When you're feeling an energy slump, it's good to know which things will keep your tank full —and which will leave you sputtering on empty

 

By Tamar Haspel -- Womens Health Magazine

 

Of all the things we'd like more of —time, sleep, another finger-scoop of cake icing —energy is at the top of most of our lists. For almost all of us, energy levels swirl down the day's drain as more hours pass. Slowly leaking. Until. We. Finally. Crash. Sometimes, we don't know what makes us tired, whether it's too little sleep, too little exercise, too much stress, a lack of sunlight, or just the evening news. But we do know many of the cures —and they come in the form of what you drink, eat, and pop. So here's a guide to the major myths about energy-boosters, and what you can do to make sure you have energy to spare.

Myth: Sweet snacks give you a sugar high and then a sugar crash.
If you're sluggish at 4 p.m., conventional wisdom says you're hypoglycemic. Your blood sugar's low, and a handful of M&Ms will make those levels —and you —spike and then plunge. But that line of thinking has as much truth as the Loch Ness legend, without even a grainy photograph to back it up.

"There's no evidence to support the idea that midafternoon tiredness is caused by hypoglycemia, or that healthy people feel normal fluctuations in blood sugar," says Phillip Cryer, M.D., professor of endocrinology and metabolism at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "The threshold for symptoms of low blood sugar is 50 to 55 milligrams (mg) of glucose per deciliter of blood, and it's very, very rare for a healthy person to get to those levels."

Rather than being low on blood sugar, you're low on serotonin —the brain chemical that makes you feel focused, attentive, and energetic, says Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., a researcher in women's health at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Instead of the celery sticks: Bring back the carbohydrates. Carbs become glucose in your bloodstream, and as insulin goes to work on the glucose, it starts a chain of chemical events: An amino acid called tryptophan travels to the brain and converts to serotonin to keep your energy up. Dr. Wurtman goes against conventional wisdom by recommending snacks that are almost pure carbohydrate —which means the vending machine licorice or a small bag of pretzels isn't necessarily off-limits anymore.

 

 

A fading memory is more frustrating than a dying cell phone battery. Five tricks to keep your brain on top of its game

By Allison Winn Scotch -- Women's Health Magazine

We all forget to drop off the dry cleaning, where we left those blasted car keys, and if we already put on deodorant for the day. Brain atrophy already? I know the feeling well. My mind used to be sharper than the scent of patchouli at a Phish concertuntil my son was born. For the past year, I've been blaming my scattered self on "mommy brain" until I learned that women actually become sharper after they give birth. Recent research from the University of Richmond found that the brain cell structures vital for communication double during pregnancy and that postdelivery the pathways to the hippocampus (where learning and memory are focused) are redefined and more efficient. Crap. There goes that theory. That's why I enlisted the help of a few experts like all-time Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings (after all it's hard to forget a guy who won $3 million) to tell me their best memory-boosting tricks — and tried them out myself.

BRAIN BOOSTER Focus on What Fascinates
My father is a brain surgeon, so I've spent most of my life bombarded with talk of aneurysms, cerebrums, and hypothalamuses. Not that I can remember any of it. So when my dad asked me to attend a talk on his latest research, I challenged myself to retain some of it. The problem? I find science so damn dull.

"If you think something is boring, you just haven't been hearing the right facts about it," says Jennings, author of a book on the phenomenon due out in October 2006. "Try to explain ballet to people who hate it and they'll be bored stiff. But they might be a little more interested if you told them about the 1913 premiere of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, where the audience actually rioted because the music and choreography were so shockingly modern." Or just make the information at hand more relevant to your life or the lives of your listeners to maintain attention span.

 

Bye-Bye, Baby Belly!
The best way to get rid of that pregnancy paunch

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By Beth Howard

If you really want to get rid of your pregnancy paunch, you need to strengthen the innermost layer of abs, the transverse muscles, says Julie Tupler, R.N., author of Maternal Fitness. Her new DVD, Lose Your Mummy Tummy (available at Maternalfitness.com), features exercises designed to close up a diastasis — a separation in the central abdominal muscle that can occur when your belly expands during pregnancy. Here's one exercise to get you started:

 

 

BY HOLLY CRAWFORD from ivillage.com

(PHOTO: NICOLAI GROSELL)

What's Giving Away Your Age?

Our secret plan for defying Father Time: Think beyond the crow's-feet. "Most women are so conscious of every little wrinkle on their face, they forget about the other body parts that may be showing some wear and tear," says Jeanine B. Downie, M.D., a dermatologist in Montclair, New Jersey. So by all means, let's deal with those wrinkles — but aging affects everything from the whiteness of your teeth to the thickness of your hair, so it's imperative that you address your problems from head to toe. The key thing to remember: Every sign of aging boils down to changes in texture and color. The rich sheen of your hair begins to fade; skin that was smooth grows rough. Likewise, every remedy involves preventing, reversing or at least compensating for those changes. So choose your weapons and let the counterattack begin.

