That's Fit

While watching the Super Bowl this past Sunday -- or any football game, for that matter -- did you happen to notice the explosive power many running backs possess? Even when there are guys trying to drag them to the ground, they are sometimes still able to forge ahead. To build this kind of strength, many football players are employing a now popular functional training technique involving the use of resistance tubing.

To properly perform one of the more popular resistance tubing exercises, you will need the help of another person. That individual will stand behind you, holding onto the handles attached to the tubing. The good news for them is that they will also get a pretty good bicep and leg workout when trying to stop your forward progress.

Start by placing the tubing across your midsection, just above your belt line. Then, sprint 15 feet with your knees up high and your arms pumping as your partner attempts to pull you back. Do this for several sets and then switch positions with your partner.

While performing this exercise may not land you a contract with an NFL team, it will work well to help you build your explosive speed and strength, in addition to increasing your overall stamina.

There's been an admirable response to the global climate crisis, to the point where being "green" has actually become chic. Still, as cute as wearing 'stop global warming' buttons and donning cause-supporting jeans may be, or how politically correct it is to award a hybrid SUV to the Super Bowl MVP, the more substantive efforts being made are what deserve the most attention.

With attention comes education, a natural byproduct of keeping people interested long enough to learn something. To that end, I learned something new today about how we can reduce our energy consumption. It turns out that our houses (not our vehicles) are the biggest drain on the energy supply -- to the tune of 25 percent of worldwide energy consumption.

The major reason behind this energy guzzling is a lack of well-insulated homes. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, only 20 percent of U.S. homes built before 1980 are properly insulated. As much as 20 percent can be knocked off your energy bill by simply sealing cracks with caulking and installing (or reinstalling) insulation that's at least 19 inches thick.

With yesterday's game coming down to the wire the way it did, there were very few people who left their respective Super Bowl party early. There have been plenty of Super Bowls that turned out to be completely one-sided blow-outs; making a third quarter or early fourth quarter departure from a party perfectly okay. Not yesterday, though. That game literally came down to the last play, so leaving early was not an option. For some, this also meant that there was at least one more full quarter of boozing, and today you may be feeling the effects.

Chances are, you've heard your fair share of hangover cures over the years. In fact, you've probably heard plenty of drinking tales, too. But, the truth is that most of them are nothing more than myths. If last night's Super Bowl party is causing your head to feel like its being sacked by Michael Strahan, don't listen to people who tell you to drink a mimosa or try any other misguided method. Just the same, don't believe all those tired "liquor before beer" sayings, either.

Here is a WebMD list of popular drinking myths, many of which you've possibly already had suggested to you this morning by co-workers:

Myth #1 - A MORNING MIMOSA EASES A HANGOVER

Myth #2 - POPPING ACETAMINOPHEN BEFORE YOU GO TO BED MAKES MORNING EASIER

Myth #3 - DRINKS WITH FEWER CALORIES ARE ALWAYS A HEALTHIER CHOICE

Myth #4 - EATING BEFORE BED WILL ABSORB THE ALCOHOL AND MUTE A HANGOVER

Myth #5 - WINE IS BETTER FOR YOU THAN BEER

Myth #6 - DRINKING THROUGH A STRAW GETS YOU TRASHED FASTER

Myth #7 - IF YOU WEIGH THE SAME AS YOUR BROTHER, YOU CAN MATCH HIM DRINK FOR DRINK

Myth #8 - IF THE DRINKS ARE FREE, THE CALORIES DON'T COUNT

Myth #9 - BEER BEFORE LIQUOR, NEVER SICKER

With Super Bowl Sunday only two days away, I'm sure the corporate execs at Domino's, Papa John's, and Pizza Hut are hoping for the usual delivery madness. Inasmuch as these pizza giants rule the delivery game on Super Sunday, plenty of folks may want to keep their diets in check by eating something healthier. A popular solution may be Chinese food; you still get the convenience of having it delivered, but you don't have to worry about all those calories. Or do you?

A new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) reveals that Chinese food is ... well, suffice it to say not much better for you than the pizza!! That's because most Chinese food entrees contain between 1,000 and 1,500 calories -- and that's without taking rice, crispy noodles, and other extras into account. Not to mention that fact that some dishes were found to contain two days' worth of sodium.

But, if you're still bent on ordering Chinese food, ask for your sauces to be kept on the side, avoid deep-fried foods altogether, and keep the serving sizes small. To find out which Chinese dishes truly are healthy choices, visit www.dietdetective.com and do a little food sleuthing.

In what has to be a food safety first, an old Seinfeld episode inspired students at Clemson University to find out if double dipping your chip at the snack table really is bad for your health.

What they learned is that, depending on the acidity and texture of the dip in question, up to 10,000 bacteria can be transferred from mouth to bowl with every dip of the chip. Essentially, if every person in the room double dips their chip, you're looking at a large communal bowl of shared bacteria. What the didn't examine was what kind of bacteria was being passed around, or whether it was dangerous.

