Want to get in a fun workout and fight childhood obesity? Check out the sixth annual Nutrition Fuels Fitness 5k/10k on March 29 in Elk Grove.
   Proceeds from the event, which includes a kids' 1/4-mile and 1/2-mile fun run, go to the Northern Area Dietetic Association and its grant-funded programs supporting the prevention of childhood obesity.
   The races start and finish in Elk Grove Regional Park. A free family festival including a nutrition decathlon and a wiffle-ball home-run derby is also scheduled.
   The events are part of National Nutrition Month. To register, visit www.nutritionfuelsfitness.org.

 

Perhaps there should be a Surgeon General's warning for any B-list celebrity who is thinking about going on the hit ABC reality show, "Dancing With The Stars."

Yet another "star" has fallen to injury. This time, it's the singer-songwriter Jewel (above), whose knee tendinitis apparently has flared. She's not officially on the disabled list but listed as "questionable" for the show. Read all about Jewel's injury here.

Jewel joins a list of hobbled stars that includes Lance Bass (toe), Susan Lucci (ankle) and beach volleyball's Misty May-Treanor. (That's Misty pictured below; we'll take any excuse to ogle beach volleyball players!) 

 

 

 

OK, so it's a little late to, as a lark, sign up and run the Napa Valley Marathon, which is Sunday. I mean, you need to train at least 18 weeks for a marathon. But that doesn't mean you can't get in on the fun. There's a 5K that's run in conjunction with the 26.2 mile trek. Information: here.   

 If you'd rather run near the ocean than through vinyards, try the Great Highway 4 Mile run in San Francisco. As its name implies, runners will do an out-and-back along the Great Highway, starting at the southern end of Golden Gate Park and the highway. Best of all, the entry fee is only $5. 

 

Uh, sorry. We meant, subject for a medical study?

If so, you're in luck. UC Davis internal medicine researchers are embarking on whether strontium citrate, a widely available over-the-counter dietary supplement, is true to its claim as a prevention for osteoporosis.

Researchers are looking for post-menopausal women at least one year -- but less than five years -- past their last menstrual period.  After a screening visit, blood draw and scan, subjects will be randomly assigned to either a group that will take strontium citrate plus calcium and vitamin D for three months, or a group that will take a placebo plus calcium and vitamin D for three months.

For more information or to schedule a screening visit, contact Stephanie Burns, study coordinator, at (530) 754-7576 or (916) 734-5562 or scope@phs.ucdavis.edu.

 

 

   As the weather slowly turns from winter to spring, it's easy to get carried away in cranking up workouts.
   Julie Fingar sees it all the time. The Loomis coach, trainer and race director said increased sunshine and warmer temperatures provide an opportunity for people to push themselves too far, too fast.
   "Coming off the winter phase ... people are excited to get going, especially when the weather is really, really nice," she said.
   "They get overzealous in wanting to up the mileage 20 percent, even more. The typical range is up to 10 percent, even 6-10 percent a week.
   "People go way overboard with that. They also have a fear, if they're planning a race in May or June ... Overexcitement leads to injury."
   Fingar, who has completed more than 100 ultramarathons and "15 or so" marathons, admits she sometimes struggles in holding herself back.
   "That's why I have my own coaches to try and talk with me," she said.
   Fingar said reading too much about fitness can sometimes get people into trouble.
"I remind my runners, just take it with a grain of salt," she said. "Everybody trains differently. Everybody's lives are different.
   "Especially being a newbie, you're not really certain how far you can push physically. Increase your mileage consistently.
   "Make sure you have your up weeks ... and your down weeks, too."
  

 

I've been running for nearly 30 years and never have been bitten by a dog -- until this morning.

Here's what happened: I was on a dirt and grassy canal in north Davis before dawn and came upon a couple walking their two huge black dogs, off leash. The couple was about 30 feet ahead of the dogs, who were frolicking behind. I've encountered this scenario many times and just kept running past. Sometimes, I'd have to dodge an overly friendly canine, but I never felt threatened.

So I kept running this morning, too. Only this time, one of the dogs bolted to my left and bit me in the left hip before running to catch up with the couple, who seemed blissfully unaware of the incident. I didn't stop. In fact, I sped up and the dog backed off and bounded toward its owner. (Fortunately, the bite didn't break skin -- or the garment of my rain slicker. I do have a nice bruise, though.)

It turns out that I did everything wrong when it comes to runners versus dogs.

