1. Exercising early in the morning "jump starts" your metabolism, keeping it elevated for hours, sometimes for up to 24 hours! As a result, you’ll be burning more calories all day long—just because you exercised in the morning.
    
2. Exercising in the morning energizes you for the day—not to mention that gratifying feeling of virtue you have knowing you’ve done something disciplined and good for you. (Much better than a worm!)
    
3. Studies have shown that exercise significantly increases mental acuity—a benefit that lasts four to ten hours after your workout ends. Exercising in the a.m. means you get to harness that brainpower, instead of wasting it while you’re snoozing.
    
4. Assuming you make exercise a true priority, it shouldn’t be a major problem to get up 30 to 60 minutes earlier—especially since regular exercise generally means a higher quality of sleep, which in turn means you’ll probably require less sleep. (If getting up 30 to 60 minutes earlier each day seems too daunting, you can ease into it with 10 to 20 minutes at first.)
    
5. When you exercise at about the same time every morning—especially if you wake up regularly at about the same time—you’re regulating your body's endocrine system and circadian rhythms. Your body learns that you do the same thing just about every day, and it begins to prepare for waking and exercise several hours before you actually open your eyes. That’s beneficial because:
   
   - Your body’s not “confused” by wildly changing wake-up times, which means waking up is much less painful. (You may even find that you don’t need an alarm clock most days.)
   - Hormones prepare your body for exercise by regulating blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to muscles, etc.
   - Your metabolism, along with all the hormones involved in activity and exercise, begin to elevate while you're sleeping.   As a result, you’ll feel more alert, energized, and ready to exercise when you do wake up.
   
   
   
6.  Many people find that morning exercise has a tendency to regulate their appetite for the rest of the day. Not only do they eat less (since activity causes the release of endorphins, which in turn diminishes appetite), they also choose healthier portions of healthier foods.
    
7. People who consistently exercise find, sometimes to their great surprise, that the appointed time every morning evolves into something they look forward to. Besides the satisfaction of taking care of themselves, they find it’s a great time to plan their day, pray, or just think more clearly—things most of us often don’t get to do otherwise.
    
8. Exercising first thing in the morning is the most foolproof way to ensure that other things don’t overtake your fitness commitment, particularly if you have a hectic family life. (It’s so easy to wimp out in the evening, when we’re tired or faced with such tasks as rustling up dinner and helping with homework.)
    
9. More than 90% of those who exercise consistently have a morning fitness routine. If you want to exercise on a regular basis, the odds are in your favor if you squeeze your workout into the a.m.
    
10. Non-morning people can always trick themselves in the a.m. Having trouble psyching yourself up for a sunrise jog? Do what I did—tell yourself that you’ll still be so fast asleep that you won’t even remember—much less mind!  

Exercise is supposed to make you feel energized --- not exhausted. But if you're feeling lethargic after your workout, you're not alone. When you exercise, you burn calories and expend energy. Depending on the length and intensity of your workout, you may be physically taxing your body, requiring water, nutrients and rest to recover. Talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise program, particularly if you have health conditions or injuries.

Listen to Your Body.. Even if you're only exercising once or twice a week, don't blame yourself for getting tired. Instead of beating yourself up for being out of shape and forcing yourself to march back into the gym the following day, take the cues your body is giving you. When you're tired, your body is demanding rest and nutrients to rebuild your muscles and energize you. Although your workout might have been what pushed you over the edge, chances are you're neglecting your body before you even hit the gym.

 Eat Before and After Your Workout..  It's imperative to eat nutritious foods both before and after you exercise to fuel your body and replace lost calories, vitamins and minerals. Eat a small snack about an hour before you work out. If you plan on exercising for less than an hour, eat carbohydrates that will provide a quick burst of energy, like a bagel or a piece of toast.
 If you are working out for longer than an hour, choose a source of carbohydrates that takes longer to digest, like a banana.

Approximately half an hour after you work out, refuel your body with a snack that contains both protein and carbohydrates, like yogurt with fruit. This snack will replace the glycogen stores that have been depleted during exercise, providing an energy boost.

Get Adequate Hydration.. When you exercise, you sweat. Sweat is mostly water, and you need to replenish this water after you exercise. If you don't, you risk dehydration, which may make you feel lethargic and dizzy. Three hours before you exercise, start drinking water. During these three hours, drink approximately 3 cups of water. While you work out, drink 1 cup of water every 20 minutes. After exercise, drink 3 cups of water for every pound you lost while exercising.

