Maria Shriver has been empowering women for quite some time. Her Women’s Conference, which will take place this year from October 26-27 at the Long Beach Convention Center, has been a rallying point for women to share and inspire eachother to become “architects of change.” But California’s First Lady has taken her commitment even further by partnering with the Center for American Progress to produce The Shriver Report: A Women’s Nation Changes Everything. The newly released study reveals that women now make up over 50% of the U.S. workforce and government and corporate  policy need to start reflecting that shift.  Glam had the opportunity to chat with Shriver and John Podesta from the Center for American Progress on Monday and hear their thoughts on the issues and needs facing the American family today.  After expounding on the need for childcare, flexible hours, paid family leave and the importance of speaking up,  Shriver declared “Battle of the sexes is over!” Below are some of the facts they shared.

• 2/3  of the households in America have women as the primary or co-bread winner.
• Women are still paid only .77 or .78 cents to every man’s dollar.
• 3/4 of the American public thinks its a good idea for women to be in the workforce, but it also creates stress in people’s lives.
• 76% of American supported paid family leave.
• 73% of American said businesses should provide more childcare benefits.
• Women control 80% of the purchasing power and thus it’s smart business to cater to their needs.

” We have power in our voices and our numbers,” said Shriver. So speak up ladies! Band together and work to balance your family and career in a healthy and happy way!  For more details on this tranformational moment visit awomensnation.org. ~Nola Weinstein

I grew up in a household where I had to take my vitamins before I even thought about setting foot outside. Between the ever-popular Flintstone Vitamins and the Women’s One A Day multivitamin, I can’t remember a day when I didn’t pop a supplelment.

Now comes the disturbing news that this practice may not be good for me.

According to the Daily Mail and Professor Martin Wiseman, medical and scientific adviser for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), regularly taking high dose supplements can be very harmful, as he believes that it is difficult to know whether vitamin supplements actually cut cancer risks.

Says Wiseman, “Just because a dietary pattern that provides a relatively high level of a particular nutrient might protect against cancer, it does not mean that taking it in tablet form will have the same effect. In fact, at high doses the effect of these micronutrients is unpredictable and can be harmful to health.”

I must admit – I do think of vitamins as a cancer preventive measure, same as I do daily exercise. We’ve all been told to workout, eat a sensible diet, and take your vitamins if we want to lead a healthy life. I’m a bit saddened by the prospect that I can have been doing more harm than good.

Read the entire article here, but first a few questions; will you stop taking vitamins altogether? How often do you take vitamins? Do you even believe this claim?

xx, India-Jewel

(P.S. – Follow us on Twitter: OnGlamWellness!)

Breast cancer has affected far too many of us, and before long, it could be your mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin, or best friend who has to fight this devastating illness. When caught early, breast cancer happens to be highly treatable. Performing a thorough BSE (breast self-exam) monthly could literally save your life.

How often do you perform a BSE?

xx, India-Jewel

Need a motivating reason to clear out the clutter in your kitchen? Here’s one: it could help you drop a dress size! We picked up few tips from Health.com that can help you create a more figure-friendly home:

Flash Your Fruit
Instead of keeping fresh fruits and veggies in drawers in the refrigerator where you can’t see them, put your produce in a big, clear container on one of the shelves. Whenever you reach for a snack, that’s the first thing you’ll see. Also invest in a beautiful bowl to display your seasonal produce on the counter. The vibrant colors are a gorgeous addition to your kitchen.

Be Transparent
Instead of wrapping leftovers in tinfoil, store them in clear plastic containers. Place healthy pantry items like oats, beans, and peanut butter at eye-level, easy-to-reach shelves in your cupboard. By giving these foods the most visibility, you’re more likely to reach for them. Store those tempting treats where you can’t see them, like in a top cupboard.

