The question many people ask themselves is should I just be drinking more than plain water?  It is calorie free and most of the time should be your main drink of choice. However, for intense exercise lasting longer than 60 minutes, The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that one consume carbohydrates at a rate of 30-60 grams per hour to maintain the body’s carbohydrate stores and delay fatigue, particularly in hot temperatures.

Clinical studies have found carbohydrate and electrolytes such as sodium (Na, salt) and potassium (K) will provide more effective and rapid rehydration than water alone.  These electrolytes will allow you to retain fluid more effectively.

Most standard sports drinks contain around 7% sugar content and electrolytes. Elite athletes will constantly tweak and tailor the levels and hydration as needed because there is considerable variance in sweating rates and sweat electrolyte content between individuals. Sweat rates can be estimated by measuring body weight before and after exercise. You want to choose beverages with a low osmolality, as they are more quickly absorbed as they are more similar to our bloodstream. Research has shown that drinks with high sugar concentrations, such as fruit juice and soda, may lead to unpleasant feelings of fullness and delayed emptying of the stomach. These should be avoided during exercise. As we are each individuals, test out what drink is most suitable for you just be mindful of the sugar content.

 Ingredients
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 Cups unsweetened almond milk (can be vanilla, chocolate or unflavored)

Directions
Mix all ingredients, make sure almond milk is cold. Refrigerate overnight. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information
Serving: 4
Calories: 105
Fat: 5g
Carbohydrates: 8g
Fiber: 7g
Protein: 4g

“The seven minute workout, in my opinion, is a good gauge to assess your strength and fitness level but I don’t think it constitutes a full workout,” says Dr. Metzl. “I’m hugely in favor of functional strength training, I teach classes myself and have tons of strength workouts in my book. The idea that you can get everything that you need in just seven minutes, however, just doesn’t pass mustard with me. At least 45 minutes five times per week, that’s the prescription that I give to my patients.”

Curious if Dr. Metzl’s book, The Athlete’s Book of Home Remedies, is for you? It should be! From the professional athlete to the rookie, his tips are terrific. Just check out this segment from the Today Show,  with Dr. Metzl and my other buddy, Jenna Wolfe. His book is the end of a 3-year project designed to teach athletes and other active people to take the best possible care of their bodies and keep themselves moving and healthy. Being one who has learned the hard way through various injuries, this would have been excellent information as I began my “adult onset of athleticism”- yes I made that term up! Looks like a great summer read! Click here to get your copy!

Few of us are unaware of the soothing quality of aloe vera gel on a badly sunburned body, but did you know that aloe could be equally soothing and beneficial to your insides? Used medicinally for 5,000 years, aloe has recently enjoyed a surge of popularity. Adding this member of the lily family to your diet might amaze you. How?

Aloe contains about 200 different compounds from vitamins and minerals to enzymes and fatty acids. In particular, it is a good source of B vitamins, including B12, which can contribute to nerve health. The plant sterols it contains may assist in combatting heart disease. But aloe’s magic isn’t limited to traditional avenues of health improvement. Here are some other beneficial roles this super succulent may play:

*Detoxifier: Its gelatinous consistency may help eliminate toxic waste through the digestive tract.

*Alkalizer: As an alkaline forming food, aloe may help to balance acidity in the body and act as an anti-inflammatory.

*Immune Booster: Aloe may stimulate white blood cells to fight disease and enhances the ability of the body to fight free radicals and the aging process.

*Antiseptic: Both inside and out, aloe may have the ability to disinfect and treat both bacterial and viral infections.

So what’s the best way to start adding aloe to your diet? Scraping the inside gel from the fresh leaves and adding it to your green juice and smoothie regimen is one of the best and easiest ways to ingest it. But ambitious aloe vera fans will often make their own juice from the plants. If you prefer, bottled juice is also available for straight drinking or adding to other beverages on occasion. Be aware, however, of its very strong taste. Don’t forget that as a powerful medicinal plant, dosage should be limited to effectiveness. More is not necessarily better and daily consumption is not recommended.

Ingredients

Preparation
Steam broccoli
Poach chicken and cut into cubes
Combine peanut butter and water in a blender or food processor; mix until smooth.
Add soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, ginger and red pepper; blend. Add chicken, toss to coat, and leave in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
Cook the linguine; drain and rinse to stop the cooking. Toss with the chicken and sauce. Add the broccoli and scallions. Serve cold or room -temperature.

