Innehållsförteckning för January 2014 från Prevention

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE TASNEEMBHATIA,MD, medical director and founder, the atlanta Center for Holistic & Integrative Medicine TIERAONA LOW DOG, MD, director of the fellowship, the arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, university of arizona ANDREW WEIL, MD, director, the arizona Center for Integrative Medicine; clinical professor of medicine, university of arizona BOTANICAL MEDICINE JAMES A. DUKE, PHD, author of The Green Pharmacy: The Ultimate Compendium of Natural Remedies from the Worlds Foremost Authority on Healing Herbs KEVIN SPELMAN, PHD, distinguished lecturer, Maryland university of Integrative Health Breast health SUSAN M. LOVE, MD, chief visionary officer, the Dr. Susan Love research Foundation; clinical professor of surgery, UCLA School of Medicine DERMATOLOGY MARYP.LUPO.MD, clinical professor of dermatology, Tulane university School of Medicine DIABETES OSAMA HAMDY, MD, PHD, medical director, obesity clinical program; director of…

Good news for anyone with mild depression (or the winter doldrums): New research has found a spice that can help. In a recent. study published in Phytothempy Research, 1,000 mg daily of curcumin—an active compound in the spice turmeric—proved to be just as effective at treating depression as fluoxetine, the antidepressant better known as Prozac. “We studied the effects of curcumin on patients with major depressive disorder,” says study author Ajay Goel, PhD, director of epigenetics and cancer prevention at Baylor University Medical Center. “It’s possible it may issues, too.” Curcumin inhibits the production of monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that at high levels is linked to depression. Meanwhile, adds Dr. Goel, its anti-inflammatory properties make the compound a good supplement for anyone, whether you need a lift or not. The…

The latest in youngerlooking skin has roses in full bloom. That’s because rose hip and rose oils contain high levels of vitamin A, which increases skin-cell turnover and reduces wrinkles, and vitamin C, which helps even skin tone. “The molecules in rose oils are small, so they pass into the skin easily, delivering the active ingredients where it matters: the dermis,” says Susan Stuart, a boardcertified dermatologist. Find the oils in Origins Plantscription Youth-Renewing Face Oil ($49.50; origins.com), Dr. Organic Rose Otto Facial Serum ($20; hollandand barrett.com), and Lancôme Absolue L’Extrait Ultimate Eye Contour Collection ($250; (lanoncome.com). yes! Should I filter my shower water? Chlorine, fluoride, and aluminum can irritate your skin and compromise the ingredients in your products. “Washing with filtered water makes your skin care work better,” says…

What It Is You know the feeling: tight, itchy skin that leads to irrational urges to throw yourself into a vat of body lotion. Though some people struggle with dryness year-round, it’s more common when the thermometer drops. Flakes often cluster where we have the fewest oil glands: hands, feet, elbows, and knees. When they do, here’s what you need to know. Why It Happens Skin is hydrated through diet and by absorbing water from the air. but when the humidity drops and dry heat cranks, there’s less moisture available. Plus, as we age, our skin has less oil and glycosaminoglycans, which help it hold water. just layering on lotion won’t do it. For optimal hydration, try these tweaks. Dry Skin Switch Your Skin Care Cleanse Gently A foamy wash…

To a certain extent, it can, though dry brushing has been overhyped. It involves brushing the body with a natural-bristle brush in even, repetitive strokes. Starting at the feet and working upward, each stroke is directed toward the heart, stimulating lymphatic flow and drainage. The technique originated thousands of years ago and was used by Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese healers, who believe that disease is the result of blockages in the body. It was traditionally used for detoxing and in cases where the drainage of lymphatic tissue was obstructed, such as after an invasive procedure, or to stimulate circulation and improve blood flow in people with peripheral edema—fluid buildup in the extremities—or poor cardiovascular function. Even today, it may help with lymphedema, the fluid buildup that occurs when lymph nodes…

Is taming your sweet tooth your top New Year’s resolution? I have two suggestions that should help. 1. TRY GYMNEMA. This vine, native to India, seems to reduce sugar cravings. Add 30 to 40 drops of gymnema tincture (sold at health food stores) to a little water, swish in your mouth for 30 seconds, and then swallow. Repeat every 2 or 3 hours as needed. Because gymnema works only when it comes in contact with the tongue, extracts in pills or capsules won’t work. 2. TAKE BITTERS. Bitters may counteract your craving for sweets. Shake a few drops into water or club soda. I love Urban Moonshine’s elixirs. You can also try Angostura bitters from the supermarket. TIERAONA LOW DOG, MD, is the author of Life Is Your Best Medicine.…

