"Eat more colorful fruits and vegetables" is a nutrition message that is gaining recognition. But just because a food is beige doesn't necessarily mean it's bland or lacks nutritional value.

Take oats, for instance.

They're not only economical and convenient, they're also tasty.

OK, so a steaming bowl of oatmeal cries out for embellishment, such as fresh blueberries or a splash of cream. Likewise, an oatmeal cookie practically demands a smattering of raisins.

But oats are high in vitamin B-1 and contain a good amount of B-2 and E. A whole grain, oats are also packed with phytochemicals and insoluble fiber that have a beneficial effect on cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and intestinal health. And they're a stick-to-your ribs sort of food that can keep hunger pangs at bay for hours.

So how does all that good nutrition fare when it's packed into a cookie?

Commonly used in baking, rolled oats are an ingredient that readily lends itself to low-fat alterations. The Star's recipe for Oatmeal Spice Cookies is an example of how a few tweaks add up to a healthy treat.

We started with the classic oatmeal/raisin combination, then used egg whites, fat-free milk and unsweetened applesauce to reduce the overall fat content. Whole-wheat flour bumps up the whole grains another notch.

Other ingredients that make this cookie a real standout are walnuts, which offer healthful omega-3 fatty acids, and sunflower seeds, rich in iron. Spices are high in antioxidants. (In an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, 13 of the 50 food products highest in antioxidants were spices, including cinnamon.)

Shopping tip: Be sure to choose quick-cooking oats that take about 5 minutes to cook, not instant oatmeal, which can turn gooey and lumpy when added to baked goods.

Cooking tip: To toast walnuts, place nuts on a baking sheet and toast at 350 degrees for 7 minutes or until lightly toasted.

Storage tip: Store in airtight container for up to 3 or 4 days; freeze for longer storage.

Editor's note: This ccolumn was originally published in The Star's Food Section on Aug. 30, 2006.

To reach Jill Wendholt Silva, call 816-234-4347 or send email to jsilva@kcstar.com.

©2012 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)

Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.com

Back to top

If you want to get fit, don't make a New Year's resolution.

That's the wrong way to go about getting healthy, said Jana Beeman, owner of Balanced Life Today Health, Nutrition and Fitness in La Center.

"If you just make a resolution, you really won't stick to it," Beeman said. "People have to move with an exercise that captures some part of their imagination; it has to be fun or they just won't do it."

Gyms usually become crowded in January as throngs sign up after newly made New Year's resolutions, but by spring, the numbers pretty much always drop back to normal, said Eddie White, executive director at Clark County Family YMCA, 11324 N.E. 51st Circle.

Rather than hitting the same old boring weights or treadmill, White and Beeman suggest trying to find something that piques your interest -- like a dance class, bike rides or even firing up the video game machine with a fun fitness program.

"Exercise doesn't have to be three sets of 10 on the weight machine," White said. "It's just getting out and moving. It's going out and shooting hoops, playing catch, throwing a football. It can even be gardening."

Kim Puyleart, who runs the Vancouver Mommy Fitness Playgroup, found her current fitness calling by creating the group on Meetup.com.

She used to teach Zumba dance classes, but stopped when she had her first baby 15 months ago.

After feeling isolated from spending too much time at home, she decided to build a set of exercise routines she could share with other new mothers -- both for fitness and as a way to socialize.

"Being a mom is not easy, and it made me realize I really need to get out of the house," Puyleart said. "So I started the group at the end of August. We do everything from circuit training to resistance training to cardio, but we use baby strollers so we can bring our babies along."

In the winter, Puyleart brings her group to the Westfield Vancouver mall. The mothers incorporate their kids into the workout routine and break periodically for story time and other activities.

Sometimes the mothers will use their babies as weights and do squats or other exercises while holding them.

"It really is engaging, not just for the moms but for the kids, too," she said.

Beeman, meanwhile, uses dance to stay fit.

She got very sick when she was young, and stumbled upon a belly dancing class as a means to regain her health.

