February 5th, 2010 jsinclair
It’s no coincidence we often crave to be physically pampered, nourished, and soothed when we’re feeling stressed or run down — it’s our body’s way of telling us we need some tender loving care.
And according to the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, now science is backing this up. The college notes that studies conducted at the TOUCH Research Institute at the University of Miami have revealed that massage increases the availability of all neurohormones affecting brain chemistry.
According to the study, massage can increase focus and fine motor skills. It can increase alertness or bring on intense relaxation and easier sleep, relieve pain, and even help with tissue repair.
Read more about this new massage research at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine.
My fingers are crossed that soon insurance companies will see the value of massage in preventive care. I mean, it’s about time…right? We’ve all known this for years!
Image: Veer Photography
—Julie Sinclair, editor-in-chief
Tags: acupressure, adrenal glands, massage techniques, massage therapy, neurohormone, sympathetic nervous system
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February 4th, 2010 jsinclair
I always look forward to the annual San Francisco Yoga Journal Conference, not just because of the great marketplace that’s open to everyone (this year I especially enjoyed sampling ZICO coconut water and being guided by Grace Aroma Wellness on what essential oil would help boost my immunity) but also because of the amazing yoga teachers it brings to town.
One of them was Spa contributor Felicia M. Tomasko, who is also a registered nurse, a practitioner of Ayurveda, and the editor-in-chief of LA Yoga magazine. (Want a soothing yoga practice you can do at home? Check out 8 Yoga Poses for Simple Stress Relief that Felicia sequenced and wrote for Spa. The poses are beginner-friendly, and while simple, they are highly effective at calming the body and mind.)
One night during the conference, I was lucky enough to share dinner with Felicia. As we were heading to my apartment and discussing what to eat, we agreed that we wanted something warming, grounding, and healthy—yet simple enough to whip up quickly so we wouldn’t spend the whole evening cooking. So we stopped at a grocery store, and the result was the following stir-fry that took only about 1/2 hour to make, including preparation.
INGREDIENTS
1 pack of Thai rice noodles
3 small bunches of bok choy (sliced lengthwise)
1 yellow onion (chopped)
4-6 chives (chopped)
4-5 cloves of fresh garlic (peeled and crushed or chopped)
3-5 inches of fresh ginger (peeled and sliced)
1 head of broccoli (roughly chopped)
3 tablespoons of sesame seed oil (add more as needed while cooking)
2 tablespoons of mustard
DIRECTIONS
1. Boil water and prepare rice noodles according to package
instructions. When done, rinse and set aside.
2. Add sesame oil to a hot wok or large frying pan, then add onions,
garlic, and ginger and cook until onions are translucent (about 3-4
minutes). Stir constantly.
3. Add broccoli and mustard, and stir until broccoli is your desired tenderness.
4. Add cooked rice noodles, stir until noodles are mixed in and warm, then serve.
Voila! This turned out to be so delicious and easy, it’s going to become a dinner staple of mine. We ended up going with mostly green vegetables, but you could include anything that sounds good to you or you have handy in your fridge. For me, the ingredient I am now going to keep in my house regularly is fresh ginger. In addition to adding a tasty zing, ginger offers a host of benefits.
If you try the recipe, please let me know how it turns out—especially if you do some experimenting and find that you think more or less garlic is better, or if you’ve tried a different mix of ingredients in the stir fry.
Bon appetit!
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottfeldstein/ / CC BY 2.0
—Julie Sinclair, editor-in-chief
Tags: broccoli, ginger, healthy stir fry recipe, rice noodles, sesame oil, sesame seed oil, Stress Relief
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January 28th, 2010 Maria Wakem
Every New Year, I vow to kick my coffee habit, but halfway through January something always prompts me to break my promise. This year it was the scent of my husband’s Sumatra Gayo Mountain roast wafting through the kitchen that made me give in.
