A Fit Mom of Four’s Inspiring Take on What Her Belly REALLY Looks Like

Pop out four babies, and you wouldn’t expect to be showered in compliments like “Oh my gosh, you have the perfect body.” But that’s what happened to Kimberly Henderson, 26, a mother of four, after she recently became Internet-famous for her super-sweet and viral lullaby cover of Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know.”

So in an open and honest move, the mom from Sumter, South Carolina, posted a picture on Facebook with her shirt pulled up, showing her flat stomach in all its loose-skinned glory, proving that we all have flaws—and we’re probably better for them.

RELATED: 5 Celebrities Who’ve Flaunted Exposed Baby Bumps

In her photo caption, Henderson writes:

“Everyone always compliments me on how I have such a “perfect” body after 4 kids. I decided to upload this pic and leave my belly “unedited” “unphotoshopped” because I used to struggle with accepting my body after kids. I used to have a six pack before my babies.. And now even though I work out I know its not going to make my loose skin tight.. Or my stretch marks disappear ever lol and I’m ok with that because everyday I get to wake up to 4 beautiful smiling faces and I’m reminded that they are worth this flabby belly and they are worth these stretch marks. I still wear a bikini because being a mother makes me feel beautiful.. Not having a flat tummy.”

Henderson goes on to acknowledge that she didn’t always feel this way: “It took a long time to get there.. Because I struggled so much with my body. I struggled so much because I was young and all these girls my age had perfect bodies and I was in my one piece bathing suit trying to hide all my flaws.”

RELATED: This Model’s Post-Birth Abs Are Blowing People Away

What makes her caption so refreshing is not only her sense of body acceptance, but her effort to show that that yes, you can exercise and be a healthy person, but it doesn’t mean that your abs are going to look like those of a fitness model. And that’s okay. (The heart-warming part about waking up to four beautiful smiling faces is pretty amazing, too.)

We’re all for this trend of moms showing off what they look like with pride, from mother-of-three Rachel Hollis, who posted a Facebook picture of herself on the beach in a bikini—and belly pooch to boot—back in March, to Hilaria Baldwin, who Instagrammed her belly just 48 hours after birth. Henderson is a fan of the growing movement, too. Further along in her post she writes:

“I’m not trying to say I have it worse than anyone else or bad or anything like that just reminding you guys.. That your body is beautiful… BECAUSE we ARE moms and we ARE superheroes and we freakin ROCK and in my opinion that is sexier than any 6 pack!”

Amen, mom.

RELATED: 10 Reasons Your Belly Fat Isn’t Going Away

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Sandra Bullock is Not Having It With Media’s Scrutiny of Women

You might remember that earlier this year Sandra Bullock was named “World’s Most Beautiful Woman” by People magazine. Now she’s opening up about her reasons for accepting the honor—and quickly showing the world that she is so much more than a pretty-faced title-holder in the process.

RELATED: The 5 Best Things Kelly Clarkson Has Said About Body Positivity

“I feel like it’s become open hunting season in how women are attacked and it’s not because of who we are as people, it’s because of how we look or our age,” Bullock told E! News at the Minions junket this week. “I’m shocked—and maybe I was just naïve, but I’m embarrassed by it. My son is getting ready to grow up in this world and I’m trying to raise a good man who values and appreciates women, and here we have this attack on women in the media that I don’t see a stop happening.”

The Oscar winner then said that she accepted the “generous” offer from People to be on the cover, only if she could commend other truly beautiful women: “women who rise above and take care of business,” she explained.

RELATED: 9 Ways to Silence Your Inner Critic

Or, as she put it in her interview with People back in May: “Real beauty is quiet. Especially in this town, it’s just so hard not to say, ‘Oh, I need to look like that.’ No, be a good person, be a good mom, do a good job with the lunch, let someone cut in front of you who looks like they’re in a bigger hurry. The people I find most beautiful are the ones who aren’t trying.”

It’s no secret that women (especially in Hollywood) are under extreme pressure to exemplify a very narrow definition of beauty, and that being pretty or sexy often overshadows any attention paid to accomplishments. We could all do well by re-aligning our priorities along with Bullock, by focusing on what really defines us (our intellect, compassion, character and hard work) as opposed to trying to fit a mold formed by others.

