Kimberly Garrison

I had read about wheatgrass and recently it has become a part of my morning ritual. Maybe I'm crazy but I'm convinced taking it has increased my energy and strength.

According to same of the experts, 2 ounces of wheatgrass is equal to 2 pounds of raw broccoli. It strengthens the immune system, detoxifies the blood, improves circulation, and stimulates digestion. Wheatgrass is rich in chlorophyll, which strengthens the cells, the heart and vascular system. That's some pretty potent stuff.

If you want to try wheatgrass go to a local juice bar. There is one in the Reading Terminal Market. It has a surprising sweetness to it. Otherwise, you'll have to buy a juicer designed for juicing wheat grass (a manual press or electric version). You can also buy a tray of fresh wheat grass from the Iovine Brothers, also in the Reading Terminal Market.

Wheatgrass is a real drink to your health. Bottoms Up!

Should high fat foods, snacks, candy, cakes, and soda be taxed at a higher rate like tabacco? Afterall, our national estimated annual "health care" costs for obesity is a whopping $95 billion and climbing. What do you think - Tax on Twinkies?

Fitness guru's credo: Life's an athletic event - you have to train

FROM THE start, I knew I was in trouble.

"Hello, sexy," an effervescent Jack LaLanne said as he walked into the room. Then the 91-year-old fitness pioneer took my hand and we sat down for the most wonderful conversation.

LaLanne is one of my heroes - the high priest of American fitness. He single-handedly spearheaded the American "fitness craze" in the 1930s at Muscle Beach, Calif., and opened his first gym in 1931. He remains indisputably the Father of Fitness.

I was glad I had a tape recorder for that interview last week in New York City, because Jack speaks about a thousand words a minute, and I didn't want to miss bit of his wisdom. Jack is full of jokes, and I literally giggled and slapped my knee throughout the interview.

Following are excerpts from a frank, funny discussion of his life, his fitness and dietary philosophy and his new book, "Celebrating 90-Plus Years of Healthy Living."

It may look fresh - but is it? Did you know that the Food and Drug Administration says it's safe to add carbon monoxide to fish and other perishable items? (Read about it in this PDF.) Carbon monoxide helps fish and other products retain the original color (no matter how old it really is). So, when it comes to sushi . . . buyer beware. That "all you can eat" sushi bar may not be such a good idea.

Anatomical exhibition exposes what's inside our bodies

DR. GUNTHER von Hagens' "Body Worlds: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies," which opened last Friday at the Franklin Institute Science Museum, blew me away!

I've been to the exhibit twice already and I'm still in awe of its magnificence, from the spectacular basketball player to the controversial pregnant mother. These are real human cadavers that have been preserved in plastic, with layers of skin and muscle cut away to expose the inner workings of the human anatomy.

I haven't stopped talking about it. Never have I been so excited about a museum exhibition.

Perhaps it is my fascination with the body and health? I don't know, but I do know that I left this exhibit having even more respect, love, and appreciation for my good health and strong body.

It is obvious to me that von Hagens created this 22,000-square-foot masterpiece to educate us about our individual magnificence. Unlike any other exhibit, you will learn about anatomy, physiology and health by viewing real human cadavers that have been preserved through the astonishing process called "plastination," where plastic replaces other body fluids to make the cadavers rigid.

This is real health education, an up-close-and-personal display of the relationship between unhealthy and healthy lifestyles. About 200 individual specimens were used to compare healthy and diseased organs, as well as 25 artistically posed whole-body plastinates with organs intact.

If you thought fitness and health was all about six-pack abs, being a size 2, or bulging biceps, you're dead wrong! The Body Worlds exhibit is proof positive that beauty, fitness, and indeed health are deeper than the skin. What you can do and what's happening inside your body are far more important than what your body looks like outside.

Locomotor system

You know the song, "the knee bone's connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone's connected to the hip bone," etc. Well, seeing the human skeleton with its more than 200 bones and 100 moveable joints clearly brings new meaning to the saying,

"we're only as strong as our weakest link."

All movement is made possible because of the skeleton, our locomotor system that consists of bones, muscles, and joints, making it possible for us to move and support our body. Besides its other vital roles, you see unmistakably that the skeleton is designed to protect our precious internal organs.

Additionally, seeing a knee and hip replacement prosthesis was a real eye-opener.

