Category: Food

USB-based Purifier Cleans Water in Under a Minute

It seems like you can do anything via USB these days – even purify water.  The SteriPEN Freedom is a tiny USB-based water purifier that uses an ultraviolet light to purify a 16-oz. glass of water in as little as 48 seconds. The device eliminates bacteria and viruses that cause waterborne illnesses making it a valuable tool for both the hiker and the world traveler – at least those who travel with a laptop! Unlike previous battery-driven models, the SteriPEN Freedom features a micro USB port for charging and can be used up to 40 times on a single charge.

Its overall lifespan is estimated at roughly 8,000 treatments, and best of all the device also doubles as a flashlight. It’ll be available next month for $119.

SteriPEN Official Website

Hands On: PUR One-Click Faucet Mount Water Filtration System

Everyone knows that the key to good health is to stay hydrated—they don’t call it the “source of life” for nothing. Recommendations vary, but you should drink at least 16 ounces of water an hour or two before an activity, and then drink more afterward. (Water is the best source for hydration. Experts will recommend a sports drink to replenish sodium and potassium after an intense workout, but that’s a story for another day. We are talking strictly water here.)

Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re lucky enough to have water accessible at all times; if you want a drink, you can pour yourself a glass from the kitchen faucet. People who dislike the taste of tap water will hit bottled waters. More than $100 billion U.S. dollars is spent on bottled water worldwide and people consume around 50 billion bottles a year in the U.S. alone, but bottled water is environmentally unfriendly and a big expense to produce and consume. Despite having some of the cleanest tap water in the world here in the U.S., people still hit the bottle.

An alternative is to implement some sort of filtration system at home, either a water pitcher with filtration or a unit that can be attached to a faucet. They utilize filter cartridges that must be replaced every few months, and they aren’t inexpensive (think of it like razors or inkjet printer cartridges). (There are also even pricier units built into your sink or water cooler-style units). But compared to bottled water these systems are convenient, easily accessible and much more affordable. The folks at PUR recently sent us their One-Click Faucet Mount Water Filtration System to try out. PUR states that the One-Click filters out 99 percent of lead, trace pharmaceuticals, and microbial cysts, as well as reduces taste and odor of chlorine and other contaminants. Here’s our 3-month experience with it. Continue reading Hands On: PUR One-Click Faucet Mount Water Filtration System

FitPro Launches Natural, Powder-free Protein Shake

What you put into your body after a workout is just as important as the workout itself (especially if you’re trying to gain muscle). But not everyone has the time or patience to concoct their own protein shake after every workout. For on-the-go athletes, FitPro offers its new ready-to-drink real milk protein shake.

Available in Chocolate Milk Shake or Vanilla Milk Shake, the all-natural drink is made with real milk instead of powders and it’s the only ready-to-drink protein shake to carry the “Real Dairy” seal, providing all nine essential nutrients found in natural milk. It’s special packaging also gives it a 12-month shelf life with no refrigeration needed.

Nutrition-wise, the 14-oz. lactose- and gluten-free drink contains 250 calories, 32g of protein, 6g of fat, and 13g of carbs. (By comparison, CytoSport’s 11-oz. Muscle Milk Chocolate packs 230 calories, 22g of protein, 11g of fat, and 11g of carbs.)

FitPro Milk is currently launching in gyms, clubs, and retail channels across the country.

FitPro Official Website

Hands On: Honey Stinger Organic Stinger Waffle

This morning I got up and realized I had nothing for breakfast. Then I remembered the Honey Stinger Waffles I picked up at Interbike a few weeks ago. Problem Solved! Normally I don’t grab an energy bar unless I plan on a really hard workout. It’s got the protein, carbohydrates, fat and calories to feed you and get you going. But this waffle bar is a bit smaller and I figured , whether or not it’s true, it seems like an appropriate breakfast.

Even when I’m on a hard workout, I think about whether I need an energy bar, again because of all that comes with it. It’s a commitment. It’s saying “I am going to burn 1,000+ calories before I’m through.” It’s more than I need. Enter the Honey Stinger: Stinger waffle. I tried the strawberry flavor. It was yummy.

The bar is roughly three-inches in diameter. It’s very thin. It’s a wafer sandwich. Densely packed inside is a strawberry jelly. Though don’t expect to do the Oreo thing and separate them, it’s pretty solid. Stinger Waffles are light, sweet and you hardly believe you’re eating an energy bar. Continue reading Hands On: Honey Stinger Organic Stinger Waffle

Leadville Trail 100 Sponsor Product Highlights

This past Saturday was the 18th running of the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike race in Leadville, Colorado and the 6th time that I have partaken in the race. This event has really grown in popularity and size during the past few years due to the highest level of professional cyclists like Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer showing up to compete. Along with the professional racers, larger corporate sponsors are becoming involved with this race and the whole Leadville race series, especially after Life Time Fitness took over the reins from Ken Chlouber and Merilee Maupin. As a racer, we have to be up in Leadville early on Friday for our medical check in which gave me a few hours to walk around and chat with the sponsors. Here are some interesting products from a few of the Leadville Trail 100 MTB sponsors.