"I just needed something that would keep me coming back, and after that first class, I was hooked," Beeman said. "Belly dance is something that if it catches your interest and you relate to the music, it just takes over."

Zumba, which is sort of a fast-paced Latin dance class, is a huge trend right now, but if you haven't been all that active, Beeman suggests trying something a little slower to get you started.

"Some Zumba and dance fitness classes, they aren't very careful about protecting people's bodies," Beeman said. "If you like the idea of dancing but you aren't in great shape, why not start with something slower, like ballroom dancing, where it's very carefully designed."

If you have injuries or are just out of shape, restorative yoga is a slow, meditative way to let your body tell you what it's ready for, she said.

"You expand into a pose slowly and your body tells you how far you can go," Beeman said. "There's even chair yoga, where you can actually do a full yoga routine while sitting in your chair."

Swimming is another great, low-impact, easy way to start moving, White said.

"We do everything from arthritic swimming classes for our senior population to swim lessons for kids," White said. "We also have counselors, and you can make an appointment and they can tell you what classes might be best and how to approach things."

If you're more of the stay-at-home type, things like Wii Fit or Dance Dance Revolution can help to get you moving, as can fitness video series like Crunchless Abs and Bender Ball, which Beeman recommends.

But if you decide to go that route, both White and Beeman suggest attending at least one class or consulting a fitness trainer first to make sure you're doing the motions correctly.

If you rent a yoga program, for instance, and don't do poses like downward dog correctly, you can actually end up injuring yourself, Beeman said.

One nice thing about community fitness centers is that they tend to have several options for classes, White said.

At the Clark County Family YMCA, organizers try to continually add new types of exercise to keep things fresh.

"A lot of our focus is on group exercise, whether that's in the water or elsewhere, because people like that social or group atmosphere," White said. "We have boot camps with different activities each week, dance classes. Our bodies quickly adjust and adapt to things so its a good idea to continually change things up."

The YMCA also has a computer tracking program called ActivTrax that provides exercise and meal suggestions on the Web. It's free to members and includes activities beyond the center like bike riding or hiking.

Even just going out for a walk is a nice way to get started -- and if you have young kids, taking them on nature discovery hikes is a good way to encourage them to have fun while getting outdoors for some exercise.

"On discovery hikes, you can let kids veer off, pick up things like rocks or leaves and talk about them," Beeman said. "Just doing something like that brings the attention outside, and it can be really fun fitness and really bonding at the same time."

It takes about 21 days for a new habit to set in and feel normal, but if you do that by adding exercises that you enjoy, it becomes a much more easy task, she said.

"If you make a New Year's resolution and you go to the gym and just push yourself, you end up in pain," Beeman said. "Your muscles are burning and your joints are aching and your detoxing your body too fast. Just start with something simple. Go for a walk, get outside. People just aren't built to be happy doing repetitive boring exercises."

©2012 The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.)

Visit The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.) at www.columbian.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Back to top

- It's been a common part of preventive care for people worried about heart attacks, but a new study could have hundreds of thousands of Americans rethinking that daily dose of aspirin.

While nearly a third of middle-aged Americans regularly take aspirin in the hope of preventing a heart attack or a stroke or lowering their cancer risk, new research shows that, in some cases, it may be doing more harm than good.

Recently, researchers in London reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine that they had analyzed nine randomized studies of aspirin use in the United States, Europe and Japan that included more than 100,000 participants. The study subjects had never had a heart attack or stroke; all regularly took aspirin or a placebo to determine whether aspirin benefits people who have no established heart disease.

Researchers found that regular aspirin users were 10 percent less likely than the others to have any type of heart event, and 20 percent less likely to have a nonfatal heart attack. But they were also about 30 percent more likely to develop an ulcer.

Dr. Steve Campbell at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato said the research could change the way doctors in Mankato and everywhere else handle aspirin use in patients.

"I think it is worth looking into further," Campbell said. "Don't blindly put folks on aspirin on the assumption that everybody benefits."

Campbell said they normally use a diagnostic tool that helps them decide what risk a patient may have for heart attacks or strokes in the next 10 years.

