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Fat is necessary for sustaining life and protecting your organs. But where you store excess fat is all determined by your genetics. So, if you find youre carrying extra weight around your inner thighs, thats just how your body operates.

And while having some inner thigh fat is perfectly fine, if youre ready to tone things up, weve got you covered. Heres how to lose inner thigh fat in a healthy and sustainable way.

If you eat more calories than you can burn, your body needs to store those additional calories somewhere since they arent being used. Thats where fat comes into play.

According to the World Health Organization, there has been an increased intake of energy-dense foods (think high fat and high sugar) as well as lowered activity. This energy imbalance is the fundamental cause of weight gain.

Now as to where this fat is stored, again, you can thank your genetics for that. One study found that body fat storage is highly influenced by genetic factors, especially in women.

Women usually store fat in their hips, lower belly, and inner thighs. While men carry fat mainly in their abdomens, but arent completely off the hook with inner thigh fat either.

If your genes graced you with the gift of inner thigh fat, it can form in two ways:

As with any weight loss situation, a combination of diet and exercise can help you blast inner thigh fat. You just have to put in consistent work.

Since taking in too many calories can build up fat, reducing how many calories youre taking in each day can help you lose inner thigh fat.

One pound of fat is equivalent to about 3,500 calories. So, just cutting out 500 calories a day can help you eat 3,500 fewer calories a week, and lose about 1 to 2 pounds a week.

Other basic dietary changes to help you lose inner thigh fat include:

There are two different forms of exercise to help you lose fat.

To maximize your results, its a good idea to do a combination of both in the forms of cardio and strength training.

One study found significant weight loss results in both men and women after 10 months of aerobic exercise. Other research found that anaerobic exercises like HIIT are also effective for fat loss.

Plus, cardio helps you burn calories in the moment, while strength training helps your body continue to burn calories throughout the day.

So, a good rule of thumb is to exercise 4 or 5 days a week to see results, and incorporate both cardio and strength training.

But cant you just spot train? Thats a big nope!

As cool as it would be, you cant pick and choose which area of your body youd like to lose weight. Our biology rules the game, therefore putting time and energy into targeting a certain area of your body is likely a waste of time.

If you do a bunch of crunches and sit-ups to lose fat in your belly, youll probably gain muscle in those areas, but that doesnt mean youll burn fat.

Youll see greater results by performing multiple exercises that work multiple muscle groups.

Ready to get your cardio on? You can do any cardio exercise to burn fat, but the following exercises will get your heart pumping along with targeting those thigh muscles.

Running up and down hills just straight up blows, but it will get your thigh muscles strong and improve your fitness .

Grab a stopwatch and find yourself a hill (dont go too steep too quick). Then run up the hill as fast as you can for 30 seconds. Cool down and walk back down. Repeat this about 5 times, and aim to do this 23 times per week to start.

Not into running? Find a hilly area and take a walk, or go for a hike in nature thats a bit of a climb.

Maybe you live in a really flat area and there just arent hills that get your legs burnin. A treadmill can also do the trick.

Pick your cardio (walking or running) and gradually increase the incline to 5, 10, or 15 percent while you exercise for at least 30 minutes.

Mix this into your weekly cardio routine 23 times a week.

The best part about HIIT exercises is that they can literally be done anytime, anywhere.

Moves such as jump squats, burpees, and high knees are all forms of HIIT movements that can get your heart rate pumping in a short period of time.

Getting in HIIT exercises 23 times per week is a solid amount.

The following six movements will tone your inner thighs and reduce the appearance of fat. Include this routine into your exercise plan a few times a week to see results.

Repeat this workout 23 times through.

Reps: 1015 per leg

Equipment: Optional dumbbells

Reps: 1015 per leg

Equipment: Optional dumbbells

Reps: 30 seconds total

Equipment: Optional dumbbell or kettlebell

Reps: 20 total (10 per leg)

Equipment: None

Reps: 1015 reps per leg

Equipment: Optional dumbbells or a medicine ball

Reps: 15 reps per leg

Equipment: None

Some of us are graced with the genetics that give us thick thighs. But fat also accumulates in this area due to the extra calories and limited energy expenditure in the form of exercise.

Improving your diet and adding in cardio and thigh toning exercises takes time, but its the most beneficial way to get those thighs of steel.

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How to Lose Inner Thigh Fat: Causes and Toning Exercises - Greatist

Provided by Eat This, Not That! trader joes cashier in face mask

The next time you go to the grocery store, you might want to consider thanking the checkout person for their service. At the same time, you'll want to make sure you're doing so while wearing a mask and standing at a healthy social distance, as a new study published in the scientific journal Occupational&Environmental Medicine suggests the COVID-19 virus hit these frontline workers especially hard.

