Health & Beauty Archives

One in 10 individuals will suffer from kidney stones at some point in their life. Composed of hard, painful mineral deposits forming inside the kidneys, these stones are both crippling and potentially chronic. Thankfully, patients can take action to reduce their chances of developing or redeveloping kidney stones by following a good diet, observing proper self-care, and adopting a comprehensive wellness plan. To that end, Living with Kidney Stones offers the most up-to-date information on this illness, paired with heartfelt insight from an actual kidney stone sufferer. Author Samantha Bowick has also written several articles to highlight all the important information one needs to know including the “Kidney Stone Survival Guide” below. Continue reading →

Most runners train by, well, running! However, doing only the same workout, such as running, every day, will cause weak muscles to become weaker and strong muscles to become stronger. In addition, the repeated movement of running can wear down the body because there’s little to keep the core strong and balanced, the muscles flexible and the body aligned. It’s time to bring in Pilates to add balance, strength, flexibility and focus. Pilates will build your body from the core outwards into a much more efficient running machine. You’re going to love the dramatic improvements in your running.

This brings us to these five Pilates exercises for runners. I discovered that my cardio outlasts my body when running. Living at such a high elevation has conditioned my heart and oxygen uptake superbly, so my cardio system operates like a finely tuned machine … but my core, hips, joints and feet can often feel like they want to call it quits. Continue reading →

How Carbohydrate-Rich Food Impacts Gut Health

Gut health is currently a hot topic. The subject of gut health is emerging in research, getting lots of media attention, and creating a probiotic boom on retail shelves through products like kombucha and kimchi. Search Google and you’ll find an overwhelming amount of articles with titles like “How to Heal Your Gut”, “Eat This to Keep Your Gut Happy”, “Healthy Gut, Happy Mind,” and many more. There’s no denying that our gut impacts our overall health. All foods influence your gut microbiota, which is why the type of food you eat, including quality and source, matter. To understand the gut and how it impacts our health you’ll first need to know about the bacteria that populate it. Continue reading →

As we (thankfully) step into 2021, we are hearing from more and more new viewers of The Whole Food Plant Based Cooking Show that they are taking their first tentative steps towards making the life-changing decision to switch to a plant-based diet. This uptick in interest is yet another indicator to us that Veganuary (January) 2021 will kick off what will prove to be a profound year of global transformation as the world moves towards recovering from the devastation of COVID 19 and the chaos of the last few years.

When we hear of people making the switch to a whole food plant-based diet, we are always interested to hear their reasons why. What we hear back tends to run along some common threads so we thought it might be useful to outline the five main reasons people make the shift to a plant-based diet. Whatever your initial reason for making the switch may be, learning about all of the other good reasons to live a plant-based lifestyle can serve as motivation to make your switch permanent. You will find a great selection of recipes in our our new book Plant Based Cooking Made Easy. Continue reading →

Not all signs of an impending heart attack are obvious and the subtle signs which go unnoticed can still result in a deadly outcome, adding to the tragic statistic that makes Coronary heart disease (CHD) the leading cause of death for men and women in America. Numbers don’t lie, and they’re staggering: Every 43 seconds, an American succumbs to coronary heart disease — that’s 2,000 lives a day. Some knew they had unhealthy hearts. Some didn’t recognize the early warning signs. CHD is the number one killer of both men and women in the US.

Here are 10 tips to reduce the risk of developing this deadly disease. Continue reading →

And just like that, the final act of 2020 and its festive holidays are once again upon us. Albeit this is an unusual year for many, for we the fitness community, between our squats, bench presses, and curls, like to celebrate with the best of them. But how can we remain motivated in a year in which much seems upside down and even the tools in which we utilize to forge our physiques remain, for many, closed.

The old adage that nutrition equates to some 90% of results is false. Is that to say that with near perfect eating we would look 90% of how we wish to? Fitness results are akin to the tripod of success in training, recuperation, and nutrition. But come the holiday season, it’s easy to swerve off track and even remain there until the coming new year.

Here are 5 tips that you can implement right now to help remain faithful to health and fitness, yet reasonably enjoy yourself this holiday season. Continue reading →

How to Combat Emotional Eating During the Holidays

Since COVID hit in March, many have integrated wine and a medley of chocolate chip cookies into a daily diet. It seems like there is extra time to binge watch Netflix and food. This holiday season, in addition to the stresses of everyday life, there will be even more emotional triggers that may drive us to overindulge. Being with certain family members or being further isolated from family can cause us to have certain visceral reactions and emotions. Many of us turn to food to deal with these added stressors. Often it makes us focus on the pleasure of taste and texture, and lets us detach ourselves from our emotions.

These behaviors can become habitual and we begin to look to food to escape our current stress or feelings. Here are 7 tips on how to head into this holiday season with self-care and self-love. Continue reading →

You’ve heard it all before. Yes, the slew of nasty comments from those caffeinated-beverage-naysayers. Coffee will give you bad breath! Coffee will stain your teeth! Coffee will give you adrenal fatigue! Coffee will keep you up all night! Pish, posh. Coffee will give us more time to do important tasks that we likely procrastinated during the daytime. Things like clean our houses, do our laundry, do our taxes, or just peruse Pinterest for hours on end. What if we were to say, “Coffee will improve your overall health!”? That got your attention, didn’t it? Perhaps even the attention of non-coffee drinkers alike.

Humor aside, coffee has some serious benefits. The coffee drinker can reap advantages such as: potential diabetes prevention, liver preservation (especially for the alcohol drinker), improved energy levels and brain function, cardiovascular protection, and more! Without further ado, here are some super amazing benefits of drinking coffee, that make us feel a little less guilty for our supercharged habit. Continue reading →

Did you know that turkey day is actually a very trashy day? But it doesn’t have to be that way. Too much plastic is needlessly purchased for the holidays. Are you ready to say goodbye to needless plastic this holiday season?

My new book called Say Goodbye To Plastic: A Survival Guide To Plastic-Free Living is packed full of tips to help newcomers to the plastic-free lifestyle as well as inspire practiced veterans to continue to dramatically reduce their holiday waste print. Studies have shown that very year Americans needlessly throw away 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s than any other time of year.

Let’s bring on the holiday cheer this year (yes, even in a pandemic) and put the brakes on using and discarding plastic. After all, why pay money for plastic packaging that is destined for disposal when you can save money and our planet by opting for biodegradable solutions and reusables instead. Continue reading →

Burning fitness question of the moment: If you have to wear a mask to work out, what’s the right way to do it? And how to do it with an activity like rowing that’s often high-intensity? Is it even a good idea?

Many of us don’t have a choice in the matter. Our gyms have decided that the only way we’re getting back in is if we wear a mask, even while working out. Other gyms and states have decided that wearing a mask while doing the actual workout is optional, although you have to wear one any time you’re not working out.

If you’re a fitness professional, though, it may come down to a choice between putting that mask on and working. The good news is, you don’t have to choose. It IS possible to wear a mask while working out or teaching. We dive in. Continue reading →

Health & Beauty

The Kidney Stones Survival Guide

5 Best Pilates Exercises for Runners

How Carbohydrate-Rich Food Impacts Gut Health

5 Reasons to Go Whole Food Plant-Based

10 Tips to Lower Coronary Heart Disease

5 Tips for a Healthier Holiday Season

How to Combat Emotional Eating During the Holidays

6 Amazing Benefits of Drinking Coffee

Tips for a Plastic-Free Holiday

How to Exercise with a Face Mask

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