He said the rule of thumb most doctors go by is that, if a person's risk is 3 percent or more, then he or she may benefit from the smallest dose of aspirin, which is 81 milligrams (aspirin comes in doses of 81, 162 and 325 milligrams.)

©2012 The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.)

Back to top

Confused about which carbohydrates you should be eating?

Welcome to the club.

"It's the biggest lack-of-consensus issue in the U.S. diet today," said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. "We don't have a standard method for assessing their quality."

Carbohydrates, the most common of the three energy sources we get from food (the others are fat and protein), reside in the vast majority of our food, prominently in grains, vegetables, legumes and fruits. They are essential to good health - as long as you stick to the good sources and steer clear of the bad ones, which are linked to obesity and a host of chronic conditions, including diabetes and heart disease.

Most health experts agree that processed foods, sweetened beverages and refined grains such as white bread, pasta, flour and rice (which are stripped of their nutrients) are among the worst kinds of carbohydrate-rich foods you can eat.

Your digestive system breaks them down too easily, flooding the bloodstream with simple sugars (glucose), which in turn prompts a surge of the hormone insulin to carry the glucose into the body's cells, said Michael Roizen, chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute and co-founder of realage.com. Too much blood sugar and insulin for too long can be dangerous on several levels: more fat storage, less fat burning, malfunctioning proteins that eventually lead to organ damage, even cancer cell growth, Roizen said. Your brain also gets addicted to the high glucose levels, leaving you craving more.

What constitutes a good carb, however, can be trickier.

It's not as basic as "simple" versus "complex," as fruits contain simple sugars but are a highly desirable carb source.

Rather, four main factors determine the quality of a carb, Mozaffarian said: dietary fiber (the more the better); how fast it makes your blood sugar rise (aka glycemic index, the lower the better); whole-grain content (the more the better); and structure (if it's liquid, milled or pulverized, it's not as good).

So Cheerios, which are made of 100 percent whole grain oats, get a thumbs up for whole grain and fiber content, but the pulverized nature of the oats makes it inferior to intact whole grains, such as steel-cut oats, Mozaffarian said.

And pasta? It seems like the quintessential fattening carb, but in fact it has a lower glycemic index than rice or potatoes and is a "reasonable choice," he said.

Speaking of potatoes ... the white ones have a high glycemic index, and studies have shown them to contribute to weight gain, so Mozaffarian banishes them to the "bad" list alongside Skittles. But other nutrition professionals, such as Stephanie Dunbar, director of nutrition and clinical affairs and the American Diabetes Association, gives potatoes the thumbs up because they have nutrients.

And then you have Jonathan Bailor, a health and fitness researcher who advises you source carbohydrates from citrus fruits, berries and a host of nonstarchy vegetables, such as spinach, and stay away from starches altogether - including whole grains. The best foods to eat, Bailor said, are those with greater water, fiber and protein content relative to their calories, so you get more bang for your buck.

"It's not that whole grains are evil; it's just absolutely not as good for us as nonstarchy fruits and vegetables," said Bailor, who recently published "The Smarter Science of Slim" (Aavia; $34.95), the result of a decade of reviewing more than 1,000 diet studies.

Reading the nutrition label can help guide people through the morass. Choose items with less sugar - Roizen says to aim for 4 grams or less - and more dietary fiber. And no, brown sugar and honey aren't metabolized any differently than the white stuff.But sugar doesn't tell the whole story, as refined starches with little sugar are still terrible for you.

As a general rule of thumb, Mozaffarian recommends that you look at the ratio of total carbohydrates in a serving to dietary fiber, as that captures both sugar and starch content. If the ratio is 10:1 or more, avoid it. If it's less than 5:1, it's very good.

If all the confusion makes you want to reach for a bowl of mac-and-cheese, rest assured that everyone can agree on this: Eating lots of nonstarchy vegetables does every body good.

SHOPPING LIST

Take this list shopping to help you weed out the bad carbs.

