Laila Ali hits the speed bag with a pal from Kentwood Elementary School in Los Angeles as part of the Live Like a Champion Tour.
It’s tough to believe that Laila Ali wasn’t into sports as a kid. Anyone who’s seen the Super Middleweight boxing champion, youngest daughter of legendary boxing champ Muhammad Ali, in action would imagine her as a lifelong athlete. But she didn’t take up sports until adulthood, something she says she regrets. So she’s out to share the many benefits of being active with children, recently taking part in the Live Like a Champion Tour staged by the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. “It always feels good to inspire and motivate kids,” says Ali, “because they’re like little sponges.” She adds that most kids want to be active, and just need to be pointed in the right direction.
That direction, however, might be different for different kids. If things don’t work out with the first sport your children try, encourage them to try others. “Kids need to realize that we all have our own special gift,” says Ali. She’s a big fan of competitive sports, but realizes that’s not for everyone. “Some people just aren’t competitive, and that makes it hard,” she admits. But with everything from swimming to dance, skating and biking to karate now available, the possibilities for active kids are endless. Read what Laila has to say about working out and eating right …
If your kids don’t like their vegetables, maybe it’s because they never learned to. That’s how Alan Greene, M.D., sees it anyway. “Taste preferences are not an accident,” explains the Stanford University professor and author – most recently of Feeding Baby Green 
Peanuts and tree nuts cause more life-threatening and fatal allergic reactions than any other food. Right now, all people can do to cope is avoid peanuts and carry an epinephrine auto-injector (like a DIY antihistamine shot) in case that doesn’t work. But researchers reporting in the July issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 
I’ve had more than one health expert tell me that the best way to keep your family hydrated is to have reusable stainless steel water bottles on hand – filled with filtered water from your tap. This is the time of year when most local water suppliers issue something called a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), which they’ve been required to do by the EPA since 1998. (You should get one in the mail, or be able to find it online. If not, call your water company to request a copy.)
EO Hand Sanitizer 
Another new fave, especially when I hit the yoga mat, is the line of wipe your feet, wipe your hands 
If you don’t know the difference between “simple carbohydrates” and “complex carbs,” you should. Taking in just a bit more of the complex sort (non-processed foods, beans, oatmeal, whole grains) and less of the simple (soft drinks, processed foods, white bread) could be enough to help you feel fuller and lose weight. University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers presented a study June 11 showing that diets high in carbs, but especially simple carbs, cause insulin levels in the body to spike. This drives blood sugar down (sugar crash), making you feel hungry. But slightly reducing the amount of calories from carbs, and focusing more on complex carbs, kept test subjects’ glucose levels more even and made them feel full longer. 
Don’t eat prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough, warn the FDA and CDC. It could be contaminated with E. coli, which causes food borne illness. The agencies have received 66 reports of illness connected with the products since March, including 25 hospitalizations and seven cases of severe complications. Cooking the dough would kill bacteria in the cookies themselves, but working with contaminated dough could spread the bacteria onto your hands and throughout your kitchen, making you and your family ill. Instead, throw these products away if you have them at home.
Moms who drink lots of fructose-sweetened beverages (think sodas, fruit juices, etc.) while breastfeeding could have babies more prone to obesity and type 2 diabetes, a new animal study has shown. Researchers found that rat pups those whose mothers were given fructose-supplemented water while nursing their young ate more and were fatter than those whose mothers drank plain water. They also had increased blood levels of the “hunger” hormone leptin, and high insulin levels, indicating they were likely diabetic. The researchers, who presented their study Thursday at The Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., recommended breastfeeding mothers stick to a balanced diet and low fructose intake to help prevent obesity in their children. 
We’ve fired up the grill more than once during the past week at my house (and have plans for more al fresco meals in the days ahead), so I thought it might be time for some barbecue safety reminders from the Partnership for Food Safety Education:
Have you been in a bathing suit yet this season? It’s likely that at some point in the coming months a pool party, a beach barbecue, or a long-awaited vacation will leave you no choice but to let a bit of skin show. Ironically, it can be those very parties, cookouts and getaways that leave us not quite swimwear ready. Here are some tips from Carolyn Scott, proprietor of a wonderful Web site called The Healthy Voyager, to help keep your summer eating on track:
