If you’re putting a lot of effort into your workouts and supplements but still not feeling the rush of energy and joy you read about on the message boards, the reason might be your food choices. The next time you reach for “fast food” or decide to simply skip a meal, consider the effect your diet plays on the way you feel. After all, what good is having a beach body if you’re not able to enjoy it? Continued…
So much of our attitude about life and our capacity to meet life’s challenges depends on the quality of the relationships we have, especially our most intimate relationships.
When they go sour, life tends to feel bleak. Because the quality of our relationships has a powerful effect on physical and mental balance, as well as our sense of satisfaction in life, it’s important that we keep our relationships rewarding and fresh. The data on divorce provides compelling evidence that we are not succeeding at all. Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce — cohabitation couplings are far likelier to end badly — and of the marriages that endure, many are less than happy.
Most people know the value of a good relationship and no matter how often they have lost at love, they keep on hoping. As a result, advice on how to make relationships work fills shelves and shelves of bookstores and hours of talk-show time. Some of it is even good, the product of careful research on happy and unhappy couples.
But of all the elements that contribute to the warm atmosphere of a good relationship, there is one that seldom gets translated into advice or even therapy, yet it is something that everyone desires and most people would like more of: laughter. Continued…
We know that exercise will help us look better in a bathing suit, but most of us aren’t aware of how important it is when it comes to brain function. While common lore suggests that jocks are dumb and brainiacs rarely leave the research lab, science paints a different picture—one wherein the fitter you are, the smarter you become. Let’s look at 10 ways to improve your cognitive abilities. Continued…
Most of us make most of our eating decisions based on how they’re going to make our bodies look. But it’s worth remembering that our diets affect how our heads operate, too. Brain function depends on an enormously complex system of chemicals and electrical impulses, and the fuel we put into our systems can make a big difference on how we process our information, our moods, and our energy levels. The good news is that what’s good for our heads is also good for our tails. Continued…
Sure, you’ve thought about brain food before, but have you ever thought about the brains behind the food? Doesn’t sound too appealing at first, I know. I’m referring to the people who were responsible for some of the most successful food ad campaigns, making their products standouts in a market full of competitors. Continued…
Once a child moves beyond breastfeeding, it’s up to us parents to take on the awesome responsibility of navigating our way through a pretty lousy American diet and nourishing our kids in ways that help — not hinder — their growing bodies and brains.
This is more challenging than it ought to be, because the American diet — especially for kids — is so skewed toward empty calories. Too many of the foods favored by kids have too much carbohydrate and sugar but not enough protein and far too few good fats (especially EFAs) and micronutrients.
It’s our job, then, to make sure that our kids aren’t poisoned or sickened by diets that are aggressively high in sugar and high in saturated fat but low in protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential trace elements. We need to resist the urge to let marketing efforts (especially those of the fast-food industry) lure us into giving our kids the wrong kind of nutrition. Instead, we have to dedicate ourselves to feeding them adequate amounts of the six key nutrients. Continued…
As a nation, we are obsessed with food. Fast-food restaurants and their billboards clutter our city streets. Volumes have been written on the topic of food. Newsstands are littered with magazines about it, and there is even an entire television network devoted just to food. We savor it, discuss it, and even plan our lives around it. And we consume a lot of it. In the process, we’ve also managed to supersize our health risks dramatically over the past few decades.
The kind of food eaten has nearly as big an impact on health as the amount — and sometimes more. In fact, much of the malnutrition in the world can be attributed to unhealthy food or consumption of “empty calories” (highly processed foods lacking important vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients). Though it may seem surprising, many obese individuals are actually significantly malnourished. Continued…
When aren’t we going on and on about how you need to eat more vegetables? They’re full of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants, and they’re low in calories and fat. And one of the best ways to eat them? Raw. So you’re trying to be a good camper, with your bowl of broccoli and cauliflower florets, baby carrots, and celery sticks, crunching your way to a leaner (and probably gassier) you. You know what would really make these veggies sing? Some dip!
French onion dip . . . or guacamole . . . or hummus . . . or nacho cheese. Ha! Guess again! Nothing can make your healthy vegetable snack descend the rungs of Michi’s Ladder faster than a few dunks into a bowl of fatty, salty, delicious dip—not to mention what they’ll do to your Slim in 6® or Turbo Jam® results. But we’re not completely heartless. Here are some variations on some old favorites that are actually pretty good for you! Continued…
Milk: does it really do a body good? This advertising icon is one that most of us are familiar with. It’s also one of the most maligned slogans in history. A quick headline search reveals a slew of parodies, ranging from sarcastically simple “milk: it does a body bad” to the more straightforward “milksucks.com.” Whether or not we should consume dairy products is one of the most common dietary issues in the news and, yet, there still seems to be no definitive answer. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of dairy, which can hopefully shed a little light on whether or not you want it as a part of your diet. Continued…
If you’re like most Americans, you’re probably eating only three servings of fruits and vegetables a day, if that. Big mistake. Research shows that the more veggies you consume daily, the better off you’ll be, in terms of overall health and body weight. Aim for five to nine or even 13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Here are six reasons why. Continued…
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