Today, buying chocolate for a lover is one way humans traditionally celebrate Valentine’s Days. Why chocolate is connected to romance could simply be because chocolate is so tasty. But it’s not only romance that chocolate is now used for on Valentine’s, it’s also become a gift that is given from people to others they care about.

It can be tricky trying to find the perfect chocolate to show someone special that you care about them this Valentine’s Day, especially if you are searching for chocolate that is not packed with unwanted ingredients. There are however, several companies that are making chocolates with sensitivity to our health and environment. Zazubean is a local company which makes several wonderfully unique flavored chocolate bars.

All ingredients in Zazubean chocolates are 100% organic certified by USDA, this ensures consumers that all ingredients in the chocolates are grown, processed and handled in a way that is consistent with the national organic standards.

Why Organic?
Cocoa beans are one of the most pesticide intensive crops in the world. Because Zazubean cares about health, all the beans in our chocolate are organically farmed using traditional shade grown agriculture that is pesticide free which protects not only your health, but the species living in these organic cocoa producing areas.

Good for you
We’re not sure if 2 ounces (56g) of chocolate a day can keep the doctor away, however, dark chocolate with a minimum cocoa content of 70% may protect against heart disease and high blood pressure. Because it is full of antioxidants rich in flavonoids, which are potent plant compounds found in tea, red wine and some fruits and vegetables that reduce bad “LDL” cholesterol.

During a closed-door meeting in September with provincial and territorial health ministers, Health Canada suddenly announced that it was suspending plans to move to larger, more graphic warning labels and a toll-free number for a quit-smoking phone line. Instead, the government said its tobacco policy will focus on fighting contraband cigarettes. In the editorial, Dr. Matthew Stanbrook, a respirologist and CMAJ deputy editor under editor-in-chief Dr. Paul Hébert, said “warning labels are an effective, inexpensive communication strategy.”

We should all be outraged about the suspension of efforts to renew tobacco warning labels.”

Until recently, the health warnings on US tobacco products have been incredibly subtle compared to cigarette packs in Europe, which are often as blunt as “smoking kills.” But thanks to the tobacco law passed last year, US advertising is catching up with bigger, bolder warnings on tobacco products.

Beginning in June 22, all smokeless tobacco products in the US will have to follow these advertising guidelines, and next year, they will apply to cigarette ads as well.

Australia is taking an even more extreme approach: there, the government wants to ban all brand logos and colors on cigarette boxes, leaving behind “only a few words and graphic warning images of shrivelled, diseased lungs or gangrenous toes.”

In Canada, the federal government appears to be abandoning its responsibility to protect the health of Canadians by failing to introduce stronger warnings on cigarette packages. What do you think about the cancelled cigarette warning labels in Canada? Do our regulations in this country go far enough?

Source

The LA Times article by James S. Fell, a certified health expert, criticized the reality TV fitness trainer’s methods for getting the show’s contestants to lose weight, according to Yahoo.com. Fell, who hails from Canada, further went on to say that Michaels training techniques on her new workout DVD, “Shred-It With Weights,” are unsafe.

The strength and conditioning expert and co-author of a fitness book, Fell says the blurb on the DVD boasting that clients can lose up to five pounds a week is misleading. When he broke down how much it would really take to lose that weight using kettlebells, which are cannon-sized weights, he concluded that a beginning user would have to do four hours of kettlebells every day.

In the article, Fell also refers to other personal trainers in the industry who take issue with Michaels’ kettlebell instructions. Mark Cheng, a Los Angeles kettlebells specialist, told Fell,

“Her technique is appalling. What she says in the video and what she demonstrates are two different things. She doesn’t break this down into manageable pieces that prompt people to get the correct form, so instead she is enabling bad form…I would not recommend this from a safety perspective.”

Michaels has fired back and defended herself by responding to the LA Times piece by sarcastically telling UsMagazine.com: “Apparently I’m an actress.” She further added: “I currently own two certifications, one of which doesn’t expire. I developed my own conditioning education program for trainers, with sports medicine doctors.”

It’s not the first time Michaels has received criticism about her products. So far, she’s been sued four times over her dietary supplements. In August, an anonymous plaintiff filed a $10 million suit alleging that her product, “Triple Process Total Body Detox & Cleanse,” contained dangerous ingredients. Last February, two women separately sued Michaels for false advertising on a diet pill she endorses, “Jillian Michaels Maximum Strength Calorie Control.” Michaels has called the lawsuits “baseless” and she told the Associated Press: “My reputation and credibility are of the utmost importance to me.”

Today, the smoothie has been adopted by the health-conscious, with a variety of tasty and sometimes interesting ingredients being added, such as soy milk, whey powder and nutritional supplements.

