That's Fit

If water isn't enough to quench your thirst, you're in luck. A new UCLA study reveals the top 10 healthiest drinks, and AOL News features the nitty gritty on the whole lot right here. And guess what? Nine of them are fruit based. Here they are.

• Apple Juice
• Tea
• Orange Juice
• Cranberry Juice
• Acai Juice
• Black Cherry Juice
• Blueberry Juice
• Concord Grape Juice
• Red Wine
• Pomegranate Juice
  

What makes these drinks so healthy? Antioxidants, mostly. The more vivid the color, the more antioxidants there are. No wonder so many berry drinks made the cut.

This morning, my kids asked for cinnamon toast. So I made it for them. I used whole wheat bread, light butter with Canola oil, and a few sprinkles of McCormick's cinnamon sugar. My kids gobbled it down, which makes me happy for whole wheat purposes. My husband tends to think the rest of the equation -- the butter and cinnamon sugar -- is crap. I argued with him a bit, not trying to convince him butter and cinnamon sugar are good for our kids, just to let him know that our kids eat pretty darn healthy most days and there are far worse foods they could have ingested, with far more crap packed into them. Then I questioned myself. Then I did some research.

Hungry Girl says in one of her Chew the Right Thing posts that cinnamon sugar is something we ought to fight, not bite. Now she's speaking mostly to us grown-up calorie-counting folks and not to the kids of the world, but here's what she says: "McCormick's Cinnamon Sugar has only 15 calories per teaspoon. So why are we telling you to 'fight it!'? Well, we just don't see why anyone should waste any calories at all on this sweet spice when there is a just-as-good no-cal version available. After all, when you're watching your weight, every single calorie counts. Fifteen calories here, 30 there, another 40 here ... it can all add up." HG doesn't mention sugar in her opinion but clearly, there's sugar in cinnamon sugar.

So what does the Hungry Girl suggest? San Sucre Cinnamon Sugar. It uses Splenda and makes a great sugarless cinnamon sugar blend, she says. No calories in this goodie either. HG's final piece of advice: "Cinnamon helps keep blood sugar levels low, so sprinkle away!"

Dark chocolate has been enjoying an improved image lately, with all the good press regarding its health benefits.
It may still be high in sugar but it's rich in antioxidants, contains less fat than milk chocolate, and in some circles is considered a Super Food. No wonder dark chocolate sales are soaring.

Dark chocolate sales in Britain have doubled over the past two years, a new report reveals. By the end of the year, the British chocolate market is expected to grow even further. Predictions have sales growing 17 percent by 2013.

Experts think dark chocolate could soon be paired with wine and suggest upmarket bars could offer a choice of the finest chocolate to go with their best wine or champagne.

Sugar may be a worthwhile option as an alternative fuel source for vehicles, but it's a very poor choice for fueling our bodies. In addition to having no nutritional value, sugar is fast-digesting and will drive up blood glucose levels, leaving you feeling tired, hungry, and, paradoxically, craving more sugar.

Aside from the more obvious steps you can take to rid your diet of sugar (such as not adding sugar to your coffee or tea and avoiding candy and other sweets altogether), check the labels of foods you typically eat. If they contain more than 10 grams of sugar, say most nutritionists, you dump them and you dump them fast (with the only exception being dairy, because its milk sugar is naturally-occurring).

Also avoid refined carbs, such as those found in white rice, white bread, and bagels, for they too cause your blood sugar levels to go on an veritable roller-coaster ride. And if you have an unbearable desire for sweets, sate your sugar craving with complex carbohydrate-rich fruits (one caveat: try to avoid eating too much watermelon. Though it is good for you, it ranks very high on the glycemic index and therefore can produce a similar effect on blood sugar). You can also try stevia, an all-natural sweetener that has been used for centuries by the Guaraní tribes of Paraguay and Brazil.

When the days are long, lazy and warm, few things sound more appealing than a cool, frosty ice cream cone or milkshake. But shakes, as we know, are a definite diet no-no. It's not surprising, really, considering their number one ingredient is cream, followed by sugar and then possibly topped off with add-ons like chocolate, whipped cream or candy.

Still, indulging every once in a while isn't a crime, right? Sometimes it's important to treat yourself. But it's also important to know just how much that 'treat' is going to cost you.

So here's a question for you ...

AOL Health has the secret for energetic living. It's as easy as eating well -- and avoiding foods that zap the life out of us. Here are some of them.

• While not everyone will get sleepy after a turkey sandwich, turkey (and milk, corn, brown rice, and legumes too) contain an amino acid called tryptophan that can be both relaxing and exhausting. If fatigue is a problem for you, you might want to steer clear of these foods.
  
  
• Sugar may seem to give you a burst of energy, but that's all it is -- a burst. Long-lasting energy will never come from sugary foods. The body metabolizes sugar too quickly and then leaves you feeling just plain "blah."
  
  
• Any food with lots of fat takes longer to break down in your body and won't leave you feeling perky.
  
  

For more eating-for-energy secrets -- Hint: sports drinks may not be all they're cracked up to be -- check out this AOL site.

My son has a penchant for sugary cereals. I adopted him at age 10, so he had 10 years of forming his tastes and eating habits before he moved home with me. Luckily, he does enjoy a number of healthy foods. (I just recently succeeded in getting him to try (and enjoy) salmon.) Breakfast foods, however, are more of a challenge.

More often than not we have oatmeal, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, or eggs. But I do like to have a box of cereal in the pantry for those busy days. Getting him to change his preferences has been a slow process. In fact, just recently when we were at the grocery store he said "Fruit Loops are healthy. Right, Mom? They're made of fruit." Uh.... no.