First mistake: I raised my hands over my head. I figured it was a peace offering, showing the dog that I meant no harm. I learned only later from the folks at animalhealthcare.com that dogs perceive that as a threat.

Second mistake: I kept running. Experts suggest to stop and stay still and avoid eye contact. They say it's a dog's instinct to chase "prey."

Third mistake: I didn't tell the dog "no" or say sternly "go home" when it started following me.

Final mistake: I didn't stop and get information on the dog from the owners. Who knows, maybe it didn't have its rabies shot.

So, lesson learned. Let me know if I start foaming at the mouth -- or foaming more the usual.

The American Running Association has guidelines for dealing with dogs. Click here.

Jayne Williams, author of "Shape Up with the Slow Fat Traithlete," will speak Thursday at 7 p.m. at The Running Zone, 8470 Elk Grove Blvd, in Elk Grove.

Williams, a Sacramento resident, was featured last Thursday in The Bee.

 

Sure, coffee lovers are legion. And they've been bolstered by recent reports that the high-octane caffeinated beverage isn't as bad for you as first thought.

Still, if you want a steamy cup of caffeine that's healthier, try tea.

A new study from UCLA, published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, reports that drinking at least three cups of black or green tea a day can decrease your chances of a stroke by 21 percent. Credit the antioxidants in the tea, reserachers say.

Caveat: Herbal teas won't give you the benefit, just tea made from the plant Camellia sinensis.

Caveat No. 2: Unilever Lipton Institute of Tea funded the study.

 

 

 

Bee Photo/Randy Pench

Shayna Powless, 15, was the top female finisher at the Chanoko Mountain Bike Duathlon.

 The Sacramento area's first family of off-road endurance sports, the Powlesses, had a big weekend at Folsom Lake in events run by Total Body Fitness racing.

Shayna Powless, 15, was the top female finisher in the main event, the 2009 Chanoko Mountain Bike Duathlon # 2 (2-mile run, 15-mile bike, 2-mile run) at 1 hour 31 minutes 1 second, well ahead of Lynice Anderson at 1:34.42.

Dad Jack Powless was third overall at 1:22.50, behind only winner Kyle Stock, 36, at 1:20.54 and Dave Hackett at 1:21.58.

In the Kids Duathlon (2-mile run, 5-mile bike), Neilson Powless, 12, was the winner at 33:41. The top female finisher was Avery Morin at 39:41.

 

So I was chugging along on the Yolo Causeway late yesterday afternoon on my bike, going only slightly slower than the traffic stacked up as it is every Friday.

I look to my left and this guy rolls down his passenger side window, leans over from the driver's seat and yells, "Get a car!"

I wasn't offended; thought it was funny. But as I chugged along, I started wondering why some motorists are so aggravated by cyclists. OK, OK. I can understand a little irritation when riders run red lights and dart into oncoming traffic. But I was on a fenced-off bike path.

I'd like to hear for car drivers who are annoyed by cyclists. Tell me what your problem is. Really, I'd like to know.

Post script: I was looking forward to telling my fam the heckling story at dinner. But my 13-year-old son trumped me with his story. Seems he was cruising down the sidewalk near a shopping center and a car pulled up to the entrance of the driveway. The driver yelled at him, "Get that skateboard out of here."

The kicker: Turns out the driver was his JUNIOR HIGH PRINCIPAL!!!

My son swears he had the right of way on the board. Plus, it must be noted that he may be the only kid skateboarder in Davis who wears a helmet. (We make him do it, much to his chagrin.)

Mercy Medical Center orthopaedic doctors, physical therapists and registered dieticians will descend on Fleet Feet Sacramento (2311 J Street) on Monday at 7 p.m. for its "Get Your Game Back" presentation.

After the formal presentation, you can ask the doc about your aching ________ (fill in your chosen malady here), get strength analysis from the therapist and nutrition advice from the RD.

And, hey, there's not even a co-pay.

Nope, absolutely free.  

It's a big weekend at Total Body Fitness Racing at Folsom Lake.

On Saturday, there's a mountain biking/running (called a duathlon) lallapalooza for competitors of all skill levels. The main event is the Chanoko Mountain Bike Duathlon (2-mile run, 12-mile mountain bike, 2-mile run). But there's also a kids duathlon and kids junior duathlon anda six-mile trail run for those who don't do the mountain-bike thing. and there's also "Jamie's Race," which is a 2-mile run, 5-mile bike, in honor of former XTERRA World Champion traithlete Jamie Whitmore, who is battling spindle-cell sarcoma.

