Categories
Favorite Finds Motherhood

Gift Ideas For 8- to 10-Year-Olds

Disclaimer: Just so you know, if you order an item through one of our posts, we may get a small share of the sale.

These toys don’t just entertain, they encourage children to build relationships and learn together. See if there’s something on the list that might appeal to your favorite little person.

1. You can’t go wrong with a STEM toy that’s as educational as it is fun.

Snap Circuits teach the basics of electricity in a safe and easy way. The set requires no tools and has instructions for over 100 unique projects.

Amateur or professional electricians can use the set to teach the next generation. Those who don’t know the first thing about electricity can learn together with the recipient of this fun gift. Find out why Snap Circuits have won a laundry list of awards and accolades.

2. You don’t have to understand a craze to know that it’ll be a big hit.

This Shopkins Super Mall will provide endless hours of playtime for your favorite Shopkins superfan. The mall comes with four exclusive Shopkins and a wide variety of accessories.

Throw in an additional dozen Shopkins to make the mall really bustle. This affordable pack will keep kids entertained with creative scenarios and fun roleplaying.

3. It’s never too early to have a taste of the good life.

A spa playset will provide a realistic spa experience at a much more reasonable price than the real thing. Users can soak their feet in the cool, cascading waterfall as LED lights create a soothing show.

After a proper soak with the included bath salts, kids can use real nail polish or stickers to decorate their toes. The foot massager requires three C batteries, which are not included.

4. Inspire a sense of adventure with this one-of-a-kind gadget.

Drones are a great way to learn about aviation, and this unique glove-controlled model makes the process easy. Kids will feel like superheroes as they control a drone’s flight with simple movements of their hands.

This sophisticated drone has auto takeoff, auto landing, and auto hover features, making it great for beginners. Use it right out of the box—the safety frame protects the flying device from inadvertent collisions or falls. The drone can be used indoors or out by its operator—no flight experience necessary.

5. One of the best party toys of all time has gotten even better.

The Bop It! is a universally loved and irresistible group game. The newest incarnation of the Bop It! has even more fun moves to keep you on your toes.

“Cradle it,” “Whip it,” and “Sing it” are just a smattering of the new moves that Bop It! demands. Of course, “Selfie it” is another. Kids can play solo or in a group. This toy gets your blood moving and your brain working overtime.

6. Start grooming the next generation of stars for The Voice.

Forget about renting—now you can buy a karaoke machine for a reasonable price. This stylish toy comes with a microphone, an 8GB Singing Machine flash drive, and a code for 10 downloadable HD karaoke videos.

Use Bluetooth or the USB port to download your favorite songs and videos. Record performances and have unforgettable parties with this crowd-pleasing and easy-to-operate gift.

7. Sometimes the simpler the game, the more fun it is to play.

HedBanz is a guessing game with some silly accessories. Contestants put a card on their forehead with a headband so only their competitors can see it.

Next, everyone takes turns asking yes or no questions until they figure out what image is on their card. The set comes with 74 cards, 24 chips, six headbands, and a sand-clock timer. Kids learn the power of asking the right questions and employing deduction in an entertaining way.

8. You can’t go wrong with a beautiful classic.

This art kit from Art 101 has everything future illustrators need to create their own masterpieces. With 142 pieces, these supplies will last as young artists hone their skills and gain confidence.

The gorgeous wood case protects the pencils, crayons, pastels, and watercolors that will provide hours of creative fun. There’s never been so much potential packed into one case.

9. Get the only ship that made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs.

The Millennium Falcon is one of the most iconic vehicles in cinematic history. Now, you can let the young Star Wars fan in your life build it out of Legos.

The beloved ship comes with six Lego characters: Han Solo, Chewbacca, Rey, Finn, Tasu Leech, and a Kanjiklub gang member. The interior of the ship has a hyperdrive, a holochess board, a secret compartment, and extra boxes and cables.

10. Give a set that can be constructed into infinite shapes and designs.

Aquabeads Beginners Studio comes with 840 jewel and solid beads in 16 colors. Kids can create animals, flowers, or anything else they can imagine and design.

Designs can be sprayed with water, causing bonds to form and adhering the beads in place. This allows young designers to keep their masterpieces and share them with friends and family.

11. Bridge the generation gap with a timeless tile game.

Rummikub is one of the most popular games in the world. Its simplicity and engaging gameplay has kept it relevant for decades.

Players try to group tiles according to the simple rules, and joker tiles keep things interesting and allow for a little creativity and problem solving. This simple game reinforces STEM skills and keeps players of all ages entertained.

12. As gadgets get more and more sophisticated, it can be hard to keep up with what kids want.

A Dash robot is perfect for kids 6 and up who have access to a smartphone. Just download the Wonder or Blockly app and tutorials will guide children on how to program this lovable robot.

This awesome product from Wonder Workshop comes fully assembled, so recipients can get started on the fun right away. Make the robot dance, light up, make sounds, avoid obstacles, and respond to voices while learning important skills about coding.

Categories
Health x Body Wellbeing

Need A Boost To Be Your Best Self? Here’s How To Increase Your Metabolism

You step on the scale only to see that it hasn’t moved at all. Or you get into the afternoon and just can’t stop yawning. What is causing your system to slow down? In the process of searching for answers, you’ll likely comes across experts and celebrities blaming weight stagnation (aka weight gain) and low energy on slow metabolism.
But what exactly is metabolism? If yours is slow, is there anything that can be done to speed it back up? And is faster always better?
Chances are you’ve asked yourself these questions in your quest to move toward better health, especially as you age. Unfortunately, it can be hard to get straight answers about metabolism, in part because it’s a very complicated bodily process that affects so much more than just our weight and energy levels. In fact, our metabolism affects every single process in our bodies.
You may see celebrities and health experts proclaiming that they’ve found the newest and best way to boost metabolism, but the truth is that keeping your metabolism running at a healthy level requires a holistic approach rather than a quick fix.
HealthyWay talked to experts about the misunderstandings around metabolism and how to naturally give your metabolism a boost.  Here’s what they had to say.

What is metabolism, anyway?

Simply put, metabolism is the process by which your body converts food into energy.
“Metabolism is the process by which your body processes, converts, and utilizes the food you consume,” says Raj Gupta, doctor of chiropractic and founder of Soul Focus Wellness Center.
That sounds fairly simple, right? It is, until you realize that every single system in your body relies on metabolism to keep functioning. When you eat, your body breaks down the calories in your food to fuel your bodily processes. This energy isn’t just directed at keeping you going through a long work day—in fact, most of it is expended on critical bodily functions like breathing, restoring cells, and regulating your hormones.
The amount of energy that your body needs to maintain all these functions is called your basal metabolic rate or BMR. Put a bit differently, your basal metabolic rate tells you how many calories you would need to survive if you were at rest (think, laying in bed) for 24 hours. BMR is what most people are talking about when they refer to metabolism.
Another term frequently used in discussing metabolism is resting metabolic rate or RMR, which is similar to BMR, but is less restrictive when it comes to how it’s measured. According to the American Council on Exercise, a formal measure of a person’s RMR does not require that they sleep overnight at a testing facility, for example.
And while you might think that you use the most energy when you’re moving around and exercising, the truth is that your basal metabolic rate—the energy needed just for critical functions—accounts for about 70 percent of your energy usage each day. That’s important to know since it’s relatively easy to go to the gym and burn a few hundred more calories, but tougher to increase the amount of energy required to keep your body functioning, which is what it takes to boost your BMR.
The food that your body metabolizes quickly is used to fuel your body functions. Food that is not metabolized before you eat again is more likely to be stored as fat, Gupta says.
“The quicker your metabolism, the quicker you are able to make fuel of the nutrients you ingest and the less likely it is to become fat,” he explains. “If you don’t metabolize the food you have eaten from your last meal before eating another, you will have too many calories and much of what you eat will be stored for future energy.”
So, if your body takes longer to convert food into fuel (that is, if you have a slower metabolism), you are more likely to be consuming excess food that will wind up being stored as fat rather than being burned off in the course of daily activity.

What affects your metabolic rate?

We often hear talk about fast or slow metabolisms, but the truth is that there is no ideal metabolism. One study published in the journal Medicine and Science of Sports and Exercise concluded, “No single value for [resting metabolic rate] is appropriate for all adults.” Rather, metabolic rate is determined by various genetic and lifestyle factors.
There are many different (and complicated!) equations for calculating basal metabolic rate. Although they boast varying degrees of accuracy, a study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that a few specific factors that have the biggest effect on basal metabolic rate.
According to the study, body composition has the largest impact on a person’s BMR. People with more fat-free mass (that is, those who have more muscle) are more likely to have a higher metabolic rate. Since men have more muscle than women in general, they typically have a higher metabolic rate. (If you’ve ever noticed that your husband or brother can eat tons of food and never change shape, science says you’re onto something.) As people age, their metabolism tends to slow down, more quickly in men than women, the study found.
Again, this has to do with muscle mass and the fact that muscle generally decreases with age.

