Best and Worst Foods for Your Libido

It's no secret that the unhealthy American diet is contributing to an epidemic of obesity. But there's another hidden epidemic that our fatty diets are at the root of: a national libido crisis.

One of the big culprits, for both men and women, is obesity. As a person's weight soars, their libido plummets, due to biochemical changes that diminish blood flow. Extra weight also hinders their ability to have children—with men, it's damaged sperm; with women, it's ovulation problems. (Manage your weight with more than just food intake: Try these downloadable fitness plans.)

The good news: With some simple changes to your diet, courtesy of the latest research from Eat This, Not That!, you can revitalize your relationship and dramatically improve your health.

Speedy Arm Sculptors

Who doesn't want bareable biceps, triceps and shoulders? Thanks to a certain sleeve-skipping first lady, toned arms are all the rage. To get the scoop on creating sleek, sexy arms, I went to someone else who knows a thing (or a thousand) about creating show-off arms: Trainer Jillian Michaels, who just joined SELF as a contributor.

"When it comes to arms, I like dips," she says.

"When I do three dips, I want to cry," I tell her.

"You can do build up your strength to do them!" she assures me. "To me, it's all about shoulders and triceps. We want long, lean triceps, and we want to eliminate the fat on the back of the arm and we want those really pretty rounded shoulders. You want to do something that's going to incorporate some resistance. You can do tricep extensions but you won't burn as many calories and you're not conditioning the muscle. You won't get shoulders at the same time and you're not creating a shape so you can shape the body. So I'm telling you dips is the way to go."

She's pretty convincing, right? But don't just take her word for how effective they are. Try them yourself: Sit on edge of a bench, hands at sides, fingers forward, left knee bent 90 degrees, foot flat on floor, right leg extended forward. Use arms to lift yourself off bench. Bring right leg out to right side as you lower body until elbows are bent 90 degrees. Return to start. Do 12 reps. Switch legs; repeat.

Arm yourself with a few more shape-up tips:

Add oomph: To truly firm muscles, make sure your arms feel spent after a single set of 12 reps. When reps feel easy, up resistance. If you do use dumbbells to do kickbacks or another move, can you complete those last two reps of a set with 5-pound weights like a cakewalk? Upgrade to 8-pounders.

Alternate weight: For your first upper-body strength session of the week, use heavier weights and do fewer reps (about 8); next time, go lighter, but do 12 to 15 reps. Called undulating training, it challenges your muscles in different ways, delivering even better results.

Try dumbbells: If you use machines with rigid parts such as a lateral pull-down machine, you may be working the same muscle fibers over and over, neglecting others. Swap in free weights and you'll require input from more fibers to keep steady, recruiting more muscles. Try triceps extensions: With feet hip-width apart, knees soft, a 5- to 10-pound dumbbell in each hand, lean forward until torso is parallel to floor. Hold bent elbows near sides, palms in, knuckles down. Press weights up and back, rotating palms down. Hold for one count; lower; repeat. Do three sets of 15 reps.

Spice it Up: Nutrition for Skin Care

Summer is the time to spice it up! Many spices contain strong antioxidants that help mitigate the damage caused by sun exposure. Spices are also rich in antioxidants: Antioxidants help prevent skin cancer by reducing inflammation, decreasing free radicals and preventing thymine dimmers.

Ginger has been shown to suppress colon cancer production in rats. Curry, which contains turmeric, is a very strong antioxidant which has been shown to decrease cancer production. Basil, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, oregano and thyme have also been shown to have strong antioxidant activity.

Don't be afraid to cook with spices for fear of decreasing their health benefits. One study looked at the effect of heat and cooking on the antioxidant properties of these spices and found that heating them to 180°C in the cooking process for 10 minutes did not affect the efficacy of antioxidant activity. In fact, when nutmeg was heated, it became an even stronger antioxidant.

Antioxidants are everywhere in your kitchen. Many oils such as olive oil and safflower oil contain antioxidants. Other sources include red wine, green tea, dark chocolate, berries, pomegranate, almonds and coffee.

Dermatologists are embracing the role of nutrition in good skin care. The role of nutrition, antioxidants and skin aging is discussed at length in my new bestselling book Cosmetic Dermatology. A diet rich in spices and fruit is a good idea in summer to combat the increased sun exposure. However, don’t forget the sunscreen!

Wishing you great skin!

Influenza - When To Call a Doctor

A baby younger than 3 months has a high fever.

You are having trouble breathing or feel very short of breath.

You have a severe headache or stiff neck and are confused or having trouble staying awake.


Call your doctor if:

You have an extremely high fever.

Your fever lasts for longer than 3 days.

You are finding it harder and harder to breathe.

Wheezing develops.

New pain develops or pain localizes to one area, such as an ear, the throat, the chest, or the sinuses.

Symptoms persist in spite of home treatment.

Symptoms become more severe or frequent.




Watchful Waiting:
In most healthy people, the flu will go away in 5 to 7 days, although fatigue can last much longer. Although you may feel very sick, home treatment is usually all that is needed. If it is flu season, you may just want to treat your symptoms at home. Watch closely for symptoms of a bacterial infection, such as nasal drainage that changes from clear to colored after 5 to 7 days and symptoms that return or get worse.
Early treatment (within 48 hours of your first symptoms) with antiviral medicines may reduce the severity of influenza and may prevent serious flu-related complications. 2 Babies, older adults, and people who have chronic health problems are more likely to have complications from the flu, and they may need to see a doctor for care beyond home treatment. But not all antiviral medicines work against all strains of the flu. Talk to your doctor if you think you may need an antiviral medicine.
Call your doctor if you think your symptoms are caused by something other than the flu.