Continue reading Leadville Trail 100 Sponsor Product Highlights

The New and Improved Flavors of Clif Bar

For long summer workouts — and the rest of the year as well — keeping up energy is important. Energy bars from Clif Bar and other brands helps you maintain the energy to keep moving. New flavors are a welcome addition to the mix.

Clif Bar just released its Coconut Chocolate Chip variety. The bar is loaded with toasted coconut and chocolate chips. Two flavors that go well together – just pick up a Mounds bar and you’ll know what we’re talking about.

At the same time, Clif Bar made a few tweaks to two of its existing flavors – Apricot and Peanut Toffee Buzz. The Apricot flavor now has 50 percent more apricots, which adds to the zesty apricot flavor of the bar. The Peanut Toffee Buzz variety has more peanut butter and more real toffee pieces, which enriches the sweet taste of the bar.

Clif Bars are made with 70 percent organic ingredients, and offer a blend of carbohydrates, protein and fiber to sustain energy. Each bar sells for a suggested price of $1.39, though we’ve seen bars sell for $0.99 each at many locations.

Clif Bar Official Website

Hands On: CamelBak Groove Puts Filtration in the Bottle

Before a ride, run or other outdoor activity, I often fill a bottle or two with water from my filter at home then set out on the road. If I need a refill I either buy a bottle of water, defeating the purpose of bringing bottles, or fill from the tap and don’t always appreciate the taste.

CamelBak has taken its Better Bottle design and added an internal filter to create the Groove. This bottle is made of CamelBak’s BPA-free Tritan plastic, and also available in stainless steel. The Groove uses the CamelBak Big Bite Valve where you bite down on a silicon seal and sip from the straw inside. It doesn’t let water out if the bottle falls or is left on its side. The filter is a cylinder of charchoal that’s placed in the straw. Continue reading Hands On: CamelBak Groove Puts Filtration in the Bottle

Melting Plastic Concerns

For the past several years we’ve been warned about plastics. Studies and other sources say plastics made with a BPA material can produce chemicals having estrogenic activity (EA) that can leach into foods. A whole industry of BPA-free plastics was created and now thrives, while justified, on our fears.

A new study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, a publication of the U.S. National Instutute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health and Department of Health and Human Services. The study’s objective: “To determine whether commercially available plastic resins and products, including baby bottles and other products advertised as BPA-free, release chemicals having EA.”

The study finds that “Almost all commercially available plastic products we sampled, independent of the type of resin, product, or retail source, leached chemicals having reliably-detectable EA, including those advertised as BPA-free. In some cases, BPA-free products released chemicals having more EA than BPA-containing products.”

Before you go buy a stainless-steel canteen and figure out how to incorporate it into your workout, there are a few facts to make clear. The study, as published, is credited to CZ Yang, SI Yaniger, VC Jordan, and GD Bittner. NPR published an article on the study, which offers a history that George Bittner is a professor of biology at the University of Texas, Austin. Bittner also founded the company, CertiChem, that did the testing for the study. That starts to raise a red flag, but it’s not uncommon for professors to be involved in outside companies that are ancillary to their academic work. So we should be concerned about all plastics again, regardless of whether they contain BPA or are free of the substance.

Wait. The graphic in the NPR story is a photo of two bottles from a company called PlastiPure. The caption says “PlastiPure manufactures water bottles that it says have no estrogenic chemicals.” No other mention of PlastiPure occurs in the story. Two days later a follow-up story on NPR titled “Plastic’s New Frontier: No Scary Chemicals” touts PlastiPure for its efforts in manufacturing plastics that have no EA properties, unlike ALL other plastics. The article mentions “This week, scientists from Plastipure and its sister company, CertiChem, published a study of more than 450 plastic products, including many labeled BPA-free. It found that more than 90 percent released chemicals that mimic estrogen.”

Wait! The company that conducted the study is so closely tied to the company claiming to be the savior of plastics. Both were founded by George Bittner, Ph.D. and share several other executives, as does the contributor list on the study.

While the research is important, its validity is in question here. Independent research should be done before we worry about all those BPA-free plastics. It’s easy to pull 450 plastic products for testing and still purposely avoid some candidates because you know they’ll be free of EA, so that your study can pave the path for your PlastiPure company. It’s also astounding that PlastiPure’s web site makes claims such as “PlastiPure is the first and only company developing plastic materials, processes, and products that are safer both for humans and the environment.”

