The Worst Foods for Your Skin

Posted on February 26, 2013 by admin

It may be a myth that eating chocolate causes pimples (thankfully), but new research shows that other things on your grocery list can affect your skin. Diets high in dairy products and high glycemic index foods like white bread, pasta, and cookies may worsen acne, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

“Hormones are the main factor thought to increase acne,” says lead study researcher Jennifer Burris, RD, a doctoral candidate in nutrition at NYU Steinhardt. “Milk contains a lot of hormones, and they remain high even after processing.”

Increases in blood sugar and insulin levels are another major culprit behind breakouts—and unfortunately, consuming both dairy and high glycemic index foods can cause spikes.

So while high glycemic index foods and dairy aren’t actually the cause of acne—not everyone who consumes these will see a change in their skin—they can cause flare-ups if you’re already prone to complexion problems.

If you do decide to cut back on the cow juice, make sure to get enough calcium from other sources. “Your daily calcium goal is 1000 milligrams,” says Frances Largeman-Roth, RD, the New York Times best-selling co-author of The CarbLovers Diet. “You can work toward that by incorporating spinach, swiss chard, kale, dried figs, and tofu into your meals.”

Love pasta or rice but hate pimples? You don’t have to give up carbs altogether. Just switch to whole-grain options like brown rice or whole-wheat pasta, or eat something with a lower glycemic index alongside your white carbs. “Pairing beans and vegetables with white pasta or rice will lower the glycemic impact of the meal,” Largeman-Roth says.

photo: Pixland/Thinkstock

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The Best Apps for Saving Money

Posted on February 26, 2013 by admin

You can increase your next bank statement with the click of a button—but there’s a catch: That button has to be part of a money-saving app or website. Nearly 60 percent of the people who frequently use online banking tools say the resources helped them save more cash, according to a recent survey from the insurance and investments company Country Financial. As an added bonus, 70 percent of all the people who reported using the tools say they’re also great for staying on top of their finances.

“The reality is that if you break down your financial life into a series of smaller, doable goals, you can spend less and save more,” says Catey Hill, a personal finance journalist and the author of Shoo, Jimmy Choo! The Modern Girl’s Guide to Spending Less and Saving More. “Lots of apps and websites can help do that.”

Hill shared a few of her favorites. The sooner you sign up for (or download) these, the sooner your bank account can start growing:

Mint.com
You may think of “budget” as the other B-Word, but Mint.com makes it a much friendlier term: The site links to your credit card accounts, and every time you swipe, the app automatically organizes your spending into categories (rent, groceries, gas, etc.) and creates a chart. “It’s unlikely that someone would write out every purchase he or she makes,” Hill says, “so this app does all the hard work for you.” The app also sends you email and SMS alerts when you’re close to going over your monthly spending limit, which helps prevent buyer’s remorse.

Red Laser
This app takes the legwork out of bargain hunting. Use your phone to scan the barcode of any item while you’re shopping, and the Red Laser app pulls up a list of websites and nearby stores that carry the same product, along with the price tag at each place. Driving five minutes to save $ 25? So worth it.

Gas Buddy
Filling up your tank and then realizing gas is 10 cents cheaper at a station off the very next exit is the worst. Enter Gas Buddy. The app keeps a running list of user-generated data from across the country (i.e., 20 million users who’ve shared gas prices), so you’ll know where exactly to make gas stops on your next trip, whether it’s from one coast to the other, or simply across town.

SnipSnap
Even if you tear out a coupon, that’s no guarantee you’ll remember to bring it with you when you go to the store. SnipSnap solves that problem. With the app, you can take a picture of a printed coupon and store it on your phone so you’ll be sure to have it on you at all times.

Retail Me Not
Saving money is no fun if you can’t splurge on clothing, shoes, and makeup every once in a while. The good news is you don’t have to give up your shopping habit—just rein it in a bit by downloading Retail Me Not. The app uses GPS tracking to determine what store you’re in, then gives you any available coupons for that shop and surrounding retailers. “All you have to do is hold your phone up at the register to be scanned,” Hill says.

photo: Photodisc/Thinkstock

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An Avocado a Day Keeps the Doctor Away?

