Blog Posts by Redbook

By Jessica Girdwain, REDBOOK

You try to play by the doc's rules, but you're no saint. Skipping these good health habits? Odds are you'll be fine.

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1. Drinking only when you're thirsty, instead of eight glasses of H2O a day

Why it's good enough: Experts aren't sure who came up with the silly eight-glasses rule, since the amount of water you need depends on factors such as your size, your activity level, and your diet. For example, many fruits and veggies are full of water, and if you get your fill, you can count them toward your hydration quota. Sure, it's important to drink water regularly, but 64 ounces a day? Bunk.

Related: 10 Health Mistakes Doctors See You Making

2. Using moisturizer with built-in SPF 15 instead of SPF 30 or higher

SPF 30 is still the best way to protect yourself from the sun, but a daily moisturizer with built-in SPF 15 still blocks about 93 percent of cancer-causing UVB rays, says

Read More »from 3 Health Habits that Are Good Enough

By Jihan Thompson, REDBOOK

There are 6.5 million children in America who would probably love to eat their vegetables, if only they could get some. They live in "food deserts," low-income areas where families often have to travel more than a mile to find a supermarket and end up relying on fast-food joints and convenience stores for meals.

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Former chef Sandra McLean is dedicated to fixing this problem in New York City, where the wealthy dine on exotic produce in some of the world's best restaurants. Meanwhile, Sandra says, "some of the kids we serve have never eaten a fresh peach or a raw tomato." She teamed up with Slow Food NYC, a chapter of the national organization that plants or maintains 300 gardens and helps feed 34,000 children nationwide each year. In 2010, she took charge of creating three gardening programs in low-income areas of New York. "I saw kids show up eating chips and candy bars for breakfast. I was worried they

Read More »from All Children Deserve Healthy Food

By Charlotte Hilton Andersen, REDBOOK

Babies fall. A lot. It's part of their charm, really. How adorable is it to watch your little one walk with Frankenstein-arms outstretched, wobble for a full five minutes, and then land on his well-padded tushie? Of course, it's not so cute when they take a header into the coffee table and end up with a giant goose egg.

Related: 10 Health Mistakes Doctors See You Making

My solution to this age-old problem was to baby-proof with a collection of baby gates, soft rugs, and foam sticky things that you could put on sharp corners. But now according to a report on MSNBC, parents are taking the opposite approach and instead baby-proofing their baby -- by making them wear helmets as they learn to crawl and walk.

Somewhere, right now, my mother is laughing herself silly as she waves a picture of me as a toddler walking barefoot through a playground with an asphalt surface and rusty metal equipment with so many exposed nails they had a tetanus shot Read More »from Safety Helmets for Toddlers: Smart or Overprotective?

By Kayleigh Donahue, REDBOOK

The right fragrance can lift your mood, entice your guy, and boost a blah workday. Just follow these steps to find the best perfume for you.

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1. SPRITZ CONTROL!

Apply fragrance to pulse points like your neck, inner wrists, and behind your ears; these areas give off heat, which diffuses the scent. Also, consider the concentration: One or two drops of perfume and three to five sprays of eau de parfum or eau de toilette are plenty. If you over-douse, rub the area with a wet, soapy washcloth or a little unscented baby powder; it'll absorb the smell.

2. SMELL SEXY (NOT VAMPY)

For a soft, sultry fragrance, "try a mix of light florals, such as orchid and lavender, with musk or woody notes," says Laurent Le Guernec, a senior perfumer at International Flavors and Fragrances. He likes Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker ($65 for 3.4 oz). Yann Vasnier, a senior perfumer at Givaudan fragrance house, says that

Read More »from 5 Tricks to Smell Gorgeous

By Mary Rose Almasi, REDBOOK

Those first few itsy, bitsy spider veins on our legs were no biggie. (Outta sight, outta mind.) But at some point in our 30s, the suckers started to multiply. Then a couple of the other, varicose kind appeared-and we found ourselves parked in front of the mirror, scrutinizing the backs of our legs with furrowed brows. Can you relate?

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Unfortunately, there's no way to prevent varicose and spider veins, but there is something you can do about them. In the past, vein-zapping treatments were lengthy and painful, but today, they can be done in an hour or less with virtually no pain and only minor bruising. (What doesn't work, however, are creams that promise to magically slather veins away-they sound too good to be true, and they are.) If you're thinking about taking action on your leg veins, here are the pros and cons to consider, plus one simple camouflage trick that works on everyone.

SPIDER VEINS:

These

Read More »from Get Sexier Legs by Summer

By Jessica Girdwain, REDBOOK

News for your troubled soles: Problems that originate in your feet and ankles can creep all the way up into your knees, hips, and spine, too. "Feet are like the roots of a tree. If they don't feel good, the rest of your body won't function properly either," says Kristine Petrucione, a fitness instructor and owner of the Art of Fitness studio in Queens, NY. Use these four tips to fix your feet and feel better all over.

Related: 20 Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism

1. Stretch Out the Ligaments

Petrucione has her clients do this simple exercise to strengthen the muscles in their feet and stretch their ligaments, which helps align the body and prevent back pain. While sitting barefoot, simply spread your toes apart as wide as you can, then scrunch them back in. Repeat 10 times. Next, make circles with your ankles-10 in one direction, then 10 in the other. If your feet feel especially achy, try this: Use your hands to twist the arches of

Read More »from 4 Ways to Improve the Health of Your Feet

By Brooke Parkhurst, REDBOOK

As a mom and professional cook, leftovers are my hall pass to a stress-free night that's more about relaxation than dirty pots and dish-pan hands. But while I'm a cook and a concerned mommy who just wants her 3-year-old to eat well-and a lady who wants a relaxing glass of wine at 6 o'clock!-I'm also a wife who wants to 'wow' her four-star chef husband. And trust me, that last part is a tall order.

What do I do? How do I dress up last night's meal, recreating it into something totally new and exciting? Over the past three years, I've developed a few tricks and shortcuts that make my kitchen life much easier. Here's my shortlist for ensuring incredible meals all week long. I promise you'll never eat the same thing twice!

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The Base

If I know that it's going to be a busy week, I plan for leftovers ahead of time. (Sounds a little backward, but it works!) The real pros, like my husband James, have taught

Read More »from 10 Ways to Make Leftovers Incredible

Woman wearing peach makeupBy Gina Way, REDBOOK

We've got the beauty advice you need to hear now-straight from our expert panel.

1. Cleanse your skin the right way
"Wash your face with lukewarm water-never hot-then pat it dry and immediately apply your moisturizer. It never ceases to amaze me that people persist in exposing their facial skin to hot water, causing it to become red, dry, and resulting in breakouts of rosacea and broken capillaries."
-Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, M.D. PhD-dermatologist and assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine

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2. Get a nighttime regimen
"This is when you should really fight aging. I alternate Dior L'or De Vie with TNS Essential Serum to hydrate my skin, even out the tone, and improve the texture without blocking my pores."
-Jeanine Downie, dermatologist and director of Image Dermatology in Montclair, NJ

3. Always wear your sunscreen
"It's so much better to prevent the damage than it is to try to

Read More »from Beauty Experts Spill Their Best Makeup Tricks of All Time