Author: Lisa M. Douglas

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Lifestyle

Saving Food And Money Is As Easy As Rearranging Your Fridge

As a mom, I’m interested in saving money wherever I can. I like to think that I’m pretty mindful about my money and watching where it goes. So I was pretty shocked when I learned that I might unknowingly be throwing away the financial equivalent of my annual car insurance bill! Studies show that most Americans waste about half of their food, which translates to about $2,265 a year per household, or $165 billion nationwide. That’s the bad news. The good news is that with a little (and I stress a little because who wants to spend endless hours doing this?) planning and organizing, you can save a lot of money and wasted food. Here’s the plan to get you organized and richer.

First things first. Before you can organize your fridge and bring in anything new, you have to get rid of all of the old things. Look at all of the food in your fridge and check the “best by” and “sell by” dates. Throw everything away that is past its expiration date. Then, move on to your condiments. These, along with any food in your freezer, should be thrown out if they’re over a year old.

Your next job is to use up all of the food in your fridge. This is known as “shopping your fridge.” Make as many meals (purchasing what little you need) as you possibly can with what you have inside your fridge (that includes your freezer). Try looking up recipes online and planning for the week.

Next step is to organize. Where you put things in your refrigerator will determine:

1. If you’ll eat it

2. If it will spoil quickly.

Let’s tackle #2 first.

Different areas of the fridge have different temperatures. Things tend to be colder toward the bottom. It’s important to place things in their proper temperature zone to keep them tasting their best and lasting the longest.

  • On the door. The warmest area in the fridge. This is the place for condiments and butter.
  • On the top shelf. Since it’s the second warmest area in the fridge it’s the perfect place for soft drinks, yogurt, leftovers, cheese, and deli meats.
  • On the middle shelf. This is the moderate zone; eggs and milk should go here.
  • On the bottom shelf. Since this area is the coldest, this is where meat and seafood should go. Place them in the back where it stays evenly cold.
  • In the drawers. When placing items in drawers it’s important to keep fruits and veggies separated. Keep fruits in the lowest humidity drawer–sometimes called the “crisper”–and keep the vent open. Vegetables should go in the highest humidity drawer with the vent closed to keep the moisture in.

As you place your food in areas of the fridge that are the most appropriate temperature, it’s now important to organize them in those areas, so you’ll see and use them. Here are some tips for doing that:

  • Make sure when you buy new food that you rotate the old food forward, to the front, and place the new stuff to the back.
  • Write the date on partially eaten food or leftovers so that you know how long they’re good for. The Mayo Clinic suggests not eating anything that’s older than 3-4 days.
  • When you buy things in bulk, divide the food into resealable plastic bags according to the serving size and freeze them. This will make the food easy to thaw and use.
  • Put the things that you use the most in the easiest-to-reach places.
  • Place taller things in the back and shorter ones in the front so you see what you have.
  • Use plastic, glass, or clear plastic bags to store leftovers and extra food so you see everything that you have.
  • Wash and cut fruit and veggies just before using, not prior to storage.
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Sweat

