Get This: Women Prioritize Health Over Clothes

Check out the list of links that should be on your radar today:

In a recent survey, more than 80 percent of women said they’d rather have a healthy body than an awesome wardrobe.  [HealthNewsDigest.com]

Scientists have discovered a new part of the eye (hint: it’s in your cornea). [LiveScience]

Judy Blume is a fan of Girls. Old-school young adult novel authors—they’re just like you! [TheCut]

Ted Dwane of Mumford & Sons has a blood clot in his brain. [USA Today]

Pregnant women who are overweight have a higher chance of delivering prematurely. [Reuters]

People who suffer from depression face 32 times the suicide risk of those who don’t. [The Atlantic]

A new report finds that overdraft services now make up 60 percent of fees from consumer checking accounts. [MarketWatch]

News you can use: Lego figurines’ expressions are getting angrier, according to research. [U.S. News]

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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The Pill May Lower Ovarian Cancer Risk

You already know the Pill is great for regulating your cycle and keeping babies at bay, but it also has a host of other amazing health benefits. According to a recent analysis in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, women who use oral contraceptives have a lower risk of developing ovarian cancer—and the longer you take it, the lower your risk.

Researchers looked at 24 studies from January 1990 to June 2012. They found that women who had ever used oral contraceptives—any type—had a 27 percent lower risk of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer than women who had never taken the Pill. And women who had been on the Pill for 10 years or more saw a reduced risk of more than 50 percent!

So what’s behind this association? Researchers still aren’t entirely sure, says lead study author Laura Havrilesky, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University School of Medicine. One theory is that halting ovulation has a protective effect on the ovaries, though other theories mention a possible hormonal effect on the fallopian tubes, which is where many aggressive forms of ovarian cancer begin, says Havrilesky. Regardless of the mechanism, it’s a pretty great side effect if you’re already planning to be on the Pill.

That said, experts warn that you shouldn’t go on birth control just to reduce your risk since the average woman’s chances of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer is just 1.7 percent, says Havrilesky. Plus, previous research has linked long-term birth control use with a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. Essentially, this is one added benefit that can be weighed against other benefits—and drawbacks—of the Pill, says Havrilesky. However, if you have a family history or known genetic mutation that puts you at an increased risk of ovarian cancer and you’re already in the market for contraception, it may be worth talking to your doctor about going on the Pill.

Check out all the other perks that come with your pack of pills:

7 Benefits of Hormonal Birth Control

How the Pill Affects Your Body

The Best Birth Control For Your Body

How the Pill Affects Your Attraction

5 Surprising Side Effects of the Pill

photo: Fuse/Thinkstock

More from Women’s Health:
What Causes Ovarian Cancer? 
Ovarian Cancer
Could Pain Relievers Lower Your Ovarian Cancer Risk? 

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How to Negotiate A Better Deal

Discovering a super-cute end table at a flea market or a gorgeous necklace at a vintage jewelry shop is pretty much the best feeling ever—unless you end up paying way more than you’d bargained for because the seller out-negotiates you. Luckily, recent research can help you barter like a pro:  Choosing a precise number instead of rounding could help you come out on top during your next bargaining session, according to a new study that will be published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Researchers from Columbia Business School set up six different fictional negotiation scenarios, like buying a used car, selling a textbook, or purchasing jewelry, and asked participants to offer either a rounded number or a specific number. The people who used a precise number—like offering $ 20.15 for a textbook instead of $ 20—ended up receiving a counter-offer closer to the number they originally put forth.

According to the researchers, specificity tells negotiators that you actually know what you’re talking about and can’t be easily tricked.

“Round numbers traditionally connote some kind of approximation and uncertainty,” says Alice Lee, one of the doctoral students that helped conduct the study. “By using a more precise number, you’re giving the impression that you did your homework, your market study, and that you didn’t just throw out a random number.” This makes them believe they’ll have less wiggle room when it comes time for their counteroffer.

One caveat: You can’t suggest just any number and expect it to work—it has to be something reasonable. Keep in mind, after all, that the seller knows the true value of the item, so bluffing isn’t going to do you any favors.

