Health Center - Allergies and Asthma
If you or someone you love suffers from allergies or asthma, you know firsthand how difficult it can be to manage symptoms such as difficulty breathing, itchy eyes or a runny nose. Educate yourself and get tips to improve your quality of life in our Allergies and Asthma Health Center. Allergies Guide Asthma Guide
Cleaning Tips for a Healthy Home (and Body!)
You don't need to dust all day to get activity benefits from cleaning. According to Dr. Simon, the accepted wisdom used to be that exercise was "something that required a discreet set-aside period of time," in which you would get your heart rate up aerobically and keep it up for an extended stretch. "Now we've learned from an enormous body of literature that to be healthy you don't have to do that."
Instead, his research developed a new way of looking at healthful activity—by measuring the cardiometabolic exercise (or CME) value of everyday and recreational activities. This rating shows how well a physical activity can reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, colon cancer and breast cancer, as well as protect against weight gain and developing diabetes.
Each activity is given a CME point value. Aim for 1,000 CME points per week, or about 150 a day, to achieve and maintain good health. For weight loss, increase that daily total to 300 and the weekly to about 2,000, Dr. Simon advises.
These housecleaning activities, done at a moderate intensity for 30 minutes each, can contribute to your daily 150 CME points for healthful physical activity:
