UCH takes on breast care and high heels

'Tis is the month for breast cancer fundraisers. But here's one you don't see every day: Men in heels.

At the second annual Heroes 'N Heels fundraiser on Saturday, male employees from University Community Hospital and business executives will be donning stilettos to walk a mile in "her shoes."

The goal is to raise money for mammograms for women who can't afford them, a concern heard too often at UCH's Breast Center.

This year, organizers hope to raise $50,000. To learn more about the event, contact Nikki Powers at (813) 615-7663 or npowers@mail.uch.org.

-- Letitia Stein, Times health reporter

One more reason to visit the health food store...

Last weekend, I went to see Food, Inc., the movie about the evils of our industrialized food supply. And I vowed to start eating vegetarian at least one day a week -- and to at least research whether to pay more for safely and humanely raised chicken and beef products.

In other words, I might start going to the health food/organic grocery store for reasons other than my hair.

Now I know that beauty is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the land of granola shopping. But I've found that the shampoos and conditioners sold in the health food aisles make my wavy mane a lot happier than the chemical-laden big brand names.

It turns out that my favorite brand, Aubrey's Organics, has a Tampa mailing address. So I feel like I'm doing my little part to shop local.

Now about those chickens....

-- Letitia Stein, Times health reporter

Don't be afraid of the water ... or the suit

Today’s quiz: Pick your first reaction to the phrase: “Let’s go swimming.’’

A. Awesome! Summer’s here! The water looks great! Where’s my snorkel?
B. Forget it! No way are these thighs going out in public. Where’s my big white T-shirt?

I’m not quite sure when I made my own slide from A to B, but I can tell you how I made it back to A, and I promise that no liposuction or tourniquet-control swimsuit was involved.

Last summer, we moved into a house with a backyard pool, a first for us. The best part was having friends over, especially families with young kids. We’d take turns spinning our young guests around the pool, tossing Frisbees, dragging them around on floats, timing how long they could stay underwater, even helping them learn to swim.

Do all those things and you’ll have too much fun to obsess about exposing your least favorite body part.
Which brings us to this week's edition of  Personal Best, which those of you with a subscription to the St. Petersburg Times will get on Saturday. Consider it out little customer-loyalty gift.

Rather than hunting for bathing suits that make you look 10 pounds thinner, we focused on suits that make you want to swim, surf, kayak....you know, have fun. (Shown here is one we featured, a Lands End suit.)

 Just keep Olympic swimmer (and cover model) Megan Burke’s words in mind as you shop: “I have to make sure they fit, I like the color and patterns, and it’s comfortable.’’

And once you’ve found the perfect suit, consider giving it a real workout. Terry Tomalin visited with a local Master’s swimming program to find out how to kick up your routine to competitive speed.
So let’s get going — we’ve got a long, hot summer ahead, and water all around us. Dive in!

Charlotte Sutton, health and medicine editor

[Photo: landsend.com]

 

So, you want Michelle Obama's arms?

Remember when all a first lady had to do was dress nicely, keep fairly quiet, and offer unstinting support to the leader of the free world?

I don't either. But even for a generation raised on active first ladies, it sure seems like Michelle Obama is upholding a lot of healthy expectations with those famously muscled arms of hers. Entirely aside from her role in firing up the one-shouldered dress trend, she's becoming something of a spokeswoman for fitness (she's said to enjoy 90-minute workouts), nutrition (she is using the White House kitchens to demonstrate the virtues of healthy cooking) and even childhood obesity (she and the president recently told Parents magazine that they had to ban juice boxes and sugary snacks when little Malia was getting a tad chubby).

But all that's not enough. In today's New York Times, healthy-food advocates praised what Mrs. Obama has done so far and urged her to go farther. Some folks want the Obamas to plant an edible garden, presumably somewhere other than in the Rose Garden.

Famed foodie Ruth Reichl suggested that the White House press office issue dispatches describing what the first family is eating.

I'm all for healthy eating and open government, but isn't that just a little bit much? Sure, I care deeply about the Obamas' privacy, but what really worries me is the guilt load the rest of us (who probably don't have Mrs. Obama's arms) would have to bear.

Forget your mom's dinnertime threats involving starving children in India. Imagine the emotional burden on a child who had to hear Katie Couric announce: "Malia and Sasha ate a lovely nut loaf and arugula salad for dinner today!''

Anyway, the point is, it's wonderful to have such healthy role models in the White House, but let's temper our expectations. I don't really want to know what the Obama girls are eating for dinner, any more than I want to know what Mrs. Obama does during her workouts. There's a reason we call this blog Personal Best.

I suspect others feel the same. I was talking to John Hunter, the sales manager at Gold's Gym in northeast St. Petersburg today about the special he's running -- $69.99 a month for your entire family, which sounds like a good deal. I asked him whether women are coming in to the gym asking how to get Michelle Obama's arms.

He burst out laughing.

But really, if someone DID come in with that question, what would Hunter say?

"If you want it bad enough, sure, you can have those arms,'' he told me.

Excellent news! So, what do I do?

"It's a combination of your workout and what you eat. And it depends on how far along you are now. Read every fitness magazine you can. See the person in the gym who has the arms you want, and ask them how they did it.''

In other words, think long and hard before you run out there and snap up your own one-armed dress collection.

Charlotte Sutton, Health and medicine editor

[Photo: AP]

Fit for the cure

By now I'm sure every woman has seen those amazing statistics revealing that most of us are wandering around in bras that don't fit us.

I do not doubt the scientific method that certainly goes into these stats, but really, how can this be true? How is it that we can simultaneously hold down fulltime jobs, keep households running, outsmart teenagers, keep the goldfish alive, find all the stuff our husbands lose.....and we can't buy a simple garment we've all been wearing since girlhood?

Amazing. Anyway, I'm always up for a second opinion, so a couple years ago I went to Dillards for a fitting. This was a very interesting experience, and I knew it would be from the moment this earnest young sales associate looked me square in the eye and said "So, what do you hope to achieve with this bra?''

Achieve? Oh, gosh. I don't know. World peace? Thinner thighs? An end to the dreaded Back Bulge?

She did not grasp my sense of humor, but she did get the back bulge problem, and set to work, bringing me several dozen bras to try. Amazingly, it turned out that I needed a smaller band size; that's how they stay in place, apparently. Voila! End of problem. I walked out feeling as if I had achieved something.

I tell you all this for a reason. Wacoal, which does make some lovely bras (shown here is the Awareness full figure contour bra, $65), is sponsoring fittings this month at Dillards to not only get you into the right bra, but also to raise money and awareness of breast cancer. Get fitted and sign up to get a monthly e-mail reminder to do a breast self-exam, and Wacoal will donate $2 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for breast cancer research and community health programs. They'll donate another $2 for every Wacoal bra, shapewear piece or b.tempt’d bra purchased at these events.

Pretty sweet. Now, if you haven't had a fitting recently, the company says you need one every year (just like those mammograms, ladies!) since things do, er, shift.

Here's the schedule:

March 18: 10 am-4 pm, Dillards Citrus Park Town Center, Tampa (813) 926-4545

March 19: 10 am-4 pm, Dillards Wiregrass, Wesley Chapel (813) 991-1352

March 20: 10 am-4 pm, Dillards International Plaza, Tampa (813) 342-1220

Charlotte Sutton, Health and Medicine editor