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

What's good for the earth is good for you -- seriously! Divine lists a few ways that going green can help your health.

Got goosebumps? It might not be a sign of chills -- As it turns out, these tiny bumps can actually be a surprising indicator of stress.

Addicted to your job? Here are some reasons it's crucial to unplug every now and then.

Weight gain isn't just a symptom of middle age -- sometimes it happens to people in their 20s too! If this is happening to you, here are some things you can do about it.

Feeling uninspired? Take a healthy hint from Jill Hennessy -- she turns to long runs when she needs a mood, energy and creativity boost.

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: Lisa, 28, personal trainer, business owner

The Problem: Lack of concentration, low energy and though not diagnosed with depression, she felt sad and down more days than she felt happy.

Lisa was suffering from the most common type of depression: chronic low-grade sadness that comes and goes. As in Lisa's case, it's not necessarily debilitating and most people can function and lead normal lives without anyone else ever noticing. She had considered taking anti-depressants to help boost her mood, but wanted to try a natural route first.

Depression can be a rather complicated disorder to treat because there are often many different causes, including nutritional deficiency, food allergies, adrenal fatigue, stress, traumatic events, a neurotransmitter imbalance, lack of exercise and over-consumption of sugar. There are as many causes as there are solutions and numerous studies to back up every plausible solution. This is why a custom-tailored approach is required, unique to each individual.

As a nutritionist, diet is always the first place I start with my clients, along with lifestyle recommendations. I focused on helping Lisa clean up her diet first and she committed 100% to my recommendations for three months.

Solutions after the jump.

Feeling stressed? Moody? Depressed? While you may think it's your life that needs changing, your real problem might be what's missing from your diet: magnesium.

This under-appreciated and vastly under-consumed mineral is the hidden cause of many mood disorders, and boosting your magnesium levels could be the key to improving your emotional health.

Statistics show that we simply do not have enough magnesium in our diets. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) claims that 60 per cent of Americans aren't getting their daily magnesium requirements. And according to psychologist/MD/medical researcher Dr. Mark Sircus, who has written extensively on the topic, that number just scratches the surface of the problem -- "What they don't tell us is that this 60% is based on minimum daily estimates set by the Department of Agriculture [which] are set terribly low, so actually the number is much higher." A common culprit is processed foods, which are depleted of many essential minerals, including magnesium. On top of this, soil that has been depleted of minerals also lacks the all-important magnesium, so even our fresh produce tends to be lacking.


Find out how to get more magnesium after the jump.

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: Julia, 32, assistant producer for television.
The Problem: Psoriasis on her hands and arms.

Julia was completely fed up with wearing long-sleeved shirts in summer, which she did for fear that someone would see her red patches. Psoriasis ran in her family and Julia's doctor had advised there was nothing more he could do to help.

Psoriasis is an extremely common skin problem that affects both men and women equally. It's caused by a pile-up of skin cells that have replicated too rapidly, roughly 1000 times greater than normal. This results in the characteristic silvery scaly skin as cells have replicated faster than they can be shed. Many doctors believe the problem is genetic as 36 percent of sufferers have family members with psoriasis. Genetics aside, there are plenty of natural solutions one can try in lieu of just giving up.

According to Dr. Michael Murray, an authority on natural medicine, a number of factors appear to be the root cause of psoriasis including: toxic bowels, poor protein digestion, poor liver function, alcohol consumption, stress and excessive consumption of animal fats. All the recommendations I gave to Julia addressed these areas.

Continued after the jump.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues and improve their overall health.

Proper diet and nutritional supplements can benefit everyone suffering from allergies by boosting immunity and optimizing health. Allergies, ranging from sinus congestion and hay fever to asthma, dermatitis and hives are all symptoms of reduced immunity. Presented here are some recommended supplements and dietary advice to keep you sniffle-free!

Multivitamin/Mineral
A full-spectrum multivitamin and mineral product in a highly absorbable form is essential to ensure the foundation of health. Vitamins and minerals are necessary for proper growth, metabolism, digestion, immune system function, muscle and nerve function and detoxification processes in the liver. Scientific studies have shown that the majority of us are deficient in many essential nutrients because of poor dietary habits and other factors which may deplete nutrient levels such as caffeine, drugs, stress or pollution.

