June 27, 2008

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth

CAMP Fitness

Wow, what a weekend. Nick and I took a trip to New York City for a three day holiday to attend the World’s Strongest Man competition at Madison Square Garden. It was our first time there. We met several friends for a quick dinner at a nearby dinergreat food and a great time. We made it to the Garden and found our seatsreally good ones at that. They introduced the 12 competitors (guys you see on cable TV’s ESPN) from the back of the theater so that each could run down the steps in all their glory. These guys are huge! Some of these men are 400 pounds plus and over 6 feet tall. Trying to find some measurable body fat on them was a pretty tough task.

If you’ve ever seen these guys on TV, you know they bust their butts pushing, throwing, and lifting weights as high as 890 pounds (the highest weight dead-lifted that evening). Nick and Iand the rest of the audiencewere pretty impressed. The event was filmed for TV (look closely, we’re in the right center, 12 rows up, end seats to the right of the stage).

Now onto our subject for this issue: food. Again, you say? Well, these are foods you can use and foods you should lose.

As men and women age, food becomes a more vital issue. You have the good, the bad, and the ugly. In her USA Weekend magazine Eat Smart column, Jean Carper listed the top 10 best foods we should all be eating to help us look and feel younger, and the top 10 foods that make us look and feel like, well, you fill in the blank with any four letter word and it ain’t pretty. By consuming the top 10 best foods you add more years to your life and better health.

The listed foods contain the most beneficial antioxidants to help keep you living longer and looking better. There are blueberries and apples from the fruit group, spinach from the vegetable group (hey, how about broccoli?), and sardines and salmon in the fish group (they contain beneficial omega-3 oil). Jean says that fatty fish cuts down on inflammation within the body. Ok, I’ll buy that! Whole grain cereal items are next, make sure they are minimally processed. Unsalted popcorn and peanuts are other beneficial foods. Along with peanuts are almonds and walnuts. Most any nut is good for you as long as it hasn’t been adulterated.

Green tea and extra virgin olive oil round out the top ten. All of these foods are highly recommended. I agree 100 percent.

Now the bad news. Drum roll please. These are the top 10 foods that can lower your life expectancy. I don’t think Homer Simpson will like this one, but doughnuts are on the list of baddies. Lots and lots of processed flour and processed sugar. While we’re at it, let’s throw in white bread. A no-brainer is soda: sugary, colored, bubble waternutritional valuezilch! Two of America’s favorite worst foodshot dogs and baconare loaded with nitrosamines and everything artificial. Their fat content is alarmingly high, and their nutritional value is alarmingly low. What do we like to eat with our hot dogs? Well, potato chips are also on the list. All the nutrition has been fried out of them and they add salt to boot.

The list also contains white potatoes, but I’m kind of out in left field on that one. It’s what we add or put on the potato that’s bad. Next is corn oil. It doesn’t hold a candle to olive oil, so do the switch. Any type of cereal on the shelf is a big gamble, the worst are the ones that contain mostly sugar. Sugar is cheap but the damage it causes to your teeth and body can be really expensive.

Last on the list is red meat. I’m not totally convinced on this one. Jean says it can cause inflammation in the body. I say red meat occasionally is good for you in that it contains vitamins and minerals vital to healthful bodily function. Now, the processing of red meat is another story.

How many of the top 10 good foods and how many of the bottom 10 do you regularly eat? How do they make you feel? Note: I didn’t see ice cream listed.

Rick Moore is a personal trainer certified by the American Fitness Professionals & Associates. Visit him at www.ricksfitness.net.

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 18, No. 08 June 27, 2008