That's Fit

Want whiter and brighter teeth? Look no further than your food. Grab an apple, some carrots, a cucumber now and then and you'll scrub your stains away. It's the abrasive or crunchy quality of these foods that do the trick, says Elisa Mello, DDS, a cosmetic dentist in New York City. Items to avoid: Red wine, coffee, and cola, which may darken your pearly whites.

Another cleaning trick, says Mello for Woman's Day magazine (July 8, 2008), is to sip staining beverages through a straw and then chase with plenty of water to prevent them from leaving a mark.

For more tips on eating for healthy teeth, check out fatfreekitchen.com.

I love berries, which makes it my pleasure to report on any health benefit they so scrumptiously offer.

According to a recent study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating just five ounces of mixed berries a day can lower blood pressure and thin the blood, thus reducing the risk of blood clots and strokes. Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are at their peak right now, so why not pick some up and get your dose of potent antioxidants. Woman's Day magazine (July 8, 2008) offers these yummy snack ideas.

• Make a colorful parfait. Spoon alternating layers of fat-free strawberry yogurt and mixed berries into a parfait glass. Top with shaved almonds or chopped walnuts.

• Sweeten iced tea with berry juice. Add a splash of raspberry, black currant, or cranberry juice to a glass of homemade unsweetened iced tea.

• Satisfy a sweet tooth. Drop some raspberries in a bowl and drizzle with melted dark chocolate.

Want more on the benefits of berries. Check out this article.

A few months back I went to a place I like to call "Man Heaven" and wrote a few articles about it. Man Heaven is also known as ESPN: The Weekend at the Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida. The event was jam packed with dozens and dozens of your sports lovers' heroes from today and yesteryear. Football, basketball, baseball, tennis, hockey and golf stars flooded the theme park with ample opportunity for each Disney guest to get up close and personal with the athletic love of their life.

Of course, there were also a ton of female fans decked out in their team jerseys, but truly....this event was for boys. Young boys, elderly boys, and every boy in between. I saw big groups of men in coordinating jerseys riding the tram to the park, and then I saw tons of father/son duos shooting baskets with their favorite hoops star.

The event isn't until early next March, so you'll have plenty of time to book your air, hotel, and ticket reservations. He'll have lots of time to squirm with anticipation for the big event. Trust me.....if your guy loves sports, he will love ESPN: The Weekend and love you even more for sending him to it.

Want to keep your brain sharp? Then give your brain cells a workout by switching up your everyday routines. Brush your teeth with the opposite hand. Find your keys in your purse by touch alone -- don't peek. Or try a challenging crossword puzzle or mind game.

Here are six more strategies, compliments of Woman's Day magazine, for keeping your whole body sharp.

• Strength train your muscles and then drink fat-free milk. Studies show that exercisers who drank two glasses a day lost more fat and built more muscle than those who didn't drink up.

I'm just back from a Memorial Day beach getaway that featured time on the sand, time at the pool, time with family, and time with ... food. For two nights straight, my family of four dined with cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends, and the home-cooked meals we were served were simply scrumptious. They were no doubt loaded with ingredients we rarely consume too. This had me worried.

I scarfed down plenty of healthy goods this weekend -- like right-from-the-ocean King Mackerel, fresh-from-the-garden lettuce, freshly-made salsa, broccoli, and fruit salad. The iffy, and downright yummy dishes, were cheesey scallop potatoes one night, once baked-once fried potatoes the other, clam chowder, and all sorts of chips for the fresh salsa. These items were bound to add a few numbers to my scale, and when I returned home yesterday, I hopped on that thing to see just what I'd done.

Nothing. No change. My weight is the same. I'm shocked. Well, maybe I'm not. It just goes to prove that I don't have to be hard-core all the time. I can take a break. I can indulge for a day. I can go for broke occasionally without actually breaking the bank. And now that the holiday weekend is over, I can get back on track and pick right up where I left off, without have to whittle away at a few extra pounds.

Are hot dogs on your menu this Memorial Day? If so, you'll be joined by billions of others who will begin scarfing down dogs beginning this weekend.

About seven billion hot dogs will be consumed between Memorial Day and Labor Day, according to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council. This means that roughly 818 hot dogs will be eaten every second during the summer. That's a lot, considering the average annual consumption is 20 billion.

I'm not a big fan of the hot dog, myself. For one, I'm never really sure from what the things are made. Second, I don't love all the fat that comes packed into each modest serving -- one Ballpark beef frank contains 16 grams of fat, six grams of it from the saturated fat family. Hot dogs just are not my food of choice. Many people love them, though. Check out these gallery stats.

Good role modeling never goes out of style. It may even be the exact reason why people gobble down Goldfish crackers -- or animal crackers.

In one study, cited in June's The Oprah Magazine, college students who watched a video of a colleague talking while eating Goldfish crackers chose Goldfish over animal crackers 71 percent of the time. Those watching someone eat animal crackers went for Goldfish only 44 percent of the time, despite a reported overall preference for Goldfish.

This Monkey See, Monkey Do phenomenon holds true for babies too.
Chow down on fruits and veggies while your baby is in the womb and while you're breastfeeding and your little one will be more likely to consume these items when offered them, say researchers mentioned in the May issue of Woman's Day magazine.

The lesson here: Think before you eat, because people, even babies, are likely to mimic your actions. And be careful about whose eating habits you watch, because you're likely to pick up the very snacks you see.

For some strategies and tips for healthy eating, check out AOL's America Takes It Off series.

