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Healthy Ezine of the Week: Issue 153

Featured Article

Exercise Safety -- How to incorporate and practice safe exercise habits.

Fitness Tip

Kick The Morning Blues
Many of us are poor starters to the day. We feel languid, uninspired. It is as much as we can do to get out of bed and stand under the shower. However, there are a number of techniques we can adopt to boost our energy levels and reduce our feelings of stress at the start of the day. The following are typical techniques and one that has been highly effective for a great many people.
Before getting out of bed in morning, prime your body for action through a series of gentle muscle stretches.
  1. Start with your right foot, extend the toes upwards while inhaling gradually and deeply. Hold your breath to a count of 5 and then curl your toes as you exhale. Repeat this exercise with your left foot.
  2. Stretch out your whole body as you lie in bed pushing down with each foot, stretching your leg muscles.
  3. Inhale and then as you exhale, stretch your arms above your head.
  4. Gently rise from your bed and stand with an upright posture, both feet firmly on the floor. Breathe deeply, curling your toes as you inhale and extending them on exhaling.

Nutrition Tip

Yes, You Can Enjoy Beef!
Small portions of lean beef add flavor without a lot of artery clogging saturated fat. The lean "round" cuts of beef do require slow roasting to tenderize the meat and to make it easy to chew. For those who do not wish to cook an entire beef roast just to have a portion, there is an alternative now available that will not harm your diet or your arteries! If you are working to reduce heart disease risk, research has good news for you! You can now enjoy lean beef in your diet with no guilt. Those who follow a low-fat diet show the same reductions in bad LDL and increases in good HDL cholesterol whether they have eaten lean red meat or poultry and/or fish. In addition, beef contains more B6, B12, folate, iron and zinc than chicken. One 3-ounce serving of beef has as much zinc as 5-1/2 chicken breasts.

Like cheese and nuts, three or four strips of beef can make vegetable meals fabulous. You may find yourself inspired to eat more vegetables by upping their flavor with a bit of beef! If you include three or four beef strips (about 1.5-ounce) you only add 55 calories and 2g fat to an otherwise vegetarian meal. The bonus comes in the flavor. So go ahead and enjoy some beef, just be sure it is lean. See also: Belly Bytes Healthy Beef Recipes.

Nutrient of the Week

Calcium Plus Vitamin D Deter Colon Cancer
Calcium and vitamin D collaborate in bone metabolism. They act synergistically to permit normal bone growth and to keep our bones in good health. A new finding shows that Calcium and vitamin D collaborate to help prevent the development of the polyps that lead to colon cancer.

Quick Recipe

Quick Fresh Asparagus
To microwave 1 pound of fresh asparagus: In a microwave safe dish large enough to hold the asparagus in a single layer, arrange the spears with the stem ends against the short edges of the dish and the tips facing the center. Cover the dish with plastic wrap or a lid, and microwave on high for 6 1/2 to 9 1/2 minutes. Halfway through the cooking process, remove the dish from the oven and rearrange the asparagus so that the ones along the long sides of the pan, which have been receiving the most intense heat, are in the middle, and the ones in the middle are along the sides. Re-wrap and continue to cook. When the asparagus are done, unwrap the pan carefully, keeping your face away from the steam.

Tidbit(s)

Be Wary of Ephedra Substitutes
With the ban of Ephedra, you are more than likely to see more and more "Ephedra-free" supplements offered. Ephedra is now officially linked to heart attacks, seizures, stroke, nausea and emotional problems. Ephedra has been directly associated with at least 155 deaths, along with over 60,000 adverse reaction reports - and substitutes could have the same consequences. The most common names for Ephedra subtitutes are:

These may have the same adverse effects of Ephedra due to the similar effects of a rise in blood pressure and heart rate. Until these substitutes are proven safe, people are strongly advised to avoid them completely. Especially since there is very little evidence that they even work.
FDA Bans Ephedra

Food Fixes

To peel garlic quickly, snip the pointy end off individual cloves and microwave them for 10 to 15 seconds.

To restore crystallized honey, microwave 1 cup honey (in it's own glass jar) tightly covered with plastic wrap for 1-1/2 minutes.

To get more juice out of lemons, limes and other citrus fruits, microwave them on high for 30 seconds, then roll them on the counter to burst the juice cells; slice and juice.

To plump 1 cup raisins quickly, place them on a plate in a single layer, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons water, cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave at 100 percent power for 1-1/2 minutes. Substitute sherry or wine for the water for added flavor.

This 'n That

Free recipes for many dietary needs!

Fitness and Freebies Sister Site, focuses strictly on nutrition! Lots of great food information! BellyBytes.com