FitSugar

Women's Brains and Migraines

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 02:00:00 PDT

It is no secret that the female brain is different than its male counter part. It seems these differences are giving us headaches, and I mean that literally. Women are 3 times more likely to suffer from migraines. A recent study proved that it isn't all in our heads (figuratively speaking).

Advances in brain imaging technology now suggest that migraines may start as a result of brain excitability. People with migraines show dramatic waves of brain activity that spread across the surface of the brain. This activity is thought to trigger not only the severe pain associated with migraines but also the visual symptoms, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating often associated with migraines. Researchers believe many factors, like genes, hormones, and environmental triggers like stress, diet, and
changes in sleep patterns, may contribute to migraines in both sexes.

For further reading on this topic, check out the article Why Women Have More Migraines than Men at the Science Daily.

Source

5 Strange Ways Chocolate Keeps You Healthy

Prevention — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:02:26 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

This sweet treat may also boost brainpower, help you relax, and more!
By Mara Betsch, Prevention

Show your heart some love this Valentine’s Day by nibbling a few chocolates - and making them a regular treat throughout the year. A recent study found that those consuming the highest levels of chocolate had a 37 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29 percent reduction in stroke compared to those with lower chocolate intakes.

Though experts are quick to clarify that we should stick to moderate consumption of high-calorie chocolates, it’s hard to deny the cold, hard facts that chocolate can be a healthy addition to our diets.

Seven Surprising Ways to Sharpen Your Mind

Hundreds of studies have shown that dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants that promote heart health and may prevent many cardiovascular-related conditions, but we’ve dug up five more surprising health benefits. Read on for five new ways to justify your chocolate craving.

1. Chocolate May Help You With Math
Flavonols, compounds in chocolate with antioxidantlike properties, are thought to improve circulation, including blood flow to the brain. A 2009 study asked participants to count backward in groups of three from a number between 800 and 999. After drinking hot cocoa filled with flavonols, the participants were able to do calculations more quickly and accurately and were less likely to feel tired or mentally drained.

Learn a four more things chocolate can do for you after the break.

Honoring Some of Our Favorite Geeks For Black History Month

Michele Foley — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:01:38 PST

We may have Valentine's Day on the brain, but February also marks an important time of the year - Black History Month. In honor of Black History Month, let's take a look at some of our favorite geeks, both past and present. Everyone on this list has made vast contributions to furthering tech as we know it.

Dwayne McDuffie - The recently passed McDuffie wrote comic books for both Marvel and DC (including Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, the Fantastic Four and the Justice League of America) before founding his own company, Milestone Media, which helped pioneer the use of multicultural characters as its heroes.
Mark Dean - Nerd alert! Without Dean, there may not have been a PC - he holds three of IBM's original nine PC patents, leading the teams that developed the ISA bus and the first one-gigahertz chip.
Mae Carol Jemison - It doesn't get much geekier than space travel; Jemison was the first black woman to travel in space.
Philip Emeagwali - We can all blame Emeagwali for our Internet addiction. He developed the fastest supercomputer software in the world. His IQ is too high to be measured by conventional standards, and he's won a Gordon Bell Prize, which is like the Nobel Prize for computer science.

See the rest of the notables when you read more.

5 Surprising Health Benefits of Being a Sports Fan

Prevention — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:19:15 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

By Cristina Goyanes, Prevention

It’s no wonder your friends aren’t available to hang out on Sundays in the Fall and Winter - according to a 2005 Gallup Poll, 64 percent of Americans claim to be professional football fans, and as of 2010, women make up 44 percent of the NFL fan base.

Being a sports fan doesn’t mean you’re expected to know all the players and stats of your hometown teams and destined for a beer gut - it’s about coming together in the name of good times as part of a community.

“Bonding over sports - the highs and lows of the game - strengthens ties, helps us feel supported, and makes it easier for you to open up about personal things,” says Renee Clauselle, PsyD, who runs a private psychology practice in Long Island, NY.

Seventeen Unexpected Side Effects of Exercise

Rooting for the same team creates an immediate sense of family, says Daniel Wann, PhD, a Murray State University professor who has been studying the psychology of sports fans for over 20 years. “If you identify with a local team, you build an instant connection to others around you,” he says.

Beyond the bonding aspects, watching sports can motivate you to pump up your own workouts - and even burn a few extra calories when you jump, cheer, and clap during the highlights of the game. Find out more ways being a sports fan is a winning situation for your health.

Keep reading to learn how being a sports fan benefits your health.

Savvy Links: Here's How to Polish Your Brain

Emily Co — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:44:12 PST

Here's how to polish your brain - The Daily Beast
President Obama to answer questions via a live Google+ Hangout - Tecca
7 things to know about people born in the Year of the Dragon - TrèsSugar
Single women targeted by Citibank and Honda ads - HuffPost Women
What to buy in bulk - Real Simple
13-dollar dinners! Meals for under $1 per serving - AllYou
17 ideas to repurpose vodka - Wise Bread
What are your best self-defense tips? - Corporette

Too Much Iodine or Not Enough?

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:41:39 PST

Maybe you buy iodized salt, but that's probably the only thought you give to iodine in your diet. Actually, iodine deficiency is a huge problem across the globe, and not getting enough in utero or during early development is the leading cause of brain impairments. But a recent study shows that getting too much iodine can cause health issues as well. Almost half of the participants in a recent Chinese study who were given higher doses of iodine (800 to 2,000 micrograms a day for four weeks) began developing what's called subclinical hypothyroidism. This condition has no obvious symptoms, but over time, it's linked to heart disease.