Posted on February 26, 2013 by admin

Guacamole lovers, rejoice! People who eat a daily dose of avocado are typically healthier than those who don’t, according to a new survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers asked 17,567 adults to record everything they ate in a 24-hour period, then analyzed their diets and health. The 347 people who ate an average of half a medium-sized avocado reported more balanced diets containing more fiber, good-for-you fats, vitamins, and minerals. What’s more, they also weighed less and had lower BMIs, smaller waists, and healthier cholesterol levels than those who didn’t eat avocados. And the good news just keeps on coming: Avocado-eaters were also 50 less likely to suffer from metabolic syndrome, a collection of health measures that predict your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type-2 diabetes.

It makes sense that avocado eaters would get more of the good stuff found in the fruit, like monounsaturated fat, vitamin K, folate, potassium, vitamin E, lutein, magnesium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6—but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

“Avocado-consumers appear to be more health conscious than non-consumers,” says study author Victor Fulgoni, III, PhD, senior vice president of the food company consultancy Nutrition Impact. They tend to eat more fruits, veggies, and healthier fats—in addition to avocados—which leads to better health overall, Fulgoni says.

While loading up on avocados won’t work wonders on its own, a daily serving can give your diet a nutrition (and flavor) boost—all for just 25 calories per tablespoon. Amp up your intake at any meal with these eight recipes:

Rise-and-Shine Smoothie

Photo: Travis Rathbone

Egg, Avocado, and Spicy Mayo Sandwich

Photo: Adam Voorhes

Grilled Cheese With Chicken and Avocado

Photo: Melissa Addison

Mango Avocado Salsa

Photo: Con Poulos

Chili-Dusted Avocado Potatoes

Photo: Con Poulos

Spinach Avocado Caesar Salad

Photo: Con Poulos

Avocado Daiquiri

Photo: Mitch Mandel

Chocolate-Avocado Vegan Cupcakes

Photo: Joy Wilson

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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Eat THIS to Avoid PMS

Posted on February 26, 2013 by admin

It’s not always a bad thing to eat your feelings away: Women with iron-rich diets are 30 to 40 percent less likely to suffer from PMS than those who skimp on the mineral, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Harvard gave food questionnaires to about 3,000 women over a 10-year period. They found that, even when controlling for other factors like body mass index, age, smoking habits, birth control usage, and calcium intake (which previous research had linked to PMS), women who consumed around the recommended daily allowance of 18 milligrams of iron (or even slightly higher, at 20 mg) experienced the fewest signs of PMS.

Since iron helps you produce serotonin—a neurotransmitter involved in controlling your mood—researchers think a lack of the chemical might be to blame for premenstrual symptoms, says the study’s lead author Patricia Chocano-Bedoya, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard’s School of Public Health. But if you get adequate amounts of iron, this study suggests that you’ll produce enough serotonin to circumvent PMS. Eat that, period!

One caveat: You shouldn’t start bingeing on iron-rich foods at the first sign of a funk. “Iron’s not excreted well in the body,” Chocano-Bedoya says. To avoid overdoing it, she recommends aiming for close to the RDA of 18 mg—but not exceeding it by much.

Send cramps and mood swings packing by hitting your daily quota. These tips will help you get there:

Check your cereal box
Look for the magic word “fortified” or read the back of the box for iron content, and you could knock out more than half of your daily intake before noon. A cup of Multi-Grain Cheerios, for example, contains 45 percent of the RDA for iron, and one ¾-cup serving of Kellogg’s All-Bran Complete Wheat Flakes has all of the iron you need for the day.

Load up on lentils
Each cup of cooked lentils packs 37 percent of your daily iron needs, and the beans are a great way to add bulk and texture to all kinds of foods. Throw some onto salads, soups, meat dishes, or pastas to up your intake.

Switch up your greens
If you always go for iceberg in your salad, give iron-packed spinach a try. Or better yet, sauté some as a side for dinner tonight: According to the Centers for Disease Control, a cup of cooked spinach has 6.4 mg of iron, while a cup of the raw stuff has just 0.81 mg.

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

More from Women’s Health:
9 Ways to Get Relief from PMS
The PMS Diet
Use Yoga to Pacify PMS

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Could You Have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Posted on February 25, 2013 by admin

When Jessica Alba woke up with a completely numb arm, she thought she’d suffered a stroke. But one trip to the ER and one CAT scan later, her doctors discovered the real culprit: carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful condition caused by compression of a nerve in the wrist. While you may associate the syndrome with arthritis-addled seniors, it’s actually incredibly common—and women are three times more susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome than men, according to the National Institutes of Health.

