FitSugar

Dr. Ornish on the Power of Love, Chocolate, and Snacking

Lauren Turner — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:59:25 PST

We had a chance to chat with Dr. Dean Ornish, founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, over the weekend at the Sundance Film Festival. He's a featured health expert in the new documentary, Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, which examines the current state of our health care system and provides hopeful solutions based on lifestyle and dietary changes. A big proponent of chronic disease prevention through healthy habits, Dr. Ornish offered up some sound advice and simple changes we can all make to improve our health - chocolate included!

FitSugar: What do you think is the most simple, overlooked thing people can do for their health?
Dr. Ornish: Love more. What you eat, how you respond to stress, how much you exercise, whether or not you smoke, how much love and support you have. But of all those, probably the love and support. Study after study has shown that people who are lonely and depressed are 10 times for likely to die or get sick. You're more likely to smoke and abuse yourself if you're lonely and depressed. It's not enough to just work at a behavioral level and give people information; you have to work at a deeper level.

FS: Everyone has days where they don't want to exercise, how do you motivate yourself on those days?
DO: If I really don't want to, I don't, and then I'll do more the next day. What matters is your overall way of eating and living. So if you don't do something one day, do a little more the next. If I don't have time to meditate for an hour, I'll do it for a minute. It's not all or nothing at any age, and it's really up to you.

FS: People like to stick with their daily habits; how do you get individuals to change their behavior towards healthier choices?
DO: It's about helping people connect the dots between what they do and how they feel, and giving them the tools. Fear is not a sustainable motivator. You can scare people into changing for a few weeks, but not for very long. When you make changes, most people find that they feel so much better so quickly, it reframes the reason for changing from fear of dying to joy of living, and that's what makes it sustainable. Also, to realize that it's not all or nothing. Instead of saying this is good food and this is bad food, and don't ever eat meat, be a vegetarian - I never tell people that. I used to a long time ago and then I realized I was actually not only not helping people, but making it worse. It turns people off because even more than being healthy, people want to be free, so when you tell people what to do they stop listening. If you eat meat five times a day, eat it three times a day or have a meatless Monday and see how you feel. If you don't exercise one day, do a little more the next. Then you start to feel better and then it comes out of your own experience, not because some doctor or some book told you.

To find out Dr. Ornish's surprising favorite indulgence and his take on snacking just read more.

5 Ways You Unintentionally Stress Yourself Out (and How to Relax)

Anna Monette Roberts — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 01:27:05 PST

Every time you experience stress, pressure is put on the adrenal glands, which then pump adrenaline into your bloodstream. The thing is, constant stress can lead to problems like chronic fatigue, weight gain, weakened immunity, and a shorter lifespan. The good thing is that the majority of life's daily stresses can be reduced with proper awareness, practice, and discipline. See what little things you are doing every day that unintentionally stress your body out, and find out how you can relax in these moments.

Running late to work: If you hit the snooze button every day, chances are you are scrambling to make up lost time. Hurrying through breakfast or skipping out on it altogether wreaks havoc on your digestive system and blood sugar levels. Rushing to get out the door can leave you frazzled, messy, and forgetful, especially when it comes to the important things like keys, your wallet, or umbrella.

How to relax: The night before, put out everything you need for the following day; keep the most important items near the front door. If you are consistently 15 minutes late every morning, set your alarm back the same amount of time. Make sure to sit down for breakfast, allowing yourself 30 minutes to eat. Try these recipes for make-ahead breakfasts.

Stressful thinking: Sometimes our thoughts make the world a more stressful place than it is. What is actually a manageable list of tasks can seem unconquerable to the mind. When the noggin starts churning, it's hard to step back and look at the full picture.

How to relax: If you find yourself caught in a stressful thought, pay attention to your facial expressions and breathing. Relax your face, close your eyes, and take a long full inhale. Bring yourself back to reality and the present moment and create a plan, mapping out your steps and timeline for completion.

Find out other three stresses and how to avoid them.

The Lazy Girl's Fall Makeup Shopping List

Real Beauty — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:23:12 PDT

We're happy to present this article from one of our favorite sites, Real Beauty.

It's not enough anymore to just update your closet with the turn of a new season. To truly stay in style, you need to reboot your makeup bag, too. But who has the time (and money!) to buy every new lipstick and eye shadow shade? So, for all those lazy girls out there, we've targeted the biggest makeup looks for Fall 2011 and created this list that can be tailored to any budget, skin tone, and beauty need. So just keep reading.

Five "Fun" Facts About How Stress Is Cramping Your Style

Miriam Lacey — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:00:04 PDT

Ah, stress. You don't need us to tell you that it sucks, but it's all too easy to get complacent about it and accept that you're just going to have to let things grind on. If you have a hard time prioritizing your well-being just as much as you do your work and home lives, though, consider this: not only is stress harmful to your overall health, but it's also just plain bad for your skin, hair, nails, and everything else. But how, specifically, is being overstressed screwing you over? To find out, just keep reading.