The Minions star ended her E! interview by saying, “We need to stop. We are harming girls and women in a way, at a speed, that…it’s scaring me. It’s really scaring me.”

RELATED: 12 Worst Habits For Your Mental Health

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5 Guilt-Free (and Good-For-You!) Boozy Frozen Drinks

As the holiday weekend approaches and temperatures rise, are you looking forward to enjoying a frozen cocktail? Read on for smoothie recipes that taste just like your favorite frosty libations, but are even better for you, since they’re made without sugary drink mixes. Bonus: We show you how to take them up a notch by spiking them with booze (just a little bit won’t hurt!).

Banana Daiquiri

 

Photo: Beth Lipton

Serves: 2

2 large ripe bananas, sliced and frozen
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 cup coconut cream (look for a brand with few or no stabilizers, like Native Forest)
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Add water a little at a time if needed to reach desired consistency. Serve immediately.

Spike it: Add 1 oz. of dark rum per smoothie before blending

RELATED: Guilt-Free Summer Cocktails

Strawberry Margarita

 

Photo: Beth Lipton

Serves: 2

12 oz. frozen strawberries
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
2 Tbsp. raw honey
Pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Add water a little at a time if needed to reach desired consistency. Serve immediately.

Spike it: Add 1 oz. tequila per smoothie before blending

RELATED: 9 Margaritas for Less Than 300 Calories

 

Pina Colada

 

Photo: Beth Lipton

Serves: 1

1 ¼ cups fresh pineapple chunks
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup coconut cream
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
½ tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Add water a little at a time if needed to reach desired consistency. Serve immediately.

Spike it: Add 1 oz. light or dark rum before blending

RELATED: Smoothies on the Double

 

Melon Ball

 

Photo: Beth Lipton

Serves: 1

1 cup cantaloupe or honeydew chunks (or a combination)
¼ large Persian cucumber, cut into chunks (a heaping ½ cup)
2 Tbsp. coconut water
1 tsp. fresh mint leaves
1 Tbsp. raw honey
Pinch of salt
1 cup ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Serve immediately.

Spike it: Add 1 oz. light rum or melon liqueur before blending

RELATED: Perfect Smoothies Every Time

Frozen Mudslide

 

Photo: Beth Lipton

Serves: 2

½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight in cold water
2 ripe bananas, sliced and frozen
2 Tbsp. raw cacao
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
½ cup cold coffee
Pinch of salt

Drain cashews and rinse with cool water. Place in a high-speed blender; cover with fresh cold water. Blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend.

Spike it: Add 1 oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream or Kahlua to each smoothie before blending

RELATED: 9 Summer Drinks From Bethenny Frankel

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Could Blue Eyes Raise Odds for Alcoholism?

THURSDAY, July 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) —
People with blue eyes may be more likely to become alcoholics, a new study suggests.

Genetic researchers at the University of Vermont said their findings could help doctors learn more about the roots of alcoholism, as well as other psychiatric disorders.

Study co-author Dawei Li, an assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, has worked with other scientists for years to build a genetic database of more than 10,000 people. Most of those in the database are black or European Americans. All are affected by at least one mental illness, but many have multiple disorders, including depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, along with alcohol or drug dependence.

“These are complex disorders,” Li said in a university news release. “There are many genes, and there are many environmental triggers.”

Using the database, the researchers identified over 1,200 people with European ancestry who suffered from alcohol dependence. Once the team recognized an eye color connection, they reanalyzed their data three times, comparing the participants’ age, gender and differences in backgrounds and locations.

The researchers found that European Americans with light-colored eyes had a higher rate of alcohol dependence than those with dark brown eyes. But blue eyes were most strongly linked to this condition, the study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics: Neuropsychiatric Genetics (Part B) revealed.

As it turns out, the genetic components that determine eye color line up along genes related to excessive alcohol use, the study authors explained.

“This suggests an intriguing possibility that eye color can be useful in the clinic for alcohol dependence diagnosis,” study co-author Arvis Sulovari, a doctoral student in cellular, molecular and biological sciences at the university, said in the news release.

