Posts tagged Health

The Nine Healthiest Alcoholic Drinks

Sad Dark ‘N’ Stormys didn’t make the list, but happy that a number of my other faves did! Plus, Mimosas FTW! Who’s ready for brunch?! Love, Nik

Budge

This new service called Budge sounds interesting and handy. Need help remembering to floss? To drink more water? To get up and walk around? Budge can help. Looks like you can customize how many reminders you get and you can even turn on a super-intense “nag mode.” Love, Nik

How Yoga Can Improve Your Looks... and Your Love Life!

I thought this article from Good Magazine was interesting! You yogis (looking at you, LP!) may find this comforting. :) Love, Nik

Why I don’t like ‘bitter’ foods: The science of taste

I thought this article about the science behind bitter foods was interesting. Wonder what we all are: tasters, supertasters or non-tasters? Any ideas? Love, Nik

Sunscreens Exposed: 9 Surprising Truths

As a very melanin-challenged individual, I’ve learned to take preventing sunburn seriously. That said, these facts re: sunscreen from a 2011 Environmental Working Group Report are not exactly comforting. Boo. Love, Nik

Healthy Aperture

I am a *big* fan of Tastespotting, so this new (albeit very similar) site seems right up my alley. Healthy Aperture is founded and hosted by registered dietitians and shares healthy food recipes from around the web. I read their FAQ and their definition of “healthy” seems pretty on target. I’m sure there will be a lot of overlap between this new site and other foodblog-sharing sites but it might be worth a look! ~LP

How to Say No

I’ve always had a really hard time saying “no,” so this article from Whole Living about “5 Steps to Saying No” really struck a chord. I particularly liked this bit about finding your “yes”:

Before you can even think about getting good at saying no, get clear on what to say yes to in life. If your yes is more time with your family, that will mean turning down obligations that keep you away from home. If it’s yes to better health, you’ll need to say no to late nights at work that keep you from the gym. The firmer your foundation and connection to your yes, says Ury, the less difficult it will be to say no. After all, you’ll be answering to a higher cause.

That philosophy kind of reminds me of this quote that I like and is definitely something I think I need to embrace. Love, Nik

Control of Birth Control

All of this talk about birth control in the media lately has been controversial and has definitely brought the topic back to top-of-mind. This infographic by Good Magazine looks into the state of birth control coverage and where people stand on the issue. Thought you LWS ladies may find it interesting. Love, Nik

The Many Health Benefits of Having a Dog

Thought this was a good article & wanted to share. -AI

Dehydration Affects Women's Moods

This doesn’t exactly seem like rocket science to me, but recent studies have shown that dehydration affects not only your body, but your mood as well. According to Scientific American:

In women dehydration caused little reduction in cognitive ability, but did cause significant fatigue, tension and anxiety. Such changes in mood occurred regardless if the subject was exercising or at rest.

One more reason to be liberal with the H2O! Love, Nik

How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did

Have you guys heard the buzz about Target and their crazy pregnancy-predicting statistics? It’s standard for retailers to study consumption patterns and now Target’s statisticians have gone as far as trying to figure out whether you have a baby on the way. (Keep your eye on your mailbox for baby-related coupons in case Target is suspicious about you...)

You can check out a brief/condensed article from Forbes, or the full, detailed article by Charles Duhigg of the New York Times. Pretty crazy stuff! Love, Nik

The Prince's Speech: On the Future of Food

Have you foodies heard of the book “On the Future Of Food” by Prince Charles? I just read this article from the Huff Post about it (which also reminded me that I need to put “Omnivore’s Dilemma” back on the top of my to-read list when I have a chance) and I am intrigued!

I’ve recently concluded that my life seems to be lacking passion (or at least things I feel really strongly about), so I’m going to start to fix that by being passionate about my health. I’ve been dramatically increasing my trips to the gym and tackling food intake is right up there, too.

In fact, I was inspired by a good girlfriend of mine to keep a daily food journal, so I’ve been documenting what I consume for the past 3 weeks in this cute little notebook I found on a shopping trip. (Of course it says “Life is short, eat dessert first.” Hey! It’s all in moderation, eh?) I’m not being so strict as to track calories, but it definitely makes me think twice about eating something if I know I have to write it down later.

I’m thinking I may want to grab a couple of these books listed above for further inspiration/motivation, too. What are some of your favorite books and/or tricks to eat healthy, ladies? Love, Nik

'Plug In Better': A Manifesto

‘Unplugging’ has definitely been at the top of my mind lately as sometimes I just want to turn of all of the screens in my life and escape from it all. This article from The Atlantic is interesting and talks about how literally unplugging isn’t always feasible, but we can all benefit from learning to “plug in better.”

Whether it’s unplugging from distractions, conquering FOMO (something I’ve definitely battled over the years and I think have successfully reduced its effect), information overload (hello aspirational inbox zero and endless RIL list) or whatnot, we can all do a better job of focusing on what matters most and unplugging from the rest. Love, Nik