Committed to Being the Best	FALL 2004

THE HEALTHY CORNER by Karen Kaczmarek

Overweight Americans On an average, Americans spend: 3 hours watching T.V. and movies 1.5 hours driving in their cars 18 minutes per day exercising!   Less Salt Less salt in our diets can do rising blood pressure a world of good. New guidelines recommend 1500 mg of salt a day; this is about 2/3 of a teaspoonful. Most of the salt in our diets comes from processed foods and restaurant food. To offset the salt, we need potassium - at least 4700 mg each day. Foods high in potassium include spinach and other dark leafy greens, bananas, oranges, tomatoes potatoes, and beans.   "Middle age is when your age starts to show around the middle." - Bob Hope   Vitamin B-12 & Bones Older women with low levels of B-12 are more likely to have bone loss in their hips, which puts them at risk for hip fractures. As we age, B-12 is not absorbed well in the stomach. You can get vitamin B-12 through oral supplements or in foods such as meat, milk, cheese, and eggs.   Sugar A 20 oz. bottle of cola contains approximately 14 teaspoons of sugar. An 8 oz carton of fat-free fruit yogurt contains almost 9 teaspoon of sugar.