Every time you walk into a grocery store, you face a daunting task: picking the healthiest, most nutrient-packed foods to fuel your active lifestyle from thousands of choices. But colorful packaging, deceptive claims, and hidden ingredients confuse even the savviest shopper. Though they may seem like healthy options, here are 11 items that you should steer your cart away from the next time you go shopping.
Your Food's Nutritional Labels, Decoded!
Presliced packaged fruit Slicing ahead of time exposes more surface area, raising the risk for nutrient loss from oxygen exposure. And the packages are more expensive than whole fruit.
Iceberg lettuce One of the most popular vegetables is also one of the least nutrient-dense. In general, the darker the leafy green, the bigger the nutritional bang.
Bottled smoothies Many are sweetened with sugar or nutritionally poor juices like apple or pear. Plus, they almost always cost much more than making your own.
Try Instead: Healthier DIY Smoothie
11 Health Food Imposters to Avoid
By From the editors of Runner's World | Healthy Living – Tue, Oct 9, 2012 2:08 PM EDT7 Things Your Nails Say About Your Health
By The Editors of Prevention | Healthy Living – Tue, Oct 9, 2012 1:44 PM EDT
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No, your nails aren't just a canvas for pretty polish. Find out what serious problems might be hiding under your mani-pediYour nails may speak volumes about your tidiness, attention to detail, and your fashion sense. But next time you go for a polish change, take a look at your digits; they might be trying to tell you something too. Your body has a knack for letting us know when something has gone awry and your nails are no exception. Their shape, texture, color, and overall condition can clue you in on what's happening with your health over the last six months. Here are seven things--from "Skip the salon this week" to "Go see your doctor, stat!"--that your nails say about your health.
1. Weak, Brittle, or Splitting
The clue: If you can break or bend your nails easily, you can peel them, or they constantly split.
What it means: Brittle nails often related to advancing age. Less seriously, your nails could be overprocessed due to harsh manicures, acrylic nails, or gel wraps. "Take a break! Give your nails time to breathe," suggests Rebecca Baxt, board-certified dermatologist in New York and New Jersey.5 Surprising Tips from Breast Cancer Experts
By The Editors at Sharecare | Healthy Living – Tue, Oct 9, 2012 12:57 PM EDT
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.By Lisa Davis
Is there a woman in America who is not aware of breast cancer? Hard to imagine. So in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, we've brought you five tips from some of the most influential voices on this disease- SharecareNow's Top 10 Online Influencers in Breast Cancer-that might really come as news.
Get advice from Sharecare's top 10 online influencers in breast cancer
1. It's not your job to detect breast cancer
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It's too bad, but according to research, breast self-exams (BSEs) don't find breast cancer early or increase the odds of survival, says medical sociologist Gayle Sulik, PhD. Maybe worst of all, she says, is that "boobie" campaigns that promote BSEs send an unspoken message that women are responsible for finding their own cancers. "For women who don't find their cancer themselves, this is a particularly heavy emotional burden," says Sulik. Bottom line? A self-exam may be a way to get to know your body, Sulik says-but you shouldn't think of5 Health Danger of Sugar Substitutes
By betterhealthblog.com | Healthy Living – Tue, Oct 9, 2012 12:25 PM EDTJust because everyone is so obsessed with weight loss and wants to become ultra slim, artificial sweeteners are replacing natural sugar dramatically. However, like many other food items, we tend to ignore the drawbacks of it and use it just because we believe that it will save us from becoming obese. It is all in a person's head what he/she perceives and chooses to believe. Certain sweeteners are medically tested before use and they qualify over others but even they pose threats over human health in different forms. Here are some of such sweeteners that are considered good but have side effects attached to them as well.
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Read More »from 5 Health Danger of Sugar SubstitutesDo You See People for Who They REALLY Are?
By GALTime.com | Healthy Living – Tue, Oct 9, 2012 10:55 AM EDTBy Stephenie Zamora, GalTime.com
Do you see people for who they really are?"the first time someone shows you who they are, believe them."
― maya angelouThe first week working with a new client, she says some things that really rub you the wrong way or make you feel as if she doesn't respect you and your time… along with emailing you like a bazillion times. You brush it off; surely she can't be that bad.
You're out with your new boyfriend and his co-workers for the first time, it's a big night for your relationship and you're excited… but what does he do? Completely ignore you the entire time. You let it go as an "off" night and try to chipper up.
At work, you have lunch with a nice female co-worker, you're on the hunt for new friends, after all. She immediately starts to dish out all the gossip from around the office. While you're not really comfortable, she seems nice enough so you smile and let it slide.
