#bifidobacteria, #lactobacilli, #probiotics, #guthealth

My Favorite Yogurt❤️

Maintain a healthy gut, improve your health and immunity, eat MORE yogurt!

There is good and bad bacteria in our guts. Yogurt provides good bacteria in the form of probiotics such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. This "good" bacteria improve our immune system thereby keeping us healthy by crowding out the potentially bad bacteria in our colon.

Probiotics are live microorganisms that survive the acidic environment of the GI tract where billions of bacteria reside. 

So if you want to build up your immune system, eat more yogurt with probiotics. I recommend you eat at least one yogurt everyday, as you need to replenish often. With consistent use, the potential to ward off various diseases including cancer, heart disease and maybe even obesity increases. 

Remember, Eat Well, Be FIT ~ 1FITRD

Brooklyn BRED #❤️

So I accidentally came upon the most wonderfully delicious pizza crust, which can be used for sandwiches too; no really it says so right on the package. 

It has a pure and rich earthy taste that is simply tantalizing on the pallet thanks to the ancient grains.

It is made with 100% organic khorasan wheat aka kamut. Kamut has a natural sweet taste, has more protein than wheat, and is high in selenium. Selenium is a trace element with antioxidant benefits so it helps to protect the body from oxidative stress and infection, amongst other benefits. 

It is made "only with non-GMO ingredients," stated on the package. L❤️ve that!

I enjoy brushing it with olive oil, topping it with fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, and arugula for an amazing burst of flavor  as well as health benefits. 

Important Note: It does have 280 mg sodium per serving so it is just below the 300 mg of sodium per serving normally recommended for someone who has hypertension. My advice, use toppings with little to no sodium. 

Serving size is 1/4 crust @ 25 grams carbohydrate, equals 1-1/2 servings of carbs per serving. 

Finally, I am particularly partial to the fact that it is "Brooklyn Bred," pun intended; because I happen to be from Brooklyn. 

I hope you have the opportunity to find it at your local grocer. If you do, let me know what you think.

As always, Remember to Eat Well & Be FIT ~ 1FITRD. 

#Omega-3, #hearthealthy, "decrease inflammation ~ look younger"

Awesome Polyunsaturated Fat:

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: manufactured in the body, derived from linoleic acid. 

NOTE: EPA and DHA are both omega-3 fatty acids as well as alpha linoleic acid. So there are three types of Omega-3's. 

A main source of DHA and EPA is fatty, cold water fish such as tuna, trout, mackerel, sardines, cod, and the all popular salmon. Alpha linoleic acid can be found in certain vegetable oils (canola or soybean)  nuts, seeds and other soy products. DHA and EPA are the best when it comes to heart health protection. 

It has been determined through research that omega-3 fatty acids can help lower cholesterol when coupled with a heart healthy diet. As a result, it reduces your risk of heart disease. 

Tip: flaxseed oil is very high in omega-3 but it should be ground up for optimal benefit. The body does not digest the fat in whole flaxseeds which defeats the purpose. 

It is best to eat fatty fish two times weekly (4-ounce servings) for optimal results.

Fish oil supplements should provide 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids from EPA and DHA combined. 

Remember: Eat Well, Be FIT~1FITrd

#glowingskin, #vitaminC, #beautifulskin, #fountainofyouth

BEAUTIFUL SKIN AND VITAMIN C

ACTIONS:  Antioxidants help the body trap and get rid of free radicals that can cause damage to the human body, including the skin.

GOOD FOR:  Vitamin C helps to keep skin looking younger by giving skin its’ elasticity and by reducing the amount of so-called free radical damage that occurs from sun exposure by neutralizing them. Damage from the sun includes wrinkles and age spots.

The active form of vitamin C is L-ascorbic acid. Vitamin C is water-soluble and is an essential vitamin, which means that we must get it from the foods we eat or from supplements.

RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance):              
Women 19 years and older – 75 mg

Pregnant women 19 years and older – 85 mg

Breastfeeding women 19 years and older – 120 mg

Women between 14 and 18 years – 65 mg

My favorite food sources: per serving in milligrams (mg)   

• Red pepper raw, sweet ½ cup (95)
• Orange juice, ¾ cup (93)
• Papaya, 1 cup (88.3)
• Orange, 1 medium (70)
• Kiwi, 1 medium (64)
• Green pepper raw, sweet ½ cup (60)
• Broccoli, cooked ½ cup (51)
• Broccoli, raw ½ cup (48)
• Brussel sprouts, cooked ½ cup (48)

TOXICITY: Low risk

BOTTOM LINE: Eat more fruits and vegetables, which tend to be rich in vitamin C and along with vitamin E (#vitaminE, #beautifulskin), you too can have beautiful, glowing skin.

