That's Fit

In the market for a tasty, healthy treat? Try blueberries. Why? Read on and you'll find a handful of reasons.

Blueberries are quite low in calories -- there are only 83 calories in one cup, says CalorieKing.com. If for some reason, this is too much for you, you can burn these calories off with any one of the following: 11 minutes of walking, four minutes of jogging, three minutes of swimming, or six minutes of cycling (based on a 35-year-old female standing 5.74 feet tall and weighing 144 pounds). Or you could just pick some berries yourself -- I did the other day and spent about 45 minutes walking up and down rows of bushes, sweating my butt off. I surely burned off a serving or two of these blue berries. Really, though, it doesn't matter to me whether or not I burn them off because they are so darn good for me, the health trade-off is worth the caloric intake.

According to the The World's Healthiest Foods, blueberries are superbly healthy for these reasons.

• They are good for the heart, the brain, and the eyes.
• They protect against colon and ovarian cancers.
• They promote gastrointestinal health.
• They help relieve diarrhea and constipation.
• Their antioxidants neutralize free radical damage to cells and tissues.
  
  

Clearly, blueberries are bursting with health benefits. So buy some, pick some, eat some. They'll do your body good. So will the following antioxidant-rich foods.

Last week my son and I went to the eye doctor for a routine check up. My son's exam went without a hitch -- his prescription is a bit stronger than before, but it's no more than to be expected. My exam, however, showed a few unexpected changes.

I've noticed that the vision in my right eye hasn't been very good lately, but I blamed it on the pair of contacts I've worn much longer than I should have. It turns out that there is at bit of a problem in my right eye, or there was a bit of a problem anyway. Though I was largely asymptomatic, sometime in the past few months I had a case of Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR).

In CSR, layers of tissue near the macula become detached and serous fluid builds up underneath. Eventually, the fluid leaks out. Some people experience symptoms such as decreased night vision, problems discriminating between colors, distortion, or even loss of sight. Most often, the symptoms are temporary, resolving themselves as the CSR heals. In my case, I did experience some visual difficulties, but they were subtle enough that I didn't think anything was wrong.

Often, CSR is caused by extreme stress but it is also associated with pregnancy. In most cases, the symptoms go away in time but sometimes a degree of visual impairment remains. (That's the way it is with me. Scar tissue is causing some permanent damage, but the damage is mild.) All I know is that this gives me a good reason to take better care of my stress levels.

Sunglasses are important year round, but especially so during summer months when we tend to spend more time outdoors. When you shop for sunglasses, one of the things that makes a big difference in price is whether or not the lens is polarized, which might lead you to believe that polarized is better for your eyes. That's not entirely true.

You need to make sure that any sunglasses you purchase block UVA and UVB rays. Polarization has nothing to do with UV -- it simply prevents glare. And, while glare can cause you to squint (which can lead to eye strain and wrinkles), the glare itself isn't doing damage to your eyes.

Surfaces that tend to cause glare are pavement and water, so polarized is often preferred for driving and boating. Personally, I like polarized lenses for running outdoors, but I know other people who are bothered by the polarization, so if you're spending big bucks on glasses for running outdoors, make sure you're familiar with the return/exchange policy.

Are you hitting the beach during the holiday weekend? If so, don't forget to protect your eyes from the sun! While it's always important to lather on the sunscreen before heading out, it's equally important to protect your eyes from UV rays.

Numerous eye problems can result from sun damage. Young people especially need to remember to wear eye protection as they tend to be outdoors in the bright sunlight more than their adult counterparts. A good pair of UV-blocking sunglasses is you first line protection, but wide-brimmed hats can also provide some shade.

An American Optometric Association survey revealed that 40% of Americans don't consider UV protection an important criteria in sunglasses. It is important. Look for sunglasses that block out 99% of UV-A and UV-B radiation.

Here are some must-haves to jot down on your next grocery list: Leafy spinach, kale, turnip greens, squash, green peas, broccoli, and corn. These are just a few of the foods rich in lutein and zeaxanthin -- two plant nutrients one large study reveals can reduce your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration.

You might be 35 percent more likely to ward off the most serious form of macular degeneration by incorporating these veggies into your diet. So get them on your list, get them in your cart, and get them in your mouth. They'll do your body good. You'll see.

Happy shopping. Happy eating.