Related: 6 Simple Ways to Keep Calm at Work
So, when a month (or many) later you find
Read More »from Do You See People for Who They REALLY Are?The New Types of Eating Disorders
By The Editors of WOMEN'S HEALTH | Healthy Living – Tue, Oct 9, 2012 10:39 AM EDT
Read More »from The New Types of Eating Disorders
For decades, the eating disorder lexicon had two main entries: anorexia and bulimia. And indeed, recent weeks have put those particular disorders back in the headlines. (Celebrities who've revealed or discussed their history with disordered eating in the past two weeks include Lady Gaga, Katie Couric, Demi Lovato, and Stacy London.) But modern research reveals that the definitions of anorexia and bulimia fall woefully short of encompassing the many facets of disordered eating. In the early '90s, the American Psychiatric Association introduced a new diagnostic category: eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS). A catch-all label that includes dozens of subdiagnoses, EDNOS applies to patients who don't meet the exact criteria for anorexia or bulimia but still have very troubled relationships with food or distorted body images. (New ways to Boost Your Body Confidence). Today, EDNOS diagnoses significantly outnumber anorexia and bulimia cases. "The atypical has become the 8 Medicinal Precautions for Older Adults
By Mandy Seay, QuickEasyFit | Healthy Living – Tue, Oct 9, 2012 10:29 AM EDT
With the coming of age, the human body is naturally subjected to the ailments that it brings. When you grow old, you tend to become more fragile to lurking infections and viruses. Not to mention the bone or heart health problems that you may already have.
Since the body loses its power to sustain immunity along with aging, the American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health and Aging ardently advises the caution of medication overuse among older adults.
NSAIDs - Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs or NSAIDs are commonly prescribed for people with complaints of pain in their bodies including inflammation. Strong NSAIDs like piroxicam and indomethacin have been known to cause problems associated with blood pressure, ulcers pertaining to the stomach and heart failure in older adults.
NSAIDs needn't be prescribed to older adults in the first place and even if they need to be treated by these drugs, ibuprofen and salsalate are much safer choices.
More - 7 Unnecessary
Read More »from 8 Medicinal Precautions for Older Adults10 Things You Should Not Refrigerate
By Real Simple Magazine | Healthy Living – Mon, Oct 8, 2012 9:02 PM EDTCertain items are at their prime when stored at room temperature.
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Foods You Shouldn't Feed Your Dog
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Read More »from 10 Things You Should Not RefrigerateA Magic Formula for Getting Pregnant?
By Vitamin G, Glamour Magazine | Healthy Living – Mon, Oct 8, 2012 6:02 PM EDTby Lexi Petronis, Glamour
Read More »from A Magic Formula for Getting Pregnant?
So what's the perfect age to get pregnant? Leave it to scientists and economists to figure out. This is what they came up with.
A new study published in the journal PLoS One presents a "computational approach" to getting pregnant, using a woman's age and how long she's been trying to get pregnant.
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Basically, women who are 25 years old and have been trying to get pregnant for three months have an 18 percent chance of conceiving that month. If they've been trying for six months, the chance drops to 15 percent; for nine months, it drops again to 12 percent. Comparatively, a 35-year-old woman who's been trying for three months has a 12 percent chance of getting pregnant that month (and the likelihood kind of takes a dip from there). The Daily Mail actually has a pretty helpful table.
The research has been passed to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which means it may be used to create10 Ways to Blast First-Time Mammogram Stress
By Vitamin G, Glamour Magazine | Healthy Living – Mon, Oct 8, 2012 5:54 PM EDTby Lexi Petronis, Glamour
Read More »from 10 Ways to Blast First-Time Mammogram Stress
The word "mammogram" used to seem like it only belonged to older women--but the fact is, women in their 20s and 30s are at risk for cancer, too. Mammograms are simple, low-dose x-ray procedures that detect breast abnormalities up to two years before you can feel them--and the earlier you find them, the better.
See more: 11 Fall Hair and Makeup Looks You'll Love
But mammograms can be stressful if you've never had one before and you don't know what to expect. That's why the American Society of Radiologic Technologists shared these tips for mammogram first-timers--they're helpful because cover both the practical stuff and the emotional stuff, so you'll be totally prepared:
* Schedule your mammogram just after your period, when your breasts are less tender.
* Wear a two-piece outfit (i.e., not a dress) on the day of your mammogram, so you'll have to remove only your top.
* Don't apply deodorant, talcum powder or lotion under your arms or near your breasts
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