Blog Posts by Healthy SELF, SELF Magazine

Jennifer D'Angelo Friedman, SELF magazine

Scary celeb health news: Rosie O'Donnell has revealed that she suffered a heart attack last week. Plus, like many women do, the 50-year-old TV personality ignored her symptoms for a while, and didn't even call 911.

Despite the fact that heart disease is the number one killer of women, research has shown that many women don't think it can happen to them, and miss the warning signs. Plus, women often don't have the same symptoms as men during a heart attack. Here are Rosie's symptoms, as she described in her blog, along with other heart attack symptoms common to women, according to women's heart health researcher and educator Pamela Stewart Fahs, professor and Decker Chair in Rural Nursing at Binghamton University's Decker School of Nursing.

Related: Foods That Fight Belly Bloat

1. "i had an ache in my chest" "In the research I reviewed, about 78 percent of women who have survived a heart attack said they had some type of chest sensation,

April Daniels Hussar, SELF magazine

A coconut with a straw in it may sound like the perfect beverage for a tropical vacation, but it also might be just what you need after a great workout, according to new research.

"Coconut water is a natural, healthy drink," Chhandashri Bhattacharya, Ph.D., a researcher and lecturer at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, tells HealthySELF. Bhattacharya presented her research on what she says is the natural beverage that has "everything your average sports drink has and more" today at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Related: Foods That Fight Belly Bloat

"Anyone can drink coconut water," Bhattacharya says. "People can drink it as a beverage, or people who are exercising can drink it to replenish the nutrients the body loses during moderate exercise."

Coconut water, says Bhattacharya, contains five times more potassium than popular sports drinks, which is important because

Activist and actor Gabrielle Union and Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards speaking at Planned Parenthood's NYC headquarters on August 20, 2012.Anna Maltby, SELF magazine

It's been a wild year for Planned Parenthood -- first, Susan G. Komen for the Cure decided to pull funding to the organization for breast cancer screenings; then, Komen apologized and said PP will be eligible for future grants. In between, more than 75,000 supporters united to pour in about $3 million in donations to make up for the newly missing funds. (Nice work, everybody!)

Related: 20 Superfoods for Weight Loss

Now, Planned Parenthood has announced it will use that money to launch a breast health initiative focused on education, risk assessment and expanded screenings. The deets:

• Planned Parenthood will help provide patients with specialized follow up services (we're talking imaging and biopsies)
• They'll boost their online presence and help young women access breast health info digitally
• Their Latina-focused promotores program will be expanded, too
• They'll create a special tool for doctors and nurses at their health centers to

Jennifer D'Angelo Friedman, SELF magazine

You've heard what they say about yo-yo dieting -- in the end, it will only make you pack on pounds. But while losing weight and gaining it back in "cycles" isn't ideal, it's no reason to give up on weight loss, according to a new study.

According to the study, published online in the journal Metabolism, a history of yo-yo dieting (aka weight cycling) does not negatively affect metabolism or the ability to lose weight in the long term, says the study's senior author, Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Related: Foods That Fight Belly Bloat

"What we found was that even if you've had this experience several times in your life, it doesn't make you any less successful at weight loss with a structured lifestyle change program," she tells HealthySELF.
The study was based on 439 overweight-to-obese, sedentary Seattle-area women, ages 50 to 75, who participated in various diet and exercise programs. Although

Amanda MacMillan, SELF magazine

Prenatal yoga is more than just trendy: A recent study from the University of Michigan shows that it can help pregnant women avoid depression, reduce stress and form a stronger bond with their babies. This is especially important, the researchers note, because while one in five expectant moms develops depression, taking antidepressants while pregnant is not often recommended.

"Women who practice yoga are better able to calm themselves down and can find small moments of quiet throughout their day," says Bec Conant, a prenatal yoga instructor and birth doula in Boston who strongly supports the study's findings. "We move so fast in this culture, and with all the pressure on women to keep working, do childbirth classes, lose weight and then get back to work so quickly, it really helps to give yourself the kind of restorative rest and relaxation that comes from yoga or meditation."

Related: Foods That Fight Belly Bloat

A prenatal yoga class can be

April Daniels, Hussar, SELF magazine

You probably don't equate making a three-egg omelet and lighting up a cigarette in terms of health risks, but a new study makes exactly that comparison. So what's the deal?

The study, published Tuesday in the journal Atherosclerosis, measured the carotid wall thickness of over 1,200 patients attending a vascular prevention clinic. Carotid wall thickness, explains Janis Jibrin, registered dietitian and SELF contributing editor, is usually a result of a build-up of plaque in your arteries, often caused by LDL (the "bad" cholesterol) and is a strong predictor of heart disease.

Related: Foods That Fight Belly Bloat

Study participants also filled out questionnaires regarding their lifestyle and medications, including "pack-years" of smoking (which means how many cigarettes you smoked per day for how many years) and the number of egg yolks consumed per week times the number of years consumed, aka your "egg-yolk years." What the researchers

SELF magazine

When 3 p.m. strikes, does your carb-craving alter ego come out, too? We asked an expert why we covet that afternoon treat.

Related: Foods That Fight Belly Bloat

Odds are, you're hungry. "Even a healthy lunch probably won't hold you until 6 p.m.," says Heidi McIndoo, R.D., of Boston. You should replenish your blood sugar three to four hours after a wholesome meal; if lunch was skimpy, like a side salad, your blood sugar is low at this point and your brain is begging for fuel. "Cookies and other treats are harder to resist when we're hungry," SELF self contributing expert Stephanie Clarke, R.D., adding, "Your brain knows these carbs will bring up blood sugar quickly, so that's what it seeks." Don't fall for that cookie's siren call. Have a snack with fiber, healthy fats and lean protein to keep blood sugar steady so you don't crash and burn before dinner.


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Courtesy of Sarah StarrDana Meltzer Zepeda, SELF magazine

Between travel, work and school, it's no wonder so many women have recurring tension in their neck and shoulders. But you don't necessarily need to spend 75 minutes in a restorative yoga class to relax those taut muscles in your upper body. Instead, grab a few stretches at the office, on the plane or in your Psych 101 class with these chair yoga moves.

"Most all yoga poses can be modified with a chair," says yoga instructor Sarah Starr, whose Gentle Chair Yoga with Sarah Starr DVD includes mini yoga routines for all of your major muscle groups. "Yoga from a chair allows you to unravel the stress and tension in your body before it turns to cramped muscles, strain and fatigue. Rather than having to wait until you get to your yoga mat or a studio, you can do a few simple stretches in the moment."

Related: 20 Superfoods for Weight Loss

To get started, try incorporating these 3 moves into your regular routine whenever you start feeling