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Deficiencies in nutrients like vitamin B12, calcium and magnesium can cause severe toe cramps. Image Credit: m-gucci/iStock/GettyImages Toe cramps can be extremely painful, so it’s hard to believe that vitamin and mineral deficiencies could be the cause, but it’s true. If you’re not getting enough vitamin B12, calcium or magnesium, you may be left with some serious foot cramps or toe spasms that keep you up at night. Advertisement While you may think the simple solution is to use supplements, take a step back for a minute....

Some drugs can help increase your red blood cell count. Image Credit: Nipitphon Na Chiangmai / EyeEm/EyeEm/GettyImages People with kidney issues, cancer and anemia often have too few red blood cells. In such cases, certain medicines can increase the number of red blood cells in the body. However, it’s also possible to support the health of your blood with vitamins and minerals. Advertisement Tip Nutrients, like copper, iron, vitamin A and B-complex vitamins, and drugs, like erythropoietin-stimulating agents, can all help increase red blood cell levels....

Mountain climbers are a great cardio drill with an emphasis on your abs. Image Credit: AzmanJaka/iStock/GettyImages Like sit-ups, push-ups or planks, the mountain climber exercise can be done anywhere, any time and at no cost, and you certainly don’t need a mountain to do them. What’s more, mountain climbers exercise benefits are numerous: working key muscles from the triceps to the glutes to the abdominals. Advertisement Tip Mountain climbers work the abdominals, glutes, legs, triceps, shoulders and more, while getting your heart rate up....

Head outside for some vitamin D with your sweat session. Image Credit: Adobe Stock/pressmaster Here’s something all weekend warriors know to be true: Even a single intense weekly workout puts you in better health than lying on the coach. According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, weekend exercisers reported a 40 percent lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease. Advertisement But don't dust off that mountain bike or cross-country skis just yet....

While it is true that a plant-based diet makes it easier to eat more vegetables, a person following such an eating plan still has to meet certain nutritional needs. Image Credit: from_my_point_of_view/iStock/GettyImages Some people think vegetarians sustain themselves off salad and raw vegetables, automatically making them lean and healthy. If you’re considering a vegetarian diet for weight loss in a month — and significant weight loss, maybe 20 pounds or more — there are a few things you should know first....

While starving yourself won't do much for your weight loss efforts, there are ways you can modify your eating habits to increase your dieting success. By reducing the amount of solids foods you eat after 2 p.m. and focusing on a liquid diet the rest of the day, you can better control the amount of calories you eat. Also, because you are likely more active in the early part of the day, eating this way will ensure that you spend the calories you eat....

Healthy eating can help you lose hip fat. Image Credit: fcafotodigital/E+/GettyImages It’s not unusual to have body parts you’d like to change. Even if people tell you that you’re beautiful just as you are, if your wide hips are making you feel self-conscious and you’d like to do something about them, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve your body image. Advertisement While you can't expect to get skinnier hips through spot reduction methods, you can lose hip fat by losing overall body fat....

There are several exercises and stretches you can do for sciatica. Image Credit: Steve Prezant/Corbis/GettyImages Your sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in your body that originates from nerve roots in your lower back and branches down your right and left legs. An inflammation of the sciatic nerve is known as sciatica. Advertisement This condition occurs when a spinal disc or the disc material itself slips out of place, pressing on your sciatic nerve....

Build up to a one mile treadmill run by using walking intervals. Running is a cardiovascular fat-burning exercise that can burn up to 500 calories in one hour, notes fitnessmagazine.com. Running on a treadmill is convenient and offers controlled variation–which outdoor running lacks. You should always start with a pace that is comfortable for you. If you've never run on a treadmill, begin with a walk and work up to a full one mile run....

Don't thaw your ice cream cake too much or it'll start to melt. Image Credit: LauriPatterson/iStock/GettyImages Ice cream cakes are made of layers of ice cream of different flavors, sometimes with baked cake layers or other ingredients mixed or layered in. As a frozen dessert, ice cream cakes can be made ahead of time, but thawing an ice cream cake before serving requires careful timing. Advertisement 1. Refrigerator Thawing Thawing your ice cream cake in the refrigerator is the recommended method....