The bottom line is, double dipping is just bad manners. Keep your bacteria where it belongs and use a fresh chip when you dip this Super Bowl Sunday.

Here's the scene that inspired the study, just for laughs:

A new study by German researchers reports heart attacks and other cardiac emergencies doubled in Munich when their nation's soccer team played in World Cup matches -- it tripled for men. I witnessed how serious World Cup fans follow their sport after living four years in a university's graduate/married student family housing complex sporting a predominately international population. Didn't matter if a soccer match started at 3:00 a.m., academic and regular life stopped during the World Cup, with all eyes glued to the TV.

Americans take their version of football pretty seriously, too. German study author, Dr. Gerhard Steinbeck, stated the Super Bowl could also pose a similar cardiac hazard. Per the study, the effect was strongest in those with known heart disease.

If you're at risk for heart disease and planning on watching the Super Bowl this Sunday, a U.S. doctor suggested the following:

• Take prescribed meds.
• Avoid tobacco smoke and fatty meals (say goodbye to most XLII fare).
• Get a good night's sleep the evening before.
• Don't physically over-exert yourself (no raucous cheering).
• Men should stick with a two-drink maximum, women should have just one.
• Bad call? Count to ten and relax -- the point is, don't get angry at the refs.

Now for the big question -- will the Patriots keep their perfect record or will Eli join the Manning dynasty of greatness? Go Eli!

Super Bowl is coming up this weekend, and chances are many of you will be at parties or pubs taking in more than the game; Not only is it the biggest football game of the year, but it's also a time to drink beer and eat greasy food. In fact, studies show that it is the second biggest eating day after Thanksgiving -- yikes!

When I get together with friends over beers, we always manage to order a big plate of nachos to share. Now, I'm not naive enough to think they're good for me -- there's no way cheese and meat on already-unhealthy nacho chips wouldn't be bad for the old waistline -- but I usually just pick away at them in rare conversation lulls so I never really consider the calorie count. But in honour of Super Bowl, let's consider just how much damage a few nachos will do to your diet.

If I was Goldilocks (stay with me here), eating the 3 Bears' porridge wouldn't have been an issue. Why? Because: 1) I'm smart enough not to eat food that belongs to animals that can rip me to shreds, and 2) I really don't like the taste of porridge/oatmeal. The downside of that distaste is that I miss out on a great deal of health benefits offered by whole oats. The solution I came up with is to mix the oats with my morning protein shake, which helps me choke it down. But, it turns out that there is a tasty alternative to oatmeal, and it supposedly has similar heart-healthy properties.

But does it?

Classic Cheerios (not the Honey Nut kind) has more fiber (4 grams) than a packet of oatmeal (3 grams). And, just like oatmeal, whole-oat cold cereals chip away at your LDL cholesterol because they contain beta-glucans. This all sounds good so far, but there is some debate over whether or not the claims made on the Cheerios box (that a clinical study showed that eating two 1 and 1/2 cup servings daily of Cheerios cereal reduced cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol) is legit. This woman researched these claims herself, only to find that the study was funded by General Mills. Does this automatically make it invalid? Not necessarily, but it does raise suspicions.

Since the 3 Bears declined to comment on this situation, I'd be very interested to hear what you guys have to say.

Football is a sport that can burn a ton of calories. But guess what? That's only if you play it. If your idea of participating in a football game is wolfing down some beer and hot dogs while you cheer on your favourite team, chances are this 'sport' is making you fat.

Still, taking in a football game wouldn't be the same without the junk food. Here are some tips:

• Compensate. If you know you're going to be indulging, get up early and head to the gym for a couple of hours before kick-off.
• Remember, moderation is the key. A few cheesy nachos isn't so bad, but a few dozen will pack a calorie wallop.
  
• Pick your battles. If the Pats are your favourite team, don't go crazy when it's the Seahawks vs. the Steelers. Save your partying for the Pats games.
• Host the guys (or girls) at your house. When the game's on your home turf, you can make sure the snacks are healthy, or at least healthier.
  
• Play it. Instead of always watching it from the couch, why not organize a game of pick-up in your backyard before or after the game?

How do you celebrate football season without ruining your diet?

Also:

• Is there such a thing as healthy holiday snacking?
• Fighting obesity can save the planet
• Are obesity ads too soft on fat?

When it comes to indulging, I think that we all should be able to enjoy a party with our friends now and then without that guilt-inducing little voice scolding us about all the calories we're packing on. But if you're trying to watch your weight or lose a few pounds, then limiting your snacks at tomorrow's Super Bowl party just might be a good idea.

Want a little perspective before diving headfirst into the snack bowl? What if I told you that to burn off just a handful of Doritos you'd have to do 43 touchdown dances? Or that two pieces of fried chicken would mean doing "the wave" over 3,000 times? And those beers putting back with your friends? Lace up your running shoes, because it'll take over an hour of stadium stair climbing to burn them off. These fun statistics come from a new book called The Diet Detective's Countdown, which is designed to help people stop and think about food before they eat it.