The One Thing That Will Finally Help You Lose Weight And Get Fit

Successful entrepreneurs swear by it. Business execs insist on it. Weight Watchers has built their brand around it. Accountability is the number one tool used by people to be successful at whatever they’re working toward. Basically, accountability means being responsible for your actions.
Accountability doesn’t work only in business; it’s the best tool I’ve used for years to help my clients be successful at losing weight and getting in shape. It’s the number one reason why personal trainers (as well as gym buddies) are so effective at getting their clients and friends fit. It plays the most important role in making successful and permanent life changes. Why does it work? Here are the four reasons:
1. Accountability tricks your brain into believing that your weight loss and workouts are really important. Your brain naturally assumes that if you’ve taken the step to have to answer to someone about it, it must be really important. So it makes it a priority.
2. When you are accountable to someone else, they’re going to give you opinions about everything that you do. Whether it’s your [linkbuilder id=”6434″ text=”food choices”], your workout exercises or the times that you go to sleep. They’ll feel responsible for you and your success and will push you to get back on track and stay there.
3. Studies show that we’re wired to seek approval from others because we grow up with accountability in our families, our society, and in the classroom. When we seek someone to be accountable to it intrinsically feels comfortable, like we’ve been doing it our entire lives. And by appointing someone to that position, we become responsible for our actions and try to do our best to keep those who are watching over us happy.
4. Even though we’re not teens anymore, peer pressure still affects us. Most of us still want approval from our friends, and we’ll do anything to make our friends proud. We’ll skip the second helping of meatloaf or make sure to do the extra mile on the treadmill because our accountability partner is watching and judging.
How do you choose someone to be accountable to? Look around your circle. It should be someone who cares about you, like your mom, your friend, your sister or brother. Or you can hire someone to help you. Personal trainers are skilled at keeping their clients accountable, as are life coaches and groups like Overeaters Anonymous or Weight Watchers. Even your group fitness instructor can help keep you accountable to your workouts.
Don’t have an actual person who can help you? Health and fitness apps do a great job of keeping you honest. They give you real-time advice, feedback and keep you forthright about your workouts and what you eat. If you don’t have a smartphone or just prefer pen and paper, food and exercise logs can work really well. The simple act of writing down what you eat and drink every day, as well as logging your workouts, will help you be mindful of your goals by keeping you honest about your daily habits and patterns.

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Nosh

Get Your Clean Eating Diet Kicked Off Right!

You’re working out like crazy, which is making you feel super proud that you’ve nailed that part of your New Year’s resolution. But you’re feeling pretty bummed because the scale’s not moving, and the tape measure’s not pulling tighter because your diet is still way off.

You feel like you have no control, and your bad eating habits are making you feel well…just bad! Extra fat and sugar along with artificial dyes, preservatives, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can not only make your body feel awful and sabotage all of your hard work at the gym, but studies have also shown they can contribute to health issues such as chronic fatigue, diabetes, migraines, autoimmune diseases, and high blood pressure.

Changing your diet and habits, which probably have developed over a lifetime, is a tough thing to do. But it’s not impossible. Here are 10 foolproof ways to make positive, permanent changes.

1. Keep a journal.

For 2 to 3 days write down what you eat and drink and the approximate times that you do. Once you have a couple of days written down, take a red pen and circle and figure out what your trouble areas are.

2. Take it one meal at a time.

Small, simple changes work best when you’re trying to make a permanent change. Start with one meal and stick to those changes for a whole week. Breakfast is usually the best meal to start with. The next week, change another meal.

3. Read labels.

Make a conscious effort to read all labels and choose the healthiest foods that you possibly can. As a rule of thumb, the fewer ingredients listed, the better the food is for you. If you can’t pronounce the ingredient, or it sounds super chemical, that’s a good way to know you know you shouldn’t be eating it.

4. Be prepared.

Keep bars in your bag, nuts at work, granola in your car. Most people make poor food choices when they don’t have any options. Typically when you fail to plan…you plan to fail.

5. Have dinner for lunch.

The easiest way to have a healthy lunch is to bring leftovers from the night before for lunch the next day. When you cook at home and are prepared, you’ll end up eating healthier.

6. Breakfast for dinner.

Don’t like to cook? Try eating breakfast for dinner! Omelettes, scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon, low-fat quiche, or oatmeal and hard boiled eggs are all great nutritious alternatives to ordering out because they don’t cost a bundle and are healthy and easy to cook!

7. Invest in high-quality food storage.

Food storage containers that leach plastic taste into your food or leak in your bag will undermine your efforts to eat well. Choose high-quality plastic food storage or lightweight glass with tight-fitting snap tops.

8. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

It takes a lot of effort and hard work to change a lifetime of habits. Be kind to yourself. If you mess up, don’t take an all-or-nothing type of attitude that could undermine your efforts altogether. Get right back on the health train and keep plowing forward without looking back.

9. Cook on Sundays.

Preparing meals at home is one of the best ways to ensure that you’re eating well and that unhealthy ingredients aren’t being slipped into your food. Problem is, with schedules being so crazy, who has the time to cook? Sundays are a great day to spend the afternoon getting ready for the week. Prepare three meals worth of food, freezing some to ensure that you always have a healthy, yummy option at your fingertips.

10. Drink water.

Studies show that up to 75 percent of people may be (semi) functioning in a constant state of dehydration. Not drinking enough water can make you feel tired and without motivation. It can also mess with your body’s ability to metabolize fat. Additionally, being even slightly dehydrated can cause your body to mistake the need to drink with the need to eat. This can cause you to eat empty calories unnecessarily. So hydrate already!

Categories
Wellbeing

How To Get Your Butt In Gear To Get Your Butt In Shape

In October, you said you’d do it in November. In November, you promised you’d do it in December. In December, you swore to yourself that come hell or high water, you’d start working out in January. Now it’s January, and you’re hiding under the covers hoping that your subconscious can convince your conscience that not keeping a promise to yourself…well, that ain’t so bad.

But your conscience knows better, and you know you need to heed its call. Follow my tips below and let me help you kick your own butt into gear (and save you months of therapy!)

1. Get a trainer

I know what you’re thinking: “Of course, if I hire a trainer I’ll get into shape!” But it’s more than just a trainer’s exercise expertise that can help you. It’s their ability to be your cheerleader! Everyone does everything better when someone encourages them with positive energy. That extra push can give you the courage and motivation to do what you need (and want) to do.

2. Drag your friend

Weight Watchers made an entire business model out of the theory of accountability, and you can use the same tool to be successful, for free. When you’re accountable to someone you’re more apt to keep workout dates and be healthier, because you’re doing it together.

3. Sign up for a race

Nowadays everyone and their mother (and father) is running some sort of a race, biking for a cure, or spinning for a charity. Having an event to prepare for will give you the discipline to get moving daily.

4. Look to your phone

There are so many cool new apps out there, from one to make sure you’re drinking the right amount of water to one that counts how many calories are burned when you make a casserole. Apps are fun and fresh and could be just what you need to get moving.

5. Go shopping

lululemon’s slogan, “Fake it til you make it,” has some merit. What they mean is, if you play the part, you can be the part. Go shopping and buy some hot new workout outfits that will psych you up to get out and exercise. If you dress like you’re a fitness guru, it may inspire you to become one!

6. Follow cool fitness peeps

Inspirational pictures, motivational quotes, and cool videos by cool people can help you. Their daily reminders can keep the motivation going when your body’s mojo is waning.

7. Get simple

Studies show that the simpler your fitness routine, the more apt you are to stick to it. So streamline your routine. Work out at home in your pajamas, make sure your gym isn’t too far from where you live or work, and don’t make your workout too hard and complicated. Sometimes it can make the difference between doing or ditching your workout.

8. Commit to only 10 minutes

Getting yourself to work out for a full hour may seem overwhelming, and studies show that it’s also unnecessary. Researchers revealed that 10-minute bursts of exercise throughout the day can be just as beneficial to your metabolism and health as a longer workout. Putting in only 10 minutes is doable, and quite often the 10 minutes will feel so good that you’ll end up doing more!

9. Get a dog

Nothing spells sneaky fitness like a Lab who wants to play! Active dogs require walks throughout the day, which can result in major calories burned (and up to a 2-pound weight loss per week!) Little does Fido know that he’s your secret personal trainer.

10. Write it down

Coaches use it. So do motivational gurus and people who are super successful in business. The act of writing down your long-term and short-term goals will help you to accomplish them and draw up a plan to do daily things to help achieve them. Remember…”small results.”

