As it is, more than half of all adults in the U.S. drink coffee. And coffee has been on the minds of research companies for quite a while. Research over the past few years shows that coffee drinking doesn’t have any serious health effects.

Although regular coffee drinking isn’t bad for most people, that may not be the case for pregnant women. There’s a link on research to miscarriage with caffeine consumption of 200 mg or more per day.

Typically, a cup of coffee has about 150 mg of caffeine.

For men with a high daily intake of regular or decaffeinated coffee, there’s up to 60% lower risk of advanced prostate cancer. Coffee contains chemicals that lower blood sugar. Research has been done between coffee and type II diabetes. A report from the University of Sydney in Australia said that drinking 4 cups of coffee per day reduces the risk of diabetes by up to 35%.

Coffee has also been shown to help heart attack survivors and may help to reduce cardiovascular disease. Another study says that drinking coffee lowers the risk of premature death especially in women. Women who drink 6 cups a week or so, had a death rate that is 26% lower than those that don’t drink coffee.

So, with this good news, enjoy your next cup of coffee!

Compared to San Diego where I use to live years ago, here in the Pacific Northwest the seasons are noticeably different. So when fall comes around and the rain becomes more consistent, it requires a little more motivation to run outdoors.

Using a combination of indoor cross training and running outdoors keeps the workouts from getting stale. If you belong to a gym, you can add in the treadmill, stationary bike, and elliptical trainer to your workouts.

Here are a few steps to add some variety to your outdoor running during those cold and wet winter months, and to keep the workouts interesting.

• Reward yourself with some new rain attire

Set a short-term goal of running a race, and then reward yourself! Go out and buy some new rain gear. This could be anything from gloves to a waterproof rain jacket. You’ll look forward to your next foul-weather workout with this new gear.

• Listen to something to help pass the time

If you’re already use to grabbing an ipod or mp3 player before heading out, consider listening to something different than the usual. Download a podcast, or even listen to your favorite TV show while on the run. Time will fly, and if you’re listening to something inspirational, you will too!

• Mix in some speedwork

If you normally run the same pace on your workout, rain or shine, consider mixing it up for variety. Pick a stretch of road and run it faster than your normal pace, based on either time or distance covered. I try to add in at least a couple segments on my workouts like this. You’d be surprised how much faster you’ll cover the same distance with this variety. And, you’re getting a better workout in the process.

Keep up the running and stay motivated! Please feel free to leave a comment, thanks!

Getting that Morning Coffee
Are you a coffee drinker? If you get your morning coffee at your favorite shop and find yourself waiting in line as usual, here’s what you can do while you’re waiting. Focus on good posture while standing in line. Straighten your back, keep your chest out and shoulders back. Hold your head high, take a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling. Now don’t do this last one too loudly or it will appear you’re impatient while waiting to place your order. You’re not, right? Practice this every day and get into the habit of better posture and more vitality.

Coffee Alternatives
When you place your order, how about mixing it up once in a while and getting some green tea instead? This drink helps cut your risk of cancer, keep your blood pressure healthy, protect your memory, as well as reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. I drink a cold version of green tea at work, which is a tasty drink I discovered at my nearby Costco.

Ride Your Bike to Work
If it’s practical for you, which it won’t be for everyone, consider trading the car on some days for the bike when commuting to work. Now that’s easy for me to say, since I only live just over 2 miles from work, so the choice is easy. But if this can work for you too, it’s sure a nice change of pace, and a healthy alternative.

Make To-Do List
It only takes a few minutes to put one together. A to-do list prepared at the beginning of the day will help keep you on track for the rest of the day. It’s so easy to get bogged down in small details that can hurt your productivity. Just check your list as you go along and make sure things are getting done. You’ll likely deal with less stress during the day and make more time for yourself to enjoy your coffee, or tea!

Feel free to contribute a comment on this article, thanks.

See the current list of teams here.

My team, “Worst Case Scenario”, is scheduled to start the relay at 8:30 am. As of this post, there are 90 running teams signed up and ready to go. WCS ran this race last year, but I opted out of it as a result of an injury. So while this is my first Cascade Lakes Relay, it’s their second one. We’ve all done the Hood to Coast several times, so this should be a nice break in the relay routine for me, as it has been for them.

Lately on my training runs, I’ve been doing some workouts in the daytime. Since summer is in full swing now, running in temps of 80s or 90s makes quite a difference from what I’m used to the rest of the year in Oregon. This heat training should be good preparation for a portion of the relay.

This morning, I ran a short workout when the temperature was under 60 degrees. What a difference from the day before, when it was still over 90 degrees after 6 pm!

If you haven’t checked out the relay site yet, go to Cascade Lakes Relay.

Feel free to leave a comment!

There are so many different reports and studies out there; it can be confusing. The best foods to eat come down to a diet that is plant-based, rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It’s also good to keep a watch on the calories to avoid excessive intake. Exercise always comes into play as a complement to a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Here are eight tips for eating the right foods:

• Choose good carbs, or carbohydrates, which provide the body with the fuel it needs for physical activity – whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and greens.

