Teaching yoga to a new group of students, I'm always weary of chanting something as simple as 'OM' at the end of the class. There are always those students who won't do it, for fear you might actually hear their voice, or those who think that chanting is "too spiritual." If you've never chanted before, why not give it at least one try? Once you realize the great health benefits that come along with mantra chanting, you'll be chanting your heart out day and night!

What Is a Mantra?
A mantra is simply a sound, syllable, word, or group of words repeated; it literally means to vibrate the mind. Mantras are of Sanskrit origin and have a powerful meaning behind them. It is for this reason, when we chant mantras, that they instill positive thoughts in our minds. We may not know what we are chanting, but that's OK -- it still has an effect on our overall well-being. Each mantra we chant has a different sound and vibration, which in turn has a different effect on a specific part of the body.

Dear Sarah,

As the weather slowly gets nicer, it's dawned on me that I can't hide my little bit of winter weight gain under my warm, cozy sweaters too much longer. I work out four to five times per week and this usually consists of three step aerobics classes and two weight sessions. Can you suggest some ways to boost my workouts and get my body ready for less bulky clothing?

Amanda

Dear Amanda,

It is great to hear that you have a regular workout schedule, but your body can become accustomed to a workout routine and thus it constantly requires a boost to keep your metabolic engine burning (rate at which you burn calories).

Here are three things you can easily incorporate into your existing routine to give you the boost you need to shed the winter weight.

Source

Source

Some people seem to have issues with the idea that emotions are associated with disease. Admittedly, the realm of emotional healing tends to bring to mind New Agey weirdos wielding crystals rather than hard science, but there is no denying that emotions have very real, material effects on the body and science is backing it up.

What we tend to feel as emotions are actually the effect of chemical cascades that visit cells in the body, signaling them to cause different responses. These chemical messengers have physical effects on the cells telling them to produce certain substances, retain vitamins or minerals or even turn on or off certain genes.

For example, stress causes the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands which activates the cells of the nervous system, getting the body ready to deal with stress. Chronic stress, which the body was never designed to accommodate, leads to the constant bombardment of the cells by cortisol leading to an inflammatory response which is implicated in many disease states (including arthritis, cardiovascular disease and even Alzheimer's disease).

While the women from the Canadian Olympic team definitely kicked butt this year, it was still pretty evident that on the whole, men tend to be able to jump higher and ski faster than women. But while they might be able to lift more than us at the gym, recent studies from Harvard Medical School have found that in fact, men are the weaker sex. When it comes to health matters, anyway.

The researchers concluded that this is down to a number of factors. Firstly, excess weight tends to be more of a problem for men than it does for women, since men usually carry it around their waist, where fat is most dangerous and can lead to heart attack and stroke. Women, as you may have guessed, tend to carry it around their thighs and hips, where it poses less of a threat -- even if it isn't very welcome. Secondly, women have higher levels of HDL -- the "good" cholesterol -- than men. And on average, women tend to eat a healthier diet than men.

Each morning, we dish out a few links we love.

After failing as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig, Kirstie Alley is back with her own organic weight loss program and TV show. Would you take weight loss advice from her?

Ever wondered what running shoe is really best? Here's what fitness experts wear, and I'm guessing they know their stuff.

You may have heard that the old fashioned hot dog might get re-designed. Here's why.

Don't let your office job ruin your diet -- here are some office-friendly snacks that are actually good for you.

What's the 'right' way to handle stress? Here's some advice on how to deal with it.

When it comes to cooking I'm a bit high maintenance (HM). I may be a foodie, but I do not enjoy spending endless hours in my kitchen when I could be doing more exciting things such as meandering through Kensington Market or ice skating on the Harbourfront in Toronto.

Basically, I want my meals to taste nothing short of fabulous, but I refuse to spend more than 30 minutes making that happen. As I'm sure most of you can relate to my fabulous-yet-easy cooking philosophy, you'll love this amazing recipe that I whip up at couple of times a week, and takes no more than five minutes. It is delicious, satisfying and chock full of anti-cancer and energizing nutrients.


Kale and mushrooms are the main ingredients and here's why I love them.

1. Energizing: They're incredible sources of energy boosting B vitamins such as riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and niacin (vitamin B3), all of which are important for energy metabolism.

2. Anti-cancer: Just five ounces of cremini (also spelled crimini and also known as baby portobellos) mushrooms gives you a whopping 52.6% daily dose of selenium. This mineral works as a cofactor to one of the body's most important internally produced antioxidants, glutathione peroxidase, which reduces the levels of damaging free radicals in the body.

3. Anti-stress: Both the B and C vitamins in kale and mushrooms support the adrenal glands from getting a beating during periods of stress and specifically the B's, prevent fatigue related to stress.

Recipe after the jump.

If you've ever had your heart broken, you're familiar with that crushing pressure that sits in your chest (and sometimes moves to the pit of your stomach) and lingers for weeks to remind you of the love you just lost. But while we tend to think that heartbreak exists almost entirely in one's head, there's new evidence to suggest that the heart can be physically broken as a result of certain types of trauma. The Wall Street Journal has taken on the topic of "broken-heart syndrome" ("Hearts Actually Can Break" by Ron Winslow) -- an affliction that disproportionately strikes women after menopause.

So what is broken-heart syndrome, and how does it work?