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.

This week I got to sit down on a beautiful sunny day, in The Swamp with the very sweet, smart and athletic ESPN College GameDay Analyst Mr. Kirk Herbstreit. No, we weren't knee deep in mucky water. We were in the heart of Gator Country enjoying the breeze after Kirk completed his workout, running zillions of steps at the University of Florida football stadium, The Swamp. Kirk retired from playing football more than 15 years ago, after four years at quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes. But now, he's one of the major faces of college football. Pandemonium strikes college campuses across the country when he -- along with host Chris Fowler and analyst Lee Corso -- set up shop outside the biggest games of each week.

Kirk brings something unique to the team. Every time the GameDay crew heads to the University of Florida, I find more than just the expected crowd of rowdy football fans swarming their booth. There is always an unusual amount of females in a frenzy to get as close a look as possible into Kirk's pretty blue eyes. He's definitely worthy of the attention. From my interaction with Kirk, I think he's a genuinely nice and genuinely thoughtful person. Before we started talking fitness, Kirk shared concerns over all the violence taking place on college campuses. He's a protective father and husband who tries to excel in his career while taking care of his family. He is just plain old sweet! And even though his professional life has been built around sports, he works hard to squeeze in fitness and manage nutritious eating just like the rest of us. Kirk seems to be an expert juggler of life and shares some great tricks for staying fit on the go. He also dishes a few doozies on football.

Fitz: What types of things do you do to stay in shape?

Kirk: It's kind of a lifestyle really. As an athlete I worked out so hard, I could eat anything without paying the price for it. As I got older, I still had that appetite and I was not able to work out as hard as I did when I was playing football. What I really try to do is control my portions, and mix in cardio and strength training workouts four to five days a week. If I can do that, I feel like I'm in a pretty good place. It's just about doing it though!

Fitz: What do you do while you're on the road?

My son wears glasses and I've always worried about him when he's out playing sports. A good smack to the face and he could sustain serious eye injury. Last soccer season, I chalked up the horror movies running through my mind as unreasonable mommy-worries. (Because goodness knows I have a lot of those.) But according to this article, my fears aren't that outlandish after all.

The American Optometric Association reports that there are roughly 600,000 sports-related eye injuries each year. About 13,500 of which result in a permanent loss of sight. Eye protection is a necessary measure in high-risk sports such as baseball, basketball, and football. Other sports, such as golf, tennis, and fishing, may not seem like as big of risks, but protective measures should still be taken.

Purchase protective eye wear from a sporting goods store if you don't wear glasses vision correction. If you do wear glasses, ask your optometrist for recommendations. AOL Body has more tips on sports safety and injury prevention.

Traveling is easily one of my favorite activities. Whether it's a short road trip with friends or an across the globe adventure, as long as I can get the time off work and scrape together enough money to go, I'm in. The only thing I don't like, is the dazed and crazed look I often sport after several hours of travel time.

I wrote not so long ago about an article that gave tips on how you can maintain your good looks while on a flight -- drinking lots of water and no alcohol, sleep and movement are all key. This time I've come across an article that will help you prepare beforehand, including advice on what to pack and which beauty treatments to try before you hit the road. Whether you're traveling for business or for pleasure, the advice listed here will make sure that you're looking great as soon as you land.

I got quite the shock when I went to see my optometrist five years ago, only to have him tell me that my vision had deteriorated signifcantly and I needed glasses. I found out I was quite near-sighted, despite having near-perfect vision a few years earlier. I racked my brain to figure out what I had done wrong, and it all came down to one thing: My job. That was around the time I started to work in an office environment, slaving over a computer day in and day out. Nearsightedness is rarely caused by genetics--more often, it is caused by strain to your nearpoint vision. And the top source of that kind of strain? You guessed it--the computer.

So my advice? Give your eyes a break. Finish this article, then turn off the computer and let your eyes relax. Men's Health also has this suggestion: Close your eyes, tense all the muscle in your body and and release all at once with an exhale. Do this a few times a day, and you'll find your whole body will be less tense, including your eyes.

I can't even count the ways I love George Clooney. A lot of celebrities could take a lesson from him on how to handle the media attention (at least most of the time).