Acidophilus/Probiotics
Studies have proven that taking acidophilus helps to reduce the frequency and severity of infections. Acidophilus is the friendly bacteria that live in our digestive tract. This bacteria balance is affected by the use of antibiotics, the birth control pill or excess sugar and carbohydrate intake. Everyone can benefit from the use of probiotics for healthy digestion and immunity. Acidophilus has also been found useful in the treatment and prevention of skin conditions, allergies and thrush. Be sure to follow any course of antibiotics with supplements of acidophilus for double the length of time you took the antibiotics.

Have you used up all of your vacation days for the year? Don't fret -- experts claim that mini weekend getaways can be just as effective at making you happy as long, drawn-out holidays. In fact, if you're heading out for a multi-week vacation, it's even suggested that you break it up with days of work to help you appreciate your downtime more. Now that's just crazy talk -- or is it?

"On a long vacation, day seven is less good than day one because it's not as exciting," behavioural economist and Duke University professor Dan Ariely explained to the Daily Telegraph. "That's why in general, going away four times [a year] provides more benefit than you would expect, and going away for one week provides less benefit than you would expect."

So weekends at the cottage can be just as good for our mental health as two weeks in the Caribbean? That's certainly good news for the old wallet.

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: Angelina, 35, marketing director and mom of two
The Problem: Chronic fatigue syndrome.

Angelina wasn't unlike many women who feel completely burnt out from life: Juggling a full-time job, being a wife and mother, balancing an active social life and her volunteer work. But lately, Angelina said, she preferred sleeping to socializing. Her recurring exhaustion had been diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and she was tired of being tired.

The most common symptoms of CFS include recurrent fatigue, sore throat, low-grade fever, muscle and joint pain, depression and loss of concentration. Angelina had all those symptoms excluding muscle and joint pain. There are many causes of CFS ranging from having a lowered immune system, to depression, food allergies to stress.

As a holistic nutritionist, I will address the diet options that can help eliminate the causes and alleviate the symptoms of CFS. They benefitted Angelina immensely and also helped with her depression and boosted her immune system.

The immune system is said to have a very critical role in CFS. In fact, many people have chronic yeast infections as a result of a low immune system and Angelina was no different. My focus was to build her immune system first and foremost by cleaning up her diet.

Recommendations after the jump

What makes you happy? Money? Your family? Your health? Your career? While it's true that all of these things can contribute to how content you are with your life, new research suggests that there's another factor in the equation that's more important than all the rest: You.

And that doesn't just apply to your happiness -- You are also the most significant determinant when it comes to other emotional states, including your levels of depression and anxiety. What's more, if you're prone to either of the aforementioned issues, you can re-wire your brain to deal with stress in a more efficient and healthy manner.

That's according to two prominent doctors who are currently studying the kinds of stressors we're faced with these days and how we deal with them. Remember in high school biology when you learned about the "Fight or Flight" reaction to stress? That's a simplified view of how our body deals with stress and for our primitive ancestors, it worked. But these days, we're dealing with more than just the stress of escaping a predator during our weekly hunt. We're worried about bills, deadlines, what to cook for dinner. Issues like these may seem inconsequential, but put 'em all together? We're constantly stressed out. And neither fight nor flight is an option.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.

For many people, myself included, grabbing a latte is the high point of a day. You may occasionally give it up for a few weeks at a time, but the comfort and gratification from this basic pleasure doesn't keep you away from the local coffee shop for long. However, there are a few things you can do right now to make this unhealthy habit, a whole lot healthier:

1. Go for soy milk over cow's milk: Some sources suggest that cow's milk is a common food allergy that can contribute to eczema, asthma, sinus congestion or digestive upset. Soy is high in protein and in calcium. It is also beneficial for heart health, prostate cells, menopausal and PMS symptoms, bone density and sex hormone balance (due to its phytoestrogenic isoflavones). Breast tenderness, irritability and acne breakouts before menses can be lessened by having a cup of soy milk each day. Recent studies even suggest that soy protein contributes to fat loss and the maintenance of muscle during a weight loss program.


2. Top it off with cinnamon: Cinnamon is all the rage right now in the treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes because of its insulin-sensitizing effects. Insulin instructs the body to store extra calories as fat if they are not burned off after consumption. An insulin-sensitizing agent is one that causes the cells of the body to have a better response to insulin, which ultimately lessens the need for excessive insulin secretion. A study published in Diabetes Care found that half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It also reduces triglyceride, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels among this group. Less insulin is beneficial beyond weight loss reasons and cholesterol control as avoidance of high insulin levels over long periods of time is linked to reduced risk of cancer (i.e. breast), Alzheimer's disease, high blood pressure, accelerated aging and heart disease.


