Mushrooms on the menu

Mushrooms are low in calories, high in fiber, have essential minerals like selenium, potassium, copper, riboflavin and niacin, and are a good source of vitamin D. Lately the number of menu items featuring mushrooms as the main course or a side dish have been increasing steadily, as this article in The Produce News reveals. "Mushrooms are fat and cholesterol free and low in calories," said Mr. Billl Litvin, vice president of sales, eastern region, for Giorgio Fresh Co. in Temple, PA. "According to the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Industry Forecast 2011, 71 percent of customers are trying to eat healthier at restaurants today versus two years ago. Customer demand becomes the driving force behind our foodservice customers using more mushrooms." Mr Paul Frederic, senior vice president of sales and marketing for To-Jo Fresh Mushrooms Inc. in Avondale, PA, adds: "Statistics show that 88 percent of colleges are using mushrooms. Over 90 percent of business and industry operations, such as corporate cafeterias, are using mushrooms, and 89 percent of healthcare operations now feature them."

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Biking for economic health

Riding bikes is a low-impact cardiovascular exercise, highly recommended for those with weak joints, like older folk and obese people. It's a fun activity for the young. But biking is also a way to commute; a way to get some exercise out of your daily routine.....and with the rising gas prices commuting with bikes is good for economic health! An article in the VOA NEWS says: "Bicycle commuting in America has more than doubled since 2000. In Philadelphia, more than 10,000 commuters choose pedal power to get to work every day, according to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. That number is expected to grow during the summer months, especially if gas prices continue to rise. Last Friday was National Bike-to-Work Day. Mayors, officials and lawmakers in hundreds of cities across the country joined thousands of their citizens on two wheels, to highlight the popularity - and practicality - of bicycle commuting."

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Uneven breast development in girls

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the number of plastic surgery procedures on teens have doubled from 2002 to 2006, with more than 244,000 procedures. Uneven breast size is something that concerns most teen girls, which they want to correct through plastic surgery. "This girl is getting into the age of she's dating and she's very concerned about her body and is very distraught to see that [uneven breast size],” says plastic surgeon Dr. Marc Salzman. It takes approximately 10 years for breast development, normally between the ages of 8 and 18, and some of the initial changes are not visible on the outside. And breasts continue to change throughout your life, widening just like hips, and growing bigger with weight gain.

Philadelphia-based oncologist and the president and founder of breastcancer.org, Dr. Marisa Weiss, says: "A lot of girls worry that they're never going to develop. They think everyone else is way ahead of them, and you can never tell because so much of what girls are wearing is something that creates an illusion of a bigger size, like push-up bras." Weiss, who also wrote Taking Care of Your "Girls": A Breast Health Guide for Girls, Teens, and In-Betweens, adds: "Uneven breast development is very common. About 25 per cent of the time your breasts will be a significantly different size while you're developing. But most of the time they even out nearly completely. Only about five per cent or so of adult women have no difference in breast size. No two breasts are precisely the same size."

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All female boxing gym

Boxing is an excellent cardiovascular exercise which burns a ton of calories and tones your muscles. Boxing as a workout is just like dancing; you move with rhythm, learn new techniques, and let out aggression. Here's an article in GOLOCAL on an all female gym, Striking Beauties, on the East Side of Providence with a focus on boxing.

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Small portions healthy substitutes in fast food

McDonald's, the king of fast food chains, is being targeted by health professionals with a nonprofit group to stop marketing junk food to kids. Their full page ads published in US newspapers said: "As health professionals engaged directly in the largest preventable health crisis facing this country, we ask that you stop marketing junk food to children. The rates of sick children are staggering. We ask that you heed our concern and retire your marketing promotions for food high in salt, fat, sugar, and calories to children." The unhealthy content of fast food is a concern, but another problem is: portion sizes! Ideally we should have two hand-sized portions of wholegrains/pulses, one hand-sized portion of fruit and vegetables, not more than one palm-sized portion of fish, yogurt, chicken, meat, while the cheese, butter, and sugar should only be the size of your thumb.

Fast food breaks all these rules. The way it is prepared also carries health risks, but if you make fast food using healthy substitutes and cooking methods, it changes the taste. For example, the soft buns made from refined flour, which are terrible for us, become more chewy and crumbly when made from wholegrains. A light coating of low-fat cheese takes away the salty taste, while the meat is no longer greasy and soft when lightly fried in olive oil instead of butter. But that's the trick of getting people addicted to fast food for the rest of their lives: supersized portions and artificially enhanced taste!