Sleep More... If you've been burning the candle at both ends, exercise might be impossible. If you're spending your nights studying, working or taking care of your family instead of sleeping, you're depriving your body --- and this can make you feel even more tired after a workout. Get seven to eight hours of sleep a night to allow your muscles to rest and rebuild.

We got the lowdown from Maria Rodale (Women's Health Publisher) on why changing the foods you buy could be the smartest thing you do.

In the book you say that opting to buy organic foods is the single best choice every person can make to help the planet. Why is that true?
By making just one choice, you're solving multiple problems at once! You're eliminating toxic chemicals from the environment where the food is grown, you're supporting farmers who are doing the right thing for the planet, and you're helping to stop global warming.

How does organic farming slow global warming?
Organically farmed soil actually stores carbon--lots of it. So much, in fact, that if all the cultivated land in the world were farmed organically, it would immediately reduce our climate crisis significantly. How? Mycorrhizal fungi--literally fungi that grow on the roots of plants--build up the soil and take greenhouse gases out the air. These living organisms in the soil are essential to our survival on this planet.

But soil that's farmed using "conventional" methods has very little ability to keep carbon in the soil. This isn't surprising; farmers often apply fungicides as well as chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These chemicals are meant to kill and they do exactly that, destroying the soil's capacity to store carbon in the process.

Beyond the environmental argument for going organic, what health benefits would we see from choosing organic foods?
The chemicals used to grow food are known to cause the following problems: allergies, asthma, autism, diabetes, obesity, infertility, miscarriage, birth defects, organ failure, accelerated aging, MRSA, Parkinson's disease, and cancer. So, in essence, eating "conventionally farmed" products puts you and your family in harm's way.

What does it mean if something is organic?
Organic foods are grown without any artificial chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, sewage sludge (which often includes toxic pharmaceuticals and cleaning supplies), or GMOs (genetically modified organisms). If it's an animal, it is fed organic food and raised without the use of artificial growth hormones, antibiotics or GMOs.

Foods are sometimes labeled "organic", and other times "natural" or "locally-produced." What should we look for to ensure that we aren't being tricked into buying something that isn't really up to organic standards?
The only label you can trust is the USDA's "certified organic" label. "Natural" means nothing, and is not regulated by anyone. "Locally produced" is also not regulated. If you're buying local chemical food, you are, unfortunately, contaminating your own local community.

Is it essential to switch to organic for all foods, or are some products more important, because of the health or environmental benefits?
I recommend you switch to as many organic foods as possible, but when you're struggling to choose, always choose the foods you eat most often. Dairy, meat, and poultry are especially important to buy organic, since those food represent a long chain of either chemicals or goodness.

 Next time you're about to blow, hop on the treadmill instead. Find out how and why working out will calm you down.

Getty Exercise is a great stress reliever, so it's a good thing I do a lot of it. When I run or cycle, I’m away from computers and phones and kids and the media telling me the world is going to explode 30 minutes from now. I use this time to let my mind wander. I sometimes generate article ideas or come up with lines that seem witty at the time. Other times I fantasize about getting my book published and ditching the kids with grandma to take my wife someplace tropical. Conversely, when I lift weights or go downhill skiing, my mind is totally occupied with thoughts of "Don’t drop that weight on your face" or "Don’t ski into that tree."

What my mind is not thinking of are things that stress me out; it provides a needed break from life’s little problems.

Beyond simple logic, there’s also science.

A 2006 study in The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences explained, more or less, how back when a horde of saber-toothed tigers wandered into the cave, we got stressed out and this elicited the “fight or flight” response. We either grabbed our spears and went all caveman on the invaders, or tried really hard to run faster than someone else so as not to be the one turned into tiger kibble.

These days we still get plenty stressed, and often it’s protracted. Think about it. Tiger comes into cave. Kill tiger or run away from tiger. Within minutes it’s over. But what if the boss sends you an email about your repeated failures, and reminds you of next week’s performance review? It’s not over quickly; it drags out. You sit and stew, and maybe send a snotty email to someone. This isn’t exactly unleashing your inner cavewoman, and that’s bad.

According to the above-mentioned study, the stress causes your adrenal glands to go berserk to mobilize energy resources, and you need to burn that stuff off. If you don’t then it leads to bad things like insulin resistance, storing of visceral (belly) fat, and suppression of gonadal, growth and thyroid hormones. All this stuff serves to put you at much higher risk of heart attack.

Another interesting study came out of Norway in 1996, looking at fibromyalgia patients and comparing aerobic exercise with mental stress management techniques. The researchers found that aerobic exercise “was the overall most effective treatment, despite being subject to the most skeptical patient attitude prior to the study.” So the patients didn’t think exercise would work, but it did anyway. I wonder if the researchers said, “Nyah! Nyah!”