Does a higher metabolism help you lose weight?

In popular culture, we talk about weight and metabolism as if the two go hand in hand, but that understanding isn’t entirely accurate. There is a connection between metabolism and weight, but it’s a pretty complicated one, experts say.
Remember how Gupta explained that food that is metabolized quickly is burned as fuel, whereas excess food (calories that are not burned before we eat again) is stored as fat? In this way, yes, having a slower metabolism can lead to having more body fat.
However, weight gain (or the inability to lose weight) is affected more by what we eat, how much we eat, and how much exercise we get than by our basal metabolic rate, experts say.
“Contrary to common belief, a slow metabolism is rarely the cause of excess weight gain,” experts at the Mayo Clinic write in an article on the relationship between metabolism and weight loss. “Although your metabolism influences your body’s basic energy needs, how much you eat and drink along with how much physical activity you get are the things that ultimately determine your weight.”
Basically, we need to eat in line with our unique metabolisms. Since men generally have a higher metabolisms, their daily recommended caloric intake is higher. If a woman (who will generally have a lower metabolism) ate the same amount of calories recommended for a man, she might gain weight, but the reason for her weight gain would be overeating based on her needs, rather than a deficiency when it comes to her metabolism.
That shift in thinking is subtle but important for people who are trying to lose weight. A slower metabolism doesn’t prevent you from losing weight, it just means you need to eat fewer calories.
“While it is true that some people seem to be able to lose weight more quickly and more easily than others, everyone loses weight when they burn up more calories than they eat,” the Mayo Clinic experts write. “To lose weight, you need to create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories or increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity or both.”
At the same time, if your metabolism is higher, your body may need more calories each day, and therefore you can expect to consume more food without gaining weight because the calories you consume and burn will not be stored as fat.

Does metabolism slow down with age?

Many people are concerned that they will gain weight because their metabolism will slow down as they get older. Women, in particular, may worry that when they reach their forties they will suddenly have slower metabolisms that will thwart their health and fitness goals.
And yes, it’s true that metabolism decreases with age. This slowing of BMR is caused by a combination of lifestyle and physiological effects.
“As we age, we have a tendency to be less active and we also have less muscle mass,” Gupta explains. “As a result, our metabolism does slow down. In order to counteract this, we need to maintain our muscle mass through exercise, which becomes a greater struggle as we age because muscles no longer respond as quickly as they did when we were younger.”

This is the biggest key to boosting your metabolism.

If you’re looking for a single thing you can do to boost your metabolism, this is it: Develop more lean muscle, particularly through weightlifting exercise.
“The more muscle mass a person has, the quicker their metabolism,” Gupta says. That’s because lean muscle requires more energy than fat does. If you add lean muscle to your body, your basal metabolic rate increases and your body burns more calories in order to sustain that muscle, which accounts for the assertion (in the International Journal of Obesity study, cited above) that people with more lean muscle have higher metabolic rates.
Robert S. Herbst, a personal trainer and former Olympic official, explains further.
“Having more muscle means having a higher metabolism because muscle is metabolically active,” he says. “It burns energy and gives us body heat. Having more muscle means burning more calories even when you are at rest, just like a six cylinder car burns more gas than a four cylinder one when stopped at a red light.”
In addition to helping you develop more lean muscle, doing weightlifting exercises further boosts your metabolism even when you’re in post-workout recovery mode.
“Weight lifting increases your metabolism because it causes your body to spend energy to recover from the workout,” Herbst explains. “During weight training, the muscle fibers incur microtears. To recover, the body repairs these tears, sending protein to the muscle and removing waste products. All this takes energy.”
In fact, your metabolic rate is raised for up to 72 hours after a weightlifting session while your body expends extra energy to repair the muscle fibers that were damaged during the process, rebuilding them stronger.
To get this benefit, Herbst recommends doing exercises that engage major muscle groups, like squats, lunges, deadlifts, and bench presses. For women, these same exercises are especially beneficial because they also strengthen bones, helping to prevent osteoporosis as well.

The Power of a Good Night’s Sleep

Hitting the gym can be daunting, but it’s an important way to stay healthy and increase your metabolism. This next suggestion is a bit more tame, but still important: Get more sleep.
One study found that sleep disruptions—like shift work, not getting enough sleep, or having sleep apnea—can significantly disrupt metabolism. More studies need to be conducted in order for scientists to pinpoint exactly why this is, but suffice it to say that getting a solid eight hours of sleep is important to keeping your body functioning at its best.

Eat this every day.

Another natural way to boost your metabolism is to make sure you’re getting enough protein, says Anna Morrison, a family nurse practitioner and co-founder of the No BS Supplements Company.
“Protein is the foundation of creating muscle,” she says. We’ve already established that having more muscle is essential for boosting metabolism, and eating protein (especially after a workout) can help you build that muscle.
Morrison points out that it’s important to change protein sources regularly to keep your digestive system healthy and ensure that the protein you’re eating is being metabolized effectively.
“Changing up your protein sources is one of the best ways to increase your metabolism, especially if you’re over 40,” she says. Spend a few days a week getting your protein from beans, lentils, and other plant sources. Then switch to animal proteins like meat and eggs. Morrison points out that this variety is great for overall health.
“Varying your protein source is also a great way to get a well-rounded diet,” she says.

Definitely don’t do this.

If you’re looking to boost your metabolism, it’s important to eat regularly.
While skipping a meal might seem like a good way to lose weight, it’s actually detrimental to your metabolism,” says Richard Aponte, former personal trainer and head of product development at Myokem Supplements. “Your body will actually assume that you are starving and conserve energy by slowing down your metabolism.”
The most common meal that people skip is breakfast. Mornings can be hectic, but take time to grab a breakfast that is full of lean protein, healthy fat, and complex carbohydrates, Aponte says.
Speaking of healthy fats, Aponte points out that eating plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids is another way to boost your metabolism. These fats, found in seafoods and plant-based sources like flax, can help send signals to your brain that you have eaten enough, keeping you from ingesting so much food that your metabolism can’t keep up.
In many ways, your metabolic rate is determined by things like your genetics, sex, and size. However, taking reasonable steps like incorporating weight training, making time for sleep, and eating intentionally can boost your metabolism and help you look and feel your best.
[related article_ids=1614,1539]

Categories
Life x Culture Lifestyle

Netflix And Chill Is So Over: Try These Stay-At-Home Date Ideas Instead

During the warm summer months, my husband and I enjoy an at-home date once a week. After our child goes to bed, we sit outside, watching the stars, chit-chatting, and having a few drinks. We never actually plan it out, but the ritual has become an important part of how we stay connected amid busy jobs and parenthood.
However, once the cold moves in, things get a bit trickier. We can’t just head outside with a bottle of wine, so at-home dates require a bit more planning. Recently, I purchased a couple board games, envisioning at-home date nights, but when I brought them home my husband laughed.
Despite his reluctance (or anyone else’s), at-home date nights are a great option, especially this time of year. These dates save you the hassle of going out in the cold and cut the cost of dinner, a movie, and a sitter if you have kids.
Of course, suggesting an at-home date night to your significant other might seem silly or cheesy. However, if you’re willing to go out on a limb, chances are you will have a lot of fun. So turn off the TV, put down your devices, and prepare for a date to remember, all without leaving the house.
Believe me, I know because my husband ended up enjoying our game night even more than I did.
Here are five at-home date ideas to get you started.

Indulge in a little fantasy.

Not that kind! This fantasy exercise is much more PG!
Where would you go if you could travel anywhere? What does your dream house look like? Spend an evening planning a luxurious vacation that you can work toward or shopping some nearby neighborhoods (or a destination halfway around the globe) for the house of your dreams. If you’re feeling especially creative, you could even grab a stack of old magazines and create a collage of fantasy destinations, dwelling places, and activities for two.
Along the way you’ll talk about your hopes, desires, and wishes, opening you both up for some very intimate and meaningful conversation.

Cook a meal together.

There’s something about being in the kitchen with quiet music on in the background that just gives way to intimacy and good conversation. If your partner hates to cook, don’t write this date idea off just yet. Put them in charge of setting the table, lighting candles, or deciding on the music. Just spending time together working toward a goal—a romantic dinner for two—will remind you of why you fell in love.

Take a trip down memory lane.

Get out the old photo albums (or the computer if you must) and look at pictures from earlier in your relationship. Ask each other about favorite memories, or what your initial perceptions of each other were. What was he really thinking on the morning of your wedding? Looking at old photos will undoubtedly give way to sharing stories that will bring you even closer together.

Get physical.

Why save massages for special occasions or vacation? Transform a room in your home into a spa by turning the heat up and lighting some candles. Then, give each other massages. You’ll build a physical connection without having to commit to anything more, especially if you start with clothed massages like shoulder or foot rubs.

Do some Q&A.