Sunday, TBF Racing is hosting a mountain Bike Challenge, distances ranging from 7 miles (for first-timers) to 28 (for experienced cyclists).

 

 

 

 

We love studies featuring rodents here on the blog. But mix in illicit drugs and candy and, boy, do you have our attention.

So we present here a study from the Journal of Proteome Research, showing that a licorice ingredient called isoliquiritigenin (ISL) can block the nervous system's production of dopamine, which is triggered with cocaine use. Read the study here.

Scientists from South Korea and Pennsylvania used rats as model animals to show that rats injected with ISL just prior to cocaine-administration showed 50 percent less of the behavioral effects associated with the illicit drug. They also showed that ISL injections protected nerve cells in the brain from cocaine-associated damage.

We know this wasn't the way the study was conducted, but we like the mental picture of a debauch of rats snorting cocaine, then pigging out on licorice to end the high. 

The state's menu-labeling legislation is a good thing -- more information is always good, right? -- but a guy can look pretty geeky studying the small print at ye local fast food joint while others behind him in line are tapping their feet and clearing their throats in annoyance.

A new Web site, Good Food Near You, allows people to check out the healthiest choices before heading out to Burger King, Applebees, Subway, etc.

Want to know the healthiest selections at, say, Del Taco? (Yes, smarty pants, there are some less caloric items there besides the iced tea.)

Here's a list of Del Taco items from the Good Food site:

HEALTHIEST

Beef taco: 160 calories, 10 grams fat

Chicken Taco Del Carbon: 170 calories, 5 grams fat

LEAST HEALTHY

"The #7" (Macho combo burrito, large fries, macho drink): 1,850 calories, 765 grams fat

Macho Chicken Burrito: 930 calories, 33 grams fat

MOST DECEPTIVELY CALORIC

The Deluxe Chicken Salad, at 740 calories and 34 grams fat, is worse for you than a Double Del Cheeseburger (560 calories, 35 grams of fat).

 

 

 

AP/ELAINE THOMPSON

The mass start for the swim at the World Ironman Traithlon  Championships in Hawaii.

 

Those triathletes who just can't quite meet the time requirements for the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii can still try to gain entry via lottery.

But you need to enter now, because the deadline is Feb. 28. To enter, click here.

Every year, the Ironman Lottery awards 150 domestic, 50 international and 5 physically challenged slots that are chosen randomly from more than 7,000 lottery entries.

Here are the details, courtesy of ironman.com

U.S. APPLICANTS
There will be 150 lottery slots available to the U.S. applicants. ONLY U.S. CITIZENS MAY APPLY. 100 names will be drawn from the Passport Club. 50 names will be drawn from the U.S applicants and any unselected Passport Club members. Lottery selections will be available on April 15, 2009 at 12:00pm EST on Ironman.com.

INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES
There are 50 lottery slots available to International applicants. CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES WILL NOT BE ENTERED. 25 names will be drawn from the Passport Club. 25 names will be drawn from the International Applicants and any unselected Passport Club members. Lottery selections will be available on April 15, 2009 at 12:00pm EST on Ironman.com.

US/INTERNATIONAL SELECTED ATHLETES
Athletes who are SELECTED through the Ironman Lottery must have completed an Ironman 70.3 or other long-distance event (1.2 Mile, 56 Mile + 13.1 Mile) or longer within one year of the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championship to validate his/her lottery slot. Lottery winners must complete a validating race before August 31, 2009 and all validating information should be E-mailed to Lottery@ironman.com by August 31, 2009. Failure to comply will result in forfeiture of the lottery slot.

 

Move over Buffalo Chips, River City Rebels, Fleet Feet, Golden Valley Harriers and TBF Racing. There's a new running club in the area -- the Folsom Roadrunners.  

The group was formed in January and already has 20 members, according to spokeswoman (and USA Track and Field certified coach) Kristen Shill.

Shill says the club stages many group runs, training to prepare for races and individual coaching.

Though we try to eat healthy breakfasts, we admit to having a particular weakness for pancakes.

So we'll be at the corner of Stockton Boulevard and Colonial Way (the UC Davis Medical Center parking structure) Thursday between 6:30-8:30 a.m. for a fund-raiser for the UCD Children's Hospital.

All you have to do is make a donation, and they'll serve you a short stack of pancakes ... right there in your car.

