Do not be alarmed, this not controversial advice, so there is no reason to be skeptical. We will not suggest you try some crazy diet just for the sake of weight loss or controlling Type 2 diabetes. There are healthy ways to go about these issues, and the idea is to discuss what works well without consequences. That said, we still hold the belief you should not eat right away when you feel hungry. Most likely you will realize it is not "real" hunger. Real hunger is said to occur when you have gone well beyond twelve hours without eating, or when you have overly deprived yourself.
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Weight Loss - Identifying Challenges Impacting Your Weight Loss Results
If you are making effort to lose weight but are struggling to see the results you were hoping for, there may be a few roadblocks coming into play, making it hard to see the progress you were hoping for. Although it can take one or two weeks for you to see the effects of early weight loss, this can be very frustrating for any dieter. By looking at some of the unknown challenges that could be coming into play, you will be better able to figure out precisely what you might want to consider changing.
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Can Bacon Really Be Part of a Healthy Diet?
They say that everything is better with bacon, and unless you’re vegan or keep Kosher or Halal, chances are, you probably agree. More than 261 million Americans ate bacon in 2017, a figure projected to increase to 272 million by 2020. With the popularity of fat-focused diets like keto, it’s not surprising people are going bonkers for bacon. But can everyone’s favorite pork product be part of a healthy diet? This pork-loving (and Jewish *gasp*) dietitian says HELL YES.
First of all, let’s cover the facts. Most standard American-style bacon contains about 43 calories, 3 grams of protein, 137 mg of sodium, and 3.3 grams of fat. So a slice or two is really not a big deal in the grand scheme of a balanced diet.
It’s rich in metabolism-supporting B vitamins and is a solid source of selenium, one of the most powerful immune-boosting antioxidants in our diet. It’s also a good source of phosphorus, which is important for strong bones and tissue repair. So does that make bacon the next kale?! Let’s take a look at the dos and don'ts of getting the most out of the bacon game.
Do choose center-cut bacon. While all bacon comes from the pig’s belly, the center-cut contains about 30 percent less fat than its regular-cut counterparts. Regular cut tends to come in longer strips with more fat at the ends that tend to render away, while the center-cut comes in shorter strips with most of that fat removed.
Do choose Canadian bacon (a.k.a. peameal, back, Irish or English). Those crazy Canucks definitely got it right when it comes to eating pork. While American-style bacon (even center-cut) comes from the pork belly, Canadian is sliced from the pork loin. It’s typically dusted in cornmeal, cut into round slices, and offers a tender, juicy texture when pan-fried or grilled. It has about ¼ of the calories compared with American and almost twice the protein.
Don't choose a bacon cured with sodium nitrates and nitrites. There’s a growing concern about the role of processed meat products in increasing the risk of cancer. Studies have found that consuming processed meats leads to an increased risk of gastrointestinal cancers, and while most of these are observational studies (and therefore it’s impossible to really know if it’s the bacon, something in it, or the general dietary lifestyle of people who consume large amounts of it), some wonder if the added nitrates and nitrites play a role.
While these compounds are found naturally in healthy foods like various vegetables, when found in high-protein foods that get exposed to high heats (like cooked bacon), the preservatives are known to form a carcinogen called nitrosamine. The good news is that today, our bacon contains far fewer nitrates than it did in our parents’ day and also contains added vitamin C, which helps reduce the formation of these carcinogens in processed meat. Insider tip: Don’t be fooled by claims about “uncured” or “natural” nitrates. These bacon products can still form nitrosamine when exposed to high heats.
Do choose low-sodium bacon whenever possible. A high-salt diet has been linked to elevated blood pressure in some people and may increase the risk of stomach cancer. While all processed bacon tends to be pretty salty, you can shave off a little by comparing nutrition labels between brands and choosing a low-sodium version. Two slices of regular-cut bacon contain around 385 mg of sodium, while low-sodium versions can slash that almost in half.