The New York Times article “The 36 Questions That Lead to Love” has caused a stir for all the right reasons. Let the questionnaire spark conversation in your home. The questions range from silly—“When was the last time you sang to yourself?”—to deep—“For what in your life do you feel most grateful?”
This winter, don’t let your relationship fall into a rut. Keep the love alive with these at-home date night ideas and the occasional game night as well!

Categories
Nutrition x Advice

This Is How Much Food You Would Need To Consume To Replace Those Supplements

Americans aren’t showing any signs of slowing down when it comes to buying supplements. In fact, sales projections from 2017 show that we’ll have spent $36.1 billion on multivitamins this year alone. At the same time, we’re also becoming more aware of the nutrients in the foods we eat.
With this information in mind, what do we need to be eating and how much is needed to replace the supplements we buy most often?
Read on to discover more about supplements, your diet, and what you really need to be eating on a regular basis.

Which kind of supplements are Americans buying most?

Multivitamins, followed by vitamins D and C, calcium, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids are Americans’ favorites, but most vitamins being purchased are synthetic, which means they can have damaging effects to your health, as they are known to contain fillers and even trace amounts of heavy metals. Fortunately, organic supplements and vitamins are an option that’s both safe and—now more than ever before—readily available.

The Benefits of Taking Organic Vitamins

Organic vitamins are derived from natural food sources and made under strict conditions free of pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides. But organic vitamins aren’t a substitute for food, and it’s still recommended that you try to get the majority of your nutrients from an original food source.
So why supplement at all? Well, despite our best efforts to eat a healthy diet (which is challenging enough all by itself) there are factors such as soil depletion that can have a negative effect on fruits, vegetables, grains, and pulses—warranting the incorporation of organic supplements and vitamins into even the most health-conscious diets.

A Note on Soil Depletion

A recent article published in Scientific American makes note of the fact that soil depletion in the United States has had a negative effect on the nutritional content of produce. It is hypothesized that this phenomenon is due largely to the fact that crops are now being grown for their superficial traits such as appearance instead of their nutritional qualities.
While opting for locally grown organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible is encouraged—and any kind of produce is still the best source for many nutrients and phytochemicals—the following vitamins and supplements may well deserve a place in your ongoing nutrition plan.

Vitamin D

On average, women require at least 600 IU of vitamin D on a daily basis. While it’s virtually impossible to meet this goal solely through food intake, spending up to 20 minutes in direct sunlight without sunscreen (the darker your skin the more exposure is needed—the lighter, the less) may help you meet your daily vitamin D requirements. However, people living in northern climates with little sunlight during the winter months—and those with certain other medical conditions—should definitely consider taking vitamin D supplements.
Recommended: NatureWise Vitamin D3 IU

Vitamin C

Although this nutrient hasn’t been proven to cure the common cold, vitamin C has far-reaching health benefits, which include protection against heart disease, eye disease, and even prenatal health issues.
It’s relatively easy to meet the 75 mg recommended daily intake for vitamin C with healthy produce choices. One large yellow bell pepper contains 569 percent of your recommended daily intake, one cup of guava contains 628 percent, and just one kiwi fruit contains 107 percent of the vitamin C you need.
Recommended: Pure Synergy Radiance C 100%

Vitamin B12

If your diet is plant based, there’s a good chance you might need to take a vitamin B12 supplement to meet the recommended daily intake of 2.4 micrograms.
This nutrient is mainly found in animal products such as beef liver, fish, and eggs, and you’d need to eat at least 2.5 ounces of ground beef, 2 cups of skim milk, or a small portion of organ meat every day to ingest the B12 you need. Considering that B12 plays an important role in protecting your heart, building strong bones, and improving mood and memory, supplementation might be right for you.
Recommended: Garden of Life B12

Calcium

Calcium is especially important for women, as it can help to prevent osteoporosis. Doctors recommend aiming for 1,000 mg of calcium each day. Calcium is most commonly associated with dairy products, with 8 ounce servings of milk and yogurt providing around a third of your daily needs.
There are still many non-dairy foods that are rich in calcium as well, including salmon, kale, and oranges, although these sources need to be consumed regularly (and often) if they’re going to be your primary calcium sources.
Recommended: Garden of Life myKind Organic Plant Calcium

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3s have been shown to have numerous health benefits, from lowering triglyceride (aka blood fat) levels to potentially helping manage the symptoms of depression. Omega-3s are commonly associated with oily fish, but they’re also found in walnuts, flaxseed oil, and leafy vegetables.
Aim to consume 500 mg of omega-3s per day; 3.5 ounces of salmon or seven walnuts will provide more than five times your recommended daily value. Omega-3s can also be taken in supplement form or as liquid fish oil and are generally sourced from flaxseed and oily fish such as sardines and anchovies.
Recommended: Viva Naturals Omega-3 Fish Oil Supplement

Categories
Wellbeing

Diabetes Warning Signs That Most Women Ignore

Hold on to your pancreas: Did you know that if you live in the United States, you have close to a 1 in 10 chance of developing diabetes? If you are one of the many who will find themselves diagnosed with this complicated condition, you’ll join about 30.3 million people in the country who already have it.
The bad news is that managing diabetes can be challenging, and women seem to have an even tougher time getting things under control than men do. Fortunately, women with diabetes can lead very healthy, fulfilling lives, says Kate McKernan, program coordinator for UPMC Susquehanna Diabetes and Nutrition Care Center in Pennsylvania.
[pullquote align=”center”]“As women, we tend to focus on caring for others and not ourselves.”
—Kate McKernan[/pullquote]
“As women, we tend to focus on caring for others and not ourselves. If you are a woman diagnosed with diabetes, it is most important to make an appointment for yourself to learn as much as you can about how to best manage your diabetes.”
Let’s take a look at how diabetes affects women and what you can do if you find yourself diagnosed.

Signs of Diabetes in Women

Although you’ll need to check with your doctor to find out for sure what they mean, your body will often give you warning signs that things aren’t working how they should. Along with common signs of diabetes like hunger, fatigue, and increased thirst and urination, some symptoms are specific to women.

  • Recurrent Yeast Infections

    High levels of glucose in the blood can cause fungus to grow. The result? Recurrent yeast infections. An overgrowth of yeast can appear as thrush in various parts of the body. But don’t wait if you think you have this type of infection, cautions nutrition consultant Sandra Arévalo, spokesperson for the American Association of Diabetes Educators and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
    HealthyWay
    “Women may feel ashamed of [a yeast infection] caused by diabetes and leave it untreated until it’s severe,” she says. If you find yourself with feminine itching, “it’s mostly likely due to a yeast infection that is easy to treat. Do not wait, and contact your health care provider to seek early treatment and get relief of the symptoms.”

  • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

    Another sign of diabetes that is specific to women is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The often painful condition occurs when a woman’s hormones are unbalanced.
    HealthyWay
    The result is usually cysts on a woman’s ovaries, changes in her appearance, and if left untreated, the development of diabetes.

  • Urinary Tract Infections

    Diabetes often causes poor circulation in the body and can stop white blood cells from traveling through the bloodstream to eliminate infections. Because of this, women with diabetes often experience frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs).
    Seeking a doctor’s care as soon as you detect a possible infection can help you find out if you have diabetes and can prevent a more serious kidney infection.
    [related article_ids=1002508]

Risk Factors of Diabetes

Unfortunately, certain risk factors put some women at risk for developing diabetes, and in some cases there’s not much they can do about it.

  • Gestational Diabetes

    There are a number of potential complications that pregnancy presents, and developing gestational diabetes is prominent on the list. For more on what gestational diabetes can mean during pregnancy and beyond, watch the video below.

  • Obesity

    Carrying excess weight can cause your body to develop type 2 diabetes. Unlike type 1 diabetes, which occurs when the body’s immune system destroys the cells that make insulin, type 2 often develops when the body makes insulin but isn’t able to use it effectively. Obesity can exacerbate this issue.
    HealthyWay
    “Diabetes happens when your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin and the glucose can’t enter the cells to become energy,” says Arévalo.
    “Insulin resistance happens when there is enough insulin but it isn’t working properly, leading to diabetes. When you are obese your body needs larger amounts of insulin and its deficit can lead to higher sugar levels, and if left untreated, to diabetes. Basically, the larger your body the more insulin you need.”

  • Heredity and Health

    Unfortunately, you can’t change what genes are passed on to you. A family history of diabetes means you may have the problem in the future. The current condition of your health can also put you at risk, says McKernan.
    HealthyWay
    “Other risk factors for men and women include being overweight or obese, age, [having an] immediate family member with diabetes, high blood pressure, and low activity levels or an inactive lifestyle,” she says.

