Tips to Help Reduce Holiday Stress and Lose Weight Naturally

Holiday stress has become so rampant that it has become increasingly hard to associate this time of the year with heart-warming traditions like caroling and nutmeg.

Thankfully, there are a few things you can control by planning ahead.

* On a tight budget? Opt for a gift exchange or do some online research on how to create unique, yet inexpensive homemade gifts.

* Do holiday crowds at the mall make you cringe? Shop online. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time, or you’ll be stressed your packages won’t make it on time!

* Worried you’re going to pack on the pounds? Schedule realistic times to exercise and stick with your plan. Physical activity is one of the best ways to reduce holiday stress. Even a short brisk walk will do wonders.

Tips for Keeping the #1 Resolution: Weight Loss

Weight loss is the number one resolution for Americans! According to the National Center for Health Statistics, heart disease is one of the leading causes of death (which is directly linked to obesity). It is therefore no wonder that each year more and more people attempt to get healthy.

With all the advertising for mouth-watering dishes joined with time-crunched schedules, resisting quick, unhealthy food can be extremely difficult.

Combine our societal influences with a new research study funded by the National Institutes of Health on dieters who struggle with emotional eating, and resolution commitment becomes harder and harder and may explain why so many people who lose weight gain it all back.

Time Outdoors Helps Settle ADD/ADHD Children

With summer vacation in full swing, many families are still planning last-minute getaways or making final preparations for well-awaited vacations. However, for parents with a child that has ADD/ADHD, there are some recently discovered considerations to factor into travel itineraries.

Studies conducted at the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign by Frances Kuo, Ph.D., suggest that ADD/ADHD children show less hyperactivity and distractibility when in natural surroundings.

Whether planning a vacation around a natural setting or incorporating greenery into everyday activities, exposure to nature has shown to be effective in reducing ADD/ADHD symptoms.

Ticked-Off Tuesday: What's Bugging You Today (and What's Your Fave Way to De-Stress?)

Ticked off about something today? In another round of Ticked-Off Tuesday, I'm opening up this post to hear your rants, and more importantly, to hear about all the healthy ways you deal with your stress (because we all could use some new coping techniques, right?) ...

Today, I'm totally peeved that my dog rolled in something gag-inducing on the lawn outside--again--and I'm going to have to give her a bath (or else deal with this gross smell all day--she's an indoor dog). Did I mention that she's an enormous, 90-pound golden retriever?! Bathing her is an event!

So yes, a small gripe today--nothing huge, which makes me count my blessings, for sure. But, I'll tell you, when my husband gets home today, I'm going to hand off the baby and toddler and go on a herculean jog--it's my favorite way to deal with stress!

Think Your House Is Messy? Check This Out

My house is on the real estate market right now (want to buy a cute house in Seattle--call me!), which means I'm obsessively cleaning--constantly. But, if it wasn't, I'd be letting the dishes pile up, and I'd be feeling bad about messes. You too? Here's a Web site that will make us all feel better...

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The messiest apartment in America? MyApartmentMap.com is on a mission to find it via their (brilliant!) "Messiest Apartment in America" contest. Click through some hilarious photos (and frightening ones too ... bloody pillows, what?), like the ones below, which should make you feel better about the state of your household:

The Hottest Butt in the World (According to One Contest), and Some New Butt-Toning Advice

Today's fitness news? It's about your bottom. Let's talk fit rear-ends and oh my goodness, have you seen this crazy "Best Bottom in the World" contest?

Apparently "Boom Boom" has the distinction of being American Apparel's current top-rated bottom. Their, sort of crazy, contest is looking for the "Best Bottom in the World." (Funny, and maybe a clever marketing stunt, yes, but it also bugs me the way contests like this dissect women's bodies--you know? Sorry, just irks me!)

Speaking of bottoms, have you noticed that butt-blasting fitness and "get back into your skinny jeans" fitness programs are everywhere? (Sort of makes me think I need to pay more attention to my rear-end!) One way to trim your tush? Sign up for Body by Glamour, of course! WebMD also took a look at butt fitness recently (yes, butt fitness), and shared some pointers on improving your rump. Here's what they had to say:

The Hidden Health Issue He’s Not Talking About: Male Eating Disorders

While clinical reports say that one out of ten patients with an eating disorder is male, many researchers and clinical psychologists estimate that number to be much greater, largely due to cultural differences between men and women. Generally speaking, the media portrays the societal ideal for men as muscular, strong, and athletic, emphasizing body mass and definition versus weight loss, the primary focus for women.

Along with striving to attain this highly desired masculine physique, maintaining “masculine behavior” is also often highly valued, which would stereotypically dismiss freely discussing emotions and psychological problems and shun the idea of seeking help. However, these behaviors perpetuate the perhaps false notion that anorexia and bulimia are predominantly female issues.

