Healthy Living Tips

Eating Right
As a teen, you have specific dietary needs. Below is a list of nutrition tips to help you make good choices.

Don't Ditch Breakfast
Tests show students perform better mentally and physically when they eat breakfast! Give it a try for one week and see if you notice a difference. Grab-n-go breakfast items include: a fruit smoothie made the night before, trail mix, yogurt, cheese stick and crackers, bread, fruit, a peanut butter sandwich or leftovers.

Build Your Bones
Your bones are developing more now than they will at any other time in your life. Building bone strength requires adequate calcium, Vitamin D and physical activity. Make sure to get three to four servings of high-calcium foods daily to get your required 1,300 mg of calcium. One 8-ounce cup of milk, yogurt, fortified soy milk or calcium-fortified orange juice equals one serving.

Cool It on Caffeine
Have you felt too hyper lately? Been unable to sleep? Irritable? Anxious? Caffeine could be to blame. Caffeine is a mildly addictive drug found in colas, Mt. Dew, Sunkist Orange, Barq's Rootbeer, coffee and tea. If you drink these products, don't overdo it and be aware of your body's response. Caffeinated drinks actually dehydrate the body, which can compromise clear thinking, muscle function and efficient cleansing of waste products.

Move Your Muscles
True or false? If you want to build muscle, you should double your protein intake. False. Protein does build muscle, but consuming excess protein won't build more muscle. Exercise is the key to building optimum muscle strength, flexibility and endurance. It's also important to drink plenty of water (eight cups per day, plus more if sweating heavily).

Don't Forget Fiber
Fiber keeps your intestinal walls and their contents healthy. Fiber is the part of food that doesn't get digested, but passes through your intestines. How many grams of fiber do you need each day? Add your age plus five to get that number, up to 25 grams per day. Foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains such as oatmeal, graham crackers, high-fiber cereals, whole wheat bread and whole grain crackers.

Embrace Your Shape
Accept your body's natural build instead of trying to force your body into a shape that's unrealistic for you. Rather than fixating on the number you see on the scale, focus on healthy living. Get physically active for 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week and use the food guide pyramid when making your food choices. If you are struggling with your weight, talk to your doctor who can help you slim down healthfully. Take care of your emotional, social, mental and spiritual health as well, seeking help if you need it.

Girls, Get Your Iron
Teenage girls must be sure get enough iron (to replace what they lose each month). To make sure you're covered, include meats, fortified breakfast cereals and dried fruits in your diet. Eat foods high in Vitamin C at the same time and you'll improve iron absorption. Folic acid is also important and is found in oranges, whole grains, dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, legumes and fortified cereals.

Be Bold!
Be adventurous and try new foods. Aim for foods that not only taste good, but give your body good fuel to run on, too! Your skin, hair, moods and energy level can all be greatly affected by your nutrition.

Getting Fit
The medical community has been sounding the alarm: America's kids are in worse physical shape than they were 20 years ago. This is particularly concerning since overweight teens often grow into overweight adults, and overweight adults develop more heart disease, diabetes, gout and arthritis. The New England Journal of Medicine reported that obese teenagers in the top 25 percent of their weight categories have twice the death rate in their seventies as men and women who were thin as teens.

Fortunately, there's much you can do to stay healthy and fit.

Get plenty of aerobic exercise. Some possibilities include:

• Running
• In-line skating
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Power- or race-walking
• Tennis
• Full-court basketball
• Aerobic dancing
• Kick-boxing
• Tae Bo
• Hockey
• Soccer
• Rowing
• Elliptical training
• Cross-country skiing
• Jumping rope
• Racquetball
• Handball
• Ice skating
• Trampoline

The American Heart Association suggests that teens participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. This isn't about "no pain, no gain," but choosing fun physical activities that also make you sweat and breathe a little harder.

Exercise should never hurt, although a little muscle soreness can be expected, especially in the initial weeks of a workout program. Be sure to stretch and warm up. And keep in mind that, if you're out-of-shape, you should start out slowly to avoid serious injury.

Ten Arguments for Exercising
Here are ten reasons why you should exercise—and why it's easier than you think:

1. Running and walking are convenient. All you have to do is walk out the door and put one foot in front of the other. No need for pools, courts or fields.
2. Running doesn't cost much. Splurge on good running shoes, but go the el-cheapo route for shorts, t-shirts and sweats.
3. Your heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood and oxygen through your body every time you exercise aerobically. You'll think more clearly, get better SAT scores and maybe even ace that chemistry exam. You'll also raise HDL levels (high density lipoprotein) in your arteries to protect you from heart attacks and strokes when you get really old—like in your forties and fifties!
4. Exercising is an awesome time to chat with friends. (And talking slows your pace, so you'll exercise longer.)
5. Exercising gives you time to be alone and think. You'll be blown away by the creative thoughts—ideas for school papers, ways to end that fight with your best friend and what to say to that cute kid in English class.
6. The benefits of cross-training extend to all sports you do. Aerobic exercise conditions your body to perform longer, faster and more efficiently. Wait until your coach sees you play soccer or baseball!
7. The more exercise you do, the more energy you'll have for hours afterwards. Your body will kick into overdrive after a few weeks of conditioning and you will feel more energized than you ever have before.
8. Exercise makes you feel great physically. The progress is truly dramatic! Every time you work out, your muscles develop strength and power. Your lungs hold mega amounts of oxygen. You'll find that you're staring at yourself in full-length mirrors because you look AWESOME! Forget about dieting: Your metabolism will burn extra fat for hours afterwards.
9. Exercise makes you feel good mentally. Not everyone has the discipline and ability to set a goal and reach it with slow, steady and hard work.
10. Aerobic exercise, especially running, can demolish feelings of depression and frustration. After 20 or more minutes of continuous slow running, your body releases powerful hormones called endorphins that start pumping through your bloodstream, producing a strong "runner's high" that does wonders for your self-esteem.