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Chia seed pudding is one of the best snacks for low blood sugar because it's packed with healthy fiber and fats. Image Credit: undefined undefined/iStock/GettyImages Feeling cranky, distracted or headache-y? Foggy or groggy? If it’s been hours since you’ve eaten lunch, it’s likely that your blood sugar is low and it’s time for a snack, says Frances Largeman-Roth, RDN, a Brooklyn-based dietitian and author of the upcoming book Smoothies & Juices: Prevention Healing Kitchen: 100+ Delicious Recipes for Optimal Wellness....

Heart palpitations at night — or any time of day — should always be taken seriously. Image Credit: Tetra Images/Tetra images/GettyImages In This Article Low Blood Sugar Medications Stress Foods Hormones Dehydration Fever Sleep-Deprivation There are certain situations when you might expect a pounding heart — before a big public speech, during a scary movie or after a tough cardio workout, for example. But waking up with heart palpitations at night can be alarming....

Nexium may provide relief from Gastritis, but it works best with a specific diet. Image Credit: Sorrorwoot Chaiyawong / EyeEm/EyeEm/GettyImages People who have gastritis — a condition that occurs when the lining of the stomach is inflamed or irritated — sometimes wonder if taking a popular heartburn drug like Nexium might ease their pain. The simple answer is “yes.” Advertisement Nexium (esomeprazole) is considered to be relatively safe. However, it's important to understand what the medication actually does and the implications it has on body processes and nutrient absorption....

Close-up of carrot juice. Image Credit: lrlucik/iStock/Getty Images Proponents of juicing claim they have unbounded energy due to the load of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants they’re taking in. Juice cleanses, in which you surrender most or all whole food in favor of green drinks, also promise that you’ll remove toxins from your body so you feel less foggy and fatigued. The downside to juicing is that it can leave you deficient in protein and calories, resulting in tiredness and malaise....

Can Vitamin C & Calcium Be Taken Together? Image Credit: twomeows/Moment/GettyImages Vitamin C, found in abundance in many fruits and fruit juices, has low toxicity and numerous health benefits. Calcium, found in milk and other dairy products, is an essential mineral that may reduce your risk of developing osteoporosis and other bone conditions. As some vitamins and minerals can negatively affect your body’s ability to absorb others, it is important to know the possible interactions between such compounds as calcium and vitamin C....

Regular cardio exercise is acknowledged to boost your immune system and help your body fight off viral illnesses. Image Credit: g-stockstudio/iStock/GettyImages Depending on your symptoms, exercising when you have a cold might be the last thing you want to do. But often, doing some gentle exercise will actually make you feel better. Advertisement Doing Cardio When Sick As explained by the Mayo Clinic, regular cardio exercise is acknowledged to boost your immune system and help your body fight off viral illnesses....

You can start getting fit at any body fat level, but muscle definition may not necessarily be visible. Image Credit: Mireya Acierto/DigitalVision/GettyImages The decision to start building more lean muscle mass can be an easy one. After all, “adequate lean muscle mass can help with injury prevention, mobility, fall prevention and overall quality of life,” says Marisa Michael, RDN, CPT, dietitian, personal trainer and owner of Real Nutrition in the Portland, Oregon area....

A jug of milk sits on a bail of hay in a barn with cows in the background. Image Credit: Purestock/Purestock/Getty Images Calcium, an essential dietary mineral, is the most abundant mineral in your body, and 99 percent of it is in your bones, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. The remainder plays a role in conducting nerve impulses and muscle actions through its function as an electrolyte, or charged ion particle....

Hula hooping can help burn calories. Image Credit: Peter Muller/Cultura/GettyImages Exercise doesn’t always mean plodding along on a treadmill waiting for your 30 minutes to be up. A hula hoop workout burns calories and can help you slim your waist while having fun at the same time. Just do it at the right intensity for the right amount of time and combine it with a healthy diet. Advertisement Tip A hula hoop workout burns calories, which helps you lose overall body fat....

Dynamic exercise involves constant movement while stretching. Image Credit: aldomurillo/iStock/GettyImages Depending on your intended context, there are at least two categories of dynamic exercises you can do. But all types of dynamic exercise involve movement and thus help prepare your body for various types of real-world movement. Advertisement Examples of Dynamic Stretches One of the most common types of “dynamic” movement is dynamic stretches: Think movements like leg swings, knee grabs and arm circles, which you might do to help warm your body up for a challenging workout....