The Health Benefits of Yogurt

One of the most commonly eaten snacks is also one of the healthiest foods available, if you pick the right one. Yogurt's nutritional content includes vitamin B12, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), zinc, potassium, protein and molybdenum.

Because of these ingredients, yogurt has numerous health benefits, including providing protection against ulcers, reducing the risk of colorectal cancer and regulating cholesterol levels. That's not all; yogurt contains healthy bacteria which have been proven to boost immune system response and promote digestive regularity.

Choosing the best yogurt for you

The easiest rule of thumb to follow when choosing a yogurt that will provide the most health benefits is to look for the least processed types, with no added flavors or sugars. Greek yogurt is a great option. It is typically plain and available in a low-fat version.

The Health Benefits of Fish Oil

Every time I read the statistics about fish oil or see headlines such as “Fish Oil Helps ADHD”, “Survive Depression with Fish Oil”, and “Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease with Fish Oil”, I begin to think, is fish oil really that great? To get the answer to this question, first we have to understand what fish oil contains that can purportedly help all these ailments.

Fish oil comes from the tissues of an oily fish and is recommended for a healthy diet because it contains omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid, all of which reduce inflammation in the body. The funny part is fish do not actually produce omega-3- they eat it! Predatory fish like albacore tuna, salmon and mackerel eat microalgae, which contain the fatty acids, and we in turn eat those fish.

The Health Benefits of Dry Skin Brushing

Did you know the skin is the largest organ in the human body and is responsible for ? of the body’s detoxification each day?  It is also the most important elimination organ and gets rid of approximately two pounds of waste acids a day.

The skin receives one third of all the blood that circulates in the body and is the first organ to show signs of imbalance. For this reason, dry brushing is one of the most simple at home methods of promoting overall health.

Dry brushing benefits:

Helps to shed dead skin cells to eliminate clogged pores, improve skin texture and promote cell renewal

Increases circulation and lymph movement to encourage metabolic waste elimination

The Healing Power of Nature

"Within each of us, nature has provided all the pieces of the puzzle necessary to achieve exceptional health and wellness then let it up to us to put them all together."

~ Diane McLaren

Following this principle includes getting enough sleep, exercising, feeding the body nutritional food and, if needed, additional ‘earth food’, such as herbs.

Herbal plants can gently assist the body without the side effects posed by some synthetic chemicals in modern pharmaceuticals. The emphasis in holistic health is on building health, not only on fighting illness.

This is achieved by creating a healthy lifestyle and healthy relationships.

The Effects of Diet on ADHD

While prescription medications are often used for their fast results, ease of use and availability, studies show that nutritional intake can have significant effects on behavior—without the drugs, which can cause side effects and mask symptoms, rather than address the problem itself.

Making changes in diet may be a trial and error process to uncover the best approach. People may be affected differently from additives to sugar, which can cause mixed behaviors, from hyperactivity to cognitive functioning.

Most of us can relate to the effects food can have on behaviors from comparing how we feel after eating a meal consisting of fresh, unprocessed foods like vegetables or broiled fish versus a high-fat, sugar-laden meal from a fast food chain. Often after eating the latter, our body feels sluggish, weak, and often plagued by indigestion. For someone suffering from symptoms of ADD/ADHD, it can thus be seen how increasing intake of substances that alter behaviors in a negative way is thus detrimental. Furthermore, since food is such a factor that we have relatively high control over, why not consider experimenting with it?

The Downside of Fad Diets – How to Lose Weight the Healthy Way

It seems that every week, especially during the summer months, the latest celebrity weight loss ‘secrets’ or fast-track diets are promoted. However, the consequences and long-term results of these often risky weight loss methods are rarely mentioned. While it may seem tempting to try these fads to slim down for swimsuit season, it certainly isn’t worth compromising your health!

False Positives

Many of these lose-weight-quick schemes result in the shedding of water weight, which is quickly gained back once regular eating is resumed (one cannot live on grapefruits or a liquid diet forever!). In addition, starvation-type diets that may offer quick results are very detrimental to the metabolism and lead to subsequent weight gain- often leading to not only gaining back the weight that was lost, but increasing the original number on the scale!

The Best D-fense against Colds

Forget C. It's vitamin D that appears to mount the strongest defense against the common cold. When investigators from the University of Colorado in Denver asked 19,000 people of all ages about their health habits and then took blood samples, they discovered that those with the lowest level of vitamin D reported 40% more respiratory problems, including more frequent colds, than those who had normal D levels. D-deficient asthmatics really struggled: They were five times more likely to have had a recent respiratory infection -- and among those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who were also low on D, respiratory infections were twice as common.