Nutritional Information
Serves: 4
Calories: 465
Fat: 14g
Carbs: 34g
Fiber: 5g
Protein: 26

We have kick-boxed, Zumba’d, rode thousands of miles on spin bikes… and now I think it is time to row, row, row your boat. The rowing machine is often known as ergometers (erg or ergo). An ergometer is a device that measures the amount of work performed. These machines have been around for years but few gyms had been very successful in creating a love for them. Recently, CrossFit has incorporated rowing into their fitness program and changed the perception of the machines. It is a complete body workout, when done properly. Take a look at this extremely helpful video for proper form.  Now, if you add some fun music and great coaches it can be addictive.

Since January I have been working on improving my threshold on the machines, and promise it is no joke. Recently I read that 3 rowing studios will be opening in the NYC area, so the popularity is growing. For anyone that has tried it you will appreciate what my friend and previous trainer (that I dearly miss) is doing.

Beginning May 17th from noon and the subsequent 24 hours, extreme athlete Mike Monroe is using his considerable muscle to raise money for the 15 million people in the U.S. with food allergies. Mike’s challenge is to raise $50,000 to benefit food allergy education and research programs while breaking the indoor rowing machine record for his age/weight. Mike plans on accomplishing this feat in 24 hours! To break the record, Mike will have to row 276,917 meters! Mike is no stranger to extreme fitness challenges – most of which he has tied to charities – raising more than a quarter of a million dollars to date!

Are you impressed? I sure am. Please support Mike on May 17th and read why this is so important to him.

Imagine being a kid and being allergic to a variety of common foods such as wheat, dairy, eggs, seeds and nuts. Imagine never having gone to a restaurant and ordered off the menu. Imagine never having had pizza or ice cream or cake at a birthday party. Imagine never leaving the house without access to an epinephrine auto-injector, a device that could save your life. Imagine going to the hospital in an ambulance on Christmas Eve after an allergic reaction resulting from a mislabeled package of food.

This has been the reality for Mike’s 8-year-old son Miles.

Mike is using his strength to make a difference — for Miles, and for the nearly six million children in the U.S. with food allergies. This former Marine – who has been through some of the toughest training the military has to offer – has competed in elite fitness races and challenges, raising vital funds for many charities. This time, Mike will raise much needed funds to raise awareness about food allergies and help fund education and research programs.

Vitamin K, found in dark leafy vegetables like spinach, collards, many lettuces, broccoli, and other common items in your produce section, is a necessary fat-soluble nutrient that helps our blood to clot. However, it can significantly alter the effectiveness of blood thinning medication when consumed together either from food or from supplementation. This effect, not unlike the ability of grapefruit enzymes to alter doses of statins and other drugs mentioned in February’s newsletter, can be a dangerous one if not monitored. As a result, physicians emphatically caution patients when prescribing warfarin and will routinely check blood for possible necessary changes in dosage, caused by, among other considerations, a change in diet.

Still, for most of us, vitamin K can be safely consumed on a regular basis through diet and supplementation, obtaining its natural benefits. Some evidence has indicated that vitamin K can be instrumental in preventing heart disease, high cholesterol, and even osteoporosis. And topically, it can help in skin healing of burns, scars, bruises, and possibly rosacea. Unless you suffer from a liver condition, foods high in vitamin K are generally fine to consume in large amounts.

For those on medications that interact with food containing vitamin K however, the most common question is often about replacing those dark leafy veggies with an enticing alternative. When everything from salads to creamed spinach is off limits, what is one to do? Simply swap out your darker lettuces for cultivars like iceberg, butter leaf or Boston, and Belgian endive. Opt for red cabbage instead of green or savoy, and enjoy broccoli’s cousin cauliflower as a side dish or addition to raw veggie platters. Explore the other “colors” of the vegetable world and reap their multitude of benefits instead

Truthfully, most commercial baby foods are highly processed. Additives such as citric acid may appear and the first ingredient listed may actually be water. Still, there are many new premade baby foods that are now 100% organic and preservative-free, with limited water and plentiful natural ingredients. Unfortunately, the price will usually reflect this. What to do? If you’d like to feed your baby similarly healthy food varieties then making your own baby food may be just the thing.

Contrary to common belief, if you work in batches, creating food for your baby is not tough to do nor is it ultra time- consuming. Numerous websites and cookbooks will walk you through the process quite easily. Usually all you need is a blender, food processor or one of the amazing Beaba machines (I love getting these for my close new mom friends) and containers for storage and freezing. One great thing is that you can often use the same ingredients you may be preparing for the rest of the family.