OK, so it's not the healthiest promotion imaginable. You don't even get the exercise that comes from parking and walking to get said pancakes. And I don't think the folks at IHOP (co-sponsoring the event with the UCD Med Center) will substitute oatmeal or a fruit plate.

But, hey, it'ss for a great cause. So, indulge.

Some 766 runners participated this morning in the Valentine Day's 4 Mile Run in Sacramento, benefiting the justice center. Check out your result by clicking here.

Austin Ramos, 24, of Fair Oaks was the winner, covering the distance in 19 minutes 58 seconds ,a 5-minute pace. That was good enough to hold off second place finisher Patrick Boivin of Chico.

The top woman was Lauren Weaver of Sacramento (21-29) and Jaymee Marty, one of Sacramento's better women marathoners, finished second at 23:34.

Hey, did you hear there's some bike race in town this weekend?

Who knew?

Anyway, many of us would rather participate than watch -- or, in the best of both worlds, participate and then watch.

That, you can do.

On Saturday, you can run the Valentine's Day Run For Justice 4 Miler at 9 a.m. at 2420 Byrano Drive in Sacramento, just behind Country Club Plaza. That will still give you plenty of time to catch the Amgen Tour of California time trial.

Or... You can ride on the streets of San Jose with other avid amateurs in the San Jose Cycling Classic on Saturday in downtown San Jose. You can do the 30-mile tour ride or the time trial through downtown San Jose -- or both.

 

 

 

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has anointed Mattel's Barbie Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Doll as the winner of its first TOADY (Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children) award in an online poll.

 "No one who cares about children's wellbeing could produce a toy like the Barbie Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader doll," Dr. Susan Linn, executive director of the public-interest group. "It embodies a host of harmful expectations about what girls are supposed to be like."

What's most galling to Linn is that the toy is marketed as suitable for children as young as 6. As the group said in a press release, the doll "comes with the shortest of short shorts, stiletto boots, and a revealing halter top.  The preposterously skimpy outfit allows children to get a better view of Barbie's impossibly long legs and dangerously thin body."

Speaking of body image, coming this Sunday in The Bee's "Health & Fitness" section is a story on a Folsom mother who has started a nonprofit, Real Body Story.

  

 

Learn more about the risks and rewards of bariatric weight-loss surgery in a seminar hosted by Sutter Medical Center Sacramento on March 9 at 6 p.m. at the Sutter Cancer Center (classroom 2) at 2800 L Street in Sacramento.

The seminar, hosted by Dr. Gary Grinberg, will highlight all aspects of obesity and surgery options, including behavior modification, exercise and diet.

For more information, call (866) 409-1611.  

 

Frequent marijuana users, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center recently reported, are nearly 70 percent more likely to be stricken with a virulent form of testicular cancer than nonsmokers, according to the journal Cancer.

They are especially susceptible to nonseminoma, a testicular malignancy that strikes between ages 20 and 35 and accounts for about 40 percent of all testicular-cancer cases.

Says the study's authors in a press release: "Chronic marijuana exposure has multiple adverse effects on the endocrine and reproductive systems, primarily decreased sperm quality. Other possible effects include decreased testosterone and male impotency. Because male infertility and poor semen quality also have been linked to an increased risk of testicular cancer, this further reinforced the researchers' hypothesis that marijuana use may be a risk factor for the disease."

 

Dr. Michael Wilkes

That's the provocative title of the first "Second Opinions" community health forums scheduled to debut Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law lecture hall in Sacramento.

Sponsored by Capital Public Radio, in association with The Bee, the forums will feature panel discussions with experts to inform consumers about practical solutions to solve health-care problems and open a dialogue between the public and medical professionals.

The "Can You Trust Your Doctor?" forum will be moderated by UC Davis School of Medicine professor (and Bee medical columnist) Dr. Michael Wilkes. The panel includes Dr. Marion Leff, director of Sutter Health Family Medicine Residency Program; Marge Ginsberg, executive director of Sacramento Healthcare Decisions; Beth Mertz, of the Center for the Health Professions at UC San Francisco; and Sharan Ahari, a former pharamceutical sales representiative for Eli Lilly Corp.

Theforum is free. To register for the forum, click here.

The results are in from the Davis Stampede, and two Bay Area runners won the half marathon.

Juan Gomez, 22, of Oakland, was the top male finisher at 1 hour 13 minutes 59 seconds, while Vacaville's (yeah, that's technically the Bay Area) Allison Kerr was the top female at 1:20.53.

