Nutrition Corner

These Are The Worst Snack Foods To Eat Because They Increase Your Insulin Resistance And Slow Your Metabolism, Experts Warn: In the world of snacks, not all options are created equal.

Research Shows Coffee Has 3 Health Benefits That Will Make You Want to Drink More: Most of us coffee drinkers probably know the benefits of coffee, right?

Recipe for The Day

The #1 Dessert to Help Relieve Acid Reflux, According to a Gastroenterologist: Nice creams are dairy-free desserts with the consistency of ice cream. They're quick and easy, as well as healthy and delicious. Plus, they almost always have simple ingredients, so this two-ingredient mango-banana flavor sounds perfect.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

Why You May Want to Start Journaling to Cope With Anxiety

• Journaling Can Decrease Overall Distress: If you’ve ever felt catharsis from jotting down your problems, you’ve experienced the phenomenon that underlies journaling for anxiety. Writing can get disturbing, troubling thoughts out of our heads. A 2018 NIH research study indicated that people with anxiety who completed a positive-affect journaling program had less mental distress after 12 weeks. They also had fewer overall depressive and anxious symptoms and greater resilience.

• Journaling Identifies Fears: Sometimes anxiety can feel like a nebulous cloud swirling over your head. When you purposefully tease apart your problems in writing, it can bring them into focus. From here, they can become more manageable.

• Journaling Helps You Find Solutions: Once you’ve identified problems or fears that are bringing you anxiety, the next step is tackling them with solutions. Birkhoff says it’s best to strike a balance between writing about anxious thoughts and seeking solutions to them. “There might not be obvious right answers for you initially, but slowing down the process by writing them out (and keeping them right-sized) opens up the opportunity to find meaningful solutions.”

• Gratitude Journaling Boosts Positive Feelings: Different types of journaling are useful for different aspects of anxiety. Sometimes you might simply want to vent to your journal about scary or upsetting stuff—and that’s OK. Other times, it’s more constructive to express gratitude. Research shows that expressing thanks in writing can be a powerful anxiety-buster.

What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Strawberries Every Day

• They May Lower Inflammation: Strawberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, natural anti-inflammatory agents that help reduce chronic inflammation and its associated health issues. According to a 2021 study published in Antioxidants, the antioxidants found in strawberries may help prevent and manage inflammation-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

• They May Reduce Heart Disease Risk: Thanks to their high levels of heart-loving compounds like anthocyanins, research shows strawberries can help protect your cardiovascular system by supporting healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. These heart-healthy benefits reduce cardiometabolic risk factors leading to chronic conditions like heart disease.

• They May Boost Brain Health: According to a 2022 systematic review in Scientific Reports, the polyphenols in strawberries—which act as antioxidants—may help maintain cognitive function as you age, enhance brain health and support mental sharpness. Strawberries are thought to have neuroprotective effects. Long-term strawberry consumption has been linked to slower rates of cognitive decline with age.

• They May Enhance Digestion: With their high fiber content, strawberries may help support healthy digestion, prevent constipation, and nourish the beneficial bacteria in your gut, concluded a 2020 study published in Nutrients. Fiber is a necessary part of digestive health, overall metabolic health, heart health and more.

The 4 Best Anti-Inflammatory Teas

• Black Tea May Lengthen Your Life: Go ahead and take it black: while black tea may not stand out as an exciting varietal, it's great when it comes to avoiding an early death. In a 2022 Annals of Internal Medicine study, researchers found that people who drank two or more cups of black tea daily had a 9% to 12% lower risk for dying during the 11-year study period.

• Green Tea Keeps Your Heart Strong: With its lower level of caffeine, you may be more comfortable sipping green tea throughout the day. The green brew, which comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, offers important catechins (powerful plant compounds that are responsible for its health benefits).

• Peppermint Tea Has Anti-Cancer Properties: The perk-you-up plant may be an invigorating sip, but it, too, quashes inflammation that can be linked to cancer. Peppermint leaves pack anti-inflammatory compounds, primarily eriocitrin as well as rosmarinic acid and hesperidin. That said, you're most likely familiar with menthol, which is what leaves you with a cooling sensation when you sip mint tea.

• Ginger Tea Protects Your Gut: It's time to take ginger out of your stir-fry and into your teacup. The rhizome is packed with phenols, including compounds like gingerols and shogaols. And beyond being a tummy soother for nausea and indigestion, a 2022 Frontiers in Nutrition review suggests these powerful antioxidants may also protect against neurological conditions including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease by reducing oxidative stress.

Forget push-ups — 5 dumbbell exercises to sculpt arm muscles

• DUMBBELL SKULL CRUSHERS: We prefer using dumbbells or kettlebells for skull crushers because you can increase your range of motion more than barbells and work both arms independently, but you can use a barbell. Hold one weight in both hands or dual load by holding one in each hand, which will require more stability. The arm exercise kills the triceps and helps overload the muscle group without lifting super heavy weights.

• DUMBBELL TRICEPS DIPS: Dips don't require weights, meaning you can dial up the intensity for your triceps using your body weight alone. The exercise also targets your pectoral (chest) muscles and the anterior deltoids (the fronts of your shoulders), helping to build shape in your upper arms. Use an elevated surface like a stable workout bench, push-up bars, or heavy kettlebells to position your hands away from the ground.

• DUMBBELL BICEPS CURLS: The biceps curl and hammer curl target the biceps heads differently, so we recommend choosing the best arm exercise for you and your muscle-defining goals. The biceps brachii in the upper arm has two heads: long and short. Biceps curls primarily work the short head using a palms-up (supinated) grip, and hammer curls target the long head (the outer muscle), plus other muscles like the brachialis and brachioradialis (a key forearm muscle) using a neutral grip — more muscles mean more bang for your buck.

• DUMBBELL ARNOLD PRESS: The Arnold press is one of the best compound exercises for building shoulder strength and muscle and perfectly complements your arm workouts by stimulating all three shoulder heads — the anterior, posterior and lateral deltoids — and triceps to help hone 3D shoulder muscles.

• DUMBBELL ZOTTMAN CURLS: To do Zottman curls, you'll perform a biceps curl by curling the dumbbells toward your shoulders, then turn your palms to face away from you and lower the weight again, as you would with a reverse curl. Zottman curls target the upper and lower arms and builds wrist and forearm strength by targeting the biceps brachii during the concentric phase (lifting) and the brachioradialis and brachialis during the eccentric phase (lowering).

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