Each week, holistic nutritionist Joy McCarthy tells us about a common health problem she's seen in her practice and how she came to a solution.

This Week's Client: Stephanie, law clerk, busy mom of two, multi-tasker extraordinaire

The Problem: When Stephanie eats she complains that the food feels like it's "stuck" in her gut. Her exact words are: "Every meal, about 10 minutes after eating, it feels like I have a brick in my tummy -- like nothing is moving and I feel so full, even if I don't overeat."

This is actually a very common problem with varying causes: Food moves slow as a snail through the gut, leaving one feeling full and bloated, and which many refer to as just feeling "fat." Stephanie has had digestive issues in the past -- yo-yoing from constipation to diarrhea -- and now her gut felt like it was at a complete stand still.

The first time I saw Stephanie, I had her do my "transit time" test, which is an excellent way to determine your gut health. It's fairly simple: Eat some raw or roasted beets (not pickled) and check how long it takes before it comes out the the other end. You will know, because your bowel movement will be red. If it's longer than 24hours, then things are moving slowly, which can indicate anything from a sluggish thyroid to lack of exercise, poor food combining, allergies and more.

However, rather than suggesting a multitude of tests, it made sense to start simple.

Solution after the jump...

Over the last several years, we've been bombarded with information about how to make our hearts healthier - and most of the tips focus on lifestyle elements, such as eating right, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep. But did you know that being happier can also make your heart healthier? According to a recent study reported by Reuters (Happiness Makes for a Healthy Heart by Kate Kelland), people who are happier and more enthusiastic are less likely to develop heart disease than those who tend to be glum.

So how can being happier and more positive cut heart health risks?

• Go for frozen fruit (berries only). Have a ¼ cup of these. It's hard to eat too many and, because they are frozen, you have to eat slower.
• Drink herbal teas. Those with fruit flavours tend to be more satisfying.
• Glutamine: Open up a 500mg capsule under the tongue to beat your cravings.

More tips, after the jump...

Dear Sarah,

We are often told that first and foremost exercise is essential to keep our hearts healthy. As I like to walk to work (it takes about 40 minutes and I walk briskly), I'm wondering if this is enough exercise to keep my heart in tip-top shape, or do you think I need more? And can you tell me how exactly exercise benefits the heart?
Thanks,
Lisa

Dear Lisa,
Your heart is the most important muscle in the body, far more important than that six-pack you have been longing for! Unfortunately, heart health often falls off our radar, which is probably why heart disease is becoming one of the biggest epidemics -- and greatest challenges -- in our culture. According to the American Heart Association, 910,000 Americans die each year due to cardiovascular disease. That is equivalent to the death toll of 9/11, every 27 hours. Canadians are not any better -- the number of overweight and obese Canadians according to the Canadian Community Health survey is 59 percent. And yet, cardiovascular disease is the number one most preventable disease.

When we look to the sources of stress in our lives - too much work, too little sleep, too many weekends with the in-laws - rarely do we consider what and how we're eating. Brendan Brazier, author of Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life, explains the connection.

Q: What is the connection between food and stress?

A: Well, one of the connections is simply not getting the nutrients you need - that can trigger a stress response in the body. Also, there's all of that stress in life you can't control - work-related or family-related - but a large part, up to 40 percent, can be attributed to nutrition. And that's not being properly nourished through the right foods, but it's also about eating the wrong kinds of food that take a lot of energy to digest. If you're eating a lot of refined foods that require a lot of your body's digestive enzymes and processes, it's actually quite hard for the body and it takes energy and work. In my book, I call those low-net-gain foods the foods that you have to expend a lot of energy to get nutrients from. One of the goals is to eat foods that take as little energy as possible to break down, but give you as many nutrients as possible - I call those high-net-gain foods.

Do you ever feel your memory isn't as sharp as it should be? You may be suffering from a magnesium deficiency. A new international study that included researchers from the University of Toronto published in the journal Neuron has found increased brain levels of magnesium improves both learning and memory.

To this end, the researchers found that supplementing the diet of both young and old rats with magnesium enhanced cognitive abilities. Interestingly, the researchers were supplementing at levels higher than what is considered normal dietary intake of magnesium (400mg is the RDA for magnesium) and found the increased intake of this important mineral has a dramatic effect on improving multiple aspects of memory and learning.

The researchers closely examined parts of the brain associated with memory and found a number of cellular changes: The number of functioning parts of the brain cells involved in sending messages actually increased, more signaling molecules were activated and processes for short and long-term memory were enhanced in the magnesium supplemented group.

Dear Sarah,

Help! My job has become very stressful, my company has me making cuts and laying off employees. At the end of the day, I often find myself on the couch drinking a very large glass of wine. I think that exercise could help (more than the wine) undo some of this anxiety. What would be the best type of exercise to relieve my stress? Georgia


Dear Georgia,

It's very true that exercise can help relieve your stress, even more than wine! In fact, it's one of the greatest side effects of exercise in addition to weight loss, improved cardiovascular health, stronger muscles, better sleep, a more positive self-image and reduced anxiety -- all of which really means less stress. Exercise can make a significant impact on controlling your stress because physical activity stimulates neurotransmitters (produced in the brain), which help mediate mood, emotions and hormones -- particularly the main stress hormone called cortisol.