Blog Posts by Vitamin G, Glamour Magazine

By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine

My dears, how are you doing today? Are you stuck at the office? If you have a minute (and by that I mean 60 seconds--tops!), here's a list of things you can do to improve your health this very moment ...

1. Take a vitamin D supplement. Most Americans don't get enough (including me--my levels were shockingly low!), and vitamin D has so many known, and unknown, health benefits that it's not worth being deficient.

2. Give someone a hug. It will boost their mood and increase the production of serotonin (the feel-good hormone) in your bod.

3. Stand up and stretch. Stretching is an instant energizer because it gets blood pumping throughout your bod.

4. Drink two cold glasses of water. Whenever I'm feeling completely zapped of energy, I follow my own favorite advice and drink two glasses of icy cold water and it always does the trick to zap the sleepy feeling--works better than coffee.

5. Tidy up your space. Past research indicates that

By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine

My eyes bugged out when I saw a statistic from a brand new Department of Justice study, which claims that if you're a female in college, you have a one in four chance of being a victim of rape or attempted rape in your four years on campus. Yikes! What's going on?

Related: Health Controversy: Why Are Women Suddenly Waffling on the Definition of Rape?

The new study from the Department of Justice reports that 25 percent of college women will be victims of rape or attempted rape before they graduate from 4-year colleges or universities. Even more shocking, women between the ages of 16 and 24, in general (college or no college) are raped four times more than older women.

Definitely sobering statistics, aren't they?

Let's discuss this: Did you/do you know someone who was raped in college? Did you ever have a close encounter yourself? What are the answers, in your opinion to this scary reality that the Justice Department paints?

By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine

My dears, did you have a nice weekend? I spent the long weekend at a family beach cabin, where we cooked big breakfasts and dinners and played on the beach all day. So fun! I was thinking about the one kitchen gadget that makes cooking a.) better and b.) healthier, and I wondered if you all had one--if not, definitely make the investment.

The best kitchen investment I've made in my life wasn't the fun, and pricey, appliances I've splurged on over the years at Williams Sonoma or the Viking range that cost me an arm and a leg (almost literally). Nope, the thing that has been the biggest investment in home cooking and health has been the cast iron skillet I purchased at a hardware store several years ago for about $14.99.

Why cast iron when you can get all those fancy "non-stick" pans? Sure, cast iron can't go in the dishwasher, so you will have to hand wash it, but here's why I'm so smitten:

*Cast iron adds a bit of iron into your food (don't worry, you

By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine

You curl it, you straighten it, you dye it and blow dry it, but no matter how much you style your tresses, experts say a single strand can tell them a big story about your health.

Canadian researchers believe they've found a new, non-invasive, and highly accurate way of predicting how healthy you are: a quick hair assessment. In their recent study, reports MSNBC, a single strand of hair can predict the risk of an impending heart attack. Here's why: Work stress, relationship trouble, money issues--your hair can't hide the toll they're taking on your body, say the researchers.

With a special test, researchers were able to determine how much of the stress hormone cortisol had been stashed in hair. And, those study participants with the highest cortisol levels in hair strands were more likely to have had a heart attack in the past three months.

Fascinating, huh? The researchers hope their study leads to more hair screening for cardiovascular disease risk

By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine

Did you have a fun weekend? If you're winding down from three days of fun and are staying in tonight, consider making one of my favorite little dinners. It's so easy, healthful, and satisfying.

Here's your easy game plan for dinner tonight:

1. Pick up a bag of pre-made pizza dough at the market (bonus points if it's whole-wheat)--I get mine at Trader Joe's and make my own when I'm feeling very Martha, which is rare.

2. Open the fridge and do a veggie assessment: I love mixing in spinach and tomatoes (sun-dried are awesome), or mushrooms, or just broccoli. Whatever you have will do. Dice it up and set aside. (The calzone in the photo looks like a combo of artichokes, chicken and maybe roasted red peppers--yum!)

3. Roll out the dough, and spread your veggie mixture on one half of the dough. If you want to add chicken (I do this sometimes), sprinkle on some pre-cooked chunked chicken breast on top of the veggies.

4. Top with a sprinkling of mozzarella

By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine

It's a given that teachers and administrators want their students to understand the risk factors for breast cancer and bring awareness to the disease that has touched so many lives. And yet, when one group of students tried to do something about it by wearing breast cancer awareness bracelets, school administrators called them obscene ...

The latest outcry at schools across the country doesn't have to do with cell phones, texting, racy music or clothing--nope, it has to do with what kids are trying to do to bring awareness to breast cancer.

Related: The Supplement That May Drastically Reduce Your Breast Cancer Risk

There's no love for the message on a 1-inch thick rubber bracelet, ABC News reports, with the message "I love boobies." The bracelets are part of a nationwide campaign launched several months ago to help teens become more aware of breast cancer. They were designed by the Keep A Breast foundation, a non-profit based in California

By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine

Do you tend to Google your symptoms before checking with your doc? The shocking majority of people polled in one survey report going to Dr. Google before going to their real doctor. Is this cool? My thoughts, and let's discuss health Googling ...

A British survey reveals that as many as 60 percent of folks head to the Internet to diagnose their aches and pains, rather than consult a real doc. The survey also reports that such self-diagnosing leads to anxiety and medical error.

While most health expert warn against such online diagnoses, and I can see why, I tend to fall somewhere in the middle. Sure, it's not safe to read a few posts on a message board and diagnose yourself with a rare illness, nor is it a good for your anxiety--anyone who has ever spent time Googling their symptoms knows what I mean.

Related: Healthy Eating: What to Eat When You're Feeling ______

But, there's an important point I do want to make: Health care is

By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine

We live in such a plastic world, don't we? If you stop and think about it, the amount of plastic products we encounter in a single day must number into the 100s. Is it making us sick? One woman in Chicago worried about what plastic might be doing to her health--and the environment--and she made a pledge to live a plastic-free life. Could you do something so drastic?

Have you heard about the woman in Chicago named Jeanne Haegele who decided to completely cut out plastic from her life? Citing health and environmental concerns, she's done everything from buying food staples out of bulk bins and rinsing her hair with vinegar instead of conditioner (huh--beauty gals, does this work?), to swearing off takeout and avoiding plastic bags of all kinds. Her blog, Life Less Plastic, chronicles her plastic-free journey.

Pretty impressive, right? But is it necessary? Most mainstream health experts I've talked to about plastics say that risk from everyday contact is