Are your omega-3 supplements fake?

By Markham Heid for Prevention.com

Your daily omega-3 supplement may be swimming with more than just fish oil. A new report from ConsumerLab.com, an independent tester of health and nutritional products, finds many omega-3 capsules don’t include all the nutrients they claim to, are loaded with extra fat, and are even contaminated with levels of carcinogens that exceed EPA standards.

“Our analysis found problems with roughly 31% of omega-3 supplements,” says Tod Cooperman, MD, president of ConsumerLab.com. Among the 35 products tested, four contained 20 to 30% less omega-3 than the label indicated, and one included spoiled fish oil. Another product that claimed just 1 milligram of fat actually contained 1,000 milligrams.

And it gets worse. “For the first time, we also found omega-3 products contaminated with PCBs,” says Dr. Cooperman. PCBs are man-made, carcinogenic compounds that are found in almost all fish products, and although every supplement tested contained some PCBs, two contained levels deemed unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency.

But don’t toss your supplements out to sea just yet, says Dr. Cooperman.

Keep reading to find out why…

New research shows the cumulative benefits of routine massages

By Katie Drummond for Prevention.com

We’re going to guess you don’t need another excuse to get a massage. But if you can’t afford a weekly spa trip (and frankly, who can?), you’re going to have to get really good at sweet-talking your husband into helping you out now and then. Not easy, we know. But we have some new ammo—and we have a new study from Emory University to back us up.

Over a period of five weeks, study participants received a Swedish massage—characterized by long, flowing strokes—once or twice a week. Compared to those who didn’t get the lucky task of getting massaged in the name of science, those who received massage therapy had lower levels of stress hormones, including cortisol. They also experienced big changes in immunity, including increased counts of white blood cells, which play a key role in fending off illness and infection.

And it gets better: The benefits of massage lasted for several days, and each subsequent massage offered a cumulative benefit. In other words, a routine massage ritual is superior to an occasional rub.

“The act of massage itself has amazing biological effects,” says lead study author Mark Hyman Rapaport, MD, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine. “Of course, a single session will do great things for the body, but regular sessions seem to be even more profound.”

Anyone who enjoys massage should consider indulging regularly, says Dr. Rapaport, who adds that self-massage (for those of you with a reticent beau) has the potential to be a beneficial—and cost-effective—option.

Keep reading for three self-massage tips…

Olympic secrets for great skin

By Nina Elias for Prevention.com

What do Shawn Johnson, Dara Torres, and Lolo Jones have in common outside of the gym? Great skin. Beyond its obvious benefits (like keeping your weight in check, adding years to your life, and helping you don a bathing suit with confidence), exercise can aid in clearing up your peskiest complexion woes while keeping others at bay.

Here, Dr. Ava Shamban, board-certified dermatologist and author of Heal Your Skin, breaks down the beauty benefits of a good sweat session—Olympics-worthy or not:

Suppress Stress: Vigorous exercise helps shut down the stress hormones (which cause belly fat) and divert oxygen and nutrients back to your skin. Regular exercise also promotes a healthy sleep cycle, which is vital to your skin’s natural repair and renewal processes.

Anti-inflammatory benefits: Exercise breaks the inflammation cycle in the body, calming and cooling your system. You’ll see less redness, fewer blemishes, and a faster turnover of dead skin cells.

Keep reading for two more benefits and for Dr. Shamban’s workout beauty tips…

8 ways to have your best day ever

By Sheryl Kraft for Prevention.com

In a perfect world, every day would be sunny, we’d never gain weight and our checkbooks would always balance. But instead, stuff happens—and things don’t always go according to plan.

Does that doom you to a day of misery? It doesn’t have to, says Jeffrey Rossman, Ph.D., director of Life Management at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Mass., and author of The Mind-Body Mood Solution (Rodale, 2010).

While we might not be able to change the situation, what we can do is change the way we react to it, he says. And that’s good, because a bad mood not only makes you feel tired and drained; it’s bad for your health and could even affect how long you live.

We’ll show you how to turn everyday gripes and annoyances into positives so you can maintain your sunny outlook all day long.

1. Gripe: You hit your alarm’s snooze button and overslept.

What to do right now: Don’t rush around at warp speed. Take your time, especially when you’re in a hurry, says Gretchen Rubin, author of the New York Times bestselling book The Happiness Project (Harper Collins, 2009). This may sound counterintuitive, but it works: “When you’re frantic, that’s the time you’ll forget your wallet, or get into a fight,” Rubin says. Instead, try to behave the way you wish you felt—calm, collected, and in control. Focusing on those feelings will soon make them a reality.

Keep reading for 7 more healthy tips…

5 fun and effective outdoor workouts you can do anywhere

By Jessie Knadler for Prevention.com

Maybe it’s the sweat factor, but some women assume that a summertime stroll qualifies as a workout. No question, walking is a fitness fundamental, especially during the workweek. But why not try more invigorating and challenging fun workouts on the weekend?

Outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, and inline skating allow you to reap up to six times more fat-blasting, body-shaping benefits than cruising around the neighborhood on foot. And you don’t have to be a hard-core athlete or fitness freak to get the most out of the five we’re suggesting. Top off your normal weekday exercise routine with one of these exhilarating weekend activities to get fit and firm–fast!

Weekend 1: Kayaking
Calories Burned: 340 per hour

Body Benefits: A sculpted upper body. “Pulling the paddle against the water is great resistance,” says 29-year-old Michelle Christensen of Baltimore, who spends summer weekends kayaking around the Chesapeake Bay. “You target your shoulders, triceps, biceps, back, and core.”

