Nutrition Corner

Easy, one-step food hack can bring old floppy cucumbers back to life - 'Keep your cucumbers crunchy': Keeping your food fresh longer with hacks like this can help lower your grocery bill and reduce waste.

Bananas will stay fresh and yellow for 26 days with genius storage hack - no brown spots: To celebrate National Banana Day, a food storage expert has shared a genius hack to avoid browning on bananas even after 26 days.

Recipe for The Day

Peanut Butter Energy Balls: These healthy peanut butter and chocolate energy balls deliver a mixture of simple and complex carbohydrates to help fuel you up whenever you need a little boost.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

4 Facial Massage Techniques That Help Relieve Built-Up Stress and Anxiety

• Acupressure facial massage: Acupressure massage has been around for a long time. It’s based on traditional Chinese medicine. This ancient technique references specific acupressure points, or energy centers. Releasing these acupressure points can relieve tension in the face, as well as other parts of the body.

• Lymphatic drainage massage: If you're looking for some facial self-care that also reduces puffiness, look no further than a lymphatic drainage massage. Lymphatic drainage massage uses gentle strokes toward the lymph nodes to help release lymphatic fluid. A build-up of lymphatic fluid can result in facial puffiness and overall feelings of fatigue.

• Deep tissue facial massage: Deep tissue facial massage uses firm pressure to lift and tone your facial muscles. Working specifically with the structure of your face, all movements are done in an upward and outward motion to encourage lifting of the muscles. Plus, it feels great. The tension release this method provides is hard to beat.

• Gua sha facials: You’ve likely seen a gua sha tool and have been curious about what it does. Adding the stone—which was originally used in Chinese medicine—to your skin-care routine can bring on numerous benefits. The gua sha tool is used to relieve tension, increase blood flow, and encourage lymphatic drainage. It can often lead to a sculpted and defined look.

Are Apricots Good for You? Impressive Health Benefits of Apricots, Explained

• Like all stone fruits, apricots are a very nutritious fruit that can offer fiber, vitamins, and minerals to your diet

• Apricots also provide valuable antioxidants like beta carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin that support eye and skin health

• The fiber in the apricot skin provides both insoluble and soluble fiber, which can help feed gut bacteria and support overall digestion.

• Additionally, apricots are very high in potassium, which research has shown can help lower high blood pressure.

4 sleep benefits of sauna according to a sleep tracking expert

• Melatonin production increases: When we’re in a sauna, our body temperature rises but once we leave, that internal temperature drops – and that’s the signal to the body to start producing melatonin, the sleep hormone. Melatonin is a key chemical for sleep and earlier you start producing it, the quicker you’re likely to fall asleep and stay in that deep, restorative sleep patch.

• Sauna offers a chance to mentally switch off: On a more immediate note, many of us find saunas to be deeply relaxing – both mentally and physically. Whether you’re in a tiny wooden room at the gym, a dedicated community hub or are lucky enough to have a sauna at home, there’s not an awful lot you can do once you’re there. Take a book in and you’ll quickly find that the glue starts to melt, the print of your magazine begins to smudge, or your phone overheats. You’ve simply got to stay and sweat. And that can be great for emptying the mind at the end of a packed day.

• Heat relaxes our muscles: Heat boosts muscle relaxation and reduces tension in the body, allowing people to enjoy a deeper state of relaxation that can also help them fall asleep more easily at night. For maximum benefits, give yourself at least 30 minutes after leaving the sauna before going to bed. This will give the body a chance to drop back down to its core temperature, which can make it easier to fall asleep.

• Saunas reduce cortisol production: Saunas can also help to reduce stress on a more chemical level. Research has found saunas to decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol, the reduction of which contributes to improved heart health and cardiovascular function. Having less cortisol flying around the body also means being less alert and more relaxed – the perfect set up for sleep.

The Ultimate Inner Thigh Workout: 5 of the Best Inner Thigh Exercises

• Sumo squat: Stand with your feet wider than your shoulders. Externally rotate your toes slightly, so your knees track toward your second toe. If you are not using weights, hold your arms in front of your chest. If you are using weights, hold them by your inner thighs. Inhale as you lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep a neutral spine and your chest lifted. Move your rear back a bit, like you're sitting in a seat. Stand back up.

• Lateral lunges: Stand with your feet together, holding dumbbells in each hand. Keeping your core engaged, take a large step to your left side. Bend deeply into the left knee, framing your shin with the weights while keeping your right leg long and chest lifted. Push off and return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side.

• Side-lying inner thigh lifts: Lie on your right side, cradling your head with your right arm. Bend your left leg and plant the foot in front of your right thigh. Hold on to your left ankle with your left hand. Keeping your core engaged, especially your obliques, lift and lower your right leg about three to five inches. Repeat on the other side.

• Glute bridge with prop squeeze: Lie on the floor, face up. Bend your knees, planting your feet flat on the floor. Place the prop in between your thighs. Exhale as you lift your hips, engaging your glutes and hamstrings. Press in firmly on the prop to tap into your inner thighs. Hold for about two seconds. Lower back down.

• Criss-cross flutter kicks: Lie on your back. Lift your legs to a 45-degree angle, while keeping your low back and palms connected to the mat. With pointed toes, criss-cross your ankles a few inches in each direction.

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