Preventing Diabetes

Something else you can blame on your parents: your chances of getting diabetes. If either have diabetes, you have an elevated risk. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot you can do about that, but you can decrease the chances by taking care of yourself and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
HealthyWay
“One tip is to make healthy food choices for meals and snacks,” suggests McKernan. “Consider filling half of your plate with a variety of non-starchy vegetables and fresh fruit at both lunch and dinner. Also include items higher in fiber and whole grains, and keep total fat grams low.”
She also recommends incorporating physical activity into your daily routine.
“This can be as simple as going for a walk or can be more intense such as aerobic activity, bicycling, and swimming. Vigorous cleaning and yardwork count, too.”
HealthyWay
Drinking at least eight cups of water per day, exercising for 30 minutes at least five days a week, reducing the amount of processed foods you consume, and eating vegetables with each meal can reduce your risk for diabetes, says Arévalo. As can dropping a few pounds.
https://twitter.com/Jori_Rae/status/992240380153344001
“If [you’re] overweight, it’s time to change your eating habits and lose weight,” Arévalo says. “Research indicates that losing eight to 10 percent of your weight can help reduce your blood sugars and improve your health.”

Management Options for Diabetes

Typically, diabetes is initially treated with diet and lifestyle changes. If that doesn’t work, doctors may need to move on to a more aggressive approach.
[pullquote align=”center”]“Insulin is one of the most natural medications used in diabetes management, and the insulin prescribed today is a much better match to what our bodies make naturally.”
—Kate McKernan[/pullquote]

“Nowadays, there are many different medications, and you can start on one and little by little, depending on the severity of the diabetes, you can add or change meds as needed,” says Arévalo.
And if you need insulin, don’t fret, she says. “Insulin is the right treatment when your body doesn’t make enough or [any] insulin, and it will help you survive and live a much longer life.”
And although using insulin can be a frustrating process of trial and error, it can play a crucial role in keeping you healthy.
 

HealthyWay
iStock.com/LisLud

 
“Many people believe that taking insulin is bad for you,” says McKernan. “Insulin is one of the most natural medications used in diabetes management, and the insulin prescribed today is a much better match to what our bodies make naturally.”

What Your Doctor Wants You to Know About Diabetes

Receiving a diagnosis of diabetes doesn’t have to be cause for despair. In fact, many misconceptions surround the disease.

  • It’s probably not as bad as you think.

    Are you destined to a lifetime of bland food? Will you have to cut out your favorite snacks and stay away from sweets forever? Probably not, says McKernan.
    [pullquote align=”center”]“Most people with diabetes can enjoy a wide variety of foods … the key is moderation.”
    —Kate McKernan[/pullquote]
    “The biggest misconception about diabetes many people have is that you cannot eat certain foods,” she says. “In fact, most people with diabetes can enjoy a wide variety of foods, including sweets, and the key is moderation.”

  • There’s no such thing as having diabetes a little.

    You may have heard of people having “a touch of high sugar” or “borderline diabetes.” And although it’s good that they are aware their sugar is elevated, they may not take it is as seriously as they should.
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BaVBLOODyQy/?hl=en&taken-by=amdiabetesassn
    “These common phrases are often misleading as they may mean that the person has prediabetes, a serious health condition that increases their risk for heart disease and stroke,” says Allweiss.

  • Don’t assume your symptoms are normal.

    Common symptoms of diabetes are often overlooked by women. But by not seeing a doctor and determining the root of your problems, you may make your condition even worse.
    “When diabetes is left untreated it can have serious consequences,” says Arévalo.

    HealthyWay
    iStock.com/tronand

    “Often times, as women, we need to go to work, come home, take care of the family, care for extended family and even friends, and we have little time to ourselves. We start to feel tired, thirsty, can’t sleep well, get frequent headaches, and rashes, and we blame it on being stressed, busy, and overworked.
    [pullquote align=”center”]“Prevention is better than cure.”
    —Sandra Arévalo[/pullquote]
    “The reality is that it is always good to check with a doctor if there is an underlying condition we might be having that needs more attention. Prevention is better than cure.”
  • You’re at risk for other problems.

    Women with diabetes not only have high blood sugar but can end up dealing with other issues as well.
    HealthyWay
    Many girls and women with diabetes engage in disordered eating, which can mean restricting certain food groups, abnormal eating habits, or binge eating, says McKernan.
    Women with diabetes also commonly suffer from stress and anxiety because of their condition.
    “Diabetes distress is also a common issue that presents itself in people with diabetes,” McKernan says.

[pullquote align=”center”]“Managing diabetes is a lot of work: 24 hours a day, 365 days each year, and no vacation.”
—Kate McKernan[/pullquote]
“Imagine having to check your blood sugar one to six or more times a day, count your carbohydrates, take your medication one or four more times each day, and add in exercise in addition to all your regular responsibilities. Managing diabetes is a lot of work: 24 hours a day, 365 days each year, and no vacation.”
Joining a diabetes support group, hiring a dietitian, finding a great doctor, and asking for help when you need it can make living with diabetes that much easier. With the right help and outlook, you can still be yourself and do what makes you you.

Categories
Nosh

How To Host A Perfect Paleo Thanksgiving

Celebrating the holidays this year by enjoying a healthy spread? We commend you for sticking to your goals as the season of comfort food arrives.
For paleo eaters, finding grain-free twists on traditional foods can feel like a huge task. Sure, you’ve got the turkey. But beyond that staple, so many Thanksgiving dishes start with bread (hello, stuffing!) or potatoes (hello, mashed potatoes!) or flour and sugar (hello, pumpkin pie!), that it’s easy to wonder what’s left to eat when you’re eating like a caveman.
Well, we have great news! Creative cooks around the world have already faced this same predicament and filled the web with tried-and-true recipes that taste as good as the original versions. And in some cases, we think they taste even better!

The secret to cooking Thanksgiving the paleo way is is to fill your pantry with some grain-free staples. Chances are you’ve already got a good handle on some of the best paleo swaps, but filling the cupboard with grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, corn-free, and legume-free options will make it easy to prep a tasty paleo holiday.
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Paleo Pantry Swaps

  • Instead of BREADCRUMBS, try: ALMOND FLOUR
  • Instead of FLOUR, try: a GRAIN-FREE PANCAKE MIX
  • Instead of CORNSTARCH, try: ARROWROOT
  • Instead of POTATOES, try: SWEET POTATOES
  • Instead of SUGAR, try: RAW HONEY
  • Instead of MILK, try: COCONUT or ALMOND MILK
  • Instead of VEGETABLE OIL, try: COCONUT OIL
  • Instead of BUTTER, try: GHEE

With these basics—plus some great recipes in hand—you’ll be making a Turkey Day menu that’s so good, even traditional eaters will be delighted to dive in.

Grain-Free Thanksgiving Favorites

While there are thousands of paleo recipes, not all are created equal. If you’re trying something for the first time, select recipes from proven sites (or at least websites that offer a rating and review system). That way, you’ll have a heads up on whether the recipe is worth adding to your menu.
If hunting through pages of search engines in search of the perfect paleo recipes sounds like more than you’re down for, we’ve selected some of our favorite versions. Scroll below and give any one of these a try. They’re some of the best we’ve tasted!
But first, one of our own…

The Rolls

If ever there is a meal in which to indulge, it would be Thanksgiving. But this year, you can have your dinner rolls and stick to your eating plan, too. Paleo popovers, then, are the secret.

HealthyWay
Brooke Lark

These popovers are egg-based dinner rolls made in a muffin tin and baked until golden and fluffy. So fluffy, in fact, that they rise right over the top of the muffin tin, so make sure you set your oven rack to the center or lower slot. That way, you won’t have to worry about your popovers hitting the top of the oven.
This version is made with fresh thyme and cracked pepper, which pair nicely with turkey. But feel free to omit them if they aren’t your favorite flavor.
HealthyWay
Brooke Lark

You’ll need a 6-cup muffin tin for this recipe, but if time is running out, feel free to cook the recipe in a standard muffin tin. It will need to bake for less time (about 15 minutes), though, and makes 12 (instead of the 6 giant rolls you see in the photo above).
If you’ve never made popovers, the secret to getting a high rise is the combination of room-temperature egg whites and a very hot pan. So remember to pull the eggs out of the fridge several hours before baking.
HealthyWay
iStock

This recipe is best when piping hot, so plan on prepping the batter just as the turkey comes out of the oven. Thankfully, it’s incredibly easy to make, so you need just a minute or two of whisking, and then these tasty popovers bake while everyone starts to take their seats. Pull them out of the oven 15-20 minutes later, and it’s perfect timing! Dinner…and paleo dinner rolls…are served!
Paleo Thanksgiving Popovers
Amount served: 6 popovers
Ingredients:

  • Nonstick coconut oil spray
  • 5 Tbsp. ghee
  • 6 eggs, room temperature
  • 3 Tbsp. coconut flour
  • ¼ cup arrowroot flour
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅔ cup full-fat coconut milk
  • 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tsp. fresh-ground pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. raw honey

Special Equipment: 6-Cup Texas muffin tin
Instructions:
Heat oven to 425° F.
Spray a 6-cup Texas muffin tin with nonstick spray. Spoon ½ Tbsp. of ghee into each cup, then place tin oven to melt ghee.
Crack eggs into a large bowl. Whisk well to break eggs up. Add coconut flour, arrowroot, sea salt, coconut milk, thyme and pepper. Whisk just until smooth.
Working quickly, open oven and slide muffin tin out of rack—if at all possible, do not remove tin from the edge of the oven. Spoon egg mixture into each muffin cup. Quickly return to oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. of ghee and honey together.
Remove rolls from oven and immediately drizzle with ghee-honey mixture. Enjoy while very warm.

