Benny’s Sports My Way: Canada Shocks Team USA In Overtime To Win Gold!

  A fitting way to end the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Team Canada won the Gold Medal in Men’s Ice Hockey with an overtime 3-2 win against Team USA. Canada’s Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal past USA goalie Ryan Miller with 7.40 minutes left in overtime.  Team USA still claims the number one spot with 37 total medals and 9 Gold. Team Canada claims the most Gold medals with a total of 14. Apolo Ohno became the most decorated USA Winter Olympian winning a total of 8 medals-three in Vancouver (Silver in the 1500m, Bronze in the 1000m and Bronze in the 5000m relay- Short track). Here is the final medal count for Team USA. Amazing performances despite starting out with tragedy in the Luge. The Nerdel News salutes all of the athletes from Team USA and all of the teams-incredible job!!! For more 2010 Winter Olympic news, go to www.nbcolympics.com The 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia. See you all there!

Posted in: Benny's Sports My Way

Benny’s Sports My Way: Vancouver Winter Olympics: Team USA Medal Update:

Hello sports fans, well one week done and the final week left to enjoy the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in the Great White North. Lot’s of incredible Team USA performances like  Bode Miller winning a Gold on the Men’s Super-Combined, a Bronze in Downhill and a Silver in the Super-G and Lindsey Vonn taking the Gold in Women’s Downhill and a Bronze in the Super-G. How about Evan Lysacek taking the Gold in Men’s Figure Skating (the first Gold since Brian Boytano captured Gold in the 1988 Olympics) with a win over a very indignant Russian Yevgeny Plushenko who performed an amazing “Quad” rotational jump! Team USA still is in the lead with 7 Gold, 9 Silver and 10 Bronze Medals for a total of 26 medals. Fan favorite snowboarder Shaun White won Gold in the Men’s Half-pipe and Seth Wescott took the Gold in Men’s Snowboard Cross. Speed skater Shani Davis took Gold in the Men’s 1000m outdueling fellow American Chad Hedrick who took home a Bronze. The most decorated American Winter Olympian-speed skater Apolo Ohno (Gold, Silver and Bronze in 2006; Gold and Bronze in 2002; Silver and Bronze in 2010) is also a 2007 Dancing With The Stars champion!! And Hannah Kearney took the Gold in Women’s Moguls skiing. All in all, Team USA has rocked! Lot’s of great effort by our amazing USA team in all ...

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Graehm Gray: Clif Kid-Z Bar Organic: Blueberry, Baked Whole Grain Energy Bar: A Review.

  Snack Bar Review: Serving Size: 1 bar (36 grams) Per Serving: Calories: 120 Total fat: 2.5g Sat. Fat: 0 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 90mg Potassium: 80mg Total Carb.: 23g Dietary Fiber: 3g Insoluble Fiber: 1g Sugars: 11g Other Carbs: 9g Protein: 3g Hydrogenated Oils: 0g High Fructose Corn Syrup: 0g Preservatives: 0g Artificial Colors and Flavors: 0g I have been a consumer of Clif Bars for many years having been introduced to them by several martial arts instructors and marathon runners. It is difficult to find a tasty and nutritious energy bar and like most of us you probably go to the market and sample different bars all the time, trying to find the one that tastes like a Milky Way or Baby Ruth, but has the nutrition profile of a combination of a piece of wild Alaskan Salmon, dark green salad, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and dried fruits. With so many bars out there, what do you choose? And the decision is made even harder-choose one for your child!  Clif Kid is a kid version of the adult Clif Bar. According to the package , there are no Trans fats; there are 12 vitamins and Minerals, no high fructose corn syrup and the Clif Kid snacks are for kids 3 years and older.  There is no caffeine or MSG and this product  is certified Kosher by Kof-K. Ingedients: Organic Oat Flour, Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice Syrup, Organic ...

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Graehm Gray: Childhood Obesity Definitions – Part Two

Okay, let’s review: what do we know so far? A. We know that obesity is an extra accumulation of fat. B. We know that the problem is coming from an imbalance-more energy in the form of calories (food) coming into the body-our children are eating more and not enough energy (calories) being burned off-not enough exercise. C. We  know that a pediatrician and researcher uses the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a way to identify weight problems in children-a way to measure your child’s weight against other children of the same age and sex and tell us whether he or she is at risk; D. We know that there are lots of consequences from being obese-heart disease, arthritis, sleep apnea and psychological problems and finally, E.  We know that President Obama said that 30 percent of our children are either overweight or obese .So what’s next?  Are we all sure we know whether our children are obese or just overweight? And what do we do to solve this problem? Class, let’s continue our journey-now Part two: Overweight vs. Obese: (CDC) These are terms used to classify kids and adults and based on Body Mass Index (BMI-height and weight). BMI for kids and teens takes into account growth changes, differences in body fat between boys and girls. BMI calculator for Child and Teen. So go to your pediatrician’s (or primary ...

