Boost your brain in 20 seconds It might sound too good to be true, but it’s not. High-intensity interval training—HIIT for short—not only helps people slim down, but it pumps up their cognitive performance too, finds a new study. Not really sure what HIIT is? We’ve got four expert tips to help get you started. Have a better breakfast We’re talking to you, McMuffin mavens. According to Canadian researchers, breakfast sandwiches can have a scary effect on the way our blood vessels function: Over time, our consumption can significantly increase our chance for heart attacks and stroke. The good news? You can skip the drive-thru and cook up these four heart-healthy sammies instead.  3 new ways to get fit Researchers from the Stanford Prevention Research Center found that, after one year, women who were asked not to lose weight were significantly more successful at maintaining a healthy weight. Turns out that moving away from the all-or-nothing attitude that surrounds dieting is the key to dropping pounds. Ready to do the same? Here’s how. How to scale back on sweeteners Before you reach for those “no sugar added” products, consider this: Sugar doesn’t just go by “sugar.” In fact, labels like to hide the sweet stuff with an awful lot of names, including “sucrose” and “syrup.” To catch these sneaky substitutes, check out 10 Sneaky Names of Sugar to curb your addiction for good. Natural beauty cures in your kitchen Baking soda! Milk! Brown sugar! While these may sound like what you need to bake a cake (mmm frosting), they’re actually ingredients for our favorite DIY beauty recipes. Seriously—once you see how beneficial to your beauty routine your pantry can be, you’ll never be the same. Check it out!

Health News From the Week of October 28   Prevention - 66