Whether you’re a company executive, stay-at-home mom, entrepreneur or doctor, busy lives seem to sabotage healthy eating habits. Keeping a balanced and nutritious diet does not have to be so complicated. Try these smoothie recipes for your next breakfast on the go, snack, or even as a delicious dessert.

Popeye Smoothie

.  1 large ripe banana, peeled
.  Handful of fresh spinach
.  1 large kale leaf
.  1/4 of the avocado flesh
.  1/2 cup blueberries, frozen
.  1/2 cup strawberries, frozen
.  1 1/2 cups water
.  1 tsp honey or 1 packet of stevia (optional)

Directions: Combine the water, banana, spinach, kale, and avocado in the blender. Blend. Then add the blueberries, strawberries, and stevia or honey. Blend again until smooth. Enjoy! 1-2 servings

Prickly Pear Smoothie

.  1 large ripe banana, peeled
.  1 ½ cups prickly pear, peeled and chopped or 1 normal pear, must be cored
.  1 cup pomegranate kernels, frozen
.  ¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
.  1 ½ teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
.  1 tsp agave syrup or 1 packet of stevia (optional)
.  2-3 ice cubes

Directions: Pour the juice with agave syrup or stevia into the blender. Toss in the banana and the pear with the pomegranate kernels on top. Blend until smooth. Serves 2

Chocolate Espresso Smoothie

.  6 ounces chocolate yogurt (if you cannot find use Greek yogurt instead)
.  2 ripe, frozen large bananas
.  2 shots espresso, chilled
.  1 tablespoon cacao/chocolate
.  2 cups ice (about 14 ice cubes)

Directions: Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serves 2.

There are so many exercises that you can incorporate the ball with such as push ups, hamstring curls, or jackknifes which targets your core. Stability ball exercises allow for more than one muscle group to be worked at once. They force you to focus on balance and stability as well as strengthening. Humans have sensors called proprioceptors, and their main role is to connect the body with the brain and communicate to the body where it is in time and space. The proprioceptors send messages to the spinal cord and brain to control the action or movement in some way. When you workout with a stability ball, you are stimulating those proprioceptors and challenging the body’s stability and balance while you perform the exercise.

Many conditioning coaches and fitness experts would agree that the stability ball is one of the most important pieces of essential training equipment. Still, I know plenty of people who’ve never used one. How about you?

When the city of Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Olympic Games back in July 2003, a cry of excitement could be heard throughout the city. It is now February 2010 and the 21st Winter Olympic Games have finally arrived in the city of Vancouver and the topic of conversation is who has tickets to these Olympic events?

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada and will hold over 15 winter sporting events. With hockey being the pride of the nation, tickets for any of the Canadian hockey team’s games appears to be the most sought after prize. Although Canadian athletes have never won a gold medal at home, this 2010 group could be the strongest contingent yet with a program called “Own the Podium” developed specifically to train and prepare only the best Canadian athletes for the Vancouver 2010 Games.

Canada will also be looking to break its record of 24 medals won in Turin at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Both the men’s and women’s hockey and curling teams are all expected to reach the podium, while speed skater Clara Hughes, a five-time Olympic medalist has her eyes set firmly on gold.

If you are one of the lucky ones going to an Olympic event feel lucky indeed, as the Vancouver Organizing Committee says,

tickets to almost all other events — with the exception of a few hockey and curling sessions and some victory ceremonies — have been sold out, although a small number of new tickets may become available.

The opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held on February 12, 2010, at B.C Place in Vancouver, British Columbia and the games will come to an official close two weeks later during the closing ceremony on February 28th. Let us know if you are going to a 2010 Winter Olympic sporting event.

January 2010 has arrived and we at Fitness Goop wanted to let you decide who was the fittest female celebrity of 2009. We have selected a group of females that we feel reflects what it means to be fit and healthy through proper nutrition and working out regularly. Which female celebrity do you feel was the fittest in 2009?

We all know that Madonna works hard on her physique to get it looking so perfect and her fitness regimes have almost become legendary. Recently, Madonna has attracted media attention for her sinewy and very lean muscles, also raising questions in the heads of critics and her fans alike. Is she healthy, or is she overdoing it? It is not unusual however, to see veins appear more visible and muscles to become extremely lean when a person’s body fat drops extremely low, such as in the case with Madge.

Sources say Madonna has been working out on the gyrotonic expansion system, which incorporates levers and pulleys to elongate the muscles. She also practices pilates and yoga and does a regimented 200 to 400 sit-ups a day. As far as what she puts in her body, Madonna follows a strict Macrobiotic diet. This is a low-fat, high fiber diet that is a predominantly vegetarian diet, emphasizing whole grains and vegetables.

We want to know what you think of Madonna’s ripped physique. Do you think she has a healthy looking body?