Don't pair your bacon with other high-salt, highly processed foods. OK, so our keto dieter may not agree with me on this one, but for the sake of your heart, hear this dietitian out. While I’m all for bacon in moderation, pairing it with a typical fast-food burger topped with sliced American cheese and some salty condiments like mayo, ketchup, or mustard is a serious bloat bomb.
Do choose a high-quality pork belly and slice it up yourself. Skip the commercially cured bacon and ask your butcher for a good slab of pork belly that’s uncured, un-smoked, and un-sliced. Simply slice it up yourself; trim it off excess fat; and grill, bake, or smoke it yourself.
Do cook it in the microwave. Finally! A convenience cooking method that actually makes food healthier! When choosing a traditionally cured bacon, research suggests that microwaving it is one of the best ways to reduce nitrosamine production. You can also try pan-frying or smoking it at a low heat for a longer period of time to render the fat slowly to avoid reaching those dangerous high heats.
Do think of bacon as a flavor garnish. There’s a reason why America is obsessed with bacon. It’s flavorful AF. You really don’t need a lot to get the mouth-watering effect (some would argue that just smelling it is enough). Rather than thinking of bacon as the star of your plate, dice or crumble up a few strips to add flavor to your salads, soups, and pasta. We love it mixed into this low-carb zucchini noodle carbonara and on top of this cauliflower crust pizza.
Don't think going turkey gives you permission to go hog-wild. While turkey bacon is technically a healthier choice with 2/3 of the fat and ¾ of the calories of pork, it often has more sodium to make up for the less palatable mouth-feel. Enjoy turkey bacon in moderation the same way you would its pork-cousin and choose reduced sodium whenever you can.
The Bottom Line on Bacon
These dos and don’ts are all just suggestions to optimize your bacon-buying experience. The most important tip, however, is simply to enjoy it in moderation and balance it out with lots of fresh produce, whole grains, and other lean proteins in your day. Bacon is just one more flavor tool in the healthy cook’s toolbox and can absolutely fit into a healthy diet guilt free.
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Tempted to Buy One of Those Pink Himalayan Salt Lamps? Know This
There are a lot of holistic remedies making the rounds right now, but the Himalayan salt rock lamp has to be the prettiest of them all. Proponents claim these lamps can purify your air, reduce stress and anxiety, and help combat "electro-smog" caused by electronic devices. But while they're definitely beautiful, do Himalayan salt lamps actually have any health benefits?
What Is a Himalayan Pink Salt Lamp?
Himalayan salt, often called pink salt (appropriately named for its orange-pink color) is rock salt harvested from areas near the Himalayan Mountains, often in Pakistan. Purportedly one of the purest forms of salt available, it contains trace amounts of minerals, like calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, and ion, and iron oxide (a.k.a. rust), which lends it its pink hue.
EDITOR'S PICK
Now let's review those supposed benefits again: Fans of the Himalayan salt lamp claim that it reduces anxiety and stress, seasonal affective disorder, and allergies. It's also touted as a way to cancel out the production of positive ions from our modern electronic devices, a.k.a. "electro-smog," by bonding positive and negative ions, which allegedly cleanse the surrounding air and help us relax. Some say that these negative ions also purify the air, killing bacteria and helping those with asthma and allergies to breathe easier.
"Negative ions are created from sunlight, radiation, and ocean waves," says Deepa Verma, M.D., AIHM—which might be why we get all the good feels from those things in nature.
Are These Himalayan Salt Lamp Benefits Backed by Science?
Yeah, the science behind Himalayan pink salt lamps isn't very strong. There are two claims that most of the benefits surrounding salt lamps rely on, and neither of them is supported by very much research.
First, salt lamps are supposedly hygroscopic, meaning they absorb moisture from the air. While salt does possess hygroscopic properties, there's not enough evidence to support that salt lamps produce a significant effect on the surrounding air.
One study claims that the hygroscopic properties of salt lamps might be beneficial, but it's based largely on the second major claim around salt lamps—that they produce negative ions. It's these negative ions that some say help produce a general feeling of well-being. However, further studies on the effect of negative ions on mood contradict these claims.