While the study has to be observed, and now we don’t know which plastics are safe and which are not, there are safer bets than others. Companies do test their products rigorously, which the study tries to negate. Check out our water bottle round-up, and read about the research and development behind Specialized’s Purist bottle made from silicon dioxide.

Map to Center of Nutrition

The path to better nutrition is clear. This week MapMyFITNESS, the innovators of web and mobile health and fitness-related software applications, announced the launched its new Nutrition Center. This is a comprehensive resource aimed at helping MapMyFITNESS members get better educated about their food choices and more committed to their nutrition and weight loss goals.

The Nutrition Center features a personalized nutrition dashboard that provides members with a snapshot of their daily caloric budget, consumption and the amount of calories they’ve burned in their workouts, as well as daily water consumption calculator. The center further allows members to track what they eat in the way of meals and snacks to a food log for daily food intake tracking. The site provides searchable database of thousands of foods based on USDA data, and even a “My Favorites” component that gives members the ability to save frequently consumed foods for easy addition to their Food Logs.

“Our Nutrition Center is another innovative and powerful MapMyFITNESS tool aimed at helping our members live healthier and more active lives,” said Robin J. Thurston, chief executive officer of MapMyFITNESS. “Historically, we’ve provided users with the practical tools and content they needed to achieve better fitness; the Nutrition Center ups the ante and delivers a great complement to our existing web and mobile technologies as it provides members with the information and tools they need to make smarter food choices and eat healthier.”

Additionally, new functionality will be rolled out in the coming months to allow members to create new foods to be added to the Nutrition Center’s food database and the option to dial in a more personalized calorie budget. Since the release, MapMyFITNESS members have logged over 100,000 different foods in the Food Log; the entries logged to date suggest members already strive toward healthy eating habits as bananas and apples have been the most entered foods.

MapMyFitness Official Website

Pack Your Protein in One Shot

If you pack protein before a workout, then you know you want the nutrients to be usable right then, not in half an hour, not later that day. Provide Gold just released its One-Shot Protein drink, a one-ounce shot of hydrolyzed collagen protein that gets absorbed into the body almost immediately.

The collagen protein drink is pre-digested with fruit enzymes so your body can absorb it that much faster. It can be consumed before, during, and after workouts to increase endurance and aid recovery. The drink is engineered to preserve fluid and pH balance. Provide Gold also claims the shot is able to transport oxygen, vitamins and minerals to target cells throughout the body. It almost sounds too good to be true. Continue reading Pack Your Protein in One Shot

Study: Sports Drinks Can’t Touch Tea, Coffee and Low-Fat Milk

Personal story – I love iced tea, and nothing beats several glasses of chilled iced tea following a long bike ride in the summer. I’ll power up with water during the ride, but when I’m back in the kitchen I’m all about the tea. Various friends have commented that I shouldn’t hit the tea following a ride – that it has too much caffeine and sugar. The irony is that some of these friends say this whilst guzzling a sports drink.

Now I feel somewhat vindicated following a recent study from the experts at the Institute of Food Technology, which found that sports drinks and enhanced waters can’t replace tea, coffee and low-fat milk for nutrition and workout recovery.

This is because tea has antioxidants, coffee has polyphenols and milk of course has both protein and vitamin D. Now of course the best advice is to eat some fruits and veggies after a workout too. But as for a post-workout drink, you actually can’t go bad with tea or coffee.

The irony has been that while I’m an active guy, and a self-professed fitness junkie, some colleagues have said, “but you drink so much tea.” The strange twist is that new findings suggest tea can boost immunity – which could explain why I’m rarely sick – and aid weight loss for physically active individuals. I’m pretty lean, so that could explain it.

All this means is that I’ll keep brewing the tea and have an ample supply for that post-ride beverage.

[Via EmaxHealth: Nutrition and workout recovery best from tea, coffee and milk]

Institute of Food Technology Official Website

NuVal Nutrition Scoring Systems Expands to all United Supermarkets

Now that many restaurants post nutrition information on their menus, wouldn’t it be great to get similar access on shelf labels at the grocery store? You can pick up a box and look at the label, but grocery store chain United Supermarkets is going a step farther with its NuVal Nutrition Scoring System. The Texas-based supermarket chain posts food scores on the label along with price per unit. Continue reading NuVal Nutrition Scoring Systems Expands to all United Supermarkets

Count Calories and Win $500 at Whole Foods

New Year’s is a time for resolutions, and many of those pledges have to do with weight loss and health. Several websites, including About.com’s Caloriecount.com, will help with the resolution. Caloriecount.com is a calorie counter database where you log all the food you consume to total your daily intake of calories. To create an incentive the website will award three gift certificates to Whole Foods valued at $500 each. Continue reading Count Calories and Win $500 at Whole Foods