The good news is that black coffee has close to zero fat and calories. The bad news is that I don’t drink my coffee black.
According to a recent study by the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, I’m not alone. In a survey of about 3,000 purchases from Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, “approximately two-thirds of the purchases at Starbucks and one-fourth of purchases at Dunkin’ Donuts were blended coffee drinks.“
The study reported that these blended beverages average about 239 calories. Some, like Dunkin’ Donuts Vanilla Bean Coolatta, add up to 860 calories and 172 grams of sugar in just one 32-ounce serving.
That just makes me want to give up my morning cup (again).
Click here to read the full report.
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsmall/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
—Maria Wakem, senior editor
Tags: blended coffee drinks, calories, coffee drinks, dunkin donuts, starbucks
Posted in health & wellness | 1 Comment »
January 26th, 2010 Stephanie Kinnear
It’s not every day that you get to ask a world-renowned dermatologist about your skin issues. But tomorrow you’ll have just that chance.
Dr. Murad, founder and CEO of Murad skincare products, will be hosting a one-hour webinar tomorrow, January 27, at 11am PST. If you have a computer, you can participate.
During the webinar, Dr. Murad will talk about his research on health and aging, answer audience questions, and share before and after photos of people who have improved their appearance and health with simple life changes.
In order to participate in the webinar, all you have to do is click here to register.
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
Tags: dermatologist, dr murad, murad skincare products, webinar
Posted in beauty, health & wellness | No Comments »
January 21st, 2010 Stephanie Kinnear
If you’ve been skimping on your sleep during the week while planning to make up for it with extra shut-eye over the weekend, you might want to rethink your plan. According to a study released in the January 13 issue of Science Translational Medicine, sleeping in on Saturday might make you feel better in the short term, but the negative effects of chronic sleep loss will linger on and on and on …
According to the study: “chronic sleep loss from six hours of sleep per night for two weeks causes a similar level of impairment as staying awake for 24 hours” and, at this point, experts do not know how many nights of sufficient sleep it takes to make up for that loss.
The study also notes that approximately 16 percent of Americans routinely operate on 6 hours of sleep a night. Experts we’ve interviewed recommend getting at least 7 hours!
You can read more about the study here.
So, how many hours of sleep do you get every night?
Image: Corbis
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
Tags: hours of sleep, sleep, sleep loss
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January 14th, 2010 Veronica Sooley
As the resident fashionista and stylist here at Spa, there’s little that brings me more joy than a really good sale. Starting today, one of my favorite online discount shopping sites, Gilt Groupe, is having a “Renewal Weekend Sale” and I just had to share the news.
Spa favorites like Blueprint Cleanse, Beyond Yoga, and Exhale Spas are offering their services and products at MAJOR discounts:
Exhale Spa (NY Location) – 10 Core and Yoga classes: MSRP $280, Gilt $179
Blueprint Cleanse – 5 Day Cleanse: MSRP $375, Gilt Price $277
Beyond Yoga – Two tone tank: MSRP $66, Gilt $28
Pure Inventions – Anti-Oxidants Fruit Extracts with Blueberry and White Tea: MSRP $41, Gilt $20
You need an invitation to join the sale site, and luckily Spa has one right here for you! Just click here and follow the easy instructions to join. Make sure to shop soon, as these sales only last for 2 days and items are already selling out quickly.
Also if you’re looking for amazing travel discounts, check out Jetsetter, one of their sister sites. They currently have rooms on sale at The Tides Zihuatanejo, Hotel Fauchere, L’Auberge Del Mar, Paresa Resort, LeBua, and Charleston Place.
Happy shopping!
—Veronica Sooley, photo editor
Tags: Blueprint Cleanse sale, Exhale Spa, Gilt Groupe invitation, travel discounts, yoga classes
Posted in fashion & beauty, health & wellness | 2 Comments »
January 13th, 2010 Victor Maze
These days, eating well has become a confusing endeavor. Should we choose low-carb, fat-free, or “lite” snacks? Local, organic, or cage-free eggs? Fully commit to veganism, or enjoy a daily steak on the Atkins diet?
