We’re sure there are many of you who, like us, have a sweet tooth that has a mind of its own. More often than not, we’ll find ourselves craving all sorts of sweets after we’ve just eaten! We’ll try to beat the craving by brushing our teeth or popping a piece of gum into our mouths, but it usually doesn’t fully sate our cravings. We recently discovered cinnamon sticks—a sweet and slightly spicy, calorie-free treat that may curb cravings. And what’s great about the sticks is that they’re not difficult to make at home! All you need are toothpicks, cinnamon oil, and a glass jar. Simply soak the toothpicks in the oil overnight (any longer might make them too hot to handle), lay on a nonabsorbent surface to dry! Keep in mind that besides working as a great diet trick, the toothpicks are popular with people trying to quit smoking, and they serve as a great calorie-free breath freshener. And they’re so small that you can carry them anywhere! Tote them in a lipstick holder for a discrete, fashion forward look.

Picture this: yoga class begins at 6:30PM, thirty minutes after you’ve left the office. The studio is right by your office, but you live across town so you don’t want to go home in between work and class, plus you’d like to get a small bite to eat. So you lug your yoga mat from home in the morning to work, then to class, and finally home again. Don’t you resent its bulky, awkward shape when it bumps the person next to you in the subway, or as you walk down the street? (We’re sure you do.) But with Yoga-Paws—small pieces of yoga mat that attach to your hands and feet, this is no longer be an issue. Not only do they provide plenty of traction, they also offer thick, comfortable padding. The tops of the paws are mesh and the insides are lined with a towel-like material, both of which wick excess sweat. The only drawback is if you wear shorts and perform a pose where your knees are down, as your skin will be in direct contact with the floor. Even so, Yoga-Paws seem well worth the $36.95 investment. (If for nothing other than not having to lug your mat around ever again!)

Acupuncture has been persisting as a treatment for weight loss, especially in Western countries. However, it’s important to understand that acupuncture alone will not magically help you shed pounds. Acupuncture reduces levels of anger, depression, and anxiety, so in turn you relax and collect your emotions. It’s this increase in self-control that acupuncture offers that may help control eating habits. Additionally, it can aid in suppressing the appetite. While acupuncture is meant to serve as a support system and extra push for those who are trying to lose weight, not as a means to an end; people who used acupuncture in this way stated that it did make their struggle to lose weight easier! So if you’re looking for a little boost to help you along, give acupuncture a shot (pun totally intended).

Have you been increasing the intensity of your workouts to try to lose more weight, only to find yourself starving after a tough sweat session, eating back all the calories (and maybe more) that you just worked hard to burn off? Unfortunately, this scenario is not uncommon. Levels of hunger hormones rise after exercise, especially in women—a “perk” of childbearing, as women’s bodies hold onto extra energy for reproduction purposes. But while dieting may produce more desirable short-term results than exercise, exercise keeps more pounds off in the long-term. So don’t cut back on your workouts, just be cautious of how many calories you’re eating as opposed to how many you worked off. A good trick is to eat no more than half of the calories you burnt during your workout. So if you ran two miles (about 200 calories), don’t eat more than a 100-calorie snack afterwards. Now that a lot of your favorite foods come in convenient 100-calorie packs, it shouldn’t be difficult to monitor your intake. And be sure to eat something small before your trip to the gym so that you don’t develop hunger pangs midway through, ultimately cutting your workout short and forcing you to eat the first fatty food in sight (like the 600-calorie double chocolate brownie attractively displayed in the window of the bakery conveniently located next door to the gym).

Are you ready for this? Those who suffer severely from allergies may be in store for much more nasal annoyance, as allergies are no longer just a spring-season occurrence. Sadly, your stuffy nose, watery eyes, sinus headaches, itching, et al will be around for a little longer. Le sigh!

According to a study conducted by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, recent climate changes may be doubling the production of ragweed pollen, which will drastically extend and exacerbate your allergies.

Have you been tested? If not, now is the perfect time to go and find out exactly what you’re allergic to. (Fingers crossed your allergist says NOTHING!) If so, stock up on allergy medication; it looks like your sneezing and wheezing is set to get a bit worse in the years to come.

For more information on the study, please visit USDA.gov.

Keep the sanitizing wipes handy the next time you go grocery shopping! A recent study from the University of Arizona found that 50% of shopping carts have E. Coli and other bacteria, including fecal matter, on the handlebars. This is more bacteria on shopping carts than there is regularly found in a public bathroom and can lead to bacterial infections such as salmonella and staphylococcus.

Though supermarkets have already made accommodations by placing disinfecting wipes near shopping carts even before the study was published, it reinforces the need to keep everyone’s hands clean, including your little ones.

For more information, please visit UANews.org.

xx, Valis Vicenty

Stress can affect your body in many different ways, but studies are now showing that it won’t affect your ability to get pregnant. According to the British Medical Journal, women who experience emotional distress while going through IVF treatment for infertility would not compromise their chances of getting pregnant. For a long time, many women believed their chances of conceiving would be hampered in the same way a menstrual cycle could be delayed because of stress. The study was an review of other studies from around the world regarding infertility, and more research is needed to determine if there are other biological factors that may inhibit some from getting pregnant even with treatment. Since many couples choose to stop treatment because of how stressful it can become, this new information should help women who are looking to have a child breathe a sigh of relief.

For more information please visit the British Medical Journal website.

xx, Valis Vicenty

Ibuprofen is used to rid us of headaches, but it may also be the key to keeping Parkinson’s disease at bay.  A study published in Neurology found seniors who took ibuprofen twice a week, as opposed to acetaminophen and other NSAIDs had a 38% lower risk of developing the disease. The anti-inflammatory aspects of the drugs may reduce the beginning symptoms of Parkinson’s. Though this may be a correlation, the researchers advised not to start taking ibuprofen since more research needs to be done but understanding the disease has become much easier.

For more information, please visit Neurology.org.

xx, Valis Vicenty

In vitro fertilization experts are looking into a new method of IVF using three people to reduce the chance of genetic birth defects and diseases. Using similar cloning technology that created Dolly the sheep, British researchers are looking to further develop a new technique that would involve an embryo’s nuclear DNA being extracted and placed into an donor egg whose nucleus is removed and discarded. It would result in 98% inherited genetic material from the mother and father with the remaining two percent coming from the donor egg. The need for this technique is based on many genetic diseases being the result of faulty mitochondrial DNA, which power the cells in the body and are inherited from the mother. Currently this technique is banned under British law, but the researchers are looking to have the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority review their research to approve further investigation.

For more information, please visit HFEA.gov.uk.

xx, Valis Vicenty

As the skirts get shorter and the heels get higher, it’s not just your gams that are getting all of the attention. Ankles also get noticed, and it may be time to cut back on the salt if yours look more like cankles. Salt is known to cause water retention and bloating, and it can visually affect obscure areas. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends only 2.3g of sodium per day, which equals to 5.8g of salt. Choose foods with less than than 1.25g of salt (0.5g of sodium) and check the labels of baked goods, soups, ready-made foods and cereals. Keep yourself hydrated with plenty of water to flush out your system of excess salt and watch as your cankles start to shrink within a week!

For more information on how salt affects the body, please visit CDC.gov.

xx, Valis Vicenty