“Don’t Eat That” iPhone App
Sometimes it’s almost impossible to read the nutrition information labels on the prepackaged food in the grocery store. Even my favorite, seemingly healthy, cereal lists ingredients like tocopherols and calcium carbonate. Not being able to pronounce these ingredients is worrisome. Not knowing what they are is downright frightening. What am I eating every morning anyway?
If you’re worried about the ingredients in your favorite foods, then you might want to invest in the “Don’t Eat That” iPhone app. With the app, you can search questionable ingredients, find out what they really are, and see if you should be avoiding them at all costs. (Really bad stuff gets highlighted in red.)
As it turns out, tocopherols and calcium carbonate are actually not too terrible—tocopherol is a form of vitamin E, a natural antioxidant, and a preservative, while calcium carbonate is a white dye and acidity regulator. Neither makes the “Problem Ingredient” list in the app.
The app also gives you access to lists of ingredients that are known carcinogens, harmful to kids, bad for people with allergies, and bad for people with asthma. It’s a valuable tool—especially for parents who want to protect their children from all the scary things that can end up in processed foods—and makes it infinitely easier to feel like an informed consumer as you cruise the aisles at the supermarket.
If you want to see how the app works before making the $1.99 investment, this video will give you a quick tour:
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bchai/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
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Don’t Want to Diet? Exercise … A Lot!
It’s no secret: If you want to lose weight, or maintain your current weight, but you don’t want to diet, then you’re going to have to exercise. We all know that. But how much will you need to exercise?
According to a recommendation published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), women who want to avoid dieting but also want to maintain their weight over time will need to exercise for one hour a day… seven days a week. According to JAMA, on average women gain 1.5 pounds a year between the ages of 25 and 55.
One hour! Seven days a week! It sounds like quite a time investment. Most of us are barely able to squeeze in 45 minutes at the gym a few days a week (plus a yoga class, or two, if we’re lucky).
Of course exercising regularly, even if it is less than an hour a day, still has tremendous health benefits—so don’t give up! But if you want to maintain your weight long-term and you can’t hit that ambitious 60-minutes/day mark, you’ll probably have to cut calories over time.
Want to try for an hour a day? We’ve got a number of exercises that you can start with. And you can do them all without a gym membership!
Via LA Times
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/emples/ / CC BY 2.0
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
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Want Happiness? Buy Experiences, Not Stuff
If you read Spa, you’ve probably already internalized this little bit of information as one of life’s greatest truths: experiences bring happiness, not stuff. But in case you’ve ever second-guessed that fact, now you’ve got some science to back it up.
According to new research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, people’s satisfaction with experiential purchases (vacations, going to the movies, etc.) starts high and goes up over time, while people’s satisfaction with material purchases (jeans, gadgets) goes down over time.
So if you want to be happy, save up for a trip to Hawaii, or a membership to your favorite yoga studio, or a day of pampering at your favorite spa. And forget that new pair of shoes … if you can.
Read more about the study at LiveScience.com.
Image: Veer Photography
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
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March is Deep-Vein Thrombosis Awareness Month
March is Deep-Vein Thrombosis Awareness month, so we thought we’d pass along some of the useful information we just received from the Coalition to Prevent DVT. This is especially important for those of us who travel a lot and for anyone with any lengthy flights in the near future.
The Facts:
- Up to 2 million Americans are affected by DVT each year, and approximately 300,000 Americans die each year from PE.
- Complications from DVT claim the lives of more Americans than breast cancer and AIDS combined.
The good news: It is totally preventable, and the Coalition to Prevent DVT has created a downloadable video that will teach you a few simple moves you can do anywhere (even on a flight) that will reduce the risk of DVT by encouraging blood circulation.
Watch the video and use these simple exercises on your next flight.
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/caribb/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
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The Benefits of Turmeric
My husband Matthew and I have an unspoken household rule: he does 95 percent of the cooking, and I eat whatever he makes. This rule has not only made for a successful marriage, it’s also made eating at home a culinary adventure.
Unlike me, Matthew loves to cook — and he’s always up for a food experiment. Last year, we stocked up on nori, bamboo sushi rollers, and Japanese condiments to switch to a macrobiotic diet. When we moved to the Bay Area, all the wonderful local produce inspired a more locavore menu. Then, three weeks ago, we turned vegan. (Well, almost vegan, since I still occasionally succumb to my weakness for fried chicken.)
This foray into almost-veganism has opened my eyes to the many delicious things you can do with tofu. For instance, this morning, Matthew made scrambled tofu (instead of eggs) with mock breakfast sausage. His meals always come with a mini presentation, so in-between bites I learned that the key ingredient to this scramble is turmeric. The Asian spice not only adds a kick to the dish, it also has long list of health benefits — it’s an anti-inflammatory, aids in fat metabolism, and has been proven to help prevent the spread of cancer in mice, among other positive effects.
If tofu in the morning is not for you, try a pinch of turmeric instead of salt on your eggs to add some healthy flavor.
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoosvanrobin/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
—Maria Wakem, senior editor
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Trouble Sleeping? Try Yoga in Bed
When it comes to my personal health and wellness, there are two things I strongly believe:
1) I need a good night’s sleep to function well and to feel well. For me, a good night’s sleep is 7 to 8 hours.
2) Yoga is the best way to relax and relieve stress.
However, up until I read an article on doing yoga in bed earlier this month, I had never thought to use yoga as a way to get better sleep. But that’s just what Graydon Moffat, a Toronto yoga instructor, is doing.
