BROOKLYN: WEEKLY DANCE CLASSES @ YOUTH ARTS ACADEMY
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This is a reposting from the Brooklyn Food & Fitness Task Force distro list. I’m open to posting events from any city, just send in your information:
Weekly Classes at Youth Arts Academy!
NOW FEATURING AFRICAN DRUMMING!!
WEEKLY CLASSES
(No Registration Required)
Tuesdays
Contemporary Dance – mixed levels | 7PM – 8:30PM
RONALD K. BROWN/EVIDENCE
ZUMBA! – mixed Levels | 7:30PM- 8:30PM
CAROLINA WALICKI
Thursdays
African Dance – ivory coast – mixed levels | 7PM-8:30PM
MAMADOU DAHOUE
Belly Dance – mixed levels| 7PM – 8:30PM
TAMAR
Fridays
Thai Robic Kickboxing – mixed levels | 7PM – 8PM
SHIHAN (Winslow Lewis)
African Dance – Guinea- mixed levels | 8PM – 9:30PM
YOUSSOUFF KOUMBASA
Sundays New!
African Drumming – mixed levels | 11AM-1PM ($20.00 FOR THIS 2 HOUR CLASS)
TRABE LIZE
PRICE: $10.00–1 HOUR CLASS
$12.00–1-1/2 HOUR CLASS
$20.00–2 HOUR DRUMMING CLASS
(10 CLASS DISCOUNT CARD AVAILABLE)
Location: Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (Restoration Plaza)
Youth Arts Academy building, 2nd Floor
1368 Fulton Street (between Brooklyn and New York Avenues)
We are open Tuesday-Sunday. The studio is closed on Monday.
If you have any questions concerning the status of a class or
for more information please call: 718-636-6969 or 718-636-6995
ksmith@restorationplaza.org
FOOD STAMPS DON’T LIMIT YOUR FOOD OPTIONS
There’s an episode of “Everybody Hates Chris” where Chris’ mother Rochelle is so embarrassed about using food stamps in the presence of a friend that she spends cash on her groceries, blowing the family’s budget.
Considering nearly 45 million Americans are on food stamps today (that’s about 1 in 7 people) if you qualify for them you’re certainly not alone.
In some states, like Tennessee, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oregon, one in five people are receiving food stamps. Washington, D.C. leads the nation, with 21.5% of the population on food stamps. (Source)
In lower income neighborhoods, there are significantly less fresh and healthier food options. I’ve seen rotting fruit, dehydrated vegetables, and expiring meats for sale (at a higher price point than more affluent areas, go figure!)
But food stamps don’t have to limit your food options. If you’re buying soda, potted meats, and ramen noodles with your food stamps, you’re doing it wrong. Did you know that Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and many farmers markets—yes farmers markets, accept food stamps?
If you’re receiving food stamps, you’re just as entitled to fresh vegetables and meats as people who are not receiving the subsidy.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
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Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I’ve never found Valentine’s Day to be too challenging, as I’m not a big fan of chocolate. But for those of you who’ve been sabotaged today, try to be your strongest and go dark!
Dark chocolate is actually good for you and can be consumed daily in limited quantities.
Here are some of its benefits according to About.com:
Dark chocolate is good for your heart. A small bar of it everyday can help keep your heart and cardiovascular system running well.
Two heart health benefits of dark chocolate are:
* Lower Blood Pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.
* Lower Cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.
Dark chocolate also contains serotonin, which can help people battling depression! Remember it’s still all about the calories though, so keep this in mind:
This information doesn’t mean that you should eat a pound of chocolate a day. Chocolate is still a high-calorie, high-fat food. Most of the studies done used no more than 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits.
One bar of dark chocolate has around 400 calories. If you eat half a bar of chocolate a day, you must balance those 200 calories by eating less of something else. Cut out other sweets or snacks and replace them with chocolate to keep your total calories the same. (Source)
Enjoy your Valentine, and have a couple of chocolates for me!
