Healthy+Living

[[image:healtheating.jpg width="402" height="269" align="right"]]Healthy Eating: How to Make it Count
Are you getting 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day — which works out to a total of about 2½ cups? Many nutritionists say you should get even more worked into your diet daily — unless, of course, you load 'em up with butter or dressing, or deep-fry them! But many of us still find it hard to fit fruit and veggies into our meals.

How do you get your servings in?
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=Are sports drinks part of a healthy teen lifestyle?= Advertisements for sports drinks have long featured world-class athletes such as Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, and LeBron James. The message is clear: If you want to "be like Mike," pick up a Gatorade. However, these candy-colored sports drinks have developed a dubious reputation among young people as a healthy alternative to soda - check the label - they are filled with sugar. media type="custom" key="7174255" align="right" "It seems to me that people who want to pursue a healthy lifestyle are somehow being misled to believe that these drinks are somehow good for them," says the lead author of the study, Nalini Ranjit, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston. Check out the video for more information.

So, what do you think? Will you give up those sports drinks, and do you think they are really "that bad"?
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Portion Distortion
It is no doubt that today's food portions are bigger than ever, and so are our waistlines.Take bagels, for example: 20 years ago, the average bagel had a 3-inch diameter and 140 calories. Today, bagels have a 6-inch diameter and 350 calories. One bagel that size actually contains half a person's recommended number of grain servings for an entire day!

So how do you manage to NOT over eat? How do you eat smart?
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[[image:tennis.jpg width="261" height="200" align="left"]]Aerobic Exercise: How do you keep moving?
Physical activity, along with a healthy diet, plays an important role in the prevention of overweight and obesity, and also just to maintain your health in general. The body burns calories for everyday functions such as breathing, digestion, and routine daily activities. But many people eat more calories than they burn each day. A good way to burn off extra calories and prevent weight gain is through leisure-time physical activity.

Motivation is key to maintaining a regular exercise schedule — yes, schedule. Exercise can be fun and entertaining, but if you're not keeping a schedule, chances are you aren't doing it consistently enough.

How do you keep motivated? How do you keep moving?
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[[image:energy_drink.jpg width="202" height="202" align="right"]]Caffeine - are you getting too much?
The average American consumes about 230 milligrams (mg) of caffeine a day, the average teen, sometimes double that amount. Of course, for a lot of kids, caffeine is accompanied by lots of sugar. Sweet coffee drinks like Starbucks Frappuccinos have a lot of calories and a fair amount of caffeine. Soft drinks like Mountain Dew and energy drinks like Red Bull are other sources of caffeine and sugar commonly consumed by teenagers.

But how much is too much caffeine? Is it really a big deal? Well, caffeine probably doesn't cause any harm in small to even moderate amounts, but it is addictive and consuming caffeine late in the day can mean a sleepless night for many teens.

Can you live without a caffeine fix?
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