Several exercises can help alleviate knee tightness. Image Credit: Dirima/iStock/GettyImages Tightness in the knee is sometimes referred to as “runner’s knee,” although it does not only happen to runners. This condition causes pain around or behind the kneecap, and can feel worse when walking or running downhill or descending stairs; you may even hear a crunching or clicking sound when you bend or extend your knee. There are several exercises you can do on a daily basis to help remedy the problem....

Exercise can decrease cellulite throughout the body. Image Credit: kovaciclea/E+/GettyImages Cellulite is made up of pockets of fat that sit right below the skin’s surface. It becomes visible because this fat squeezes between the bands that connect the muscle and skin together, causing the familiar puckering effect. Advertisement Because pretty much everyone has some fat beneath the skin and the bands can let some sneak through. Up to 90 percent of adult women some sort of this cottage-cheese fat on their bodies, reports the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology....

Bottles of soda. Image Credit: Boarding1Now/iStock/Getty Images Discovered in 1879 and 300 to 500 times sweeter than table sugar, saccharin is added to some foods to reduce the calorie count without stripping the food of its sweet flavor. Though there is some controversy about the use of artificial sweeteners and health, saccharin is recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Certain diet and low-calorie foods contain saccharin, and they include the artificial sweetener in the ingredient list....

A plate of grilled salmon. Image Credit: iuliia_n/iStock/Getty Images Fish is an important source of omega-3 fatty acids for brain and heart health, but it’s also a good source of protein. Like other foods from animal sources, fish provides high-quality or complete proteins that contain all of the necessary amino acid building blocks to build and replace protein in the body. Haddock, a saltwater fish related to cod, is considered a lean fish....

The sharp, stabbing pain of a muscle injury isn't what you might expect while stretching — but if you force a stretch too far or too fast, it can happen Image Credit: Lifemoment/iStock/GettyImages The sharp, stabbing pain of a muscle injury isn’t what you might expect while stretching — but if you force a stretch too far or too fast, it can happen. The good news is that a few “best practices” for stretching can help you avoid unexpected hamstring pain or injuries....

High-intensity interval training or HIIT can deliver impressive fitness gains, but it's important to know the truth behind some common HIIT misconceptions. Image Credit: ferrantraite/Vetta/Getty Images You’ve probably heard again and again that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) gets people amazing results in fat loss and fitness training. For the uninitiated, HIIT pairs high-intensity exercise intervals with low- to moderate-intensity exercise recovery phases. Advertisement HIIT has earned its spot as a here-to-stay fitness trend....

Do not starve yourself to lose weight. The equation for losing weight is simple: eat fewer calories than you burn. Putting this equation into practice can be challenging, however. Temptations, hunger, stress and sneaky calories derail your dieting efforts. Packed work and family schedules make fitting in exercise difficult. Losing 18 lbs. will take some effort and considerable lifestyle changes, but the benefits will be worth it. Advertisement Step 1 Set a realistic goal of losing just one or two pounds per week to meet your goal in nine to 18 weeks....

A man working out on dip bars outside. Image Credit: sestovic/iStock/Getty Images Dips can be a challenging and beneficial upper-body exercise, helping to strengthen the pectorals and triceps. Most gyms have some type of dip bar or parallel bars, but they’re also a relatively inexpensive and simple thing to make at your own home. Your dip bars can be made with PVC piping or two-by-fours, but when you make them using four-by-four wooden posts and galvanized metal piping, your dip bar can double as a pullup bar or a hanging bar for hanging leg raises....

Chickens eating feed on a free range farm. Image Credit: monticelllo/iStock/Getty Images Fattening up chickens is a process in which you change or add onto your bird’s diet in order to plump them up, for either meat or egg purposes. There are a number of different ways you can fatten up your chickens, but however you go about it, fattening up a chicken will most likely yield disappointing results if the birds don’t have a good amount of flesh on them already....

Pink packets of artificial sweetener. Image Credit: BigRedCurlyGuy/iStock/Getty Images What you eat affects the amount of triglycerides, a type of fat, in your bloodstream. Some foods, such as meat, contain triglycerides naturally. Your body also converts some substances – sugar and alcohol in particular – to triglycerides. If using Splenda, an artificial sweetener, helps you reduce the amount of sugar in your diet, you could enjoy lower levels of triglycerides....