Food Storage: AvocadosStore in/on: fridge, counter If you have a rock-hard avocado, put it in a brown paper bag on the counter; it’ll be good to go in 2 to 5 days. Gotta have guacamole fast? Add a whole apple or banana to the bag to shave a day or so off the wait. Once it’s ripe, you can keep it that way for up to 3 days by moving it to the fridge....
For the most part, we’re guilty of skipping vacations for two reasons, the survey notes: It can be tough to coordinate family schedules, and a holiday can often seem too darn expensive to justify. Both are fair challenges, but taking time away from the office is a boon for your mental and physical health. In fact, women who don’t take regular vacations (fewer than one every six years) are eight times more likely to develop heart disease or suffer a heart attack compared to those who travel at least twice a year, according to data gathered in the Framingham Heart Study....
Break up your mileage.Interval workouts feel less unwieldy than a long run. “Breaking any long run into more manageable chunks of distance makes it seem like you’re not running as far,” says Jason Fitzgerald, a 2:39 marathoner and founder of Strength Running in Washington, D.C. “When you divide it into a warmup, fast repetitions, recovery intervals, and a cool down, the total mileage seems less daunting.” You can go harder during those short intervals than you would when just doing a steady run for the same distance, too....
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Germany recruited some tough subjects for their study on compassion: a group of 2-year-olds. For their experiment, adults dropped something and then pretended to have trouble picking it up, at which point the toddlers were either allowed to help, or watched someone else help. More from Prevention: 4 Stories Of Ultimate Acts Of Altruism The results? The toddlers’ pupils dilated equally in both situations, indicating that they got a positive boost in both situations....
By the time the holidays rolled around, I looked and felt awful. My skin was dull and breaking out constantly, I felt bloated and slow, and I had definitely put on a few pounds. This did not exactly do wonders for my self-esteem, especially at a time when I was already stressing about my job situation. Something had to change. And since there’s nothing like the possibility of starting fresh every January, I resolved to try Whole30 and see if I could get my relationship with food back on track....
Here’s what you can get from 30 minutes of rope jumping: 318 calories burned (brisk pace, based on a 140-pound woman) Your muscles—the gastrocnemius, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, abdominals, forearms, and deltoids—get a workout. [sidebar]Your agility, hand-to-eye coordination, and balance will improve so that you’ll feel more sure on your feet. Rope jumping is also second to none for building strong bones. If you are concerned that you’re too uncoordinated or worried about your knees, don’t be....
Three years later, Schernhammer landed at Harvard Medical School in the Channing Laboratory—the perfect place to find an answer to that question. The lab is home to the Nurses’ Health Study, one of the largest data banks of women’s health information ever amassed. She tapped into medical, work, and lifestyle records gleaned from 78,562 nurses. The end result, published in 2001, was startling: Nurses who’d worked 30 or more years on night shifts had a 36% higher rate of breast cancer, compared with those who’d worked exclusively days....
Trade meat for hearty legumes. Substitute 1/4 cup of cooked beans, peas, or lentils for each ounce of meat in recipes; try it in tacos, pasta dishes, meat chili, soups, and casseroles. Redirect savory cravings. That rich flavor you crave is called umami—meaning “savory” in Japanese. Considered the fifth taste, it’s common in meat and fish but can also be found in a variety of vegetarian-friendly sources, including mushrooms, aged cheeses like Parmesan, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and walnuts....
Kathy Freston used to be one, and you can tell. The 39-year-old author and meditation counselor is intensely beautiful: all long legs, gobs of hair, deep blue eyes that shine with warmth and intelligence, and a used-to-be-shy, nice-girl vibe. Yet for a woman who looks as though she could have George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Colin Farrell wrapped around her finger all at once, her choices in men were once baffling....
[sidebar]Know that it’s sneaky. Nearly two-thirds of melanomas among African-Americans occur in areas that get little sun exposure, including feet, palms, toenails, the inside of the mouth and nose, and, in women, genitals. If you notice an odd mark, see your doctor right away. Protect yourself. Wear sunscreen, long sleeves, and a hat. In addition, examine your skin from head to toe every month. Look for deep-black spots on skin, and deep-black streaks on nails....
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If you and your joint bank account are getting a little naughty on the side, you’re not alone. A new study from Self magazine and Today.com surveyed 23,000 adults and found that almost half of spouses lie to each other about their finances. And most of the cheaters—56%—are women. 7 Mistakes Even Smart Couples Make Go ahead and blame it on shopping. Women went to extremes to hide their habit (a whole third of them admitted to stashing purchases or receipts out of sight) and more than 25% said they pretended something was old when in fact it was fresh off the rack—and we’re not talking the sale rack, either....
You could make the claim that 64-year-old Juliette Bergman is unlucky. She was working in one of the World Trade Center towers in 1993 when it was first bombed, and again on September 11, 2001. Both times she lived to tell the tale, but as a result of severe trauma, she suffered from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and depression. For eight years, Juliette was on anti-depressant drugs. She gained over 35 pounds and was unable to regain a happier mood....
Ashley’s answer: Your script for ordering must sound a little like this: “I’ll take my salad plain, please, with no cruciferous veggies, nothing raw, no dairy, no mushrooms…so I guess that leaves me with plain iceburg lettuce. But is that even good for me? You know what, I’ll pass on the salad. Can I get a water—no ice?” Sadly, this isn’t a Cathy cartoon. It’s what goes through the minds of roughly 30 million women who suffer from IBS....
In the study, people who ate apples before they shopped bought 28 percent more produce than consumers who had cookies. They also bought fewer unhealthy items. MORE: 4 Snacks You Can Actually Binge Eat The explanation is simple: Once you eat a healthy snack, your subconscious continues to steer you in the same direction, says study author Aner Tal, Ph.D. That’s good news for your waistline: Instead of consciously trying to change your behavior, this kind of priming helps you make healthier choices with basically no effort, he says....
The research: University of Caen researchers ran two studies on human cells. The first exposed cells to commercial pesticides’ active ingredients—the ones responsible for killing bugs. The second exposed them to full mixtures containing inactive ingredients. The results showed that 8 out of 9 mixtures were several hundred times more toxic than the active ingredients alone—the popular pesticide Roundup being the worst. What it means: Current pesticide safety testing is typically done on the active ingredient alone, and excludes inactive ingredients that are later added to mixtures....
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Tenderize meat.Increase the juiciness of holiday roasts by marinating them overnight in Greek yogurt mixed with herbs and spices. Craft a new trifle. Layer yogurt with pomegranate, walnuts, and honey in a parfait cup for a gluten-free treat. (Check out these 11 pretty perfect pomegranate recipes.) Top desserts.Serve pumpkin pie, gingerbread, and other desserts with a dollop of rich Greek yogurt instead of sugary whipped cream. Make healthier ice cream....