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Sweat

10 Little-Known Signs You May Be Gluten Intolerant

Your friend Sally’s sister just went gluten free. So did your cousin. And your aunt. Oh, and your uncle, too. Seems like everyone these days is avoiding wheat for one reason or another. Some claim that it helps them lose weight, others say they’re allergic, and most do it because everyone else is doing it. Are you wondering if wheat is bad for you and if you should ditch it too?

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. It can cause some serious symptoms in as much as 15 percent of the population. Gluten sensitivity (or intolerance) and celiac disease describe two maladies associated with the consumption of wheat.

They differ in their effect on your body, but gluten sensitivity symptoms feel a lot like symptoms of celiac disease. It’s almost impossible to tell the difference between the two on the basis of symptoms alone.

Unlike celiac disease, gluten sensitivity doesn’t damage your small intestine. But that doesn’t mean it can’t still hurt you. With gluten sensitivity, you experience a direct reaction to the gluten because your body views the protein as an invader and fights it with inflammation both inside and outside of your gut.

Some researchers believe that people who are gluten sensitive can actually experience damage to other organs and systems, especially their neurological organs. With celiac disease, the immune system doesn’t mount a direct attack against gluten but triggers your immune system to attack your own tissue, namely your intestinal lining. It slowly eats away at it, causing major damage.

A simple blood test or biopsy via endoscopy can tell you if you have celiac disease, but unfortunately there is no board-approved medical test for gluten intolerance/sensitivity.

Most doctors prescribe an “elimination diet,” in which you stop eating products that are made from or contain gluten for 2 to 3 weeks and see if your symptoms get better. Not sure if you’re feeling crappy because of gluten? Here is a list of the 10 most common signs that you may be gluten sensitive or may have celiac disease.

1. Digestion issues: Diarrhea, constipation, and gas are all signs that you’re not digesting wheat properly.

2. Joint inflammation: Do your joints “bump together” or ache after eating a lot of wheat? This may be a sign that your body is inflamed and rejecting it. The Arthritis Foundation has published multiple articles and research regarding the link between gluten sensitivity, joint pain, and arthritic conditions.

3. Brain fog: Can’t think straight after eating wheat? Are you feeling “out of it”? Researchers found that there may be a reactivity of antibodies to gluten and other different antibodies that could result in mental fogginess.

4. Pins and needles: Gluten can affect whether your nerves function properly. People with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity can suffer from peripheral neuropathy, which often causes a tingling sensation in feet and hands.

5. Chicken skin: Do you have bumps on the back of your arm or inner thigh? Got patches of eczema or psoriasis? Gluten sensitivity can cause a host of skin issues.

6. Migraines: In a study that measured migraine headaches in gluten-sensitive people, headaches were reported in 56 percent of those with non-celiac gluten sensitivity and 30 percent of those with celiac disease.

7. Chronic fatigue: Are you getting a lot of sleep lately but feel like you’re relying on caffeine to keep going? Gluten may be the reason. When your body is in a state of inflammation, it’s expending a lot of energy dealing with gluten proteins. Most of the time it’s at the expense of available energy stores and normal bodily functions.

8. Anxiety, depression, or mood swings: Feelings of hopelessness, lack of interest, low energy, appetite changes, sleep changes, or anger after eating wheat can indicate an intolerance.

9. Hormone imbalances: Studies have shown that there’s a strong relationship between gluten sensitivity and imbalances of the hormones progesterone and estrogen, as well as adrenal hormones. It becomes worse during menopause but can also cause irregular menstrual cycles, weight gain or loss, hot flashes, low energy levels, and erratic sleep patterns.

10. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Researchers believe that having a leaky gut can cause mental health issues because gluten and other food proteins are basically sneaking into the body where they don’t belong.

