Blog Posts by Health.com

Ever hear that water can help you lose a few extra pounds? It can-if you eat foods that contain a lot of water, like fruits and veggies. In a University of Tokyo study, women who ate high-water-content foods had lower body mass indexes and smaller waistlines. Researchers speculate that the water in these foods may fill you up so you eat less. Make the strategy work for you by adding more of these in-season fruits and veggies-each is at least 90% water-to your meals.

Broccoli
Did you know broccoli is a great source of fiber and calcium? Try this delicious recipe for Broccoli Salad With Sesame Dressing and Cashews.

Cabbage
Rich in antioxidants like vitamin C, cabbage is a great immune-booster. Enjoy it lightly sautéed in a stir-fry or paired with sweet-tart apples. Or, try this recipe for Red Cabbage and Apple Salad With Ginger Vinaigrette.

Cauliflower
Like other cruciferous veggies, cauliflower is full of cancer-fighting phytonutrients and is a great source of vitamin C and folate.

By Tracy Teare
Sure, you know walking is good exercise. But here's something you might not realize: You can give your waistline (and other body parts) a serious trimming by tweaking that walk around the block. These three women each walked off at least 35 pounds, much of it around the middle, using one of these secret weapons-plyometrics, hills, or intervals. The strategies also strengthened their legs more quickly than plain old walking sessions, so they could walk longer and faster to burn more calories. After six weeks of walking four to six times a week, you will feel stronger and look slimmer where it counts.

Plyometrics
Adding bounding, jumping, and skipping moves (called plyometrics) to your walk is a fun way to spike the intensity. You'll burn up to twice as many calories-and significantly more belly fat-per minute than you would just walking at a moderate pace. "These moves vary the walking pattern your body has grown accustomed to, so you engage different muscle fibers,"

Sure, in a pinch, you can combine whatever shape pasta and sauce you have on hand. But strategically pairing noodle and sauce can mean the difference between a plate of pasta that's decent and one that's divine.

Here, a cheat sheet to the best combos:

• Farfalle: Also known as bow tie pasta, the cinched middles of this shape keep it from overcooking and are ideal for catching bits of sauce. Farfalle goes well with light, vegetable-based sauces like primavera.

• Linguini: This pasta shape translates to "little tongues." Its flat shape helps sauces adhere to it, so it's excellent with delicate, olive oil-based sauces.

• Orzo: This rice-shaped pasta works great in soups and salads. It can also be used to make a faster version of risotto.

• Pappardelle: This wide, velvety egg noodle has a relatively soft texture. It's wonderful with chunky, ragu-style sauces, which usually contain ground meat, tomatoes, and onions. For a vegetarian dish, pappardelle goes nicely with gremolata-a

Getty ImagesBy Anne Harding

Anyone who's sought solace in pizza or a pint of ice cream knows that food can be comforting. But experts still don't know exactly why we gravitate toward fatty or sugary foods when we're feeling down, or how those foods affect our emotions.

Taste and the pleasant memories associated with junk foods surely play a role, but that may be only part of the story. According to a small new study, hormones in our stomachs appear to communicate directly with our brains, independent of any feelings we have about a particular food.

Most research on food and emotion has looked at the overall experience of eating-the tastes, smells, and textures, in addition to nutrients. In this study, however, the researchers took that subjective experience off the table by "feeding" the volunteers through an unmarked stomach tube.

Health.com: Is emotional eating the trick to staying slim?

Even in this artificial environment, saturated fat appeared to fend off negative emotions. The study

Getty ImagesBy Sarah Klein
When Kim Kardashian walks a red carpet, people notice. Normally all eyes are on her curves and clothes, but in a series of recent public appearances, her trademark body-hugging dresses have been upstaged by the mysterious red splotches visible on her arms and legs.

The mystery appears to be solved: On a recent episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the 30-year-old star revealed that she has been diagnosed with psoriasis, an autoimmune disorder that causes overproduction of skin cells.

Health.com: What's that rash?

The condition can be painful, itchy, and embarrassing-but, if other celebrities with the disorder are anything to go by, it certainly won't leave her standing on the wrong side of the velvet rope.

Kardashian-whose mother, Kris Jenner, was also diagnosed with psoriasis at age 30-isn't the only A-lister to have walked a red carpet with psoriasis. Country singer LeAnn Rimes has battled the disorder since age 2, and the flaky red patches that characterize

By Shaun ChavisRuby Murray, a master sergeant at Fort Bragg, N.C., came close to losing her job in 1998 because of nearly 90 pounds of post-pregnancy weight. Six months after she had her baby, the weight was still there, even after working out with fellow soldiers. "I couldn't put on my pants, and I refused to buy new clothes," she said. "I was used to wearing a size 8 or 10, and I needed a 16 and 18." And as a result, her company commander had gone so far as to draw up her discharge papers.

Tough times
Murray's case isn't that unusual: Enlisted soldiers have six months after giving birth to meet Army weight standards and pass the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). If they don't, they could be flagged and ultimately lose their jobs. Until recently, women started physical training with their regular units six weeks after delivery, outnumbered by fit and unsympathetic men and commanders with no experience in training soldiers recovering from childbirth. "They look down on you, no matter

Getty ImagesSick of hearing about all the negatives of eating sweets? Well, if you're active, a little sugar can actually be beneficial, according to a new report. "Sipping a sports drink with a small amount of fructose"-a simple sugar-"gives athletes energy and helps combat dehydration," says Richard J. Johnson, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Denver and co-author of the study. That's true whether you're a marathon runner, a Zumba fan, or an avid walker.

Health.com: 8 sweet treats under 80 calories

Not only does sugar help you handle your workout better, but the reverse also seems to be true: Exercise can help you better metabolize sugar, reversing your risk of obesity and diseases like type 2 diabetes, which some scientists have linked to excessive sugar consumption. "The more exercise you do, the better your vascular function," Dr. Johnson says. "You develop high levels of nitric oxide and reduce uric acid in the blood, which can make you

Getty ImagesBy Tina Haupert

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine joked that I shouldn't snap a photo of what I was eating for my blog because it wasn't "healthy." Granted, I was eating a cheeseburger with Doritos, potato salad, and a brownie-obviously, not the most nutritious foods to pile onto my plate.