The advantage of homemade baby food is knowing exactly what your baby is eating and that it’s the freshest food it can be. Trading this for convenience and the possibility of quick spoilage or running out is the disadvantage. But for the most part, preparing your baby’s food can be a rewarding experience as well as a cost-effective one. The decision must be based on your own family’s lifestyle and certainly it doesn’t have to be one way or the other. If making baby food appeals to you but you’re not sure how you’ll manage it, consider keeping some good quality jarred varieties on hand to fill in when needed. After all, it’s okay for everyone to slip in a fast food or microwaved dinner for himself or herself occasionally. Baby won’t mind if you open a jar every once and awhile! For those big kids, I loved this recipe from Beaba (no I don’t work for them, just a big fan!)

- Healthy fat, found in olive oil or avocados, can help you absorb the phytochemicals in vegetables.

- Olive oil can assist in the absorption of lycopene in tomatoes.

-Researchers are not sure why, but studies show that broccoli and tomatoes together may prevent prostate cancer.

- Vitamin D levels in milk can be boosted when consumed with magnesium-rich foods, such as salmon.

-A study on fruit found that mixing fruits had a greater antioxidant response than an individual type.

-Chocolate, grapes, red wine, and tea contain the flavonoid catechin. Organic Red Delicious apples are known to be high in an anti-inflammatory flavonoid called quercetin, especially in their skins. Together, catechins and quercetin may improve cardiovascular health.

-Soy found in sources such as edamame and tofu may increase the bioavailability of Vitamin D in fish such as salmon or tuna.

-Adding black pepper to turmeric enhances curcumin’s, the polyphenol, bioavailability by 1,000 times, due to black pepper’s hot property called piperine

- Peanut butter on wholegrain bread provides all the amino acids needed to absorb their protein.

-Rosemary on grilled meats can cut cancer-causing components formed from high heat cooking.

-Fish and garlic may lower total cholesterol levels.

- An acidic marinade like pineapple can make the protein in meat even more bioavailable.

-Vitamin C and old-fashioned oatmeal both contain phenols that are said to stabilize LDL cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or so-called “bad” cholesterol) when consumed together.

Avoid the combining of foods containing calcium with those containing iron. It can decrease your ability to absorb the iron. Combos like broccoli and kidney beans, kale with lentils, and of course milk with spinach (Popeye – are you listening?) are not recommended.

GMOs, or “genetically modified organisms,” are plants or animals created through the gene splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering). This experimental technology merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding. The most common GMOs are soy, cotton, canola, corn, sugar beets, Hawaiian papaya, alfalfa, and zucchini. GMOs may be hidden in common processed food ingredients such as: Amino Acids, Aspartame, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Ascorbate, Vitamin C, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Flavorings (“natural” and “artificial”), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Lactic Acid, Maltodextrins, Molasses, Monosodium Glutamate, Sucrose, Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), Xanthan Gum, Vitamins, Yeast Products.

The Natural Products Expo West, the biggest organic trade show of the year was held on March 8-10th. At it, Whole Foods made a HUGE announcement that by 2018 all products in its U.S. and Canadian stores must be labeled to indicate whether they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). I asked Max Goldberg, a leading expert on organic foods, why this is so tremendous. “Whole Foods’ decision to make companies label GMOs is absolutely enormous. While 62 other countries around the world require GMOs to be labeled, the U.S. does not. This flawed policy essentially means that consumers do not have the right to know what is in their food and goes against everything that America stands for.

Despite the inaction by our government, Whole Foods has said that its shoppers have the right to know what is in their food and this could be the real tipping point in the fight against GMOs. There are several reasons why.

- Consumers will become much more aware of GMOs, if they see a GMO-label on a product, and will start asking questions about what GMOs are and what are the health risks of consuming them. With approximately 80% of the food on supermarket shelves containing GMOs, most consumers do not know that they are ingesting genetically modified organisms on a daily basis. This will drive demand down for GM-products.

- Vendors will start switching to non-GM raw materials because they will not want their products containing a GMO label. This means the demand for non-GM crops will go up and the demand for GM-crops will go down. The impact on the food supply chain will be huge.

- This move by Whole Foods will put pressure on other supermarkets to label GMOs as well because there will be a precedent and their shoppers are going to demand it.

This is the biggest news in the industry ever since organic standards were put into place more than a decade ago. The fact that Whole Foods is the one who announced it is no surprise at all. By far, they are the leader.”

For more info follow Max on his twitter @livingmaxwell or blog www.livingmaxwell.com