What Is It?
When too much fluid fills the space inside your wrist—or the tendon inside it thickens due to age or overuse—the adjacent nerve is squeezed and your fingers lose sensation. Eventually, this prevents normal circulation in your arm, which means the pain and numbness can creep from your fingertips all the way to your upper arm and neck.

While these symptoms are definitely scary, they’re different from what you’d experience if you were having a stroke, says Steven Beldner, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Beth Israel Hand Surgery Center in New York City. In that case, you’re more likely to lose feeling in an entire limb.

You’ll know you have carpal tunnel syndrome because it always begins in the wrist, thumb, or one of your fingers—and it can only extend as far as your neck.

Risk Factors
Ever sleep in a strange position and wake up with tingling fingertips? That’s carpal tunnel syndrome. Most people experience brief bouts of the condition at least a few times in their lives, but there are certain circumstances that make some people more prone to it than others.

Abnormal levels of estrogen (common among pregnant, menopausal, or overweight women) are one of the leading causes of carpal tunnel syndrome—which is why your lack of a Y-chromosome makes you more likely to suffer from the condition.

And since the wrist tendon gets bigger and stronger the more you use it, doing activities like typing, knitting, or lifting weights too frequently also makes you more susceptible. (Alba blames her condition on the long hours she spends working on her new eco-friendly business, The Honest Company.)

Other people who have a higher carpal tunnel syndrome risk: those with small wrists, thyroid issues, arthritis, diabetes, or previous wrist injuries, Beldner says.

Treatment Options
An occasional case of the tingles is no reason to freak out: Just shake off numbness or boost circulation by making a fist, relaxing it, and repeating the cycle.

If you tend to lose sensation in your fingers a few times a week, anti-inflammatory meds, warm compresses, and wrist splints can help keep your carpal tunnels clear.

Make sure to see a doctor if you begin to lose control of your hand muscles, can’t feel your fingers no matter how much you move them, or feel like the pain is getting progressively worse. Depending on your condition, he or she may prescribe a cortisone injection or surgery.

To prevent a problem from happening in the first place, minimize activities that use your wrists, or wear wrist splints while you do them. Stretching helps, too: Just like a rubber band, your tendon gets smaller when it’s pulled, so stretching periodically can help release the tension in your carpal tunnels.

photo: Photographer Name/Collection Name/Thinkstock

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Do Less, Achieve More

Posted on February 25, 2013 by admin

If you clock in long workdays to chip away at your never-ending to-do list, you’re not alone. But the key to getting things done—without burning out—is to work fewer, more productive hours, according to a recent article in The New York Times.

“More and more of us find ourselves unable to juggle overwhelming demands and maintain a seemingly unsustainable pace,” writes Tony Schwartz, the author of Be Excellent at Anything. “Paradoxically, the best way to get more done may be to spend more time doing less.” And it turns out, “strategic renewal,” or taking smart, reinvigorating breaks—including daytime respites and vacations—from work, will make you more efficient, healthier, and happier overall. Plus, the number of hours you work isn’t a true measure of the quality of your work, or of how good an employee you are. What matters is the energy you have while you’re at work, according to Schwartz. “By managing energy more skillfully, it’s possible to get more done, in less time, most sustainably,” he writes.

To scale back your work hours and boost your productivity, Robert Pozen, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and author of the new book Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours, suggests these four strategies.

Manage your mail
Take an “OHIO”—an “only-handle-it-once” approach to your e-mails, suggests Pozen. “Discard 80 to 85 percent of them just by looking at the subject matter,” he says. “If you do that, you’ll have 15 or 20 percent that are really important, and for those, I suggest that you answer them right away.” By immediately dealing with the e-mails—and whatever issues they contain—you’ll avoid an inbox pileup and the stress of playing catch-up.

Avoid meetings
It’s no secret that meetings can be a complete time suck. Pozen suggests avoiding them when possible. If skipping out on a meeting just isn’t an option, then ask to see an agenda and any other materials in advance, he says. And if you’re running the meeting, try to keep the time to an hour or 90 minutes at the very most. (Although shorter is definitely better).

