Are your #supplements certified by the #FDA to be in #compliance? Look for #NPA GMP, and #NSF GMP certified supplements. These are industry regulated and exceed the current FDA regulation of dietary supplement.

What are Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs)? What is the difference between compliance and certification? What do the alphabet of names

Here are the different elements of the test:

Beyond eating healthy and staying physically fit, supplements can aid your body in detoxification, so your organs don’t have to work so hard to get rid of the fat and toxins in your blood. My favorite supplement in this category is the NOW foods brand Liver Detoxifier and Regenerator.

Today my fitness/beach/stylist partner-in-crime Jen and I stumbled upon My Fit Foods in the Boystown neck of Lakeview. I had seen it open up shop in Chicago on North Ave., just east of Wells and this was my first opp to check out a fast food concept that “strives to make fresh, healthy meals to go that are designed to increase energy levels and help you lose weight safe and naturally.”

“Ok, let’s give it a shot,” we say as we shift gears away from our go-to snack spot (Starbucks).

When you’re literally running your business from your cell phone and trying to fit in that all too important beach date with the dogs in, eating on the go is a must. That’s why a company that boasts 90% of their meals gluten free, calorie and fat reduced and has several portion size options is a road we’re willing to traverse.

Walk in and go immediately to the fridge where the meals are broken down into easy to decide categories; snacks, breakfast, lunch, dinner. Okay, easy enough.

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We head over to snacks. Not only do they have a ton of options (in this category alone, I saw 8), they also have portions–small, medium and large–with the calories and fat literally printed on the side. So even these lazy beach combers can’t plead the fifth when it comes to not being aware of what we’ve just stuck in our mouths.

I had the tuna salad snack which consists of a yummy scoop of spicy and crunchy tuna salad, some zucchini wedges, grape tomatoes and a few rice crisps for good measure. Turns out, this was the perfect serving size and I felt full and satisfied after.

I love that it’s fast, love that it’s portion controlled and that it displays the nutritional information as clear as day. You really can’t screw it up when you eat here.

Be sure to pick up the snack cookie and gluten-free energy bar too for later. They were both low cal, high protein and extremely tasty. Especially the cookie

The rain is upon us and if joint pain and inflammation has got you down, you’re not alone. There’s a very real correlation between barometric pressure and inflammation. So let’s break down the facts:

Barometric pressure is the weight of the atmosphere that surrounds us. When it’s warm out, our bodies pull fluid into the tissues and joints.

If you imagine the tissues surrounding the joints to be like a balloon, high barometric pressure that pushes against the body from the outside will keep tissues from expanding.

But barometric pressure often drops before bad weather sets in. This lower air pressure pushes less against the body, allowing tissues to expand and those expanded tissues can put pressure on the joint.

When there’s less pressure we expand. For example, on a plane, despite a pressurized cabin our feet and legs swell. Some are at risk for deep vein thrombosis. Our blood pressure goes up as our body swells and expands.

Furthermore, when people have chronic pain, sometimes nerves can become more sensitized because of injury, inflammation, scarring, or adhesions.

For whatever reason, the nerves are just hypersensitive, and they just keep firing, based on what you do — or not for any reason at all. But if there’s some expansion internally — in other words, the body can either expand or contract based on outside pressure changes — then that’s going to affect how pain is signaled.

There’s a new blood pressure trigger in town, folks.

Thought if you exercised and ate right you could prevent heart disease? Turns out research is piling up against more chemicals found in plastics. The latest study adds further credence to a growing concern that plastic chemicals not only throw off hormones and cause obesity but also cause oxidative stress internally on major organs within the body.

Researchers from New York University’s Langone Medical Center, the University of Washington, and the Penn State School of Medicine recently made a first-of-its kind connection between phthalates, a common chemical used to soften plastic, and higher blood pressure in children and teens. The study appeared in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Similarly, BPA has been shown to trigger abnormal heart rhythms.

9 Ways to Dodge Phthalates (DEHP):

1. Mint Tea w/ 2 tsp Honey (45 cals)

2. Clementine + 4 Pistachios (50 cals)

3. Air-Popped Popcorn w/ Vinegar & Sea Salt (45 cals)
1-1/2 cups popcorn + drizzle of balsamic + 1/8 tsp sea salt

4. Cocoa Covered Frozen Banana Slices (50 cals)
Peel, slice & freeze 1/2 of a banana. Sprinkle w/ cocoa powder.

5. Kefir Shot + Raspberry Chaser (44 cals)
1/4 cup plain, low-fat kefir + 1/4 cup fresh berries