Friday's Top 5 Tips and Trends

It’s that time again—we’ve compiled the latest natural health news in our newest Tips and Trends blog post!

1. Cholesterol helps promote breast cancer

New research has uncovered a new piece of the story when it comes to breast cancer: it turns out that cholesterol may help fuel breast cancer. This explains, in part, why obesity is a risk factor for the disease.  As usual, more research needs to be done, but we can still learn lots from this study. Keep a healthy weight, and follow a healthy diet to keep your cholesterol levels in check. And did you know that not all cholesterol is bad? Learn the ins and outs of cholesterol in our recent article, “the Cholesterol Story.”

2. Wear sunscreen—every day!

We hear it all the time, but it can be tempting to ignore the advice to wear sunscreen when it’s wintertime. But according to a new study, our skin can become sun damaged and prematurely aged from even low levels of daily sunlight. What’s more is that these damaging rays are UVA rays—not the UVB rays that cause sunburns. Thankfully, sunscreens containing zinc oxide can protect against UVA rays—and this is also considered one of the healthier sunscreen options. Stock up at your natural health retailer!

3. Join in on National Cocoa Day

What more reason do you need to celebrate than the sheer knowledge that today is Cocoa Day? Chocolate has many health-promoting perks, and let’s face it—hot cocoa is just plain delicious! Try our hot cocoa recipe, or get creative and cook up some Cocoa Tostadas, Creamy Dark Chocolate Soy Pudding, or Chocolate Oat Tart.

4. Stressed parents may mean overweight kids

Our stress levels could be influencing our children’s weight, suggests a new study that measured the BMIs (body mass index) of children and the stress levels of their parents. The kids with the most stressed out moms and dads had BMIs that were about 2 percent higher, and gained weight at a 7 percent higher rate.  The researchers think this is because kids don’t get as much time to be physically active, and parents may not have time to cook healthy meals.

To the moms and dads reading: do your best to keep your stress levels in check by re-evaluating your work-life balance and trying some stress-relief techniques.

5. Cellphones may be stressing out students

In a new study, frequent cellphone use by college students was associated with high anxiety, reduced happiness, and even lower grades. Yikes! While cellphones are undoubtedly a useful communication tool, they may be eating up too much of our free time and distancing us from the real world. Arguably, it’s even more important now—over the holidays—to put away our electronic devices and connect with our loved ones. Check out these alive tips to get started!