BAD CARBS:

Soft drinks

Sports drinks

Fruit drinks

Beer

French fries

White rice

White bread

Sugar-sweetened cereals

Bagels

Baguettes

Croissants

Potato chips

Pastries

Cookies

White crackers

Brownies

Cakes

Pies

Candy

Sugar

Brown sugar

Honey

Debatable

Corn

Popcorn

White potatoes

Pasta

100 percent fruit juice (limited quantities)

GOOD CARBS:

Spinach

Kale

Tomatoes

Mushrooms

Beets

Brussels sprouts

Broccoli

Onion

Squash

Artichoke

Berries

Oranges

Tangerines

Melons

Mangoes

Pears

Peaches

Low-fat Greek yogurt

Sweet potatoes

Peas

Black beans

Kidney beans

Lentils

Brown rice

Barley

Amaranth

Quinoa

Whole-grain bread

Whole-grain pasta

Back to top

Ask any health expert to rattle off some of the bogus reasons they've heard as to why people can't lose weight, and you're likely to have enough excuses to fill a "Stuff Dieters Say" YouTube video. But there's nothing funny - or pretty - about the little diet and fitness lies you persuade yourself to believe. Buying into incorrect information, such as the idea that skipping breakfast will save you calories in the long run or that your doctor will pull you aside if your weight is really a problem, will leave your scale stuck and could put your health at risk in the long-term.

The following ideas might seem like reasonable assumptions, but the research and experts suggest otherwise. Here, eight little fibs that might be making you fat.

1. Taking the stairs takes too long

Sorry folks, but taking the elevator at work isn't just lazy, it's inefficient, too. A small Canadian study calculated that when you factor in the time you spend waiting for an elevator to arrive, taking the stairs actually can save you about 15 minutes each workday. Researchers timed hospital workers making trips between one and six floors, and found that it took 2.8 times longer per floor to travel by elevator car than by stairwell. So the next time you catch yourself complaining about being too busy to work out, remember it's possible to add minutes to your day and burn more calories.

2. Losing 10 pounds is good enough

Losing 10 pounds is nothing to sneeze at, but if you're obese, a small dip in the scale should be the starting point - not the finish line - of a healthier lifestyle. While short-term studies have concluded that obese people can see significant improvements in their heart health after a 5 percent weight loss, a new 10-year Swedish study found that you most likely need to lose twice as much to yield meaningful results. Obese people who lost 4 percent of their body weight - or 11 pounds - showed no significant improvements in terms of major risk factors, including blood pressure and cholesterol levels. They needed to lose at least 22 pounds before systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure and insulin levels improved, and had to drop 33 pounds before significant benefits were seen in HDL and glucose levels.

3. My doctor will tell me if there's a weight problem

If you're waiting for your doctor to alert you that your weight is putting your health at risk, you're better off facing your mirror for a true assessment. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that less than half of those who were overweight and two-thirds of those who were obese were told in the past year by their doctor that they were heavy.

A similar pattern crops up for children, as well. A 2011 study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that 22 percent of parents of overweight children recalled that their doctor voiced concern about their kid's size and 58 percent of parents of obese children said that a physician told them their child is fat.

Weight is a touchy subject, especially for women, which might partially explain why female physicians are less likely to bring up weight with patients of either sex and why female patients are less likely to hear about it from their doctors. Plus, doctors sometimes figure that their patients have the resources to address weight issues on their own because there's so much diet and fitness information available to the public, says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and author of "Doctor's Detox Diet."

4. I know what calories are

You probably know a thing or two about calories - like you need to eat less of them and burn more if you want to see the number on the scale go down - but chances are you understand less than you think.

A study in the American Journal of Public Health found that when teens read a sign that said it takes 50 minutes of jogging to burn off one soda, sales fell 50 percent compared with those who read signs listing the calories, suggesting that people have a false sense about how many calories they consume and use up. "People say all the time that they know about calories, but they don't know how hard it is to burn them off," says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, and author of "The Flexitarian Diet."

