Inspiring Woman: Triathlete and Two-Time Breast Cancer Survivor

Laurah Turner is a 29 year-old, competitive runner and tri-athlete, two-time breast cancer survivor, and biological anthropologist.

Article Link:  Inspiring Woman: Triathlete and Two-Time Breast Cancer Survivor

SAN DIEGO BEER WEEK 2011

The Health Benefits of Beer

Daylight Savings Time ENDS November 6

Spring Forward, Fall Back.

Don't forget to set your clocks back to standard time at 2 a.m. Sunday, November 6.

San Diego is Perfect for Sport

San Diego celebrates sport, an active lifestyle and the great outdoors - from kitesurfing to cycling, golf to American Football.

Torrey Pines Golf Course,  San Diego

Early morning “shore side” skating, swimming, cycling, kitesurfing, running or walking are part of the San Diegan psyche. 

But the true passion in San Diego is surfing. Almost everyone has learnt or – at the very least – tried it. The wild Pacific waves that crash against the Southern Californian coast attract devotees from all over the state and beyond. “Waves before your day” is an oft-repeated phrase here – and perfectly encapsulates how residents make use of the city’s natural gifts.

But if San Diegans aren’t outdoors playing sport, you can be certain they’ll be watching it.

Crisscross Your Way To A Better Life - Finding the Unexpected Connections of a Healthy Lifestyle

Happy Friday! Good stuff here... enjoy. MG

The fitness universe always talks about Nutrition and Exercise as if these are the only two options for getting in shape.

Want to lose post-pregnancy padding? Nutrition and Exercise.

Want to look 10 years younger? Nutrition and Exercise.

Want to make everyone jealous at the high school reunion? Nutrition and Exercise.

Whatever happened to good old Sleep and Stretching? That's right. Regular sleep and staying limber are just two ways you can take advantage of the Crisscross  Effect to lose weight.

The Crisscross Effect is what happens when life's building blocks hinder or help each other. 

Weight loss is just a single part of your dynamic, intertwined life. You also might have kids, a demanding boss, car problems, a nagging couch, magazine subscriptions, sports teams, fishing trips, traffic, high blood pressure, music practice, cranky relatives, noisy streets, babysitting... read more

Article Link:  Crisscross Your Way to A Better Life Finding the Unexpected Connections of a Healthy Lifestyle 
By Mike Kramer, SparkPeolpe Staff Writer

You are what you think - Quotes

- I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.
Anne Frank

- Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve.
- There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.

Healthy lifestyle may help prevent breast cancer

VIDEO Link: Healthy lifestyle may help prevent breast cancer 


(NECN/CNN: Susan Hendricks) - Adopting a healthy lifestyle today may help prevent breast cancer in the future.

Studies have shown that women who exercise 30 minutes at least three times a week are less likely to develop the disease, partly because exercise helps boost the immune system.

Studies have not shown that a specific diet lowers risk of breast cancer.

"But a healthy diet does obviously play a role in maintaining a healthy weight. And I think that's where women who eat well have a healthier weight are at lower risk of breast cancer."

And if you're going to consume alcohol, keep it to one drink or less a day.

"Women who consume two or more alcoholic beverages per day have been found to have an increase risk of breast cancer."

A risk that is 20 to 30 percent higher, partly because alcohol uses up folic acid, an important B vitamin.

Because of their genetics, some women will develop breast cancer no matter their lifestyle. But experts say cancer survivors may help prevent a recurrence by adopting these healthy habits.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Celebrating 25 Years

Link:  National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Celebrating 25 Years of Awareness, Education, and Empowerment

5 Mind Games You Need to Stop Playing

These Common Tricks Never Motivate--Find Out Why

Motivation is like cold hard cash: You can never have too much! And when you’re trying to lose weight (for the umpteenth time for many of us) you know that you need a wealth of motivational strategies you can count on. But, with so many motivational tips and tricks to sift through, why are we so often losing our motivation rather than reaping the rewards?

One reason is that some of the most popular motivation strategies people use are mind games—games that don't really work for the long term. At first glance, they all seem helpful, but most are actually bound to fail. Instead of playing Russian roulette when you’re choosing a weight-loss strategy, read on to find out how you can beat the odds and pick a winner.

Mind Game #1:  Going for the Gold
You have your perfect weight and pants size in mind. With a big, bold goal to aspire to, you start biking to work, cooking lighter, packing your lunch, skipping that morning latte, and taking the stairs. Then, three busy, butt-busting weeks later…the scale hasn’t really budged and you’re trying on the same size  in the dressing room. Deflated, you start snacking a bit here and slacking a bit there, and your dream of a whittled waistline slowly fades from view.
 

Motivation Makeover: Going for the gold is a great way to start your weight-loss plan; setting a long-term goal can help you to keep an eye on where you’re headed. But it’s also important to remember that your goal weight is far from the only benefit of incorporating healthy eating and exercise—and it could be a long ways off. Taking note of smaller, more subtle changes (more energy, better sleep, lower cholesterol, better mood, etc.) can help you stay motivated, even if the pounds aren’t coming off as quickly as you’d hoped. Setting some shorter-term goals (1 pound, 5 pounds)—especially ones that aren't based on the scale (like getting to the gym 5 days a week) can also help you stay on track.

