Discount fashion store H&M is introducing its new line of skin care products this March!

The line– which includes shower gels, body scrubs, body lotions, hand creams, and lip balms– is made with certified organic ingredients and is formulated with plant-based ingredients approved by Ecocert.

The line will debut with two yummy scents: raspberry/melon and lavender/mint!

Each product comes packaged in a toiletry bag made of organic cotton and best of all, no product in the line will set you back more than $10! We can’t wait!

FWO-ForWomenOnline.com!

We found an article at MSN Health & Fitness that explains the truth behind the myths related to oral contraception, including the truth about the pill’s impact on your sex drive, heart health, cancer risk and weight gain.

To learn what you really need to know about being on the pill, read the article The Pill’s Secret Powers  here.

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Lyon was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2005 and shortly thereafter had a double mastectomy and started undergoing chemotherapy. Austin Carty, a contestant on Survivor:Panama briefly dated Lyon three years ago and told US Magazine Wednesday (Jan. 20) that “Jen was a genuinely selfless, sweet-natured person. She always had a smile. She cared about every person. This has really rocked the “Survivor” community.”
Source:MSN.com
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Here are the facts: half of us don’t get enough sleep as we mature, and that accelerates our aging. Studies have shown that the minimum amount is seven and a half hours per night for men and seven hours for women. And those need to be solid hours. You have to be snoozing about two and a half hours in a row before your sleep becomes truly restorative. In fact, people who sleep fewer than six hours a night have a 50 percent increased risk of viral infections and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Plus, lack of sleep is associated with mental decline and overeating (which leads to major aging conditions). If you get less sleep than you need, you increase your arterial aging and risk of heart attack.

In addition to those very serious risks, you will also be miserable. Everyone reading this knows that when you have to go through the rigors of a day on too little sleep it’s a day that you can’t wait to end. Life is too short and your loved ones deserve better from you.

Now how about this: if you did get enough sleep, you’d lose weight! You would actually eat less if you got more sleep and here is why: When you don’t sleep enough, you stimulate the appetite centers of the brain so you crave sugar.

You would also have better sex if you got enough sleep! Not just because of the obvious reasons like you wouldn’t be exhausted, but because many sex hormones are made during sleep, so you’ll be helping your libido by getting enough ZZZ’s. Also, you’d be “all there” mentally. Isn’t that when sex is best?

So for those of you who don’t make time because you don’t define sleep as mission-critical, remember that the main way that our bodies make extra growth hormone is through snoozing. Since the levels of this hormone, which is required for youthful vitality, drops precipitously as we age, wise people carve out time for sleep. If you don’t remember your head hitting the pillow, you are sleep deprived.

I know some of you readers are thinking that you understand this completely but have trouble sleeping and you wish you could have an easier time falling asleep. There are two fundamental reasons why you might be flailing at this basic human need.

First, medical reasons can hinder sleep including sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, chronic pains, and most importantly, anxiety. Many of us struggle with our thoughts churning around like a turbid river, and could benefit from simple (and safe) meditation techniques rather than the ubiquitiously prescribed sleeping pills …

Second, many of us don’t practice our sleep. Sounds like a bizarre concept. Like many bodily functions, our natural ability to sleep declines with maturity and without sound sleep hygiene, the healthy habit slips away. Sleep hygiene can restore normalcy in at least half of all American’s who have trouble getting their seven hours.

Here are some practical tips to actually achieve better sleep:

• Evaluate your sleep hygiene. Avoid watching TV, eating, or working in bed. Make the bedroom a sanctuary for sleep. Keep the temperature a few degrees cooler than the rest of the house and hide bedroom clocks so you’re not constantly checking the time as you try to fall asleep. Try sticking to a sleep schedule and limiting naps or daytime sleeping. Turn the lights down 30 minutes prior to bed time. This sends the pineal gland a message to start producing more of the sleepiness hormone melatonin that always helped our ancestors fall asleep naturally.

• Get active 30 minutes of exercise each day (at least five to six hours before bedtime) will help you get more restful sleep at night.

• Avoid triggers. Caffeine, alcohol and nicotine or large meals before bedtime can disrupt your ability to fall asleep and remain asleep throughout the night. Though many people use alcohol to get to sleep initially – alcohol actually compromises the quality of sleep you get overnight.