The American Psychological Association has weighed in on this subject as well, asserting that, “physically active people have lower rates of anxiety and depression than sedentary people.” However, this isn’t necessarily coming from the old myth about endorphins: “So far there's little evidence for the popular theory that exercise causes a rush of endorphins. Rather, one line of research points to the less familiar neuromodulator norepinephrine, which may help the brain deal with stress more efficiently.”

However, it may not be just chemical: “exercise seems to give the body a chance to practice dealing with stress,” The APA says. “It forces the body's physiological systems - all of which are involved in the stress response - to communicate much more closely than usual.”

So, the next time your blood pressure spikes and you feel like twisting the head off some Voodoo dolls, instead of sitting their and practicing some deep breathing exercises, go for a different type of heavy breathing: push yourself at something physical and you’ll burn off stressful feelings and calories at the same time.

 

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act requires that nearly all foods have a label. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates food labeling to assure that consumers receive accurate, straightforward information about foods.

The food label can be a useful tool if you know what to look for and how to decipher it. Unfortunately, all the numbers, percents and acronyms can be confusing especially if you are trying to make a quick run the grocery store and want to make healthy choices. In this article, I provide you with tools to easily make healthy food choices.

At a glance You are on your way home from a long day at work and make a stop at the grocery store. You don’t want this to take long but you want to make good choices. What is the most important information you need to get from a food label?

Serving Sizes It is important to check serving size and note whether or not this is a realistic serving size for you. If the serving says half cup and it’s likely you will eat one-cup keep that in mind as you read the rest of the pertinent nutrition facts. The nutrition facts are relevant to the serving size listed.

Just the Fat Facts Down below I’ve listed the main types of fatty acids. You may or may not see all fatty acids listed on a food label. It is important to note that the FDA guidelines do not require monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, or trans fats to be listed on the food label at this time.

Saturated Fats are fats that typically come from animal products and are solid at room temperature, with the exception of palm, palm kernel oil and coconut oil. Examples of saturated fats include butter and lard. These fats contribute to increases in total cholesterol.

Monounsaturated Fat are plant derived fats that are more helpful than saturated fats. In moderate amounts monounsaturated fats will reduce bad cholesterol (low-density lipoproteins) without decreasing the good cholesterol (high-density lipoproteins). Foods high in monounsaturated fat include olive oil, canola oil, nuts, and avocados.

Polyunsaturated Fat are also plant derived and they provide some essential fatty acids and reduce bad cholesterol (low-density lipoproteins), but also decrease good cholesterol (high-density lipoproteins). Foods high in polyunsaturated fat include vegetable oils, corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oils, and soybean oil.

Trans Fat are fats that are byproducts of hydrogenation and are found naturally in some foods. Trans Fat may also reduce the good cholesterol (high-density lipoproteins) similar in action to polyunsaturated fat.

Calories from fat This states how many of the total calories in the product come from fat. Really useful information would be what percentage of this food is fat. If you can do some quick division in your head you can figure out these percentages. Here’s how to do it: divide the calories from fat from the total calories and that will give you the percent of calories from fat.

Total Fat Grams This is the total grams of fat per serving. If you would like to make sure the label is correct you can multiply the total grams of fat by 9 calories/gram to get the total calories from fat.

Generally you want to look for foods with less than 30% of the calories coming from fat. Remember those serving sizes; if your serving size is larger than suggested the amount of fat creeps up!

Carbohydrates and Sodium Total Carbs: Total carbs include the items listed in lighter print under the Total Carbohydrates. Some labels may list Other Carbs and you will find if you total Dietary Fiber grams, Sugar grams, and Other Carbs grams that it will equal Total Carbohydrate. Other labels may not list the Other Carbs sub category.

Carbohydrates break down in the body to a sugar called glucose. Grains, cereals, pastas, and rice are carbohydrates. Sweeteners such as cane juice, brown rice syrup, and other syrups are also forms of carbohydrates referred to as sugars, which also break down into glucose in the body. This is why the Total Carbohydrate is important because it includes the total grams of product that will break down into glucose (sugar) in the body. While it’s important for everyone to pay attention to the amount of carbs, diabetics, in particular, need to refer to the total grams of carbohydrate when making food choices.

Total Sodium Miligrams (mg): Keep in mind the 2400 mg of sodium is the recommended intake. Foods with less than or equal to 140 mg of sodium are a low salt product. Note that all LUNA bars and Cranberry Apple Cherry, Chocolate Almond Fudge, and Apricot CLIF Bars qualify as low sodium products.