Your Teeth
You don't have to say a word about your age — pearly (or not-so-pearly) whites will say it for you.

Age giveaway: Years of eating and drinking can leave your teeth yellow or gray, and if you smoke, forget it. But size and shape also matter. Young-looking teeth are vibrant, with clean, rounded edges, explains Dallas cosmetic dentist Dale Greer, D.D.S. Older ones are the opposite (small, worn, chipped). In addition, your gums may recede over time and leave you looking as if you have gaps between your teeth, he says.

Reverse the clock: Peroxide-based whiteners deep-clean and brighten. To try: Crest Whitestrips Renewal. (A dentist's treatments will give you striking results in just one day — but at a much higher price.) If teeth are worn, ask your dentist about a bite guard to prevent grinding. To correct tiny or damaged teeth, ask about crowns, veneers and recontouring. Gum-recession gaps? Consider caps.

Your Neck and Chest
Four words: Look below your chin. Like your face, that area has suffered environmental damage — from the sun, wind, pollution — and it shows.

Age giveaway: If you care for your face (using moisturizer, wrinkle concealer, etc.), it may look a whole lot better than your neck and chest, which may be leathery, spotted or deeply wrinkled. That contrast says you're older than your face reveals.

Reverse the clock: "It sounds simple, but you should treat the skin of your neck and chest just as you would your face," says Dr. Downie. Every day, apply creams with antioxidants like vitamins A and C. Your doctor can use a combination of chemical peels (or microdermabrasion and a laser) to fade age spots and firm up sagging skin. Botox injections in the vocal cord area can improve the look of a turkey neck, says Dr. Downie. To slow further damage, use a broad-spectrum sunscreen daily.

Your Hair
Here you're contending with not one but three aging factors: time, chemicals (from dyes and highlights) and the environment (yep, it does damage in this area too). "A 25-year-old can have 50-year-old hair — and vice versa, depending on the level of exposure to these elements," explains Atlanta stylist Gary Travis.

Age giveaway: For every cause of aging hair, there's a different manifestation. Dryness — in the form of messy frizz and loss of shine — is public enemy number one. Damage or age is to blame if your hair used to look good but is now thinning or dull or has a dishwater color.

Reverse the clock: Hair isn't alive, it's dead — but so is a cashmere sweater, and it will still look better if you care for it. Older hair is thirsty, says Travis, so first and foremost, you need to give it moisture — but not the kind you find in the shower, which is drying. (It sounds counterintuitive, but the less often you wet your hair, the healthier it will be.) Instead, after every shampoo, use a protein- or antioxidant-rich conditioner or treatment to strengthen and protect and to restore shine. To try: Nexxus Y Serum.

If you color your hair, try touching up just the new growth rather than recoloring (read: damaging) your whole mane. It's also important to soften your color as you get older, says colorist Louise Galvin, who's based in London, England: "The same tone that looked good when you were younger can seem too harsh as you mature." Your cut can also make a difference: Ask for one with movement, then keep ends trimmed and go easy on ultrahold products — a stiff, supercoiffed look always adds years.

Your Hands
They take a daily beating, says Dr. Downie. The culprits: everything from harsh soaps and shuffling papers at the office (both suck out skin's moisture) to the UV dryer at the nail salon (which — who knew — contributes to those dreaded age spots).

Age giveaway: As you get older, hands look bonier and veins become more visible — both the result of reduced collagen production. Sun spots from years of exposure become more pronounced.

Reverse the clock: You don't have to wear gloves, but you do need to protect your hands with sunscreen — just as you'd apply hand cream. Exfoliate regularly to improve circulation and texture, and moisturize 24-7. For paper-thin skin that really shows the veins, ask a doctor about laser therapy to help the overall appearance of your hands. Restylane injections will work faster (plumping up the backs of your hands) but are more costly and can be painful.

healthy junk food

Some days that low-fat trail mix and veggie medley just don't cut it

from womenshealthmag.com 

No problem. With these 100-calorie snacks, you can indulge your serious junk food cravings without having them take a serious toll on your health.

Cocoa Via
It's made by Dove, so you know this chocolate tastes good. It's also engineered to have more heart-healthy antioxidants than other dark chocolates, making this your best bet for a chocolate fix.

Pop Secret 100 Calorie Pop
There's a lot of popcorn in these single- portion-size bags but not a lot of calories, fat, or even sodium. Doesn't matter if you're feeling sweet or salty: Pop Secret offers both butter and kettle corn flavors.

Glenny's Bar-B-Que Soy Crisps
Okay, they're 140 calories. But it's so much food! We're big fans of soy chips because they're stuffed with protein — 9 grams a bag. These chips make our list because they provide 25 percent of your daily calcium and folic acid requirement.