The brain

The best computer in the universe is no competition for our fabulous brain. The brain is master of the entire ship, controlling all thoughts and every movement. The brain, a glucose hog weighing a mere 2.8 pounds (2 percent of total body weight) demands 20 percent of your blood supply. It even shrinks if you don't use it. Whew, that's some heavy stuff.

Got a cigarette?

Every day when I'm walking downtown I see plenty of people puffing on cancer sticks. The svelte, obese, and sometimes even "fit-looking" individuals are standing outside office buildings smoking. Whatever healthy habits you may have, all the benefits are canceled out if you SMOKE!

The sight of a smoker's lung, ugly, shriveled, and black, compared to the pinkish white non-smoker's lung should be motivation enough to stop any smokers on the spot.

Checked your cholesterol lately?

The sight of the dissected aortas diseased by arteriosclerosis repulsed me and reminded me to at once get my cholesterol checked. Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. Seeing the disgusting, shriveled-up and unhealthy aorta alongside a clean, normal one made me think, perhaps it's time to become a vegan! You could significantly lower your chances of getting high cholesterol and heart disease by eating a primarily vegetable-based diet. Just say NO to saturated and trans fats.

Adult Anorexia is on the rise. According to this months AARP, E-True Hollywood Stories, and a recent report by ABC News Adult Anorexia is on the rise. According to this months AARP, E-True Hollywood Stories, and a recent report by ABC News, more mid-life women are being dagnosed with anorexia or other eating disorders.

The question is why? Is the media and Hollywood the blame? Is this pressure to be super thin "real" or "perceived"?

Here's the second Philly Fitness and Health Podcast. Fitness trainer Kimberly Garrison is here to share tips, introduce us to people with big ideas about fitness, and answer your fitness and health questions. This week's guest is Erin Owen, who started Health Catalyst after determining that her high-pressure job was literally killing her.

You can post any questions at the COMMENTS link or e-mail Kimberly at kimberly@phillynews.com. Here are this week's SHOWNOTES:

Costly procedure increases chances of saggy skin, massive wrinkles

GASTRIC BYPASS and other surgical stomach-reduction procedures that result in dramatic weight loss have soared in popularity during the last five years.

Celebrities such as NBC "Today Show's" Al Roker, comedian-actress Roseanne Barr and singer Carnie Wilson have upped the procedure's profile. This year alone, the American Society of Bariatric Surgery predicts there will be close to a 50 percent increase in these bariatric procedures, to a whopping 160,000 surgeries.

Certainly, to the 65 percent of American adults who are either overweight or obese, an operation that can result in the loss of 80 to 150 pounds may seem like a godsend. This latest "get thin quick" trend, however, comes with consequences.

New studies indicate obesity surgery is more dangerous than previously believed. But even successful surgeries may have unpleasant results.

Actress Lauren Hutton, 61 is posing nude for Big Magazine.

Hutton wants to show older women that they don't have to be ashamed of their bodies. For more details read NBC10.

You can post any questions at the COMMENTS link or e-mail Kimberly at kimberly@phillynews.com. Here are this week's SHOWNOTES:

WRITING THIS column has given me the chance to meet a number of fitness celebrities, but equally inspiring to me are the ordinary women I encounter at the gym - women like Betty Arline and Sue Olds.

A 68-year-old grandmother of six, Sue proudly affirms, "I'm fit, I look good - and I don't wear Depends!"

Adds Betty, a 60-year-old mother of two and master trainer at the 12th Street Gym, "If you exercise, age is no barrier."

What follows is my candid conversation with these two wonderful, wise women who are role models for aging gracefully.

Q: Betty, what are your thoughts on the cultural myths and attitudes people have about aging?

Betty: Now, no one wants to get old. Everyone wants to look younger. Plastic surgery is all the rage. No amount of plastic surgery, however, can erase the damage done by years of abuse. But aging is the process we all must go through. The question is how you do it. Embrace getting older, and wisdom comes.

Q: Sue, what are your thoughts on the subject?

Sue: When it comes to aging, people have a lot myths. The myths are in the person - they are self-imposed. I dance to my own drummer. I weigh the same as I did when I was in my 20s, but I'm much stronger now. I workout with my trainer three to four times a week and I don't own a car, so I have to walk everywhere I go.

Q: That's commendable - you walk everywhere! Well, it's obvious both of you are in excellent condition. So what's the secret to aging gracefully?

B: Your thoughts. What you think is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You say [it], you get it.

S: Discipline. You have to be disciplined. I don't take any medications. I eat only organic produce, juice twice a day, I eat lean proteins and I get eight hours of sleep.