Fun and Fitness for the 40-Something

Women’s Health has lined up several food face-offs “to see if real food is better than the packaged stuff at home, the office, or the gym”:

Preworkout:

Energy bar vs. Egg McMuffin

During a workout:

G2 vs. water

Gu vs. banana

Gatorade Endurance vs. orange juice

Post-workout:

Lara Bar vs. PB&J

Naked Protein vs. Soy Good Smoothie

Energy boost:

Red Bull vs. yogurt and apple

Odwalla Bar vs. trail mix and jerky

5-Hour Energy vs. espresso

Weight loss:

Clif Bar vs. almonds

Slim-Fast Optima vs. 6-inch turkey sub

The American Council on Exercise doesn’t just deal with exercise—it also addresses diet and nutrition. And, as it notes, “nutrition is one of those fields that is inundated with quacks who will try to sell you the latest secret to weight loss.” So the ACE has compiled a list of common diet myths in the hope of debunking them.

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Yet another reason to watch our weight: Researchers have found that people who are overweight or obese in mid-life have a greater risk of reduced memory and thinking skills in late life.

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Heading on vacation soon, or even just a weekend away? The culinary temptations can be so great that sometimes we just give up and cast aside any and all eating discipline—only to regret it later. Runner’s World offers some tips for eating healthily and keeping up your energy when traveling.

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Sometimes you just can’t avoid fast food. You might try to cope by ordering a salad, but those salads can pack a calorie wallop. Fitness magazine comes to the rescue with its list of salads that are high in flavor and low in saturated fat at the best-known fast-food outlets:

McDonald’s: Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken (with half the dressing)

Wendy’s: Mandarin Chicken Salad with Grilled Chicken (with half the dressing)

Burger King: Tendergrill Chicken Garden Salad (with the light Italian dressing)

Taco Bell: Chicken Fiesta Taco Salad (without the tortilla shell)

Quiznos: Black and Bleu Flatbread Salad (without the flatbread)

Active.com has compiled a list of 15 ways to keep up your health in a tough economic climate. Some of the recommendations to stay healthy without hurting your wallet:

• walk more
• cook more
• buy workout DVDs and free weights

Check out the whole list here.

Another weekend, another cookout? Good for you—literally, depending on what you’re throwing on the grill. While barbecues have traditionally conjured up visions of glistening steaks or sticky ribs, vegetarian options have gained favor over the last decade or so. But, when it comes to nutrition, all veggie foods are not created equal.

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… according to Fitness:

1)   Lemons

2)   Broccoli

3)   Dark chocolate

4)   Potatoes

5)   Salmon

6)   Walnuts

7)   Avocados

8)   Garlic

9)   Spinach

10) Beans

What will you be doing with your computer when you’re done reading this? If you’ll be offline, think about donating your computer’s idle time to help conduct biomedical research to find a cure for the HIV, Parkinson’s, arthritis, breast cancer and other major diseases.

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I think I’ve shown a particular interest in heart health here, probably because my father died of a heart attack at age 47. Last week, on the day someone very close to us suffered a heart attack, my brother happened to receive the following e-mail. Please read it.

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