I'm already thinking about it: Mother's Day. Are you? The big day -- Sunday, May 11 -- arrives in less than one week. Which means you've got not quite seven whole days to think up a whopper of a gift for your mom -- or anyone who serves as mom to you. By "whopper," I mean not something big, expensive, or extravagant -- and not something that hails from your neighborhood McDonald's. I mean this: Thoughtful. Something that tells mom you know her, love her, and appreciate her.

For me, a candle fits the bill. I love candles. And my little boys know this. Every time we pass the Yankee candle shop in the mall, they ask me if I want to stop in for a visit. When we stroll the scented store together, they love finding fragrances and running them over to me. They also know I like quiet time. Once as they were backing out of the driveway in route to a guy's weekend getaway, they spotted me shedding a few tears as I waved them goodbye. "Enjoy the quiet, mom!" Joey shouted from his open window. He knows me well.

What do you know about your mom? Does she love the outdoors? Enjoy a home-cooked meal? Seek thrill and adventure? Give it some thought. And try to translate it into a whopper of a gift -- like a home-made gift certificate for an afternoon hike -- with you. Or a feast made by your own two hands with only the healthiest of ingredients. Or a zip-line excursion at a local ropes course location.

It really is the thought that counts. So start thinking now. And make your gift one that really matters.

National Women's Health Week kicks off on Mother's Day with the purpose of empowering women to get healthy by taking action. Your health should be a major priority, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health has a few steps designed to help you achieve that. Businesses, government, and health organizations across the United States, hopefully near you, will be taking part in this event.

Objectives of the week are designed to teach women the benefits of:

• Engaging in physical activity most days of the week
• Making healthy food choices
• Visiting a health care provider to receive regular check-ups and preventive screenings
• Avoiding risky behaviors, like smoking and not wearing a seat belt

How many times have you overslept and started the day out in a rush (an even bigger one than usual) and the day just never seemed to recover? Or gotten out of the shower and your hair just wouldn't cooperate, leaving you starting out with a bad hair day and all the curses that go along with it for hours to come? It seems to be a fundamental truth that the way the day starts out sets the tone for how the rest of the day is going to go -- nobody is immune. Not even morning people!

So start your day out right and the rest of your day should go much better -- it's like a law of physics. To that end, try these tips from Active.com for a better morning and a better day.

Today is Earth Day. And you should take the stairs. Not because it's saves a lot of energy. If you take two flights of stairs every day at work, you'll save 72 kilowatts of energy on each day, which saves 90 cents a year in energy costs. You should take the stairs for two other reasons.

One, it's a green thing to do, says Renee Mullen of The Nature Conservancy's Conservation Science Group. And any energy saved is good for the environment.

Two, it's a healthy thing to do. It's good for your body to move. It's good for your head too. So today, take the stairs. Do it every day if you can. But at minimum, do it today.

On April 20, in celebration of the April 22 Earth Day, families nationwide will celebrate our great planet by participating in the Green Apple Festival. If you live near one of these eight cities, you can plug into the music and environmental awareness that will be powering these simultaneous festivities.

Chicago: Lincoln Park Zoo
Dallas: Fair Park
Denver: City Park
Los Angeles: Santa Monica Pier
Miami: Bicentennial Park
New York: Central Park
San Francisco: Golden Gate Park
Washington DC: The National Mall

If you can't attend, do something instead to honor our Earth. Mix it up, like this post recommends. Enjoy a picnic in your favorite local park. Engage in a little eco-running -- tote a trash bag along on your neighborhood jog and pick up any litter you come across. Plant a fruit tree. Start our own compost pile, send a free e-card to friends and family, or simply get outside and marvel at the world around you. And by all means, eat a green apple. It's a Super Food, you know.

April 22 is Earth Day. What will you do on this day to celebrate the diversity of life on our planet? What will you do promote a healthier environment? My mom thinks I should start a compost pile. Our local Home Depot is selling compost bins for $35. This would be a pretty affordable way to make a difference by cutting down on yard and kitchen trash and nourishing the soil in my yard.

Publix GreenWise Market magazine recommends I honor Earth Day by putting together a tropical snack mix with ingredients from around the world. Each yummy item listed below comes from a crop grown in ways that protect the rain forest.

• Dried papaya, diced (Mexico)

• Dried pineapple, diced (Phillipines)

• Dried banana chips (Central and South America)

• Flaked coconut, unsweetened (Philipines)

• Macadamia nuts, chopped (Hawaii)

• Cashews, raw (India)

For more Earth Day inspiration, visit earthday.net.

FitSpirit explores the mind-body connection and the intangible benefits we gain from our efforts to stay physically fit.

When you're happy, you feel better, look better, and may even live longer. Seems you ought to be happy more often then, doesn't it? OK, easier said than done on the days you find yourself feeling downright blue. You can always try, though, to bring more joy into your world. I say take a stab at happiness every day. Here's how.

• Go outside. When you're bored, anxious, or feeling bummed, head toward nature. Sit and soak it up. Or move around. The fresh air and exercise are sure to boost your mood.

• Head to bed. Go to bed an hour earlier tonight. The world will look a lot brighter in the morning. While you're at it, sleep late on the weekend. You deserve a lazy day.

• Share. Give a gift for no reason at all. Make a batch of low-fat mini muffins -- here's why you should keep them small -- and pass them out at work. Or offer a friend some hand-picked flowers. My little boys and I shared the fruits of our recent strawberry picking extravaganza with some neighbors, and we all felt happy after delivering smiles to so many faces.
  
  

• Reflect. At the end of the day, think of at least one good thing that happened over the course of the previous 24 hours. Yesterday, my four-year-old told me he loves me with all his heart. Giving thanks for great moments does wonders for perspective.
  

• Jump for joy. Really. Jump. Jumping up and down will fill your body with energy. It's good for the bones too.
  
  

For another 45 ways to brighten your days, click here.