Ditch the perfectionism
Wanting to do everything perfectly is a worthy but very time-consuming goal, and sometimes it’s just completely unnecessary. Pozen recommends learning to recognize that certain projects simply don’t require perfection. By doing so, you’ll spare your precious time and energy and be able to use both later on—and on a more appropriate project.

Give yourself a break
“Most people, sometime between one o’clock and four o’clock, have a real down—their bodies get tired,” says Pozen. To fight the midday energy slump, he recommends taking a break to exercise, or carving out time for a short, 20-minute nap. (Just don’t let your boss catch you!) And conversely, if you happen to know that your most productive hours are before noon, make a to-do list every night before you head out. When you make a nightly to-do list, it means that every morning when you get to work, you can jump right in to the necessary tasks without wasting precious productivity time getting oriented and organized.

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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The 9 Quirkiest Cooking Classes in America

Posted on February 22, 2013 by admin

Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. But teach a woman to cook and she’ll eat well for a lifetime. It’s true: cooking classes can actually improve your diet and boost your kitchen confidence, according to published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.

Researchers from the UK enrolled 44 adults in a National Health Service (NHS) cooking course. The course took place over four to six weeks and involved weekly two-hour classes. A year later, the participants reported eating fewer pre-packaged and restaurant meals, more veggies, and more fruits than they had before the class. Better yet? The lessons gave them the confidence to follow simple recipes and cook new foods.

While it helps to take a healthy cooking course, you don’t need to study raw cooking or enroll at Le Courdon Bleu to become a better chef—and better eater. In fact, there are plenty of cool culinary experiences around the country that will make you want to tie up your apron and sharpen your knives—even if you hate to cook.

Here, 9 amazing and quirky cooking classes to try.

Pack Lunch For a Week: Brown Baggin’ It
Want to save lunch money–and save yourself from the gross food you typically gobble down at your desk? This Sunday HipCooks course supplies all the containers, ingredients, and skills to prepare and pack a week’s worth of packed lunches. On the menu: caramelized shallot and goat cheese tart, shaved fennel salad with lemon, olives and orange, penne with eggplant, tomato, basil, and pine, and more. Sure beats peanut butter and jelly.
$ 60 at HipCooks in Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, Portland, ME, and San Diego, CA

Get Food and a Fortune: Psychic Palm Readings and Unwrapping the Mystery of Thai Food
According to the chefs at The Way-Cool Cooking School in Savage, Minnesota, your hands are your best kitchen tools. In this class, a palm reader uncovers the secrets in your palms while you discover the secret to making perfect spring rolls and pad Thai, and write your own fortunes for homemade fortune cookies.
$ 80 per person at The Way-Cool Cooking School in Savage, MN

Turn Up The Heat: Iron Chef Challenge
Face off against your friends in this BYOB competitive cooking party. First, the head chef runs though some basic cooking techniques. Then work with your team and provided ingredients to put together a winning dish before the buzzer sounds.
$ 85 per person for 10 people at Taste Buds Kitchen in New York, NY

Date While You Dine: Match.com Singles Cooking Parties
Perk up your dating life while you hone your cooking skills at this singles-only cooking party. Mingle with wine, music, and light bites before the cooking demo, then break up into co-ed cooking teams to prep a gourmet meal. Like speed dating, you rotate around the room to meet everyone.
$ 65 per person plus Match.com membership fess at Parties That Cook in San Francisco, CA, Chicago, IL, and Portland, OR

Win the Cupcake Crown: Cupcake Wars
Want to be a better baker? Put your creativity to the test at a Parties That Cook Cupcake War. During this edible experience, you work with teammates to choose a chocolate or vanilla batter base. Then, add flavor with your pick of exotic ingredients like bacon, basil, cayenne, and, of course, standards like sprinkles. Judges award a prize based on taste, appearance, plate presentation, and originality of the dish. But win or lose, you’ll still leave with a sugar high.
$ 1,275 for 15 people at Parties That Cook in San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, Chicago, IL, and Portland, OR

Cook for Your Canine: Dog-Gone Good! Real Food for Your Pooch
Just like packaged foods for people, many store-bought pet foods contain preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, and additives. Want to fill Sparky’s bowl with more wholesome, healthy food? In this three-and-a-half-hour cooking demonstration, you’ll watch chefs prepare organic meals free of chemicals and common allergens like gluten and dairy, like grass-fed beef and caramelized root vegetable meatloaf and chicken liver fudge. Sure, you might leave hungry. But you do get a doggy bag filled with samples for your pooch.
$ 125 per person at Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health in New York, NY

