Gadsden Public Library to launch health and fitness series

Special to The Times
Published January 28, 2008

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The Gadsden Public Library has the first program in its new Brown Bag Lunch & Learn Health and Fitness Series at noon Tuesday in the Lena Martin Room in the main branch.

This year-long series will focus on all aspects of health and well being.

Tuesday, Krystal Hill, a registered dietitian from Gadsden Regional Medical Center, will be presenting "Healthy Eating: Making the Best Choices." Studies have shown that committing to a healthy diet is the easiest way to improve overall health. Hill will provide guidelines and tips for creating a healthy and satisfying diet. After the presentation, there will be a question-and-answer period and some materials will be provided for participants to take home.

Each month will bring a new speaker and topic. February is American Heart Month, and the program will focus on heart health and awareness. The library will be partnering with the Gadsden City Parks and Recreation Department later in the year for a community fitness walk.

These programs are free of charge and open to the public. Registration is not required, and participants are encouraged to bring their lunch. Drinks will be provided by the library. Call Tami Brooks, 549-4699, ext. 119 or ext. 300, or e-mail tami@library.gadsden.com. The library's Web site is www.library.gadsden. com.

Health, fitness help on Web

By Carolyn Poirot
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Article Launched: 01/28/2008 02:58:08 AM PST


Here are two Web sites that may help with keeping those new year fitness resolutions:
www.wellsphere.com

Listing healthy things you want to do -- like get more active, eat better and lose weight -- is always easier than actually doing those things.

At http://www.wellsphere.com, you'll find short videos, news, blogs, nutritionists offering advice and support groups to give you the tools and motivation to stick to your goals. You'll also find ways to chart your progress. Much of the help is ZIP Code specific.


www.AmericaTakesItOff.com

AOL Body, a free Web service known for diet advice, has teamed up with the "Biggest Loser" health-and-fitness expert Jillian Michaels and Prevention healthy lifestyle magazine to create http://www.AmericaTakesItOff.com. The site is also sponsored by SlimFast.

It includes quizzes, videos and interesting advice, such as nine creative ways to shave calories and fat from your favorite foods, and a list of metabolism boosters. The site is designed for people of all fitness levels.


Test your vitamin knowledge

We may take a lot of vitamins and minerals, special supplements and extra nutrients, but we don't know much about them or what good they do, according to a recent survey released by the not-for-profit National Women's Health Resource Center.

In fact, when presented a list of vitamins and minerals and


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asked to identify which one is not essential to human health, only 44 percent of those surveyed correctly identified arsenic, a poisonous mineral, as the "non-essential."
And, while most people take a multivitamin at least five days a week, only 28 percent knew that it could help maintain their blood pressure at a healthy level, and 24 percent knew it could help lower their LDL (bad) cholesterol.

To test your knowledge of vitamins and minerals, find some simple nutrition tips and information on ways multivitamins benefit health, and check out the top 10 vitamins, minerals and nutrients that women should know about -- including the recommended daily intake and primary functions of each one -- log on to http://www.healthywomen.org/multivitamins.

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