Google “celebrity stretch marks” or search for #LoveYourLines on Instagram, and you’ll find that stretch marks can happen to anyone. The long, narrow streaks, stripes, or lines occur when the collagen and elastic tissue in the skin is damaged from stretching quickly, such as during puberty, pregnancy, or during rapid weight gain. Rapid weight loss can also cause stretch marks if excess skin pulls on healthy skin. Stretch marks are more common in women than men and frequently occur on the stomach, thighs, hips, breasts, upper arms, and lower back. They’re typically red or purple at first and … [Read more...]

Having strong and healthy fingernails is more important than a good looking manicure. In fact, what your nails look and feel like has more health significance than you may realize. Nails can actually tell you a lot about what’s going in your body, including if you have any deficiencies, thyroid issues, or more severe illnesses and diseases.We’ll dive into all the potential issues your nails may signal and what those issues can mean. (Do note, however, that this advice shouldn’t take the place of speaking with a medical professional. If something looks and feels off, the first thing you … [Read more...]

Storing food in the right place isn’t just about flavor, it’s about food safety. Some foods in your pantry or on your counter should be refrigerated—and some guidelines might surprise you. Here are 13 foods that should go from your pantry to the fridge.Condiments Ketchup, mustard, mayo, horseradish, and barbecue sauce can contain enough vinegar or other acid to make them shelf-stable, but once opened, refrigeration keeps them fresher longer. Opened mayo may be stored in the fridge for up to a month, and ketchup, mustards, and barbecue sauce for up to a year. Fruit spreads Fruit spreads … [Read more...]

While motherhood brings lots of joy, it also brings a whole lot of changes to your body. One change many women don’t talk about is diastasis recti, a condition that affects the abdominal muscles and connective tissue. Let’s take a look at the causes of diastasis, how to spot it, and what you can do about it. What Is Diastasis Recti? Diastasis recti (DR) occurs when the front fascial connection between the two muscle bellies of rectus abdominis—also known as the linea alba—thins. In other words, the connective tissue that holds the two sections of your top abdominals together stretches out … [Read more...]

With all the different diet techniques available, it’s sometimes difficult to know what actually works. You may hear “low carb” or “Whole30” on the daily, but those diets restrict certain types of foods—and nobody likes to say no to foods they enjoy. Enter intermittent fasting (IF). This protocol, which is less of a diet and more an eating pattern, focuses on when you eat instead of what you eat. To do it, you simply have short and recurring cycles of not eating (called fasting) followed by windows of eating. IF is based on the notion that regular, short fasts help your body burn fat more … [Read more...]

Most people don’t realize it, but probiotics have a long history. Fermented products, such as kefir and miso, have been used therapeutically for 10,000 years or more. In the early 1900s, Russian scientist Elie Metchnikoff theorized friendly bacteria in yogurt enhanced physical and mental health and prevented aging, which sparked an uptick in yogurt consumption in Paris and other places.As scientists have further uncovered the role of the human microbiome in health, and the development of various diseases in the past few decades, probiotics have become a hot health trend once again. Today, … [Read more...]

When you picture a healthy diet, what do you see? Lots of salads, maybe some smoothies, a little steamed broccoli? It’s easy to guess what you’re not envisioning, though, and that’s sugar. Cookies, cakes, and ice cream are sweetly seductive, but what about naturally sweet eats? Sugar occurs naturally in many foods, including fruit. In fact, because fruit is naturally higher in sugar than, say, vegetables, some popular eating plans (such as Atkins, Paleo, and Keto) strictly limit fruit intake, at least for a period of time.However, fruit is packed with good stuff that many of us don’t get … [Read more...]

How connected are you during your workouts? Life is full of distractions which can get in the way of a solid workout whether you exercise at home or in the gym. TVs, phones, and mental distractions such as work or family stress can leave you with lackluster results in the gym.Cue the mind-muscle connection. Getting rid of distractions allows you to tap into your true strength potential and build quality muscle. Let’s dig into what it means to connect your mind and muscles, plus the best strategies to do so.Unfolding the Mind-Muscle Connection Simply put, the mind-muscle connection … [Read more...]