Now, for the rest of your feast…

The Bird

When prepared with salt, broth and herbs, turkey is already paleo. So you’re good to go on that one. Cook and enjoy!
If you’re cooking for a smaller crowd this year, we found you another good option.

HealthyWay
Brooke Lark

Swap turkey for chicken and give this
HealthyWay
Wholesome Yum

Bite-sized pieces of cauliflower are roasted with all the stuffing classics: celery, onions, garlic, thyme, sage, and pecans. Time in the oven mellows the flavor of the cauliflower and gives it a nice crisp coating, just like that stove-top stuffing your grandma always made. Except this one cut the carbs in half, or more.
Plus, the crunch of pecans with all those oven roasted veggies? It’s stuffing perfection. We bet you’ll hardly miss the bread.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Classic sweet potato casserole is typically made with sugar and marshmallows. Both ingredients, unfortunately, are off the list when eating paleo.

HealthyWay
Lauren Lester

But fear not! With this incredible
HealthyWay
FoodFaithFitness.com

Healthy Vegan Green Bean Casserole is dairy and gluten-free, but is still has that creamy-meets-crunchy texture, just like the original. Better yet, it’s made with real green beans, so is absolutely beautiful. Vibrant, flavorful and even better than the classic, it’s a must try.

Happy, Healthy Thanksgiving

With so many delicious paleo-friendly dishes for this years menu, we might need to extend Thanksgiving to a 2-day holiday! One day for eating, and the second day for celebrating. With these eats on the menu, we’ll be digging in guilt-free, but flavor-full, nonetheless.

Categories
Wellbeing

#HusbandNotDad: What Experts Say About Relationships With Large Age Gaps

Courtney and Vann Thornton started out as friends.
“We wrote music. More importantly, we connected over music,” Courtney wrote about their early days. Gradually, though, the two became more than just friends making music.
[pullquote align=”center”]There was something a little unusual about Courtney and Vann’s friendship-turned-relationship-turned-marriage[/pullquote]
“He is very handsome and I became increasingly aware of that as we bonded and laughed,” Courtney wrote. “I enjoyed his company and found myself happier than I had been in a long time.”
After several months, as the pair’s friendship blossomed, and they began dating. Pretty soon, they decided to tie the knot.
While that all may sound pretty normal (if not idyllic), there was something a little unusual about Courtney and Vann’s friendship-turned-relationship-turned-marriage: Courtney was 25. Vann was 50.

HealthyWay
The Thorntons on their wedding day

In typical millennial style, Courtney shared tons selfies of herself with her beau on social media. After their marriage, the two even began adding the winking hashtag #HusbandNotDad, referencing the relational confusion caused by the pair’s age gap, to the captions of their photos together.
As you’d probably expect, Twitter had opinions—lots of them.
[pullquote align=”center”]“You can’t help who you fall for; you love who you love.”
—Courtney Thornton[/pullquote]
The responses to the hashtag and the posts it accompanied ranged from supportive to skeptical, disparaging, mocking, and even occasionally threatening and abusive. Courtney’s managing to brush it off, and she’s encouraging everyone to do the same.
“Don’t be swayed by the opinions of others and don’t be discouraged by their disapproval,” she wrote.
HealthyWay
Courtney and Vann Thornton

Still, the response to the Thorntons’ social media presence—not to mention the controversy surrounding 39-year-old French President Emmanuel Macron’s marriage to his 64-year-old wife, Brigitte—make clear that romantic relationships with a large age gap are a charged issue for many. At the very least, they’re treated as something of an oddity.

Which brings us to the question—how common are age gap relationships?

Turns out, they’re more common than you might think, and they become even more common when you’re looking at those who have married more than once.
The majority of heterosexual Americans (about 80 percent) opt for a partner within five years of their own age when they first marry, according to the Pew Research Center. That number, however, drops to 57 percent for the men surveyed and 62 percent for the women in subsequent marriages.

HealthyWay
Sam Taylor-Johnson is 10 years older than husband Aaron (Lexi Jones/WENN)

Unfortunately, because the analysis used data collected in the 2013 American Community Survey and same-sex marriage didn’t become legal in the U.S. until 2015, we don’t yet know what these numbers look like for homosexual couples.
Additionally, in keeping with the stereotype of the older man remarrying a younger woman, approximately 20 percent of remarried men chose a spouse who was more than 10 years their junior, with another 18 percent men surveyed marrying someone six to nine years younger.
In contrast, only 5 percent of women remarried someone 10 or more years younger, while 6 percent chose a subsequent partner six to nine years younger.
HealthyWay
Cheryl (Tweedy/Cole) and Liam Payne met when Payne was just 14. She is 10 years his senior (Getty)

Put more simply, about one in five married Americans surveyed had a spouse more than five years older or younger than themselves.

While those numbers may seem to lend credence to the old cliche that “age is just a number,” other research suggests it’s not quite that simple.

Research out of the University of Colorado at Boulder found that both men and women reported greater relationship satisfaction with younger spouses, specifically in the early years of the marriage.

HealthyWay
Holland Taylor is 32 years older than partner Sarah Paulson (WENN)

The study, published in August 2017 in the Journal of Population Economics, looked at data collected from thousands of Australian households by the Household, Income, and Labor Dynamics in Australia Survey between 2001 and 2014.
And while, at a glance, this may seem like an argument in favor of marriages with large age gaps, it’s important to consider that this higher level of satisfaction only benefits one of the parties in the relationship.
Men who marry younger wives tend to show more satisfaction in their marriages, the research found. Meanwhile, the men who marry women who are older than they are show less satisfaction.
Considering how many marriages there are between younger women and older men, that’s not especially surprising. What might come as a surprise to some, though, was that women also seemed to prefer younger spouses. As the authors of the study noted, women also report more satisfaction with younger husbands compared to older ones.
HealthyWay
Jay-Z is 10 years older than wife Beyonce (Getty)

The research also told a different story as time passed. Despite the higher level of satisfaction reported by those with a younger spouse early-on in the relationship, the study found that the initial boost wears off quickly—generally within the first six to 10 years of a relationship.

A study by researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, published in 2014, suggests another important implication of the previous work in the field.

The study, which recorded and analyzed a variety of data from 3,000 individuals who had been married at least once in their lives, centered on the relationship between the amount of money spent on a marriage and that longevity of the marriage. Throughout the course of the study, though, another interesting trend emerged: a correlation between age differences and marriages ending in divorce.

HealthyWay
Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy have 17 years between them (James Devaney/Getty)

According to the data published in the study, couples with ages within one year of each other had only a 3 percent chance of splitting up. Those with a five-year difference in ages were 18 percent more likely to to split up. As the gap widened, the likelihood of a split continued to increase. Couples with a 10-year gap had a 39 percent chance of splitting up, and the chance of splitting for couples with a 20-year gap was a whopping 95 percent.
While the connection is by no means definitive, it seems possible that the rapid decline in marital satisfaction relative to similarly aged couples observed in the University of Colorado study may lead to an increased likelihood that marriages with large age differences will end in divorce.

Neither study, however, was able to ascertain the reasons why large age gap relationships correlated to initially high but rapidly declining satisfaction and eventual divorce.

Jonathan Bennett, however, has a few ideas why. Bennett is a certified counselor and a relationship coach; he also runs The Popular Man, a website he says is “dedicated to helping men make friends, find love, succeed at work, and live a happy, free, and fulfilling life.”

Bennett believes that the initial high levels of satisfaction among those with younger partners may owe, at least in part, to an “us against the world” sort of mentality caused by social disapproval. According to Bennett, “Forbidden or frowned upon relationships provide a greater meaning and purpose to love. The relationship becomes about standing up to others, even entire institutions and systems.”
As time passes, though, that disapproval may grow wearisome.
“The negative social pressure from age-gap marriages can take its toll,” he tells HealthyWay, a sentiment supported by a 2006 study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. “Over time, that judgment can get tiresome and cause one or both partners to want to end the relationship.”
Bennett also tells us that, “age gaps don’t always age well.” Large age differences can also mean that a couple find themselves in significantly disparate stages of life.

HealthyWay
Hugh Jackman is 12 years younger than wife Deborra-Lee Furness (Getty)

“A woman might like a guy who is much older and it is fun and exciting when he’s in his forties. However, when he’s reached his seventies and is less mobile and energetic, the difference in age becomes much more apparent,” he says. “She might be healthy and active and feel weighed down by his health issues.

