That's Fit

Three shots a day. Go ahead. Toss 'em back and enjoy. Just make sure orange juice fills that shot glass (well, an eight-ounce glass is best, really) and you'll be all set for good health.

Your three shots should come morning, noon, and night. This way, antioxidant levels will stay consistent in your bloodstream. Hey, protection from free-radical damage all day long -- can't beat that, especially when it comes to one type of cancer: OJ contains something called carotenoid cryptoxanthin, and it's associated with a 15-31 percent reduced lung cancer risk.

As soon as you weave orange juice into your day, you'll want to adjust your diet a bit, because juice is high in calories. Still, give this juice a shot. It's well worth it.

100% fruit juice is a good addition to your breakfast. Without the added sugar, you're getting much of the fruit nutrition without added ingredients. The RDs over at HealthCastle shared their list of the top five juices:

• Concord Grape juice. According to a recent study, grape juice has the highest amount of antioxidants.
  
• Wild Blueberry juice. A close runner-up to grape juice, blueberry juice is also high in antioxidants. (Some listings rank it higher.)
  
• Cranberry juice. The flavonoids in cranberry juice can improve blood flow, possibly benefiting blood pressure and cholesterol while reducing the risk of blood clots.
• Cloudy apple juice. The cloudier varieties of apple juice are less filtered. Subsequently, they have more antioxidants than highly filtered varieties.
  
• Fortified orange juice. Many OJs are fortified with calcium, vitamin D, or plant sterols.

Do pay attention to serving sizes, however. A tall glass of orange juice may be two or even three servings. Stick to a small juice glass so you can enjoy your morning beverage without going overboard.

For years, Gatorade has been promoting its electrolyte-based drink as the athlete's choice. When we exercise, we lose a great deal of these body salts in our sweat, making their replenishment almost equally important as fluids. This is where Gatorade (and in recent years, Powerade) has excelled over other so-called sports drinks, and probably why most football coaches don't have tubs of Ensure dumped over their heads.

But in an ever-changing economy, many people find their disposable income to be less and less worth spending on things like sports drinks (that's assuming there's any disposable income to speak of at all). So, if you'd prefer to tuck your money away for what you consider to be more worthwhile things than electrolyte-replacing sports drinks, you can always make your own version of it at home.

Men's Health magazine suggests the following DIY recipe for a Gatorade-like, isotonic drink:

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 large pinch of salt

While it may not taste as good as Fierce Berry or Frost Glacier Freeze Gatorade, it should still provide you with approximately the same replenishment as those more expensive drinks.

Americans in general are getting more than enough calories, but many of us aren't getting enough nutrition. In fact, a recent survey done by the USDA found that Americans were lacking significantly in six important nutrients: vitamins A, C, and E, as well as potassium, magnesium, and fiber.

So here are five foods you can easily add to your diet that can make your daily intake of these important nutrients skyrocket. Not only that, since these foods are nutrient-dense, they don't add a lot of calories to your day. Best of all, this article tells you what you can eat, rather than what you can't...and you have to love that for a change!

Curious what the five foods are? Try eating:

• 1/3 c. nuts
• 1/2 c. beans (cooked or canned)
• 1 c. dark green veggie, steamed (like broccoli)
• 1 c. yellow/orange fruit or veggie
• 1 c. fresh citrus juice

Those five simple foods would add nearly 400% RDA of vitamins A and C, nearly 100% of E and magnesium, and 65% of potassium. They also would add 20 grams of fiber and 1/2 gram of omega-3s to your daily diet. Just looking at those ingredients, I see the makings of a delicious almond, broccoli, and carrot stir fry. Add in a cold bean salad and a glass of OJ and you'd be set!

Are you an orange fan? I'm talking the fresh fruit here, either the fruit itself or freshly-squeezed (and unpasteurized) orange juice.

If so, it may do you good to know that new research shows that oranges and grapefruits can help keep your arteries healthy and protect against heart attacks.

Citrus fruits reduced blood cholesterol in rats within a new study, which the researchers based their conclusions on.

Fresh orange juice is so good, as long as you bypass the frozen, reconstituted kinds that may taste good, but is rarely beneficial based on all the processing that's gone into it.

One of my favorite personal bloggers just asked the question of her readers: "So what do you feed your kids?" I'm always curious to hear the answer to that question, because I'm always looking for more nutritious meal and snack ideas to feed my own children.

Here's an article that claims to list the ten best foods for kids, and if you're looking to improve your children's nutrition it's a good place to start. There are some excellent sources of protein listed, including peanut butter (for non-allergic kids, of course) and eggs, and top notch produce like cantaloupe and broccoli. Dr. Bob Sears recommends putting out a "nibbling tray" of cut up fruits and veggies for young kids to graze on throughout the day, kind of like a fruit bowl for older children. You might be surprised to see orange juice on the list, since juice has gotten such a bad rap in recent years. Orange juice is loaded with vitamins and even counts as a serving of fruit, so go ahead and serve it up (as long as it doesn't replace milk and water).

What did they leave out? Let's hear it! What nutritious foods are your kids eating?

Is it better to drink pure fruit juice or soft drinks? Both have loads of sugar and there are arguments that sugar content is pretty evenly matched based on the quantity and brand of soft drink or fruit juice you consumer.

But there is more to the picture than that. Natural sugars in all-natural fruit juices are not combined with high-fructose corn syrup (a cheap sweetener) or caffeine and other ingredients that are harmful when taken in large quantities.

Solution? I make whole-fruit smoothies on occasion but day-to-day, I like Naked Juice all-fruit smoothies. No mess to clean up!