FabSugar

Glitterati: Nervous System

FabSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:00:22 PDT

I love the science and complexity of Nervous System's art works. Using their knowledge of algorithmic and physical tools, creative duo Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg created a collection of modern and innovative adornments that goes beyond classic jewelry.

Neck pieces, bracelets, and earrings are inspired from natural phenomena such as coral aggregations and interference patterns - say what?! OK, so it might be a too complex for the scientifically impaired but the collection is original and awesome. Even better, for those who are scientifically inclined, Nervous System allows you to design your own jewelry and they will make it for you - Fab!

For more Nervous System,

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Molly Sims on the Most Surprising Thing About Pregnancy, Her Glam Maternity Style, and More

Lisa Horten — Fri, 11 May 2012 08:12:58 PDT

She may be 34 weeks pregnant, but that didn't stop mom-to-be Molly Sims from squeezing time into her hectic schedule to chat with us. In addition to her acting and modeling work, Molly was recently named the Global Ambassador for Population Service International (PSI)'s child survival program, Five & Alive, and she's counting down the weeks until the birth of her baby boy.

LilSugar: Congratulations! How are you feeling?
Molly Sims: I'm coming into the end of my third trimester, and there's been a lot of swelling. I've been putting my feet up and soaking them in freezing cold water. That seems to work. We just went on the hospital tour and that made me a little nervous. I kept asking, "What's that?" and Scott [Stuber, Sims's husband] was taking notes on his BlackBerry. I said, "Can you tell we're first-time parents?!"

LS: Any other pregnancy tips and tricks that have worked for you?
MS: My back has been bothering me the whole time and the best investment I made was the Sleep Number bed. You can sleep with your feet up! It's great for my husband and I, and it means that he can rest without my waking him all throughout the night.

LS: You just had your baby shower - how was that?
MS: It was so great, just so much fun. We didn't really have a theme, but afterwards, we had a Cinco de Mayo party with everyone.

LS: Any favorite gifts?
MS: I love [online retailer] Layla Grace, and they sent me this supersoft rocking horse. I also got three great strollers - a Bugaboo that I'll use in New York, the Orbit System, which is supposed to be really easy to take apart, and then Baby Trend sent me a custom one - it's the coolest thing! I walk and hike a lot, so it was important to me to have a really good jogger. What's been great is that all of my friends have been giving me the products that they found really worked. There's so much out there, so that's been really helpful. I've also been working with Margot Stuart at Ready Me Baby. She helped me narrow down my Amazon Wish List to the 15 or so things that I really need.

Keep reading to see what's been the biggest surprise in Molly's pregnancy and her cravings.

Spice Up Your Sex Life With These Simple Foods

Fitness Magazine — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:35:53 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Fitness Magazine here on FitSugar!

Feeling a little lackluster in the kitchen lately? How about the bedroom? The two could be related. Food can be a very sensual prop that helps keep things spicy behind closed doors, but which ones should you be welcoming with open arms and which should you close your taste buds to? JJ Virgin, cohost of TLC’s Freaky Eaters, gave us some food for thought on how to kick things up a notch for supersizzling results!

The three main things to look for in an arousing appetite are a rise in blood flow, circulation, and dopamine levels, Virgin explains. Try adding these to your next candlelit dinner for a big bite of romance!

Oysters and avocados both have a big dose of healthy fats, which are full of dopamine, a neurotransmitter triggering the part of our brain that recognizes reward and pleasure.
Walnuts (or any nut except peanuts) have high levels of arginine, a natural amino acid that boosts blood flow.
Fish not only have arginine, but an added bonus of omega-3 fatty acids, which can improve your cardiovascular health and increase dopamine. A triple threat!
Spicy dishes, like this Roast Salmon With Thai Red Curry Sauce, stimulate your tongue and kick-start the nervous system - great for postdinner activities!

And if you don’t want to send your sweetheart flying out the door (OK, maybe that’s a little extreme), keep reading to see which foods to stay away from.

More from Fitness:

Going Vegan Could Mean Missing These Key Nutrients

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:41:38 PDT

Not eating animal products means a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and although it can also be used to lose weight, it's important not to skip out on valuable nutrients that often come from meat and dairy.

Vitamin B12
Most women need 2.4 mcg of this vitamin each day. It's essential for maintaining a healthy nervous system as well as healthy blood cells. Found mostly in poultry, beef, fish, and dairy products, this B vitamin has vegan sources as well including fortified cereals, fortified soy milk, kale, spinach, and nutritional yeast.

