That's Fit

It's a widely accepted belief that color affects mood. According to a recent German study, color can also affect the decisions referees make. The study found that tae kwon do competitors who wore red had the favor of the referees. Competitors who wore red were consistently awarded more points than competitors who wore blue, even when their performances were virtually identical. The lead author of the study, a psychologist at the University of Munster, suggests that color "triggers a psychological response in referees."

Other experts say that the study wasn't complete because it didn't take hue and brightness into consideration. In addition, some experts state that wearing red isn't always a positive for athletes. For example, soccer players who wear red may have more fouls called on them.

I don't know about this seeing-red thing. While red is certainly an eye-catching color, I'm not sure if I buy the fact that it makes that much difference in sports. Particularly in team sports, where an entire group is wearing red. To me, it has the distinct ring of the old cops-ticket-more-red-cars urban myth. What do you think?

I stopped at the farmer's market this morning and several booths had beets for sale. I debated about buying some to make a borscht. (Which I love, but I was quite certain it would be a complete miss with my son.) According to Planet Green, I should have just tried juicing beets.

Researchers have found that drinking 500ml of beet root juice daily can have a positive impact on blood pressure. Not only is beet root high in antioxidants, it also contains dietary nitrates which benefit blood pressure. Researchers found that the blood pressure of study subjects dropped just one hour after drinking beet root juice, with the most benefit showing three to four hours after drinking the juice.

Want another idea on what to do with beets? Debra has some ideas for cooking beets with the greens.

So maybe one alcoholic drink per day is healthy. But don't pour that second one just yet -- it could be the very thing that erases the positives effects of the first.

Several studies have shown that light drinking may lower the risk of death and the development of heart disease. One recent Canadian study found that after one drink, blood vessels in participants were more dilated, reducing the work the heart had to do. But, after two drinks, the heart rate, amount of blood pumped out of the heart, and the action of the sympathetic nervous system all increased. The ability of the blood vessels to expand was also diminished. Hypertension, heart failure, and sudden death all can occur when these factors are in place.

Here's the deal: Have one drink and be well. Have two or more and you could stress your system. Now, we're talking regular consumption here, not the occasional indulgence. And get this: The American Heart Association does not recommend that anyone start drinking one drink per day to prevent heart disease. Reducing your risk through proper diet and exercise is much more effective than incorporating alcohol into your day.

Incidentally, if you are going to have one drink, make it red wine, the stuff believed to have the most protective properties.

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.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

While spending time backstage with the mega stars of teeny tot entertainment, I had the chance to figure out how these amazing men from Australia have kept themselves in such great shape. Dancing, jumping, and flying across stages (sometimes twice a day) hundreds of times a year and well into their forties does not come easily. Murray Cook is the red Wiggle who loves to play guitar. Fortunately for him, he also loves to stretch. He took me through the series of back stretches he completes on a daily basis, and in my expert opinion ... his routine is awesome! Back injuries both minor and major seem to bother all of us at least once in our lives. Many of those injuries could be prevented with a simple and consistent stretching routine like the one Murray demonstrates here.

We all know fruits and veggies that are bold and bright in color keep us healthy. But what colors are best? Red, for one. Health.com says we can't go wrong with these three red foods.

Red cabbage
It has has deep-red (almost purple) pigments containing 36 plant chemicals. Researchers say these may be useful for guarding against cancer, boosting brain function, and promoting heart health.

Beet juice
It has a chemical your body may convert into a compound capable of expanding blood vessels and lowering blood pressure, say British scientists. If this doesn't sound appetizing on its own, try mixing it into a smoothie.

Tomatoes
They have lycopene and beta-carotene -- antioxidants that can keep your heart young by lowering your cholesterol.

Of course, red isn't the only color you'll need to eat to stay healthy. It's important to incorporate other colors into your diet too.