5. I'm in control of what I'm eating

Sure, you have no one to blame for eating that extra cookie but yourself, but no matter how strong your willpower, you could be tucking in more food without even knowing it. A number of studies show that there are sneaky, subliminal factors that affect how much we serve ourselves. Not only do people dish out and eat larger portions when using bigger spoons, plates and bowls, they also tend to eat more when their food is a similar color to their plate, say researchers from Cornell University. Mindless-eating expert Brian Wansink found that people were more likely to dish out a big helping of pasta Alfredo on a white plate than a red one.

6. It's too expensive to be healthy

Times may be lean, but eating healthfully doesn't have to be a luxury. To be fair, a 2011 study in Health Affairs calculated that following the USDA's MyPlate guidelines could cost Americans an extra $380 a year in food groceries, or $1.04 a day. However, findings from George Washington University researchers show that obese women earned $5,826 less per year than their thinner counterparts in 2008 - so maybe eating right is worth the investment.

Still, not everyone agrees that a balanced meal translates to extra dollars and cents. "You can cook frozen vegetables to save money," notes Gerbstadt. "Eating healthy doesn't have to be exotic or gourmet." To see just how much it would cost to shape up your eating habits, Blatner suggests tallying a week's worth of food and meal receipts - everything from your $10 lunch to your $4 cappuccino - and compare it with 7-day's worth of good-for-you groceries. "It can be daunting to see a $100 to $200 grocery bill, but it's usually less expensive compared with how much you're spending dining out and eating on the run," says Blatner.

7. A little snack won't hurt

Well, that depends on your perception of what qualifies as a snack and how often you're noshing between meals. After all, weight loss boils down to calories in, calories out. Investigating the snacking habits of dieters over the course of a year, researchers found that midmorning snackers lost 7 percent of their body weight compared with those who snacked later in the day, who lost 11 percent of their body weight. Why? Midmorning snackers usually didn't stop at just one snack and tended to eat another later in the day, as opposed to afternoon and evening snackers.

"The problem with snacking is that people don't know what a snack is," says Blatner. "A snack is nutritious and filling; it bridges meals and is about 200 calories. Snack packs, cookies and candies aren't snacks - they're treats. You need to know the difference and know that there is a limit." Blatner says that when you keep to these guidelines, you can snack up to twice a day and maintain a healthy weight.

8. I'll eat less if I skip breakfast

Drill it into your heads: Skipping breakfast won't save you calories in the long run. "People have this notion that if they don't eat breakfast they'll save calories or can cheat eat later in the day, but it really doesn't work that way," says Gerbstadt. "Your body needs food in small increments throughout the day to stay powered, and research shows that people who eat 400 to 600 calories at breakfast are less likely to be overweight." Starting your day with a morning meal can help jump-start your metabolism by 10 percent and prevents you from overindulging on snacks and large meals later in the day because you are ravenous.

If you typically don't feel hungry in the morning, Blatner recommends skipping dinner - just once - to reset your appetite clock. "A lot of times people say they're not hungry when they wake up because they'd eaten too much for dinner. This way, you'll wake up naturally hungry."

For more tips and tricks, visit Fitbie.com

@2012, Fitbie.com Visit them at http://fitbie.msn.com/ .

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Back to top

Sister Mary Ann Gschwind loves macaroni and cheese. And ice cream. But ever since she was diagnosed with diabetes, she has learned to love healthier options and how to enjoy treats in moderation.

"Those are the kinds of adjustments you have to make," Gschwind said.

Gschwind, 71, was diagnosed in her early 60s. The changes she has made to her diet have paid off. Gschwind has not only lost weight but has been able to control her diabetes.

"Diet and exercise is the bottom line," Gschwind.

It's a message doctors agree with, citing a rising epidemic in the number of people being diagnosed with the disease.

More than 25 million children and adults have diabetes in the United States, or about 8.3 percent of the population, according to the American Diabetes Association. Nearly 80 million have prediabetes and the ADA estimates 7 million people are undiagnosed.

Dr. Cheri Olson, a family physician with Mayo Clinic Health System, has worked with Gschwind and has been thrilled to see how healthy changes have helped.