The the 10K, teenage phenom Kurt Rucgg of Yountville was the winner at 33:25, beating 29-year-old R. Matrthew Wise of Davis at 33:46. Sacramento's Jennifer Kent won the women's race at 39:43.

In the 5K, Davis' Drew Wartenberg took first place at 15:50, while West Sacramento's Juliet Wahleithner (18:06) led the women.

Interesting note: Race director Dave Miramontes watched his wife and son turn in good performances. Wife Jennifer finished first in the 40-44 women's age division in the half marathon, while son Ian finished first in boys' 12-under in the 5K.

Embarrassing note: Yours truly found himself still in a porta-potty when the gun sounded -- first time in 20 years of racing that's happened to me -- but thank goodness for chip timing. I was still able to finish first in the 45-49 age group in the half marathon, if I can be so arrogant to mention it.

The weather gods (would that be Mark Finan or  Dave Bender?)  were kind this morning  at the Davis  Stampede half marathon, 10K  and  5K. It was clear, with just a hint of a breeze and, yeah, a little cold at race time (39, according to the Weather Channel). But, hey, we could be living in upstate New York or Wisconsin, where they'd kill for 39 degrees.

It wasn't until near the end of the half marathon that the wind picked up (Have I mentioned I hate the wind?).

Now, you may be thinking, why is this clown spending so much bandwidth commenting on the weather?

Well, that's because the results still aren't functional on the Capital Road Race management Web site. (Hopefully, by the time you read this, all will be solved and results will be plentiful.) And, like a fool, I forgot to write down the winners before leaving downtown Davis.

Anyway, stay tuned, cross your fingers, and click here for the results.

I'll post again when we know more.

At the 31st Jed Smith Ultra races -- 50 miles, 50K, 30K -- an impressive performance was put in  by 32-year-old Todd Braje, who came down from McKinleyville and smoked the field in the 50-Mile run.

To find your time, click here.

Braje finished first in 5 hours 30 minutes 50 seconds, a blazing 6:37 pace given the distance. The top Sacramento finisher was veteran ultra runner Ray Sanchez, who finished fifth at 7:05:49.

In the 50K, Chickara Omine of San Francisco easily won at 3:08:44, outdistancing Michael Fink of Lincoln (3:19:02). In the women's division, Reno's Jenny Capel won with a time of 3:28:31. Rena Schumann of Gold River was second at 4:26:59.

Davis runner Mark Murray won the 30K at 2 hours 2 minutes, covering the loops at a 6:26 pace. The top woman was Lainie Callahan-Mattoo of Lincoln (2:28:08).

   Runners and walkers planning their Valentine's Day weekend might consider entering a low-key race with their significant other.
   The sixth annual Valentine Run 4 Miler is set for February 14 behind Sacramento's Country Club Plaza. A 1.8-mile non-competitive walk and 1/2-mile and 1/4-mile kids' fun runs are also part of the event, which begins at 8:40 a.m. and benefits Legal Services of Northern California.
   The course winds through the Arden Oaks neighborhood before returning to Country Club Plaza. For more information, visit www.lsnc.info.

As a card-carrying Davisite, I'll be at the Davis Stampede Half Marathon, 10K and 5K on Sunday morning. It's not too late to register.

For those runners seeking more of a challenge, try the 37th Jed Smith Ultra Runs, 30K, 50K and 50 Miles, sponsored by the Buffalo Chip running club. You've got to be a little loopy to do it, however. Yup, it's 3.1-mile loops.  It's at Gibson Ranch Park. Go out and see if you can beat these long-standing course records in the 50K race -- Jennifer Pfeifer's 3 hour 35 minutes 6 seconds for the women in 1999 and Dennis Rinde's 3:02:41 for the men in 1993.

Those wanting to get back to nature can turn to our friends at Total Body Fitness Racing, which is hosting the Chanoko Trail Run and Duathlon in Granite Bay on Saturday and the Mountain Bike Challenge on Sunday.

.   

 

We healthy types are drawn -- sometimes too fervently -- to the latest health fads.

We've been told for months, nay, years now that green tea is something of a "miracle" drink. But even green tea has its downsides.

So say researchers at the University of Southern California, who reported in the latest edition of the journal, Blood, that taking the supplement renders a cancer drug (Velcade) used to treat multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma completely ineffective in treating cancer. At least in mice. More study is scheduled.

Axel H. Schönthal, the lead USC researcher, called the results "completely unexpected."