Mind Game #2:  Starting Out Super Strong
It’s Sunday evening and you realize that you spent the weekend indulging on brews, barbeques, and binges. A twinge of guilt has you psyched to start speeding down the road to wellness first thing Monday. So you restock your pantry with healthy eats, download a hardcore training app to your phone, and... read more

Article Link:  5 Mind Games You Need to Stop Playing, These Common Tricks Never Motivate--Find Out Why

By Megan Coatley, Behavior Expert

Understanding Cacao (and your chocolate bar) - Chocolate is a fruit

White, dark, milk, bittersweet, semisweet - whatever your chocolate persuasion, it's easy, delicious and even healthy(!) to be livin' la vida cocoa.

But how does that perfectly unassuming cacao bean make its merry way into shiny foil wrappers around the globe? We'll let you in on a little secret: It doesn't involve tiny orange-faced, green-haired men.

Here to raise the bar on your level of chocolatey understanding is Ray Major, the head of the development team at Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker.

Five Facts About the Origin of Chocolate: Ray Major

1. Chocolate is fruit

“Cacao beans are seeds found inside the fruit or pod of the cacao tree. Roughly 500 cacao beans will produce one pound of bittersweet chocolate. To put this into perspective, it takes two men one day to harvest and prepare enough cacao to make 120 pounds of dark chocolate - a labor-intensive process, but well worth it!

Nearly 95 percent of the world’s cacao can be found +/- fifteen degrees from the Equator. Anywhere there is a tropical rainforest cocoa can grow. And, every growing region in the world produces its own unique flavor.”

2. Chocolate is like wine - it has terroir

“Genetics of the planted varieties affect cacao flavor, as does the care and techniques used in fermentation and drying the beans, and environmental influences of the growing region - what vintners call 'terroir.'

Cacao from Pará State, Brazil - for example - has notes of pear, green apple and white wine. Beans from Indonesia have bright acidity and citrus notes. Panama is characteristically earthy and spicy with a strong chocolate flavor. What you like really depends on what you are looking for in your chocolate and how adventurous you are.”

3. Blending beans gives the best flavor

“Each type of cacao has a very unique taste, but few have a complete flavor profile from start to finish. Madagascar beans have citrus, fruity front notes that then tail off in complexity; Ghana beans start slowly with big notes of chocolate in the middle; and Trinidad beans have licorice, tobacco, leathery notes that linger on in the end.

If you combine these three, the flavor profile stretches much longer in your mouth than it otherwise would by itself. The blend will make a more complex and interesting chocolate bar.”

4. The meaning of percentages

“The number you often see on premium dark chocolate bar labels is cacao content; the percentage of the bar that is derived from the cacao bean in the form of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter or cocoa powder.

If an extra dark chocolate bar label reads “82% Cacao," that means that 82 percent of the formula is derived from the cacao bean. You can normally assume the remainder of the percentage to be sugar.”

5. Cacao vs. cocoa...there’s no real difference!

“The vernacular can be confusing, but cacao and cocoa really mean the same thing. The Latin word for cocoa is cacao, so most European countries use this term while English-speaking countries have adopted use of the familiar word cocoa, as in cocoa powder.

In the artisan chocolate industry, cacao is generally used in reference to anything mentioning cacao in its raw form - the tree, bean or seeds, nibs, percentage.”

5@5 is a daily, food related list from clients, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

Caffeine's buzz chases away women's depression

Compared with uncaffeinated women, those who drank the equivalent of four or more cups of coffee a day are more likely to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes and less likely to volunteer their time in church or community groups. But a new study finds that well-caffeinated women have a key health advantage over their more abstemious sisters: they’re less likely to become depressed.

In the back-and-forth world of research on caffeine’s effects, the latest study suggests that women who get several jolts of java a day may do more than get a quick boost: their mental health may see sustained improvement... 


Article Link:  Caffeine's buzz chases away women's depression

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Oh by the way, 

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

While data shows that obesity numbers continue to rise, perhaps the most frightening numbers related to obesity are those among the children in the United States. More than 23 million children over the age of 2 are either obese or overweight. This month, organizations across the country are joining forces to increase awareness about this alarming trend of childhood obesity. The fitness industry can play an important and active role in educating the public about childhood obesity as well as providing resources to encourage healthier lifestyles. Additional information about what you and/or your club can do to support Childhood Obesity Awareness Month can be found online at: www.healthierkidsbrighterfutures.org.

Obesity Still on the Rise

According to a report published in the British medical journal The Lancet, half of all adults in the United States will be classified as obese by the year 2030. Reports earlier in 2011 indicated that perhaps the obesity numbers were finally reaching a plateau after years of public awareness campaigns and healthy lifestyle education programs. However, this latest information predicts that the obesity rate for males in the United States will continue to rise from its current level of 32% to approximately 50% by 2030, while the female obesity rate will rise from its current level of 35% to somewhere between 45%-52%. Earlier predictions by the WHO estimated that the potential reach of obesity would be closer to 70% of the United States population by 2030.

... for more info:  September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

Incredible Foggy Views from the Top of Cowles Mtn this morning!!

Enjoy!

10 Surprisingly Healthy Packaged Foods - Convenient Can Also Be Healthy!

- Canned Beans
- Oats and Flaxseed
- Frozen Vegetables
- Frozen Berries
- Granola Bars
... for the complete list, click Article Link

By Sarah Haan, Registered Dietitian

Remembering 9/11