Weekend Benefits: It’s like meditating on water, says Rhett Pruitt, a 34-year-old raft guide and recreational kayaker in Long Creek, SC. She opts for tranquil sea kayaking over exhilarating white water when she’s craving peace and quiet. “Sea kayaking is not intimidating,” she says. “You’re just inches above the water–the perfect vantage point for taking in the abundant wildlife and sea life that you would never see otherwise.”

Word to the Wise: Beginners should use an open kayak–or take a lesson to learn how to escape the kayak first.

Your Destination: For breathtaking scenery, consider a trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. To find local instructors, go to Kayak Online.

Keep reading for four more outdoor workouts…

5 summer grilling tips (for veggies, fish, and tofu!) from Emeril Lagasse

By Mandy Oaklander for Prevention.com

At last, it’s open-flame season, and who better to celebrate with than renowned chef Emeril Lagasse? We went to the cookout king’s New York City kitchen for a feast of his grilled classics—including his brick-grilled organic chicken—and got the scoop on what it takes to grill like Emeril. Check it out:

1. What’s a healthy—but still delicious—grilling recipe?
Start with snapper, redfish, or grouper. Leave the skin on and brush and season it. Put it skin side down and don’t touch it. Add sliced lemon and herbs, and use a fish spatula so it doesn’t fall apart. It’s so simple, but it’s so delicious.

2. What’s a big mistake people make when it comes to grilling fish?
They set their grill too hot, and they don’t let their protein warm up. Take your protein out of the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Brushing it with oil on both sides and seasoning it is the key.

Keep reading for 3 more tips…

How to set realistic goals and tackle your to-do list

By Stephanie Castillo for Prevention.com

You have the best of intentions when you make goals—Productivity! No more guilt! Fitting into your old jeans!—but the way you’re going about it is all wrong, suggests a recent study published in the Journal of Consumer Research.

The key? Hitting the right balance between no planning and over-planning—something most of us don’t accomplish all that well. According to study authors, being successful with a goal requires planning the specific steps you’ll take to achieve it, essentially the how, what, when, and where.

The problem comes in when you try to apply this strategy to multiple goals, says study co-author Amy Dalton, PhD, an assistant professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

“Imagine you have six things to do today—should you plan out exactly how you can get all six things done?” she says. “No, because when you start planning it all out, you quickly realize how difficult it will be to do it all.” In other words, too much planning can make you more apt to get overwhelmed and toss all the goals.

So what’s a busy gal—with multiple goals—to do? 

Here are the key steps

Keep it simple: The easiest, healthiest way to lose weight

By Mandy Oaklander for Prevention.com

Yup, you’re about to read another diet post, but not to worry: You won’t hear anything about calorie-counting or eating like a caveman here. Instead, new research reveals that the best way to lose weight is surprisingly simple: Eat more produce and sit less.

Researchers from Northwestern University studied how well four different health strategies worked over 20 weeks. The diets included: Eating less fat and getting more exercise; eating more fruits and veggies and working out more; eating more produce and reducing sedentary time; and cutting down on fat while lowering the amount of sedentary time.

The results surprised even the researchers, says Bonnie Spring, PhD, professor of preventive medicine and co-author of the study. That low-fat, high-exercise diet health experts usually advise? It performed the worst in the bunch. The winner: Eating more fruits and veggies and making an effort to sit less. In the winning diet, daily fruit and vegetable intake increased from about one serving to more than five, and leisure time spent sitting plummeted from 219 minutes to 89.

Keep reading…

The healthiest way to dry your hair

By Nina Elias for Prevention.com

Pop quiz: What’s the healthiest way to dry your hair? If you said, “air-drying, obviously,” you’d be mistaken. With the right technique, using a blow-dryer is actually better for your mane’s health than letting it air-dry, according to a recent study from Korea.

How can that be? First, a little hair anatomy: Each strand of your hair is essentially a tube with an inner cortex and a protective outer layer (called a cuticle) held together by delicate proteins.

“When the cuticle layer is perfectly intact, then hair is very shiny and doesn’t tend to break,” says Jeff Donovan, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and hair restoration physician with Hair Club Medical Group in Toronto. Too much heat can damage the cuticle by trapping water inside the cortex and actually causing the water to boil (yikes).

Sounds like a case for air-drying, but get this: The study found that while the heat of a dryer can cause more damage than not using one, using a hair-dryer at the right distance and temperature can actually cause less damage than letting hair air-dry.

Keep reading to find out why…

6 ways to make the most of your vacation this summer

By Molly Raisch for Prevention.com

Forget Christmas: The launch of vacation season has to be the most wonderful time of the year. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, millions of us will be taking advantage of the warm temps to indulge in some much needed R&R. Exciting! Except for the fact that most of us come back from a trip feeling like we need another vacation.

To get the most rest and relaxation out of your time off, follow these tips:

Head to the beach. When trying to decide whether you should spend your week in the city, country, or at the coast—opt for the shore. According to a recent study from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, people who went to the water’s edge for a holiday reported more enjoyment, serenity, and refreshment than people who spent time in an urban setting or wilderness.

Stash the smartphone. For a vacation to be rejuvenating, you need to be completely present in the moment, says Matthew Edlund, MD, author of The Power of Rest. “That means put away your phones, your iPads, and laptops,” he says. You need to be on vacation in both body and spirit to reap the benefits of being somewhere else—and your pinging Blackberry doesn’t exactly help with that. “If you’re distracted on vacation, it’s not worth it,” says Dr. Edlund.

Keep reading for four more tips…