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Nosh

The Number One Reason Why You're Not Losing Weight

You exercise every day. You track your calories on a food app. You take your supplements religiously. But no matter what you do, it seems like you’re fighting an uphill battle on the treadmill and your weight won’t budge. If this is you, this story may interest you.
I was training a guy who worked the early morning shift in the media industry. He would get up at 2:30 a.m. to make it to his job by 4:30 a.m. By Friday, he was so sleep deprived that he would be falling asleep at the wheel on the way home during lunchtime. He was obese, more than 100 pounds overweight. No matter what tricks I would try with him, I couldn’t get his body to lose more than five pounds. Which is pretty surprising because my methods always work.
Then the station changed his schedule, and he was moved to afternoon segments. This meant that his work start time would change to 1:00 p.m. and he could “sleep like a normal person.” Want to know what happened? I didn’t change one thing. His diet was the same. His workouts were the same. The only thing he changed was his sleep schedule. He was getting seven or more hours of uninterrupted sleep per night. The change was incredible. In one month he lost 15 pounds; in two months he lost a total of 25 pounds!
It sounds counterintuitive that the more you rest the easier you can lose weight, but studies have shown that the less sleep you get, the more stressed your body is.
When your body is stressed, it produces a hormone called cortisol. When cortisol is released in the body, your blood sugar goes up, causing insulin to be released. When insulin is released, it signals your body to store fat. Interestingly, high cortisol levels have been associated with high amounts of visceral fat. This is the fat that surrounds your vital organs and can wreak havoc on your health. It’s basically belly fat. Studies have found that those who slept less were not only heavier, but their weight was concentrated in their stomachs. Visceral fat (more than adipose fat, or fat located in the hips) is associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other problems.
Recent studies have uncovered even more interesting findings. Bruce Bailey, an exercise science professor at Brigham Young University, studied over 300 women and found that those with the healthiest sleep habits had the lowest body fat. But it wasn’t just the amount of time they slept. He found that those who slept between 6.5 and 8.5 hours (with the “sweet spot” being between 8 and 8.5 hours) per night were the trimmest, but timing and consistency also played big roles. A consistent bedtime and, more importantly, a consistent wake time were essential. Those with more than 90 minutes of variation in sleep time had higher body fat than those with less than 60 minutes. Wake time was linked to body fat as well. Those who woke up at the same time every morning had lower body fat. Bailey concluded that staying up late–and even sleeping in–can do more harm than good.
The quality of sleep ranked pretty high in importance also. Those who experienced consistent, uninterrupted sleep felt better and ate better the next day. Bailey’s prescription for a good night’s sleep? Make sure the room is dark and cool and that you don’t use your bed for anything other than sleeping (well, almost anything).

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Sweat

Could Fasting Be The Fast-Track to Recovery?

For years, I’ve written about the lunacy of fasting. How it messes up your body. Messes with your blood sugar. Messes with your brain. Messes with your metabolism. But I may not have been totally on target because apparently fasting messes with your stem cells too…..but in a good way.

A study in the issue of Cell Stem Cell shockingly showed that fasting not only protected against immune system damage (a major side effect of chemotherapy) but caused the immune system to regenerate. Scientists studied mice and patients receiving chemotherapy, and found that after long periods of not eating their white blood cell counts were significantly lowered and the stem cells that are responsible for the generation of blood and immunity, were renewed! These studies are important not only to people undergoing chemotherapy but should offer hope to the elderly and also to those who experience complications due to compromised immune systems (like people with autoimmune diseases.) It’s possible that fasting for 2-4 days could potentially provide the immune boost they may need to fight off big infections, or smaller inflictions that have a tendency to become bigger. This would mean huge things for their quality of life and life expectancy. And to the strain that these complications put on caregivers and our health care system. This is pretty ground-breaking stuff! Science has long studied ways to super supplement patients to help boost immune systems, when in actuality, taking away nutrition could help them, even more.

