Friday, January 30, 2015

A Gold Country Media Publication

Inside:

Super Woman

Local teacher competes

in Spartan Race
Celebrate your Heart
Meeting long-term diet goals
Snuff out addiction

Supplement to
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Healthy Living 2015

Healthy Living 2015

Supplement to Gold Country Media

SUPER WOMAN
Auburn preschool
teacher competes in the
grueling Spartan Race

By Ike Dodson
of the Auburn Journal

uburns Nichole Root is a daytime superhero.

The founder of Lolli Totts Preschool
flies over fire, plods through lakes of mud
and scales 10-foot walls, monkey bars and ropes like
a ninja.
She doesnt wear a cape or hide her face, but
not everyone can finish a Spartan Race it takes a
super human.
Root, a 1997 graduate of Colfax High, competed
in the SoCal Spartan Super Race Saturday in Temecula, her third Spartan Race in just eight days.
Its maddening, and even worse Its absolutely horrible, Root said with a laugh Monday. No,
really, its a lot of fun, but it pushes you.
No kidding.
On Jan. 17, Root finished the Spartan Beast
course featuring more than 25 obstacles across over
12 miles in just 2 hours and 47 minutes. She was fifth
among 903 female racers, second in the 35-39 age
group.
A day later, she crossed the muddy three-mile
course of the Spartan Sprint despite 15 obstacles.
She ended in 11th place overall with a 1:12.49 time.
Saturdays Super surpassed eight miles of a
Spartan battlefield with a ridiculous terrain, intense
physical challenges and 20 obstacles.
These obstacles are no joke.
Between the walls, ropes, mud pits, buckets of

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gravel to hoist, jumps, tires, and even spear tossing, its a nightmare, but the competitors cant get
enough.
Its very hard, but fun, and just knowing that you
did it is amazing, Root said. Everybody who runs
Spartan Races is really nice, and they encourage
you, people being active in all shapes and sizes just
enjoying fitness and helping each other.
Root played soccer in high school, but soon after
gave birth to her oldest daughter, Naomi, who runs
track and cross country for Placer High. Naomi is
already a talented athlete, and does distance running with her mom. Both participated in the 10-mile
Auburn Resolution Run this month.
The two also run alongside Nicholes husband,
Robert, also a Colfax graduate and Spartan Runner.
The couple are two of several area athletes to compete in Spartan Races.
Nichole is one of the fastest, and she makes for
quite the inspiration for area preschoolers.
I love it, Nichole said of being a preschool
teacher. Little people are so much more fun than
adults to work with.
I get to play in high heels and glitter, nail polish
and they treat me like a super star now that I do
Spartan Races.
Nichole admits the challenges are tremendous,
but shes found serenity in the reward, even if her
costume is always getting muddy.
Email Ike Dodson at iked@goldcountrymedia.
com. Follow him on Twitter, @Ike_Dodson.

Healthy Living 2015

Heres how to celebrate your heart

Paula Hendricks, Fresh View

rom laughter, walks in the

park, love and chocolate,
February is the official
month for celebrating
American Heart Health and that
very special day, Valentines Day.
Celebrate your heart today and
every day with the following tips:
Your heart loves a good belly
laugh.
Laughter is great medicine by
helping to reduce stress, improve
oxygen flow to the heart. It even
helps burn a few calories. Watch a
funny movie and see how you feel
afterward. Your heart will thank
you.
Exercise your heart with both
slow and vigorous activities.
Exercise promotes a healthier
resting heart rate and burns excess
stored fat from the body, which in

turn will improve the hearts circulatory capabilities.

Get your heart pumping and it
will help keep you moving for the
long haul.
Good nutrition is cardio-protective.
Eating heart healthy foods will
promote longevity in life and minimize illnesses.
The heart benefits from consuming foods rich in omega-3 fats (wild
salmon and walnuts) and foods rich
in CoQ10, a heart healthy antioxidant, (broccoli and oranges).
Enjoy a small dose of antioxidant rich dark chocolate this
month as well. Your heart will soar
with love.
Practice stress-free living.
You know the often-quoted
phrase stop and smell the roses?
It is a known fact that enjoying
nature, the sunshine and fresh air

are stress-relieving activities that

help reduce blood pressure and
benefit your heart long-term.
So does a good nights sleep.
Dont skimp on these important
heart healthy activities. Your heart
beats nonstop; it deserves a stressfree break from the daily grind.
Bring on the love.
Spending time with others, enjoying friendships, and playing with
the kids and pets are great opportunities to emotionally connect
and that is good for the heart.
Schedule outings with friends,
romantic candlelit dinners with
your someone special, and walks
with your pup. Enjoy a romantic
comedy movie with your bestie
this Valentines Day.
When you feel love, your heart
celebrates. It doesnt get any better than that.