To address what they characterize as a knowledge gap regarding how COVID-19 has impacted retail workers, the study, led by Justin Yang, M.D., of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, chose a single grocery store in the Boston, Massachusetts area and tested its employees for COVID using nasal swabs. The researchers then spent several days assessing the employees' health history, anxiety levels, and perceptions about COVID.

Dr. Yang's team found that out of the 104 grocery store workers, 21 tested positive (20%) for COVID-19. Of those who tested positive, 91 percent had a job that involved direct interaction with customers, and 76 percent showed no symptoms (whereas only 40% of the general population are asymptomatic when infected). (In other health news, check out these 108 Most Popular Sodas Ranked By How Toxic They Are.)

According to the scientists' data, those grocery store workers with direct exposure to customers were five times more likely to test positive than their back-office colleagues.In addition, 24 of the workers were found to have anxiety. Eight were found to have depression. The study authors noted that those whose jobs permitted them to practice social distancing were significantly less affected by anxiety and depression than their colleagues.

Scientists had already known that essential workers, including grocery store employees, are at an increased risk for the SARS-CoV-2 infection. They also knew that those workers are at an increased risk of spreading the virus to their friends, families, and communities. What the scientists did not know until reviewing the numbers was exactlyhowbad the infection rate can be.

While the study is limited by the small number of test subjects, among other things, the authors believe that the findings support "policyrecommendations that employers and government officials should take actions on implementing preventive strategies" to ensure the health and safety of essential workers.

In the meantime, here are 10 things you can do to make it safer for your local grocery store's employees, not to mention yourself. And here is the one thing you absolutely need to stop doing at the grocery store.

Read the original article on Eat This, Not That!

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20 Percent of Grocery Workers Went To Work With COVID, Study Says - msnNOW

Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., this spring began trying out a new use for wearable continuous glucose monitors: to give care teams more information when adjusting insulin doses for inpatients. Its an example of a health system repurposing medical wearables.

Continuous glucose monitoring, or CGM, has been a part of outpatient diabetes management and treatment for years. Dr. Joseph Aloi, section chief for endocrinology and metabolism at Wake Forest Baptist Health, said hes seen outpatient adoption tick up in the past three to five years in particular, as needles have gotten smaller, sensors can be worn longer and the technology has become more affordable.

However, the technology is still considered investigational in the inpatient setting, where inpatient glycemic management teams tend to rely on traditional finger-stick tests to determine whether they need to adjust a patients insulin.

Thats changed, at least temporarily, at Wake Forest Baptist Health during the pandemic.

Inpatients with diabetes are offered the option to use a CGM sensor from Abbott Laboratories; its about the size of a quarter and worn on the upper arm for 14 days. Abbott donated the wearable sensors in April, after the Food and Drug Administration approved the system for use in the hospital setting during the COVID-19 emergency.

Traditionally, nurses check a patients blood sugar with finger-stick tests before each meal and at bedtime. So thats four finger-stick blood sugars a day, Aloi said. With the sensor, were getting more than 100 data points a day, something he thinks will provide a more comprehensive way to tailor patients insulin needs.

During the pandemic, continuous glucose monitoring has helped reduce infection risks, since nurses dont need to enter a patients room several times a day for bedside finger-stick tests, Aloi said.

A study published by TouchEndocrinology concluded that cost differences vary by volume. If a Type 1 diabetes patient is using eight finger sticks per day, the annual cost is $4,380; six finger sticks/day, the annual cost is $3,285; for three finger sticks/day, the annual cost is $1,643. CGM costs $1,712 annually, lower than six to eight tests per day, but comparable to three daily tests.

This is all (an) emerging change in practice, Aloi said. But my personal bias is that this is going to replace finger-stick testing in the hospital.

Read more here:
Hospitals, clinics may be ready to adopt wearable tech - Modern Healthcare

An informational program on 9 Staple Foods of the Mediterranean Diet with Karen M. Ensle, EdD, RDN, FAND, CFCS, (Rutgers Cooperative Extension Professor), will be the featured free virtual program on Tuesday, Nov.10, 2020 @ 11 AM.

According to Karen Ensle, This free virtual program will focus on the diet that may lower your risk of heart attack, stroke and death by 30%.

The program is sponsored by The Senior Resource Center at The Lavy House, the Standish Foundation, Temple Emanu-El of Westfield, Jewish Family Service of Central NJ, and the Westfield United Fund.

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Programs are free of charge and open to the entire community. Registration is recommended if you plan to attend. Info@jfscentralnj.org, or call, 908-352-8375 to receive your Zoom invitation

All those who register and attend the event, will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Trade Joes.

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9 Staple Foods of the Mediterranean Diet to be Addressed at Free Virtual Lavy House Event - TAPinto.net

When it comes to fighting inflammation with diet, following a specific program is not a necessity. In fact, many of the so-called anti-inflammatory diets are more hype than real science. That said, a couple of diets round up all the anti-inflammatory elements into one eating plan and have more evidence of benefit than other diets. If you aren't sure where to start, these diets are good choices.