Learning the Lingo Many labels make claims such as “low fat”, “low sodium”, “low calorie!” These claims are very confusing if you are trying to compare items that say low and the other light. The FDA assigns definitions to these claims. It is helpful to know what they mean and which key words to watch out for when trying to make healthy choices!

Nutrition Claims Per Serving as Approved by the FDA Please visit www.fda.gov or vm.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html for more details on nutrition claims.

Calorie Free: Less than 5 calories (cals)
Sodium Free: Less than 5 miligrams (mg) sodium
Fat Free: Less than 1/2 grams (g) fat
Low Calorie: 40 cals or less
Low Fat: 3 g of fat or less
Light or Lite: 1/3 fewer cals or 50% less fat
Light in Sodium: 50% less sodium
% Fat Free: Amount of fat by weight
Cholesterol Free: Less than 2 mg cholesterol
Low Cholesterol: 20 mg or less cholesterol
High Fiber: 5 g or more of fiber
Sugar Free: Less than 5 g table sugar, honey, corn sweetener or other sweeteners
No Sugar Added: No sugars added during processing
Reduced Sugar or less sugar: 25% less sugars than a similar food
Reduced, lower, less, fewer: 25% less in a nutrient or in calories

Watch out for words light or reduced. For example, I was in the store buying items for a low fat pizza. Looking at the Canadian bacon I noticed there was a light version. I picked up the original version to do a quick comparison and what had been done to cut 1/3 of the fat and calories form the original Canadian bacon was the serving size had been cut from three slices to two. In this case eating a moderate portion of the original product would have provided me with the same nutrition as the light version. Sometimes adding these words light or reduced has little nutritional effect but could affect the pocket book.

What do all those %‘s really mean? The percent daily values are semi-useful as an eyeball figure but do not provide you with a lot of clear facts. The Daily Values on food labels are reference numbers established by the FDA. The % daily value (DV) shows how a food fits into a 2000 calorie diet based on current nutrition recommendations. The DVs for fat, carbs, and saturated fat are calorie based and change with varying caloric intake.

For example the DV for fat on Cranberry Apple Cherry CLIF Bar is 3% (current nutrition recommendation for fat is 30% or less of your total calories per day coming from fat). Assuming you eat 2000 calories per day, the Cranberry Apple Cherry CLIF Bar provides 3% of your DV for the day.

If you are consuming more or less than 2000 calories per day these numbers on the food label can be deceiving. You need to adjust the DV for your calorie intake, which may take longer than a quick glance at the food label, allows. If you are in a hurry but are taking a moment to glance at the food label look at grams/milligrams versus percents. DVs for vitamins and minerals do not change with calories and based on the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI).

Calories per Gram Labels may provide the calories (cals) per gram (g) of fat, carbohydrate, and protein. You may not see this information on the label, if the space is not large enough, but this information is useful if you want to know how many calories come from the specific macronutrients. Using Cranberry Apple Cherry CLIF Bars as an example, we can calculate caloric intake per nutrients:

• Total Fat 2 g x 9 cals/g = 18 cals
• Total Carbohydrate 44 g x 4 cals/g = 176 cals
• Total Protein 8 g x 4 cals/g = 32 cals

Total Calories: 226 Because of FDA approved rounding, the total calories may very slightly on the label.

In Conclusion Deciphering food labels can seem tedious but if you learn what to look for you can make healthy food choices without bringing a calculator and a guidebook. Remember to look at the key items that are meaningful to your meal plan and pretty soon you will know what to chose without spending a whole lot of time interpreting the label lingo.

 
Eating lots of fresh fruits, veggies, and whole grains is a great health strategy, but these supplements are critical for filling in nutrient needs nature doesn't meet Maureen Callahan, M.S., R.D.
If everything happened the way it's supposed to, we'd get the vitamin C we need from a big bowl of strawberries, a glass of OJ, and a plateful of broccoli every day. For the iron, there would be a juicy, sizzling steak hot off the grill, lentils, or a platter of steamed clams. But time and effort — lack of the first and not enough energy for the second — keep us from the kitchen on most nights, meaning that nabbing nutrients the natural way just isn't the reality.

The problem with not getting enough vitamins and minerals, studies show, is that missing even tiny amounts from our diets puts us at higher risk for illnesses ranging from heart disease to osteoporosis to cancer.

Solution? Supplements. No, they're not whole foods, but they add well to what Mother Nature provides. So start putting these powerhouse vitamin and mineral tablets and capsules on your daily menu — they're critical to good health.