"She's done a really good job," Olson said.

While there are many factors with the cause of diabetes, lifestyle seems to be the biggest contributor, doctors say. People aren't as active and tend to eat more, Olson said.

"The horrible truism is we eat more and we eat more junk foods that are available all the time in front of us," Olson said. "We don't walk places. We take our car."

It's estimated that one-third of the population will have diabetes by 2050.

"My personal feeling is that is a gross underestimate," said Dr. Daniel Short, an endocrinologist with Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center.

Short believes it will be closer to one out of two people.

"It's frightening. It will sink our health care system," Short said. "We cannot afford this."

Where type 2 diabetes used to rarely be seen in people younger than 40, it's becoming more common for kids to be diagnosed, Short said.

"This disease is changing as we look at it," Short said.

About 5 percent of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and previously known as juvenile diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin.

More common is type 2 diabetes, where either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin.

The main factors with type 2 are being Xoverweight, lack of exercise and an aging population, Short said.

"Diabetes at its root is probably protection against starvation," Short said. "In an era of 24/7 food availability, there's never a lean season."

Diabetes screenings are generally recommended for people 45 or older. Screenings should be done earlier for people with risk factors such as family history, obesity, high blood pressure or abnormal blood cholesterol.

It can be overwhelming to think about losing 50 pounds or 100 pounds. That's why doctors recommend breaking it down into smaller and more doable goals. As little as losing 5 percent of your body weight can significantly decrease your risk of diabetes and other diseases.

"You just have to brainstorm and figure out one or things to get started," Olson said.

When Gschwind first started, it was a lot harder to turn down her favorite desserts. Now, she opts for three enjoyable spoons of bread pudding, rather than a full serving.

"Going out to eat is never easy," Gschwind said. "But there are options."

She's learned to change her habits, slowly and surely.

Merri Jo Guggenbuehl, a diabetes educator at Mayo Clinic Health System, said health providers also play an important role in preventing and treating diabetes.

"Sometimes it feels like a death sentence," Guggenbuehl said. "It's absolutely not."

Diabetes doesn't necessarily meaning saying goodbye forever to your favorite foods.

"It's portion control," Guggenbuehl said. "You look at making healthy choices for meal planning."

Guggenbuehl likes to find out what her patients might already be doing well so they have something positive to build upon.

"People are really hard on themselves," Guggenbuehl said. "Sometimes after they're diagnosed there's a lot of guilt and anger. They need to be patient and make changes slowly. It takes time."

©2012 the La Crosse Tribune (La Crosse, Wis.)

Visit the La Crosse Tribune (La Crosse, Wis.) at www.lacrossetribune.com

Back to top

When it comes to "diet," most people think more about calories than nutrition. Those who are concerned about nutrition often buy into advice given by media-based experts. They may even change the food they eat to match recommended diets, going gluten free or carb free or some other food fad of the moment.

But taking general diet advice from a magazine or TV show guest is similar to listening to some "expert" recommending a size nine pair of shoes -- they may fit or they may not, depending on individual foot size.

To get it right, your diet must be individualized personally for you. If you're an athlete, or live an active lifestyle, your body will use vitamins, minerals, calories, proteins and carbohydrates differently than a more sedentary person. In addition, even a personalized diet should change according to circumstances. If you're taking a two-week beach vacation, which will be spent mainly lying in the sun instead of hitting the gym three or four times a week, adjust your diet for the inactivity. Otherwise, you'll be taking home the souvenir of a new layer of fat.

Most athletes know that they need protein to help repair muscles after a hard training session or a competition. But chowing down a platter-sized steak isn't the answer. First, no matter how strenuous the workout or event, recovery doesn't require a large amount of extra protien. Second, any protein not immediately needed by the body will be stored as fat.

One of the vitamins most neglected by athletes is the B complex, consisting of eight different vitamins that are usually found together in food such as meat and fish. B1 (Thiamine) and B6 (Pyridoxine) are specifically required by athletes. Studies have shown that athletes without enough B1 and B6 have lower energy levels and will train or compete less effectively than they do with a sufficient supply.