HealthCastle has a great article discussing the truth about reduced-sugar products -- from cereal to instant oatmeal to granola bars to juice -- that are popping up on store shelves. The products are often aimed at kids, yet the claim of "reduced sugar" is supposed to appeal to health-conscious parents. Often, artificial sweeteners are used in place of the sugar -- calorie content remains about the same.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz. I would like to start teaching my family good eating habits. I'm overweight and my children are too. Where should I start? Thanks. Charlene

A. Hello Miss Charlene. Thanks for the great question. Raising fit and healthy children is my soap box, and actually one of my favorite lecture topics. Why? It's so important! Parents literally have the capability to set their children up with terrific habits which will greatly increase their chances of living a long healthy life. What a wonderful gift! The opposite is true as well. Moms and Dads who do not insist upon healthy foods and exercise can doom their children with awful diseases, ailments and even worse ... premature death. Junk food is no fun in the long run, and we as parents, owe it to our beautiful babies to provide a healthy start.

Each week, we'll be naming a Super Food and offering unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

It's no secret -- beans are great for you. In fact, we've told you before on You Are What You Eat about the amazing health benefits of two common types of beans -- kidney beans and garbanzo beans, aka chick peas. But when it comes to beans, don't limit yourself; there are other healthy beans you should make sure you're eating too. Case in point? Black beans.

Black Beans aren't a staple of most people's diets, but maybe they should be -- In addition to being a great source of fiber and protein, black beans also contain valuable antioxidants and vitamins, including manganese, magnesium, folate and iron. All that and they're virtually fat free. You can't do much better than that, huh?

I don't recommend the sort of happy meal you'd find at McDonald's and other fast food joints. But I do suggest you try some of the happy foods Redbook magazine features in its June 2008 issue. For the whole run-down -- there are 15 of them in all -- head on over to this site. For a little taste, keep on reading this post.

First, let me tell you why these foods are considered "happy." It's because they do more than fuel the body -- they help fight stress, fatigue, even the blues. They make us feel good. They make us feel, well, happy. And here they are.

Oatmeal: Ever met a dieter who is angry and tense all the time? It's likely a lack of carbohydrates causing such irritation. We need carbs. Not doughnut carbs, but carbs rich in fiber so the body absorbs them slowly and allows serotonin to flow steadily. Oatmeal fits the bill. So do whole-wheat pasta and beans.

Does your child decide what she or he eats for breakfast? Chances are they do, but letting them make the wrong choice can impact their health ... for life!

Today I bring to you the first day of our recent family vacation at the happiest healthiest place on earth, Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. To catch up with this feature, click here. As your online Fitzness Trainer, I'm eager to share with you the simple ways my family and I maintained and enjoyed our healthy lifestyle while on vacation. Disney has really made strides with their efforts to embrace healthy food and entertainment options. They've done a bang up job at it as well.

You'll see in this photo gallery that we started our day off at Typhoon Lagoon. Those energetic hours were followed by a ridiculously healthy dinner, scootering around our resort, and dancing our tushies off all night. It was both high-energy and a blast. Can you say "Quality Time"?

Here's a reminder: My Smoothie King post published on Tuesday, and I'm pleased to report we have 17 comments already -- that's 17 people who've put their name in the hat for a drawing that will take place today after 5 PM. You know what that means? You still have time to leave a confirmed comment here (if you have not already left one), which will enter you in the contest to win a $100 gift card. Just describe the tastiest and healthiest smoothie you'd create if you could. That simple. Oh, and by the way, we're not actually using a hat. The drawing will be done via a computer software program and in only the most random of ways.

Here's a clarification: One reader was confused by the whole "skinny" smoothie thing. Here's what the Smoothie King experts have to say about their skinny offerings:

For those Smoothie King smoothies sweetened with turbinado (raw cane sugar), guests can choose to make them "skinny" by leaving out the turbinado and adding an alternative sweetener or the option of no added sugar at all. So, if a smoothie says it contains turbinado, it will only be made skinny once the turbinado is removed ... and that is when the 20-ounce smoothie will decrease by 99 calories and 23 carbs.

There you have it: The skinny on the smoothies you could be enjoying with that gift card you just might win.

Cakes, cookies, ice cream, and popsicles. These sugary treats seem to be ingrained in every child's diet, especially the cold treats during the summer.

We all know that refined sugar is bad for us, so what is a mom to do? Is it really possible to keep refined sugar out of your child's diet?

This article from Mothering Magazine is written by a mom, Sarah Kamrath, whose five-year-old son has never had refined sugar. Never. I cannot tell you the respect I have for this mom, because 'never' is not easy. I can pretty safely say we don't have refined sugar in our house, but we do occasionally let our son eat refined sugar outside of our home. Birthday cake, the lollipop from the barber shop, and ice cream at a party have all been eaten by our near-sugarless son.

I gave my husband fudge for his 40th birthday on Saturday, as promised. Don't worry. It was a treat. It's not a way of life. John loved it -- both the milk chocolate and peanut butter varieties -- and our boys loved it too. All three of them gobbled down the thick, rich indulgence. I just watched. Sugar is not my thing.

I also gave John a swim suit for his birthday. The one he's been wearing for oh, seven years or longer, just drips off his year-old lean body. So I replaced his Large with a Medium and presented it to him at his mini-party on Saturday. He loved it. Nothing like a new suit after nearly a decade, I guess. One small problem though. It was too big. With one easy tug, he pulled those trunks completely off his hips and down to the ground. He's down 40 pounds lately, and apparently, that's more than a one-size change.

So off I go in search of a smaller suit. And maybe another hunk of fudge.