Healthy Living 2015

Paula Hendricks

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Healthy Living 2015

Three easy changes you can make today

to meet your long-term diet goals
T

he biggest hurdles to sticking to a new diet are convenience and flavor. Who
wants to eat food that doesnt taste good or is hard to make? You and your
family are more likely to stick to your commitments if the changes you make suit
your schedule and your palate.
Here are three easy changes you can make to your diet today:
Hydrate Yourself
Water reigns supreme as the health drink of choice among nutritionists and
dieticians. Most diet plans include the following crucial advice: Stay hydrated,
but avoid sugary beverages.
In addition to all of the critical functions water performs in your body, staying
hydrated will help you feel fuller so you eat less over the course of the day.
But water doesnt have to be tasteless to bestow benefits. There are many
virtually calorie-free ways to dress up water and add a hint of nutritional value:
Add slices of strawberry or cucumber, wedges of lemon, lime or orange, chunks
of watermelon or several sprigs of fresh mint or basil. Refrigerate until youre
ready to drink. Or get hydrated with green tea, which is loaded with antioxidants.
Snack on Bold Flavors
Whether youre on the go or at home, snack time can be a dieters downfall.
Rather than buying full-sized bags of high-fat snacks like chips, which are easy

to binge on, opt for

single-serving snacks
that are wholesome
and full of flavor. For
example, olives in
ready-to-go cups are
a fuss-free way to
punch up the flavor
profile of a meal or
snack.
Single-serving
black pitted olives
in a cup can be just
as satisfying as a
serving of chips, but
theyre gluten-free,
dairy-free, sugar-free,
cholesterol-free,
trans-fat-free, GMOfree and vegan.
Make Friends
with Fat
A major mistake
many dieters make
is trying to cut all
of the fat from their
diet. Fat is a necessary component of
any healthy diet. Monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and Omega-3 fatty
acids should comprise the majority of the fat you eat. Great sources of healthy
fat include olive oil, salmon, tuna, avocado, olives, seeds and nuts. Olives and
avocados are fruit, so they also boost your fruit intake.
Try tossing olives, canned tuna or avocados into a salad; sprinkle almonds or
walnuts over oatmeal; swap commercially made salad dressings and marinades
with good-quality olive oil and flavorful herbs and spices.
To make your commitment to healthy eating a long-lasting one, be sure the
changes you make are sensible, sustainable and, above all, delicious.

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Healthy Living 2015

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Snuffing out addiction

Smokers look to the New Year to kick habit and employ a variety of smoking cessation methods.
By Deleste Magda
of The Auburn Journal
The New Year and resolutions go hand in hand, and
one of the big resolutions for many smokers is to
finally give up cigarettes.
Millions of Americans make the resolution to quit
smoking; pharmacists and smoke shops can attest
to this.
Tucker Jacob, general manager of Gold Country Vapor at 175 Elm Avenue in Auburn, said he has seen
an approximate 10 percent increase in new customers during the first few weeks of the month.
It is the time of year for resolutions, Jacob said.
We dont sell any tobacco products and there has
been a high spurt of customers for our vapor products and electronic cigarettes.
He said smoking has evolved over the generations
from a simple pipe tobacco habit to a multi-million
dollar business where you can purchase a variety of
flavors from local stores for electronic cigarettes.
People are no longer limited to only buying packets or rolled tobacco products that do not have

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the best taste and having to deal with the effects,

Jacob said. People are now able to modernize this
long standing enjoyment with new equipment that
puts them in the drivers seat more than ever before
and can help them kick the lethal habit.
According to the Center for Disease Control nearly 48 million Americans aged 18 years and older
smoke. Of these, fully 70 percent nearly 34 million
smokerswant to quit. This year 1.3 million of these
smokers will quit successfully.
Why do tens of millions want to quit but only a
fraction actually succeeds? The answer is that most
people just dont know how to go about quitting.
Charmaine Moller, a local Auburn pharmacist, said
many talk to their doctor about quitting and explore
the smoking cessation products available.
We have definitely seen an increase in Chantix,
Moller said. It is a smoking cessation medicine
used together with behavior modification and counseling support to help you stop smoking.
Barbette Sheperds, a life coach and owner of
LifeSteps: Sheperds Counseling at 381A Nevada
Street in Auburn, said its not easy to quit smoking

Healthy Living 2015

and studies have indicated that cigarettes are more

addictive than heroin, and the first three weeks after
you quit are said to be the most difficult, according
to the American Cancer Society.
The more support we have the more likely we are
to follow through with our resolutions, Sheperds
said. If you stumble along the way to giving up
smoking, dont punish yourself -- just try again.

Healthy Living 2015

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