Powered By Red

The only negative side effect of exercise is that you produce a lot of free radicals and inflammation, especially with intense exercise. The good news is that there are foods that help your body recover from intense exercise.

Cherries are one of these foods that are emerging as a fruit that can help reduce inflammation and provide great antioxidant health benefits. Cherries are almost as high as blueberries and are so tasty! They are available fresh, frozen, dried, canned, or as juice. My mouth is watering thinking about those nice tart dried cherries!

Choosecherries.com has a new Red Recovery Routine for athletes to assist in managing post-exercise pain.

Antioxidant Levels of Cherries

• Cherry Juice Concentrate: 12,800 ORAC units
• Dried Cherries: 6,800 ORAC units
• Frozen Cherries: 2,033 ORAC units
• Canned Cherries: 1,700 ORAC units

10 Powerful Red Combinations for Pain Management (courtesy of Powered By Red and sports dietitian Leslie Bonci, RD)

• Dried cherries make a good grab-and-go snack
• Try the Power Berry Trail Mix Energy Cookie with dried cherries, flaxseed, oats and almonds
• Add dried cherries to a bowl of whole grain oatmeal for a breakfast boost
• Create a quick yogurt parfait with vanilla yogurt, granola and dried cherries, like the RedEye Breakfast Parfait
• Enjoy a Cherry Oatmeal Muffin for a breakfast or afternoon snack
• Add dried cherries to a fresh spinach salad with walnuts for a light post-exercise meal
• Stir up whole grain couscous with grilled chicken, dried cherries and a splash of cherry juice for added flavor
• Rehydrate and refresh with the Red Alert, a mix of cherry juice and coconut water, a natural isotonic known for its hydration benefits
• Recharge with the Red Recharger Smoothie, a triple hit of cherries, antioxidants, and protein
• Pack a powerful gym bag with a single-serve bottle of 100% cherry juice or a cherry juice blend

Click here for some great Cherry Recipes!
For more info on Powered By Red or Cherries: www.choosecherries.com

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Nutrition at Your Fingertips

I love, love, love this new book! I always love when Registered Dietitians write books, and I especially love when they are brilliantly written and super informative!

Elisa Zied, MS, RD, wrote Nutrition at Your Fingertips (part of the At Your Fingertips series). It gives nutrition information in such an easy to understand way. It goes beyond just the basics and gives really concrete ways that you can change your life through better nutrition.

Here is a sampling of topics:

• How to eat to beat diseases that may be preventable
• The functions of vitamins and minerals and where to get them
• The symptoms of a food allergy, intolerance and sensitivity
• How to burn more calories in less time
• How consuming more fiber can slim your waistline and how to get more of it
• Where all those extra calories in your diet lurk
• Whether you’re eating a portion or a serving
• How consuming super foods can increase weight loss
• How to indulge without going overboard
• How to balance your food and fitness choices to manage or lose weight

For more info:
www.nutritionatyourfingertips.com

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Boost Your Immunity

Cold and Flu season is in high gear! Are you doing everything you can do prevent getting sick?

Wash your hands regularly. I can't stress this enough. We touch our eyes and noses all day long and any germs on our hands go directly into our body. Wash your hands frequently and also use hand sanitizer when soap and water is not readily available.

Get plenty of rest. Don't let your body get run down with lack of sleep. You get an extra hour this weekend (daylight savings!) but that one extra hour isn't going to cut it for long. Aim for getting at least 7.5-8.5 hours of sleep every night to keep your immune system at it's best.

Drink plenty of fluids. Staying hydrated is a very simple way to keep up your defenses.

Eat well!

• Take a multivitamin/mineral supplement to ensure that you are getting everything you need each day. This does not take the place of a healthy diet, though!
• Eat nutrient dense foods. Look at foods for what good things they have in them vs what is bad. Look for nutrient rich foods like lean meats, low fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• Vitamin C: Well known for its role in supporting the immune system. An 8 oz glass of 100% orange juice gives you 120% of your vitamin C for the day!
• Iron: Also helps boost the immune system and carries oxygen to every cell in your body. Meats, beans, and spinach are good sources. Vitamin C helps the absorption of iron.
• Antioxidants: Known to help prevent disease and protect the cells in the body. Fruits,veggies, nuts, and whole grains are all great sources of antioxidants.

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Obesity and Health Care Costs

With all of the talk of controlling health care costs, studies find that obesity is one of the biggest contributors to obesity. A study by RTI International found that people who are 30 pounds or more overweight cost $147 Billion in medical bills that are weight related in 2008 in America. Since 1994, the number of obese in America has gone up from 23% to 34% of adults.

In fact, in the past 10 years obesity has accounted for 2.5% more in health care costs, to 9.1% of all medical spending up from 6.5% in 1998. An obese patient has almost $5000 in medical bills each year compared to $3400 for a healthy weight person.

The study by RTI found that obesity is the biggest reason for the increase in health care costs. Carrying extra pounds causes higher incidences of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other diseases.

The average American is 23 pounds overweight according to Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Guess who is paying for the $147 Billion? We all are...taxpayers paid half of the amount through Medicare and Medicaid in 2008. Obese patients on Medicare spend about $600 more in prescription medications alone than someone at a healthy weight.

These numbers are shocking and proves once again how important it is for all of us to watch our diet and exercise regularly in an attempt to control our weight.

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Halloween and Food Allergies

For kids with food allergies, ghosts and goblins aren't the scariest part of trick or treating--the treats are. What does a child with a nut allergy do on Halloween?

One of the most common allergies is a peanut allergy. There is a warning on over 50% of chocolate candy wrappers that the candy either contains nuts or was processed in a facility with nuts. Even small amounts of nuts or nut residue can cause a highly allergic child to have a reaction that can be fatal. Other commonly allergic foods like milk, eggs, wheat and other tree nuts are also commonly found in many candies. Even if you read labels carefully, your child could be close to another child eating candy with nuts and have a reaction.

Did you know that both plain and peanut M&M's could cause a reaction? Plain M&M's are processed in the same facility as other nuts and could be contaminated with small particles of nuts.

If your child has allergies:

• Carry the epi pen while going around and Trick or Treating
• Warn your child that the children around them may be eating peanut containing foods near them for weeks to come (Halloween candy in lunch boxes at school, for example).
• Have your child wear gloves while Trick or Treating
• Don't allow them to eat the candy until you have gone over everything that is in it
• Encourage friends to wash their hands after eating peanut containing foods
• Donate peanut containing candy to friends or neighbors who don't have allergies
• Instead of Trick or Treating for candy, get a special donation bag from the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and collect donations. These donations go to increasing awareness and providing education about food allergies.
• Instead of candy, give out stickers, small puzzles, pencils, coloring books, or small toys.
  

For more information about food allergies, check out www.foodallergy.org

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