Nutrition Corner

Nutritionists and dietitians reveal the foods they avoid in their own lives: Nutritionists and dietitians share healthy eating tips and the foods they avoid.

That salad isn't just good for your nutrition–it may help stave off depression: Growing evidence suggests consuming healthy foods and micronutrients fosters better mental health, while poor-quality diets diminish it.

Recipe for The Day

Try this protein-packed smoky chicken quinoa soup recipe: This delicious smoky chicken quinoa soup recipe packs in 42 grams of protein and 12 grams of fibre per serving for a healthy and quick lunch or dinner.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

The 5 Health Benefits of Spicy Food

• Less Depression Symptoms: When eating spicy food, the body triggers a relapse of endorphins. Endorphins are the neurotransmitter that is related when the body experiences something pleasant. They can help relieve pain and stress and improve your overall sense of wellbeing.

• Boost the Microbiome: Eating spicy food can help keep your gut microbiome healthy and diverse. There is evidence that capsaicin can be beneficial for your gut microbiome. Capsaicin can stimulate a healthy gut flora and have a positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract.

• Decreased Hunger: With obesity being the growing public health problem that it is, the hunger-decreasing health benefit of spicy food can aid those hoping to lose weight to live a healthier life.

• Faster Metabolism: Capsaicin, the compound in peppers that make them spicy, has been found to boost the body’s ability to break down fat and burn more energy. As we age, our metabolism often slows, so incorporating more spicy food into your diet will help you give it the extra boost it needs.

• Increased Longevity: Adding some extra spice to your diet can help increase your longevity. According a health journal, “spicy food consumptions showed highly consistent inverse associations with mortality among both men and women after adjustment of other potential risk factors.”

Sneak More Exercise Into Your Daily Routine: 4 Steps to Achieve Your Health Goals

• Set a routine: Creating a regular habit of working out would be ideal -- duh! This "habit loop," consists of three parts: a cue, a routine and a reward. Each person will have a different response to these three elements. It's important to experiment with what cues and rewards work best for you to develop a consistent routine of training.

• Start small: A lot of people assume they need to run themselves ragged in the gym to get more fit, but that's really not true. All you need is about 30 minutes a day.

• Habit stack: Habit stacking, popularized by James Clear in his book Atomic Habits, is a way to create small yet healthy habits. This term might be new to you, but it's really straightforward: you "stack" the new behavior (exercising) onto a habit you already have to help you remember to do it. This will cause the combo to become a habit.

• Get active at work: Your work day doesn't have to be totally sedentary. Rather than using your full lunch hour to eat, take some time to go to the gym, speed walk around the office or run errands. You can also break up the drudgery of the day by taking a walk during one-on-one meetings instead of sitting at a desk or conference room -- anything to get up and get moving.

3 Hip-Opening Yoga Poses - Best Stretches for Tight Hips

• Butterfly Stretch: Butterfly stretch is a seated hip opener that is gentle enough for all levels. Begin seated on the floor with your spine elongated. Bend both knees and bring the soles of your feet together. Stay right here, or reach your hands around your feet as you hinge at your hips and fold, bringing your torso over your legs. You can also extend your hands toward the front of the room as your hips become more flexible. Hold for 30 seconds.

• Malasana/Yogi Squat: While standing, turn your toes out about 45 degrees, bringing your heels in towards one another. Bring your hands together at your chest and squat down as you place your elbows inside your inner knees. Press your elbows into your knees to lengthen your spine. You may sway from side to side or hold still. If this is intense, you can place a block or folded towel beneath your sacrum to prop you up. Hold for 30 seconds.

• Happy Baby Pose​​: The happy baby pose opens the hips and inner thighs and releases the lower back. Lie on your back on your mat, inhale, and pull your knees to your chest. Hook your elbows inside your inner knees and reach your hands to the outside of both feet. If that’s not available, place the hands on the back of the knees. Guide the knees outside of the ribcage and bring the soles of the feet up to the ceiling. On the exhale, draw the knees wider and closer to the ground. Breathe deeply, and consider swaying side to side for a lower back massage. Hold for at least 30 seconds.

4 Static Hold Abs Exercises to Make Your Belly Disappear

• Low Boat: Lie on your back with your arms overhead, palms facing up with a block or water bottle in your hands. Press your low back down, then lift your legs and upper body up into a Low Boat Pose. Hold it strong, reach through your heels and toes, and breathe deeply.

• Toe Reach: Lay on your back, with your legs extending up vertically towards the ceiling. Extend your arms forward, keeping them straight. They should be parallel to your legs. Crunch forwards, reaching up to your toes with your outstretched arms. Lower yourself, and repeat.

• Wiper Hold Left & Right: Lie on your back with your arms straight out to the sides. Lift your legs and bend the knees at a 90-degree angle. Rotate the hips to one side, without letting the legs touch the floor. Lift your legs and return to the starting position. Rotate the hips to the opposite side and repeat until set is complete.

• High Plank with Shoulder Tap: Place right hand under right shoulder, then left hand under left shoulder to come into a high plank. Keeping hips square, lift right hand off the floor and tap left shoulder. Lower right hand to the floor, then lift left hand and tap right shoulder. Keeping hips square, lower right elbow to the floor, then left elbow, to return to a forearm plank. Do two knee taps, then return to high plank.

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