He was recently interviewed for the April 2008 issue of Esquire, and when asked if it was true that he had cosmetic surgery on his eyes, he said he didn't, but went on to joke, "I did get my balls done, though. I got them unwrinkled. It's the new thing in Hollywood -- ball ironing."

This was the same interview in which he went online to see what rumors were circulating about him, and in response to one that said he was "GAY, GAY, GAY," he left a comment saying, "No, I'm gay, gay. The third gay -- that was pushing it."

The man clearly has a good sense of humor about himself, his fame, and the public's response to all that is George Clooney. If only more celebrities could be that secure -- we'd have more jokes than drugs, and more bouts of uncontrollable laughter than bouts of depression.

At some point or another we all suffer from puffy eyes, and they inevitably time their appearance before an important day at work, a social gathering, or worse yet a big date. Of course there are all kinds of beauty masks out there, and home remedies like using cucumbers or teabags, but if those don't work for you is there anything else you can try? Natural Health enlisted the help of massage therapists from a spa in New York City for advice, and they had this interesting technique to share:

• Place your index fingers in the depressions a half-inch below the inner edge of your eyebrows, below the brow bone (on either side of the narrowest part of your nose), and gently press in and upward (see a picture here).
• Hook your index fingers over the edge of the infraorbital ridge (the bone below each eye) at the very center, aligned with your pupils, and apply gentle pressure on the ridge.

The University of Copenhagen out of Denmark has managed to trace the genetic lineage of blue-eyed individuals all the way back to a single ancestor. By studying various people from distinctly unique countries like Jordan and Turkey, they discovered that everyone had brown eyes in the beginning.

However, at some point in our history, a switch was triggered which caused brown eyes to transition to blue. The way this happened was that the amount of melanin in the iris became "diluted" as they put it. This switch appears in the same genetic spot for each person, linking back to a common ancestor. The scientists referred to this as a mutation of the "OCA2 gene" which toned down the amount of melanin produced.

It just goes to show you that mutations such as these can produce beautiful results!

My radio station co-hosts debunked a few health myths yesterday morning and some of the truths they shared surprised me a bit. What do you think about these?

We should drink eight full glasses of water each day. Nope. This myth dates way back and has long been perpetuated. But most of the water we need comes from our food -- if we're eating the right foods, of course -- and so consuming loads of water simply is not necessary. How much is the right amount? It depends on the opinion of the person you consult.

We only use 10 percent of our brains. Not true. Never has it been proven that 90 percent of our brains sit dormant. Imaging tests on a normal healthy brain will consistently light up all over the place, indicating function in all areas.

Reading in dim light will harm your eyes. It might cause some strain but won't lead to permanent damage or vision loss.

Does turkey really make us tired? Do our nails and hair continue to grow after we die? To uncover the truth about these questions and more, give a glance to this MSNBC article.

We have become a nation of screen watchers. Television screens, movie screens, computer screens, and even cell phone and iPod display screens. Hell, even when we go to concerts, we usually pay less attention to the actual performers on the stage and focus our intentions instead on their image on the jumbo screens. While much, if not almost all, of this serves a purpose, eye doctors suggest that all this 'screen time' is doing a number on our eyes.

Dr. Jeffrey Anshel, founder of Corporate Vision Consulting, suggests performing what he calls the 3B approach to keeping your eyes from aging prematurely: Blink, Breathe, and Break.

Blink more often. Our blink rate goes down from about 12-15 times per minute to about times as few when we stare at a screen.

Breathe. When faced with stress, we tend to hold our breath. This tension affects our eyes over time.

Break. Take about 10 seconds every 10 minutes to take a break. Ideally, you should try to get up and move around. But, if this isn't an option, at least spend that time staring off to something in the distance and keep your eyes moving.

When it comes to our health, we're constantly hearing different things from different sources -- sometimes it's even contradictory information! It's hard to know what's real and what's false. But here's a little bit of help: This article from Reuters explains at least a few common health claims:

• Reading in dim light won't damage your eyes
• Shaving does not make hair grow back thicker
• Eating turkey does not make you drowsy
• We don't only use 10% of our brains
• Hair and nails do not keep growing after death
• There's no evidence to support that mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals
• There's also no evidence to support that you need 8 glasses of water a day.
  

Interesting, huh? As far as the last one goes, though, I do think you need lots of water, if only to supress your appetite from spinning out of control.

Want to know the reasons behind these? Click here.