Iron
The RDI of iron for women is 18 mg, and while animal products contain iron, there are tons of vegan foods high in this mineral as well. The body needs iron to make hemoglobin, which helps carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body, which is why an iron deficiency often causes fatigue. Be sure to include fortified cereal, fortified soy milk, beans such as garbanzos and lentils, tofu, sun-dried tomatoes, potatoes, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, and peanuts in your vegan diet.

Keep reading to find out what other nutrients vegan diets might be missing.

Make St. Patrick's Day a Booze-Free Affair For Pets

Sara Yoo — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 04:00:00 PST

While many of us will be imbibing in merriment on St. Patrick's Day, it's important to keep the booze out of reach of your pet. Just as it does in humans, alcohol causes damage to an animal's brain, central nervous system, and liver, but since pets are much smaller than us, the effects can occur faster and more intensely and even lead to death. If your pet gets their paws on your bevvie, watch them closely for coordination problems, the inability to walk or stand up, drowsiness, vomiting, increased urination, and slowed, shallow breathing. If they display any of these symptoms, get them to a vet right away: these are signs of alcohol poisoning! But the best cure is to avoid it altogether: the luck o' the Irish may not be on your pet's side if he ingests that unattended Guinness.

Source: Flickr User celynek

Health Officials Go Undercover to Find Mercury-Laced Skin Cream

Allure — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:11:11 PST

We're happy to present this article from our friends at Allure:

California health officials are going undercover to find the distributors of smuggled Mexican skin creams containing dangerous levels of mercury. The creams are mainly skin lighteners, since mercury removes pigment. The tainted cosmetics are brought into in the country illegally and sold surreptitiously at pharmacies, shops, and swap meets. To find out more about the dangers of these surreptitiously tainted creams, just keep reading.

4 Surprising Things You Don't Know about Calories

Prevention — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:12:55 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Only 12 percent of Americans can estimate the calories they eat in a day! Find out why we're so clueless and get easy ways to stop calorie confusion.
By Mara Betsch, Prevention

You know what calories are, and you probably know that if you eat too many, you’ll gain weight. But do you know how many are in your favorite deli sandwich? Or how many calories you should really eat each day? Most Americans don’t. Only 12% can accurately estimate the number of calories they should consume in a day someone their age, height, weight, and physical activity, according to a 2010 survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation. So what is it about calories that keeps us baffled? Here are 8 reasons you’re confused about calories and the simple steps that will help you do the math.

8 Healthy Foods That Help Fight Disease

1. Portions Sizes Are Out of Control
You’ve all heard about the rapidly expanding serving sizes of restaurant and fast food portions, but just how bad are they? Portions sizes in restaurants may contain double or triple the calories of home-cooked meals, and studies show eating out is associated with a higher BMI. Unfortunately, those portions affect our waistlines. When there’s more food on the plate, people eat more-up to 30% more, according to an analysis of several studies.

Stop the confusion: Use this cheat sheet of portion sizes. We know it’s hard to look at your plate as decks of cards, tennis balls, and all the other, so start by measuring out your food servings at home and take a good look at what a half-cup of pasta looks like. Until the serving sizes are engrained in your brain, when dining out, aim to eat half of your meal, saving the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Comfort Food That’s Actually Good for You

2. Serving Sizes Are Deceiving
"There really aren’t standard serving sizes for packaged foods, which makes them confusing," explains Elisa Zied, RD, author Nutrition at Your Fingertips. She gives the example of cereal. A standard serving size of breakfast cereal is approximately 50 g, but depending on the cereal, that could mean a cup and a half of flakes or half a cup of heartier granola. Depending on the type of cereal you’re eating, just eyeing how much you put in the bowl, like most people do, can lead to inaccurate calorie counts.

Not only that, but larger-than-life snack foods may seem like single servings even though they often contain two to three servings per packet. Buy a 16-ounce bottled Coca-Cola, and the nutrition label reads 100 calories . . . for one of the two servings in the bottle. Drink the whole thing, as many people do, and you’re really getting 200 calories. Eat the whole bag of Austin Zoo Animal Crackers, commonly found in office vending machines, and you’re getting 230 calories, nearly two servings, instead of just one.

