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Theres no arguing that at games while clad in her sexy five-foot-six and 115 pounds, form-fitting and midriff-revealHaylie Dudley is petite. ing outfits. But the energetic second-year Like any other professional member of the dance job, you have Crush Dance Team to look good in your wants everyone to uniform or your cosknow especially tume, she explains. young impressionIts more of a confiable girls dreaming dence thing. For us, of following in her its making sure our footsteps that she tummies are toned, doesnt believe in our arms are nicely starving herself. shaped and our legs I love food. I eat are good. So youre tons of it, says the Cary constantly worrying bubbly 22-year-old about that, but in a Sherwood Park resgood, healthy way. ident during a re- KEEPING FIT Dudley hits the cent interview at southside World Rexall Place. (If you Health Club three dont eat) youll be weak and times a week, including Sundays, your body will be under so when the dance squad meets to much distress that it doesnt run, stretch and pump iron tofunction properly. You physi- gether. cally wouldnt be able to do The team currently goes for a something like this. weekly 3.5-km run. Dudley remembers growing I really stress running, Dudup and having people question ley says, explaining that it prowhether she was anorexic or bu- vides a great overall workout, limic people like her grand- including core fitness. With mother, who she says would running, it actually tones your force chalky protein abs, too. drinks in her face. While she prefers But the Edmonton running outside to native insists she the monotony of has never had any the treadmill, Dudissues satiating her ley says there isnt hearty appetite. much of a choice Admittedly, Dudthis time of year. ley is blessed with a The treadmill gets high-octane metabso boring. olism, which helps As for weight her burn plenty of training, two of calories while she Haylie Dudley Dudleys Crush works hard to keep teammates are perfit. And that cersonal trainers. So tainly doesnt hurt when shes theyre great because they give stoking a crowd of about 10,000 us input on what we need, she lacrosse fans at Edmonton Rush explains. If we ever have any

Got a Crush on food

Castagna

edmontonsun.canoe.ca

Edmonton Sun YOUR

HEALTH Monday, January 22, 2007

Like any other professional dance job, you have to look good in your uniform ...

questions, theyre there to help us. When shes not in the gym, its a safe bet youll find Dudley in the Edmonton dance studio where she teaches. In fact, having started dancing at just three years old, she has practically grown up at the studio, Dance Theme Ltd., on the citys north side. Besides eating small meals throughout the day to fuel her active lifestyle, Dudley who also has a gymnastics background makes sure to drink several litres of water daily. I find that water just fills you up, so you dont feel like youre hungry all the time and it just cleans out your system, she says. Its really healthy for you. And health is what the Crush are all about, Dudley says. The great thing about this team is that we have so many different sizes and heights. Were not just that standard blond and skinny, you know, she explains. Were natural. Our calendars natural. Theres no Photoshop done. We are what we are. We dont try to hide that we might not have a six-pack, but were all in shape.

Follow my progress in Club Fits Biggest Winner Contest at: www.edmontonsun.com/Lifestyle/castagna.html and www.clubfit.ca/biggestwinner/blog. Do you have an inspirational story for Keeping Fit? E-mail Cary Castagna at ccastagna@edmsun.com
DARRYL DYCK/SUN

THE BIGGEST WINNER

Edmonton Crush dance team member Haylie Dudley performs during a break in play as the Edmonton Rush take on the Philadelphia Wings during the second half of National Lacrosse League play at Rexall Place on January 6, 2007.

Heart-healthy olive oil in a league of its own

RICHARD BELIVEAU Special to Sun Media
For Mediterranean countries, January is when olives are harvested and their precious oil is extracted. Enjoyed by locals for its taste for more than 5,000 years, olive oil is now considered an essential cooking ingredient. It is also one of the fats with the most beneficial impacts on maintaining overall good health. The heart adores olive oil. The first clues to the positive healthy role of olive oil came from observations which showed that the populations of countries where olive oil is the main source of fat (Greece, Italy, the south of France, Tunisia, Morocco...) have a much lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases. We now know that this protective effect is mostly due to the high content of monounsaturated fats in olive oil. And these fats comprise up to 85% of all fats in this vegetal oil. Numerous studies have shown that substituting saturated fats in the diet (red meat, butter, etc.) with monounsaturated fats such as olive oil triggers a decrease in total cholesterol levels especially bad lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol while it accounts for an increase in the concentration of good high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The beneficial fats in olive oil also prevent the oxidation of bad cholesterol thereby minimizing damage to blood vessel walls and decreasing the formation of clots that can lead to cerebrovascular accidents (strokes) and myocardial infarctions. Olive oil also stands out from other vegetal oils thanks to certain phenolic compounds such as oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol, two molecules that exert strong antioxidant activity (similar to that of vitamin E). In fact, a study conducted with individuals from five European countries showed that oils rich in phenolic compounds had a much higher positive impact on blood cholesterol levels than oils that contained very low concentrations of those compounds. Olive oil therefore plays a key part in preventing cardiovascular diseases and according to a number of experts represents one of the main factors accounting for the greater longevity of the inhabitants of Mediterranean countries. In addition to its protective effect against cardiovascular diseases, recent research results suggest that olive oil could also diminish the risk of developing some cancers. For instance, studies with frequent consumers of olive oil indicate that its predominance in the diet is associated with a lower incidence of many types of cancers, notably those of the breast, colon, mouth, esophagus and prostate. This protection seems to stem from the antioxidant properties of olive oil, which minimize damage to genetic material caused by oxidation, which in turn prevents the appearance of mutating cells that could develop into cancer cells.