You all know my favorite three *f.a.t. topics in the world are sex, men, and hormone health, so it shouldn’t surprise you that after a posting hiatus of a week or so, I’m chomping at the bit and jumping back in with an article that covers all three in one! 

So, ladies, since it’s not all about us all the time, let’s talk about our men. You love yours, I love mi….I mean, if I had one, I’d love him. In fact, I’d love him to pieces and wouldn’t want any bad thing to befall him. But since I don’t have one, let’s talk about yours. Assuming you aren’t living your own version of Sleeping With The Enemy, I’m sure you want the best health possible for your husband, boyfriend, object of desire, Neanderthal-like animal creature you call significant other……you get the idea. 

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We’ve long known that folate helps reduce the risk of birth defects in babies, but now there is evidence that it also cuts the risk of premature births, which come with a host of health risks for the baby. It is important to note that the results were dependent on the mother supplementing with folate for at least a year prior to conception! The important take away is that ALL women of childbearing age, whether they intend to become pregnant or not, should be taking a multivitamin with folate in it. And women who do intend to become pregnant, would be wise to plan further ahead - nutritionally - than most women do. Read the full details here.

Over the weekend my friends and I were discussing the pros and cons of artificial sweeteners  - and no, my friends aren’t nearly as nerdy as I am with this stuff, but they are becoming increasingly interested in losing a few pounds and treating their bodies right. So it dawned on me that I have never told all of my *f.a.t. readers about Stevia, the herb that is a natural sweetener!! How could I have forgotten, as this is truly a way to go from “fat” to *f.a.t. (Fit After Thirty)!

I discovered it at my health food store when I was just a hot young co-ed. Actually, I’m not sure I ever was one of those, but I should have been for as healthfully as I ate. (I know you regular readers are thinking, geez, she read the fiber diet book in high school and she hung out at the health food store in college, what a geek!) I’m not denying it, but the good thing is it allowed me to have years of experience with the natural sweetener, so I could pass along that information to all of you! 

Stevia is a South American herb that has been used as a sweetener by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay for hundreds of years. The leaves of this small, green Stevia rebaudiana plant have a delicious and refreshing taste that can be 30 times sweeter than sugar. It has been available in liquid and powder form for many years, and is a God send for diabetics. The reason is, because stevia does not spike blood sugar levels. This is why it is a good diet aid for all of you!

I know it sounds too good to be true, so for all of you naysayers, put your positive cap on while you read the next few sentences. It has zero calories, zero carbs, and is even believed to lower blood pressure, blood glucose levels, and even improve digestion. You can bake with it, mix it in drinks and sprinkle it on cereal, just as you would sugar.

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When I was on the birth control pill during part of my twenties, I told the gynecologist that I thought it had decreased my libido, made me less orgasmic, and turned me into a moody, emotional basket case. Just based on my common sense belief that anything that affects hormone levels could likely affect libido, I asked her innocently, “Can the pill cause those symptoms?”

As if she had stock in the very company that made them (and she probably did), she insisted that there was no evidence that the pill could cause any of the symptoms that I described.

I never researched it; I just chalked it up to her being stupid, went along my merry way and stopped taking the damn things. Thanks to incessant media coverage of the AIDS epidemic when I was a teen, I was already a diligent condom user, regardless of how much I trusted my boyfriend, so stopping the pill didn’t cause a disruption to my normal routine.

As it turns out, she was uneducated about the issue, because I now know that studies existed from years prior to that conversation, which reported the negative effects of oral contraceptives on sexual function, including diminished sexual interest and arousal, suppression of female initiated sexual activity, decreased frequency of sexual intercourse and sexual enjoyment. 

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Since fat loss, sexy abs, and tight buns aren’t the only things required to stay healthy and fit in your thirties, I like to give you reminders on how to protect yourself on a cellular level - from the inside out. So, for anyone who had any doubts about whether to drink bottled water over tap water, here’s an article about tap water contamination that you should read.

Pharmaceutical contaminants seem to be finding there way into the American tap water supply with more frequency. Although drinking water from plastic bottles seems to have its dangers too, I am starting to think the chemicals from plastic may pale in comparison to the cocktail of drugs we may be absorbing in small quantities every time we take a shower, or to those that we ingest every time we make coffee out of the kitchen tap water.

This is yet one more reason we all need to try to be healthy in all the other areas that we can control! In other words, eat right, exercise, and manage stress so you can ward off the damage done by living in an industrialized society! And it may just be worth investing in some water filtration systems for your home!

Here we go again with my favorite topic: pelvic floor muscles. A study out last year seems to confirm that wearing high heels can strengthen your favorite girl muscles! This may well be the coolest study I’ve ever reported on!

Just when you were ready to bitch and moan about your growing corns, bunions, and overall feet discomfort from wearing high heels, you can now take comfort in knowing they are good for your Gynecological Goddesses -the muscles in your body that help urinary and sexual function!  

Leave it to a female doctor from Italy to invent a study that proves that the beautiful Italian shoes we all love so much, have more redeeming value than just making our legs and butt look sexier!! 

Italian urologist, Maria Cerruto, seems to have proven her theory, and here is a bit from the full article:

She said her study of 66 women under 50 found that those who held their foot at a 15 degree angle to the ground - the equivalent of a two inch heel - had as good posture as those who wore flat shoes, and crucially showed less electrical activity in their pelvic muscles.

This suggested the muscles were at an optimum position, which could well improve their strength and ability to contract. 

However, this doesn’t excuse you from doing your Kegel’s so bone up on my advice for turning your vagina into a vice grip here.

A few months back, I told you in my article, Get Your Zzzzzs, about how important it is to get enough sleep if you want to maintain a healthy weight. Well, now there is more evidence that getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night, can help you lose weight. 

Glamour magazine did a study following several women who did nothing differently with their diet and fitness regimens, but added more sleep to their busy schedules. Read about the impressive results here.

Sometimes when I read health studies I wonder if they are worth passing on to the rest of you, because they often seem to fall into the category of: common sense should have made this study unnecessary.

But, since some good folks in the UK, with a lot fancier degrees than the one I have, did a study to prove that walking is a good distraction from eating, who am I to be a study snob? So, I’m going to tell you about it. Especially since it relates to one of my favorite subjects: chocolate.

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A new study has shown a link between resting heart rate and coronary events in women. Over 100,000 post-menopausal women were studied at 40 U.S. clinics to evaluate resting heart rate as an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk in women.

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When I was in college, I met an old soul of a guy, who, despite his chronological age of 20, was like talking to a man many years older. His name was Thomas and he had a crush on me. Although I too, was a bit introspective and probably too serious for my age, Thomas’ maturity seemed over the top to me.

I just couldn’t reciprocate with the type of feelings he had for me. Maybe I was intimidated by his knowledge of Bach and Beethoven, or just plain bored by it, or maybe too embarrassed to walk around with a guy who was comfortable enough in his own skin to sport boots that looked like something straight off of Danielle Boone’s body.

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