Posts

Target the internal and external obliques to reduce the risk of core muscle imbalances. Image Credit: The Good Brigade/Photodisc/GettyImages Each of the muscles that make up your core is an important piece of a bigger puzzle. Advertisement And while it's great to work them all in one fell swoop with exercises like planks, it's also a good idea to hone in on certain areas every once in a while. Advertisement For example, your obliques — the sides of the abdomen — could probably use a little more love....

Cheat days are a tool to use when you’re dieting heavily. If you’re eating at a significant caloric deficit during the week, a cheat day will give you both psychological relief and protection from hormonal disruption. A cheat day’s routine is not just about the workout for the day, either. You must consider exercise throughout the day, as well as drinking the right liquids, in order to make your cheat day routine as effective as possible....

Eating a sweet potato with a bit of fat helps your body better absorb its nutrients. Image Credit: ALLEKO/iStock/GettyImages Few foods are as versatile as they are nutritious, but the humble sweet potato is one exception. Whether it’s served as a side, tossed on a salad or blended into a soup, the orange-fleshed root vegetable delivers substantial amounts of vitamins A, C and B-6, potassium, iron and dietary fiber. Advertisement But how you prepare and enjoy sweet potatoes can actually affect the nutrients they bring to your plate....

Reusing water bottles might help reduce your plastic waste, but it could compromise the quality of your H2O. Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative How Bad Is It Really? sets the record straight on all the habits and behaviors you’ve heard might be unhealthy. In This Article Types of Plastic Bacterial Buildup Leaching Chemicals Environmental Waste Alternatives Bottom Line After we've drained a Dasani bottle, many of us will just fill it back up from the tap without a second thought....

Steer clear of processed meats like hot dogs to avoid sodium nitrate. Image Credit: bhofack2/iStock/GettyImages If you take a look at the ingredient list on the back of a pack of bacon, jerky or hot dogs, you’ll probably spot sodium nitrate. Simply put, sodium nitrate is a type of salt often added to meat products as a preservative. While excess salt comes with its own health risks, sodium nitrate, specifically, is tied to cancer....

Soaking brown rice for several hours yields sprouted brown rice. Image Credit: jeehyun/iStock/Getty Images Sprouted brown rice, sometimes called germinated brown rice, looks similar to regular brown rice. Once cooked, however, the sprouted rice yields a slightly sweeter flavor and a less chewy texture. Swapping your usual brown rice for the sprouted version can also increase the amount of nutrients you get from the grain. Sprouted brown rice can be used in many of the same recipes in which you already use regular brown rice....

There are six lifestyle habits that support longevity, but starting with sleep may help the others fall into place. Image Credit: miodrag ignjatovic/E+/GettyImages Hit a certain age and the phrase “youth is wasted on the young” has a whole new meaning. And if there really were a fountain of youth — well, let’s just say some of us would be lining up faster than you could say “age before beauty.”...

Capsaicin in chili peppers enhances thermogenesis. Image Credit: Nikolay Trubnikov/iStock/Getty Images Thermogenic foods may help increase metabolism and calorie burning by enhancing thermogenesis, a process in which the body burns calories to utilize the foods you have just eaten, converting those calories to heat. Your body mainly burns calories consumed through maintaining its regular metabolic functions and through physical activity; however, a small percentage, about 10 percent, of calories are burned through diet-induced thermogenesis....

What you eat and drink has a direct impact on thyroid health. Image Credit: Henrik Sorensen/DigitalVision/GettyImages What you eat and drink has a direct impact on thyroid health. Hypothyroidism and alcohol, for instance, don’t mix. Heavy drinking may affect the production of thyroid hormones and make things worse. Advertisement What Causes an Underactive Thyroid? Approximately 20 million Americans have thyroid disease. About 60 percent of them are undiagnosed. But that’s not all — more than 12 percent of the population will experience thyroid problems at some point, reports the American Thyroid Association....

You can lose weight on a vegan diet, but it takes some special attention to what you're eating. Image Credit: Getty Images/RawPixel The weight-loss industry is booming, with Americans spending over $2 billion on weight-loss pills each year. For those who would rather change their diet instead of swallowing caffeine and green tea extracts in pill form, know that plants are key to losing weight. Advertisement You can healthily and effectively lose weight following a vegan diet as long as you know what you can eat, what you should stay away from and how to prevent nutrient deficiencies to keep your body in tip-top shape as you navigate through your new plant-based eating journey....