Iodine is found in iodized salt, seafood, eggs, dairy products, and some breads. Since most of us get enough from our diets, there's no need for iodine supplements. Americans should aim to get 150 micrograms of iodine each day, pregnant women should get 220 micrograms (low levels of iodine increase the risk of miscarriage), and breastfeeding moms are told to get 290 micrograms. If you're vegan, you might not get enough from your fish- and dairy-free diet, so you probably want to talk with your doctor about taking a supplement. To find out if your diet offers enough iodine or too much, check out the chart after the break.

Where Are All The Sensitive Men Hiding? These 10 Cities!

YourTango — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:11:27 PST

We're happy to present this excerpt from one of our favorite sites, YourTango.

Do you keep meeting disappointing men? The ones who seem so promising at first, but then end up never calling you, or worse - promising you the world and then breaking your heart? Perhaps you're attracting the wrong guys because you're not asking for what you want. Or maybe you have a thing for "bad boys" - you think you can tame 'em (hint: This almost never works). Could it be a stroke of bad luck? Well, a recent Chemistry.com poll says you may just be living in the wrong city.

Just in time for today's launch of their new blog - which will feature monthly posts from YourTango - Chemistry.com reveals the nation's Top Ten Cities to Find a Sensitive Man. Using their data based on the personality types of American singles, they pinpointed the cities with the highest concentrations of softies - uh, we mean, gallant gentlemen. We weren't sure what to do with these findings, as they seemed a bit random. Staten Island? Living in New York, we beg to differ on this one (sorry, Situation). Here's what Chemistry.com's chief scientific advisor, Dr. Helen Fisher had to say about these findings:

"Men do have a sensitive side. They want to please. But different men do it differently; and these 10 cities are packed with a certain kind of man, what I call BUILDERS - men who express a constellation of personality traits linked with the serotonin system in the brain. Sensitive men, known as builders, are traditional. They deeply value loyalty, duty, respectability and proper moral conduct. They want to do the 'right' thing. So builders go way out of their way to keep their social relationships running smoothly. So they watch, listen, and gauge what they need to do to help others and they do it naturally. It's these chivalrous qualities that make a sensitive man."

Here is the list of Top 10 Cities to Find a Sensitive Man:

Pompano Beach, Florida
Roanoke, Virginia
West Hollywood, California
Nashville, Tennessee
Buffalo, New York
Sarasota, Florida
Greenville, South Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Indianapolis, Indiana

Written by Natalie Gontcharova for YourTango.

5 Reasons You Need More Sleep

Shape — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:14:00 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Whether you admit you need help nodding off or are still in denial about the major suitcases under your eyes, chances are you could use an intervention: a full two-thirds of Americans say they have trouble getting enough shut-eye at least once a week. That’s pretty harrowing, considering that sleep is absolutely essential for health and normal functioning. If you need a reason to hit the sack early read on. You’ll be surprised how much skipped sleep impacts your well-being.

You'll Live Longer
Chronic insomniacs are more likely to suffer a heart attack than those who sleep well, according to new research in the journal Circulation. Other studies have linked lack of sleep to a higher risk of dying from a stroke and developing breast cancer.

See even more benefits of sleep after the break!

Types of Princesses and What We Can Learn From Them

Tara Sharp — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:03:20 PST

Happy birthday, Kate Middleton! The Duchess turns 30 today.

With fairy-tale-inspired movies aplenty (including two Snow White flicks, a dark Sleeping Beauty, and another Maleficent-centered version) and Prince William's own princess Kate in the spotlight, little girls and grown women alike have tiaras on the brain. And sure there are downsides to princess culture, but there are also lessons to be gleaned from these regal ladies. From real-life royalty to Disney characters, let's look at 10 different types of princesses and what we can learn from them (and it's not how to be like Mean Girls).

Lose Weight and Get Fit With Your Phone

Health — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:14:36 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

A sleeker, stronger body could be just a tweet or a Facebook post away
By Jamie Beckman

One of the best tools for peeling off pounds is already in your bag: It's your smartphone or iPad. In fact, all that texting, tweeting, and posting - the average woman spends more than 80 minutes a day on her phone, according to a recent report from the mobile apps analytics firm Flurry - can tip the scales in your favor.

And one in three of us are already using social sites like Facebook to get slender, reports research from the University of Arizona. So go ahead and steal these suggestions from women who took their shape-up viral.

Tweet Your Way Thin
Nancy Tessier, 50, lost 28 pounds by posting all her meals and snacks to Tweet What You Eat (@twye), an online food journal that lets others eyeball your noshes. "Sometimes it was a lot easier to decide not to eat something than to have to tweet it for the world to see," she says.

Posting your weight-loss numbers can help, too. The University of Arizona research suggests that women who reveal shape-up victories on a weekly basis trim down faster than those who update less frequently. If you're feeling shy, think up a Twitter handle and upload a cartoon character as your avatar so you can share the skinny without feeling self-conscious.

Health.com: Diet Tricks the Pros Tell Their Friends

Gain a Following
Get some virtual support pronto by following Twitter hash tags like #fitblog. Carla Shorts, 27, started chiming in on #fitblog's weekly live chats - and dropped from a size 12 to a size 6 in just a year. "When my weight loss reached a plateau, having women point out that my 30-minute elliptical routine wasn't going to cut it anymore was key," she says. "I started running and began to lose again."

You can also start your own hashtag, like Sherry Pagoto, 38, from Massachusetts, did with #plankaday, a challenge to spend at least a minute in plank pose each day.

Find more ways your phone can help you lose weight after the break.