Getting nausea after eating fat is a sensation that’s commonly associated with indigestion or dyspepsia. Image Credit: Lisovskaya/iStock/GettyImages Getting nausea after eating fat is a sensation that’s commonly associated with indigestion or dyspepsia. According to U.S. National Library of Medicine, nausea after eating anything can occur for several reasons, including eating too quickly, and eating a high-fat meal. Advertisement Dietary Fat Nutrition Information Dietary fat is one of three macronutrients — carbohydrates and proteins are the other two — that supply the body with energy....

In some cases, working out too much can actually be harmful. Image Credit: PeopleImages/E+/GettyImages What a great feeling it is to be motivated! However, if you’re so motivated that you find yourself working out twice a day for weight loss, you might be doing more harm than good. Unless you’re planning your two-a-day workouts carefully, this practice could be counterproductive. Advertisement Tip You’ll lose weight if you burn more calories than you take in, but in some cases, exercising twice a day is unnecessary or even harmful....

Yogurt's pH level can vary and is dependent on the fermentation process. Image Credit: LOVE_LIFE/iStock/GettyImages Yogurt is a fermented milk product. While the pH of milk can range between 6 and 8, the fermentation process yogurt undergoes reduces the pH of yogurt to 4.3 or 4.4. Additional ingredients like citrus fruits and the duration of fermentation can make yogurt even more acidic. Advertisement Read more: 13 Surprising and Beneficial Probiotic Foods Video of the Day Tip Acidity and alkalinity are determined using pH....

A large pile of red lentils. Image Credit: Karisssa/iStock/Getty Images While there is no book or website promoting an official “Lentil Diet,” you may have seen it mentioned briefly in online weight-loss forums. This is a fad diet—one that encourages you to eat one food for a short period of time to spur quick weight loss, much like the grapefruit, cookie or cabbage soup diet. Advertisement Identification: Lentils Lentils are one of the oldest crops on earth, first cultivated around 8,000 BC....

Image Credit: Peter Meade/Moment/GettyImages Mirena is the commercial name for the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system of birth control. Mirena is a device implanted in your body that releases small amounts of the progestogen levonorgestrel directly to your uterus. This system provides up to five years of birth control, and doctors also commonly recommend this product to treat heavy periods. Both weight loss and weight gain are potential side effects associated with Mirena....

A number of things could be the cause of upper left back numbness. Image Credit: spukkato/iStock/GettyImages If you feel numbness in the back or a tingling feeling in the back, a number of things could be causing it. Potential causes range from common issues that are easy to resolve, like muscle strain, to more severe medical conditions such as cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Advertisement If you consistently feel numbness or tingling in your back, it's best to consult your doctor about your symptoms....

Ice can help reduce swelling after knee replacement. Image Credit: AndreyPopov/iStock/GettyImages According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, surgeons perform more than 600,000 knee replacement surgeries each year. A knee replacement involves cutting away damaged bone and cartilage from the leg bones — namely the femur, tibia and patella — and replacing it with an artificial joint made of metal alloys, high-grade plastics and polymers. There are several methods for controlling swelling in the operative leg....

Consult your doctor before using aspirin with beta-blockers or fish oil. Image Credit: Ruangrit/iStock/Getty Images Aspirin has blood thinning properties similar to those found in medications called anticoagulants, which slow the normal clotting of your blood. Beta blockers are a class of medications commonly used to treat cases of high blood pressure. Use of either aspirin or beta blockers can harm your health in combination with fish oil. Use of aspirin with beta-blockers can also potentially cause problems....

Bananas are a nutritious food choice and are versatile in creating some delicious snacks, but they have a very narrow window of ripeness. Image Credit: krblokhin/iStock/GettyImages Bananas are a nutritious food choice and are versatile in creating some delicious snacks, but they have a very narrow window of ripeness. That’s why freezing bananas for snacks is a great idea. If you’re wondering, “What’s the best way to freeze bananas?” here are a few tips....

While tom yum soup can be low in calories, there are several versions of it. Image Credit: Azurita/iStock/GettyImages Originating in Thailand, the tom yum soup recipe that you use gives it a unique flavor profile. It’s a light soup that can warm you up without ruining your diet. The broth includes vegetables, spices and some seafood. Advertisement Tom Yum Soup Calories While tom yum soup can be low in calories, there are several versions of it....