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4A – Daily News – Monday, October 4, 2010 Vitality & health Nutrition Quiz: (MCT) Uh-oh. We still must not be eating our veg- etables and fruits. Why else would the government and do-gooder nonprofits launch an initiative to get us to consume more of these nutrient-rich foods? 1. The amount of fruits and vegetables people need is determined by age, gen- der and physical activity. How many cups of fruits and vegetables are needed by a 75-year-old woman who exercises fewer than 30 minutes a day? of vegetables cups of vegetables a) 3 cups of fruit, 2 cups b) 1.5 cups of fruit, 2 c) 2.5 cups of fruit, 3 cups of vegetables 2. How many cups would a 19-year-old male who exercises more than 60 minutes a day need? a) 2.5 cups of fruit, 4 cups of vegetables of vegetables of vegetables b) 1 cup of fruit, 1.5 cups c) 3 cups of fruit, 5 cups 3. What, according to program guidelines, consti- tutes a "cup"? a) 16 grapes b) 1 small banana c) 12 baby carrots d) All of the above 4. In an effort to get peo- ple to eat more spinach, the program promotes its high vitamin A content and says the vitamin does what for the body? Fruits and vegetables a) Keeps eyes and skin healthy, and helps protect against infections b) Prevents joint swelling and painful condi- tions such as gout c) Gives you bulging muscles (e.g., Popeye) 5. Another benefit of spinach is its high level of folate, which can cut a woman's risk of having a child with a brain or spinal cord defect. According to the Institute of Medicine, how many micrograms of synthetic folic acid per day should women of childbear- ing age consume to supple- ment the folate they receive from a varied diet? a) 200 b) 300 c) 400 6. Which of these is among the program's rec- ommendations for using fruits and vegetables to help maintain your weight? a) Eating a banana 20 minutes before a meal blunts an appetite. b) Add in a cup of chopped vegetables while removing a cup of rice or pasta in your favorite dish. c) Try to consume broc- coli at every meal of the day: in a breakfast omelette, a lunch salad and at dinner as a side dish. Source: www.fruitsand- veggiesmatter.gov CHICAGO (MCT) — On a recent Wednesday night, Cindy Gerstner, 42, strapped her feet into a rowing machine and began gliding back and forth with all the energy she could muster. This wasn't just a workout for Gerstner, whose stage IV breast cancer has spread to her brain, lungs, bones and liver. It was a 40- minute dose of medicine. "It's part of my treat- ment plan," said Gerst- ner, a member of Recov- ery on Water or ROW, a crew team made up of breast cancer patients and survivors who believe exercise is a pow- erful tool to help keep cancer at bay. "It's almost as important as chemotherapy in helping me stay on this earth as long as possible." Once relegated to health clubs, exercise is muscling into its way into a wide variety of dis- ease prevention and treat- ment plans. Physical fit- ness programs are already a staple of car- diac care. But though research is still in the early stages, there's encouraging evidence that consistent workouts can help with everything from cancer, autoimmune disorders and Parkinson's disease to alcoholism. University of Illinois sci- entists recently received funding for a study that looks at whether riding a stationary bicycle during treatment can help dialy- sis patients. The burgeoning "exer- cise is medicine" move- ment is championed by dozens of organizations, including the American College of Sports Medi- cine, the Chicago Park District and cancer sup- port groups. New nation- al cancer guidelines urge both patients and sur- vivors to exercise during and after treatment for 150 minutes per week, the same advice given to the general public. Some big questions remain unanswered, such as what type and how much exercise is needed for what illnesses. In many cases, working out appears to relieve symp- toms, but its impact on the natural course of the disease isn't known. And many physicians are cau- tious about prescribing something that can stress the body, especially for patients in the throes of a life-threatening illness. "There's still a prevail- ing attitude out there that patients shouldn't push themselves during treat- ment," said Kathryn Schmitz, an associate professor of epidemiolo- gy and biostatistics at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Penn- sylvania School of Medi- cine and lead author of the new guidelines. Schmitz acknowl- edges that exercise is a stressor on the body but said resting too much also can have adverse effects. "Our message _ avoid inactivity _ is essential," she said. If exercise isn't already a habit, of course, it can be intimi- dating. It's harder to do fitness Exercise: Adose of good medicine? MCT photo when you don't feel good. And "some people would truly rather take a pill," said Dr. Holly Ben- jamin, an associate pro- fessor and pediatric sports medicine special- ist at the University of Chicago. "But once they do it, so many people feel so much better." In the past, breast can- cer patients who had undergone surgery were told not to lift more than 15 pounds for the rest of their lives. Doctors also encouraged rest and lim- ited exercise, fearing that strenuous effort would slow treatment or exacer- bate conditions such as lymphedema, a painful swelling of the arms. But Schmitz's ground- breaking work, published last year in the New Eng- land Journal of Medicine, reversed decades of cau- tionary advice by finding that slow, progressive weight lifting wasn't just safe; it could prevent lymphedema flare-ups. Exercise can help peo- ple being treated for can- cer cope with the side effects of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, including fatigue and the loss of muscle mass. "It helps them get through treatment in better form," said David Nieman, director of the Human Performance Labs at Appalachian State Uni- versity and the author of several textbooks on exercise as medicine. A handful of observa- tional studies, mean- while, have suggested that exercise could result in a 40 to 50 percent reduction in the risk for recurrence of breast can- cer, said Schmitz, though randomized controlled trials would be needed to prove a benefit. For a few conditions, including Parkinson's disease, there's hope that exercise can affect the ill- ness itself. In animal studies, exercise improved symptoms and increased the level of brain-derived neu- rotrophic factor, a chemi- cal that protects cells. "Exercise may modify disease by slowing the primary process of cell loss associated with Parkinson's disease," said Dr. Cynthia Comella, a neurologist at Rush Uni- versity Medical Center, who is currently investi- gating the effects on Parkinson's of regular exercise with a personal trainer. For treatment of pedi- atric rheumatic diseases, "exercise has been over- looked," said Dr. Bruno Gualano of the Universi- ty of Sao Paulo in Brazil. Exercise's greatest strength may be that it can work on both physi- cal and emotional levels. Gerstner, an associate professor on leave from Columbia College, was diagnosed with Stage 1 cancer in 2007 but said exercise was not dis- cussed as a way to pre- vent recurrence. Now she's rowing as a way to keep her body strong so she can endure more of the treatment. "I may be exhausted when I arrive (at prac- tice) but I feel energized when I leave," said Ger- stner, who has a 4-year- old daughter with her husband, Alfredo. "It also helps me feel "nor- mal" _ that my body has- n't totally abandoned me via cancer, but that I can still exercise and push myself." Discover an array of local health related vendors. ANSWERS: 1: b; 2: a; 3: d; 4: a; 5: c; 6: b