Vitamin D helps the body to:

absorb calcium
aid bone and tooth formation
support muscle and nerve function
prevent osteoporosis

When you are exposed to the sun, your body converts a cholesterol compound in the skin to vitamin D. Therefore most Aussies get their main source of vitamin D through sunlight exposure.

Only a few foods contain significant amounts of vitamin D. These include:

Fatty fish like salmon and tuna
Fortified milk
Eggs
Fish-liver oils

It’s unlikely that enough vitamin D can be achieved through diet alone, therefore sun exposure is important. Your vitamin D and sun intake should bear in mind the associated risk of sun exposure and skin cancer. Groups at the greatest risk of vitamin D deficiency include dark-skinned and veiled women (particularly in pregnancy), their babies, and elderly people living in residential care.

Refs:  MJA 2002 177 (3): 149-15; Life Clinic

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When I was in high school some 9 years ago now, energy drinks, like mobile phones, were just emerging in society. They certainly weren’t mainstream, and, in fact, I don’t even think I tried a Red Bull or V until I had finished high school and entered the realm of uni days and hospitality nights.

Nowadays these drinks are as popular as your average soft drink. Red Bull, the first mainstream energy drink, launched in 1997, and in the past 12  years it has spearheaded a $5.4 billion-a-year energy drink industry.

Last year, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience Roland Griffiths said that caffeinated energy drinks that promise super alertness (and sometimes imply better sports performance) should carry labels that specify their amount of caffeine, as well as warnings of potential health dangers. 

Some energy drinks contain as much caffeine as 14 cans of soft drink. Although that is an extreme case, energy drinks contain a concentrated amount of sugar and caffeine and due to their small size they can be consumed quickly and frequently.

Caffeine will temporarily wake you up, but as it is a stimulant its effect wears off after a couple of hours. Too much caffeine can also have side effects like insomnia and high blood pressure. Likewise, the high sugar content used to sweeten energy drinks gives a quick, temporary buzz (and as we all know, consuming too much sugar leads to weight gain and associated health problems).

Where did our energy go?

Before 1997, society clearly functioned without the $5.4 billion per year spend on energy drinks. So why did we suddenly think we needed all these energy boosts as soon as Red Bull came on the market? 

A powerful marketing message is a likely answer. ‘Red Bull gives you wings’ is a phrase most of us are aware of and RB’s cute, memorable advertising campaigns are pumped onto our television screens regularly.

These days, teens and adults alike are living fuller, busier lives and are working harder, with less time to relax and rejuvenate. We don’t have as much time to focus on healthy diets and exercise, we sit in front of screens for hours upon end and our energy levels suffer as a result. Enter the energy drink, poised to replenish our energy in a matter of sips.

Healthy ways to boost your energy

We can get our energy levels up with a little bit of effort and a lot of positive change! These tips are nothing new, but they are the tried and true ways.

• Sleep more - 8 hours per night or on average each night throughout the week
• Exercise regularly
• Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish
• Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water
• Cut down on smoking, drinking and caffeine

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Read the latest from Louisa in Salvador..

Pelourinho is the Historic Centre of Salvador and the original Portuguese colonialist architecture is still prominent. Cobblestone streets pave the way with street vendors and small shops spread sporadically throughout the town. You can walk between elaborately colourful buildings and admire the magnificence of the most elaborate churches in the main squares. The town is rich with African influence, which is displayed through music, dance, drums, and art. The name Pelourinho translates as ‘whipping post’ and many of the African slaves who had been shipped to Brazil in the 1550’s would have been accustomed to the vicious beatings by their Portuguese captures. Slavery was formally abolished in Brazil in 1888 and Pelourinho has since been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Read the rest of Louisa’s blog here

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Soup has to be one of the easiest, healthiest dishes to cook. Take vegetable soup. Chop all the vegies, chuck them in a pot of boiling water, season and voila. If that alone isn’t exciting enough, you could get creative and add some tomato paste or spice to liven things up. But on the whole, it’s a very simple, tasty and nutritious meal.

I grew up eating vegetable soup with an Italian twist, which basically meant your traditional vegetable soup but with some risoni (rice-style pasta), Italian herbs (oregano, parsley and basil) and parmesan cheese. I used vegies like celery, carrot, leek, potato, cauliflower and broccoli (I usually begin by frying the leek, carrot and celery, because they take a little longer to cook). I find $20 worth of vegetables will make 6-8 serves of soup - which is pretty damn cheap!

Anyway, I have some interesting soupy facts that I’d like to share:

• The first soups date back to 6,000 BC
• Apparently they had hippopotamus in them (although I’m not sure of the accuracy of this fact…)
• The French first used the word ‘restaurant’ to describe a concentrated, cheap soup sold by street vendors - and it was advertised as an antidote to physical exhaustion.
• Still on the French, in the French Court of Louis XI, rumor has it ladies’ meals were predominantly soup because they were afraid that chewing would make them break out in facial wrinkles.
• Soup has been condensed since the 19th century
• Andy Warhol said he painted soup cans because he had soup for lunch every day for 20 years. 

