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Personal Mission Statement

Defining who you are can be another powerful way to help you make the changes you desire. A personal mission statement is like a credo or motto that states what your life is about. It should reflect the values you hold about the importance of health and fitness and life in general. It can act as a guide to help you adhere to what you truly want to achieve. It can help you commit to a running (or walking) program.A personal mission statement can be anything you want – a favourite quotation, song lyrics or your own creation. It needs to inspire you and help you remember what you are all about. Take a look at the worksheet in your "Documents" section of your SportMed Community network - Develop Your Personal Mission Statement for examples and how to develop your own. Encourage your participants to do the exercise and once completed, to post it on the refrigerator or wall and review it regularly for inspiration.

Our Deepest Fear

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” by Marianne Williamson

Training Tips

IS CHOCOLATE REALLY GOOD FOR YOU?
By Amby Burfoot

In January 2006, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published the most convincing study yet linking flavanol-rich cocoa to improved blood-vessel health. A month later, the Archives of Internal Medicine reported that Dutch men who ate the most chocolate had a 47 percent lower mortality rate over 15 years than a similar group that consumed little chocolate. In June, the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology published a special supplement on cocoa flavanols, with 17 articles about chocolate's health benefits, ranging from lower blood pressure to increased brain blood flow to better skin health. In November, independent researchers at Johns Hopkins announced a study that showed a small amount of chocolate slowed platelet clumping. Also in November, a new chocolate called CocoaVia got a lift from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, which reported that two (small) bars a day lowered LDL cholesterol in a high-cholesterol subject group by 6.7 percent. This likely resulted from the addition of plant sterol esters (like those found in some margarines) to the CocoaVia. It's enough to make you look for Willy Wonka's nearest factory. Only one problem: Much of the research has been sponsored by Mars, the folks who brought us M&Ms, Snickers, and now CocoaVia. Almost any time you speak to a chocolate "expert," you're talking with someone who has cashed a few checks from Mars. Sweet Science Mary Engler is an exception. A cardiovascular physiologist at the University of California at San Francisco, Engler, along with her twin sister and fellow Ph.D., Marguerite, has spent the last 15 years researching the connection between diet and blood-vessel health. In 2004, the Englers published the first independent study, in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, to show that a dark-chocolate bar enhanced artery dilation. A chocolate bar with most of its healthy flavanols stripped away had no such effect. Flavanols are plant micronutrients, such as those found in tea, purple grapes, and apple skins, that can have a powerful effect on cell health. A particular cocoa flavanol, epicatechin, triggers blood vessels to release nitric oxide, which relaxes nearby muscle fibers, allowing the arteries to expand and carry more blood. "The evidence is absolutely compelling," Engler says, "and I believe the field is going to grow rapidly, just as we saw with the omega-3 fatty acids and their connection to heart health."Carl Keen lives and works just 70 miles from Engler at the same university, only he's at the branch in Davis, and his research has been funded by Mars. When I reach Keen, a Ph.D. professor of nutrition and internal medicine, we have a wide-ranging conversation. "Our research has found that cocoa flavanols from dark chocolate help keep the blood vessels expanded and flexible," he says. "This is a profound and exciting effect." This leads unexpectedly to the question of superfoods. What Keen tells me is that industry-sponsored chocolate research may help unlock the phytochemical secrets behind, say, blueberries and red peppers. After all, blueberries don't have a multibillion-dollar lobby. "Fruits and vegetables are all good for you," he says, "but some are better than others. And I hope that the next wave of discovery will enable us to say which are the really good ones."About the ProcessKeen has been doing a lot of his recent work with chocolate produced by Mars's private, patented Cocoapro process. The Mars people talk about the gentle, nutrient-retaining Cocoapro method the way some young parents describe their infant's bedroom, outfitted with a swaddling crib and speakers that waft Mozart through the air. CocoaVia products are made from Cocoapro, and are guaranteed to provide 100 milligrams of cocoa flavanols per serving, no matter how dark or light the chocolate. The people at Hershey's have been slow to jump on the dark-chocolate bandwagon, but they're not dumb-not with dark chocolate sales increasing 30 percent per year. Last May, Hershey's announced that it was forming a new Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition, and that a Yale University study of Hershey's Natural Cocoa showed that the drink improved the blood flow of those who consumed it. Last fall, Hershey's began selling a premium dark chocolate named Hershey's Cacao Reserve, and also bought Dagoba, an organic dark-chocolate company that produces an adorable "Tao of Cacao" newsletter. Okay, I'm being sarcastic there. But let's give Hershey's credit for its 30-year support of youth track and field in the United States.The Hershey's people are also waging a quiet war against the Cocoapro process. Last May, they published a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that compared the antioxidant and polyphenol activities of chocolate products from a variety of leading manufacturers. Basically, they found no differences among manufacturers, only among product types (like dark chocolates versus milk chocolates). "Regardless of where the chocolate comes from, we found-as did a USDA article in the same issue-that the antioxidant and polyphenol values tracked very closely to the amount of nonfat cocoa solids in each product," says Dave Stewart, a plant biochemistry Ph.D. and Hershey's director of nutrition and natural product sciences. The chocolates that have the highest percentage of cocoa in them, information typically available on labels, probably have the most flavanols. Just a TasteI can't tell for sure who's making the healthiest chocolate, but here's my advice: Remember that chocolate is a plant food, so choose the most natural, least processed chocolate you can find. That means avoiding chocolate with milk solids, emulsifiers, and heaps of added sugar. Also, skip chocolates with any mention of alkali or "Dutching," which are known to reduce nutrients.And of course, don't be misled into thinking that chocolate is a health food. It's not. Chocolate, brimming with fat, is something you should learn to savor in small pieces. "No one should add calories to their diet by eating more chocolate," says longtime Runner's World nutrition editor Liz Applegate, Ph.D., a confirmed chocoholic herself. "You have to substitute it for something else, hopefully something less nutritious."For Valentine's Day, I've settled on the perfect menu. We'll start with a cup of black-bean soup, then have a kale salad with orange segments and sliced almonds, organic, long-grain brown rice with steamed broccoli and herbed tofu, and a nice glass of red wine, known for its heart-healthy attributes. After dinner, I'll pour another glass of wine and reach for a box of rich, dark, sinfully delicious chocolates, knowing that dark chocolate boosts blood flow. That's got to be a good thing. Especially on Valentine's Day.

Kurt Zaporozan

Saturday, July 14, 2007

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