Burgers are a thing of the past for me -- I stopped eating red meat a little more than a year ago, which struck burgers right from my diet. Turkey burgers never really did anything for me so a burger-free girl I am. Makes me think I'm in the minority when I stumbled upon this statistic in the June 2008 Redbook magazine: Americans eat 13 billion burgers per year. Now that's a lot of beef. Check out these other stats:

• The year a burger was first served on a bun: 1891

• Ounces of meat in a Wendy's "Where's the beef?" hamburger: 4

• The cost of a hamburger at White Castle when the chain first opened its doors in 1921: 5 cents

• Pounds gained by Super Size Me star Morgan Spurlock after eating McDonald's for one month: 25
  
  

This site has some more burger stats. Got any of your own?

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) exists. It's designed to help those living with HIV. Yet a recent report revealed that only 31% of HIV positive people in low to middle income countries are receiving the necessary treatment.

Efforts by organizations such has the World Health Organization, UN Aids, and UNICEF have made a dent in the problem. In fact, an extra 950,000 people received treatment last year. But the agencies' goal was to have three million on ART by the end of 2005; that number has still not been reached.

The lacking distribution of ART is largely because of funding, but other factors create barriers as well. The poor health care systems in underdeveloped countries and untrained staffing also inhibit progress. In addition, up to 20% of people in highly infected countries are unaware that they carry the virus.

There is something you can do to help. Have you gone RED yet? Simply purchase services and products that are labeled (Product) RED and a portion of the proceeds will be put toward HIV medication distribution and other AIDS-related charities.

Actress Kelly LeBrock, of 80s films Weird Science and The Woman in Red, no longer sports her famous size two figure. She doesn't even sport the trimmed down bod she got on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club -- LeBrock started the reality show weighing 175 pounds and signed off at 144 pounds. Nope, this hot mama -- who virtually starved herself to lose those TV pounds and exercised twice a day to keep the weight off -- vows to never diet again.

While LeBrock may find herself cutting back on a few things -- mostly lasagna with crème béchamel sauce -- when her pants get a little snug, you won't find her striving for size two ever again. She won't weigh herself either.

"I could be like everyone else [in Hollywood] and stop eating," she tells PEOPLE magazine. "But that wouldn't make me happy."

Celebrity trainer Gregory Joujon-Roche shares on MSNBC's The Fit List some techniques he'll be using to whip his clients into shape for Sunday's big Oscar extravagana. To prime yourself for your own red carpet event, you might want to borrow a few of these. You must first be a regular exerciser, though, says this trainer guy who likes to kick things into high gear. It's all about burning fat. Skip the Pilates, he says. It's time to sweat.

• Aim for an hour of cardio every day. Make it intense and sustained cardio and keep your target heart rate to 85 percent of your max. To calculate a general target heart rate, take 220 minus your age and multiply by .85. If you don't have a heart rate monitor, count your pulse for 6 seconds and multiply that number by 10.
  
  
• Exercise first thing in the morning and go for another round of cardio later in the day. This is called "split training" and is one of Joujon-Roche's secrets to dropping pounds.
  
  
• Don't focus a lot on intense strength training if slim and trim is your goal. Stick with basic body-weight exercises such as crunches, planks, lunges, and squats. Keep your focus on aerobic activity. Keep the sweat flowing. If you do want to pump up a bit, do circuit training and skip the rest breaks so you keep your heart rate up. And do 50 push-ups every day (not necessarily all in a row).
  
  
• Watch your calorie consumption. The wrong diet can easily undo the calorie burn from all that cardio. Eat veggies, veggies, and more veggies. Add some lean protein such as white fish or salmon.
  
  
• Let your body restore. Every other day, take 30 minutes or longer to sit still by yourself with zero interruptions. Simply stretch, breathe, and be. Clear your mind and remind yourself of what an amazing person you are.

Martha mentioned recently the potential that one day, we may need only a pill to maintain a healthy weight and live a long life. Wouldn't that be grand? Maybe. But I'm here to tell you we're a long way off from such a dream. That magic pill, likely to house the supplement Resveratrol, isn't quite ready for human use.

Resveratrol, a natural substance that comes from the skin of red grapes, has been shown in studies to keep mice thin, boost their energy, and extend their lives, all while protecting them from the dangers of an unhealthy diet. Resveratrol also helped mice maintain their motor skills as they aged. There have been no similar studies in humans.