• Choose protein-rich foods and watch what comes with that protein (as with red meat and saturated fat). Good vegetable protein sources are beans, nuts, and whole grains. Good animal protein comes from fish and poultry.

• Eat healthy fats, minimize the saturated fats, and avoid the trans fat. Plant oils, nuts, and fish are the best sources.

• Get plenty of fiber from whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Most adult women should get over 20 grams per day and men should get over 30 grams of fiber per day.

• Eat 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, which comes out to about 4 1/2 cups total.

• Keep up your intake of calcium, and not just from milk. Good, non-dairy sources include baked beans, soy milk, collard and bok choy.

• Drink alcohol in moderation. It can boost cardiovascular health, but can also increase the risk of colon and breast cancer.

• Take a daily multivitamin.

Was this information helpful? Feel free to leave me a comment – thanks.

I live just over a mile from a high school track and 4 miles from the U of O track. Both offer great opportunities for workouts apart from the usual distance runs. When I’m looking for a track workout, I’ll usually run to it, do some intervals, then run back home for a complete workout.

What’s nice about the nearby high school track is that it’s usually not very crowded – only a few other runners or walkers at any given time.

Here are a few pointers for running on the track:

• If you’re using lane 1 for your workout, move over to the next lane when faster runners come up on you, especially during a cooldown portion of your speedwork.
• During recovery after the faster runs, keep moving instead of stopping altogether. It’s better for the heart to gradually elevate and slow the heart rate.
• Typically you’ll run counterclockwise on the track, but you can mix it up and go the other way. Watch carefully for others if you do!
• Wear spikes occasionally if you have them – this is the place to use them. Expect a little soreness after using them if you’re not used to it.

Challenge yourself to run a fast lap, recover, then beat that time on the next fast lap. Just completing these faster runs improves your overall conditioning and fitness level, adding endurance to your longer runs.

Strawberries get their bright red color from antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins. These help the body to reduce inflammation and counteract the effects of muscle damage from exercise.

A cup of strawberries cut into halves has only 49 calories and more vitamin C than an orange.

Since strawberries are highly perishable, they are best within a couple days of getting them from the store. If I get a large supply of these, I’ll cut out the stems and freeze them. Then I can take them out whenever I need for my next smoothie. Salute to the strawberry!

Do you enjoy strawberries? Let me know by leaving a comment.

This was shown to be the case in a recent study at Eastern Virginia Medical School, which found that thin people sleep an average of 2 hours more per week than overweight people.

The reasoning behind this is that lack of sleep results in hormonal changes causing weight gain. Those not getting enough sleep had lower levels of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone and higher levels of ghrelin, an appetite-boosting hormone.

So, the difference here is only 2 hours a week, which works out to only 17 more minutes per night, or the equivalent of taking a quick nap every day.

On that note, I’m cutting away early tonight to catch up on my sleep!

It’s only a 2 mile trip to work, but a nice way to start off the day. Just about the time I’m warmed up, I’m done.

After putting in a full day and riding back home on the bike, it was time for a trip to the local fitness club. Instead of driving there, I got back on the bike for the trip which was another 2 miles in a different direction. My goal was to complete a short indoor workout with enough daylight left to get back without a light.

After getting to the club, I put in about 10 minutes on the weight machines for that upper body workout. After that, I jumped on the Precor 100i elliptical trainer. With this machine, you can nearly reach a full running stride, so it’s a good substitute for running. What really gets my quads burning is when I go into a stairstepper mode. Keeping the body level and letting the legs do the work takes its toll after only 20 seconds, then I’ll switch back to a full stride on this versatile machine.

After 10 minutes on the elliptical, I hit the treadmill for 10 minutes. I set the belt for an 8-minute pace, then practiced taking longer strides to slow down my cadence. Ordinarily at this pace, my cadence would have been a bit faster, so this was a good way to mix it up. Once this was complete and after a quick shower, it was back on the bike for the 2-mile trip home. There was just enough daylight to get by without a light. It was a great cross training workout today!

Feel free to leave me a comment! You can also sign up to receive a free ebook on metabolism – thanks!

Cartilage is a protein that acts as a padding between the bones of the joints. As we age, the water content of cartilage increases while the protein decreases. It’s important to supply the joints with essential nutrients to keep them functioning properly.

Similar to many other health issues, there’s a strong connection between nutrition and joint health. Certain foods and nutrients can improve joint function, such as:

• Antioxidants – These nutrients fight free radicals. Some of the foods they are found in are berries, broccoli, tomatoes, red grapes, garlic, spinach, tea, carrots, soy, and whole grains.
• Fatty Acids – certain ones, such as omega-3s promote joint health and flexibility. Some great food sources include salmon, sardines, herring, as well as assorted vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains.
• Sun Chlorella – this superfood contains essential fatty acids as well as other nutrients and phytonutrients like protein, fiber, amino acids, B vitamins, lutein, and folic acid. It also contains calcium and vitamin D for bone and joint health.

To your good health!