Your best bet: Do your research to come up with an approximate value for the item (this can be on your smartphone if you’re in a time crunch), and then choose a more specific number that’s close to that rounded value, suggests Elizabeth Wiley, the other doctoral student that worked on the study. This’ll help give you an edge while ensuring you stay within a range that actually makes sense.

Photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

More from WH:
How to Negotiate Your Salary
How to Win an eBay Auction
Haggle Your Way to a Better Bargain

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UPDATE: Obama Administration Reverses Course on Emergency Contraception

Since April 2013, we’ve been closely following the legislation ordering emergency contraception (like Plan B One-Step and its generics) to be accessible over the counter, without any age or point-of-sale restrictions. Check out the latest developments below, and continue checking back for more coverage.

Big news: after months of back-and-forth between the courts and the Obama administration, the Department of Justice announced yesterday that they will comply with a judicial order to make Plan B One-Step available over-the-counter for women of all ages. This is a reversal in policy for the Obama administration, which originally blocked full OTC access to emergency contraception when it was proposed in 2011, and has been fighting to limit full access since then.

The conflict heated up again back in April 2013, when Federal Judge Edward Korman ordered that all levonorgestral-based emergency contraceptives must be available over-the-counter without any point-of-sale restrictions. As expected, there was plenty of backlash: the DOJ appealed the decision; the FDA tried to compromise with looser age restrictions on Plan B; and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals even got involved.

Yesterday, the DOJ issued a letter to Judge Korman announcing that the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services plan to lift all age and point-of-sale restrictions on the brand name Plan B One-Step in a timely manner. If Judge Korman accepts this new plan, Plan B’s manufacturer would submit a supplemental new drug application to the FDA (which is routine when a drug moves over the counter), and the FDA will approve it without delay.

But here’s where things get (more) complicated: the letter hints that Plan B will get exclusivity as the only morning after pill allowed on store shelves without restrictions, says Susannah Baruch, interim president and CEO for the Reproductive Health Technologies Project. That means that all generic and two-pill doses (which can cost anywhere from $ 10 to $ 20 less than the name brand) will remain behind the pharmacy counter—and only available without a prescription for women 17 and older. That may not seem like a huge deal, but the result is that if you get to the drugstore after the pharmacist has left for the day, you may end up shelling out more cash for the same medication.

So what’s the next step? Now, we’re waiting to see if Judge Korman accepts this new plan, or if he decides to push for complete OTC access for all emergency contraception—including the generics. If he does accept, this new plan would replace last week’s ruling by the Second Circuit Court, which said only two-pill versions could be available OTC.

Check back soon for more updates on your access to the morning after pill.

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

More from Women’s Health:
Should Birth Control Pills Be OTC? 
Celebrating the Legalization of Birth Control
What is Emergency Contraception? 

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How Yoga Can Help You On the Job

Every time you speak up in front of your boss, your mind zeros in on all the ways you might mess up. Sound familiar? There’s a simple way to keep your cool: Practicing 20 minutes of Hatha yoga before a big presentation can reduce anxiety and help you focus, according to a new study published in Journal of Physical Activity and Health.

For the study, researchers conducted two experiments with 30 undergraduate women. In the first experiment, participants were shown a series of arrows on a screen and asked to press the button that corresponded with the direction the arrow pointed. On the first day of this test, the participants did no physical activity beforehand. On the second, they did a 20-minute treadmill workout, and on the third they did 20 minutes of Hatha yoga, a broad term used to describe any kind of yoga that incorporates physical postures and deep breathing (Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Iyengar are all considered forms of Hatha yoga). In the second experiment, participants were asked to look at a series of shapes and use a keypad to indicate whether they’d seen the shape before. In both tasks, participants performed significantly better after doing yoga than they did after doing aerobic exercise or no exercise.

“Yoga is a mind-body activity,” says study author Neha Gothe, PhD, kinesiology professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. “The mental exercises in yoga reduce anxiety and stress, and that in itself can lead to better cognitive performance.” What’s more, when you do yoga correctly, you focus on your breath and movements and suppress distracting thoughts, which teaches you to become more present in the moment, she says.

