Nutrition Corner

Are Ultraprocessed Foods Really So Bad for You? A 30-year Harvard study suggests ultraprocessed meats and snacks loaded with added and artificial sweeteners raise the risk of early death.

Health Benefits of Cayenne Pepper: Cayenne peppers (Capsicum annuum) are moderately hot chili peppers that belong to the Solanaceae or nightshade plant family.

Recipe for The Day

Chickpea Tomato Salad with Feta: This savory and meatless side dish is not only delicious but also high in fiber. It can feed up to 4 as a main course too.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

4 side effects of celery juice you must know before adding it to your diet!

• Allergic reactions: Some people may be allergic to celery, experiencing symptoms like itching, swelling, or difficulty breathing. A study, conducted by the Scientific Committee for Food, claims that even if celery is boiled before use, it can still lead to multiple allergic reactions.

• Digestive issues: Celery juice can cause digestive discomfort in some individuals, leading to symptoms such as bloating, gas, or diarrhea. According to this study, published in Clinical and Experimental gastroenterology, the starch present in celery can ferment the gut and this can lead to bloating or discomfort.

• Skin sensitivity: Celery contains psoralens. These can make the skin very sensitive to sunlight, and can cause sunburns or rashes in some people. This study, published in International Journal of Dermatology, supports this claim as well.

• Kidney problems: Celery contains oxalates, and this leads to the formation of stones in the kidneys. This study, published in The American Journal of Medicine, states that oxalate rich juice can lead to renal failure.

3 Impressive Health Benefits of Cranberry Juice

• It Reduces Oxidative Stress: For a tasty way to lower oxidative stress, sip on cranberry juice. Cranberries contain a class of antioxidants called polyphenols, which include subgroups like phenolic acids, anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and flavonoids. Antioxidants in general protect cells from oxidative stress—a process that, over time, can destroy healthy cells and increase the risk of chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, lung disease, and heart disease.

• It increases hydration: When it comes to staying hydrated, you’re not limited to plain water. Fruit juice—including cranberry juice—is fair game, thanks to its high water content. This can help boost your hydration, which is vital for basic bodily processes like regulating body temperature, supporting digestion, and absorbing nutrients.

• It promotes immune function: Cranberry juice contains compounds like proanthocyanidins and vitamin C, which are known to support immune function. Vitamin C is especially important for top-notch immunity, as it’s essential for the production and function of white blood cells. These cells help your immune system respond to infections, as they’re responsible for fighting and destroying germs that might make you sick. The antioxidants in cranberries (and therefore, cranberry juice) also have anti-inflammatory properties, which also contribute to healthy immune function

Things That Can Help When You're Feeling Hopeless

• Consider That Your Brain Might Be Lying to You: Your brain might tell you that things are awful, horrible, and dreadful. It may try to convince you that you can’t succeed or tell you that there’s no chance things are going to get better. But just because you think it doesn’t mean it’s true. Your thoughts may be distorted, inaccurate, or downright wrong. Hopeless feelings fuel hopeless thoughts. And it’s easy to get caught up in a negative cycle that makes it hard to see that things can get better.

• Argue the Opposite: When you feel hopeless, you’ll likely think about all the reasons why nothing will ever get better. So take a few minutes to argue the opposite. What’s the evidence that things might work out better than you expect? Or how might things actually get better? Thinking a bit about the potential positives can open you up to more possibilities. And while there’s a chance that things might not turn out great, there’s also a chance that they might not turn out as bad (or stay as bad) as you’re anticipating.

• Think About What You Gain From Feeling Hopeless: Thinking about what you gain from being hopeless sounds like a strange exercise on the surface. After all, you might be thinking, “I don’t gain anything. I don’t want to feel this way.” But, upon a little more reflection you might discover that feeling hopeless protects you from being disappointed. If you don’t expect anything good to happen, you don’t have to worry about being disappointed if things go poorly. Being hopeless also might help you feel all right about not taking action.

• Engage In Problem-Solving: There is always something you can do to solve a problem or to change how you feel about the problem. Spend some time thinking about potential solutions to the problem. Brainstorm ideas and keep them in mind, you don’t even necessarily need good ideas. Just see if you can come up with as many strategies as you can to address a problem. If you can’t solve the problem (like in the case of a loved one’s illness), consider how to change how you feel about the problem. Could spending time with family members help you feel a little better? Might you feel a little more hopeful if you took a mental health day from the workplace?

How to tone arms: 3 mistakes people make when toning their arms

• Focusing too much on bicep curls: It's easy to assume that if we want to get enviably muscular arms, we need to be doing lots of bicep curls. Not so. Unless you're a bodybuilder and are looking to enhance the definition and size of the arms, there is no real reason to pump out the curls. Muscles in the arms are fairly small in comparison to the major muscles in the back and chest. When you break down the movement, for the bicep you're closing at the elbow joint, and for the triceps you're opening the elbow joint. These movements are replicated in all push and pull exercises, which are much more beneficial.

• Cheating by swinging: Arm exercises are easy enough to build into a novice workout using free weights, but they're just as easy to cheat a full rep. As you fatigue, you may find you begin to lose some momentum from the shoulder, meaning you swing the final few reps on the curls to complete your set. If you're reading this and thinking: "Yep, that's me", Harras has a solution: If you're struggling to complete a full set with the correct form - drop the weight, otherwise you're only cheating yourself. Another option is to use a bench or machine to hold the arm in place, forcing correct form.

• Speeding your reps: Sure, workouts can be painful, and sometimes the last thing we want to do is be in the gym. It's fair enough that you might be desperate to race through reps. But as Harras points out: Completing quick reps isn't going to give you the strength gains you desire. You should be aiming for a 1-2 second contraction and eccentric phase. If you are going any quicker than this, you won't be applying enough resistance on the muscle. Slow it down and drop the weight if needed.

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