Monday, September 23, 2013

Dear Hard Work......

Here's a little motivation for you from trainer, April Crosby.


Dear Hard Work,

I used to hate you.
When you called my name,
I heard it but ran away from you.
When I knew you were coming,
I used to hide from you.
When you influenced others to talk to me,
I quickly made excuses to get away from you.

Afraid, of the pain, because I didn’t want to get hurt.
Afraid to fail, so I didn’t even try.
And afraid of your name,
Because of what you have done to others.

Who do you think you are?
Making me so afraid of who you are?

Reflection in the mirror,
Shadow behind me,
I take one step and you’re still ahead of me.

Sweat on my face,
Tears in my eyes,
I keep on going,
I heard you tell no lies.

You turn the poor to rich,
F to A’s.

Is there anything that you can’t do?

Now look at me.
You made me who I am today.
And because of you,
I have this never losing, never giving up attitude.

Quitting?
That’s not in my vocabulary.
When they quit, I keep going.
When they sleep, I work harder.
When they say that I can’t,
And count me out,
I show them that I can.

When I tell them about my dreams and they laugh,
I make sure I laugh last.

I’m a dream chaser,
That means I chase my dreams and no one else’s.
Only I can defeat me.
It’s me against this work you put on me.
There is no losing.
I will not lose.

I came this far,
And I’m not stopping now.

O Hard work,
My dad was right about you.
You do pay off,
And because of that, I love you.
How can I not?
I’m no longer hiding from you. 
I’m waiting for you.

Matter of fact,
Where are you?

I need you. 
Because in hard work – I trust!

Love,
Me


Friday, September 20, 2013

Antioxidants: Are Your Cells Wearing Their "Superhero" Capes?


Today's blog comes from our resident nutrition superhero, Carrie Covington.  Here's what she has to say about antioxdants.

So we hear all the time the benefits of fruits and veggies, but why?  One big reason is because they help fight diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancers, atherosclerosis, arthritis, anxiety, and more.  Let’s learn what happens to make this occur.
 
First let's take a little chemistry lesson.  When a molecule loses an electron it becomes a free radical, which must steal an electron from another molecule to re-balance itself.  This in turn causes another free radical to form.  It is estimated that each of our cells get hit by a free radical 100,000 times a day. Wow!  Free radical damage is happening every second.  Some of this damage is due to natural cellular activities but also by pollution, smoking, fried and processed food, and even physical stress.  Poor eating habits actually speed up free radical production.  Some of this we can help and some, unfortunately is out of our control.

If free radicals are overabundant, oxidative stress will occur and then we see inflammation in the body.  When the immune system is constantly battling inflammation, the body becomes fatigued, weakened, and deficient in nutrients and enzymes.  That is when many terrible disease can occur… cancer, atherosclerosis, and arthritis are just a few. 

The good news is oxidative stress and inflammation can be fought by antioxidant nutrients which repair and prevent this cellular damage.  Check out the list below and see what foods are "super disease-fighting" foods.  I challenge you to add one food from the list each week. 


Rank
Food item
Serving size
Total antioxidant capacity per serving size
1
Small Red Bean (dried)
Half cup
13727
2
Wild blueberry
1 cup
13427
3
Red kidney bean (dried)
Half cup
13259
4
Pinto bean
Half cup
11864
5
Blueberry (cultivated)
1 cup
9019
6
Cranberry
1 cup (whole)
8983
7
Artichoke (cooked)
1 cup (hearts)
7904
8
Blackberry
1 cup
7701
9
Dried Prune
Half cup
7291
10
Raspberry
1 cup
6058
11
Strawberry
1 cup
5938
12
Red Delicious apple
One
5900
13
Granny Smith apple
One
5381
14
Pecan
1 ounce
5095
15
Sweet cherry
1 cup
4873
16
Black plum
One
4844
17
Russet potato (cooked)
One
4649
18
Black bean (dried)
Half cup
4181
19
Plum
One
4118
20
Gala apple
One
3903
 

So it's time to help your body put on it's superhero cape and fight the cellular damage from free radicals.  Step up, choose one of these fruits and veggies and revel in the power against disease!!

For more information on antioxidant nutrients and how you can help your body, set up an appointment with one of our nutrition specialists.  It's your body...take care of it from the inside out!!