Flush It Out

Fitness Tip: Flush It Out - Water does the body good when it comes to good health. Water helps flush out toxins and other unwanted things lingering in your body. Water also replenishes fluids that help lubricate the internal body, while keeping you hydrated, lowering your desire to eat, and also helps keep your skin looking smooth and young. I know it's hard to drink lots of water, but find bottled water you enjoy the taste of or filter your tap water and keep it chilled in the refrigerator. You should be drinking at least 64 oz per day up to 128 oz to keep your body hydrated and working properly.

Label Fables: Sneaky Nutritional Information Traps

Watch out: Deceptive packaging and creative serving sizes mean you're eating and drinking more than you realize! Now...a reality check.

Want some fiction to read at the beach this summer? Look no further than your cooler. With cans of iced tea that are meant to serve three people and "individual" snack packs that harbor extra servings, it's no wonder the FDA's latest Health and Diet Survey found that consumers are skeptical of food labels.

Fortunately, the FDA is taking steps to clear up some of the misleading information and pushing for clear, user-friendly front-of-package labeling. In the meantime, we're exposing some sneaky diet wreckers.

Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey
Serving size: 8 ounces
(approximately 3 servings per 23-ounce can)
Calories per serving: 70

Most of us overlook liquid calories entirely, so you may not notice that this can supposedly serves three. "When you buy any drink in a can, you assume it's a single serving," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, R.D., author ofRead It Before You Eat It. And while antioxidant-rich green tea has a virtuous rep, this particular one packs almost 12 (12!) teaspoons of sugar per can.

Do You Eat Too Much? Break This And Other Bad Food Habits

Nutritionists would call a three-margarita meal a no-no. We call it the highlight of our week. Lots of so-called food faux pas—eating until you're good and stuffed, skipping breakfast to save time—are things we need to do once in a while to survive. Sure, unhealthy eating habits can cause everything from weight gain to sluggishness, as Charla K. Schultz, RD, a dietitian at the Women's Health Clinic at the Mayo Clinic, helpfully points out. The good news is that with minimal effort, you can make up for most not-so-good food decisions. Put these damage-control strategies to work and start gaining healthy food habits.

Bad Food Habit: You Blow Off Breakfast
The thought of food at the crack of dawn makes you queasy. But your brain (which runs on glucose) and body need a little something in the morning.

Taboo: Hybrid Gender

Chris Tina refuses to define herself by society's rigid dual gender system.

 

Mental Health And Exercise

Mental Health And Exercise

Want to alleviate stress or cope with depression? Exercise may help. Increasingly, there is evidence from researchers that certain levels of physical activity can positively affect mental health. Len Kravitz, PhD, researcher and program coordinator of exercise science at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, takes a look at what research has discovered about the connection between exercise and mental health.

Stress

A growing body of research over the last 10 years shows that physical activity and exercise also improve psychological well-being (Dubbert 2002). Published data show that people with higher levels of fitness are capable of managing stress more effectively than those who are less fit (Hassmen, Koivula & Uutela 2000). It appears that cardiovascular exercise is the method that most benefits stress reduction. The research indicates that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, performed three times a week (sessions lasting over 20 minutes) for up to 12 weeks, has the most influence on stress management.