying level or amount of rest.  And many researchers are beginning to sing its praises.

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Going up?

If you regularly take the elevator instead of the stairs, your weight – and blood pressure and lipid levels– may be going up, too.

Sure, elevators and escalators may seem more convenient and time-efficient, especially when you’re cradling your laptop or a load of groceries in your hands. But health experts have long advised folks to make simple changes to sneak more exercise into their daily routine. And scientific research is beginning to suggest that there’s benefit in taking the stairs.

In fact, one British scientist who has studied the public’s use of stairs – or lack thereof—said the benefits might be far greater than you think.

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Are you at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease? It appears your nose may know.

In a growing body of research, an inability to identify common scents has been associated with the development of mild cognitive impairment – a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. Older adults who have difficulty identifying odors such as lemon or cinnamon are more likely to have problems with thinking, learning and memory, according to one such study by Chicago researchers.

That may sound a bit far-fetched. But scientists know that protein deposits called tangles begin to appear in a region of the brain responsible for smell before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease manifest themselves. An inability to identify some scents has been linked to other neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, and scientists are still attempting to understand why this is.

The findings are raising hopes that doctors may one day be able to administer a sort of “scratch ‘n sniff” test to gauge olfactory abilities as part of determining a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

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You have heard of the elderly. But how about the “wellderly”? The moniker is now being used to describe healthy seniors over the age of 80 who have been fortunate enough to live long – without any chronic diseases or the assistance of long-term medication.

What’s their secret? Scientists would like to know, too. In southern California, a group of researchers has launched the “Wellderly Study” to analyze the genes of some 1,000 healthy octogenarians, nonagenarians and centenarians. The researchers hope that by exploring the DNA of this long-lived group, they will have a better understanding of the genetics behind longevity and lifelong health.

For the Wellderly project, Scripps scientists will compare the DNA from healthy seniors with DNA taken from seniors who died from common diseases such as cancer, heart attack and stroke before they made it to 80. This second group has been dubbed the “Illderly.”

Many of the wellderly, the scientists note in the journal Nature, do have genes that should have made them susceptible to diseases – yet they’ve still managed to stay healthy.

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As a physician with many years in private practice, I’ve always valued tools that helped me care for my patients on an ongoing basis. Everyone’s health is prone to vary over time, so there is definite benefit to new science that highlights change.

That’s why a key aspect of the Navigenics genetic health service – ongoing updates – is so important. When Navigenics analyzes a person’s DNA, the findings don’t stop with that first genetic report. As new genetic research findings pass our rigorous scientific scrutiny, we bring our members additional information about their current conditions and new ones.

This process means that our members’ DNA results stay current with the latest and best genetic science.

This week, we’ve started providing our members their personal genetic insights into two additional conditions:

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With high gas prices already pinching you in the pocketbook, you might be cringing a bit when you see the cost of organic foods these days. A gallon of organic milk: $6.99. Small container of organic blueberries: $4.99. A single sweet potato: $1.69.

What price health?

But don’t let the dollar amounts deter you. When you eat organic foods, especially fruits and vegetables, you aren’t just doing a good turn for the environment. You are doing your body good, and possibly lowering your risk for health problems in the future, including conditions covered in the Navigenics genetic health service.

Many consumers have long wondered whether organics live up to their hype. More nutritious? Better for the waistline? Less toxic? I’ve looked at the science, and the answers are a resounding yes, yes and yes.

Here’s why.

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It might sound a bit absurd, totally contrary to everything you’ve ever been taught about proper nutrition. But, fruit may be a bad apple, at least in relatively large amounts.

Heresy, you say? Hardly.

The key word here is excess. Nutritional guidelines state that we all need several servings of fresh produce each day. But as with anything in life, there really can be too much of a good thing.

And in this case, the good or bad thing (depending on how you want to look at it) is fructose, the natural sugar that makes fruit sweet. Increasingly, scientific evidence shows that too much of it, whether consumed in large amounts of fruit or added to foods as a sweetener, can make us fat.

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For anyone needing to lose weight (and who doesn’t these days?) comes welcome new research showing there is life – and weight loss—beyond the low-fat diet.

The popular Mediterranean diet is a safe and effective alternative to the low-fat plan often recommended by physicians, Israeli researchers determined in a two-year-long study published in July in the New England Journal of Medicine.

While people who stick with almost any diet lose weight, those on the Mediterranean diet lost a significant amount – almost 10 pounds, compared to about six pounds for those on a low-fat diet. And the Mediterranean diet, in particular, was praised by the scientists because it is high in fruits, vegetables and fiber, all of which are beneficial for health.  Previous research has shown it is good for the heart, and may even reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

What is a Mediterranean diet?

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Last month, I blogged about a concept getting more attention in weight and health – the size of your waist may be even more important than the number on the scale.  Now, two recent developments further highlight that point. 

In that last post, I talked about a powerful study from the Mayo Clinic on a phenomenon called “normal-weight obesity.” That research indicated that more than half of American adults not considered overweight by regular standards such as Body Mass Index actually had high body-fat percentages, especially in their midsection. Those with wider waists also had higher rates of heart and metabolic risk factors.

Recent news illustrates that more findings support that idea. After looking at the health records of more than 20,000 people, researchers at Ohio State University spotted similar problems.

People included in the study who were not considered formally overweight but had a “marginally increased” waist circumference were much more likely to have high blood pressure than those with slim midsections. The scientists determined that adults with “normal” weights but a wide waist have an increased risk of cardiovascular problems. 

In other words, Americans need to get a handle on their love handles.

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I recently had the opportunity to hear the CEO of the American Cancer Society, John Seffrin, Ph.D, speak at the Aspen Ideas Festival. In listening to Dr. Seffrin, I heard him convey many of the same beliefs that we have here at Navigenics – primarily the benefits of early diagnosis and prevention.

There were two key data points which Dr. Seffrin mentioned: (1) many cancers are “curable” if found in Stage 1, and (2) that nearly 60-70% of all cancers are preventable. He also noted that prevention, through behavior change and early detection, is our best known “cure” today.

This is exactly the idea behind what we are doing at Navigenics – by helping you identify your genetic risk for a disease, before you start showing symptoms, you can catch it early, treat it early, or perhaps prevent the disease from occurring altogether. 

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