But here's the complicated part: the B complex is water soluble. That means it is quickly flushed out of the body in urine. So eating a meal full of the B complex in the morning won't help you much in the afternoon. Smaller and more frequent meals as well as supplements will help maintain your B level. In addition, taking one B factor alone may be useless if you don't have all the other factors. The body needs them all to metabolize any individual part of the B complex.

Active humans burn lots of calories. The bad news is that this process creates free radicals, which cause both cellular and DNA damage. But our bodies have a natural defense system which neutralizes free radicals, an anti-oxidant system that's even more developed in well-conditioned athletes. But those who want to ensure the elimination of any free radicals should eat foods high in the nutrients C, E and A. The most easily metabolized form of vitamin A is from red or orange vegetables like tomatoes and carrots.

Finally, water is a necessary part of your diet. Proper hydration should start several days before a competition so that all tissues contain maximum water. If you're getting dehydrated during a workout or long event, you may feel it as a dry mouth or twitchy and cramping muscles rather than thirst. If you need hydration fast, go for cold, rather than air temperature water. Cold liquid is absorbed faster than warmer water, and it also cools your internal temperature, which has been heated up by activity.

For the latest in adventure sports and physical conditioning, visit Adventure Sports Weekly at http://adventuresportsweekly.com

@2012, Adventure Sports Weekly adventuresportsweekly.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Back to top

If "eating better" was one of your New Year's Resolutions and you're already falling off the wagon, then this is for you. Instead of setting an unrealistic goal to transform your diet overnight how about taking baby steps instead? Especially since I am offering to guide you through each and every one. For the next 14 weeks, you take on one new "real food pledge" each week. You can either build each challenge on top of the next or tackle them individually.

- Week 1 (this week): Eat two fruits and/or vegetables with every single meal.

- Week 2: Only drink beverages without refined or artificial sweeteners.

- Week 3: Eat meat that's been locally raised and limit consumption to 3

Back to top

Kathleen Cannata Hanna's premise for her cookbook is laid out - for the most part - in the title: "The Good-to-Go Cookbook: Take-Along Food, Quick Suppers, and Satisfying Snacks for On-the-Go Families" (Storey, $16.95).

Maybe there wasn't room, but the title omits references to nutrition and tastiness. Those are part of Hanna's recipe too.

The idea for the book came several years ago from a friend, like Hanna a busy soccer mom.

"I said, 'Why are you telling me this?' She said, 'I don't know how to cook and you do.'"

They figured many families, not just soccer moms, could benefit from the book. But her friend was diagnosed with breast cancer (she has since recovered), and Hanna wrote the book and self-published it, selling more than 5,000 copies. That got the attention of publishers, and Storey decided to put out an updated version.

"(Parents) walk this very fine line of nutritious, economical and readily available ingredients," Hanna says. "That's what every parent struggles with. ... What I tried to do was track those three together. I didn't try to put a new twist, or add funky new ingredients from Africa that will save the world, I didn't add vegetables just to add color. I just made good old food we're used to in a very easy way."

An example: seasoned pita chips. Pitas, olive oil or butter, garlic salt and dried parsley. Simple, tasty and better for you than potato chips.

Hanna says her family's favorite is easily the Italian country sandwich: premade pizza crusts, meat, cheese, veggies and spices. It's a flexible recipe.

"You wrap it in foil and put it in the oven. You can cook it on the stove, bring it to camping, cook it on the grill, make it in the microwave. There are a lot of ways you can do it."

Recipes in "Good-to-Go" can be very simple or a little involved. But they're basic, nutritious, time-tested family recipes that work.

"It's not a book for kitchen dummies," she says. "Some of my best friends who are fabulous cooks cook out of this. It's just a daily cookbook you can use."

