Blog Posts by Vitamin G, Glamour Magazine

Look in your refrigerator the next chance you get. Is it stocked with moldy cheese, expired salad dressing and deli meat from 1998? It's funny, while your house might be clean and neat, your fridge could be an industrial waste site. So, do this one thing, and I promise, it will help you make better food choices...

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Clean your fridge! Yep, put on the rubber gloves, grab the kitchen cleaner spray, toss all the moldy, icky, fattening food--and the wilted veggies too (because there's nothing like a partially petrified carrot or a slimy head of lettuce to turn you off from veggies). Spend an hour if you need to--make the thing sparkle.

Is a cluttered house bad for your mental health?

Here's why: It's easy to neglect your refrigerator. After all, we grab what we need and slam the door without thinking twice. But, as you know, things in there can go south fast. Just like cleaning your house, decluttering your bedroom, or organizing your office makes you feel better (ahhh),

Is there a certain food that you can't stand? Lima beans, for instance, make my dad queasy. My husband: pickled mangoes (don't ask). So, when I ran across this--kind of hilarious--list of the world's five most disgusting foods, I wondered if you'd have any of your own to add...

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We've talked about dirty foods and weird foods here on Vitamin G, but disgusting foods? That's virgin territory. The bloggers over at the Diet Blog recently compiled a list of doozies (bonus points for any readers who have actually tried these foods!). Here are their top five:

1. Scorpian Kebabs: "Somewhere lurking in a Beijing night market is the scorpion kebab," they write. "This treacherous snack is crisp on the outside and smooth in the middle and as this street vendor says, 'Healthy, delicious!'"

2. Durian Fruit: Let's be blunt: It's native to Southeast Asia and apparently smells like a rotting corpse.

Winter Wonders: 7 Fruits to Eat This Season!

3. Casu Marzu Cheese: "Maggots

It seems like everyone's talking (TV commercials, my friends, etc.) about a newish over-the-counter supplement that is reportedly as effective as fighting depression as prescription antidepressants. But, is it safe? Is it really effective? And should you take it? Read on for expert advice...

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Have you heard of SAM-e? I know, Sam who? It's the latest mood-boosting supplement on the shelf at your local drug store. I asked Neal Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, to flesh out the details for us:

"SAM-e (S-adenosyl-L-methionine) is a nutritional supplement commonly used for depression," he explains. "In clinical tests, its effectiveness is similar to that of prescription antidepressants. It also seems to reduce the pain of osteoarthritis."

Don't wash your pills down with this!

OK, all good, but any risks? "People using SAM-e should be under a doctor's care," he says. "It is not that SAM-e is dangerous--so far, evidence of

We've heard time and time again that people should be active almost daily to stave off weight gain and disease. But busy people want to know: What's the least amount of exercise I can get away with and still stay healthy? The answer will shock you...

What number did you guess? An hour a week? A half hour? Try seven minutes.

Check out these exercise trends for 2009!

According to British researchers, just seven minutes of exercise weekly may prevent diabetes by controlling your blood sugar. Type 2 diabetes affects an estimated 246 million adults worldwide and accounts for 6 percent of all global deaths. People with this condition gradually lose the ability to use insulin to convert food to energy.

Here's the catch: The exercise has to be vigorous. (We're talking on the level of an all-out sprint.) But at seven minutes a pop, I can deal with that! And you don't even have to do those seven minutes all at once, either. In the study, volunteers rode exercise bikes four times a

0128molly-sims-and-morgan-pressel-and-me_vg.jpgHello, lovely ladies of Vitamin G! I just wanted to pop over from Slaves to Fashion for a quick visit after a very cool encounter with the undeniably hot Molly Sims at an event the other day...she shared some of her fitness secrets with me (and hello, she's a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model!) so I just had to pass them on to you...

The team over at Callaway Golf invited me to a ladies-only afternoon of yummy nibbles, schmoozing with Molly and LPGA star Morgan Pressel, and practicing my swing. I thought I really sucked at golf, until Morgan gave me a few pointers, and suddenly I was like Tiger Woods with two X chromosomes. Morgan guessed I was in pretty good shape, because I had a strong sense of my body and how it related to the club and a good control of my core muscles, and she asked what I did for exercise. We all started sharing our tips and then Molly (whose brother is a professional golfer!) started talking about her own fitness regime. And you better believe I was

You've heard of skinny jeans for motivation, but what about skinny bracelets? The Wrist-A-Track claims to put healthy eating in your own hands, er, wrists...

Here's how it works: Each set of 30 bracelets cost $20 and comes with a 23-page booklet. The bracelets are color coded, and the idea is to wear the multicolored bracelets on one hand, eat a certain food group and move that bracelet to the other wrist.

A magic, eat-whatever-you-want diet pill is on the horizon--would you take it?

I stumbled upon these bracelets while perusing Diet Blog and my first thought was, Really? Is it that hard to keep count of how many veggies you eat?

Would you buy these bracelets to lose weight? How do you keep track of how many fruits and veggies you eat per day?

Don't forget! Sign up for Glamour's free (and easy!) Exactly What to Eat to Lose Weight plan. You'll get 30 days of healthy breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks, so there's no guesswork. Plus, you'll automatically be entered

Work out, get a raise? That's what some researchers in England are suggesting. Scientists at the University of Bristol found that people who exercised either before heading to the office (or on their lunch break) performed better under job stress. Read on for more reasons to hit the gym...

Researchers followed 200 office workers and found that any form of exercise during the day significantly improved productivity, time management and problem-solving skills. Employees also reported better moods on days they were active. "It's generally well-known now that there are many physical and mental health benefits that can be gained from regular exercise," study author Jo Coulson told The Daily Mail. "If people try to fit an active break into their working day, they might also experience the added bonus of their whole day feeling much more productive. And that always feels good."

Five ways to get your mind off food at the office.

This is the first study that shows that exercise

Want to stave off dementia and Alzheimer's disease when you get older? Researchers have a surprising suggestion for you: Go to a party.

Researchers gave 506 volunteers questionnaires about their personality and lifestyle and tracked them over the course of six years. Socially active people who don't get stressed easily had a 50 percent lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who have less social contact and have a tendency to fret, according to a study published in Neurology. One in seven Americans aged 71 and older have memory loss, problems with orientation and other symptoms that signal Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

These two personality traits may lead to a longer and happier life.

"Our findings suggest that having a calm and outgoing personality in combination with a socially active lifestyle may decrease the risk of developing dementia," said lead study author Hui-Xin Wang.

How sociable are you? Would you consider yourself laid-back?