Don't pop that cork and conduct your own studies just yet. You'd have to down 1,000 bottles of red wine to consume as much Resveratrol as each mouse was given. Until further notice, just stick with a handful of red grapes. The fiber, vitamin B, and manganese packed into this juicy fruit is good enough for now.

I am well past the age when I thought I'd have to worry about major breakouts. I rarely had pimples or zits when I was a teenager and now that I'm pushing 30, I thought I was safe. Not true. I don't know what it is but suddenly I've began to have super, massive under-the-skin, painful zits on a regular basis and am getting other minor breakouts on occasion as well.

In the last week in particular my skin has been revolting -- and I use the word 'revolting' as both a verb and an adjective in this instance. I was afraid that I was alone until I got a text message from a very good friend giving me a quick update on her life. "Things are good but nearly 30 and suddenly breaking out all over".

I am a hair dye enthusiast -- I love to color my hair. While some do it to cover gray or because they've always dreamed of being a blond, brunette or red head, I do it because I love that it's a non-permanent way to considerably alter the way I look. Well that, and also due to the fact that my normal hair color is an extremely unappealing shade of mousy, ash-brown.

While I'm happy to shell out a fair-sized amount of cash to have my hair done professionally for special occasions, I can't afford to pay expensive salon prices every time I decide I need a change. I imagine this is the case for most of you fellow dye fans out there. I know that many hairdressers will try to persuade all of us that home hair-coloring kits will forever destroy our hair, but I also know of a few who will admit that many of the products currently on the market do a pretty decent job at a much lower price.

Having said that, if you do decide to try the DIY method, it is important to do a little research beforehand as the onus is on you to get it right. A botched at-home job will end up costing even more when you have to go to a professional to fix the splotchy, orange mess you've made of your former crowning glory. With this in mind, it's important to think about the four things listed here before you start the process.

A few days ago I took my two children, and their two best friends to a Wiggles concert in Kissimmee, Florida and am so grateful I did. Along with the incredible fitness video segments I shot backstage with the gorgeous blue Wiggle, Anthony Field.....it turned out to be one of my children Ginger (4) and Parker's (2) favorite experiences ever.

Before the show, my whole brood got to meet The Wiggles and have a picture taken at the official "meet and greet" session. Traditionally the session is designed for the group to spend time with special needs children. Mine are not, but we were fortunate to have the opportunity. The Wiggles perform about 200 shows each year around the world, but when it came to this special time with the meet and greet children the guys made each child feel really important; the kind of treatment that would bring any Mommy to tears. Bursting with smiles and tender voices, I was impressed at how these men related to the little ones. Hard to describe. The four I took were both shy and excited while meeting the group. Afterward, each maintained a death-grip on the Polaroid's they were given featuring themselves with the band.

Once we were seated in our 'hot potato" seats on the floor in front of the stage, the real fun began. The atmosphere was electric and the kids were ecstatic. The show is bright, colorful, busy and just full of fun! The music also happened to be perfect. Now, I've seen just about every big name performer on tour in the U.S. and there is something unique about singers/bands who actually sound in person the way that they sound on the radio or television. The Wiggles are like that. You get what you came for, you know? You get to enjoy the songs you love in the way that you know them.

My husband told me about this ground-breaking news flash today at lunch, and I suspect that the little blurb he first heard on talk radio is going to soon infiltrate the media. It's that big. Here's what he heard: Excess body fat almost certainly causes cancer.

The evidence is stronger now than ever before and is detailed in a landmark report issued today by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF). Evidence linking cancer with consumption of alcohol, red meat, and processed meat is also pretty darn convincing.

The report, available here, has been five years in the making and consists of data pulled together from nine independent teams of scientists from around the world and 21 international experts who analyzed more than 7,000 large-scale studies.

If you were unsure about the connection between cancer and diet before today, consider this: Body fat is convincingly linked to six different cancers -- colon, kidney, pancreas, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and endometrium, and post-menopausal breast cancer. And this is just one striking point made in the 517-page report. There are 10 other issues outlined, which have led to these ten recommendations: