Olympic Rings

             If you can tell me how many gold medals swimmer Michael Phelps earned at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, then I will give you one free star!!  This offer is good until the end of September of 2008. 

Olympic theme music

click above to hear the Olympic music.

As of right now, the greatness that is the Dallas Stars is down 3-1 in the series vs. the Detroit Red Wings.  It is not likely, but wouldn’t it be great if we make history here?  GO STARS!  Here are Riley and I at Game 4 on 5/14/2008:

Thank you to all who participated in the Dallas Cowboys Junior Training Camp. It was an awesome event. Rowdy was great, I included a video of Rowdy teasing Mr. Boyd! My favorite part was watching the station where you crashed into the yellow tackling dummy and landed on the mat (like a goal line dive). Hope you enjoyed the Gatorade….Go Cowboys!!

The topic for Health this six weeks is about drugs and disease.  Since the past week was Drug Awareness Week, I just wanted to say that no one can force you to make bad decisions.  You have the ability to make the right choice!!  REMEMBER, when it comes to drugs: JUST SAY NO!

 Boys and girls…I WAS THERE!  It was an awesome event to be a part of and I will never forget it.  Western Conference beat the Eastern Conference 12-9 and Turco did quite well.  GO STARS!!

Scientists are finding evidence that the red-pigmented antioxidant lycopene found in many fruits and vegetables, especially tomatoes, may play a substantial role in reducing the risk for cancer and heart disease.

Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, has the ability to prevent and repair cell damage.  It has also been proven to help prevent high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness.

Some examples of foods high in lycopene are canned tomatoes, raw tomatoes, ketchup, pasta sauce, pizza sauce, watermelons, and grapefruit.

It is no accident that kids in the U.S. are getting more obese as physical education classes are being cut. The CDC has declared obesity an epidemic among children, and obesity-related diseases once seen almost exclusively in adults, like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, are increasingly being diagnosed in adolescents.

Last fall, the Atlanta School Board did away with physical education requirements for its schools in order to implement state-mandated academic reforms. A school-board member was quoted as saying the action was taken because kids in school need to be doing more serious things than playing.

“That is ridiculous to me, but, unfortunately there are a lot of people sitting on school boards who just don’t get it,” says Anne Flannery of the physical education advocacy group P.E.4Life. “These days, anything that isn’t tested isn’t valued, and schools are feeling the pressure to do away with programs that can’t be measured on a standardized test. But there is a growing body of research that shows physical exercise to be sort of a Miracle-Gro for the brain. Movement fosters brain development and growth, and physical activity prepares children to learn.”

Moral of the story = Learning through movement promotes increased brain activity.  P.E. is beneficial to learning!! 

The Difference between Physical Activity and Exercise

Both regular exercise and increased physical activity add years to your life and life to your years. Health benefits are obtained from increasing the amount of any physical activity you do. The more you do, the greater the benefits. Physical activity is any movement that uses energy. Exercise is physical activity that is structured and is done at a certain intensity for a certain length of time. We engage in physical activity for health benefits if we wish to avoid disease and delay death. We engage in physical activity for fitness benefits in order to improve some components of physical fitness (cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength, muscle endurance, flexibility, and body composition).

Long-Term BenefitsDecreases Risk of Heart Disease
Inactive people are 2x more likely to develop coronary artery disease (CAD) then active people.Decreases Blood Pressure
High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. Inactive people are 2x more likely to develop high blood pressure then active people.

Decreases Body Fat
Regular physical activity helps maintain optimal body weight and composition.High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. Decreases Cholesterol Level
A high blood cholesterol level increases the risk of heart disease. Regular exercise raises the level of “good” cholesterol and lowers the level of the “bad” cholesterol.Decreases Risk of Diabetes
Physical activity lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes and increases glucose uptake for those who already have diabetes. Fit women have diabetes 66% less often than unfit women.Decreases Risk of Cancer
Physical activity lowers the risk of colon and breast cancer. Decreases Risk of Osteoporosis
Regular exercise delays bone loss and promotes bone formation.Decreases Arthritis Symptoms
Regular exercise helps keep joints flexible and helps build muscle to support the joint. Decreases Number of Sick Days
Exercisers feel sick almost 30% less often than non-exercisers.Decreases Chance of Premature Death
Fit people live longer than unfit people.
Short-Term BenefitsRelaxes and Revitalizes
Physical activity reduces mental and muscular tension, and at the same time, increases concentration and energy level.A Break From Daily Routine and Worries
Physical activity is like a mini-vacation—you’re allowed to have fun.Helps You Feel Good About Yourself
Physical activity increases your self-esteem and self-confidence.

While many people start a physical activity program because of long-term benefits,
it’s the short-term benefits that keep them motivated to continue the habit.

This post is for all you hockey fans out there.  The Dallas Stars have already begun preseason and the team looks pretty good.  They have added some veterans such as Jeff Halpern, Patrik Stefan, and Eric Lindros to help get them on the road to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Let’s just hope Marty Turco brings his A-game!!  I love Stars hockey and cannot wait for opening night.  Opening night is October, 4th, 2006, vs. the Colorado Avalanche.  The HOME OPENER is Oct. 7th, vs. the New Jersey Devils. 

DALLAS STARS WEBSITE

Gatorade is a non-carbonated sports drink marketed by Quaker Oats Company, a division of PepsiCo. Originally made for athletes, it is now often consumed by non-athletes as a snack beverage. The drink is intended to rehydrate and to replenish the carbohydrates (in the form of sugars sucrose and glucose) and electrolytes (sodium and potassium salts) depleted during aerobic exercise, especially in warmer climates.

Gatorade was created by Dr. Robert Cade, Dr. Alex DeQuesada, Dr. Dana Shires and Dr. Jim Free at the University of Florida in 1965 for the school’s football team and given the university’s athletic nickname, the Gators. Dr. Cade entered into an agreement with the Indianapolis-based fruit and vegetable canning company Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. (S-VC) to produce the product, which he had already patented. In 1973 Cade and S-VC settled a lawsuit with the University of Florida, which had claimed the University owned the rights for the drink’s formula. Since that time the University has received more than US$80 million in Gatorade royalties.

Only a year after its commercial introduction Gatorade was reformulated, as its initial recipe contained the sweetener cyclamate, which was banned by the FDA. [1]

The Gators football team used Gatorade officially in 1967 and went on to win their first Orange Bowl title. They beat Georgia Tech, whose coach, when asked why they lost, replied: “We didn’t have Gatorade. That made the difference.” Gatorade was used officially in 1969 by the Kansas City Chiefs, who attributed their Super Bowl title of that year to the University of Florida sports drink.

Marketed with dramatically perspiring athletic imagery, the drink became popular with non-athletes, and dietetic and low-sodium versions were added to the Gatorade product lineup.

The Quaker Oats Company bought S-VC in 1983, after a bidding war with rival Pillsbury. Quaker licensed manufacturing of Gatorade in some worldwide markets to PepsiCo, but sued Pepsi in Australia in 1998, alleging Pepsi had misappropriated Gatorade trade secrets to manufacture its own sports drink, All Sport. Quaker won the Australian case [2]. In August 2001, Pepsico acquired Quaker (after another bidding war, this time with arch rival Coca-Cola). Both bidders valued Quaker largely because of the Gatorade brand.

In 1998, Gatorade switched from using glass bottles to using plastic bottles in the United States. Glass bottles are still used in some markets.

Along with Johnson & Johnson, Gatorade is one of the founding sponsors of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. It is also the official sports drink of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, Women’s National Basketball Association, NBA Development League, National Hockey League, US Soccer Federation, Major League Soccer, and many other pro and college organizations, providing supplies of the drinks to the teams in all flavors available.