Quad & Hamstring Stretches Image Credit: Daviles/iStock/GettyImages Stretch out your quads and hamstrings before any workout involving your legs to prevent injuries and prep your joints to move. It’s also a good idea to stretch throughout the day to make your legs more flexible. A lot of lower body exercises use a big range of motion with either one or both of your legs. Even something simple, such as running, requires flexibility....
Coffee grounds can work magic on a pot roast, whether you add them to a gravy or mix them into a marinade. Image Credit: bhofack2/iStock/GettyImages If you look forward to your morning cup of joe (or two), you’ve likely been surprised by the number of coffee grounds you go through daily. Rather than tossing them, there are plenty of ways to reuse the grounds, including composting and adding them to your garden soil....
1 of 26 Overview Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but that doesn't mean you always have time to eat it at home. Traveling, running low on groceries or hitting the snooze button can all result in turning into the drive-thru for breakfast. And while you shouldn't make a habit of eating fast food for breakfast — Toronto-based registered dietitian Abbey Sharp recommends limiting your restaurant meals to two per week — eating fast food once in a while won't break your diet....
This 5-minute mobility routine will help loosen up a tight back, hips and ankles. Image Credit: jacoblund/iStock/GettyImages Certain healthy habits — like brushing your teeth — are second nature. Other good-for-you things — like mobility training — may take a more conscious effort to build into your daily routine. Advertisement While it's not the sexiest use of your time, mobility training serves several important functions: It helps increase range of movement (read: healthier, limber joints), improves athletic performance (like deepening your squat) and reduces your risk of injuries....
Close-up of a pan full of fried vegetables. Image Credit: jiliy/iStock/Getty Images Depending on how you want to fry your vegetables, you have different options for cooking oil. Although all oils are high in fat, certain oils are healthier because of the type of fat. Cooking oils have different smoking points, or the temperature where the oil will give off smoke. To fry vegetables, you need to choose a cooking oil that has a high smoking point because of the high temperature of frying....
Push-up variations — like the decline push-up — challenge more muscles than the standard move. Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative The 30-Day Push-Up Challenge helps you perfect your form, discover new variations and build up to doing 60 push-ups in one day. Click here for all the details on the challenge. In This Article Beginner Push-Ups Intermediate Push-Ups Advanced Push-Ups Push-ups are more versatile than most people think. The best push-up variations — like incline push-ups, wide-arm push-ups and diamond push-ups — can strengthen your abs, back and legs, in addition to your arms, chest and shoulders....
Mix brown rice and wild rice to optimize nutrients. Image Credit: Diana Taliun/iStock/Getty Images You don’t have to choose either wild rice or brown rice – they’re both nutrient-rich whole grains, but you’ll find some interesting differences. Three key factors to compare are their plant families, appearance and flavor. In spite of the differences, the two grains share fairly similar nutritional profiles, except that brown rice stands out as a much better source of two minerals....
Tongue Symptoms of Vitamin Deficiencies Image Credit: baibaz/iStock/GettyImages The muscular tongue functions in chewing, tasting and swallowing. Because of its nearly continuous use throughout the day, abnormalities become obvious very quickly, making the tongue a helpful marker of disease. Advertisement If your tongue shows signs or symptoms of a vitamin deficiency, testing will most often reveal one of the B vitamins as the culprit, explains MedlinePlus. Less commonly, levels of other vitamins that are low also cause changes of your oral cavity, including the tongue....
Two cloves of garlic sit on a white counter. Image Credit: jocic/iStock/Getty Images Although vitamin B-12 and warfarin are not likely to interact with each other, they may negatively interact with other vitamins and supplements. Warfarin may also cause adverse side effects in some individuals, some of which can be life-threatening. Discuss the potential risks and benefits with a doctor before taking any new medication or supplement. Advertisement Vitamin B-12 Vitamin B-12 is naturally present in certain foods and is also available as a dietary supplement and a prescription medication....
Woman chopping fresh vegetables Image Credit: George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images Vitamin B12 and magnesium are essential nutrients that play important roles in keeping you healthy and providing you with energy. Vitamin B12 comes from animal sources, while magnesium is found in vegetable sources. Eating a well-balanced diet that contains both animal protein and fresh vegetables should provide enough vitamin B12 and magnesium in your diet. Vitamin B12 supplements are available in pill, sublingual and injectable form....