Read the study for yourself here.

 

 

 

The Shamrock'n Half Marathon is on the horizon (March 15), but if you register by Feb. 15 you can pimp personalize your bib number when you register.

So, say, if you're a fan of the movie "Superbad" and wanted your bib to read "McLovin" (see above), you could do that.

Here's where you can register and get more information.

   Canadians love the California International Marathon. But will the Japanese?
   CIM race director John Mansoor, who had more than 300 Canadian runners in his field last December, said race officials have targeted Japan as a potential source of entrants for the 2009 marathon, set for Dec. 6.
   "We are going to go to the Tokyo Marathon for the first time," Mansoor said. "We've had great success with Canada .. now we've said, 'Let's take a shot at Japan.'"
   Mansoor said California has directed a lot of advertising toward Japan, so "we thought we'd piggyback."
   But the focus on Japan might not last long. Mansoor said Canada tops the list of international visitors to the CIM's web site with 8,000, followed by Great Britain at 5,000.
   "Next year, we'll probably go to London," Mansoor said.

Primary-care physicians are too lax in prescribing colorectal cancer screening for patients.

That's the finding of a study done jointly by UC Davis, the University of Washington and Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, and published in the February issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.

The study reviewed cases of 50,000 patients, age 50 to 78, who belonged to the Group Health Cooperative insurance plan in Washington state. It found that more than half of patients with frequent primary care visits -- four or more per year -- did not get screened. Primary-care physicians normally recommend screening.

"Colorectal cancer screening is not on the primary care agenda as much as it should be," lead author Joshua Fenton, assistant professor of family and community medicine at UC Davism said in a press release. "Merely encouraging people to see their doctors won't increase screening...We have to do more to make sure that eligible patients are identified during primary care visits and counseled about options."

Government figures show that 49,960 died of colon and rectal cancer in 2008.

 

A UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute researcher, Blythe Corbett, has designed a theater program, SENSE Theatre, to help reach children with autism.

The program's debut performance will be this Friday at 7 p.m. at the 250-seat Davis Musical Theatre (607 Pena Drive, Davis). Tickets are $50. The cast is a mix of young actors specializing in social communication and autistic children. Also appearing will be Franc D'Ambrosio, "the world's longest running Phantom," meaning Phantom of the Opera.

For tickets, click here.  

A new study by researchers at U.C. Davis' Children's Hospital, published today in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, concluded something that many have long suspected: Children in fair to poor health, who are at risk of vitamin and mineral deficiency, aren't taking vitamins.

But here's a mild surprise: Healthy children who don't need vitamins are more likely to take them anyway and may be at risk of overdosing on their Flinstones. 

Ulfat Shaikh, assistant professor of pediatrics at UC Davis School of Medicine and the study's lead author, analyzed data on more than 10,000 children from 1999 to 2004 who took part in a nutritional survey. Shaikh found that 37 percent of children in "excellent health" took vitamins; 28 percent of children in "fair or poor health" took vitamins.

"Supplements for children and adolescents who are healthy and eat a varied diet are not only medically unnecessary but they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration," Shaikh said in a press release.

Children sometimes equate vitamins with candy and risk overdose, which can lead to vomiting or, in extreme cases, kidney damage, Shaikh said.

Not surprisingly, socioeconomic factors contributed to the low number of children in "fair to poor" health taking vitamins. Only 22 percent of of children in families living below the poverty line used vitamins.

 

 

Rich Hanna

A few Sacramento-area runners made the trek down to San Francisco this morning to run the Kaiser-Permanente Half Marathon. If you want to check out all the results, click here.

Rich Hanna, one of Sacramento's top distance runners even at age 44, finished seventh overall and first in his age group, covering the 13.1 miles in 1 hour 13 minutes 7 seconds.

Other top male Sacramento-area runners: Steve Brusig, 37, of Lincoln, 65th overall at 1:22:02; Charlie Brenneman, 30, of Roseville,  120th  overall  at 1:25:29; Greg Mandler, 45,  of Elk Grove 182nd overall at 1:28:56; Craighton Chin, 54, of Davis, seventh in his age group, at 1:29:23.

Top female finishers: Keri Hamby, 30, of Sacramento, 12th woman and third in her age group, at 1:25:11; Ashley Gorr, 22, of Davis, 33rd among women, at 1:29:06; Wendy Pratt, 48, of Davis, 6th in her division, at 1:32:46.