Hypnosis Proving to Offer Health Benefits, Studies Say

Jenny Sugar — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:48:50 PDT

When I hear the word hypnosis, a man swinging a pendulum in front of a person squawking like a chicken is what comes to mind. Stage hypnosis, performed by entertainers, is vastly different than therapeutic hypnosis, which is used to improve a person's well-being. Over the last 10 years hypnosis has gained more recognition because more and more research shows hypnotherapy can effectively treat medical conditions. A number of studies have discovered that this type of treatment can help alleviate chronic pain, reduce stress and anxiety before surgery, and also lower health care costs since patients using hypnosis have shorter hospital stays.

The hypnotic state has been likened to meditation or daydreaming; when hypnotized, one has a heightened sense of inner focus and concentration. When under hypnosis, people tend to feel calm and relaxed and be capable of paying attention to one specific thought, memory, emotion, or sensation while blocking out any other distractions, making them extremely open to the power of suggestion, although they remain completely aware and in control of their actions. This is why hypnosis is used for weight loss, smoking cessation, pain control, childbirth, dental procedures, anxiety, and gastrointestinal problems such as IBS. It should be noted that one session won't instantly "cure" your ails, so don't expect to instantly despise cigarettes after your first appointment.

The Consequences of Too Much Stress (and How to Deal)

Leta Shy — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:20:02 PDT

There's no such thing as a stress-free life, but it's important to minimize those levels of cortisol - the stress hormone - that exist in our bodies. Stress can lead to many unwanted consequences. Read on to find out just why you should relax.

It makes you gain weight. Stress means increased levels of the hormone cortisol, which signals to your body that you need to replenish calories as a response to stress levels. That can make you eat more after a stressful situation, which can lead to weight gain if you have chronic stress. And not only that, stress contributes to belly fat, which has been shown to lead to many different types of diseases.

You won't get a good night's rest. Stress has a funny way of compounding itself. Worrying can cause you to feel even more stress, which can affect sleep and lead to a host of other problems. Check out 10 consequences of not getting enough sleep here.

Read on for more consequences of stress, and don't worry, we've got tips to deal with it after the break.

DrSugar Schools Us on High Blood Pressure

DrSugar — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:26:30 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's schooling us on hypertension.

A recent study from the University of North Carolina found that about one in five young adults, between the ages 24 and 32, has high blood pressure, referred to as hypertension in medical terminology. The concerning part about this rise is that many of those at risk are unaware of this health issue, making this statistic extremely scary since hypertension is a medical condition that can have serious consequences. To learn more about hypertension and its medical consequences and how you can prevent hypertension, keep reading!

10 Consequences of Not Getting Enough Sleep

FitSugar — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 01:39:00 PDT

We only spend a third of our life actually sleeping, but the art of catching z's can rule the majority of our lives. Between figuring out our circadian clock, juggling work and home, and battling insomnia-inducing factors, we can't get enough of perfecting our sleep routine.

And we have good reason. Not getting enough sleep can lead to a multitude of not-so-great things. Why is sleep so important? Here are 10 consequences of not getting enough sleep.

You'll eat more. 300 calories more, to be precise. A recent study found that sleep-deprived subjects, when allowed to eat whatever they wanted, ate more than when they had a full-night's sleep, even though they stuck to their normal eating schedule.
You may not live as long. Researchers may have found the secret to long life - a study found that women who slept fewer than five hours a night were less likely to live as long as those who got more.
You'll weigh more. Logically, if you are regularly consuming more calories every day it stands to reason you may weigh more, but the weight gain is not only caused by what you consume. Not enough sleep also causes stress on the body, which triggers it to slow metabolism and store fat.

Read on for seven more consequences of not getting enough shut eye.

DrSugar Answers: Dealing With PMS Fatigue

DrSugar — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:25:13 PST

DrSugar is in the house! And she's answering your health-related questions.

DrSugar,
I have been trying to get back on track with my exercise routine after those dangerous two months of parties, but I notice that each month when my period comes around, it seems impossible to get past the cravings and fatigue. What causes this and what can I do to get around it?
- Crazy Cravings

The symptoms you describe, food cravings and fatigue, around the time of your period sound like they are most consistent with typical symptoms of menstruation, which, when severe, can be called premenstrual syndrome (PMS). I understand your concern and disdain with these symptoms, as they do seem to counteract your desire to maintain a healthy lifestyle with exercise and eating healthy. To learn more about what causes these symptoms and what can be done to try to overcome them, keep reading!

DrSugar on Fibromyalgia

DrSugar — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:30:12 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! Today she's explaining the confusing condition fibromyalgia.

I am taking a break from answering your questions to discuss a medical condition that has garnered a lot of attention in recent years, both in the medical field and the public arena: fibromyalgia, a well-publicized but often misunderstood medical condition that affects two to four percent of the population. To learn more about fibromyalgia, keep reading!