B
!4-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 11,2003
Consuming
Thoughts
by
Fay Strickler
Penn State Extension
Home Economist for
Berks Co.
Water is critical for athletic
performance. As a nutrient often
overlooked, water is essential for
all body functions and is of spe
cial concern to all athletes during
periods of strenuous exercise, es
pecially in hot surroundings. Just
as an engine needs coolant to
keep it running well, so does your
exercising body. Without enough
water you become weak and your
body can overheat.
Your most important nutri
tional goal should be to prevent
dehydration. Dehydration in
creases the risk of heat injuries
such as heat cramps, heat ex
haustion and potentially fatal
heat stroke. Drinking water be
fore, during and after practices
and events is essential to prevent
dehydration even though you
may not be thirsty.
Students often ask what and
how much should I drink on the
day of an event or practice? You
need to experiment during prac
tice to find out what works best.
Start with these recommenda
tions: Before activity: (2 hours be
fore) drink 1-2 cups of water,
then 5-15 minutes before the
event drink 1 cup cool water.
(Cool drinks empty from the
stomach more readily than warm
drinks and help performance).
During activity (every 10-15
minutes) drink Vi cup to 1 cup
cool water or as often as possible.
After activity; (After cooling
down) drink any of the following:
water, fruit juice or drinks, sports
drinks, carbonated soft brinks,
and eat foods high in water con
tent such as grapes, watermelon,
and citrus fruits.
Water bottles are provided for
most athletic events. You should
have you own container and not
share bottles to avoid spreading
infectious diseases. This is espe
cially important at indoor events
in the winter such as basketball
and volleyball when flu and cold
viruses are prevalent.
If water is not provided, place
a filled water bottle in the refrig
erator the night before a game or
practice and take it with you in a
small cooler.
Should I use water, sports
drinks, fruit juice or soft drinks?
Compare Prepaid
Phone Cards Carefully
LEESPORT (Berks Co.) Price per minute
doesn’t tell the whole story 1021 minutes for
$2O. There may be other charges, taxes, and fees
in the fine print at the bottom or on the back of
the card. Some are connection fees, monthly
maintenance fees, and extra fees for using pay
phones or calling cell phones.
A connection fee of 59 cents per call on a card
of 2 cents per minute costs you 30 minutes if
anyone or an answering machine answers your
call. If your card has a three-minute minimum,
you will be charged for three minutes even if you
only talk for 30 seconds. This call would cost
you 33 mintues (66 cents) and you talked for 30
seconds.
The minutes disappear quickly when these
charges are on your card. Look for the cards that
don’t have these extra charges.
Drinks containing 10 percent or
greater sugar concentration such
as carbonated soft drinks; fruit
juices such as orange and apple;
and juice drinks can cause
cramps, nausea, bloating or diar
rhea if used right before an event.
These drinks, especially fruit
juice, are fine to use as a fluid re
placer after an athletic event.
Sports drinks such as Gateraid
that contain 6-8 percent glucose
(a compound that makes up
sugar) and electrolytes (sodium,
chloride and potassium) are used
by the body as quickly as water.
They do not cause intestinal
problems. For endurance events
(activities lasting 90 minutes or
more such as bicycling), sports
drinks can provide energy to
working muscles and help keep
body fluids in balance during
long-lasting exercise.
Most teens athletes are not en
durance athletes. Plain water will
sufficiently meet the fluid re
placement needs for most.
If you feel it’s important to use
sports drinks, there is no harm in
doing so. Sports drinks are often
the “in thing.” The important
issue is that you drink.
How do I know if I am getting
enough to drink? The best and
most practical indicators are the
color and amount of urine pro
duced. Look for clear, light-col
ored urine, and frequent urina
tion. Those are signs that your
body is getting enough fluid.
Dark colored urine and infre
quent urination are clues that in
dicate more fluids are needed.
These signs are not always reli
able if you are on medication or
taking vitamin supplements that
can cause the urine to be more
concentrated or discolored.
Some sports require weigh-ins
before and after activity which
gives you the coaching staff a
way to measure water loss during
an activity.
What should I drink at times
other than practice and game
days? Water! It’s the smart
choice.
Resource: A Sports Nutrition
Guide for Teens by Sue Travis
and Len Marquart.
CAP $3.50* Each
Sheepberry Farms Wins Champion Fleece
HALIFAX (Dauphin Co.)