Moffat found herself waking up multiple times in the middle of the night and getting very little quality sleep. She tried everything—alcohol, warm milk, sleeping pills—and then she tried practicing a few simple yoga poses in her pajamas, in bed. And it worked.
This wasn’t news to our senior editor, Maria Wakem. When I forwarded her the article, she wrote back: “I find that goddess pose (what the woman is doing in this picture) is the best when you can’t sleep. It’s even better when you put one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly—then you let your heartbeat and breath lull you to sleep.”
That’s definitely a tip I’ll use the next time I have trouble getting to sleep.
Read more about how yoga can help you sleep at The Globe and Mail.
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
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Heart Disease Awareness from Go Red for Women
We were a little shocked when we read about a study from the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign earlier this morning. According to the study, only 50% of women recognize the signs of a heart attack, and the same percentage said they probably wouldn’t call 9-1-1 if they thought they were having heart attack symptoms.
Meanwhile, only 50% of women between the ages of 25 and 34 are aware that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women. (That’s right, it’s not just a man’s disease.) In other words, there is a lot of education that needs to happen regarding heart disease and prevention for women.
After reading the report, we were curious to learn more about common heart attack symptoms in women. According to the American Heart Associations website, symptoms include pain or discomfort in the chest, discomfort in other areas of the body (arms, back, neck, jaw, stomach), shortness of breath, and possibly lightheadedness and nausea. Women are actually more likely than men to experience symptoms like shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain, in addition to chest discomfort.
Get all the facts by learning more about women’s heart attack symptoms and reading the American Heart Associations’ report.
Image: Trinette Reed/Getty Images
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
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Mediterranean Diet Might Prevent Dementia
The news about eating a Mediterranean diet keeps getting better and better. We already knew it was good for your heart, good for your waistline, and good for your cholesterol levels. Now, according to new research, we’re learning that a Mediterranean diet might also lower the risk of developing dementia.
In other words, a diet full of fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats, and low in dairy, meat, poultry, and saturated fats, seems to lower the risk of having brain infarcts (which result in small areas of dead tissue in the brain)—the “second most common form of dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease.”
Get more info on the Mediterranean diet and how it might prevent dementia at CNN.com.
And get our favorite Mediterranean recipes right here.
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
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Massage for Health
It’s no coincidence we often crave to be physically pampered, nourished, and soothed when we’re feeling stressed or run down — it’s our body’s way of telling us we need some tender loving care.
And according to the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, now science is backing this up. The college notes that studies conducted at the TOUCH Research Institute at the University of Miami have revealed that massage increases the availability of all neurohormones affecting brain chemistry.
According to the study, massage can increase focus and fine motor skills. It can increase alertness or bring on intense relaxation and easier sleep, relieve pain, and even help with tissue repair.
Read more about this new massage research at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine.
My fingers are crossed that soon insurance companies will see the value of massage in preventive care. I mean, it’s about time…right? We’ve all known this for years!
Image: Veer Photography
—Julie Sinclair, editor-in-chief
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Easy (and Healthy) Stir-Fry in a Snap!
I always look forward to the annual San Francisco Yoga Journal Conference, not just because of the great marketplace that’s open to everyone (this year I especially enjoyed sampling ZICO coconut water and being guided by Grace Aroma Wellness on what essential oil would help boost my immunity) but also because of the amazing yoga teachers it brings to town.
One of them was Spa contributor Felicia M. Tomasko, who is also a registered nurse, a practitioner of Ayurveda, and the editor-in-chief of LA Yoga magazine. (Want a soothing yoga practice you can do at home? Check out 8 Yoga Poses for Simple Stress Relief that Felicia sequenced and wrote for Spa. The poses are beginner-friendly, and while simple, they are highly effective at calming the body and mind.)
One night during the conference, I was lucky enough to share dinner with Felicia. As we were heading to my apartment and discussing what to eat, we agreed that we wanted something warming, grounding, and healthy—yet simple enough to whip up quickly so we wouldn’t spend the whole evening cooking. So we stopped at a grocery store, and the result was the following stir-fry that took only about 1/2 hour to make, including preparation.
INGREDIENTS
1 pack of Thai rice noodles
3 small bunches of bok choy (sliced lengthwise)
1 yellow onion (chopped)
4-6 chives (chopped)
4-5 cloves of fresh garlic (peeled and crushed or chopped)
3-5 inches of fresh ginger (peeled and sliced)
1 head of broccoli (roughly chopped)
3 tablespoons of sesame seed oil (add more as needed while cooking)
2 tablespoons of mustard
DIRECTIONS
1. Boil water and prepare rice noodles according to package
instructions. When done, rinse and set aside.
2. Add sesame oil to a hot wok or large frying pan, then add onions,
garlic, and ginger and cook until onions are translucent (about 3-4
minutes). Stir constantly.
3. Add broccoli and mustard, and stir until broccoli is your desired tenderness.
4. Add cooked rice noodles, stir until noodles are mixed in and warm, then serve.
Voila! This turned out to be so delicious and easy, it’s going to become a dinner staple of mine. We ended up going with mostly green vegetables, but you could include anything that sounds good to you or you have handy in your fridge. For me, the ingredient I am now going to keep in my house regularly is fresh ginger. In addition to adding a tasty zing, ginger offers a host of benefits.
If you try the recipe, please let me know how it turns out—especially if you do some experimenting and find that you think more or less garlic is better, or if you’ve tried a different mix of ingredients in the stir fry.
Bon appetit!
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottfeldstein/ / CC BY 2.0
—Julie Sinclair, editor-in-chief
