Guilt-free and decadent

By Brittany Howard

Metromint, chocolatemint water.

Struggling to maintain your health kick because the bland taste of water? Struggle no more, for I have the answer to your problem. Metromint Water is a new brand of bottled water that comes in seven, calorie-free flavors including, chocolatemint, peppermint, spearmint, lemonmint, orangemint, cherrymint, and goodberrymint. Coming straight from their website, every bottle includes fresh, flavorful, pesticide-free mint grown in Washington State’s Yakima Valley. I am personally a very huge fan of the chocolatemint. It’s smooth, goes down like normal water with a fresh aftertaste of mint and a hint of chocolate. I highly suggest it to everyone as something that should definitely be tried. Watch out! You will get hooked.

And the world laughs with you.

What's the point of having fun if you can't laugh about it? Photo by Courtney LeMay

By Courtney LeMay

I’ve always known that laughter was a good thing (I mean, come on; why wouldn’t it be?), but recently I’ve found a few more reasons to laugh. In fact, laughter is thought to have numerous health benefits according to several studies—from maintaining a healthy blood flow to improving both sleep and immune system health. Laughter also burns calories; 10-15 minutes of laughter burns approximately 50 calories according to WebMD.com. The Mayo Clinic website points out laughter’s effectiveness at reducing tension and fighting stress, and a study from the University of Maryland claims that laughing may even reduce the risk of heart disease.

[Of course, I’m really just saying all of this because I cannot wait to laugh with the return of quite possibly the world’s funniest television show. That’s right, “Arrested Development” is scheduled to return in 2013 with not only a movie but a fourth season as well. I cannot wait.]

Dancing for your body and your mind

This is my best friend, or at least the back of his head. He loves to dance too. Photo by Courtney LeMay

By Courtney LeMay

I love dance music and I don’t care who knows it. With this thought in mind and a bit of time to kill before swim practice, I stumbled upon a very interesting study about dancing’s effects on the brain.

Essentially, some scientists ran a study about the effects of leisure activities, both physical and other, as they affected a person’s risk of dementia. The shocking results? Dancing was “the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia,” as Stanford University instructor Richard Powers states in his summary of the study. Moreover, this is even above mental activities such as reading or crossword puzzles. The study also states that, at least when it comes to dancing with a partner, women receive a higher benefit than men because of the required response as the designated “follower” in most dances.

“But how does this work?” you ask? Simple. Your brain continues to rewire its nerves as necessary in order to keep itself functioning properly. By keeping your brain active, your brain will keep itself in better condition. Conversely, if your brain doesn’t need to improve “cognitive reserve” as the study puts it, it won’t update its nerves and therefore will begin to slow down.

Of course, this great benefit requires frequent dancing, but I think of that as an even better excuse to dance. Go ahead; bust a move!

Check out Powers’ summary here, or view the original 2003 study on the New England Journal of Medicine website.

When the fountain goes dry

'Dry Earth' by Tomas Castelazo

By Michael Grout

As college students, regardless of how many pounds we pack, because of our youth- our metabolism will bail us out of the lard we sink ourselves in.  The unfortunate mistake we forget, though, is: that as we gain weight, our body’s metabolism readjusts to reinforce whatever weight we have gained during those infamous freshmen fifteen? Fifty?  Although this news may come as heavy as a box of Taco Bell fourth meal burritos , there is still some good news.  Because we are college students we have the room to make some mistakes and recover better than our future, older, counterparts will.  A few things to keep in mind in the recovery stage is that these new found rules for maintaining a healthy weight, shouldn’t just be recovery tools, but good habits that we start and keep for the rest of our lives.  A few simples rules to remember when hitting the main line buffet are:

• Portion control is always key.  Just because you’re eating a lot of good things at once, doesn’t mean you’re all the sudden on the path to heatly living.  Remember everything is good in moderation, so eating a lot of healthy items, is still eating a lot.
• Adding good protein to your diet such as dairy and lean meats help curb those hunger pangs we get when our friends ask us to join them on the late night Mcdonald’s run.
• Smaller plate= smaller serving.Though this may seem like an incredibly simple solution, it really can do a lot for your portion control in the long run.
• Calories are calories and it doesnt matter where you get them from. So just because you see the words, “low fat” it doesn’t mean those calories are better for you and occassionally low fat just means the fat has been substituted with sugar or another unhealthy addtion.

These may seem like overwhelming rules at first, but instituting one rule at a time is a way to approach healthy living and making it a lifelong habit.

for more info on healthy eating habits and simple fitness routines see: http://www.details.com/health-fitness