Let’s face it: The seemingly virtuous smoothie has sunk to the level of health-food imposter—some concoctions pack more sugar than two doughnuts. We made it our mission to create clean, nourishing combos with less than 225 calories and 25 g of natural sugars. Break out the blender and drink up! detox Beet-Orange Bliss Vitamin-and antioxidant-packed superfoods, including oranges, carrot juice, and kale, help this dairy-free combo cleanse your system. Betalains in beets support your liver (the body’s detoxification center). For a squeaky-clean drink, use organic ingredients. Combine 1/2 cup chilled unsweetened brewed green tea, 1/3 cup chilled carrot juice, 3.4 cup chopped cooked beets, 1/2 cup frozen or fresh chopped kale, and 2 oranges, cut into segments (membranes removed) in high-power blender and puree until smooth. (Makes about 2 cups.)…

Spend just a few minutes prepping in the afternoon and you’ll be rewarded with a steaming plate of healthy Italian comfort food by dinner. Hearty Lasagna PREP TIME: 25 minutes TOTAL TIME: 4 hours 50 minutes 1 container (15 oz) part-skim ricotta 1/3 c chopped fresh basil 2 links cooked chicken sausage, diced 2 lg egg whites 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes 31/4 c tomato & basil sauce (we like Classico) 12 no-boil lasagna noodles 1/4 c grated Parmesan 1. Coat slow cooker with cooking spray. Mix ricotta, basil, sausage, egg whites, garlic, and red-pepper flakes in bowl. 2. Spread 3.4 cup of the pasta sauce in slow cooker. Lay 4 noodles over sauce (break to fit), and cover with one-third of the ricotta mixture and 1…

DON’T MISS THIS On Prevention.com The Pretty Skin Diet younger, radiant skin is just a few bites away. Get glowing at prevention.com/prettyskindiet ALSO ON OUR SITE <Total-body toning moves <Hearty, healthy breakfasts that slim <No-pill pain relief <Breaking health news <Workout videos & more! A PEEK AT OUR NEXT ISSUE <What you don’t know about your heart’s health—but should <How to get your body back in 6 weeks or less <The ancient spiritual technique that can heal your soul and heart <Get natural solutions for a perfect night’s sleep <Omega-3-rich fish recipes you’ll crave <Testosterone therapy: Is it really worth it? DIGITAL DOWNLOAD No matter what kind of phone or tablet you tote—Android, iPhone, Nook, Kindle Fire, or iPad—you can download each issue of Prevention with a simple click. Get…

What could be more amazing: A whole new year stretches out in front of you, ready to be filled with adventures, experiences, a thousand tiny moments to be savored. I love that sense of possibility. I want to hold it tightly and make this the biggest, best year ever; I want to hold it loosely and let things unfold. But mostly, I want to make this a year of living authentically, of knowing and speaking my truth. To kick that off, I am sharing an excerpt from my book The Sugar Smart Diet, about the sugar madness that has taken over so much of the food industry and how to reclaim your food choices, take back the pure pleasure of enjoying sweets, and maximize your personal health. So what will…

No longer does summer steal all the fresh-produce thunder. Winter greens actually taste sweeter when harvested t. after the first frost, thanks to the sugars they release to pre-j vent freezing, says Dana Whitl RD. Here, our five favorites: 1. Escarole is mild in flavor but high in folate. It holds up to heat, so mix it into soup or a warm, cozy pasta dish. 2. Beet greens, slightly sweet and earthy, are bursting with calcium and potassium. They wilt beautifully; briefly sauté and add to an omelet. 3. Kale is loaded with potassium and lutein. Try this bitter leaf raw with a dressing of shallots, lemon, olive oil, and Parmesan. 4. Bok choy has and Parmesan. crunch and calcium. Go raw in a slaw or pair with noodles and…

Sitting cross-legged on the through five different floor of a meditation room at Blue Cliff Monastery in New York State, Sister Dang Nghiem, 45, has the enviable air of a person who can (and does) sit still for hours on end without fidgeting. It’s not just because she wears the obvious markers of a monastic Buddhist life—the shorn hair, the brown robes. It’s that Sister D has a kind of radiant inner calm that you can only imagine she was born with. Except she wasn’t. Fourteen years ago, Sister D barely even meditated. She answered to the name Huynh Thi Ngoc Huong and was a family physician who lived with her partner, John, in San Francisco. She’d known since she was a little girl that she wanted to dedicate her…