Bake Your Own Junk Food: Homemade Twinkies and Pop Tarts
If you love the cellophane-wrapped versions of these classic childhood treats, this class will truly tickle your taste buds: Taught by Casey Barber, author of the cookbook Classic Snacks Made From Scratch: 70 Homemade Versions of Your Favorite Brand-Name Treats, this hour-and-a-half course will teach you how to bake Pop-Tarts and Twinkies that rival the real deals.
$ 10 per person at the Brooklyn Brainery in Brooklyn, NY
(Can’t make it to Brooklyn? Find recipes for Fig Newtons, Cheez-Its, and Pinkberry on Barber’s website.)

Make Meat-Free American Classics: Sporkie Drive-In
This class doesn’t take place in a ’57 Chevy, but it’s designed to muster memories of an old-school drive-in menu. The caveat: the vegan menu is free of meat, dairy, and other artery-cloggers. While there’s no movie, you can feast your eyes on the avocado and caramelized onion burger, cheesy chili bowl, and baked zucchini fries you’ll prep. For dessert, wash it down with a nutty toasted marshmallow milkshake.
$ 65 per person at Spork Foods in West Hollywood, CA

Cook With Chefs Around the World: ChefHangout.com
Can’t find a cool cooking course in your area? Bring a live, virtual class to your kitchen. At ChefHangout.com, you can learn from chefs all over the world via a Google+ Hangout. There, up to 10 people can cook together via webcams. Just pick a meal like paella or mini whiskey-braised tacos and sweet Thai chili wings. Then sign up for the class to receive an ingredient list, stock your pantry, and prop your web cam in you kitchen to join the class at a designated time.
$ 25- $ 90 for a single class, or $ 349 for a 10-session series at ChefHangout.com

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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Drink to Your Health!

Posted on February 20, 2013 by admin

Health-boosting booze might sound like an oxymoron, but numerous big-city mixologists have been stirring up nutrition-packed cocktails to keep their clientele flu-free. Okay, so you can’t exactly ward off a cold with a martini, but opting for drinks with good-for-you ingredients beats loading up on sugary sweeteners (or worse—diet cola). And if you’re hitting up happy hour anyway, you may as well get a boost of vitamins with these cocktails infused with fresh fruits and veggies, says Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, author of The Miracle Carb Diet: Make Calories & Fat Disappear – with Fiber! Interested in shaking up some immunity-boosting, low-cal drinks of your own? Here, Zuckerbrot explains how:

Blueberry Lemonade Cocktail
Serves 2
Calories per serving: 140
3 ounces Absolut Berri Acai Vodka
1 cup blueberries
2 cups water
1 packet Crystal Light Pure Lemonade
Juice of one lemon
1 cup ice
How to mix it: Combine all ingredients in blender, and blend until smooth.
Health benefits: Blueberries and lemon juice both contain antioxidant-rich vitamin C which keeps cells healthy and wards off disease. Bonus: The blueberries add a sweet flavor without adding excess calories.

Raspberry Orange Sunrise
Serves 2
Calories per serving: 140
3 ounces vodka
1 packet crystal light pure tropical blend
½ cup fresh raspberries
½ cup fresh oranges
Ice
How to mix it: Combine all ingredients in blender, and blend until smooth.
Health benefits: Raspberries and oranges are rich in vitamin C, which can help shorten the duration of a cold by about a day, says Jane Higdon, a research associate at Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

Carrot and Celery Cooler
Serves 2
Calories per serving: 100
10 medium carrots
2 stalk celery
2 inch peel fresh ginger
2 oz vodka
How to mix it: Combine all ingredients in blender, and blend until smooth.
Health benefit: Fatigue-fighting ginger wards off cold and flu bugs and the beta carotene enhances immune system functioning.

Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail
Serves 4
Calories per serving: 180
2 cups crushed ice
1 cup 100% pomegranate juice
½ cup diet ginger ale
½ bottle champagne or sparkling wine
Garnish with Pomegranate seeds
How to mix it: Combine all ingredients in pitcher and pour evenly into glasses. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.
Health benefits: Pomegranates are rich in disease-fighting antioxidants. Bonus: The diet ginger ale and Champaign add fizzy fun while keeping calories to a minimum.

photo: Minerva Studio/Shutterstock

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6 Things You Need to Know About the Morning-After Pill

Posted on February 20, 2013 by admin

Whether you suffered from a condom mishap or a total lapse in judgment, having a backup plan is key when it comes to preventing unwanted pregnancy. And research shows that more women are taking advantage of that backup: Emergency contraception use rose from 4.2 percent of sexually-active women in the U.S. in 2002 to 11 percent in 2006-2010, according to a recent CDC report.

Plus, that number has probably continued to rise in the last few years, says Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., clinical professor at Yale University School of Medicine. “It’s wonderful for women to know that [emergency contraception] is out there and available to them, because we know accidents happen,” says Minkin. “But we also hope that people continue to use reliable contraception all the time.”

But about those accidents: Post-unprotected sex, your mind may be a total, anxious blur. So knowing a few key facts about your options before you need them will save you a ton of stress later on. Here, the six most important things to know about the morning-after pill:

There Is More Than One Option
You’ve probably heard of the most common pills on the market, Plan B and Plan B One-Step (the one-pill dose), which is available over-the-counter for women 17 and older. It’s a progestin-only pill that is effective at preventing pregnancy up to 72 hours after unprotected sex and works mainly by inhibiting ovulation. But there’s another med you should know about: Ella is a newer form of emergency contraception that can be taken up to five days after your oops moment, though it’s only available with a prescription. It also works by stopping or delaying ovulation, but it carries the same effectiveness for five days, says Minkin, rather than just 72 hours.

It Doesn’t Just Come in Pill Form
But the most foolproof method actually isn’t a pill at all—inserting a copper IUD up to five days after unprotected sex can also prevent pregnancy. “By far, the most effective emergency contraception is the insertion of a copper IUD,” says James Trussell, Ph.D., faculty associate at the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. Since this would include a doctor’s visit, a (potentially painful) insertion procedure, and a hefty upfront cost, it may not be viable option for women who weren’t already considering an IUD. This might be why the FDA doesn’t list the IUD as an approved method of emergency contraception. However, if you’re looking for a reliable birth control method anyway, this might be the time to talk to your doctor about the option.

You Have (a Little) Time
While 72 hours may sound like a long time—not to mention the five days you get with Ella—that doesn’t mean you should put off your trip to the drugstore. “You may have three days, but the sooner you take it, the better. If you can get to the pharmacy immediately, you should,” says Minkin. However, if you know you won’t make the 72-hour mark, you may want to call your doctor for a prescription for Ella to buy yourself some time.

The Pharmacist Could Shut You Down
This may sound crazy, but several states have laws that allow pharmacies or individual pharmacists to refuse to sell you emergency contraception, according to the Guttmacher Institute. “If this happens, they are supposed to direct you to someone who can get it for you,” says Minkin. Save yourself the trouble and call ahead. Dial up your nearest pharmacy (and a backup) to confirm that they have the pill in stock and that they have no qualms about dispensing it. If you’re having trouble locating a pharmacy with EC, call your local Planned Parenthood for help.

Your Period May Be Different
Don’t be shocked if your flow is a little off during the month that you take EC. Your period may be earlier, later or heavier than normal as a result of the medication, though it can also change due to stress (and who wouldn’t be anxious after a birth control failure!). However, if your cycle is more than a few days late, you may want to take a pregnancy test. “Emergency contraception isn’t 100 percent effective, but it’s better than nothing,” says Minkin.

It Shouldn’t Replace Birth Control
There’s a reason why this isn’t called Plan A—it’s not meant to be used as your regular birth control method. Instead, think of it like your emergency credit card: You’re not going to use it every day, but you might need to whip it out after a major slip-up. “It’s not dangerous to your health to take it several times, but there are a lot of great contraceptive methods out there,” says Minkin. “I do not recommend this for regular contraception, and I’m always encouraging people to use condoms no matter what.” That said, mistakes happen. And like your emergency plastic, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep one on hand in case of emergencies.

photo: Comstock/Thinkstock

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How to Be Nicer … To Yourself

Posted on February 20, 2013 by admin

You already know how to treat others as you would like to be treated. But are you treating yourself that way, too? Self-compassion, or self-kindness, is vital to your mental well-being and life satisfaction, according to Kristin Neff, PhD, the leading researcher on self-compassion and author of Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind.