Previous research has shown that regular aerobic exercise—even walking—can boost your brain’s performance. But unlike the benefits of aerobic exercise, which take a while to kick in, yoga has a pretty immediate effect on your mind—so you’ll feel it just 30 minutes after you say “Namaste,” says Gothe.

The next time you’re facing a stressful event, try the 20-minute yoga sequence used in the study: You should aim to do it about 30 to 40 minutes before the stressful event to reduce anxiety and improve your focus. Perform the first eight poses in a sequence, holding each position for about 30 seconds. Then repeat the sequence on the other side before you progress to the final resting pose.

1. Standing Forward Bend
a. Stand up straight with your big toes touching in mountain pose. Bring your hands to prayer position in front of your chest.
b. Then inhale and lift your chest, arms, and gaze up. As you exhale, fold forward from your hips, keeping your spine straight and your hips directly over your ankles.
c. Bring your palms to the floor if possible, lining your fingers up with your toes.
d. Inhale as you come up onto your fingertips, lift your chest, lengthen the front of your spine, and gaze slightly forward. Then exhale as you place your palms back on the floor and lower your chest back toward your thighs and head toward your knees. Hold for three to five breaths.
e. Inhale, come onto your fingertips, lift your chest, and gaze forward. Then place your hands on your hips and return to mountain pose, keeping your spine straight as you come up. Bring your hands to prayer position.

2. Tree Pose

a. Begin in mountain pose.
b. Lift your right foot off the floor, turn your right knee out to side and place sole of your right foot on your inner left thigh anywhere between your knee (not on it, above it) and your groin. Gently press your foot into your leg and your leg into your foot as you reach your left foot into the floor. Hold for three to five breaths.
c. Extend your arms overhead if you like. Trying various arm positions can test your balance further. Or close your eyes. Hold for another three to five breaths.
d. When you’re ready to come out of the pose, release your right foot from your left leg, turn your right knee to point straight in front of you, and lower your feet and hands.

3. Triangle Pose

a. Begin in mountain pose.
b. Step your legs about 4 feet apart. Turn your right toes out 90 degrees. Lift your arms out to the sides at shoulder height, parallel to the floor, palms facing down.
c. Extend your right arm way out to the right and tilt your hips so your tailbone points toward your left heel. Then keeping the right side of your torso long, reach your right hand to the floor outside your ankle or calf.
d. Extend your left arm up in line with your right arm and turn your head to look at your left thumb. Hold for three to five breaths. Rotate your right glute under as you open your left hip more toward the ceiling. With each inhale extend your spine longer, and with each exhale rotate your chest open toward the ceiling. Keep your collarbones broad and your shoulders away from your ears.
e. To come out of the pose, engage your abs to lift your torso upright, keeping your arms extended. Turn your right foot back to parallel to your left foot and step or jump your feet together. Lower your arms.

4. Reverse Triangle Pose


a. Begin in mountain pose.
b. Step your legs about 4 feet apart. Turn your right toes out 90 degrees. Lift your arms out to the sides to shoulder height, parallel to the floor, palms facing down.
c. Extend your right arm way out to the right and rotate your hips so they are parallel with the front of your mat. Then bend at the waist and reach your left hand to the floor outside your ankle or calf.
d. Extend your right arm up in line with your left arm and turn your head to look at your right thumb. Hold for three to five breaths. With each inhale extend your spine longer, and with each exhale rotate your chest open toward the wall behind you. Keeping your collarbones broad and your shoulders away from your ears.
e. To release the twist, engage your abs to lift your torso upright, keeping your arms extended. Turn your right foot back to parallel to your left foot and step or jump your feet together. Lower your arms.

5. Downward Facing Dog

a. Begin in a pushup position with your arms and legs fully extended (wrists directly under shoulders) contract your core and abdominal muscles.
b. Slowly exhale and shift your weight backward by pushing your hips up and back. Continue moving until your body forms an inverted V, allowing your head to hang loosely between your shoulders. Keep your arms and legs extended, and be sure to maintain a neutral (flat) spine.

