One More Reason I Love Juice Plus+...The Children's Health Study!

First, let's start with the facts...

*Over 90% of kids don't get the right amount of fruits and veggies each day.

*1 in 3 American kids are overweight...triple the amount from 30 years ago AND most of those kids will grow up to be overweight adults.

*1 in 3 kids born in the year 2000 are predicted to develop Type 2 Diabetes.

*By age 12, 70% of kids have the beginning stages of hardening of the arteries.

OUCH!

So what does Juice Plus+ have to do with this? Well, when we get the recommended 7-13 (5-7 for kids) servings of fruits and vegetables in our diets, we are delivering key phytonutrients that are absorbed into our body, supporting a healthy immune system and reducing our risk for disease. The hard part is that it next next to impossible for most people (at least it is for me!) to get the recommended servings each day...and to add to that the variety necessary to provide the maximum benefits. Juice Plus+ is not a replacement for fruits and veggies...it is a whole food nutritional supplement made of 17 fruits and vegetables such as spinach, kale, carrots, apples, and beets, that helps bridge the gap between what we need and what we actually get. I LOVE it!

So now to The Childrens Health Study...an awesome opportunity to get our kids on JP+ for free! All for doing a survey that is documenting the effects of JP+ on the health of families who take it...

Here are some significant results from over 100,000 families in the study who are taking JP+ as part of their nutritional needs...

*51% of kids and 61% of adults report eating more fruits and vegetables.

*81% of kids and 82% of adults are more aware of their health

*92% of kids and 94% of adults see a positive benefit of some kind

I completely agree with these results! I am MUCH more aware of what I am eating as a result of being on JP+. I definitely pay more attention and feel healthier and more energized than I have ever been in my life...the more amazing result for my family is that my daughter Bella (7 years old) is EXTREMELY aware of what is and is not healthy and strives to eat more fruits and vegetables...it really is amazing to me. When deciding what type of dessert to eat, she will choose an oatmeal cookie instead of chocolate cupcake. She asks if things are healthy all of the time...she WANTS to be healthy. Maybe it's because John and I are talking about health and what it means to be healthy, but JP+ is definitely our talking point. It is something that the kids look forward to taking, and they won't miss...even if I forget, they don't!

To be honest, when we first when on the CHS and I saw the stats, I thought...REALLY?! Kids eat more fruits and veggies because they are on JP+?...we'll see! I really believe now that we have been taking JP+ for about a year that we are SO much more aware of our health, and I am so impressed with this company that they offer ours kids the opportunity to take it for free for up to three years! I feel good every day knowing that even if I'm struggling to get my kids to eat all of their veggies (not gonna mention any names, JACK!), I have an insurance policy in JP+!

Beach Cities Challenge...It's on!

DAVE O'BRIEN, 4 DESERT RUNNER...SO AWESOME!!!

So have I already said how much I stink at blogging...for real! But I'm going to make a promise to myself to do better...I need this...to write...it's therapeutic...

So part of this blog is my running journey...I was training for the Surf City Half Marathon...my third half marathon. I had a goal...to break 2 hours...I did it (barely!). Surf City was OK, but it wasn't my favorite. I guess I need a change of scenery every once in a while while running, and SC is basically all one straight line on PCH...kinda boring. I guess it would've been less treacherous if my Pandora hadn't decided to quit at mile 8. I have always been someone who said I couldn't run without my music. In fact, if I am planning a run and find out that my iPod is dead, I won't run. And so there I was, with no music and five miles to go...the silence almost killed me...but I did it. I finished the half in 1 hour and 59 minutes (average 9:07 mile)...goal accomplished!

So what's next?! To keep the momentum, there has to be something around the corner to train for...but what? It seems that the next step would be a full marathon, but I have been having a HARD time wrapping my head around 26.2 miles...I mean, I was watching the marathon runners as I was running my half and just kept thinking, "HOW can they do that? I could NEVER do that!" So that goal died...for the time being...another half might be the right ticket...

Fast forward to last Thursday and Friday...I am sitting in the Long Beach Convention Center at the Juice Plus+ Conference listening to the 4 desert runners of team Juice Plus+, Dave O'Brien, the oldest person to ever finish the 4 deserts, Samantha Gash the first woman and youngest person to finish, Ricky Paugh, and Lisa Tamati. They ran 4 deserts in one year(the Sahara, the Gobe, the Atacama, and Antarctica). This equaled 600 miles...broken down to 150 miles for each desert. Each desert was run in 5 days...that means the first three days they run a full marathon, the fourth day they run 50-60 miles, and they finish the fifth day with a 10K...WHOA!!! I sat there in my seat listening to Dave saying, "For me, once you've truly found your passion, there's only one way to go about it, and that is to grab it with both hands, commit to it, and finish it. There is no 'It isn't going to happen.' In my book, quitting is not an option...For me, it's just a matter of feeling well all the time and being healthy."

Right there, I made the decision to take the leap and run the full marathon...if this average 57 year old man can run 150 miles in 5 days, I can certainly run 26 in one day. So here I am...ready to run...I will be doing one half marathon (The OC half) on May 1, and then I'll be doing the Long Beach Marathon in October. My mind is finally right with this...if I continue to give myself the nutrition I need and train consistently, there is no stopping me...so the journey continues...I have raised the bar for myself, and I'm looking forward to this new challenge. To Be continued...