• Check your medication. Make sure they don’t contain stimulants. Talk to your doctor about other options if you think your prescriptions are preventing you from getting good sleep.

If you can’t fall asleep within 15 minutes, get out of bed and do some light activity. Getting your mind off sleep resets your system. Try a yoga pose, meditation, a chi-gong movement, or a short walk. If you wake up and can’t seem to get back to sleep, music and meditation seem to work best.

Your body will thank you. Your outlook on life may just improve. You’ll live longer. You’ll be thinner. Sex will be better. People may enjoy being around you more and tell you that you look better. Do I need to keep going? Now go get some sleep! Source: TheHuffingtonpost.com

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Get a load of these. With Eat This, Not That! 2010 we’ve unearthed the biggest fast-food burger bombs in America, and offer reasonable and delicious alternatives.:

Worst Cheeseburger with Everything
Wendy’s Double with Everything and Cheese
700 calories
40 g fat (17 g saturated, 2 g trans)
1,440 mg sodium

In the pantheon of fast-food burgers, this cannot compete with the atrocities wrought by the Double Whoppers and Six Dollar Burgers of the world. But there are too many burgers at Wendy’s to end up with this mistake. Take the Double Stack below—with small chili—for example. With 37 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber, it might be the most satisfying $2 meal in America.

Worst Burger and Fries
In-N-Out Burger Hamburger and French Fries
790 calories
37 g fat (10 g saturated)
895 mg sodium

You’re heading into dangerous territory whenever you add fries to your order at In-N-Out. Sure, they’re trans-fat-free, but that won’t protect you from the 400 greasy, gut-bloating calories they carry. Instead, skip the fries and get serious about your burger. In-N-Out was offering up the low-carb treat long before other restaurants started making money off the Atkins craze. Take advantage of their prescience—and the 150-calorie savings—by simply tacking the phrase “protein style” onto your order.
Bonus tip: Another way to shed pounds quickly? Download Eat This, Not That! to your iPhone. It’s like having your own personal nutritionist (and details on 30,000 foods) at your fingertips!

Eat This Instead!
Protein Style Double-Double with grilled onion, ketchup, and mustard
440 calories
30 g fat (16 g saturated)
1,080 mg sodium

Worst Plain Cheeseburger
Five Guys Cheeseburger (plain)
840 calories
55 g fat (22.5 g saturated)
1,050 mg sodium

Even if you get the regular (i.e., bi-pattied) cheeseburger naked, you’ll still be taking in more than 250 calories and 20 grams of fat extra over the seemingly decadent bacon and sauteed mushroom burger. That’s because what Five Guys calls a “Little Burger,” healthy people call a “normal burger.” Plus, if you limit yourself to a single beef patty, you can get away with a couple of indulgent toppings like cheese or bacon.

Eat This Instead!
Little Bacon Burger with Sauteed Mushrooms and A1 Steak Sauce
575 calories
33 g fat (14.5 g saturated)
920 mg sodium

Worst Burger Brand
Carl’s Jr. Six Dollar Burger
890 calories
54 g fat (20 g saturated, 2 g trans)
2,040 mg sodium

What’s scary about the basic Six Dollar Burger is that with the exception of the bunless version, this is the leanest of the Six Dollar Burgers. That’s not a compliment—the rest of the line is just trashed beyond repair with egregious piles of bacon, guacamole, and teriyaki sauce. When at Carl’s, choose a Big Hamburger instead. Sure it’s big, but it’s not so big that you’re going to have to spend the next 3 days recovering. In fact, kids’ burgers aside, this is the only hamburger offered that won’t cost you in excess of 500 calories.

Eat This Instead!
Big Hamburger
460 calories
17 g fat (8 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
1,090 mg sodium
Worst “Original” Burger
Hardee’s Original Thickburger (1/3 lb)
910 calories
64 g fat (21 g saturated)
1,560 mg sodium

Shockingly, this is one of the least offensive of the Thickburgers. If you really need 1/3 pound of meat for lunch, make it the low-carb version and save yourself 490 calories. Or, choose a Double Cheeseburger, instead. It’s far from a model of sound nutrition, but the same could be said of Hardee’s itself. So if you want a burger with substance, you need to settle for the lesser of many evils.

Bonus tip: Find out which burgers and other fast-food favorites we picked on our must-see list of Top Swaps for Weight Loss.

