Your Gluten-Free Diet May Not Be as Effective as You Think It Is

With celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham going on gluten-free diets these days, it’s tough not to get caught up in the excitement. Could giving up pasta or bread be the solution to your health problems? A commentary published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests otherwise.

A gluten-free diet is important for those who have celiac disease—an autoimmune condition brought about by gluten. Those who don’t have it and still follow a gluten-free diet apparently have a condition called nonceliac gluten sensitivity. With 18 million Americans supposedly suffering from it, it’s not difficult to understand why more and more people are trying the diet out. Still, celiac researchers Dr. Antonio Di Sabatino and Dr. Gino Roberto Corazza of Italy’s University of Pavia believe that there is no concrete medical proof of the statistic, and neither is there universal agreement on how to cure it.

Unfortunately, there is no concrete way to tell whether or not you have nonceliac gluten sensitivity. Researchers can only say that there is no need to cut gluten completely out of your life until a general consensus among medical experts surfaces. Nevertheless, choosing the right foods to eat is part of the key to good health, so make sure that you still monitor the nutritional value of the food you put on the dinner table.


source:femalenetwork

Importance of Core-Strengthening

What’s your favorite type of exercise? If you’re like most people, cardio is at the top of your list. But focusing too much on cardio while neglecting core-strengthening exercises can result in weak core muscles and poor flexibility — and that can increase your chances of getting hurt. Even those who do conventional weight lifting may be vulnerable to injury, since this type of exercise tends to isolate muscle groups and neglect those all-important core muscles.

Benefits of functional fitness:

It will strengthen your core muscles.
Functional exercises require you to use several muscle groups in one fluid movement. This will strengthen and develop the muscles in the back, abdomen, pelvis, and hips, and promote stability and flexibility — all essential for preventing injury and helping you maintain a healthy weight.

It will tone your muscles and improve bone density.
Even if you're diligent about cardio workouts, you need core-strengthening exercises to further improve muscle tone and bone density. Combining a cardio routine with core training will not only make you stronger, it will also help promote good posture and balance.

No expensive equipment needed!
The best part? Incorporating core exercise into your exercise regimen doesn’t require you to buy fancy, expensive equipment like balance boards and pulley-type machines to see results. We recommend the following:

•A bench or a chair without arms
•A mat or thick towel to protect your back and knees during floor exercises
•Light hand weights

Preparing Budget Foods

The best way to take advantage of buying budget foods in bulk is to cook them in bulk. Choose your recipes carefully — make meals that allow you to cook large amount of food at once so you can freeze the leftovers for a second meal. That cuts back on valuable time and gas spent going to and from the market and the amount of time you have to spend cooking.


It’s important to always have a plan for your leftovers to maximize every dollar spent. “If you bake a whole chicken, use leftover chicken in a salad or sandwich the next day for lunch," suggests Brennan.


Eating healthy on a budget does require some effort and planning, but the reward is worth it — affordable, healthy food on your family's table.


source: healthyliving

Exercise Now

Staying active can keep you feeling and looking your best — at every stage of your life. An active lifestyle is especially important for senior health because regular exercise can help prevent heart disease, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer, and it can also reduce pain associated with arthritis. By improving balance, flexibility, endurance, and strength, older adults can stay healthier longer. The National Institute on Aging is a great resource for learning more about the exercise benefits for seniors. Just remember to check with your doctor before beginning a new exercise program.

Study Shows Bosses Are Meaner When They Get Less Exercise

Is this true?

Having to handle a bad-tempered boss is not exactly anyone’s idea of a dream job, but it is, most unfortunately, quite common. You know the type—they love to blame you for everything, scream at you in public, and so on and so forth. There could be various reasons for such behavior, but according to a new study published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, one of the reasons could be lack of exercise. Simply put, your boss just doesn’t spend enough time working out.

The researchers reached their conclusion after gathering 98 MBA students and asking them to fill out a questionnaire. Their respective supervisors were also tapped for the study. While the students answered questions that probed at the level of abuse their supervisors handed out, the bosses were asked about their exercise habits and stress levels.

Results showed that the more stressed out the supervisors were, the more the employees felt abused. Meanwhile, the more the bosses worked out, the less victimized the students felt.

Unfortunately, the consequences of having a mean boss don’t end at the workplace. Another study reports that people who have had to deal with mean bosses end up bringing the tension back home, creating problems for many marriages. One small thing can balloon into a huge argument. In most cases, you'll find that stress is at the center of everything.

Stress can bring out the worst in people. Your boss may be mean, but it’s probably because he or she can’t handle the pressure properly. In the meantime, you have to watch your own stress levels as well. No matter how toxic it gets in the workplace, try not to let it affect your personal life. And if you find you're turning into a mean boss as well, you may want to try hitting the gym.


source:femalenetwork

Does Your Personality Dictate Whether You'll Be Overweight?

Personality traits may play key roles in body weight, according to a new U.S. study.

Researchers from the U.S. National Institute on Aging found that people who are impulsive, cynical, competitive or aggressive were more likely to be overweight. And those who are highly neurotic and less conscientious are likely to see their weight go through many ups and downs.

"Individuals with this constellation of traits tend to give in to temptation and lack the discipline to stay on track amid difficulties or frustration," said the researchers in an institute news release. "To maintain a healthy weight, it is typically necessary to have a healthy diet and a sustained program of physical activity, both of which require commitment and restraint. Such control may be difficult for highly impulsive individuals."

For the study, published online July 11 in the American Psychological Association's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the researchers examined data compiled over 50 years on nearly 2,000 generally healthy and highly educated people to determine how their personalities might affect their weight and body mass index.

The participants were assessed on the so-called "big five" personality traits — openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism — as well as 30 subcategories of these traits. They were also weighed and measured over the course of the study.

Although people tend to gain weight as they age, the study found those who are impulsive were the most likely to be overweight. People who scored in the top 10 percent on impulsivity weighed an average of 22 pounds more than those in the bottom 10 percent, the researchers said.

"Previous research has found that impulsive individuals are prone to binge eating and alcohol consumption," the study's author, Angelina R. Sutin, said in the news release. "These behavioral patterns may contribute to weight gain over time."

Those who are risk takers, antagonistic, cynical, competitive and aggressive also had greater weight gain, the study showed.

On the flip side, the study found that conscientious people are typically thinner and their weight did not trigger changes in personality during adulthood.

"The pathway from personality traits to weight gain is complex and probably includes physiological mechanisms, in addition to behavioral ones," Sutin concluded. "We hope that by more clearly identifying the association between personality and obesity, more tailored treatments will be developed. For example, lifestyle and exercise interventions that are done in a group setting may be more effective for extroverts than for introverts."

source: healthandnutrition