Sheepberry Farms, Halifax, was
awarded the Grand Champion
fleece at York Interstate Fair,
which was conducted in mid-
September.
Exhibitors from Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and several other
states entered wool representing
the many variety of sheep pro
duced in the east.
Sheepberry Farms is owned
and operated by Terry and
Christine Flanagan. The Flana
gan’s raise several different
breeds of sheep: Border Leicester,
Rambouillet, Suffolk, Tar ghee,
and commercial crossbreed. The
fleeces shown at the York Inter
state Fair represented one year’s
growth, which started after
shearing in 2002.
The grand champion fleece
was produced by a natural color
Border Leicester ram. Border
Leicester wool is a coarse wool,
but soft to touch, with high lus
trous curly locks. The Flanagan’s
entered a total of 13 fleeces and
took seven first place ribbons,
two second place, three third
place, and one fourth place
award. Two of the first place
fleeces were also awarded a re
serve champion ribbon for indi
vidual wool classifications.
The Flanagan’s take great
pride in the quality of the wool
produced at Sheepberry Farms.
Prize-winning fleeces start with a
ALLENTOWN (Lehigh Co.)
The fail conference on Strength
ening Families First is scheduled
at the Days Inn and Conference
Center, Allentown, Thursday,
October 23.
The conference will focus on
the state of marriage and family
today and examine local commu
nity and government initiatives
responding to the President’s Ini
tiative to promote healthy mar
riages, strengthening fami- ___
lies, and building positive ””
relationships.
The conference will in
clude speakers Scott Stan
ley, Ph.D., co-founder of
PREP, Inc., featured on
Oprah, 20/20, Good Morn
ing America, etc.; Chris
Gersten, principal deputy
assistant Secretary for the
administration for Chil
dren & Families (ACF) in
the U.S. Dept, of Health &
Human Services; Julie
Baumgardner, executive
director of First Things
First, a one of a kind grass
roots organization dedi
cated to strengthening
families in Chattanooga,
Available At
Lancaster Farming,
1 East Main St., Ephrata, PA
PLUS Shipping & Handling $2.50
Add’t Cap and Shipping @ $4.00 Each
Phone 717-626-1164
Strengthening Families Workshop
Terry and Christine Flanagan with their grand champi
on fleeces at the York Interstate Fair.
healthy wed maintained sheep
flock, careful shearing, and prop
er storage. Wool is mostly protein
and can be damaged by illness to
the sheep, improper or poor nu
trition, extreme weather condi
tions, and stress.
Approximately 300 sheep and
lambs reside on the 80 acres of
Sheepberry Farms, along with
seven llamas, a few chickens,
some cats, and one Border collie
dog. In addition to the livestock,
the Sheepberry Farms has pro
duced prize-winning flowers,
such as dahlias and iris. The
Tenn. In addition break-out ses
sions will feature other regional
and local speakers. Closing the
conference will be a panel discus
sion allowing for questions and
answers.
Strengthening Families First is
the vision of the Berks County
Healthy Marriage and Family
Coalition. The Strengthening
Families First Conference is gear
ed to people and agencies inter
SHIRTS /
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• Lancaster Farming Logo L
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$2O - Small, Medium, Large
$22.50 - X Large
Plus $4.50 Shipping & Handling Costs QSS
Phone 717-721-4416 Or Mail Your Order To:
Lancaster Farming RO. box 609LFS
1 East Main St., Ephrata, PA 17522
Or Stop @ Office -1 East Main St., Ephrata, PA
Saves Shipping Cost!
Flanagan’s raise about IS variet
ies of dahlias and 12 varieties of
iris.
“Fanning is a real adventure,”
comments Christine Flanagan,
“most people can not appreciate
the intense labor needed to pro
duce the many items so plentiful
that we use every day besides
food and clothing.”
To help educate the non-farm
ing public the Flanagan’s per
form wool spinning and weaving
demonstrations, teach workshops
for schools and tourist centers,
and open their farm to school
and church field trips.
ested in promoting and strength
ening healthy marriages and
families.
Cost of the conference is $75
and includes breakfast and
lunch.
For more information or to
make reservations, call Nan
Bucci (610) 289-8900, extension
238 or Cheryl Guthier (610)
376-6988.
Sweatshirts