The theory goes like this: Negative ions are produced by the interaction between salt and water, which—as they are heated in the lamps—produce a surplus of negative ions in the surrounding air, as well as positive, mood-boosting benefits.
In order to determine whether or not Himalayan salt lamps produce any beneficial effects, we'll need to break it down into two parts.
- Do negative ions help produce positive health benefits?
- Do salt lamps actually produce negative ions?
Negative Ions and Your Health
A 2013 review looked at 33 different studies on whether or not negative ions had any significant impact on health. "No consistent influence of positive or negative air ionization on anxiety, mood, relaxation, sleep, and personal comfort measures was observed," the review stated.
However, they did discover that negative air ionization was associated with lower depression scores, but only at the highest exposure level in the air, and (as is almost always the case), they suggested that future research was needed on the subject.
Other studies have come to similar conclusions. High-density negative ions produced "small to medium effect sizes" on a group of students in a 2006 study, and (going way back) a 1982 study of just 24 men produced similar results.
There have also been studies on whether or not negative ions produce significant results with regard to respiratory function and asthma. A 2013 study on the electrical charges of air ions said that, despite multiple attempts, there wasn't much to support the claim that exposure to negative air ions actually helped people breathe easier.
The study also looked at whether or not positive air ions had any impact on respiratory measures, but they didn't find any significant negative effect.
Does this mean negative air ions aren't beneficial? Not quite.
One study tested whether negative ions could help prevent clinical equipment from becoming contaminated by certain bacteria, and the results were promising.
"The action of negative air ionizers significantly alters the electrostatic landscape of the clinical environment," the study concluded. This means that certain bacteria could be repelled from some surfaces and attracted to others. "In so doing, this may prevent critical items of equipment from becoming contaminated with the bacterium."
Do Salt Lamps Actually Produce Negative Ions?
Despite conflicting evidence on the effect of negative ions on our well-being, it's difficult to say whether or not Himalayan salt lamps will produce the same effect, simply because there isn't much research on whether or not salt lamps actually produce negative ions.
"Unfortunately, we don't have good data to suggest that these lamps emit these 'negative ions' and 'clean the air,'" says Shilpi Agarwal, M.D. "We often hear that technology like blue light devices emit positive ions that have negative health benefits—but these lamps don't necessarily counteract these effects."
Jack Beauchamp, a professor of chemistry at Caltech, created a mini-experiment using salt lamps that tested whether any ions—positive or negative—were produced. He used his lab's quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer to test a popular salt lamp purchased on Amazon—and nothing happened.
EDITOR'S PICK
"We observed no ions at all," Beauchamp said. "We turned it on and looked for negative ions. We looked for positive ions. We waited for the lamp to heat up. The bulb inside eventually does heat the rock salt, but we didn't see anything."
And while this experiment isn't a peer-reviewed study, it does bring up one significant detail: Even if Himalayan salt lamps do produce negative ions, it's unlikely that a simple light bulb inside the lamp could produce the high levels of exposure generated in scientific studies by a negative ion generator.
That means the levels of negative ions produced (assuming they are produced by salt lamps) are probably too low to generate any significant health or air-purifying benefits.
Should You Use Salt Lamps?
While there isn't much research behind the use and benefits of Himalayan salt lamps, that doesn't mean you can't use them. The lamps give off a cozy, diffuse light, they're not expensive, and they look lovely in basically any space.
Besides, if having a salt lamp in your place helps you relax and unwind, that's reason enough to get your glow on. Stress has significant repercussions on our health, and creating a peaceful environment can help you relax and stay mindful. Mindfulness really is as good as everyone says it is, and anything that helps you find your Zen easier is a win.
Plus, there's absolutely nothing wrong with soaking up the warm glow of a salt lamp and enjoying the placebo effect. Much like the power (or lack thereof) of healing crystals, the placebo effect is totally real and not necessarily a bad thing.
"There isn't enough research or evidence-based studies to prove salt lamps are effective," Verma says. "On the same note, I don't believe they are harmful. In fact, they are like a work of art and have an aesthetic and calming appeal. The placebo effect can be as powerful as the actual remedy itself."