Size Yourself Up
Sacrificing flavor is no way to cook, or stick to your diet. So, look for low-calorie ways to boost the flavor in your favorite healthy dishes. By keeping your measuring cups and spoons right by your prep area you’ll scale back on hidden calories! If you want to cut down even further, downsize the plates and glasses that you use. A regular-size dinner plate encourages you to load it up with food, but a small plate looks full with much less food.

xx, Grace Daniel

Here’s the gist of the latest research from CNNHealth: include generous amounts of lean protein in your diet and you can curb your appetite, improve your heart health, and help lower your risk for a laundry list of chronic ills. Sounds simple enough, right?

Well it is! Just stick to the right kinds of protein, i.e. fish, skinless poultry, lean meat, egg whites, low fat dairy, and legumes, and you can help lower your blood sugar level and keep your weight under control.

The best advice is this: include lean, high-quality sources of protein in every meal. If weight loss is your goal, a little bigger serving of protein is in order. Who thought larger servings and weight loss could be in the same sentence?

xx, Grace Daniel

We’re all aware of the nation’s obesity epidemic caused by our fatty diets, but there is another epidemic hidden under all that weight: a national sex crisis!  As a person’s weight soars, their libido decreases due to changes that diminish blood flow. That extra weight also makes it difficult to have children.  But we have good news!

With some simple changes to your diet, and the help of Eat This, Not That you can rev up your sex drive and bring the fiery passion back to your boudoir. The most up-to-date version of the best selling weight-loss series has a “Hot or Not” quiz that will help you find out which foods will spark your sex drive and which will dampen the moment. Order this book, and find out the secrets to lose weight and boost your sexual performance.

Available at Rodale.com for $26.95.

xx, Grace Daniel

Odwalla’s latest Superfood Fruit Smoothie is on super duty this month. It’s not just benefiting us with plenty of iron and calcium—it’s also helping raise breast cancer awareness. The new flavor, Pink Poetry, is a delicious and healthy blend of natural ingredients, including plum, dark sweet cherry, guava, hibiscus, cranberry and green tea extracts, and more. In addition to introducing a drink loaded with vitamins and nutrients that are lacking in women’s diets, Odwalla is also contributing $25,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Drink up!

We’ve all stood by and watched as many a celebrity have been taken from us much too soon, not just during these past few months but the past few years. From Heath Ledger to the recently deceased DJ AM, many have lost their lives due to accidental overdoses on prescription medication and other illicit drugs. It’s a trend that has been developing since the 1970′s, but in the past 10 years it seems to have skyrocketed.

In 2005, 33,541 deaths were caused by drug-use, according to U.S. Census Bureau. Leonard J. Paulozzi, a Medical Epidemiologist for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said, “A CDC study showed a correlation on the state level between usage of opioid painkillers and drug overdose death rates.” It doesn’t matter if the drugs itself are taken medically, accidentally or abused the statistics should be an indication for all of us to take a step back, read the labels and understand what we are putting into our bodies because the consequences may be deadly.

For more information on accidental overdoses please visit CDC.gov

xx, Valis Vicenty

Lack of sleep has been getting a pretty bad rep in the press lately. First we hear it can make you more susceptible to colds, now it’s linked to Alzheimer’s?

Possibly says The Guardian; adults who suffer from sleep-related disorders may be more likely to develop the dreaded mental disease later in life. In a recent study done with sleep-deprived mice, research showed that preventing the mice from sleeping caused a 25% increase in amyloid beta levels, which is a peptide that builds up in your brain, forming damaging plaques that lead to the development of Alzheimer’s. Professor David Holtzman of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St Louis, MO, where the study was carried out, said: “The results suggest that we may need to prioritize treating sleep disorders not only for their many acute effects, but also for potential long-term impacts on brain health.”

Lesson learned here; get your beauty sleep gals.

xx, India-Jewel

The Daily Mail is issuing a diner’s beware, as they’re reporting that researchers believe eating out with a fatter friend will subconsciously help you eat less. Translation: eating with thin friends will only make you fatter.

Consumer habits studies have shown that dining with a thin person with a bigger appetite makes other diners eat larger portions than they normally would, but sitting opposite a fat person leads to them eating less than usual.

We have a hard time getting on board with this one, but we guess it could be chocked up to reverse digestive psychosis? Read more of the somewhat hilarious report here.

xx, India-Jewel