No, not until they have been more thoroughly evaluated. E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that look a lot like cigarettes and contain nicotine but no tobacco; the smoke produced is vaporized liquid. Proponents claim that the electronic version is safer because nothing is burned and there’s no exposure to tar or carbon monoxide. Proponents also say that e-cigarettes can be used to help you stop smoking, but there is little data to back up that claim. A recently published trial did find e-cigarettes to be somewhat effective for people undergoing a smoking cessation program, but even the researchers admitted to significant study flaws, and success rates were very low. You may not be getting the carcinogens delivered by regular cigarette smoking if you opt for electronic versions, but your cardiovascular system…

This very common complaint has several explanations, but first you need to understand what causes bruising. Bruises are the result of any trauma that damages the network of very tiny blood vessels, known as capillaries, just below the surface of your skin. When these capillaries break, blood leaks into the soft tissues under your skin, creating dark purplish marks. As we age, we bruise more easily because our capillaries become more fragile and our skin and underlying connective tissue get thinner and provide less protection. Women bruise more easily than men, often because they have thinner skin with less protective collagen. Aspirin and other blood-thinning medications can increase your risk of bruising, because they reduce the blood’s ability to clot. Meanwhile, steroid medications, which can exacerbate thinning of the skin,…

STEP OUTSIDE your COMFORT ZONE Silence your inner naysayer and take on that challenge you’ve always wanted to try. Windsurfing? Hiking the red trail? Your bravery will reward you. THE PAYOFF Body: Greater confidence makes you more likely to try other activities and get in better shape. Mind: Breaking through the fear barrier builds grit, so when life gets tough, you have the strength you’ll need to take it on. Soul: You’ll feel more alive, energized, and joyful than you have in ages. PUT IT INTO ACTION 1. Pick a goal. Think of something that you’ve always wanted to try or loved as a kid but haven’t done since. 2. Then let go of what others think; they’ll likely admire you or wish they had the courage to take it…

Some scientists suspect that obesity is on the rise not just because we eat too much and exercise too little, but because of our never-ending diet of environmental chemicals. Of all the modern trends that have been linked to America’s ever-expanding waistline- portion size, more McDonald’s, couch potato lifestyles, and some lesser-known possibilities, like air-conditioning, viral exposure, and lack of sleep-one of the weirdest is designer handbags. If your brand-name clutch is making you fat, it would be because it contains, as at least some high-end handbags do, a new kind of chemical to worry about: compounds known as obesogens. Obesogens are believed to work in at least three ways: first, by directly affecting adipocytes, or fat cells, by either increasing their fat-storage capacity or increasing their number; second, by…

An experienced dog owner convinced Edith Kwok to take out an insurance policy on Buster, her new corgi puppy. Three weeks later, the energetic, stubby-legged pup tumbled down a flight of stairs and shattered his back right leg. The total veterinary bill, including a visit to the emergency clinic, medications, and surgery, totaled nearly $6,200—but Kwok’s out-of-pocket costs were just $1,200. “I feel so lucky that I got pet insurance,” says Kwok, a mother of two from Cupertino, CA. “The claim was easy to submit, and Buster got all the care he needed. His leg healed nicely, and he is back to being his fun, happy self.” As Kwok discovered, high-tech vet care can mean miraculous recoveries—but they don’t come cheap. Will your experience with pet insurance mirror hers? It…

You may never have heard of Kathrine Switzer, 66, but if you’re a woman who’s ever run a marathon (or even thought about running one), you can thank her. Switzer changed women’s running forever when, in 1967, she became the first woman to enter and run the men-only Boston Marathon. Wearing the race bib #261, she was attacked by one of the organizers, and the assault was immortalized in photographs of that historic race. “I was serious about my running and could not let fear stop me,” Switzer said later. She completed the 26.2-mile course and knew her life plan: to create more opportunities for women to run. Thanks in large part to Switzer, women were welcomed for the first time in the Boston race in 1972, as well as…

"This is my second month receiving Prevention, and I absolutely love it! I can’t wait to try the 30-20-10 cardio interval plan and the treats in “20 Snacks That Won’t Leave You Hungry.” Thank you so much." -Monica Foley LOVE IT Thanks for publishing the best article about the affordable Care act [aCa] I’ve read. It’s the only one in which the main goals are clearly and succinctly written. -Beth Lisberg Najberg LEAVE IT Your ACA article fails to mention that licensed health insurance agents are available to assist in choosing a health plan and can represent the insured. -Mary Jane Eadson SMILE I read your October issue in flight. To my delight, I saw your roasted chicken recipes-exactly what I planned to make for friends the night I got…