Basically, this is what happens. When a person starves, their body tries to save energy and one of the main ways it does this it to recycle the immune cells that are damaged and not needed. During each cycle of fasting, the enzyme PKA is reduced and stem cells are ordered to self-renew. Additional research also found that prolonged fasting lowered levels of IGF-1, a growth hormone that’s been linked to aging, tumor growth and cancer risk.

The research is pretty amazing because it shows that an old, damaged system can literally generate a new, young and effective immune system. Chemotherapy can save lives but sometimes at a severe cost. It can cause significant damage to the immune system and other systems of the body. The result of this study suggests that fasting may help to offset some of the harmful effects of chemotherapy.

Scientists are looking into the possibility that fasting may also help other systems of the body, and organs as well. Can you imagine being able to regenerate a new part of your liver? Or repair your arteries after blockages? Or even repair an injured limb? This is the crazy stuff of the 25th century, but researchers were pretty amazed to discover these results. They’re extremely hopeful and anxious to find ways fasting can help the body even more. As are we!

As a devout antagonist, I never thought there would be any reason to convince me that it was beneficial to “starve the body to help the body” but, in this case, this zebra’s stripes may be switching to horizontal.

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Sweat

The Pros and Cons Of Probiotics

Acidophilus, Lactobacillus, Bulgaricus…..sounds like a bunch of prehistoric beasts lurking in your yogurt! Actually, they’re microscopic organisms that sound oh so fancy and complicated, but actually do some basic and really helpful things for your body. Also known as “Good Bacteria”, probiotics keep harmful bacteria in check, help with your digestive health and build up your immunity. A healthy balance of probiotics is needed to keep you well, and there are so many things that can rock that balance and make you feel crappy. Things like obesity, diabetes, old age (or really young age), genetics, too much coffee or tea, poor diet, certain meds like birth control pills and antibiotics and also certain conditions and diseases like Parkinson’s and Crohn’s.

So what do you do if you think your belly is out of balance? You can supplement with probiotics or eat more foods that contain probiotics. If you want to supplement, choose one that contains at least 20 billion live organisms per dose. Most supplements contain Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, the two rock stars of probiotic bacterial strains, so be sure to change your supplement every month or two to provide your body with a variety.

You can also supplement your body with extra probiotics by eating foods that contain more. Actually, while most probiotic pill supplements contain about 10 billion colony-forming units of bacteria (weird, I know… don’t overthink it), fermented foods contain almost 10 trillion colony-forming units. Just one serving of fermented vegetables contains more probiotics than an entire bottle of pill supplements! Sauerkraut, kombucha, pickles, kimchi and Greek yogurt have an awesome amount of probiotics as do miso soup, tempeh, and dark chocolate.

Although experts say that there really is no harm in “getting more of a good thing”, here is a list of the Pros and Cons (there aren’t many) of supplementing probiotics so you can decide for yourself.

Pros

Help reduce blood pressure

Researchers found positive results in that people with elevated blood pressure who supplemented with various strains of probiotics, for longer than 2 months.

Help prevent cavities.

Studies have shown that probiotics kill harmful bacteria that cause tooth decay and contribute to gingivitis.

Reduce cholesterol.

The liver uses cholesterol to make bile. Experts believe that probiotics break up bile salts and decrease their reabsorption into your gut.

Keep your belly happy by keeping your bowel movements healthy.

Whether you suffer from constipation or diarrhea, both generally occur as a result of improper bacteria balance in your belly. Supplementing with probiotics has been shown to significantly help.

Keep you happy…down there.

Probiotics help balance the bacteria in your vagina and manage the overgrowth of harmful organisms that can lead to conditions like yeast infections, urinary tract infections, and bacterial vaginosis.

Helps your respiratory system.

Researchers conducted studies on kids and adults who drank probiotic-enriched milk or supplemented with various strains and found that those who consumed more, daily, experienced fewer colds and other respiratory infections than others. They found that good belly flora increase markers for stronger immune systems.

Cons

Can cause belly issues.