Ultimately, though, while age may be an important consideration when entering a relationship, it’s far from the only factor.

For anyone considering initiating a relationship with someone of a significantly different age, it’s important to ask yourself a few questions.
HealthyWay
First, how much do you actually have in common? The saying goes that “opposites attract,” but a 2005 study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships suggests that perceived similarity is highly indicative of a highly committed, long-term relationship’s longevity.
Next, are your social circles supportive? As both Bennet and the 2006 study referenced above mention, general and ongoing disapproval of a relationship can lead to fatigue and a reduced commitment to resolving tensions that arise between yourself and your spouse.

Excited for a life with you. Photo by: @themilla

A post shared by Courtlyb Photography (@courtlyb) on

Finally, are you financially prepared to deal with a long-term relationship with someone much older or younger? According to McKennish, couples with a large age gap “tend to have a much larger decline in marital satisfaction when faced with an economic shock than couples that have a very small age difference.” Additionally, age-gap relationships can present difficulties in retirement planning.

Courtney Thornton, however, has a more romantic take on the matter.

“Love is a rare thing and it is worth fighting for,” she says. “Because at the end of the day, you can’t help who you fall for; you love who you love.”

Categories
In Season Lifestyle

Food, Friends, And Fun: How To Throw The Best Friendsgiving Feast Ever

Heard of Friendsgiving? Ask around and you may find yourself hearing story after story painting it as the hero of the holidays.
When I moved across the country for the next leg of my journey, I initially assumed that recreating the epic Friends scene with a group of galpals would merely solve the dilemma of living a few thousand miles away from family. As it turned out, it offered so much more than a measly, make-do gathering.
Skipping the expensive holiday travel also meant saying goodbye to high-stress dinner conversations. You know, the ones spent fielding Aunt Margie’s questions on when I’ll find myself a decent man, what I think of the latest political scandal, and how I believe we can realize world peace. Instead, my ladies and I sat around a small, worn table with a hodgepodge of dishes and a wealth of red wine. There was love, laughter, and a beautiful understanding that we could show up exactly as we were.
Whether you’re planning a Friendsgiving on Thanksgiving Day or will observe it in addition to family festivities, here are some practical tips for hosting the perfect feast for friends.

Who does what?

The perks of Friendsgiving are plentiful, but careful planning among the hostess and attendees is crucial. Home in on each other’s strengths and assign each person a duty. Whether it’s grocery shopping, cooking, table setting, cleaning, or simply picking the right Spotify playlist—a smooth evening will require working together as a team.
For the recipe connoisseurs in the group, delegate one or two delicious dishes to each person or couple. For those who struggle in the kitchen, grabbing a fresh berry pie from the local bakery might be the task at hand. Talk it through and plan out the details, creating an email chain or Google Calendar or Facebook event as you see fit. Whatever it takes, make sure there’s enough food to go around and any restrictions are accounted for!
Need gluten-free stuffing for your friend with celiac disease? We believe in you. Making it a potluck will help everyone ditch the stress, and after all, isn’t that the point here?

Let the feast begin.

When the day comes, it’s best to have appetizers ready to munch on during the prep and final cooking push. Here are a few of our healthy-ish favorites to place throughout the kitchen and lounging spaces:
Sweet Potato Quinoa Fritters
Rosemary-Infused Wild Rice Stuffed Mushrooms
Smoky Chipotle Pumpkin Hummus
Quick and delicious, if you strategize your apps right, there will be something for everyone, and we all know the importance of that since staving off raging hanger can help maintain upbeat spirits and holiday fun.
When the dishes are finally ready to serve to the motley crew, use your hostess influence to elect for eating family style. Finding room for each of the items on your table ensures that nobody has to get up and leave mid-conversation. Friends can dish up their plates as they please without awkwardly excusing themselves to run for an extra spoonful of cranberry relish.
Pass the plates and bottles of wine around the table, creating space to simply be present with your dearest friends.

The Sweetest Side of Friendsgiving

With a few apps and the main course taken care of, the next logical step is following up with a tantalizing dessert. Grab that warm berry pie and a carton of vanilla ice cream for a treat that always seems to hit the spot.
Or, if you’d rather swap pie à la mode out for healthy, homemade sweets, try one (or both!) of these:
Sweet Potato Casserole With Crunchy Pecan Oat Topping
Best-Ever Healthy Apple Crisp
See, even if you don’t want to break your 2017 wellness goals with just over a month to go, we’ve got your cravings covered!

Set the tone with holiday cheer.

While food may be the most important feature of Friendsgiving, we can’t neglect the joys of seasonal décor. For any holiday party, try to keep a few things in mind: Dressing up the space with festive allure can create a memorable ambience for your guests, but make sure it remains both warm and inviting. Light a few non-scented candles throughout your home, grace the countertop and dining table with picturesque DIY pumpkin centerpieces, and set place cards for everyone on the invite list.
This one small act can greatly influence how welcome your guests feel. Seeing their name waiting for them on the table shows them that they were thought of, which can afford every group member (even the +1 you haven’t met before) a sense of belonging.
To support the festive cheer, print this special Thanksgiving download to attach to the napkins and dinnerware. Customize each place card with your guests’ names, attach the kraft cardstock to your table settings, and ensure your friends will be surprised with notes showing personalized appreciation for their presence. If you have extra time, tucking rosemary behind the card can add a nice pop of color!

Tips for a Night to Remember

With the food and decorations accounted for, all that’s left for you to do is enjoy the time with your friends. Whether Friendsgiving is a one-time shindig or annual gathering, we want this holiday to be special for all of you. Games and traditions can help you achieve the holiday vibe everyone is seeking. During your feast, get in the mood by taking some time to give thanks. One perfect way to do this is by sharing each other’s gratitude bucket lists. Instead of listing off things you want to do before kicking the proverbial bucket, share the “things” and experiences that you are grateful for having already accomplished and enjoyed in life. This requires a shift in thinking to a mindset of openness, reflection, and gratitude.
The truth is, our lives are already so beautiful, even without the bells and whistles of extravagant planning. Sharing such an intimate practice with each other will undoubtedly create a moment to remember. A second tradition can be as simple as having each guest paint a faux mini pumpkin. Whether your best gal chooses gold and sparkles or your fella goes with a deep charcoal, the bunch of unique pumpkins can be reused as décor in the years to come—traveling from house to house to keep the memory alive.
Finally, there’s no better way to round out the evening than with some after-dinner drinks and games. Why not get a few more laughs in before everyone heads out to snooze off the turkey? If you’d rather skip the game of touch football, opt for a few intense rounds of Pictionary. This childhood favorite is guaranteed to get everyone involved (and squealing)! If you’d like to circle back to the theme of giving thanks, you can make one of the rounds centered on gratitude. Have each friend draw something they’re grateful for, while the rest of the circle has to shout out their best guesses. If you’re still keen on the idea of getting those bodies moving (but without the rough and tumble), square off a section of your yard for a game of bocce ball. Wine and outdoor bowling? Yes, please!
No matter what traditions you and your friends decide to start, this Friendsgiving will be one that you can look back on for decades. Remember that this special day is truly as simple as spending time with your loved ones. Gather your nearest and dearest, ground down in thanks, and revel in the fact that no one will be hounding you with awkward questions and interrogations (or so we hope).
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Categories
Health x Body Wellbeing

Does Oil Pulling Actually Work? What To Consider Before You Start Swishing

From a young age, we’re taught about the importance of dental health. You probably brush your teeth every day, at least twice a day, floss regularly, and avoid eating sugary foods. After all, cavities and dental procedures are no fun, so avoiding them can provide plenty of inspiration for maintaining good dental hygiene. Plus, we now know that dental health is an important part of overall health, so keeping a good oral hygiene routine is about much more than just maintaining those pearly whites.
No matter how healthy you are, though, you might not have heard of oil pulling. However, the practice could be your new go-to for improving your dental and overall health. Sure, the name sounds a little unappealing, and once you realize that oil pulling involves swirling oil around your mouth for 20 minutes at a time, you might not be so keen on giving the practice a try. If you can get over that hesitation, though, you can reap the benefits, which are said to range from whiter teeth to fewer toxins in your body.
Want to know if oil pulling is right for you? Here’s everything you need to know about the ancient practice before incorporating it into your wellness plan.

What is oil pulling?