DIET SODA LINKED TO HEART ATTACK AND STROKE
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This comes as terrible news for me!! I am a Diet Coke FIEND (ew @Pepsi). I drink one of three diet sodas once or twice a day: Diet Coke, Diet Sunkist, or Sprite Zero. I’ve never been a coffee person, and yes I’m one of those weirdos drinking diet soda w/breakfast in the morning.
I don’t see myself giving them up altogether—but I’ll be scaling back on my daily consumption. I won’t go back to regular soda though. More water for me! The Coke ain’t worth the stroke!!
In a nine-year study of more than 2,500 people, those who drank diet soda daily were 48% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke or die from those events, compared with those who rarely or never drank soda.
There was no increased risk of cardiovascular disorders among daily drinkers of regular soda, says study researcher Hannah Gardener, ScD, an epidemiologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. (Source)
EGGS ARE LOWER IN CHOLESTEROL THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT
The USDA has updated its nutrition data to reflect new findings. It turns out eggs aren’t quite as bad for us as we thought.
The USDA-ARS recently reviewed the nutrient composition of standard large eggs, and results show the average amount of cholesterol in one large egg is 185 mg, 14 percent lower than previously recorded. The analysis also revealed that large eggs now contain 41 IU of vitamin D, an increase of 64 percent. (Source)
Previous findings weren’t wrong—farmers are now feeding the hens better food:
Some researchers believe the natural decrease in the cholesterol level of eggs could be related to the improvements farmers have made to the hens’ feed. Hens are fed a high-quality, nutritionally balanced diet of feed made up mostly of corn, soybean meal, vitamins and minerals. Poultry nutrition specialists analyze the feed to ensure that the natural nutrients hens need to stay healthy are included in their diets. (Source)
I don’t think there’s a better example of the old saying, “You are what you eat.” If more people paid attention to their diets, many genetic predispositions such as obesity could be managed, and perhaps eliminated.
HOW SOON AFTER EATING SHOULD I WORKOUT?
This was asked via Twitter. More specifically: How soon after you eat a full meal can you exercise?
There isn’t an exact answer. I must let a large meal digest before I do anything too rigorous, and generally only workout after having a light snack. I also get nauseous if I consume too much liquid beforehand, but I do drink water throughout my workouts.
I tend to agree with this:
Your goal is to have fueled your body with nutritious food that is no longer present in your stomach when you work out. The pre-exercise food prevents hunger during exercise. Carbohydrates are easily digested, but foods high in protein and fat will linger in the stomach for some time, depending how much you ate. Large meals take longer to empty from the stomach, about four to six hours. (Source)
On the flip side, there are some people who choose to workout on an empty stomach for maximal fat burning results. This technique does not work for me. If I don’t eat something, I’m liable to pass out. Here are some words on the subject:
“When you exercise (after fasting), your adrenaline is high and your insulin is low,” said Peter Hespel, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Leuven in Belgium. “That ratio is favorable for your muscles to oxidize (break down) more fatty acids.” Hespel said that people who exercise without having eaten burn more fat than they would if they had grabbed a bite beforehand. (Source)
Though not everybody endorses this:
“I think it’s actually a pretty bad idea,” said Dr. Alexis Chiang Colvin, a sports medicine expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York who has worked with professional football and hockey teams.
“If your blood sugar is low, you could wind up getting dizzy and you might not be able to exercise as well as if you were well-nourished,” she said. Colvin recommended having something small like a banana before training. She also warned the strategy might make people more prone to injury and that eating was important so the body would have enough nutrients to recover from a bout of exercise. (Source)
So there’s no exact answer. There are experts with strong opinions on both sides. I say do what’s best for you. I don’t really eat large meals; they make me sedentary (aka The ‘Itis), but I would reserve a larger meal for after my workout, because that’s when I need it to refuel.