People who live in countries ringing the Mediterranean Sea, like Italy and Greece, have traditionally eaten a diet consisting mainly of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, fish, and olive oil the same foods that experts recommend to bring down inflammation. Over the years, researchers began to discover that people who followed this style of eating had lower rates of disease and lived longer than people in the United States who ate a Western-style diet.

The Mediterranean diet is ranked high among doctors and dietitians, and for good reason. Studies show it protects against diseases linked to inflammation, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. And, because it includes a variety of foods, the Mediterranean diet is relatively easy to follow and stick with.

Although its name may suggest the "grab-and-go" section of the supermarket, DASH is anything but a fast-food regimen. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It was originally developed to lower blood pressure without medication, but is now widely considered to be one of the healthiest eating patterns around. It includes foods low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Protein is supplied by low-fat dairy, fish, poultry, and nuts. Red meat, sweets, and sugary drinks are limited. DASH is high in fiber, potassium, calcium, and magnesium and low in sodium.

Another anti-inflammatory diet with science to back it up comes from Harvard-educated integrative medicine practitioner Dr. Andrew Weil. He started talking up anti-inflammatory measures decades ago, long before the idea began trending. His anti-inflammatory diet could be described as a Mediterranean diet with Asian influences. About 40% to 50% of calories come from carbohydrates, 30% from fat, and 20% to 30% from protein.

Where Dr. Weil's diet wins is in its emphasis on plant-based foods and healthy protein sources, as well as specific elements (fatty fish, fruits, vegetables, oils, nuts, and seeds) that help to reduce inflammation. It also minimizes highly processed foods, which can contribute to inflammation.

For additional advice about ways to reduce inflammation, read Fighting Inflammation, Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.

Image: OksanaKiianGetty Images

Disclaimer:As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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The best anti-inflammatory diets - Harvard Health - Harvard Health

By: Lifestyle Desk | New Delhi | Updated: October 31, 2020 1:52:13 pmSuperfood wheat grass has multiple benefits. (Source: Getty Images)

It is not without reason that wheatgrass is considered to be a wonder ingredient. Even a little quantity of wheatgrass is rich in vitamins A, C, E, K and even B6. Apart from these, it also contains traces of several essential minerals and is dense in micronutrients and phytochemicals.

Wheatgrass is the leaf that sprouts in the common wheat plant, known as Triticum aestivum. Wheatgrass has always been used as a food, drink, and even recommended as a dietary supplement. It is grown in the temperate regions throughout the world and even in India, especially in the Himalayan region. It is a one-stop solution to all your nutrient deficiencies, and also has several benefits, says Gupreet Singh, Managing Director of Jivo Wellness.

Below, he lists some benefits; check them out:

1. Rich in antioxidants

Antioxidants are important to protect our body from the free-radical and also help in preventing cell dying, cancer, accelerated ageing and chronic inflammation. Wheatgrass is rich in antioxidants, thereby making the body healthier, stronger and better.

2. Immunity booster

Wheatgrass contains 17 different types of amino acids, numerous antioxidants and is home to a lot of essential vitamins. Consuming wheatgrass is directly related to boosting your immune system. It makes your body stronger from the inside and accelerates healing. Thefibre content stimulates digestion.

3. Good for digestion and detox

Wheatgrass has a very high fibre content which is directly related in managing digestion and fight piles, irritable bowel syndrome and constipation. It is usually recommended to drink wheatgrass juice in the morning to enable a full body detox. The antioxidants present in wheatgrass cleanse and rejuvenate the body for its better function.

4. Low-calorie content and a good source of protein

Wheatgrass has negligible calorie content and is also a good source of plant-based protein. If you are looking for vegan options to get your protein content, wheatgrass can be a good supplement to start with. The low-calorie content also helps in managing cholesterol.

ALSO READ | Wheatgrass can help you manage monsoon weight; heres how

5. Contains chlorophyll which helps in building haemoglobin

Since wheatgrass is the first and freshly sprouted leaves of the wheat plant, it contains chlorophyll in good amount. Chlorophyll is a great source to stimulate and accelerate the growth of red blood cells which in turn increases the haemoglobin levels. Anaemic people, menstruating population, women in menopause can also look at this alternative to regain the lost haemoglobin naturally and effectively.

How to consume it?

Wheatgrass can be consumed directly in the form of a tablet or juice. However, the best way to consume it is in direct concentrated form as a shot or mixed with other ingredients to make juice. Since wheatgrass has a very overpowering smell and taste, people refrain from drinking wheatgrass juice. But you can always opt for alternatives and get your dose of this superfood.

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From building haemoglobin to improving immunity: heres why you should include wheatgrass in your diet - The Indian Express