Multivitamin

Why take it? "I would put the multi-vitamin as top priority for women," says Harvard nutrition researcher Walter Willett, M.D. "It's a safety net." A lot of the nutrients that have been shown to protect against heart disease and cancer, such as folic acid and vitamin B12, are found in a multi. It's also a powerful tool against birth defects and iron deficiency.

How much? Look for 100 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance for most vitamins and essential minerals. What you don't need: trace elements like boron, nickel, silicon, tin, and vanadium or special ingredients like green tea, lycopene, and coenzyme Q10. Ditto for formulas with 200 or 300 percent or more of the RDA. That's just plain overkill. Overdosing on certain vitamins contained in a multi can have adverse health effects. Much more than 3,000 micrograms of vitamin A per day, for example, has been tied to birth defects and osteoporosis.

Best to buy Any brand that sticks to 100 percent RDA across the board. Two good choices: Nature Made Essential Woman Complete Multi Vitamin/Mineral Supplement and Rainbow Light Just One Naturals Woman's One Multivitamin.

Tip Take it with food to avoid upsetting your stomach.

Calcium + Vitamin D

Why take it? Calcium strengthens bones; the vitamin D sends a message to the body to absorb the calcium.

How much? 500 to 800 milligrams of elemental calcium and 400 international units of vitamin D per day. That's in addition to the recommended RDA of 400 IUs of vitamin D that should be in your multivitamin. Together you'll hit the right number: "The optimal vitamin D intake looks like it should be at least 800 to 1,000 IUs per day," Dr. Willett estimates. He says studies show that most people have low levels of D in their blood, increasing risk for osteoporosis and fractures.

Best to buy We like Os-Cal's new lemon chiffon chewable with 500 mg calcium carbonate, the most concentrated form of calcium, and 400 IUs of D. The box says to take two a day, but if you're taking a multi and eating two servings of dairy a day, one is probably enough.

Tip Calcium is critical to preventing osteoporosis, but science shows that exercise is even more important, Dr. Willett says. "The real bottom line is that if you want to avoid fractures, forget about milk and take your cow for a walk."

Omega 3 Fats (Fish Oils)

Why take it? They may be hard to pronounce, but the fats in fish oils, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are clear winners at preventing heart disease and stroke. Moms-to-be take note: DHA is also critical raw material for in utero brain development.

How much? 1 gram per day. The capsule is going to contain a mix of EPA and DHA, but don't sweat the details. If you eat plenty of fish, though, you likely don't need this supplement: "I would recommend that women obtain omega 3 fatty acids with two meals of fish per week," says William Connor, M.D., director of the division of endocrinology, diabetes, and clinical nutrition at Oregon Health & Science University.

Best to buy We like Kirkland Signature Natural Fish Oil (Costco) because it's a good value: A recent Consumer Reports study found that generics are as safe and reliable as brands that cost up to 10 times as much.

Tip Freeze capsules and take with meals to prevent burping up that fishy flavor.

Vitamin C

Why take it? This water-soluble vitamin may help prevent breast cancer and lower blood pressure, but at levels much higher than the current RDA of 75 mg.

How much? Some experts say 400 to 500 mg a day is the right amount to maximize blood and tissue levels of vitamin C. If you eat at least five servings, or 2.5 cups, of fruits and veggies a day, you'll easily get to about 250 mg, says Jane Higdon, Ph.D., a research associate at Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute. In that case, get the remaining 200 mg or so from a supplement.

Best to buy Either natural or synthetic C; your body can't tell the difference. Skip formulations with ester (an antioxidant added to increase the shelf life of certain foods and drugs) and C paired with bioflavonoids; there's little evidence they help absorption.

Tip Any more than 400 mg of C per day is a waste; your body can't use it.

Folate

Why take it? Up to 70 percent of neural tube birth defects like spina bifida or anencephaly (a fatal brain and skull condition) could be prevented if women took in just the recommended dose of folate before and during pregnancy. As for heart disease, the jury is still out. But a new Dutch study finds that taking 800 micrograms of folic acid a day can help memory and mental function in postmenopausal women.

How much? 400 micrograms. If your multi has you covered, skip the extra supplement unless you're looking for added benefits, like improved memory or possibly a lowered risk of heart disease. Be careful, though — the Food and Nutrition Board sets the upper safe limit for folate at 1,000 micrograms. Overdosing on folate can mask symptoms of a deficiency in B12, which is essential for normal nervous system function and blood cell production.

Best to buy They're all the same; synthetic folic acid is synthetic folic acid.

Tip The FDA requires all enriched grain products to be fortified with folic acid, but you'll need more to satisfy your needs.