Taking supplemental probiotics can cause gas, bloating and abdominal discomfort in certain people. If you experience it from one type of probiotic, it may help to try switching to a different kind to see whether it agrees more with your digestive system.

Can empty your bank account.

Although their easy and convenient, probiotic supplementation can become quite costly. Look for deals at wholesale warehouses and/or online. Or consider food alternatives!

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Sweat

Is Walking Just as Good As (Or Better Than) Running?

You’re huffing and puffing and practically dying on the treadmill, using every tool possible to trick yourself into running longer and faster….when you notice a happy, sprightly woman, enthusiastically walking next to you. “Geez”, you mutter. “Why the hell don’t I just walk too? What’s the point?!” But you know it’s not the same. How could it be? You’re working your ass off, begging for a third lung, and this one’s singing show tunes as she steps contentedly along. Running’s GOT to be better for you. Isn’t it? After all it’s that much harder…

The long answer is mostly yes……but a little bit of no, as well. Here are the reasons why you should run, or walk.

Benefits of Running

1. Your burn calories like crazy.

Lap for lap running burns 2.5 times more calories than walking making it a more efficient exercise. Especially if you’re short on time. For example, for a 160-pound person, running 8 mph burns over 800 calories/hour compared to about 300 calories walking at 3.5 mph. It just takes that much more energy to propel your body forward, faster.

2. You’re less hungry.

Studies show that running curbs your appetite better than walking. Scientists think it’s because running increases levels of the hormone peptide YY, which in known to suppress appetite. In a study, after running or walking, participants were invited to a buffet, where walkers consumed about 50 calories more than they had burned and runners ate almost 200 calories less than they’d burned. Basically the runners picked while the walkers ate.

3. You lose more weight.

When equal amounts of energy were expended (meaning walkers walked the same distance as runners), one study found runners still lost more weight! The runners kept their BMI (muscle to fat ratio) and waist circumference the same- more than the walkers.

4. You’re healthier overall.

Runners have a lower risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and better cardiovascular health. In a study, runners reduced their risk of heart disease by about 4.5 percent by running an hour a day.

5. Your bones are stronger.

Bones are living tissue and any kind of weight-bearing exercise causes new bone tissue to form. The newly formed tissue combined with the push and tug against the bones cause your bones to get more dense and stronger.

Benefits of Walking

1. You’re EVEN healthier overall.

Studies show walkers (like runners) have a reduced risk of hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes, and have strong cardiovascular systems. HOWEVER, shockingly, the study reports that walkers who expended the same amount of energy per day reduced their risk of heart disease by more than 9 percent. Double the amount of runners!

2. You have less injuries.

Unlike runners, whose repetitive pounding can cause overuse injuries like shin splints, runner’s knee and tendonitis, walkers get injured less often. And when they do, their injuries are less severe.

3. You get sick less often.

Long-distance runners, unlike walkers are more susceptible to developing infections, because the breakdown of tissue also breaks down your immune system. Basically when you push too hard, your chances of getting sick increase. Walking provides just the right amount of work to boost your immune system and help you win the fight against colds and infection, not lose it.

4. Your heart is the healthiest.

Even though running can help your cardiovascular system be stronger, excessive distance running can damage your heart. Researchers performed measurements of cardiac function in 60 recreational runners before and 20 minutes after the 2004 and 2005 Boston Marathon. What they found was that before the race, none of the runners had elevated serum markers for cardiac stress. After the race, 36 runners, or 60 percent, had elevated markers of proteins called troponin. Troponin is a major component of cardiac muscle but elevated levels of these proteins can lead to cardiovascular damage. Walkers get the heart boosting benefits without the stress.

5. Your joints are strong.

Excessive running, especially long distance, is good for your bones but bad for your joints. It can deplete the joint of the lubrication and slowly breakdown the cartilage- especially in your knees. Because walking creates less impact and those who walk tend to not rack up as much mileage as the runners, it causes less injury to the joints while still boosting bone density.