Before we get too far, let’s take an look at what oil pulling actually is. After all, the term and the practice are unfamiliar to many Americans.
Oil pulling is the practice of using oil to clean the mouth. While the process is fairly involved, the big takeaway is that you put about a tablespoon of oil in your mouth and swish it around, pulling it between your teeth for about 20 minutes before spitting it out. Proponents of oil pulling say the process draws toxins out of the system, cleansing not just the mouth but the entire body. Some say that because of the purification oil pulling causes, it can be used to treat a range of illnesses and diseases.
Oil pulling is often said to be an ancient Ayurvedic practice, stemming from the traditional medicine of India. However, that might be a bit of a misrepresentation.
Ancient Ayurvedic medicine did promote gargling with oil. According to Claudia Welch, doctor of Oriental medicine, one oft-quoted Ayurvedic text reads, “Keeping of oil gargle provides strength in jaws and voice, development of face, maximum taste and relish in food. The person practicing this does not suffer from dryness of throat, there is no fear of lip-cracking, teeth are not affected with caries, rather they become firm-rooted. They (teeth) are not painful, nor are they oversensitive on sour-taking, they become able to chew even the hardest food items.”
However, most experts say that this is fairly different from the oil pulling that people practice today, which has much more modern roots. Bruce Fife, certified nutritionist, naturopathic physician, and expert on oil pulling, writes in an article for the Coconut Research Center that the practice as we know it today was first promoted in 1992.
Whether oil pulling has been practiced for thousands of years or only a few decades, scientific and anecdotal evidence both show that it can be highly effective.

How does oil pulling work?

How can swirling oil around your mouth improve the condition of your teeth and detoxify your body? The process seems a little hard to believe, but a growing cohort of experts insist that it works.
“Oil pulling is a detoxification of your mouth,” says Rebecca Lee, a registered nurse from New York City and the founder of Remedies For Me, a website that promotes natural remedies for various ailments. “This process sucks out toxins that are built up in the mouth and creates a cleaner environment by killing lingering harmful microbes.”
Fife says that the process isn’t too different to what happens in your car’s engine.
“The oil acts like a cleanser,” he writes in the same Coconut Research Center piece. “When you put it in your mouth and work it around your teeth and gums it ‘pulls’ out bacteria and other debris. It acts much like the oil you put in your car engine. The oil picks up dirt and grime. When you drain the oil, it pulls out the dirt and grime with it, leaving the engine relatively clean. Consequently, the engine runs smoother and lasts longer. Likewise, when we expel harmful substances from our bodies our health is improved and we run smoother and last longer.”
Lee says that oils containing fatty acids, like coconut oil, attract inflammation-causing microbes. These are drawn out from the gums and between the teeth and eventually leave the body when you spit out the oil, she says. Because of this, oil pulling can improve a variety of health conditions throughout your whole body.
“Oil pulling flushes out potentially harmful microbes that can cause bad breath and other oral health disorders,” she says.

What does the science say?

Scientific studies strongly support the benefits of oil pulling. One study published in The Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine found that increasing awareness of oil pulling and other Ayurvedic practices could help prevent tooth loss and decay in certain populations. The study notes that Ayurvedic practitioners believe the tongue is connected to organ systems throughout the body, and therefore that detoxifying the mouth can benefit the entire physical body. The authors also note that oil pulling and other complementary and alternative means of oral health care can prevent and cure certain illnesses.  
“The oil therapy is preventative as well as curative. The exciting aspect of this healing method is its simplicity,” they write.
A study published in the Indian Journal of Dental Research concluded, “The myth that the effect of oil-pulling therapy on oral health was just a placebo effect has been broken.” Another study concluded, “Oil pulling can be used as an effective preventive adjunct in maintaining and improving oral health.” Oil pulling with coconut oil has also been shown to reduce plaque formation and gingivitis.
A 2016 study published in the Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice surprised even the researchers. The authors were comparing oil pulling with coconut oil to the use of an antimicrobial mouthwash. They hypothesized that the coconut oil would not reduce the bacteria count in participants’ saliva. However, they found that the coconut oil pulling did reduce the bacteria in participants’ saliva and can be considered “a safe and effective alternative” to chemical mouthwashes.
The study’s authors state that their findings’ have legitimate clinical significance. “Edible oil-pulling therapy is natural, safe, and has no side effects. Hence, it can be considered as a preventive therapy at home to maintain oral hygiene.”

Can your dental health actually have an impact on your whole body?

The idea that your dental health has an impact on all areas of your body might seem extreme, but research supports its validity. Your mouth is full of bacteria (most of which are good or harmless). If those bacteria get out of control, however, they can wreak havoc on your whole body. This happens when you have dental conditions like gingivitis (gum inflammation) or periodontitis, a serious gum disease.
Some research suggests that there is a noteworthy relationship between oral health and cardiovascular disease. The science is not yet definitive, but the American Heart Association (AHA) says that oral health can be a good indicator of overall health.
“The mouth can be a good warning signpost,” Ann Bolger, MD, William Watt Kerr Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told the AHA. “People with periodontitis often have risk factors that not only put their mouth at risk, but their heart and blood vessels, too. But whether one causes the other has not actually been shown.”
There are additional ways that the health of your mouth affects your overall health, too. One of the main functions of saliva is to sweep bacteria away from our teeth. However, the fluid is also critical for promoting healthy digestion. Lee says that increasing saliva through oil pulling can help us digest food more efficiently.
“Oil pulling increases the production of saliva, which increases the speed of digestion,” she says.

Giving Oil Pulling a Try (And Why You’ll Need a Trash Can Nearby)

If you’re ready to give oil pulling a try, the first step is to make sure that you have the right kind of oil on hand. Coconut oil is the most commonly used. In addition to being a popular oil in Ayurvedic tradition, coconut oil has strong antimicrobial properties that make it especially effective at removing toxins during oil pulling. Additionally, most coconut oils contain vitamin E, which has been known to help repair tissue and fight inflammation. Sesame oil is another common choice that has similar benefits, and really any vegetable-based oil can be used.
“Coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower seed oil, and sesame oil have strong antimicrobial and antifungal properties that can keep your teeth strong and healthy,” says Lee. “Coconut oil contains lauric acid and produces monolaurin after digestion. Both lauric acid and monolaurin are powerful agents against harmful bacteria, viruses, and fungi.”
You’ll also want to make sure that you have a trash can with a plastic or removable liner nearby. That’s because when you’re finished oil pulling you can’t simply spit the oil into the sink or even the toilet.
“The used oil can cause a clogged drain,” Lee explains.

What does the process of oil pulling entail?

Now that you’ve stocked up on your oil of choice, it’s time to actually give oil pulling a try. The best time to oil pull is in the morning on an empty stomach as soon as you wake up.
“Make sure to oil pull before you eat, drink, or brush your teeth,” Lee says.
Begin by putting one to two tablespoons of oil in your mouth (you’ll want your mouth about half full). If you’re using coconut oil, make sure it is in its liquid form, not hardened because of exposure to cold. Once the oil is in your mouth, simply swish it around for 15 to 20 minutes, making sure to pass it over your gums and pull it through your teeth, Lee says.
During that time, be careful not to swallow any of the oil. After all, you’re using it to collect all the bacteria and toxins that you don’t want in your mouth, and you certainly don’t want to ingest them any further into your system.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, spit a little bit of the oil out (into the trash, not the sink!). As time passes, you’ll notice the texture of the oil changing as it picks up substances from your gums and teeth. When you spit it out, it will likely be whitish and lumpy.
When you’re done, rinse your mouth with warm water, or Lee recommends a sea salt or pink Himalayan salt solution for added cleansing. After that, you can brush your teeth and carry on with your day.

Tips and tricks to make oil pulling easier.

Lee says that oil pulling is safe for nearly anyone—including pregnant and nursing women. Even people with dentures can benefit from the removal of toxins via oil pulling, although dentures should be removed during the process, she says.
She shares that kids ages 5 and older can try it as well, but should use less oil and aim to pull it through their teeth for a shorter amount of time. It’s important that a child knows not to swallow the oil and has demonstrated that they don’t swallow toothpaste, gum, or mouthwash before being allowed to participate in oil pulling like Mom or Dad.
Many people balk at the idea of spending 20 minutes swishing oil. If that’s a concern, try oil pulling while you are in the shower, or use it as a way to work a little more relaxation time into your morning.
“Just put the oil in your mouth, get back into bed with your phone to keep you company, and it’ll be over before you know it,” Lee says.

It’s important to recognize that oil pulling—which can be done multiple times a day or just a few days a week—is a supplement to your current dental routine, not a substitute.
“Oil pulling should not replace the physical brushing of your teeth, flossing, or the visitation of your dentist every six months,” Lee says. “It is rather an effective addition to your already established oral routine.”
The process may take some time to get used to, but if you can incorporate oil pulling into your life, the results will be worth it.
Lee’s best advice? “Don’t discredit oil pulling until you’ve actually tried it for at least a week.”