If you’re looking for soup recipes, Simply Soups has some great ones!

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With 3-4 weeks to go until the half, I’m following a dedicated plan to get me through, which goes a little sumthin’ like this:

M - Stretch & rest

T - 8km run

W - 4-5 k run or cross

T - 8km run

F - Rest

S - Rest

S - 10 km race/16km run/18-19km run/ half marathon

This is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this, so it will interesting to see if it works. My training has been pretty ad hoc up to this point. I ran a 13km race on the weekend (Sydney’s pub2pub) which went well, but when I finished it I was pretty tired - the thought of running 8 more km seemed pretty outrageous! 

I also need to do more stretching, drink more fluids and sports drinks - these are the aims for the next few weeks!

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Okay, so here I am back into the training after 2 weeks’ break in New Zealand for snowboarding and wine-drinking. I only managed one run during that time, but since I returned last Friday I have gone for 2 - another long one on Saturday for about 1 hour 20 mins, and a shorter one on Monday for 45 mins. Following on from my previous post, I did succeed in my longest-ever run and made it to 1.5 hours. I think it was around 13-14km in the end.

This Sunday I am running the Pub2Pub, starting in Dee Why and finishing up at the Newport Arms. It should be interesting but I don’t really feel in the best shape because I’ve been sick this week with the flu. 

I think I really need to start stretching or cross-training, with the half only a month away now. I feel pretty stiff after my long runs so I’m going to make the effort.

This time in one month it will be done - eek!

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I was interested to read that scientists have created a super-broccoli which contains up to 40% more anti-oxidants than regular broccoli. 

‘Great!’ I initially thought. Then I considered this, and found myself asking the obvious question: why is that great?

So far $20 million has been invested into developing the super-veg project, which is also looking at boosting the anti-oxidant content of tomatoes, capsicum, cauliflower, onion, carrot and lettuce. The Department of Primary Industries in Victoria (DPI) are responsible for the project, and according to lead scientist Dr Rod Jones, it’s all about improving the health of our population in general ‘by getting people to eat vegetables that we know are very good for them.’

I’m scratching my head because I can’t see the justification at this stage. Vegetables are already ‘very good for us’. Is the idea to encourage people to eat super-vegetables who otherwise wouldn’t eat normal veg? It’s potentially a paradox: surely those who don’t already make the effort to eat vegetables wouldn’t be swayed to do so just because vegies have become healthier? (Oh, and no doubt more expensive?) Wouldn’t those who don’t eat vegies not eat them because of cost/time/taste/availability etc? 

It’s all about making everything easier, I suppose. More vitamins in one veg, therefore you can eat less veg. You can still eat your McDonalds guilt-free because you’ve eaten 2 pieces of super-broccoli.

Rather than trying to improve foods that are already healthy, could money be spent preventing foods that aren’t from entering the market, or education, or campaigns against obesity?

Until I know more, I’ll be happy with my regular, natural broccoli.

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Running can seem like the most uninspiring activity at the best of times. Motivation is the key to starting out, but when it’s cold and dark outside, or if you’ve just spent a long day slogging it out at the office, putting on your trainers and shorts and dragging yourself around the block in front of your neighbours is the last thing you feel like doing.

And yet, there are many people who want to run, but simply can’t find the time. The C25K Running Program (Couch to 5km) may have the answers.

C25K has been designed to get anyone from the couch to running 5 km or 30 minutes in just 9 weeks. And the website is a fantastic resource for runners just starting out.

There are podcasts for your phone or music player telling you when to run and when to walk, and to assist you in your training. There are success stories, training tools, frequently asked questions, distance maps and facebook fan pages (currently with over 2,500 fans).

Check it out – you’ll be hitting 5km before you know it - www.c25k.com

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OK, with the Half Marathon officially less than two months away, the time has come to step it up.

This week I increased my two weekday runs to closer to 50 minutes, and this Saturday morning I shall attempt my longest run yet: 1.5 hours minimum. Eeek!

Over the years I have realised that, with running long distances, I reach a point where it’s only mental. Physically I’m tired, but I can go on - it’s my head that encourages me to give up more often than not. On Saturday (tomorrow - eek again!) I will need to think of some ways to motivate myself throughout the entire run to make sure I stay focused.

The other thing I’m slightly concerned about is that I’m going to New Zealand for two weeks snowboarding on Monday, which means I won’t be running for 2 weeks. This could be a good thing as it will give my body a bit of a break, but no doubt the running will be affected when I get back - and no doubt I’ll be thrashed about a bit on the slopes and may come back battered and bruised.

The good news is I finally bought new shoes! $170 later, I found myself with a pair of Asics Gels which, apparently, are the ONLY shoe recommended by Sports Medicine Australia. They are really comfortable and I already notice the difference. I can safely say that investing in a decent pair of shoes is a necessity.

So, tonight will be early to bed, minimum if not no alcohol and an early dinner. I will report back with the results - wish me luck!

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