6. Easy Camel Pose

a. Begin by kneeling. Stack your hips directly above your knees, your shoulders above your hips, and your ears over your shoulders. Curl your toes under.
b. Place your palms on the small of your back, fingertips facing up. If that’s uncomfortable, turn your fingertips toward the floor.
c. As you inhale, lengthen your spine, expand your chest, and let your breastbone and ribcage float up away from your waist.
d. Lift your upper back and imagine you’re bending back over a beach ball. Reach one hand at a time for your heels (or blocks placed next to your ankles).
e. Now arch your upper back to its maximum bend. Keep your hips aligned over your ankles by pushing your pelvis forward and tilting your hipbones up, as you reach your big toes back. Take five full breaths here, letting your head drop back; if that strains your neck, tuck your chin toward your chest and relax your face.
f. To come out of the pose, bring both hands to your lower back and on an inhale use your core to lift your body back up.

7. Hare Pose
a. Sitting on your heels with your toes pointed behind you, sit up straight and relax your upper body.
b. Inhale and raise both arms straight up above your head.
c. Keeping your back straight, and butt on your heels, exhale as you bend forward from the waist until your arms and forehead touch the floor.
d. Relax the whole body, especially the shoulders, neck and back.
e. Inhale and raise the upper body and arms back to the starting position

8. Sun Salutation
Begin in mountain pose with your back straight, legs and feet together, and arms to your sides
a. Inhale as you raise your arms straight up overhead and bring your palms together.
b. Exhale as you extend from your hips to fold your torso forward and move your hands down to the floor
c. Inhale, keep your hands down, but raise your head and chest slightly and gaze forward
d. Exhale, and step back into Plank pose with your arms and legs straight, your hands on the floor beneath your shoulders, your core engaged, and your back straight
e. Bend your elbows and lower toward the floor into a pushup position, keeping your elbows tucked close to your body
f. Inhale as you roll over your toes and, using your arms, press away from the floor and lift your chest into Upward-Facing Dog
g. Exhale as you roll your toes back over and lift and press your hips back into Downward-Facing Dog
h. Take five breaths in Downward-Facing Dog. Inhale and gaze forward as you lengthen back into your legs and bend your knees. Exhale as you step or jump your feet forward to meet your hands. Inhale as you extend your gaze and chest. Exhale as you fold forward over your legs
i. Inhale as you extend your arms wide to the sides, lift your chest, come all the way up to standing, and press your palms overhead. Exhale as you release your arms and return to mountain pose.

9. Deep Breathing in Lotus Pose (4 minutes)
a. Sitting with your legs out stretched in front of you and your back straight, take your right foot and place it up on the left thigh, draw your right heel toward your left hip joint with your sole facing up.
b. Bring your left foot on top of your right thigh, and draw your left heel toward your right hip joint, so your left sole is facing up.
c. Press both ankles firmly down into the thighs and lengthen your spine.
d. Keep your hands on your knees or touch your thumbs to your index fingers, extending the other fingers.

 

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

More from WH:
The Best Yoga Moves for Women
4 Slimming Yoga Poses
The Right Kind of Yoga For You

 

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Get This: Target to Start Selling Organic Food

Check out the list of links that should be on your radar today:

Soon you’ll be able to get store-brand organic groceries at Target! [USA Today]

Hillary Clinton just joined the Twitterverse. Let’s welcome @HillaryClinton to the dance floor. [Daily Intelligencer]

Get excited: Sarah Jessica Parker is partnering with the CEO of Manolo Blahnik to launch her own line of shoes and bags. [Vogue Daily]

Forty percent of designated drivers have some alcohol before getting behind the wheel—and 20 percent of them have had enough booze to impair their driving, according to a new study. [CBS News]

When you’re bummed out, it can be harder to tell how much fat a food has based solely on taste. Play it safe by reaching for healthy foods that satisfy your cravings. [The Daily Meal]

More than a quarter of men under 40 have suffered from ED—and nearly half of those have a severe case of it. [UPI]

