Considering the levels of vitamins, minerals, Omega 3, and antioxidant cartenoids dark greens contain, it’s no surprise they make up such a big portion of the Obama garden.  Leafy wonders including collards, kale, and a variety of lettuces and herbs are the real stars of the White House veggie plot.

Also prominently planted are onions, shallots, and chives. These are members of the allium family and are featured on Dr. Perricone’s list of Top 10 Superfoods. But greens and onions aren’t the only nutritional powerhouses being grown on the south lawn. Planted alongside are beans, peas, berries, and hot peppers. In addition to fiber and, you guessed it, antioxidants, these foods would fit right in on the anti-inflammation diet.

If you’re not already feeling inspired to grow your own organic produce, consider this: on top of being super nutritious and undeniably delicious, these vegetables are notable for being cheap and largely easy to grow. The leafy greens, lettuces, and herbs in particular require virtually no natural gardening talent. They’ll even thrive in pots on the patio. And amazingly, the total cost for seeds and supplies for all 1,100 square feet at the White House came in at around $200.

With so much potential benefit for your body and mind, it’s hard not to feel enthusiastic about making fresh produce a bigger part of your diet. It might even be enough to make you look at a patch on your own lawn in a whole new way.

To learn more about healthy foods they’re planting at the White House, check out this article at The Huffington Post.

Media attention notwithstanding, Michelle is not the first First Lady to favor sleeveless outfits.

Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, perhaps the world’s greatest fashion icon, was often photographed wearing sleeveless dresses, as was her sister, another international fashion leader and trend setter, Lee Radizwill.

A quick Google image search of Jacqueline (pre Onassis) Kennedy will show her in a multitude of sleeveless dresses and tops; a flowered sun dress with JFK in Hyannisport, on a trip to India in 1962 with Lee, or in the famous portrait of Jackie, JFK and baby Caroline.

Always the height of classic beauty and style, Jackie’s tenure in the White House added a youthful glamour and vibrancy that has not been seen since the 1960’s.

Flash forward to 2009.  A new decade and a new millennium.

Enter new First Lady Michelle Obama, an icon in the making and, in addition to her more serious endeavors, rapidly becoming the darling of the fashion world.  Her every move (and clothing choice) is scrutinized under the microscope, photographed and chronicled  by a rapt media who simply cannot seem to get enough.  And this includes her penchant for going sleeveless.

At the heart of the matter is not so much the choice of ‘baring arms,’ but rather the fact that Mrs. Obama has such toned arms to begin with.

Long the bane of the average women, the upper arms are often the first part of the body to show loss of muscle tone.  The dreaded ‘batwings,’ i.e., sagging triceps, cause many women over the age of 35 to eschew sleeveless altogether.

A women’s triceps can be notoriously difficult to firm and tone unless you are a dedicated and regular lifter of free weights.  Since the triceps make up 2/3 of your arm, they deserve the extra attention needed to maintain muscle mass.

The good news is that there are a number of strategies, in addition to exercise, that help us achieve this goal.

Age-related Muscle Loss

Statistics show that we gain an average of ten pounds of body fat while losing five pounds of muscle mass with each decade—highly visible in both face and body.  Negative changes in our muscle mass, known as sarcopenia, along with the loss of critical bone mass (osteopenia and osteoporosis) also occur.  Each and every one of these changes, whether external or internal, is the initial result of damage on a molecular and cellular level.

This damage is triggered by an inflammatory response triggered by free radicals.

To be continued…