Top search engine
When looking for accurate, relevant health information, you may want to start at the Web site healthline.com, which recently won the Webby Award for Best Consumer Health Web Site. The site is a fast, easy way to find and manage information on consumer health because it uses a search platform that quickly and precisely directs you to the information you need.
It’s unique in that it searches only the top health sites on the Web, delivering information that has been medically filtered to go immediately to what you seek. You also can easily tag particular information that you have found so you can relocate it faster in the future.
The site was founded by physician James Norman, who wanted consumers to have access to accurate and relevant health care information. More than 1,100 doctors, specialists and medical editors contributed to its writing and editing.
Relax, Einstein
Go ahead–kick your shoes off, lie back and be idle. It may be the best way to recharge both your mind and body, according to a feature in the August issue of the Ladies’ Home Journal.
It worked for Einstein, who had his eureka moment on the theory of relativity while daydreaming about what it would be like to ride on a sunbeam. J.K. Rowling conjured up Harry Potter while sitting on a train and gazing out the window.
Apparently, casual, stress-free moments let us make unique connections in a way that the focused mind cannot, says R. Keith Sawyer, professor of psychology at Washington University and author of “Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation” (Oxford University Press).
Even better, chilling out is a great way to keep our cardiovascular and immune systems shipshape. When you’re resting quietly, your blood pressure drops, your pulse rate slows and you breathe more deeply, says physician Michaela Axt-Gadermann, co-author of “The Joy of Laziness” (Bloomsbury).
For the grocery list
When shopping for the tastiest, most nutritious food choices for your family, take along a short list provided in the August issue of the Mayo Clinic Women’s Healthsource. It pinpoints enjoyable foods that can have a huge impact on reducing your risk of disease. Here’s what to toss in that shopping cart:
Apples, almonds, broccoli, blueberries, red beans (including small red, pinto and dark red kidney beans), salmon (preferably wild), spinach, sweet potatoes, vegetable juice (especially those that include tomatoes), wheat germ (sprinkle 2 tablespoons daily over cereals or salads, or add it when making muffins, cookies or pancakes).
Savor and be thin
Here’s the skinny on staying thin–enjoy every bite of food the Buddhist way. When you take a bite, set down your fork or spoon and connect with the food you’ve just eaten, suggests a story in the August/September issue of Eating Well. Feel the texture and the sensation of eating and take notice of when the food’s flavor was most intense.
This technique helps people to avoid overeating on automatic pilot because it forces them to pay attention to every morsel they consume, says Jean Kristeller, professor of psychology at Indiana State University at Terre Haute.
Kristeller has been studying this eating technique for 15 years. Termed Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training, it is believed to help obese people with binge-eating disorder to change their habits and lose weight.