3. Coffee: One cup a day is not that bad: New research confirms that moderate coffee consumption has possible benefits and may not cause us harm. These benefits include reduced risk for type 2 diabetes, gallstones, liver disease, colon cancer and Parkinson's disease. Studies show that type 2 diabetes is lower among regular coffee drinkers (two or less cups per day). In addition to the long-term health benefits, the immediate effects of coffee consumption include improved endurance in long-duration physical activities and higher, fat-burning effects before a workout.

Dear Sarah,

While swimsuit shopping this month, I was alarmed to see cottage cheese thighs staring back at me from the dressing room mirror. The horror! Bikini buying stopped there. Ditto wearing a bathing suit on the beach. Can exercise help get rid of my unsightly lumps? Are there any cellulite-beating workouts you recommend?
Rachel

Dear Rachel,

Cellulite is caused by clusters of fat cells. Unfortunately, you are born with these cells and will have them forever, but how big or small they get is up to you.

I recently wrote a post weighing the nutrition of cantaloupe versus honeydew melons and I had more than one person ask "what about watermelon." While it's my opinion that cantaloupe and honeydew are the "best" melons by far, the masses prefer watermelon.

Watermelon is often thought of as an empty food - mostly water, sweet taste, but not much in the way of nutrition. This simply isn't the case. In fact, all the water taking up space in these pink, fleshy melons make them a really nutrient-dense food. Nutrient density is measured by nutrient to calorie ratio, so since water has no calories, watermelon is really nutrient dense! Keep reading to find out all the health benefits.

Although a watermelon is sweeter than an apple, it actually contains about half as much fruit sugar. And while it's somewhat tricky to find an organic watermelon, come August you'll be able to get local ones. And here is some more good news: Watermelons are on the Environmental Working Group's list of the "Clean 15" conventionally grown fruits and vegetables with the least amount of residual pesticides.

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

Sweet drinks might be bad for our health, but there's one way they do benefit us -- research shows that a bit of sugar can help reduce stress and aggression.

Diet and fitness play a front and centre role in the lives of the current generation, but what was it like in the Mad Men era? Fitsugar takes an interesting look into how we managed our weight in a time before gym memberships and even Jane Fonda.

You probably give them a hard time about it, but it turns out your teen might actually need to sleep in until all hours of the morning -- studies show that teenagers are healthier, happier and more alert when they've had a bit of extra shut-eye.

North Americans are exercising more than ever, but is it all for nothing? Studies show that despite the fitness boom, obesity rates aren't budging.

If you're in the market for a baby crib, take heed -- here are some important safety considerations you need to take into account before the big purchase.

Having just returned from six weeks of travelling through Asia, I know two things for certain: I love adventure, and jet lag bites. Coming home involved more than 30 hours of transit time, complete with connecting flights and long waits at airports, not to mention the vast time difference when I finally landed.

Jet lag, in case you didn't know, occurs when the body's internal clock is forced to re-adjust after crossing several time zones. Symptoms include fatigue, stiffness and sluggish circulation that's ultimately caused by sitting in one position for a long time.

Although there's little you can do to avoid jet lag, I've found yoga does wonders for re-balancing and rejuvenating the body, as well as grounding and calming the mind. In fact, the first thing I did after getting a good night's rest (and, OK, watching the World Cup final) was head to a yoga class. And thank goodness I did. Certain poses worked wonders on my jet lag, and I'm willing to bet they'll do the same for you.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.


Weight loss is a delicate process, and one that's dependent upon healthy hormonal balance. One of the key components to slimming down successfully is to identify your current state of hormonal imbalance through a proper assessment, which then allows the formulation of a strategic formula for weight loss success. Let's consider six formulations for some of the main hormones that influence your body composition:

Insulin

Insulin is a signal in the body that allows glucose from the food we eat to be used as fuel. These sugars, if not used or burned off, will be stored as fat, so essentially, insulin is responsible for our flab. When nsulin levels are too high, weight tends to accumulate in the "love handles" area around the waist.

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: Allison, a 28-year-old Public Relations Manager and self-confessed sugar addict.

The Problem: Allison suffers from occasional diarrhea, persistent constipation that lasts for weeks at a time, and severe bouts of abdominal pain and bloating. She was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) three years ago and was prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. She came to me for a more natural solution.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is one of the most common bowel disorders and affects more women then men. There are many other conditions that mimic IBS -- an imbalance of bacterial microflora, laxative abuse, candida, gluten-intolerance, excessive consumption of caffeine, too many carbonated beverages and food allergies can all cause similar symptoms, so it's important to seek professional guidance to rule them out.