Barbecue season is upon us, so let's celebrate by grilling, since it's an easy and low-fat way to cook. If you're grilling, protect your health by marinating your meat. Here's why marinating is good for your health and tips on how to keep it safe.

1. Marinating meat, fish, and poultry significantly decreases the amount of carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs) produced when the meat is cooked at high temperatures, like in grilling. Marinades can reduce HCAs by as much as 99 percent. Adding rosemary to the marinade may even up the anticancer potential of your marinade even more. While research is unclear why marinades protect meat so much, the belief is that they act as a barrier against the high heat, or may reduce chemical precursors of carcinogens from the meat.
2. The acid in marinades may slow the growth of harmful bacteria, like listeria.

Learn a few more tips about marinades after the break.

After learning Ashtanga Yoga's Sun Salutation A, it's time to learn the poses in Sun Salutation B. It begins with a pose called Fierce, which may look easy but is a killer move for your thighs and glutes when done correctly. It also strengthens your core and stretches your calves, so it's an essential move for runners and high-heel wearers alike.

• Stand with your feet together in Mountain Pose. Bend your knees and lower your hips as you raise your arms overhead.
• Focus on sitting back into your heels to relieve pressure from your knees and to target the thighs and glutes. Tuck your tailbone in and engage your abs, keeping your spine straight. Roll your shoulder blades back and down away from your ears to release any tension in the neck or upper body, and gaze up toward the ceiling.
• Stay like this for five breaths.

I know that exercising in the early a.m. before you head to work can be a real challenge. If you aren't a morning person, missing out on sleep can seem very unappealing, but here are some reasons you may want to set your alarm for an early morning workout.

1. It's usually a peaceful, quiet time of day, so it can be a great opportunity to think and get some time alone.
2. Exercising in the morning wakes up your brain, clears your mind, and helps you organize your thoughts or your mental to-do list, preparing you for the day ahead.
3. If you get it done first thing, then you won't have to worry about trying to squeeze it in to your busy schedule, especially if you have kids. Plus, studies have shown morning exercisers are more consistent.
4. Exercising helps get things moving, digestively speaking, so working out early can prevent getting backed up later on in the day.
5. Since working out on an empty stomach can cause you to lose muscle, morning workouts will encourage you to eat breakfast, which has been proven to boost your metabolism, which helps to burn calories.

Fiber, fiber, fiber. We all know we should be getting enough. It's recommended that women eat 25 to 30 grams of fiber each day to decrease the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as some types of cancer including breast cancer.

Eating plenty of fresh, luscious fruits in your diet is a great way to fill up on fiber, but which sources are the best? Keep reading to see a chart comparing the fiber content of your favorite fruits.

Being in a relationship is so exciting that spending so much time together can cause your healthy lifestyle to fly out the window. You may even adopt some of your partner's unhealthy habits. That can add up to some extra pounds on the scale, so here are some tips to prevent weight gain while dating.

• Remember that eating an extra 500 calories a day will make you gain a pound in one week, so be conscious of how much you're eating. Just because your guy has three slices of pizza, that doesn't mean you should too. Guys need more calories, so remember to eat appropriate sized portions, even when dining together.
• You don't have to eat just because your partner is. Guys tend to inhale their meal, and then an hour later they're eating again. It can be tempting to join in if food is in front of you, but don't nosh unless you're truly hungry.

• Keep up with your regular exercise schedule. When you're in a relationship, you don't want to sacrifice the things that are important to your own well-being, so make time for your 20 to 60 minutes of exercise a day. Get up early before work or steal away during lunchtime so you don't feel like it's taking away from time spent with your loved one.
• Or better yet, exercise together. Meet at the gym after work, play tennis or racquetball, take salsa dance lessons or a Vinyasa yoga class, or join a dodgeball team.
• Spend more time being active together instead of sitting on the couch. You don't have to be really athletic, but you can tour a museum, take a walk in the park, hike in the woods, or go for a bike ride.
• Sign up for a healthy cooking class together so you can both learn new ways to make delicious dishes that are full of nutrients but not full of saturated fat, cholesterol, and empty calories.

You went for a gorgeous two-hour hike in the woods, brought back some great photos and uh-oh — you also brought back some poison ivy. When you accidentally brush up against this plant, the uroshiol oil rubs onto your skin, and can instantly create redness, raised bumps, blisters, and an insatiable itch. First and foremost, get out of the clothes you were wearing on the hike and wash the oil off your skin using soap and cold water (warm water opens your pores) to prevent the rash from spreading.

Unfortunately, now you're left with an itchy, bubbly rash. Topical creams like Calamine lotion and hydro-cortizone can keep the itchiness at bay, but when it comes to poison ivy, the quicker it heals, the better. Reach for the remedy, pure tea tree oil. It's all natural, not that expensive, and easy to find at most health food stores. Thoroughly wash and dry the affected areas. Sprinkle a few drops of the tea tree oil directly on the rash and use a Q-tip or cotton ball to spread it around. Apply a few times a day, and you should see the blisters disappearing and the rash clearing up.

Tea tree oil has antiseptic, antifungal, and drying properties, which is why it's so effective against the dreaded poison ivy. This natural remedy can also be used to treat acne, minor cuts and scrapes, athlete's foot, and yeast infections so it's great to keep a bottle in your medicine cabinet.

Source: Flickr User frotzed2