This Week's Healthy SC Challenge

The Healthy SC Challenge is the Sanford family's effort to get all South Carolinians to do just a little more to live a healthier lifestyle. The tips are designed to encourage individuals and communities to live healthier lifestyles in three categories - nutrition, exercise and help to quit smoking.

Healthy Tips

Nutrition
They're filled with colored boiled eggs, little chocolate footballs, and brightly colored marshmallow peeps, and kids think they're the best thing since Halloween. But Easter baskets also pack a fattening, sugar-filled punch. With childhood obesity on the rise, it may be time for us to rethink these bountiful baskets. So here are some ideas for healthier Easter goodies that will still have your kids brimming with excitement:

* Stuffed bunny. Instead of chocolate, make it a plush bunny. It will last longer, won't rot your child's teeth, and could be their new best friend.

* Go dark. You probably can't totally eliminate chocolate from the basket without screams of protest, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Chocolate-especially dark chocolate-contains flavonoids, which have antioxidant powers, and can contribute to cardiovascular health. This doesn't mean go gorge on Cadbury eggs, however; chocolate still has a lot of fat and sugar. But some small, dark chocolate candies on a special occasion like Easter won't do a lot of harm. Better yet, give dark chocolate-covered raisins or almonds.

* Bubbles. These soapy suds delight everyone, young and old. Your children will have as much fun chasing them as they have hunting for those elusive Easter eggs. Just make sure to remind them-this is one holiday treat that doesn't go in their mouths!

* Colored chalk. It's finally spring and time to get those kids out of doors. They'll love making a mess on the sidewalk, and you'll love that they're not in front of the TV. Being outside will give them a chance to run around, plus sunlight helps increase vitamin D. Just make sure to give them sunblock!

* Healthy snacks. Nuts and fruit are great additions, or even a box of 100% juice (make sure it has no added sugar). Try baking healthier versions of muffins or cookies. Even some more candy is OK, just not too much, and keep the portions small.

Easter baskets may never be very healthy-like Halloween trick-or-treating, that's kind of the point. But following these tips will help you minimize the damage. Even better, try feeding your kids so little junk food every day that these baskets seem like a huge treat. They'll enjoy the holiday even more, and will thank you when they become adults who live and eat healthily.
-Jordana Haspel for www.beachbody.com

Physical Activity
A good warm up prepares your body for more intense activity. It gets your blood flowing, raises your muscle temperature, and increases your breathing rate. Warming up gives your body time to adjust to the demands of exercise. This can improve your performance and help you get the results you want.

The simplest way to warm up is to do an aerobic activity at an easy pace. If cycling is what you plan to do, then start out slowly in a low gear. How long you spend warming up will depend on your fitness level. If you are newer to exercise, your body (and your mental resolve!) will respond better with a longer warm up.

Adding stretches to your warm up may improve your exercise performance. Once your muscles are warm, spend a few minutes on stretching. Since the goal of your warm up is to increase your heart rate and get you ready for more intense work, choose stretches that can be done standing up. Floor stretches are best for your cool down segment.
-American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons

Tobacco
Know your health risks! Exactly how bad is smoking for your health? Analyze the facts and then you be the judge.

According to the World Health Organization, smoking is the greatest preventable cause of death and disability - more than any other single factor. It is a known or probable cause of at least 25 diseases. However, its total impact on one's quality of life, loss of productivity, and the financial burden that it produces will probably never be completely assessed.

Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 47 million adults in the United States smoke. This figure represents about 23.2 percent of all adults in the U.S. today. Right here in South Carolina the percentage of people who currently smoke is 25.5, well above the national average.

Each year, cigarette smoking causes an estimated 430,700 deaths in the United States - nearly 1 in every 5 deaths! Oftentimes people ask how can something as small as a cigarette have such a deadly effect? The answer is simple. Scientists have discovered that every "puff "that comes from a cigarette contains more than 4,000 different chemicals; namely ammonia, lead, benzene, arsenic, formaldehyde, and hydrogen cyanide. More than 45 of these chemicals are known to increase the risk of cancer and hundreds of the other ones are both lethal and toxic.
-South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control