Want to feel better about those tasks you’ve been putting off? Kanye West’s new album, Yeesus, is scheduled to come out a week from tomorrow…and it’s still not finished yet. [The Atlantic Wire]

Fitness apps have gone to the dogs. A special app that tracks how much exercise your pet gets debuted last week. [Reuters]

Brides are no longer just paying a ton of money to buy their wedding dresses. They’re also shelling out cash to have a photographer take pictures of them while they trash said insanely expensive dress. #WeDon’tGetIt [Racked]

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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Anti-Aging Benefits of SPF Now Backed by Science

Before you head outside—be it for a day at the beach or even a short walk to the office—consider this: People who use sunscreen daily have significantly younger-looking skin, according to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers divided 903 participants into four groups: The first applied a sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher on a daily basis, the second applied sunscreen as they normally would (if at all), the third took beta-carotene supplements, and the fourth took placebo pills. People wearing sunscreen on a daily basis were instructed to apply it to their head, neck, arms, and hands at the start of each day and to reapply after extended exposure to the sun or after contact with water.

At the end of the four and half-year study, researchers found that the individuals who had applied sunscreen daily showed no visible signs of increased aging on their skin. The participants who only wore sunscreen some or none of the time, on the other hand, displayed an average 24 percent more skin aging in the form of dry, wrinkled, blotchy, and sometimes even crusty skin.

The researchers included the supplement and placebo to test whether or not beta-carotene, too, might lower the likelihood of skin aging, but those results were inconclusive.

So why was sunscreen so effective at preventing visible signs of skin aging? Broad-spectrum sunscreens with an SPF 15 or higher block out 93 percent of ultraviolet (UVB) rays and filter out UVA rays as well. In addition to being the major culprits behind skin cancer, UVB and UVA also cause skin to age. Translation: Block the rays, and you block the wrinkles and age spots.

Your skin won’t look young forever, of course. Researchers say skin starts chronologically aging around the age of 55 no matter what—but daily sunscreen use delays photoaging, which means your skin will look younger for longer.

“The notion of sunscreen preventing skin aging had been an oft-quoted beauty tip,” says lead study author Adèle Green, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the University of Manchester, “yet whether sunscreen could prevent visible aging changes in the skin had never before been evaluated in any randomized studies in humans.” The results confirm that sunscreen does in fact keep skin supple, and Green urges women to take advantage of the product’s beauty benefits by using sunscreen with at least SPF 15 every. Single. Day.

“The crucial point is to apply the sunscreen thickly and comprehensively and to reapply it every few hours to ensure it hasn’t been washed or sweated off,” she says.

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

More from Women’s Health:
10 New Sunscreen Secrets
The Best Sunscreen Products
Sunscreen Myths Busted

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Should You Hold Off on Treating That UTI?

When a UTI hits, it’s tempting to race to the doctor for a prescription, stat. But if you’re concerned about taking antibiotics for every little thing, listen up: When women chose to delay antibiotics for symptoms of a UTI, 71 percent of them were cured or showed improvement in a week, according to a new study published in the journal BMC Family Practice.

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam recruited patients from general practitioners in the area from April 2006 to October 2008. They looked at healthy, non-pregnant women who reported painful and/or frequent urination to their doctors. After the doctors did a routine urinalysis and culture (used to confirm a UTI diagnosis), they asked 137 of the patients if they were willing to delay antibiotic treatment—and more than a third of women said yes. Of those women, 55 percent still hadn’t taken antibiotics at the one-week follow-up, and 71 percent of them reported an improvement or total recovery.

“It’s an innocent condition with a very low chance of complications,” says Bart Knottnerus, MD, researcher at the Academic Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam. “It’s always good to discuss this option with patients, even though a lot of them aren’t willing to delay treatment.”

Of course, this study only looked at women presenting with the symptoms of an uncomplicated urinary tract infection—a routine bladder infection that had not progressed to the kidneys and was not accompanied by flank pain (pain on one side of the abdomen/back), fever, chills, or other symptoms. When these types of complications aren’t present, many people do improve on their own, says Alyssa Dweck, MD, co-author of V is For Vagina. And since you typically have to wait a few days for the culture to determine if you really have a UTI, taking the meds upfront may mean unnecessary antibiotics if your results come back negative.