Categories
Sweat

Workout Machines That Can Hurt Your Progress (And What To Do Instead)

Sometimes, simply getting yourself to the gym feels like a serious accomplishment. The bad news is that it’s probably not the accomplishment you might think. While getting some kind of exercise is better than sitting on the couch for the umpteenth night in a row, achieving fitness results is not as simple as just showing up.
So what do you do when it’s workout-o’clock? There are a lot of options at a typical commercial gym. You’ve got your cardio machines, your assisted weight machines, and even that intimidating free-weight area. But not all of these devices give you equal return on your hard-won sweat deposit.
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You see, the terrible truth is that it’s not enough to work out. You have to work out the right way. Add to that the fact that toning the body can be counterintuitive. (For instance, you’ll never get that coveted six-pack with nothing but an ab machine, even if you put in hours every day.) Too many people give up their fitness goals in despair, when the real problem isn’t that they aren’t working hard—it’s that they’re not working smart.
While changing your body can feel difficult, even impossible, don’t sweat it (er—poor choice of words). We’re here to shed some light on what the workouts that actually help you transform your body—and the workout machines that won’t. (Plus, we’ll even throw in a few helpful tips to get you on the path to being fit and healthy. You’re welcome.)

1. “Assisted” anything won’t really help.

For a breakdown on fitness goals and which machines will (or won’t) help you achieve them, we spoke with James Harris, a physical therapist and the owner of Brentwood Barbell, a strength gym in St. Louis, Missouri. Harris has worked with athletes and clients of all abilities for more than a decade in the fields of physical therapy and fitness and now focuses on getting clients stronger with basic barbell strength training.
Perhaps the biggest factor in gaining strength, building muscle, and losing fat, Harris proposes, is your own personal effort. Since assisted weight machines often take less exertion than free weights, the amount of personal effort necessary decreases.
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“If you spend your time sitting on a machine, pushing on a lever, and adjusting a pin, you’re putting in the minimum amount of effort,” Harris tells us. “If you want more from your program, you have to put more into it.”
Assisted weight machines can give people a false sense of accomplishment, Harris explains, and that’s the last thing you want.
It’s also important to treat fitness as learning process—and for that, you need a gym that offers support, not a machine without instructions. Harris emphasizes the importance of finding “a gym or coach that teaches the skill of lifting barbells.” Do this, he says, and “you will find your program much more enjoyable.”
The key, Harris says, is to “focus on the process of learning a skill that results in better health rather than focusing on trying to improve your health in the absence of learning.”
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If you surround yourself with a positive, informative, and helpful support system, you’ll be more likely to succeed. All the time and effort you put into building a solid, positive foundation will pay off later.
What we’re really saying here is that the most effective fitness facilitator at the gym may be the community of people who work out alongside you.

2. Walking in place will keep you there.

In addition to creating a support system, you have to learn how to manage your time at the gym. When many people begin their fitness journey, they fall into an easy routine, using machines that they are familiar with. That usually means spending hours at a time on the treadmill or elliptic. Those are bound to be beneficial, right?
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Well, not in terms of really sculpting your physique, no.
If you want to see changes, your body needs to be challenged, and while a nice long stroll on the treadmill may help improve your health, it won’t get you the abs you want, for instance.
For serious sculpting results, you’ll need to start weight training, keep a strict eye on your diet, and use a serious, detailed plan. Harris explains the basic outline of a successful workout regimen:
“Assuming an hour to train each day, a better use of time [than machines] would be to strength-train three times per week, focusing on large compound movements like squats, presses, chin ups, and deadlifts done for two to three sets each,” he says.
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“After eight to weeks the trainee could then begin making dietary changes that support their goals,” he continues. “Finally, after resistance training and nutrition are reasonably dialed in, the trainee would then add moderate intensity interval training once per week. This schedule is very effective, time efficient, and sustainable.”
Reaching your goals is completely doable—if you put the work into building a smart plan and have the discipline to stick with it. You can’t get everything done just by walking in place.

3. Deduct abduction and adduction.

If you’re serious about getting in shape, it’s time to skip hip abduction/adduction machines.
“If you can read a magazine while ‘exercising,’ I propose that you’re not really making any lasting measurable change,” says Harris.
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Sitting on your butt while doing focused movements actually shuts down large muscle groups in your body. If you want to get stronger, start thinking bigger.
These hip abduction and adduction machines are popular because they supposedly workout your inner and outer thigh—spots lots of people wish were more toned. Harris isn’t a fan of this machine, though, because they “utilize a poor range of motion,” he tells us. “They are simply unnecessary. A trainee can work the entire hip/leg musculature with short list of deadlifts, squats, lunges, and step ups.”
Motions and workouts that use the whole body will get better results faster than using machines that focus on micro-movements.

4. Forget the abdominal obsession.

Another gym standard many people flock to with the hopes and dreams of gaining an iron stomach is the abdominal machine. Many exhaust themselves doing rep after rep and then walk away from their workout sore, feeling that they’ve done something beneficial. But “being sore does not equate to progress,” Harris cautions.
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“Unfortunately, you can’t take fat off a muscle by working that muscle locally,” he says. “Rather, fat is lost over time through consistent training and a caloric deficit.”
Harris suggests that, instead of using an ab machine, “a better alternative would be a strength program that consists of compound movements such as deadlifts, chin ups, and presses along with a structured nutrition plan, and possibly some interval training.”

5. Don’t keep up with the Joneses by going after the Smiths.

The Smith machine, which locks a barbell into a strict range of vertical motion, is another piece of equipment that looks tempting but it isn’t the best to base your workouts around, Harris tells us.
“The only real use for items like the Smith machine is to overwork an already exhausted area of the body,” he says.
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So if you’re lifting heavy and have already completed a full workout of squats and lunges, the Smith Machine is fine to use to finish off the workout.
It’s not, however, a great machine to use for the entire time you’re at the gym.

6. You’re cycling to nowhere.

You are probably wondering about how cardio fits in with all of this, too. Stationary bikes take up a lot of space in many commercial gyms, and they are very tempting to use. But unless you’re specifically working on endurance training, you should limit the amount of time you spend pedaling in place.
At Harris’ gym, they “use cardiovascular exercise as an adjunct,” he says. “It’s part of the plan, just not the centerpiece. We find that a barbell-based strength program with some accessory cardio is what works best for most people.”
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And if you really want to work the cardio angle, there’s a better way to do it than mindlessly pumping away at the stationary bicycle.
“If I had to do cardio work in a commercial gym I would use a treadmill and perform walking intervals,” Harris says.
“I would walk at a moderate pace and incline (say 3 mph at 5 percent) for three minutes and then increase the incline to an uncomfortable level (say 15 percent) for two minutes. I would repeat this simple five-minute cycle, working up to 30 minutes two times per week.”

But wait… There’s a twist.

Creating a solid workout plan, setting goals for yourself, and using your gym time efficiently are all major factors in setting yourself up for fitness success. But even the most well-managed workout routine will only take you so far. If you’re serious about reaching your fitness destination, you’ve got to prepare your mind.
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Nick Woolery is a personal trainer also based in St. Louis. Woolery works with athletes, diabetics, weight-loss clients, and those with chronic pain and injuries to dramatically improve quality of life by focusing on quality movement, strength, and a holistic approach to nutrition and preventative healthcare—and he wants you to get your brain in the game.
“Here’s a little secret: whether you use the Smith machine or not, or an ab machine or not, has almost nothing to do with whether you will reach your goals or not!” Woolery tells HealthyWay. “What’s going to dictate your success in the gym is your consistency with regards to attendance, your compliance to a nutrition plan, and your intensity while you are using your favorite machines or dumbbells.”
If you aren’t ready to focus and challenge yourself, it will be easy to abandon any goals that you’ve set.
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“People don’t fail in the gym because they are using machines instead of free weights or vice versa; they fail because they are not forcing their bodies to adapt to progressively more challenging stimuli,” Woolery explains. “The most useless machine in the gym, if you are not seeing results, is your brain.”

The key to success? Exercise mindfully.

How do you get into the proper mindset at the gym? While there’s tons of workout programs and apps you can use on your phone, you probably find yourself checking emails or scrolling through Twitter in the middle of your workout.
The first step to getting focused is ditching your phone. “Your brain and your phone are your two worst enemies in the gym,” Woolery says. “Turn the former on and the latter off.”
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How can you ever get through a workout without your digital device, you ask? Simple—buy a stopwatch. It’s a small investment that will lead to big results. Woolery suggests using the stopwatch during workouts: “For one week, time every single rest period and force yourself to start after 45 seconds of rest; reduce the weight five pounds if you need to. Do your muscles burn after three or four sets of eight to 12 repetitions? Good!”
If you don’t want your planning and effort to be in vain, set proper goals for yourself. Woolery outlines a quality goal as something “specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time sensitive.”
Your goal should be exact, but not impossible. You need to be ready and whole-heartedly want to make changes in your life to reach it.
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What it comes down to is how badly you want to see your fitness goals come to fruition.
“Stop blaming machines even if most of them are a waste of time,” Woolery says. “Lift heavier than you think you should. Focus on your biggest muscle groups. Find movements that make you stabilize your torso. Spend one hour of your day completely out of breath and learn to love the 45 or 60 seconds of rest that your stopwatch grants you.”
The key is to push yourself; that’s how all those hard bodies on TV got that way themselves, after all.
Woolery concludes, “If you want to look more like an athlete, train more like one.”