Nutrition Corner

13 Best Vegetables For Weight Loss, According to a Dietitian: Including more low-calorie, high-fiber vegetables like Brussels sprouts and asparagus into your diet can help you lose weight.

Butternut Squash - Fiber, Carb Count, Roasting Benefits: All parts of butternut squash have nutritional value, not just the seeds and flesh.

Recipe for The Day

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal: This dessert-for-breakfast baked carrot cake oatmeal is seasoned with aromatic ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg—just like the classic dessert. A dollop of vanilla yogurt stands in for traditional cream cheese frosting. Want a dairy-free alternative? Substitute the milk with oat milk or almond milk, and choose dairy-free yogurt for topping.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

The Best Forms of Exercise to Release Endorphins and Improve Mood

• Yoga: Yoga is a system of holistic health and spiritual growth which focuses on meditation, breathing exercises, and physical postures. Unless you're doing an active flow or vinyasa yoga class, yoga doesn't provide much of an aerobic workout. It can, however, teach you how to relax, release tension, stretch tight muscles, and even strengthen weak ones.

• Tai Chi: A traditional Chinese exercise that is practiced worldwide, Tai Chi can benefit people who experience symptoms of anxiety and depression, and it has been shown to improve immune function as well as to increase the blood levels of feel-good endorphins.

• Cardiovascular and Aerobic Exercises: Cardiovascular and aerobic exercises are great for creating the intensity required for the release of mood-raising endorphins in your body. Aerobic exercises are those that get your heart rate up, like jogging, swimming, cycling, brisk walking, or using an elliptical trainer. You can also get your heart rate up by doing activities like gardening and dancing—both have been shown to reduce depression and anxiety.

Zucchini Nutrition: Zucchini Health Benefits

• Zucchini is high in antioxidants to support immune health: In zucchini you’ll find tons of vitamins A and C, plus plenty of plant compounds, including polyphenols and carotenoids, a group of plant pigments. All of these micronutrients are antioxidants that help the body to reduce inflammation and fight off free radicals.

• Zucchini contains important nutrients for eye health: When it comes to supporting healthy eyes and vision, zucchini may also be beneficial. Two of the carotenoids found in this squash, lutein and zeaxanthin, are linked with improved eye health, as is vitamin A.

• Zucchini promotes a healthy heart, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels: Courgettes are known to support heart health as well, thanks to their fiber, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin K content. In zucchini you’ll find pectin, a type of soluble fiber that binds to cholesterol on the gastrointestinal tract, excreting it from the body through waste as opposed to being absorbed into the blood.

• Zucchini provides fiber for healthy digestion and gut microbiome: Your gut health can get a boost from eating this tasty summer squash. The soluble fiber found in zucchini is beneficial for the healthy bacteria that reside in the lining of your gut. These bacteria live in the large intestine in a greater community of microorganisms known as the gut microbiome and are vital for not only digestive health but our overall health as well.

What an Hour of Gardening Does to Your Body

• Decreased Dementia Risk: One 2006 study from St. Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst, Australia, set out to identify risk factors for dementia in an elderly Australian cohort. The researchers tracked more than 2,800 people over the age of 60 for 16 years and found that physical activity, particularly gardening, could reduce the incidence of dementia. Specifically, they concluded that gardening could lower the risk of dementia by 36 percent.

• Stress Relief: A Dutch study published in the Journal of Health Psychology found that gardening and reading each led to decreases in cortisol after a stressful task, but decreases were significantly stronger in the gardening group. Additionally, reported positive mood was fully restored after gardening but further deteriorated during reading.

• The positive association with gardening was observed: Reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms, stress, mood disturbance, and BMI, as well as increases in quality of life, sense of community, physical activity levels, and cognitive function.

• Perks of working in the dirt as well include: Saving money on produce. Saving money on a gym membership. Conserving resources used in going to the gym. Saving resources used for producing, packaging, and shipping commercial produce. Ensuring your supply and increasing your intake of inexpensive organic fruit and vegetables. Providing habitat for wildlife and especially pollinators.

The 5 Best Chest Exercises

• Flat Bench Press: The bench press should be a staple in your routine for more chest size and strength, since compared to most other chest exercises, you can load the bench press up with a relatively heavy amount of weight. Beyond that, benching is necessary for powerlifters, since it’s one of the three lifts judged in a powerlifting meet.

• Incline Bench Press: The incline press is somewhat of a hybrid of an overhead press and flat bench press, and so pressing a barbell (or a pair of kettlebells or dumbbells) from an incline recruits more of the muscle fibers in the upper chest and taxes the shoulders a bit more.

• Decline Bench Press: This pressing variation is typically less strenuous on your shoulders than the standard bench press because of the shifted shoulder angle. You’ll also be able to target your inner chest from a different angle, which is important when you’re looking to develop a well-rounded musculature.

• Dip: The dip is another bodyweight gem. It comes out toward the top of this list and is also one of the best arm exercises out there — the dip really is a powerhouse. You’ll also seriously recruit your triceps, which are essentially involved in all pressing movements, so working them in tandem with the chest will help strengthen the synergistic muscles in unison.

• Dumbbell Bench Press: The dumbbell bench press doesn’t allow you to go as heavy as its barbell counterpart, but there’s a lot to like about this move. For one, you’re controlling two dumbbells, which works your chest (and the smaller stabilizer muscles around your shoulder joint) differently than the bench press.

Get In The Inbox of 100K+ American Health Readers

Advertise with American Health to get your brand in front of thousands of Americans who are always looking for their next interesting product.

Why American Health? American Health is your go-to source for all things related to health and wellness. Our newsletter is dedicated to keeping you informed about the latest developments in healthcare, fitness, nutrition, and overall well-being. Whether you're looking for tips on leading a healthier lifestyle, staying up-to-date with healthcare policy changes, or exploring the latest trends in wellness, we've got you covered.

Help Share American Health

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if more people read fact-focused, health news? Take a minute to share this digest with your friends–they’ll thank you for it!

Send us your feedback at [email protected]. We’re ready to listen.