Treat yourself the way you’d treat this kitten: Gently

In a recent TEDx talk (an offshoot of TED Talks), Neff argues that self-compassion is actually more important than self-esteem. Her rationale: Self-esteem depends on feelings of superiority or accomplishment, while self-compassion doesn’t. When you compare yourself to others and come out on top, Neff says, your self-esteem gets a boost. The problem is, when you fail, or when you feel like you’re only average, your self-esteem plummets. Self-compassion, on the other hand, doesn’t depend on feeling special—all it depends on is the ability to treat yourself like a human being who deserves love and care. In other words, all it takes to practice self-compassion is to start acting like your own best friend.

At this point, you can probably recognize the sound of your harsh inner critic—that awful voice that tells you you’re too lazy, fat, undisciplined, whatever. But Neff says you’re mistaken in thinking that this voice is driving you to do better. “We’ve been taught that we need to be harsh with ourselves in order to get ourselves going, whereas the truth is just the opposite,” she says. When you attack yourself, you actually make it harder to succeed. That’s because self-criticism releases the stress hormone cortisol, sending you into a state of stress that’s similar to feeling physically threatened. A common reaction to constant self-imposed stress is depression, which kills your motivation.

That’s where self-compassion comes in. When you feel reassured that failure isn’t the end of the world and that you’re not alone in failing, you’re actually in a position to try harder. “People who are more self-compassionate are actually more motivated and more likely to pick themselves up when they do fail,” says Neff.

The good news is that being a good friend to yourself is easier than it sounds. Neff offers these tips to incorporate self-compassion into your everyday life:

Let yourself feel bad
Self-compassion means recognizing that negative emotions, as much as they suck, are a normal part of being human. That means letting yourself feel them. “You want to make yourself safe enough to have whatever your natural reaction is,” says Neff. If that means making your ugliest cry face and punching your pillow for an hour, go ahead. Self-compassion doesn’t mean wallowing in self-pity, however. It means always keeping your best interest at heart, and it’s in no one’s best interest for you to don your PJ’s and not leave your house for an entire week.
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Tell your inner critic to move along
Chances are, you wouldn’t say the same things to a friend that you say to yourself when you’re feeling down. (Examples: “stop being a baby,” “you always screw up,” or “why are you such a failure?”) Neff says it’s time to question why you continue to say those things to yourself. The next time a judgmental thought pops into your head, understand that your inner critic is just trying to help you. Unfortunately, it’s not helpful. Take the high road and thank that inner voice for trying to help. Then dismiss it and move on.
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Write yourself a love letter
A study at York University showed that writing yourself a comforting letter every day for a week can make you feel happier for up to six months. Pen yourself a pick-me-up, but write it from the perspective of a loving friend or relative. “What would you say to yourself in this situation using a very kind, compassionate, and understanding voice?” asks Neff. She recommends coming back and reading your letter from time to time to reinforce the effect.
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Treat yourself
Failure is not the time to punish yourself, says Neff. Try the opposite approach and give yourself a small treat, like a bubble bath or a cup of frozen yogurt, instead. Giving yourself a boost can actually make failure less frightening, which means you’ll be more likely to take risks in the future. “If you know that it’s safe to fail, you will be less afraid of failure,” says Neff. That means you’ll be quicker to dust yourself off and try again.
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Invent a self-soothing gesture
As mammals, we’ve actually evolved to respond to a gentle, warm touch with a lowering of cortisol and a release of soothing oxytocin, says Neff. This happens even when the touch is our own. “Use some sort of physical gesture to express care, compassion, and soothing,” says Neff. It could be anything from placing your hand over your heart to patting yourself on the leg. Once you’ve invented your gesture, you can whip it out in the middle of a stressful situation. “Once you calm your body down, it’s actually easier for your mind to follow suit,” says Neff.
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Be your own cheerleader
Try speaking to yourself out loud the way you would to a close friend. When you verbally comfort yourself in the midst of a painful feeling, “it’s simultaneously acknowledging and validating that you are feeling it,” says Neff. Acknowledging your feeling keeps you safe from denial, and validating it reminds you that it’s totally normal to feel this way. If it feels awkward to mumble to yourself out loud, just say the comforting words in your head.
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photo: Lubava/Shutterstock

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