Blog Posts by Vitamin G, Glamour Magazine

by Sarah Jio, Glamour

Do you bite your nails? What you may consider just a bad habit, is soon to be labeled as a full-fledged psychological disorder. OK, nail-biters, let's discuss.

According to new reports, the American Psychiatric Association--which publishes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)--is about to label nail-biting as an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

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But, occasional nail-biters shouldn't worry. The APA seems to be only talking about extreme biters: "As with hair pulling and skin picking, nail biting isn't a disorder unless it is impairing, distressing, and meets a certain clinical level of severity," says Carol Mathews, M.D., a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco. "That is not the vast majority of nail bitters," she says. "It is a very small minority of people. They have bitten so much that they are getting infections. There is physical damage that is impairing

by Sarah Jio, Glamour

Belly fat? Eeks, no thanks, right? Well, you may be making what you feel is a "healthy choice," but according to many experts, it's not and it may be totally backfiring, in the direction of your belly...

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Diet soda? You may love it, but many experts say it could be adding a little extra insulation to your belly. NBC recently took a look at the surprising health problems with diet soda (even just one can a day), including how this fizzy favorite messes with your metabolism.

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"According to a 2008 University of Minnesota study of almost 10,000 adults, even just one diet soda a day is linked to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome, the group of symptoms including belly fat and high cholesterol that puts you at risk for heart disease," reports NBC.

Diet soda lovers: What are your thoughts on this? Do you think about health consequences when you sip your fave can of diet

by Lexi Petronis, Glamour

Trojan (naturally!) just released its annual list of sexually healthy universities--and there's a new winner on top. Um, so to speak.

Last year, it was Columbia University that took first place for its condom availability, HIV testing, lecture/outreach programs and student peer groups, and quality of the sexual health information on the school's website. This year, though, the honors go to... the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Here's who else topped the list:
2. Brown University
3. Columbia University in the City of New York
4. Princeton University
5. University of Wisconsin-Madison
6. Yale University
7. University of Arizona
8. University of Iowa
9. Colorado State University
10. Oregon State University

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And here are the schools who make up the bottom of the list:
132. Seton Hall University
133. Savannah State University
134. Louisiana Tech

by Lexi Petronis, Glamour

There's a new mammogram in town, and experts are saying it's more accurate--so it catches cancerous tumors way earlier.

This new mammogram uses 3D technology to capture images that are two to three times sharper than those of typical CT scanner. And, because they're so high quality, the new imagines could help detect tumors much earlier and more accurately.

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Usually, dual-view digital mammograms are the norm: "While commonly used, the limitation is that it provides only two images of the breast tissue, which can explain why 10 to 20 percent of breast tumors are not detectable on mammograms," says Jianwei (John) Miao, a UCLA professor of physics and astronomy and researcher with the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA.

These new 3D mammograms show even tiny details on breast tumors--which likely means fewer callbacks to women with suspicious-looking tissue--and they use a lower dose of radiation, which

by Lexi Petronis, Glamour

I think I told you that I sent my brand-new iPhone for a swim in the washing machine, five hours after I got it? That was a bad day. But maybe I'll just cite this research and say that I was only trying to get the thing clean. Because ohmygoodness are smartphones germy.

If you think about all the places your phone goes--from the treadmill at the gym, your purse, the restaurant table, even the bathroom, straight to your mouth and next to your nose--it makes sense that there are bacteria aplenty that could make you sick. In fact, that little smear of grease you often see on the touchscreen? Where there's grease, there are germs.

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"People are just as likely to get sick from their phones as from handles of the bathroom," says Dr. Cain of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

And here's why. One study tested eight random smartphones from an office. While the phones showed no signs of E. coli or

by Lexi Petronis, Glamour
This morning came way too early and I so wish I was still in my favorite sleep position: belly-side down, hands under pillow, head to the side. (Though any sleep position seems dreamy right now, honestly.) Could there be a link between how you sleep--and who you are?

Recent articles have cited Robert Phipps, a body language expert who determined certain "sleep-o-scopes" (kind of like horoscopes) to explain how personality and sleep position may be linked. For example, he said that fetal position sleepers are worriers (because they're curled up, they may be looking for unconscious comfort), while people who sleep on their stomachs with their arms out are "free fallers" who feel like their lives may be out of their control.

But here's the thing. Phipps says that he didn't do any serious research to come up with the above links between position and personality; it was more for fun.

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Does that mean there's no

by Sarah Jio, Glamour

What if I told you that a certain habit of yours could be feeding your body's fat cells, leading to weight gain? It might be happening to you if you do this...

You already know that not getting enough sleep can be bad to your health and lead to weight gain, but wait until you hear just how bad it can get. A small study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago determined that college students who slept no more than 4.5 hours a night for four consecutive nights had big problems in the fat cell department.

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Basically, their fat cells got sluggish and were 30 percent less responsive to insulin. What does that mean, exactly? When your cells become insulin-resistant, it signals to your body to release certain hormones that tell your cells to soak up excess sugar in the body and store them in your fat cells. Yeah, not good. So, essentially, sleep deprivation makes your fat cells really hungry.

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by Lexi Petronis, Glamour

I love my workout playlist so much, I occasionally blast it when I'm not working out. The songs are all appropriately upbeat (also sometimes embarrassing!) and they're instant mood-lifters and energy-givers. Plus I usually end up dancing around like a fool. And there's science as to why!

Studies have shown that listening to music while exercising can improve your workouts: songs can motivate you (study subjects who listen to music work out longer and more intensely) and distract you from things like how exhausted you are. Research has even pinpointed a specific tempo that works best for working out: between 120 and 140 beats per minute. There's even a site (runhundred.com) devoted to finding the songs that fits the tempo.

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Bridgit Mendler--whom you know from Good Luck Charlie and Lemonade Mouth--has a new album, Hello, My Name Is... (it just came out on Monday!), and I have officially placed "Hurricane" onto