Young woman weighing herself on a scale Image Credit: Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, marketed under the trade name Vyvanse by Shire Pharmaceuticals, is a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in both children and adults. Vyvanse is not FDA-approved as a weight-loss medication, yet due to the drug’s nature and properties, the drug may cause weight loss as a side effect....

Once you shore up your core strength, adding leg lifts to the Plank Challenge will hit your glutes as well as your abs. Image Credit: Tempura/Getty Images/LIVESTRONG.com Your core powers everything you do. Each day of the 4-Week Plank Challenge, you’ll try a new plank variation to improve your core strength and endurance. Get all the details on the challenge here. Sit-ups and crunches are mainstays of a classic core workout, but they’re not doing your abs as many favors as you might think....

Chia seeds are very absorbent and help in hydration. Image Credit: m-chin/iStock/Getty Images According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, chia seeds come from the Salvia hispanica L. family of plants. They have been cultivated and eaten as far back as 3500 B.C. by the ancient Aztecs, who also used the seeds as offerings in religious ceremonies. Advertisement Commonly sprinkled over acai bowls or added to smoothies, the benefits of chia seeds are endless....

Eating too quickly or too much can trigger hiccups after a meal. Image Credit: PixelsEffect/iStock/GettyImages Anyone who’s ever been hit by a hounding case of the hiccups after eating (we’re guessing most people!) knows how pesky and persistent they can be. Advertisement Hiccups happen when your diaphragm — the muscle that separates your chest from your stomach, which is integral for breathing — spasms involuntarily, according to the Mayo Clinic. Every time it spasms, your vocal cords close, creating the characteristic "hic" sound....

There's no "perfect" poop shape, but lumpy or mushy poops might be a sign of a gut issue. Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative Honestly, don’t bother pooping and then dashing. Take a second, turn around and look at what you’ve just left in the bowl. Because the shape of your poop can clue you into your GI health. Advertisement Gut experts can tell you all day what to watch for with your poop, but for a clear visual, you've gotta look at the Bristol Stool Chart, says Jacqueline Wolf, MD, a gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and author of ​A Woman's Guide to a Healthy Stomach​....

The MELT Method uses principles of self-myofascial release, like foam rolling and self-massage, to help ease pain naturally. Image Credit: Mariakray/iStock/GettyImages When you’re in pain, you may not always feel like going (or be able to go) to your doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor for help. Advertisement The MELT Method promises natural pain relief at home, without using medication. Sue Hitzmann, a fitness professional and hands-on bodyworker, created the MELT Method, an acronym for myofascial energetic length technique, to allow people to become their own bodyworkers and eliminate their own pain....

Milk and dairy products like yogurt, evaporated milk and condensed milk are all high in calcium — but some calcium sources are healthier than others. Image Credit: Elena Medoks/iStock/GettyImages Calcium, the most abundant mineral in the body, is a must-have for bone growth. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), it “makes up much of the structure of bones and teeth and allows normal bodily movement by keeping tissue rigid....

Craving ice cubes can be a sign of pica, a compulsive eating disorder. Image Credit: Tippapatt/iStock/Getty Images Feeling like you have to have one type of food – whether it’s a burger, chocolate bar or pickle – is often nothing more than a simple craving. However, some cravings may indicate an underlying health condition. Craving ice, whether it’s crushed, in cubes or in chips, is a symptom of pica, a type of compulsive eating....

Couple jogging in winter Image Credit: Maridav/iStock/Getty Images Take a look at the legs of most joggers and you see thin thighs. This is because jogging burns a high number of calories in a short amount of time. Although you cannot tell your body to only use the calories from your thighs, you will reduce the amount of fat from all over your body including your legs. Jogging is a high-impact exercise as you have only one foot on the ground at a time....

Playing chess is a win-win for brain health: It stimulates brain cells and fosters social interaction. Image Credit: Visage/Stockbyte/GettyImages Aging happens, and with it often comes some changes to learning, memory and overall cognitive health. But just like with your physical health, you can give the mind a workout to help mitigate the effects of aging on your brain. Advertisement "Although aging is a part of life, significant losses in cognitive abilities, such as what occurs with dementia, do not have to be," says Alicia Walf, PhD, a neuroscientist and a senior lecturer in the Department of Cognitive Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute....