Diet and Nutrition

Sports Drinks: Bad for Kids’ Health and Behavior

Scientists recently discovered an unsettling connection between sports and energy drinks and teenagers. There appears to be a pretty strong link between consumption of the beverage to bad behavior, according to a recent research study published in the Journal of Nutritional Education and Behavior. And while it may not be a surprise that kids hopped up on caffeine might misbehave more than those who stay clear of Redbull and the like, the same trend applies to sports drinks, which were used by about 33-percent of the teens polled.

What, exactly, are kids who drink these beverages up to? The researchers concluded that both male and female teenagers who consume a high number of sports and energy drinks each week are more likely to smoke, drink other worse-for-you beverages, and actually spend more time in front of the computer or television.

Could Gatorade be the gateway drug for more bad behavior? (more…)

Posted on May 22, 2024 by Jessica Tholmer

5 Things You do that Erase the Benefits of a Yoga Class

Picture a serene room full of calm smiles, deep breaths, and mindful movements and you have an idyllic yoga setting. Peaceful instrumental music strums in the background as the sunlight peaks through the windows. Sounds perfect, right? Like just the place for tranquility and happiness! So why do some yoga sessions make you feel more stressed out afterward? Here’s a hint: It’s not about the setting. And it’s all about you. Here are 5 things you may be doing to sabotage the success of your yoga class, and easy fixes for each.

1. You Arrive Late
Nothing disrupts the first sun salutation like rushing in a few minutes late, squishing in between the rows to find a spot for your mat, and attempting to collect yourself after class has already begun. The first and last few minutes of class are arguably the most important and beneficial for your mental and physical health: crucial moments to slow down and check in with your mind and body.

Instead? Shoot for setting up your mat 10-15 minutes BEFORE the class is set to start. Use this time as much deserved “me-time” to stretch, close your eyes, do whatever you need to do to set your day aside and focus on what your yoga practice may bring you that day.

2. You Compete with Your Neighbor
Your yoga practice should be just that: yoga PRACTICE. This means there is no good or bad, right or wrong way to do it. As long as your alignment is safe, and you are not bringing harm to yourself or others, all is fair game. It might be tempting to check out the skinny-mini with her designer tank top in the front row (…how is her Warrior II lunge that low?!), but you’re not doing anyone any favors, especially yourself.

Instead? Keep your eyes closed if you have to, and focus on how your practice feels on the inside, rather than how it looks on the outside.
3. You Add to Your Mental To-Do List
Inhale arms up (“eggs, milk, spinach”), exhale forward fold (“run to the bank, fold my laundry”). Does this sound like your internal monologue during your class? It can be tempting to tune out and let your body to the work while your mind wanders. But the most powerful part of these 60 to 90 minutes are arguably your work on staying present.

Instead? Set your to-do list aside because you can always pick it up the second class ends. But for now, connect your breath and movements together so tightly that there is no room for any other thoughts.
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Posted on May 21, 2024 by Katie McGrath

6 Ways to Makeover a Boring and Bland Salad

By Team Best Life

As the weather warms up, you might be looking for easy meal solutions that don’t require turning on the oven. We’ve got a suggestion: Salad! Think your salad has to leave you hungry or dissatisfied? We can help! To create a full-meal salad that really fills you up, use the following tips:

Go green. You may be most familiar with iceberg and romaine lettuce, but why not experiment with other greens that offer different flavors and provide different nutrients? Give these greens a shot: arugula, butterhead, escarole, kale, mache, mizuna, spinach and watercress.

Choose a variety of veggies. The classics, like carrots, radishes and celery, are no-brainers. But if you want to be more adventurous, you can sprinkle on some roasted red peppers, canned artichoke hearts, or hearts of palm. Best Life lead nutritionist Janis JIbrin likes blueberries, beets, pomegranate seeds, butternut squash and fresh mint.

