Health and Hair Challenge with "Life Star Beauty"

I am taking part in "Life Star Beauty's" Health and Hair Challenge.  There are 3 phases which include increasing one's water, vegetable and omega fatty acids intake, and exercise, and I must say, I thought I was already drinking enough water before this challenge but apparently I was not.

Here is an overview of the challenge:
May 1^st (Stage 1): Drink at least 5 bottles of water (that’s 10 glasses of water at 8 oz) a day. It is recommended you drink 2 bottles before lunch. Also, eat one serving of green veggies per meal. If you don’t want any veggies at breakfast you can swap it for one serving of fruit. Remember to snack on fruits/veggies between meals.
June 1^st (Stage 2): Get more Omega 3 Fatty Acids into your diet. Try to eat at salmon AT LEAST once a week. Salmon is a food that is loaded with omega 3’s, protein, and Vitamin B-12 which contributes to scalp health. A healthy scalp leads to healthy hair. If you don’t like/don’t prefer/can’t afford salmon you can replace it with other fish/foods high in Omega 3’s. Two tablespoons of ground flaxeed included in your daily diet will also contribute to scalp health. There are also Omega 3 pills or fish oil pills that you can purchase that will also help you increase the omega 3’s in your diet.
July 1^st (Stage 3): Complete 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 3 to 4 times a week. Cardio workout increases blood flow to the scalp which stimulates hair growth.
 (For more details and to join the challenge, visit www.lifestarbeauty.com.)

I started taking my Omega 3-6-9 supplements this week, while continuing with my increased water and vegetable intake (I either juice,  steam them or incorporate them into the dish). 

I've been making more health shakes as well.  I use 'GNC's Total Lean' Lean Shake (Vanilla) - I've also tried Gaspari Nutrition MyoFusion - and add whatever fruits I'm interested in that day.  The shakes are great, especially since you mix it with water.  I usually add a banana or strawberries (I recently did strawberry and blueberry), but I've and decided that I'm going to spice up my food intake a bit.

It's funny how I thought I knew of all the fruits and vegetables out there, but I don't so I've decided to try a new fruit and vegetable each week.  This week I added raspberries to my health shakes and they are incredible (my son loves them too!).  Now I have to figure out what new vegetable I'm going to try!

According to an article on iloveindia.com, here are some of the health benefits of raspberries:

• Being rich in antioxidants, raspberry helps neutralize free radicals in the body and thus, prevents damage to cell membranes & other structures.
• Raspberries can restrain proliferation of cancer cells and even the formation of tumors in various parts of the body, including the colon.
• Daily consumption 3 or more servings of raspberry has been seen to lower the risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the main cause of vision loss in older adults.
• The anthocyanins present in raspberry have been found to reduce the risk of heart disease and also delay the effects of aging.
• The presence of salicylic acid in raspberries might slow down atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
• Raspberry is a good source of quercetin, an antioxidant that diminishes the release of histamines and thus, minimizes allergic reactions.
• Manganese and vitamin C, two antioxidant nutrients in raspberries, help protect the body tissue from oxygen-related damage.
• Raspberry is one of the few fruits whose consumption would not have much effect on the body’s blood sugar levels.
• Research has shown that regular consumption of raspberry is good for those suffering from inflammation and pain.