So even if you know that salt lamps might not actually be doing anything for your health, you could still feel better using one thanks to the power of the human brain. Multiple studies have concluded that the placebo effect still works even if you know about it, which means that if salt lamps work for you, why not use them?
Just don't rely solely on the supposed healing benefits of salt lamps instead of seeking medical treatment. Until scientific research gives us more evidence on whether or not salt lamps work, be sure to take any supposed benefits with an, ahem, grain of salt. But if you still want to give a salt lamp a try? If it works for you, we're all for it.
Jandra Sutton is an author, historian, and public speaker. After graduating from Huntington University with a B.A. in history, she went on to receive a master’s degree in modern British history from the University of East Anglia. In her spare time, Sutton enjoys fangirling, running, and anything related to ice cream. Pluto is still a planet in her heart. She lives in Nashville with her husband and their two dogs. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
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17 Extremely Good Ways to Save Money When You Are Broke As a Joke
Being broke can teach you how to live very thriftily—trust us, we spent years figuring out how to live well on next to nothing. This is not one of those "Here's how we saved $50k while only earning $20,000 a year" stories because, hi, that isn't a real thing. Instead, we're here to offer small, actionable steps you can use to help you get your money right so you can go from scraping by to building your savings.
1. Go through every meal kit subscription in the universe.
Seriously, try them all. Just remember to cancel your subscription after those $60 off, first-five-meals-are-free coupons have stopped kicking in.
2. Make a list of your luxury items and see what can stay and what can go.
Do you really need a paid Spotify account when the free one also works extremely well? How about your Hulu, Netflix, Mubi, and HBOGo accounts? You can cut back on two and get a library card—most libraries let you rent DVDs and stream movies and TV shows now too.
And ask yourself if some of your other monthly expenses are really that necessary. Is the super-fancy gym membership necessary, or would a more basic gym be Just Fine? (It would. And you can bring your own expensive shower products—worth it).
3. Family plan it up.
And when you decide that yes, yes, you really do need Hulu, Netflix, Mubi, HBOGo, and a paid Spotify account, start up a share system with friends and family. It takes a few minutes of planning, but if everyone in your group subscribes to one service, you'll all save big bucks.
4. Be the host when you hang out with friends.
If your house becomes the hangout spot, you can avoid spending wildly overpriced bar prices for a glass of wine (and bonus, you don't have to worry about finding your way home if you party too hard). Or create invites for BYO drinks-and-snacks picnics in the park—everyone shares, and you don't even have to clean your place after.
5. You can find really, really good stuff used.
If you check out garage sales and secondhand shops, you'll find plenty of clothes (not to mention furniture and a seemingly endless supply of charmingly mismatched, shabby-chic glassware) for cheap. Try searching your town's name plus the word "garage sale" in the Facebook search bar to find a ton of local postings.
For furniture, sites like Craigslist and online community boards like Nextdoor are fantastic. You can get practically brand-new, high-quality items by just throwing the name of a brand you're interested in ("Crate & Barrel") into the search tool. And check out sites like Thredup that are basically gigantic online thrift stores. You can get really well-made, designer clothes for 1/16 of the retail price, and it's a far more environmentally friendly way to live.
6. Get your cash right.
While lots of different savings accounts offer interest, credit unions typically have better rates and higher limits. You can also try the Mint app—it can help you figure out what you're spending where and how to do better—use the discount-code-whiz Honey app whenever you shop online (it's kind of amazing), and give the cash-back Ibotta app a go, because why not.
7. Check out discounted services.
Groupon hasn't been as popular in the past few years as it used to be, but redownload it—it's not just for restaurants. You can find everything from haircuts and spa services to dental and eye exams.
8. Do odd jobs.
This one kinda goes without saying, but if your paychecks aren't stretching and you have some free time, a side gig is always helpful. You can always opt for Lyft and Taskrabbit, but don't forget the classics like babysitting gigs (which you can find on Care), dog-walking (Wag!), or using sites like Upwork to make a few extra dollars doing creative tasks. Plus, having a fun side-gig like dog walking to occupy some of your free hours will keep you from overspending (... and the bonus cash doesn't hurt).