Get your fat fix. Stir in just one high-fat addition, such as 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese, 1 tablespoon of nuts, or ¼ cup of sliced avocado. That will help keep you satisfied without adding too many calories to your bowl and help you absorb some of the vitamins from the vegetables. (more…)

Posted on May 20, 2024 by BestLifeDiet

Nutrisystem or Jenny Craig: Which Diet is Right for You?

By Shae Blevins

Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig are two of the most popular diets around, and at first glance they sound pretty similar: Both deliver pre-made, pre-calorie-counted, pre-everything meals to your door. Both offer online tools and one-on-one support. Both offer plans designed to fit your lifestyle and your health challenges. Both have celebrity spokespeople singing their praises.

But there are also some definite differences between the two plans. Paying attention to these can help you choose which will work best for you.

This chart shows how Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig stack up next to one another in all of the areas that matter, from food and tools to the oh-so-important question of cost:

What does all of this mean?

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Posted on May 20, 2024 by GuestBlogger

U.N. Officials Propose Taxes on Unhealthy Foods; Want to Improve Global Health

“Unhealthy diets are now a greater threat to global health than tobacco.”

That’s what Belgian professor Olivier de Schutter of the World Health Organization (WHO) told the organization’s annual summit. It’s also a pretty bold statement considering tobacco has been held as one of the highest risks to global health for years.

He went on to say, “Just as the world came together to regulate the risks of tobacco, a bold framework convention on adequate diets must now be agreed.”

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Posted on May 19, 2024 by Elizabeth

DIY Flavor: The Best Herbs to Grow in Your Garden (or Window)

Have you ever considered getting into the whole herb gardening thing? I certainly have, but as always, I need a strong resource to wrap my mind around what is the easiest and most beneficial thing to grow at home. I didn’t find this quickie guide, so I did the research and created one for us all. It turns out herb gardening is easy and a super healthy and cost-effective way to add heapings of extra flavor to your food. Here are the best greens to grow in an indoor or outdoor herb garden. All you need to get started are a few pots, a little bit of soil and some seeds!

Basil
Basil is super easy to grow at home. All you need is some seeds and the sunlight. Basil is so versatile—use it in soups and salads or make pesto with it. It works great in Italian dishes (obviously) and it can add a fun flavor blast to stirfrys too! Basil is also awesome for clearing your skin and mellowing your stress. Who knew?

Try it in a summery peach caprese salad! (more…)

Posted on May 19, 2024 by Jessica Tholmer

Work it Off: 3 Ways to Burn off a 481-Calorie Cheese Plate

More and more, when I talk to people about the one food they could never give up the answer is cheese. I don’t know if this is generation, geographical, or what, but the hard-to-break habit keeps coming up in conversation. People like their cheese, and I’m no different. I like a gooey triple cream brie on apple slices, a chunk of cheddar on crackers, and a thick dusting of parmesan on most pasta dishes. But mostly I like cheese with wine.

In the past I tabulated a Work it Off: Wine edition. Since we know exactly what it takes to burn off a couple of glasses (and 250 calories) I’m going to turn my attention to cheese. The cheese plate, to be exact, such as the two I helped take down this past week while sipping wine in the sun with various groups of friends. (This isn’t typical for me: The weather turned warm right as my birthday week hit, which led to a little extra indulgence!)

The cheese on a typical cheese plate adds up to around 481 calories, which no doubt explains why it tastes so good and goes down so easily.

How, exactly, could I have burned off these 481 extra calories? (more…)

Posted on May 18, 2024 by Jessica Cassity

Cheryl Hanna’s 125 Pound Weight Loss Came From One Single Light Bulb Moment

After 15 years of being overweight, Cheryl Hanna says it took just one light bulb moment to realize she needed to get healthy for herself and her family. By having a positive attitude, getting her children involved, and reciting the mantra, “trust the process,” she is now 125 pounds thinner and proud to show off the “guns” she’s worked so hard for.

I knew I was overweight, but felt like I was being selfish if I took time for myself to go workout.

We hear it time and time again. Women take such good care of everyone else in their lives, that they often forget about themselves. Cheryl was no exception. Though she was athletic and fit in high school and college, her activity decreased significantly in nursing school. By the time she got married, found a great job and started having babies, her focus had completely shifted to being all things to all people, except Cheryl. At 283 pounds, she knew she was overweight, saying, “I sucked at controlling me.”

Cheryl’s light bulb moment

My kids were in a running club at school – they participated in local 3Ks and 5Ks. After a 5K in March of 2024 my kids crossed the finish line and asked me when I would start running with them instead of watching,” Cheryl said. “My light bulb! I wasn’t being part of their lives, I was only watching from the sidelines. I didn’t want my kids memories to be of me watching them, I wanted them to remember that I played with them, ran with them, challenged them, that I was PART of their lives!”

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Posted on May 17, 2024 by Dani Stone

7 Belly Buddies and Bullies: The 21 Day Tummy’s Foods That Help and Hurt Your Digestion

By Shae Blevins for DietsInReview.com

You eat all the right foods to stay healthy, including an apple a day! But you can’t seem to lose weight, especially in your midsection. Add to that “muffin top” bloating, cramping, and irregularity and you feel like you’re at the mercy of your out-of-whack digestive tract.

The surprising cause for your suffering: the healthful foods you keep eating that may very well be bullying your belly.

You are not alone. Liz Vaccariello, editor-in-chief of Reader’s Digest’s and author of the New York Times best-selling book The Digest Diet, noticed her tummy troubles and weight gain around her midsection revolved around her seemingly healthy diet.

Vaccariello and registered dietitian Kate Scarlata developed the 21 Day Tummy Diet, designed to soothe and shrink your tummy by eating “Belly Buddies” and getting rid of “Belly Bullies.”

Belly Buddies – foods that help digestive health – are light on carbohydrates and contain stomach-soothing ingredients like fiber, magnesium and anti-inflammatory fats. Belly Buddies are also low in FODMAPs, rapidly fermentable carbs. (more…)

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Health Buzz

Coffee Plus Stress May Lead to More Stress

I attempt to kick my caffeine habit at least three times a year. I’ll do pretty well for a while, but then I’ll need to stay up late to finish a project, or not sleep very well… You know how it goes.

The fact is I know I’m far from alone in having an addiction to caffeine that never quite subsides. (However, I’m pretty alone when it comes to my dislike of coffee—I hate it almost as much as I love it!)

In fact, when Shape Magazine polled more than 750 of their readers, they found nearly half of them admitted to drinking more coffee than usual (up to two cups) when they needed to feel more focused, stay alert, and be productive, especially at work.

(more…)

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Elizabeth

3 Surprising Ways People Get Weight Loss All Wrong

Sponsored post by Retrofit Weight Loss

There’s no question about it: Losing weight is hard. Whether you’re trying to shed baby weight, get back in shape after an illness, or just get rid of a few extra pounds, there are many things that can stall a diet. Here are the top 3 most common things that people get wrong when they are trying to lose weight, and advice for overcoming these frustrating obstacles.

1. You lose weight too quickly.
Shedding more than 1 to 2 pounds per week should raise a red flag for dieters, according to the National Institutes of Health. Yes, the results might be encouraging, but those pounds are more likely to come back. “Losing too much at one time is a sure sign of a fad diet,” says Amy Margulies, lead registered dietitian at Retrofit Weight Loss. “That kind of weight loss means the dieter is likely depriving their body of nutrients and will risk gaining the weight back as soon as they revert to old eating habits.” To avoid rapid, unsustainable weight loss, Margulies recommends that dieters make two small changes:

Set up a consistent eating plan of three meals and two snacks per day.
Measure your breakfast so you know just how many calories you are consuming.

(more…)

Posted on May 15, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Diet and Nutrition

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