ITALIAN COUNTRY SANDWICH

Spread an 8-inch precooked pizza crust with 4 ounces cream cheese. Layer with 4 thin slices each of tomato, green bell pepper, pastrami, salami; 2 thin slices red onion; and 4 slices provolone cheese. Top with another crust. Wrap in foil; set on a baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Cut into wedges. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Back to top

Where do you start?

You see yourself in the mirror and know you should do something about how you look and feel. But how to begin?

"People need to work on the easy things first," says Susan Bowerman, assistant director of University of California at Los Angeles' Center for Human Nutrition.

With so many of us launching diet and exercise plans for the new year - and often giving up within a matter of weeks (if not days) - I asked Bowerman for some strategies to get started. Strategies, that is, that aren't too hard to stick with.

"People always get overly ambitious at the first part of the year," she said, when they really should begin with "things that are doable that they can absolutely sustain."

Such as?

Bowerman's doable dietary suggestions include:

Eat a piece of fruit instead of cakes or cookies for dessert.

Include one dairy serving per day (if milk, switch from whole milk to 2 percent).

Eat airy, watery foods that will fill you up and have fewer calories (vegetables, not Cheetos). "Think of your sandwich as a salad between two pieces of bread."

Switch from high-calorie drinks (sugary soda, fruit juices) to water, even at just one meal a day.

Substitute 100 percent whole grain for white bread.

For more tips and encouragement, Bowerman's blog is a readable, supportive guide: discovergoodnutrition.com.

It's not just food she's concerned with, and she offers some sustainable tips on exercise too.

"Sometimes the idea of 30 minutes a day of exercise is so daunting to people. Break it up. There's evidence if you do three 10-minute stints it's just as good.

"Also, just move around a little more. Talking on the phone like I'm talking to you, I'm pacing around the room.

Back to top

Make getting more vegetables in your kids' diet your 2012 resolution and succeed with help from Brian Wansink, the director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, who headed up a study of the best way to get your children to eat more vegetables.

Birds Eye commissioned the research as part of the brand's commitment to helping feed kids better and to inspire a new generation of vegetable lovers. Wansink is also the John Dyson Endowed Chair in the Applied Economics and Management Department at Cornell University, and the lead author of over 100 academic articles and books on eating behavior.

Here, he shares 10 powerful tips for encouraging your children to eat their veggies:

1. Model your veggies: If you eat your veggies then your kids will eat theirs too. Research suggests the chances a child eats recommended amounts of healthy foods double if their parents do.

2. Stock the freezer: Try fresh vegetables in frozen form to get your kids' favorite vegetables all year round. Kids love carrots, corn and peppers

Back to top

"Maybe you love to eat but hate to exercise," Jim Karas proposes.

For most of us, that about sums it up.

Karas wants to help you get over the exercise part of that equation.

"The biggest hurdle you will ever face in losing weight isn't sticking to a diet or going to the gym every day. It's simply this: getting started," he says.

Can you spare 15 minutes, three times a week? Trainer and author Karas says that's enough to get you off to a good start.

"If you're doing nothing, this is absolutely a step in the right direction," says Karas, who blogs (and sells his fitness products) at jimkaras.com. Just those 45 minutes weekly will rev up your metabolism, increase your energy, and make you look and feel better, he says.

Karas brags that after an appearance years ago on "Good Morning America," he cornered Diane Sawyer and delivered the bad news: She needed to lose 25 pounds. "She was shocked, but I got her attention." (And became her trainer to help her do it.)

For those of us who aren't Diane Sawyer, who have put off starting an exercise program, he insists that we don't need to spend hours a week on a treadmill.

"You don't have to have equipment. You don't have to go to the gym," he says.

Instead, Karas recommends taking three basic exercises - pushups, Pilates planks, and squats or lunges - and doing each until "you're almost out of breath." Then repeat the series "until you fill up 15 minutes" three times weekly. Instructions for all of these are all over the Internet.

And yes, he disagrees with federal guidelines that recommend 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity (or 2¹/₂ hours of moderate exercise).

In most exercise regimens, "the neglected variable is intensity," Karas says. "If you really get in there and get the job done, you optimize results and you save yourself time."

Back to top