Eat This Instead!
Double Cheeseburger
510 calories
26 g fat (5 g saturated)
1,120 mg sodium

Worst Fast-Food Cheeseburger in America
Burger King Triple Whopper Sandwich with Cheese and Mayo
1,250 calories
84 g fat (32 g saturated, 3.5 g trans)
1,600 mg sodium

This Triple Whopper is triple trouble. You could remove two patties and still be looking at more calories than you should tussle with in one sitting. And the fact that it’s got more trans fat than you should eat in a day only adds insult to injury. The problem with BK burgers is that not a single one comes without the heart-harming trans-fatty acids, despite their long-standing promise to (someday) make their menu trans-fat-free. Your best bet when dealing with the King is to choose a chicken sandwich instead.

Eat This Instead!
Tendergrill Chicken Sandwich with Mayo
490 calories
21 g fat (4 g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,220 mg sodium

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Organic Avenue

For all of us resolution detoxers who want to start the year anew, I have asked Doug Evans and Denise Mari, co-founders of New York City’s fantastic Organic Avenue to contribute his knowledge. I discovered Organic Avenue a few years ago through a girlfriend who was about to do one of their fasts, and I joined her on the 5 day program. The result was pretty amazing and the juices and smoothies (esp. the coconut mylk and the cacao smoothie) were so delicious that I imbibe them whenever I’m in NYC. They make a cleanse easy with different degrees of gnarlyness and home delivery if you are in manhattan. If you aren’t, like me, Denise Mari, the juice guru has given us some recipes for a DIY fast.

LOVE*

GOOP: How did you get started?

Denise Mari: I started Organic Avenue as a health & wellness lifestyle company in 2002. In the early days, I ran the shop and the LOVE cleanse programs from my convertible living space where I also met with leaders in the cutting edge nutrition and healthy living sector and hosted gourmet raw food dinners. What started as a passion and vision to help heal the environment, people, and animals by creating access to delicious organic foods and other lifestyle products, education, and events has grown into a full service 24/7 company as the vision continues to unfold.
GOOP: How does Organic Avenue work?

Denise Mari: Today we reach people on the web or via our in-bound call center in 3 retail locations in NYC (and more to come, stay tuned!), and at partner locations throughout the city. And we make all of our products fresh daily in our incredible new kitchen in Long Island City where we use state of the art hydraulic juice presses to minimize oxidation during the juicing process and where all production takes place in refrigeration — meaning that the food and juice keeps as much life-giving nutrition as possible all the way from the farm to the table.

We are organic, vegan, raw, and soon to be OU Kosher certified. We are also choosy about our ingredients, we bottle in reusable glass and compostable non-petroleum plastic, maintain cold-chill freshness at every step. Finally, we provide a space for community in our stores and with events and discussions at our new event space, The Space of LOVE* (116 Suffolk Street, NY, NY).

GOOP: What’s the philosophy behind your detox program?

Denise Mari: Each cleanse reflects our belief that improving health and the planet through diet and lifestyle choices doesn’t have to be hard if it’s convenient, delicious, and combined with the right information and support. I want it to be easy for us all to transform the planet together, one action at a time, so it’s important to lower the perceived barriers of taking good care of yourself as a first step. And that does not have to just mean the occasional detox — clean, beautiful food and vibrant health can be a lifestyle. We support ongoing abundance by offering monthly and annual juice plans with in-store and home delivery options as one way to add beautiful live juice into the everyday, even when not on a specific cleanse program.
GOOP: What are the benefits of your detox programs?

Denise Mari: At Organic Avenue, we believe that when people make the choice to increase the amount of clean, beautiful, living foods into their diets, that translates into vibrant health and greatly improved well-being for people and the planet. This vibrancy can take the form of weight loss, increased vitality and energy levels, a more youthful appearance and glow, or improvement toward other health and wellness goals. For us, the foundation of a healthy diet is based on the elements of LOVE* (*live.organic.vegan.experience).

One of my favorite cleanse programs is our LOVE*young Cleanse, influenced by noted nutritional advisor, best selling author of The Ph Miracle, and a teacher of mine, Dr. Robert Young. All of the juices, waters, and foods in this program promote high alkalinity, which is one of the most powerful things we can have do to avoid illness and increase energy and our natural youthful radiance!

A day of cleansing to boost alkalinity can look like this:Click here to continue reading.
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