Clarifying these culinary conundrums, the new book Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual ($11, Penguin Books) is a concise guide that’s easy-to-use and easy-to-read (I finished it in an hour or so). But don’t let the book’s simplicity be deceiving. You may recognize its author Michael Pollan as the journalist behind The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, two bestsellers from the past few years that each received heaps of critical praise, including the food industry’s highest honor, the James Beard Award.
In his last book, Pollan condensed years of research into a seven-word motto: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”Divided into three sections, Food Rules elaborates on each of these terse sentences with easy-to-digest rules of thumb.
Advocating a return to traditional, non-Western diets, Pollan offers sage advice from doctors and nutritionists, as well as anthropologists, folklorists, and even grandmothers. When creating his rules of healthy eating, he also took into consideration more than 2,500 reader suggestions, solicited last year on a New York Times wellness blog.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: food rules, michael pollan, review, western diets
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January 6th, 2010 jsinclair
With the New Year now under way (and resolutions to keep!), it’s great to be reminded that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is actually pretty easy—with the right direction, that is. Our friends at Canyon Ranch offer these 5 suggestions for keeping ourselves happy and healthy now and for many years to come:
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#1 – Take it Day by Day
Commit yourself to making one doable, positive change in your life each month in 2010, then find the internal discipline to stick with it. Tip: Take a hint from 12-step programs, and tell yourself that you’ll take it one day at a time. |
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#2 – Exercise Regularly and Eat Well
Physical functionality won’t happen without it, so don’t stint on activity. Resolve to do something every day—this will help you develop a genuine exercise habit. Studies have shown that exercise is good for mental function, as well. When it comes to eating, skip junk food and fast food—sticking instead to whole grains, fruit, and vegetables and lean meats. |
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#3 – Be Positive
Try to find joy and give joy each day. You don’t have to be happy all the time—no one is—but try to find the silver lining whenever possible. To a large extent and in the long run, happiness is a choice we make. |
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: canyon ranch, health secrets, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, New Year's resolutions, yoga classes
Posted in fitness, health & wellness, mind & spirit | No Comments »
December 30th, 2009 Stephanie Kinnear
Now that the new year is just around the corner, I’m working on my list of resolutions. One of them is to be more consistent about wearing sunscreen every day. My fair complexion needs it!
Kerstin Florian’s Oil-Free Daily Defense SPF 50 ($55) is what I’m planning to use. I like it because it’s not too thick and not too greasy. It actually has a matte finish, which I love. And just a little dab of it is enough to cover my whole face.
The sunscreen also acts as a lightweight moisturizer and is enhanced with vitamin C and Co-Enzyme Q10 (a powerful antioxidant), so I feel like I’m doing all sorts of wonderful things for my skin when I put it on.
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
Tags: kerstin florian, matte, Oil-Free Daily Defense SPF 50, sunscreen
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December 23rd, 2009 Stephanie Kinnear
Ever wondered how many calories are in those little ham sandwiches your airline hands out as you’re flying over Ohio? If you have, then you’ll want to read The Diet Detective’s Annual Airline Snacking and Onboard Food Survey.
The Diet Detective (Charles Stuart Platkin) surveyed seven major airlines and gathered nutritional information on all their onboard food offerings. In his report, he shares those findings, recommends the best snack choices on each airline (hint: skip the muffins), and estimates the amount of exercise it will take to burn those snacks off once you land.
If you’re interested in making smart food choices while you travel, you might want to read the whole survey. I did and I’m sticking with the honey-roasted peanuts.
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wordridden/ / CC BY 2.0
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
Tags: charles stuart platkin, diet detective, exercise, major airlines, nutritional information, smart food choices, snack food
Posted in health & wellness, travel | No Comments »
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