We love restorative yoga, but considering it involves a lot of lying around in supported positions, we don’t typically associate the relaxing classes with weight loss. But surprising new research presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting shows restorative yoga can also lead to firmer, flatter abs. Overweight women who tried the gentle practice for 6 months lost 2V2 times more belly fat than those who did only basic stretching. The theory behind the breakthrough: Restorative poses are held for minutes at a time and often use pillows and blankets to help you-reach a state of deep, blissful relaxation. When you’re calm, you produce less of the hormone cortisol, a leading cause of abdominal fat. To reap the benefits, balance out your workout plan (and your hectic schedule) with a…

Cassandra Cone put her family first until a painful epiphany inspired her to lose weight and care for herself, too. Cassandra’s Story I love being a mother. But with each of my three pregnancies, I gained about 50 pounds and found that I could lose only about half of that after giving birth. The extra pounds continued to accumulate, and while I knew I needed to do something about it, I felt that taking care of my kids was more important at the time. I’d deal with my health and weight later. Then life got even busier: My youngest was diagnosed with autism when she was 18 months old. I’d known for months that something was wrong—she wasn’t talking or developing normally-but receiving an official diagnosis was incredibly painful. I…

Brad Pitt may have a condition known as prosopagnosia. Famed neurologist Oliver Sacks is also among the 2% of all people who have this rare neurological problem that makes them unable to recognize faces. As you can imagine, that disability can make it extremely difficult to function in everyday life. Neurologically speaking, recognizing a face is extraordinarily challenging—it’s difficult to integrate all the sensory aspects into that recognition. And that’s why many people, especially as they age, may find that they have a little trouble recognizing people they meet out of context (not to mention remembering the name that goes with the face!). Prosopagnosia differs from this occasional problem; if you have it, you can’t recognize family or friends. The visual parts of our brains process such an enormous amount…

The real questions you need to ask are: "What’s preventing me from hitting my health goals?" and "Where’s my internal strength when I need to make healthy choices?" To access your buckle-down-and-make-it-happen motivation, you need to dig deeper. With a little help, you can strengthen your mental muscle. Your Challenge You feel like you’re running in 90 directions at once—but never the right one. ADAPT & ADJUST Sit still for 10 to 15 minutes a day. Whether you call it meditation or quiet time, sit quietly and check in with yourself, focus on your breathing, and calm your mind. Don’t "think" your thoughts—let them drift away as you concentrate on deep, slow, rhythmic breathing. These sessions, practiced once or twice a day, will strengthen your prefrontal cortex, the executive center…

Editorial Director, Prevention America’s diet has been sugar-jacked. Our foods are being gunked up with hidden sugars in ways - and to an extent-that most of us don’t realize. We still tend to think about sugar as we did when we were kids: a pure, sweet treat that makes dessert taste like, well, dessert. But in the past 40 years, new forms of sugar have crept into food processing at an astounding rate. Now most American adults consume a staggering two-thirds of a cup of added sugar every single day. And let’s be clear: These are sweeteners added to food as an ingredient, not sugars that occur naturally, as they do in fruit. What’s driving this increase is not just supersized cheesecakes or gigantic Frappuccinos. Sugar in its many forms…

PHOTOGRAPHS by Frances Janisch Root Vegetable Soup PREP TIME: 20 minutes TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 5 minutes Serves 6 4 c reduced-sodium chicken or beef broth or stock 3 c low-sodium tomato juice 4 carrots, sliced 3 thin-skinned boiling potatoes, scrubbed and chopped 2 med parsnips, peeled and sliced 1 onion, cut into eighths 1 rib celery, thinly sliced 1 clove garlic, smashed 1/4 c finely chopped fresh parsley 1/4 tsp cumin 1. Combine broth and tomato juice in large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. add carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onion, celery, and garlic. reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetables are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. 2. Stir in parsley, cumin, and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Heat through. (Makes about 11 cups.)…

Can’t think straight? Try these surprising tips to ease headaches. If it’s a recurring issue… I eliminated soda from my diet and replaced it with water. Though my headaches aren’t completely gone, it made a huge difference! —Missy Loy If stress brought it on… Take L-theanine. —Cricket Eisele DOCTOR’S NOTE: Although a 50 mg dose of the amino acid has been shown to relieve stress and improve focus, it’s also thought to lower blood pressure, so consult your physician before use if you’re on blood pressure medication. If allergies are to blame… A nasal spray with saline does the trick. —Amy Fowler If it’s inflammation-triggered… Swallow 1 or 2 capsules of turmeric and 1 teaspoon of yogurt, and chase it with a glass of water. —Marjo Rautaoja If you want…