Keep reading to learn even more about calories!

Bad News For DEET Users

FitSugar — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:00:47 PDT

With all the rain many areas in the US have been getting this Summer, mosquitoes are out of control. Bug sprays that contain DEET are just about the only thing guaranteed to repel those buggers, but a new study may make you think twice before spraying it all over your body. In scientific experiments on insects, DEET was found to interfere with proper functioning of the central nervous system. The researchers say that testing on humans is urgently needed, since more than 200 million people use products containing DEET. Oddly enough, there hasn't been a lot of research on the effects of this chemical on humans, but if it affects the nervous systems of bugs, it can't be too healthy for us.

Although the EPA has said in the past that if used as directed, bug sprays containing DEET are not harmful to humans, does this new study change your mind?

5 Morning-After Hangover Fixes

Heather Dale — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:23:54 PDT

Boozing is all fun and games until you wake up the next day with a pounding headache. Excessive drinking causes hangovers because it dehydrates the body; it irritates the lining of the stomach, causing nausea; it overworks your liver, which is trying to metabolize all the alcohol; it overexcites your central nervous system, which causes sensitivity to light, sound, and touch; and it confuses your pituitary gland, which gets confused and releases the wrong amount of hormones that regulate sleep . . . no wonder you feel like crap! Your body is in revolt! Help is on the way with these five quick fixes. Check 'em out!

Pedro Almodovar Would Direct in English For Meryl Streep or Kate Winslet

Allie Merriam — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:33:00 PDT

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's The Skin I Live In will be out in the US this Friday, and he was in NYC this week to screen the film during the New York Film Festival. He and his leading man Antonio Banderas linked up for interviews Monday. The thriller is their latest collaboration after a 21-year break from working together; their last project was 1990's Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, and Almodovar helped launch Banderas's career with other Spanish-language projects like Matador and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Both spoke about their professional reunion, and Banderas revealed what it's like to fully place his trust with a director. Almodovar, who prefers to work independently in Europe, also spoke about the only two actresses he'd be tempted to work with in English. They said:

Almodovar on working in English: "I would like to discover Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet . . . no seriously! One of the reasons, if I make a movie in English, one of the reasons will be just to work with many wonderful actresses and actors that are here. Just the two that I mentioned. But that unfortunately the movies will be in English and I would have to improve my English . . . But really I would like to discover in the sense that it would be the first time for me."
Banderas on what it meant to work with Pedro again: "I did what I think any actor who works with Pedro Almodovar should do, which is to take a leap of faith. With Pedro Almodovar especially."
Almodovar on reuniting with Antonio after 21 years: "What was the same was his disposition toward the work. And fortunately, he's still an attractive man. And he's still so at the age of 51 . . . For me, what was fantastic was that during the shooting he was absolutely the same person. I don't know if he is conscious of that. I have pictures from Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! . . . They are almost the same pictures. The way he behaves with the rest of the crew, or even with me."

To read more about Almodovar not going Hollywood and Banderas on channeling old Hollywood, just

Almodovar on not going Hollywood: "I'm myself despite of myself . . . Integrity is not something one does purposefully. Everything that I make, as a director as well as a person, I decided with complete freedom. But also I was very faithful of what my real ambition was in every time. And perhaps for an outsider, it can be seen as a kind of purity. But in my case I couldn't avoid it. When I refused, for example, to go to Hollywood and make movies there, I don't want to be applauded because of that. At the moment, I was 30-a-lot - almost 40, the first time. At that moment, I know exactly what I wanted, what my real ambition was as a filmmaker. And that was not going to Hollywood and make movies there . . . the way that I work doesn't fit really with a big studio production system."
Banderas on striving for a '40s acting feel: "[Pedro] talked to me a lot about Cary Grant . . . he made a lot of proposals to me to watch movies of film noir made in the '40s and '50s because the acting was different - it was more laid back. It was not so active in terms of describing reality in every single detail . . . he wanted me to be that type of actor like Robert Mitchum, that attacked those characters in a different way of acting."
Almodovar on working with Banderas again: "Antonio is, like me, a very expressive person, like me, a very raw person. He said, 'Pedro! I want to make a comedy with you again!' Yes, soon . . . And I would like to do it because he's so funny, fortunately he never stopped his relation with our language and our culture and the country. He's perfectly ready to make anything there. I will not wait 21 years, but I don't know when it's going to happen."