Here are some more tips on how to stay true to your health and fitness goals while still enjoying time off with friends. There's a big difference between indulging yourself a few treats and binging your way to a few extra pounds. Eat a nutritious meal or snack before you go, drink plenty of water, and have a plan to prevent yourself from overdoing it. Most of all, have fun! And tell me who wins, because I love parties but football's just not my game.

Our weekly feature, Recipe Rehab, takes a recipe -- sometimes basic, sometimes decadent and sometimes just plain unhealthy -- and turns it into a scrumptious and healthy dish, pumped up with nutrition. Sometimes all it takes is a few alterations to prepare a dish that would make even your nutritionist proud.

The playoffs are over and it's almost time for Superbowl Sunday, complete with unhealthy snacks like chicken wings and chili. Luckily, this chili recipe delivers all the flavor, but won't break your diet. Add some baked corn chips and low-fat sour cream and you'll never believe it was good for you. It's also vegetarian, so it will feed all your guests, and makes more than enough for a crowd. You can adjust the amount of spice to suit your taste buds.

Vegetarian Chili

fat-free cooking spray
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 square baking chocolate
2 garlic cloves -- crushed
2 pounds vegetarian crumbles or TVP crumbles
4 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1 28 ounce can diced low sodium tomatoes
3 cans low sodium kidney beans, canned -- 12 ounce
low-sodium vegetable stock or water, to cover
salt & pepper to taste

Optional garnishes:

low-fat sour cream - about 15 calories and 1.grams of fat per tablespoon
shredded low-fat cheddar cheese - about 60 calories and 2.5 grams of fat per ounce
finely chopped red onion and fresh cilantro

Cook onions and peppers until soft. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until the chili thickens and the flavors blend together, about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.

Vegetarian Textured Vegetable Protein crumbles can usually be found in the frozen foods section by the veggie burgers. You can always substitute lean ground turkey or beef, but the recipe will no longer

Rehab Rundown

• Substituting vegetarian crumbles for ground beef reduce the fat and cholesterol while keeping the protein and make it a recipe everyone can eat
• Peppers add more flavor, fiber and antioxidants
• Low-sodium beans and tomatoes reduce the total amount of sodium
• Using low-fat and low-calorie toppings even further reduces the total amount of fat and calories per serving

Rehab Reveal

	Original	Adapted
Calories	540 (59% from fat)	453 (16% from fat)
Fat	34g	8g
Saturated Fat	13g	1g
Protein	38g	30g
Carbohydrate	7g	38g
Fiber	3g	18g
Sodium	528mg	478mg

During the 1994 World Cup Finals George State University researchers were busy collecting spit from guys in sports bars all over town (that had to be a fun job) because it's a good way to measure hormone levels. It has already been established that men (and animals) experience significant surges of testosterone after winning an important competition, like a sporting event or (for the animals, haha) a fight over a female. But what's interesting about this newest research was that the hormone surge also occurs for spectators of an important competition, like for fans all over the world during the 1994 World Cup Finals.

What does this mean? Not a whole lot, unless you're prone to aggressive behavior or have an active anger management problem. In those cases, though, beware the Super Bowl!

It's that time of year again, dreaded to some, beloved to others ... yes, it's the Superbowl. I'm not a footbal fanatic but even I know that it's coming and there will be lots of parties, complete with lots of celebrating or drowning of sorrows, and with those comes lots of food and drink.

Superbowl doesn't have to wreak havoc on your New Year's resolutions though. You can eat healthy and heave fun too. Check out these suggestions from eDiets. One of my favourite suggestions is chicken wings baked with spices instead of battered and deep fried. Other great snack? Homemade pizza, salsa and air-popped popcorn.

And if you have to drink, better make it light beer. Or wine, but who drinks wine at Superbowl?

What suggestions do you have?

60,000 people a day undergo some type of treatment or test that leaves small amounts of radioactive material in their bodies. If any of those folks happen to be part of the packed house at Dolphin Stadium this Sunday, they may have to explain to security officials why they're radioactive enough to set off "dirty bomb" alarms.

In the wake of the September 11th attacks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued over 12,000 hand-held radiation detectors for use at airports, border crossings, government buildings and large public events like the Superbowl. The people police pull aside may not be terrorists, however, but merely patients who've recently had medical treatments with radioisotopes in their bodies. That's what happened to six members of the crowd at New York City's tree-lighting party last November -- a mistake that, according to Richard Falkenrath, the city's deputy commissioner of counter-terrorism, "happens all the time."

There have been some embarrassing mistakes, but generally such cases are resolved after police use a more sophisticated device to detect the type of radiation present. That being said, if you're someone who's undergone this type of treatment, especially if you'll be at the game on Sunday, you might want to carry a note from your doctor.