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Graehm Gray: Childhood Obesity Definitions – Part One

I guess by now, everyone, everywhere has heard that President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle have placed childhood obesity on the top of their “to get rid of” list. I think its actually ahead of some Republican pundits. Yes, childhood obesity has finally made it to the front page headlines. All of us in the press and academic fields have known for quite a while that our children have been gaining weight at an alarming rate. The President informed us that over 30 percent of our children are either overweight and or obese. We also have known that our children are not exercising as much. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is an imbalance-more calories going in and less calories being burned up. Result: a positive weight gain. Okay-that’s means overweight. But the one item that still needs clarification is: how do I know if my child is overweight or obese? I need to know that definition. So here is a sampling of what I could find out:   Merriam-Webster-doesn’t have a definition of childhood obesity. Their definition of obesity is: a condition characterized by the excessive accumulation of fat in the body (Merriam-Webster) Medilexicon.com-Ideal Body Weight: a weight that is believed to be maximally healthful for a person, based chiefly on height but modified by factors such as gender, age, build, and degree of muscular ...

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Everything You Wanted To Know About The Flu and H1N1.

  Why is this Flu season different than other flu seasons? We are all facing two very similar but distinct forms of the Influenza virus this year. First, we have the seasonal Flu or the regular flu.  The symptoms of that are similar to any other influenza like virus and not generally indistinguishable from the H1N1 Influenza virus (previously known as the Swine Flu virus). While your physician prefers to be very precise in evaluating each patient for the specific type of illness and virus upon presentation, it is somewhat more complicated this year since the viruses have symptoms that have initial presentations similar to each other. Not to mention all the other winter illnesses that are traditional residents for this cold and flu season time of year. The H1N1 is more dangerous just by the nature of how easily and widely it will spread this year and the number of people who are expected to contract the virus. Even though it is not any more virulent or deadly than any other flu, it is this fear of a pandemic spread that is causing the heightened vigilance by all health care workers.   Why are we so worried about the H1N1 influenza virus? Isn’t it basically the same virus as the seasonal virus? The significant concern right now by the health care community is based on the fact that H1N1 is a new ...

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Childhood Obesity and Heart Health

So much of what we know about children's health has changed over the last few years. We have seen a dramatic rise in diseases associated with childhood obesity. Much of what we have grown up thinking about obesity focused on adult Medicine. We have had a tendency to not worry about overweight children because we were all led to believe that these children would simply outgrow their baby fat, with no residual health concerns. Most parents still believe their children's excess weight will magically melt away when they get to school. But with the lack of exercise, no play time or physical education, poor nutrition, and a sedentary lifestyle, children are remaining obese into adulthood. Recent research has shown the longer a child stays outside the healthy norm (high BMI) for weight, the more likely they will suffer a negative impact on their health from being obese. We now know the damaging effect of obesity on an individual's health starts sooner rather than later. Your child's diet, habits, level of activity, and family history all are integral parts of heart health. While we continue to give quite a bit of credit to our family's genetic history, we must include lifestyle and cultural habits as an important contributor to our family's heart health history. We are not powerless with this history. Whatever the age, we can make a difference in the health of our children's heart. Heart ...

Posted in: Your Heart

Childhood Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

Childhood Type 2 Diabetes is on the rise. This is the type your child has a much higher chance of getting if they are overweight and obese. Understanding diabetes? Insulin is the key factor in the diabetes discussion. It is the body's regulator of sugar in the blood. When the insulin in your body stops controlling the sugar level in your blood and the sugar stays high for extended periods of time then the result is diabetes. High blood sugar level over time has many negative effects on your body. There are two major types of Diabetes. Type 1 or insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus, where the body does not make enough insulin and the sugar level in your blood rises and cannot be controlled without giving the individual insulin, from an outside source. Type 2 diabetes or insulin resistant diabetes. In this type there is usually enough insulin in the body to start, it is just that the insulin your body makes does not work as well as it should. Your body becomes resistant to the effects of the insulin that you make. In spite of you making more insulin in response to rising sugar, your body becomes less sensitive to the insulin effects and sugar levels continue to rise. What is the difference between how you get each type of diabetes? You are born with the tendency to develop type 1. There is very little you can do to prevent ...

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Benny’s Sports My Way- Winter Olympic Medal Update

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Graehm Gray-President Obama To Target Childhood Obesity

Let’s all say, “finally!” Yes, it has happened. The White House, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are targeting the epidemic of childhood obesity. You read it here, in The Nerdel News, a statement by President Barack Obama forming a taskforce headed by Michelle, to “solve the problem of obesity among our Nation’s children within a generation.” As you all know, The Nerdel News and I have been way ahead of this issue as have many other nutrition and fitness experts. Increase in portion sizes, lack of substantial exercise, more availability of high fat, high carbohydrate and calorie dense foods to our younger folks, more devotion to technology and less to play time are just some of the problems. When schools say that exercise time is walking to the cafeteria, I have a problem with that. We all know the statistics-30 percent of our kids are either overweight or obese. These kids will grow up to be overweight, unhealthy adults if we don’t do something about it. So what can we do? A. Increase exercise time for our kids-make it mandatory in schools. B. Review the school lunch and breakfast programs for portion size and content- make them healthy! C. make an incentive program for parents to get their kids (and themselves) in shape-either tax credits or food credits. Why not! We gave money to banks and insurance companies ...

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