May 11 2013

When your body is trying to tell you something—for example, that you're skimping on critical vitamins—it may go to some strange lengths. 

"With today's diet of processed foods, it's easy to become vitamin-deficient, either by not eating enough of the right foods or not absorbing them properly due to digestive issues," says Dr. Susan Blum, the founder of the Blum Center for Health and the author of the new book The Immune System Recovery Plan. "You may not get a disease, but you can end up with impaired functioning, because vitamins are cofactors for all the biochemical reactions in the body. We need them in order to function properly." 

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May 10 2013

Many of us have been believing in a lie. We’ve bought into the myth that happiness is something we achieve when everything in our life finally looks the way we’ve been thinking it should. Cue the relationship, ring, job, country house, wardrobe, vacations, beauty products, weight loss — but here’s the challenge: These things alone don’t create lasting happiness, so happiness becomes this elusive thing that we desire but don’t know how to achieve.

The truth is that happiness is not circumstantial. And this is really good news. It means we don't have to wait for everything to be perfect, nor do we have to control anything outside of ourselves in order to feel a certain way. Becoming aware of this truth is a total game-changer, because it means we can choose happiness in this moment. And something beautiful happens when we do this: When we feel happy first, our outward experience begins to shift in ways we’d only dreamed of.

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May 10 2013

For many moms, social media is both a blessing and a curse. We go to sites like Pinterest and Facebook for connection and inspiration – but all too often, the beautiful images of domestic harmony make us feel inadequate.

In our exclusive TODAY Moms survey of 7,000 U.S. mothers, 42 percent said that they sometimes suffer from Pinterest stress – the worry that they’re not crafty or creative enough. Symptoms include staying up until 3 a.m. clicking through photos of exquisite hand-made birthday party favors even though you’ll end up buying yours at the dollar store, or sobbing quietly into a burnt mess of expensive ingredients that were supposed to be adorable bunny cookies for the school bake sale.

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May 10 2013

Now that the weather is finally getting warmer in my area and I'm wearing shorts and short sleeves for my runs, I need to get back in the habit of applying sunscreen before runs. Although it's not summer yet, you can still get a bad sunburn when running in the spring. Follow these tips to make sure you're protecting your skin:

Choose the right sunscreen. Use a waterproof sunscreen that has an SPF of at least 15 and offers broad spectrum protection, which means it protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Stick formulations are good for runners' faces because the sunscreen won't run into your eyes.

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