CGH #042: Heat And Your Health

The podcast “Consumer’s Guide To Health” returned to the airwaves in January. This biweekly podcast and live stream airs on BlogTalkRadio every second Thursday at 11:00am central time. Join the discussion!

Episode 42 is entitled “Heat And Your Health”. The temperatures are rising outside, The summer heat – and how to handle it – is a topic that can never be discussed often enough. en enough. Being safe in the heat is of utmost importance at this time of the year and you can never have too many reminders.

The guest of Episode 42 is actually a previous guest of the show - Dr. Shannon Mitchel. Shannon is a physician practicing occupational medicine and urgent care in Austin. She started running marathons in the mid 90’s and is now an ultra-marathoner, completing distances up to 100K. She also serves as medical director for ultra-marathons, including the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile race held every February. Dr. Mitchel has also recently written an article on training in the heat which is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of Austin Fit magazine.

All previous episodes of CGH are currently available on my BlogTalkRadio channel. You can subscribe via RSS and the podcasts are also available on iTunes. The next episode will be on Thursday, May 10.

Episode 42 Notes: Heat And Your Health

Welcome to the Smart Life Project's "Consumer's Guide To Health" for April 26, 2012. I'm your host, Allan Besselink, coming to you live from Austin, Texas (as I do every other Thursday at 11:00 am central time). This show is brought to you by the Smart Life Project, a health initiative based in Austin, Texas committed to providing sports science solutions for training, rehab, and life. Life is a sport - play smart.

Becoming a consumer of your own health and health care is critical in this day and age. The health care and fitness worlds can be a challenge to negotiate. But we are also in an era of accessibility to information, and as I always say, knowledge is power - if only we'd use it. Let's face it though - the inability to challenge our belief systems in the face of good scientific evidence is the primary limiting factor in the advancement of both health care and coaching, as well as human performance and injury prevention. And as I always say - don't shoot the messenger.

The primary goal of this show is to increase awareness of these issues so that people can become better consumers of their own health - from the grass roots level.

With that in mind, our call in number is (347) 843-4753.

Today's episode 42 is entitled "Heat And Your Health".

It is that time of year again here in Austin. It's slowly, steadily, getting hotter, and when you walk outside, you just know in your gut that another stifling Texas summer is just around the corner. Many people will find themselves moving their fitness activities indoors for the next few months in order to stay active. Some may simply change activities completely, opting for sports and activities that can be done in the water. But there will be many that will trudge onwards with their cycling and running throughout the oppressive Texas summer .

In 2009, I discussed "Training In The Heat" in CGH episode 12. But the topic of heat - and how to handle it - is never a topic that can be discussed often enough. Being safe in the heat is of utmost importance at this time of the year and you can never have too many reminders.

Today, we will take another look at how to handle the heat. My guest for today's podcast is a previous guest of the show, Dr. Shannon Mitchel. Shannon is a physician practicing occupational medicine and urgent care in Austin. Shannon brings a broad perspective and insight to our show today. She began her career as a physical therapist in 1994, and in 2002 she started medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. She started running marathons in the mid 90’s and is now an ultra-marathoner, completing distances up to 100K. She also serves as medical director for ultra-marathons, including the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile race held every February. Dr. Mitchel has also recently written an article on training in the heat which is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of Austin Fit magazine.

Thanks for coming back to the show, Shannon.

The 100 degree heat is just around the corner, Dr. Mitchel. What do we need to do - or can we do - to start acclimating to the heat?

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Photo credits: joehardy