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Miranda Kerr post-pregnancy workout

Gorgeous Miranda Kerr breastfeeding her four month old baby boy Flynn, while at a modeling photo shoot. She posted some other breastfeeding photos on her twitter that were a little more graphic, but it was all for a good cause. In an interview with Fox, Miranda Kerr admitted, "It's a little bit of a controversy, but a great thing to promote healthy breastfeeding." Miranda Tells OK Australia on her surprise at, "How intelligent our bodies are and how energetically connected you are to your child. I wake up as soon as Flynn opens his eyes!" Kerr even credited breastfeeding for helping her in shedding the pregnancy weight: "I eat extremely healthy, do yoga, and I've been working out....and I definitely think that the breastfeeding helps."



Miranda Kerr modeling workout clothes for Korean company Star Hwabo, which sells such pictorials and videos as cell phone downloads from South Korea Telecom, this month. Miranda, back to her regular skinny self, talked to Fashionista about her post-pregnancy workout. She had put on about 30-40 pounds. So Kerr practiced yoga throughout her entire pregnancy, walked a lot, and ate healthy. "When I have the choice, I'll eat organic food. I cook lots of veggies, steamed fish, lentils. I like to eat healthy." Now yoga and eating organic is what Miranda has always done before her pregnancy; she also promotes her organic beauty product line Kora. But did she add anything to her workout to get back in shape so quickly?



Miranda Kerr tells Fashionista that she started working out with a trainer, doing squats and resistance band training, because, "I've got to get that butt back into shape." That's one workout secret of Miranda Kerr; she stays healthy with yoga and does rigorous training when she needs to tone up for shoots. In an older interview that I posted in Miranda Kerr body confidence, she said: "I work out with my trainer a few times a week doing cardio, strength and toning exercises. Also, I've been practicing yoga at least three times a week for the past 10 years and have really noticed the benefits. Yoga centers my thoughts, allowing me to move forward in the direction I choose. It massages my internal organs and cleanses my mind, body and spirit."

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Jamie Chung beauty and shape

Pretty Korean heritage American actress Jamie Chung in a lovely Giambattista Valli gown at the premiere of her all-girl action flick Sucker Punch on March 23, 2011 in Hollywood, California. Speaking on her beauty essentials with Nylon TV, Jamie Chung said she always has fake eyelashes, concealer, eyelash curler, and eyeliner for the cat-eye makeup: "I'm not an au naturel kind of girl!"

Jamie Chung has an economics degree from the University of California Riverside. She got her twitter account verified this month and has been posting her thoughts on current affairs: "osama 2 miles from a military base living inside a mansion...wow...sounds like a nice cave." Jamie also tweeted her thoughts on staying in shape: "monday's are tough...getting to the gym after a long weekend...extremely difficult. ugh." For her role in the upcoming comedy The Hangover Part II, Jamie got to film in exotic Thailand which was good because: "We were filming at a resort, so we were able to run on the beach, snorkel, swim — basically use natural elements to stay in shape — instead of suffocating at a gym."



Left, beautiful Jamie Chung in the May 2011 issue of Esquire magazine, and right sweating it out in Complex magazine March 2011 issue. Chung, who turned 28 last month, talked with beautyinterviews about her favorite way to relax: "I love getting massages, particularly a deep tissue massage and then going in a steam room. I also go for walks and hikes." Because of her Asian background, Jamie Chung has starred in martial arts movies like Dragonball:Evolution and Samurai Girl, and in the upcoming The Man With the Iron Fists, with Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu. She isn't actually proficient in any martial art, but likes their fitness aspects: "Taekwondo is a great alternative to regular training. It's an excellent stress reliever and aids in bringing balance to your life. But it requires full dedication — complete physical and mental commitment."

Jamie Chung tells Men Fitness magazine: "I mean, it's incredible, we're being paid to be in the best shape of our lives. It's so much fun because you get so involved and you really try to do everything you can to benefit from it to it's fullest but as soon as it's over I cannot wait to indulge myself in red velvet cake and chocolate and everything that I can get." Jamie's other non-martial-arts movie coming soon to theaters is Premium Rush, a thriller which centers around a New York City bike messenger trying to deliver a package to a human trafficker. When the movie doesn't come with a workout schedule, Jamie Chung tells Complex magazine: "Eating healthy and squeezing in as much exercise as possible keeps your energy up for all these long photo shoots and travelling. If I'm crunched for time, I do short, quick bursts of high-intensity cardio. When I do have the time, I love my cycling class. It pushes me physically, especially when you're in a room with a group of people who are going hard. It makes you wanna go hard."

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