FitSugar

Mighty Magnesium: 4 Ways to Load Up on This Essential Mineral

Anna Monette Roberts — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:47:25 PDT

Magnesium is an essential mineral our body needs and is found in our bones, body tissues, and organs. A well-balanced diet will usually provide you with adequate magnesium levels, but if you are prone to headaches, forgetfulness, sore or cramping muscles, stress, or chronic fatigue, a deficiency in magnesium might be what's slowing you down. For ways to get a daily dose of magnesium, read on.

Nighttime Habits That Are Ruining Your Sleep and Health

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:28:16 PST

You slip under the covers, turn off the light, and rest your head on your pillow. Seems simple and perfect, but here are some things you could be doing in bed that harm your health.

Grinding your teeth: Formally called sleep bruxism, many people unknowingly clench their jaw or grind their teeth at night, which can lead to tension headaches, earaches, irritated tissue on the inside of your cheeks, jaw pain, and permanent damage to your teeth in the form of chips and worn-down enamel that cause sensitivity or cracks. Stress can be a factor, so reducing the amount of worry in your life can help. If it doesn't, see your dentist about designing your own personal mouth guard to sleep with. Not exactly the sexiest thing to wear to bed, it's sure to offer you a more restful and less painful night of sleep.
Sucking on a cough drop: If you suffer from a chronic cough, cold or sinus infection, or postnasal drip, sucking on a cough drop every night may be the only way you can get some sleep without coughing keeping you up. Although soothing to your throat, exposure to a bath of sugar all night long is sure to lead to tooth decay and cavities. Here are other natural remedies for your nighttime coughs. If the cough persists, it's time to see your doc.

Keep reading to find out what else you're doing at night that's wrecking your health.

What You Never Knew About Procrastination and How to Cure It

Emily Co — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:18:24 PST

Some people may wonder why procrastination advice seems to never work for them and if there is a deeper issue at hand. Well, for 20 percent of the population who are chronic procrastinators, it is a serious problem that needs to be addressed, according to Joseph Ferrari, a psychology professor at DePaul University and a leading expert in the study of procrastination. For those 20 percent, telling them to just "do it" is like "telling a clinically depressed person to cheer up," says Ferrari, author of the book Still Procrastinating?.

It's a serious problem if . . .

So how do you know if you're a chronic procrastinator? "You find that you procrastinate at home, at school, at work, in relationships. You don’t pay your bills on time . . . You miss sporting events, concerts because you never got the ticket," says Ferrari. "You’re late for any social gathering, you’ll miss doctor’s appointments because you're never there on time, the refrigerator is empty because you never restock it in time, food goes bad because you never eat it on time. If you do all those kind of things, you probably are a chronic procrastinator."

Read on to find out how people become procrastinators.

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!