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Nosh

Does Milk Really Do a Body Good?

Mom made you drink a cup a day because it was “good for you.” Everywhere you turn you’re pummeled with pics of celebs with mustaches raising their glasses like some prized glass of Dom Perignon. There’s even a council to make sure that you drink 3 glasses a day of it! But what EXACTLY does milk do for you? And does it REALLY do a body good?

The scoop is….the research is mixed. Here is the list of reasons why you should/or shouldn’t drink it, so you can decide what’s best for you and your loved ones.

Pros:

Milk is high in calcium, which is important for healthy bones. Additionally, the calcium in milk is well absorbed by the digestive tract because the vitamin D and lactose found in milk help the calcium absorb. Even though lots of other foods contain calcium, milk is a particularly efficient way to obtain it. To get the same 300 milligrams of calcium that comes in a glass of milk, you’d need to eat 10 cups of spinach or 4.5 servings of broccoli. Also, milk’s calcium comes in a readily usable form. Some plant foods contain inhibitors that interfere with the body’s ability to absorb the calcium they contain.

Studies have shown that drinking milk can help regulate weight gain and may even help you to lose weight. Scientists believe there may be a correlation between low calcium and vitamin D levels and obesity. Participants of studies who increased their dairy intake to the RDA, experienced increased levels of calcium and D along with weight loss. Just be sure to remember that if you’re drinking milk for weight loss, choose low or nonfat versions.

It can help you build muscles and repair tissue. With all of the 9 essential amino acids, milk is considered a complete protein and can help you build lean muscle like nobody’s business. Also, milk is insulinogenic…meaning that it spikes your insulin. This is particularly good if you drink milk right after your workout. Ever see the ads on milk being the best workout recovery drink? This is because right after a workout you are depleted of sugar and nutrients and drinking milk with its’ insulin response helps you gobble them up, which helps you recover faster…and better.

Milk is also a good source of phosphorous, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin D, and riboflavin (a B vitamin). A recent study reported diets of 16,000 Americans found that people who ate little dairy, took in lower levels of all sorts of nutrients, including vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin B12, potassium and vitamin D.

Cons:

Drinking milk can lead to constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, allergies and eczema. Dairy contains some really allergenic proteins, such as casein. In allergic and sensitive people, it can wreak havoc on the gastrointestinal tract and as a result, cause secondary issues as well, like malnutrition and autoimmune disorders. Additionally, many people lack the enzyme to digest lactose (milk sugar). This is called lactose intolerance, and although it’s not serious or life threatening, it can send you sprinting to the bathroom with bloating, gas, and diarrhea.

Unless you’re drinking organic milk, it may contain the antibiotics given to the cow while it is lactating. Studies have shown that humans absorb the antibiotics and this can cause harmful bacteria to become more resistant to these antibiotics. This makes the antibiotics ineffective at killing the bacteria. Suddenly that minor, easily cleared ear infection aint so easy to cure.

Even though drinking milk every day helps ward off osteoporosis, a small group of researchers recently found that drinking too much milk can actually contribute to calcium loss. They found that the high amount of protein in milk thins blood and tissue, causing it to become acidic. In order to neutralize the acidity, the body draws out calcium from bones. As a result, the more milk you consume, the more calcium you need to process the protein intake. As with everything, moderation is key and the suggested daily amount of 500 to 700 milligrams is still thought to be good for your bones.

Organic cows are often milked while pregnant, producing milk that’s full of hormones. Astoundingly, the average glass of milk can have up to 60 different hormones in it. These are anabolic hormones, which means that they help you to grow. But not all growth is good. You don’t want to grow cancer cells and you certainly don’t want to grow big tummies.

It can give you pimples and make your skin look like crap. Milk not only increases your body’s production of insulin but is also linked with higher levels of an insulin like growth factor (IGF-1), which is linked to acne. The evidence is not exact, but if you’re having problems clearing up your breakouts, milk may be the culprit.