VitaMuffin
1. We love muffins. 2. We love chocolate. 3. We have a lot of respect for fiber and all its health and weight-loss benefits. Enter VitaMuffin — it's a muffin, it's chocolate, and it provides 6 grams of fiber per serving. We think we're in love.

Your Mommy Body
A head-to-toe guide to the changes — and what you can do about them

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By Jeannie Ralston from parenting.com

I was getting out of the shower recently and did something I normally don't dare do. I took a glance at my body in the mirror. The glance turned into a stare.

My body, once so lithe and lean, looked shockingly like the lumpy, droopy bodies of older women I used to pity smugly in locker rooms. What happened? I thought.

Kids are what happened. Ever since my body endured two pregnancies, childbirth, and nursing, it's never been quite the same, even now, eight years later. "Creating a baby and giving birth, your body has gone through some remarkable changes," says Iffath Hoskins, M.D., an obstetrician in Savannah. "Many parts of your body will revert back to normal, but not everything. After kids, your body redefines what normal is."

Three women, three sleep problems...solved!
The Worrier The Woman Kristen Nelson, 30, nursing student at the University of California at San Francisco The Problem A racing mind. Nelson frequently lay awake for hours. "My mind would just race," she says. "I'd be like, 'Tomorrow: Do I need to bring my lunch, should I buy it at school, should I bring my laptop with me?'" Exhausted, she felt fuzzy and irritable during the day. The Solution Nelson started going to bed 2 hours later, while forcing herself to rise at her regular time. You'd think this practice — known as sleep restriction — would only make her more tired. And in the short run, it did. But it also meant that she fell asleep faster and slept more deeply. "It squashes all the sleep into one block of time," says Edward Stepanski, Ph.D., director of the sleep disorders center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. "Once we've improved the quality, we work on the quantity." Nelson gradually shifted her bedtime earlier until she was getting 7 hours straight.

What (and how) to eat so you'll stay strong and sexy for decades By Matt McMillen
The fountain of youth has yet to be found, bottled, and sold for $3.99 at Whole Foods. But that doesn't mean the secret to living a long, healthy life can't be bought at the supermarket. "By eating right, you maximize the probability that you won't develop conditions like diabetes or Alzheimer's," says James Joseph, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. Beyond choosing the best foods, new and intriguing evidence shows that eating less — less than you probably think — can reduce the toll time takes on your body. We pored over the latest research on how food affects your life span and found seven no-fail food rules. Follow them — plus the detailed eating plan we created — and you'll have the best possible chance of blowing out 100 candles on your birthday cake. Not to mention keeping your much older self out of the rocker and on the dance floor, yoga mat, mountain bike — or wherever else you want to be.

14 sneaky ways to shave 100, 300, or 500 calories from your daily diet Trying to slim down but can't bear the thought of giving up your daily dish of dulce de leche fro-yo? No problem. Too much deprivation is bad for dieters — trimming more than 500 calories a day can slow down your metabolism and trigger cravings intense enough to sabotage even the most valiant weight-loss efforts, according to Cynthia Sass, R.D., coauthor of Your Diet Is Driving Me Crazy. So the only question is: How fast do you want to lose the weight? Whether your goal is to shed a pound a week (the amount you can lose if you cut 500 calories a day) or a pound a month (if you cut 100), we've got the tricks and tips you need to kiss those extra pounds goodbye — without kissing off cake. To Lose 1 Pound Per Week Dodge dining-out disasters Even your seemingly healthy grilled swordfish and vegetables can pack more calories and fat than a stick of butter. "Many restaurant meals contain up to 2 ounces of added oil [500 calories]," says Anita Jones, founder of the Healthy Dining Program, which analyzes the nutritional content of restaurant food. Pasta dishes are notorious: Oil is used throughout the cooking process and added to sauces and cooked noodles. Stick with steamed veggies and grilled, poached, or broiled lean protein (like poultry and fish), and ask the chef to prepare your dishes without oil. Or just cook meals at home instead of eating out.

His body is a wonderland. Here's how to use it well By Lauren Russell Women's Health Magazine
The idea that men are completely lacking in sexual subtlety went out with parachute pants. From the hormones coursing through his brain to the tendons tensing in his toes, his body in sex mode is just as complex as yours. Use this advanced guide to male anatomy to rock his world in new and improved ways — and get your rocks off more often in the process. Lips A smile isn't the only signal he sends with his mouth. His pucker is packed with nerve endings that — when touched, licked, or kissed — tell receptors in his brain to fire feel-good endorphins. In a new relationship, a smooch also provides information, says Helen Fisher, Ph.D., professor of anthropology at Rutgers University and author of Why We Love. "Are you timid or courageous or sensual?" A kiss can tell all.