Remember Eat Well & Be Fit 

Nutrient Data Source: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods

ALA Omega-3

Per the package, "this granola contains 0.7 grams of ALA Omega-3 per serving." 

Alpha-linolenic acid ("ALA") is an essential fatty acid that is necessary for growth and development and is found mainly in plants, nuts, seeds, soy, and in fish oil containing docosahexaeonic acid ("DHA") and eicosapentaenoic acid ("EPA"). 

DHA and EPA help to suppress cardiac arrhythmias, decrease serum triglycerides, decrease risk of thrombosis, lower blood pressure, and reduce risk of death by heart attack and is found in fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines, as well as in fish oil supplements. 

To get the recommended amount of ALA Omega-3, which is 0.6 to 1.2 percent of total calories, consuming two fatty fish meals per week is recommended. 

Remember to Eat Well & Be FIT with 1FITRD. 

#beautifulskin #vitaminE

Vitamin E is an antioxidant. Antioxidants help to get rid of free radicals that cause damage to the human body including the skin. 

Vitamin E helps to keep skin healthy by preventing inflammation and skin damage from the sun.

Alpha-tocopherol is the absorbable form of vitamin E. Deficiency is not common and more likely in premature infants. However, in the rare case of deficiency, it may likely show up as hemolytic anemia, which is the inability of the bone marrow to adequately produce oxygen-rich red blood cells. 

RDA for women and men 14 years or older is 15 mg. Important to note, vitamin E is the least toxic of the fat-soluble vitamins. However, it is better to get what you need from food sources as no benefit has been shown from supplements.  

My favorite sources of vitamin E:

Olive oil (1 tablespoon = 1.94 mg)

Wheat germ oil (1 teaspoon = 6.72 mg)

Spinach (1 cup = 0.6 mg)

Kale (1 cup = 0.25 mg)

Swiss Chard (1 cup = 0.68 mg)

Sunflower seeds (1 ounce = 9.3 mg)

Nuts, 

*almonds (1 = 0.31 mg)

*hazelnuts (10  = 2.10 mg)

Other nuts have vitamin E but these are my favorites.

Orange and yellow vegetables

*sweet potato (1 cup cubed = 0.35 mg)

*carrot (1 cup chopped = 0.84 mg)

*pumpkin (1 cup cubed = 1.23 mg)

Fruits, especially tropical fruit

*mango (1 cup chopped = 1.48 mg)

Whole grains

*quinoa (1 cup = 1.17 mg)

*rye (1 cup = 1.44 mg)

This list is not extensive but it is a list of my favorite foods that happen to be good sources of vitamin E. 

Remember Eat Well & Be Fit

Nutrient data source: nbd.nal.usda.gov

Exercise2Find Motivation

Many people think that they must first be motivated to exercise before they actually feel like exercising. What they fail to recognize is that exercise is the motivation they need to exercise. First you gotta do it and then you will feel motivated to continue doing it. 

Today I taught a one-hour outdoor Bootcamp class and after the class I got a few text messages from participants, which reminded me of how much I love to help others find the motivation they need to exercise. One message read "thank you Evelyn, I feel great" and another message read "class was great, I loved it." From jumping rope to power-walking to tabata exercise challenges these participants were 100% engaged, having fun, and are now motivated to exercise again. In fact, one participant who is completely new to exercise has recently joined a gym and decided to do so after her very first exercise session with me. 

The point is this ~ if you do not exercise at least 3-days per week and are waiting for the motivation to actually do it, it is not going to magically appear. You gotta actually start moving and the motivation to exercise will begin to emerge and get stronger with each bout of exercise. 

Tip No. 1 ~ find an activity you enjoy doing such as swimming, cycling (indoor or out), I happen to love indoor cycling, power walking, jumping rope, dancing, etc.. The more you like doing something the more likely you are to continue doing it.

Tip No. 2 - as soon as the thought to exercise hits you, change into workout clothes, put on your sneakers and do it. If you wait more than 5 minutes you may talk yourself out of it or find something else to do like sit on the couch and watch TV. 

Tip No. 3 - find a workout buddy. Exercise is always more fun, usually, when you do it with someone else. Besides, a buddy can provide that extra motivation you need. 

Bottom line ~ if you are always waiting for just the right motivation to exercise, you may never find it. Just do it and your reward will be the motivation to do it again and again.