Nutrition Corner

Starchy vegetables play an integral role in meeting nutrition needs: A perspective recently published in Frontiers in Nutrition underscores the unique role starchy vegetables play as a vital vehicle for essential nutrients.

Mediterranean diet provides ‘relief’ to PTSD sufferers: Add PTSD therapy to the long list of health benefits enjoyed by Mediterranean dieters.

Recipe for The Day

Mini Sweet Bell Pepper Salad: This bell pepper salad recipe is crunchy, flavorful, and vibrant, with mini sweet peppers, olives, dill, and a lemon vinaigrette.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

5 Evidence-backed Ways to Get Motivated to Work Out

• Strength in Numbers: Having someone to meet at the gym at a certain time can keep you accountable to show up. Plus there's nothing worse than being stood up.

• Perk Up Your Training: Including coffee (or another beverage containing caffeine) can also benefit your training. According to research 'Caffeine can improve exercise performance when it is ingested at moderate doses.

• Be Your Own DJ: While the gym's playlist may not be your cup of tea, creating your own set list can greatly benefit your training results and motivation.

• Plan Ahead: Whether you programme your training yourself or enlist in a coach to support you, it can help you stay accountable when motivation is waining. A plan will also take into account your individual needs, whether that's time availability or financial resources, and ensure it's realistic for you.

• Have Fun: Greater physical activity enjoyment appears to influence individuals’ self-reported ability to engage in regular physical activity'. Put simply, if you have fun training, you're far more likely to repeat the new behaviour.

5 High-Sodium Foods to Avoid

• Deli Meats Are Doused in Sodium: Sliced deli meats and hot dogs are packed with sodium. Choose fresh meats or fish instead, and try making an extra serving at dinner and using the rest to make your lunch the next day.

• Your Breakfast Cereal Might Be Seriously Salty: One cup of cornflakes can have almost 270 mg of sodium per serving, which can add up quickly if you aren’t measuring portion sizes. Instead, try making your own mixes from scratch using low-sodium baking powder and baking soda.

• Vegetable Juice Can Be a Liquid Salt Mine: Even a healthy-sounding option like vegetable juice can be high in salt. That’s why it’s important to read labels closely. Sodium content is listed per serving size; to be considered a low-sodium serving, it should be 140 mg or less.

• Canned Soups and Vegetables Contain Untold Salt — and Are Still Bland: Anything in a can — from soup to tomatoes — could harbor high sodium shenanigans. Check all those can labels, and choose products with less sodium per serving.

• Flavor Packets and Condiments Are Teeming With Salt: Instead of using the salty flavor packets that come in boxes of macaroni and rice dishes, make your own flavorings with fresh ingredients. By using fresh herbs and spices, you can infuse plenty of flavor into your dishes without any additional sodium.

3 Amazing Benefits of Running You Might Not Have Known

• Running adds years to your life and life to your years: Numerous studies have shown that running increases lifespan. This has led to the oft-repeated observation: If exercise were a pill, it would be the most popular pill in the world. It would also be the least expensive, with little to no cost.

• Running helps you sleep better: The American Journal of Lifestyle Exercise notes that the exercise-sleep connection goes both ways. The more you exercise, the more you need quality sleep. Also, the worse your sleep habits, the less likely you are to exercise regularly.

• Running improves your immunity: Among advice on intensity levels and diet, it was reported that running can improve the body’s surveillance against disease, lower inflammation, enhance gut microbiota composition, reduce risk of upper respiratory infections and influenza, and improve antibody response.

4 Exercises to Reduce Low Back Pain

• Upward facing dog: Lie on the ground with your hands next to your chest as if you just lowered to the ground from a pushup. Pull your abs in, press the tops of your feet into the ground, and press your hands into the ground as you lift your head, neck, and chest up into upward facing dog. Roll the shoulders back and take a deep breath in, then exhale and lower down. Repeat 10 times.

• Downward facing dog: Start in a plank position with your shoulders over your wrists. Pull your naval in toward your spine and reach your butt up toward the ceiling. Form a “V” with your body with your heels reaching down toward the ground. (It’s OK if they are off of the ground.) Come forward into plank position, and repeat 10 times.

• Swimmers: This exercise trains the back of the body to work in opposition to improve balance, spinal strength and mobility. Similar to the superman exercise, you’ll start by lying down on your stomach. This time, instead of reaching up both arms and legs simultaneously, you’ll lift the right arm and the left leg off the ground, and then alternate. Be sure to pull the abs in the entire time. Perform 10 repetitions on each side.

• Bird dog: Begin in a tabletop position with hands and knees on the floor. Engage your core and try to keep your hips stable as you extend your opposite arm and opposite leg out. Pause for a few seconds, maintaining your balance. Return back to the starting position. Repeat with the opposite arm and leg. Continue alternating for 10 repetitions on each side.

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