9. Revamp your dining style.
Meal prepping can help you with eating healthy while saving money (and avoiding waste). Also, check out food co-ops to save money on fresh produce, always buy dry goods like paper towels in bulk, and don't overlook the cheap (and delicious) benefit of starting your own garden.
EDITOR'S PICK
You can also create budget-friendly rules for yourself, like prepping food for meals you'll be eating alone, which can create a little room for a dining-out budget with friends. And pro tip: If you start meeting friends for breakfasts instead of dinner and drinks, it's way, way cheaper—and a really lovely way to start the morning.
If you're someone who just hates meal planning and is always going to eat lunch out every day, try a service like Mealpal. You can buy a bundle of lunches from local spots for less than $6 a meal, and the company has great intro packages (like we're talking 40 percent off) too.
10. Think before you spend.
It's really easy to see something you want and drop a stack right then and there. But what if you just... didn't? Adopt a two-week to 30-day policy before spending money on non-emergencies. Corporations spend a lot of time and money researching the absolute best ways to get you to spend before you have the chance to think, but you can avoid their Jedi mind tricks if you spend some time thinking first, do price comparisons, and assess value. Think first; spend later. It's less fun in the moment but more fun when you realize you totally have the cash to go on vacation later this year.
11. Dust off your bike.
You can save so much money on transportation (plus give yourself a good cardio workout and avoid using fossil fuels) by opting for a bike ride over taking a train or a car. Don't want to make the investment in a bike of your own? Check to see if your city has a bike-share program and hop on one of those bad boys—your wallet will feel the relief as much as your feet.
12. Put a personal trainer in your pocket.
These days, there are so, so many different options for in-app fitness, and they're all super customizable for your workout needs. So even though having the one-on-one attention of a personal trainer is the bomb.com, we guarantee there's a muuuuuch cheaper way for you to get that workout and still have it be, well... personal. At least until you win the lottery, that is.
13. Two words: Trader Joe's.
This—and every other brand shoutout in this article—is not an #ad. But the entire Greatist office is obsessed with TJ's, and we don't care who knows it. We'll shout it from the top of a tower of Trader Joe's almond milk because it's only $1.99 so we can afford it!
Seriously—not only do we love their products (have you had this?! Or this?!), but you can't beat the prices on typically expensive items like quinoa or blueberries. Trust us when we say that the amount of food you can get for your money will practically double what you'd scrounge together at another grocery store. Long live the Hawaiian shirt!
14. Get scrappy with your movie/festival/concert candy.
Should you break the rules at the movie theater? Of course not! Great, now that we've gotten that out of the way: Who hasn't snuck candy into a movie theater? You've gotta get crafty sometimes (jackets with pockets on the inside) because bag checks are (rightfully) common at theaters, but hey—drugstore candy is just cheaper and every bit helps. This also applies to festivals, concerts, and plays, so if you need to BYOC... we won't judge.
15. And it's OK to fool your friends into thinking you're fancier than you are too.
Yeah, we're not above refilling an old Aesop soap bottle with cheaper Mrs. Meyers so the bathroom seems nicer than it is. See also: upcycling the glass containers from nice candles into bud vases and mini planters for succulents (which you'll kill, but oh well), and serving your friends from carafes of sangria, which you made with a few bottles of TJ's "Two-Buck-Chuck" cab sauv, an apple, and a couple of oranges (no one ever needs to see the label).
16. Be your own ATM.
You know the saying "out of sight, out of mind," right? We're pretty sure that phrase originated when debit cards became a thing. Try taking out cash on Sunday night or Monday morning and let that be your allowance for the rest week—those Jacksons will feel infinitely more real in your hands than they do in your bank account.
17. Go for free.
Take advantage of the free cultural events in your area. You can get into some interesting things this way and, worst case scenario, it's not the most amazing time you've ever had but at least you didn't get spendy for it. We're into free museum days, outdoor concerts, improv shows, cemetery walking tours… whatever's happening, we're game to try anything twice.
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