What is it that we are truly hungering for? Our craving are like a crying baby who is trying to draw our attention. When the baby cries, the mother cradles the baby to try to calm the baby right away. By acknowledging and embracing our cravings through a few breaths, we can stop our autopilot of reaching out to the pint of ice cream or the bag of chips.” Mindful eating is eating with intention and attention: Eating with

Do you exercise to stay fit during pregnancy? Your workouts may keep your baby’s brain fit, too—just 17 minutes a day of moderate aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, can help. In a recent study, babies born to mothers who exercised 117 minutes a week during pregnancy were more responsive to sounds in their sleep during their first two weeks of life than babies whose mothers exercised just 12 minutes a week. These heightened responses

While they may make your clothes smell as fresh as a spring morning, conventional laundry-care products often contain chemicals with negative health effects ranging from skin and throat irritation to causing cancer. Laundry detergents are often derived from petrochemicals and can contain synthetic fragrances, even when advertised as “fragrance-free.” Most companies add optical brighteners to detergent formulas — additives which emit blue light, making whites appear whiter by tricking the eye. By design, optical brighteners

In a study, healthy men were asked to use crutches and not put weight on their legs. Within 48 hours, oxidative stress increased, DNA repair decreased, insulin response decreased and metabolic activity decreased. Put simply, there was tissue damage. And these changes persisted even after the inactivity ended. This means that conditions such as diabetes are more likely to occur. In addition, various respiratory illnesses due to exposure to pollution can occur, leading ultimately to

Ways to become “mindful” Learning to focus the mind can be a powerful antidote to the stresses and strains of our on-the-go lives. The ability to pay attention to what you’re experiencing from moment to moment — without drifting into thoughts of the past or concerns about the future, or getting caught up in opinions about what is going on — is called mindfulness. This basic mindfulness meditation exercise is easy to learn and practice.