So should you skip the meds the next time you’re plagued with painful or frequent urination? “My preference is to try to at least culture everyone with symptoms and hold on treatment unless the culture is positive or symptoms worsen while waiting,” says Dweck. If you prefer to avoid antibiotics and wait it out, she suggests amping up your fluid intake and consuming plenty of cranberry juice or cranberry pills, as well as checking back in with your doctor if symptoms get worse. But here are the big exceptions: If you are pregnant or have a fever, chills, blood in your urine, flank pain, worsening symptoms, or a compromised immune system, don’t skip the antibiotics, says Dweck.

Make sure you’re also doing what you can to prevent UTIs from popping up in the first place—like not holding it in (even if your only option is a porta-potty) and always going to the bathroom before and after sex, says Dweck.

photo: Stockbyte/Thinkstock

More from Women’s Health:
5 Ways to Prevent a UTI
Is Chicken Giving You UTIs?
Troubleshooting Your Vagina 

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Get This: It’s National Donut Day!

Check out the list of links that should be on your radar today:

Celebrate National Donut Day the healthy (or at least healthier) way by making a batch of baked donuts. [Fox News]

Riding the subway won’t give you the flu, according to a new study. [UPI]

The first film adaptation of a Judy Blume book is coming to the big screen! Do a happy dance for your inner pre-adolescent self. [TODAY.com]

A new study suggests that sexual and emotional abuse may permanently affect your brain. [TIME]

Getting fewer than six hours of sleep a night increases the heart attack risk for women—but not men. [UPI]

Cutting your calories too much could put you at risk for gallstones. [Reuters]

More than a quarter of the women surveyed in a global poll said they’ve broken up with someone via text message (or would do it if they haven’t already). Classy, ladies. [CNBC] 

Colonel Sanders’ white suit is being auctioned off later this month—and it’s expected to go for $ 10,000. Some people are very serious about their fried chicken. [Reuters]

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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Hummus Chips—Healthier, or All Hype?

Hooked on hummus? You’re not the only one. Food retailers across the U.S. sold 13.5 percent more tubs of the stuff in 2012 than they did in 2011, according to data from the market-research firm Information Resources Inc. So it’s no surprise that manufacturers are trying to capitalize on America’s addiction to the chickpea spread with a hummus-themed product that goes beyond the refrigerated condiments aisle: hummus chips.

Hummus chips are typically made with a blend of chickpea flour and potato starch and are baked (not fried). Many of the products’ packaging even boasts that—just like with actual hummus—the chips are a good source of protein and fiber. So are they actually healthier than all the other chip options popping up at grocery stores these days—or is it just a marketing tactic?

By and large, hummus chips are actually a better option, says Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, the bestselling author of The Miracle Carb Diet. “They are produced without the use of hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and most varieties use only natural ingredients,” she says. “For this reason, the total fat content compared to many other chips is significantly lower.” While other types of chips typically contain seven to 10 grams of fat per serving, hummus chips pack just three to four grams.

As a result, you also get more chips per serving than with other varieties. Kashi Hummus Crisps, for example, contain 27 crisps per 120-calorie serving,  compared to just 15 potato chips for each 160-calorie serving and seven (!) tortilla chips for each 140-calorie serving. Hummus chips even have a caloric edge over other baked options. For the same number of calories (120), you could only have 10 pita chips or 15 baked potato chips.

One thing you should note, though, is that while hummus chips may be calorie-conscious across the board, the fiber and protein content depends on the  brand you buy; many options have just one or two grams of each per serving.

“To reap the benefits of fiber and protein in your hummus chip, look for varieties where the first ingredient is chickpeas/garbanzo beans instead of chickpea flour,” says Zuckerbrot. “These varieties, such as Kashi brand hummus chips, punch a higher dose of fiber and protein at three to four grams of each per serving.”

photo: Digital Vision/Thinkstock

More From Women’s Health:
125 Best Packaged Foods for Women
The Best Candy for Weight Loss
Sneaky Sources of Sugar

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