Carrot Juice Image Credit: karandaev/iStock/Getty Images An important source of vitamin A, the carrot is a favorite ingredient for juicing enthusiasts. Your local food store may stock carrot juice near tomato juice and vegetable juice blends. While carrot juice doesn’t contain the fiber of whole carrots, it does offer vitamin A and other benefits, including sweetness and color. But while drinking it is the obvious primary use, you may find yourself wondering what you can do with excess amounts of carrot juice....
Seeds from the Pimpinella anisum plant are thought to have health benefits but warrant a discussion with your doctor first. Image Credit: Savany/iStock/GettyImages Oil and seeds derived from the anise, or Pimpinella anisum, plant are used as both a cooking spice and medicinal supplement. Traditionally, anise has been used as a digestive aid and cough suppressant and may also help treat intestinal parasites. However, more research is needed to support these purported health effects of anise....
Sweating at night is usually nothing to worry about, but a sour smell could signal a medical condition. Image Credit: Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank/GettyImages Smell something foul when sleeping? Body odor at night rarely tops the list of serious health woes, but it can be embarrassing and disconcerting. Sour body odor when sleeping usually isn’t a cause for concern, but the sweating could be a sign of benign hyperhidrosis or a more serious ailment....
Resistance bands are a great piece of equipment to use after breaking a clavicle bone. Image Credit: pixelfit/E+/GettyImages Broken bones affect your ability to exercise and do normal daily activities. The clavicle bone, also called your collarbone, is susceptible to fractures from direct blows to the shoulder. Initially, you will have to wear a sling as the bone heals and for protection. Advertisement However, when the bone starts to heal, you will be able to do gentle, progressive clavicle exercises for the arm and shoulder to improve range and strength....
Salty foods trigger the thirst center in your brain. Image Credit: Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images Foods high in sodium make you thirsty. Harvard School of Public Health points to meat pizza, white bread, hot dogs, processed cheese and spaghetti sauce as five of ten top sources from which you get your sodium. Sodium makes you thirsty because too much of it disrupts the balance of fluid in your cells. If you seek out salty foods, there may be a reason: some scientists believe that eating high sodium foods encourages social behavior, according to a study published in February 2011 of the “Journal of Neuroscience....
Chocolate is not a good pre-exercise energy booster. Image Credit: Martin Poole/Digital Vision/Getty Images Sugary foods like chocolate aren’t your best choice for a snack before a workout. The sugar in the chocolate may give you a little boost, but it might be followed by a dramatic drop in energy. Plus, the excess sugar can really wreak havoc on your digestive system. Advertisement Sugar Surge While the sugar content in chocolate may vary depending on type and manufacturer, most chocolate bars are a concentrated source of sugar....
The exact number of calories you need is different from person to person. Image Credit: kate_sept2004/E+/GettyImages Most people eat about 2,000 calories a day, which is why the nutrition labels on your food products typically list daily values based on this amount. However, the exact number of calories people need is based on a variety of factors, such as age, sex and the amount you exert yourself each day. This means that certain people can eat 2,000 calories a day and still potentially gain weight....
Maintain your trim, new figure by eating the right amount of calories. Image Credit: demaerre/iStock/Getty Images If you have successfully lost weight, you may be concerned about regaining your weight. You are right to be concerned, as according Traci Mann, author of the 2007 study published in the American Psychologist journal, between one and two thirds of people who diet regain the weight they lost, plus more. Once you reach your goal weight, the job is not over....
How to Increase Electrolytes in the Body Image Credit: Obradovic/E+/GettyImages Your body has charged particles known as electrolytes. Examples of electrolytes include sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. These electrolytes are responsible for maintaining fluid balance in the body, and their electrical charge helps produce energy in the body. You can lose electrolytes via water in your body — from excess sweating, injuries like burns, blood loss, or illnesses like diarrhea and vomiting that result in water loss....
A pregnant woman is walking in a field with a man. Image Credit: gpointstudio/iStock/Getty Images Your pregnancy is a time for excitement and anticipation as you await the arrival of your newborn baby. During the course of the pregnancy, you have several options for an exercise program to maintain your fitness level and manage your body fat. Pregnancy isn’t a time to follow a weight-loss diet, but there are specific steps you can take to lose body fat during pregnancy....