The researchers noted more study is needed to understand why light-colored eyes, particularly blue ones, are associated with a greater incidence of alcoholism. But the study did not prove a cause-and-effect link between eye color and alcoholism risk.

More information

Visit the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for more on alcohol abuse.

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Drug Offers Hope Against Disease Where Sunlight Causes Pain

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, July 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Just a few minutes of sun exposure can cause debilitating pain for people like Savannah Fulkerson, an 11-year-old with a rare genetic disorder.

Scientists say a new medication may allow Savannah and others like her to encounter daylight without such severe consequences.

Savannah has erythropoietic protoporphyria. “It’s like she’s allergic to the sun,” her mother, Andrea Fulkerson, told multiple doctors as the family sought an explanation for the agony the child experienced when she encountered sunlight as a preschooler.

“We’d be outside about 20 minutes or so . . . she’d say, ‘I burn!'” recalled Fulkerson. The pain was so intense that she’d scream “like she got hit by a car,” her mother told ABC affiliate KABC-TV.

There’s no cure for erythropoietic protoporphyria, but the new drug — a tiny pellet inserted under the skin above the hip — shows promise for helping people like Savannah.

“This is a life-changing treatment that will allow them to be exposed to sunlight longer without the fear of painful attacks,” said study co-author Dr. Robert Desnick, dean of genetic and genomic medicine at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine in New York City. About 500 to 600 people in the United States suffer from erythropoietic protoporphyria, he said.

In the worst cases, patients can’t tolerate more than a few minutes in daylight before suffering “a tingling, itching, burning feeling that’s the warning signal to get out of the sun,” he said. Too much sun exposure can lead to several days of excruciating pain.

“The sun does damage to you and me,” he said, “and we react over the next couple days by tanning. They can’t do that.”

The condition often develops in childhood, prompting an “ingrained fear” of sunlight for life, he said.

For the new study, published July 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers randomly gave the drug, called afamelanotide, or an inactive placebo to 74 patients in Europe and 94 patients in the United States. They received an implant every 60 days for either 9 months or 6 months.

Participants calculated how much time they spent in the sun without pain. Over six months, U.S. participants who got the drug reported a median (half reported more, half reported less) of 69 hours of pain-free sun exposure compared to about 41 hours among those who got the placebo. In Europe, over nine months, those who used the drug reported a median of 6 hours of pain-free sun exposure compared to less than an hour among the others. The patients who took the drug also reported higher quality of life.

The researchers, whose work was partly funded by drug maker Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals of Australia, reported no serious side effects related to the medication. Gastrointestinal problems and fatigue were about as common in those who took the drug as in those who didn’t, they said.

The drug works by stimulating melanin production — the sunlight protection in normal skin, Desnick said.

One expert hailed the drug’s development.

“This treatment is the first to work. So it is a fairly big deal,” said Dr. Sylvia Bottomley, a professor of medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center who specializes in the disorder.

“Though not a cure, the beneficial effect of the medication is quite significant,” said Bottomley, who wasn’t involved in the study. “It uniformly allows the patients to tolerate considerably more exposure to the sun and visible light, without real side effects, and should be welcomed by all.”

It’s not clear when the drug will be available to U.S. patients. However, the study represents the last in three stages of research required for drug approval in the United States.

“The number of potential patients to undergo this treatment is relatively small, and one can predict that there likely will be no rush by other pharmaceutical companies to get a share of this market,” said Dr. Claus Pierach, an erythropoietic protoporphyria specialist and professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, who wasn’t involved in the study.

The drug will probably be expensive, given the cost of developing it, Pierach said. “Once commercially available, it will likely be covered by insurance companies,” he added.

More information

For more about erythropoietic protoporphyria, see the American Porphyria Foundation.

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Why There’s Been a Scary Rise in Shark Attacks This Summer

Photo: Getty Images

In the third shark attack in just one week, a 68-year-old man swimming off the Outer Banks of North Carolina was bit in waist-deep water Wednesday.

The unnamed man had bites on his left lower torso, his hip, his lower left leg, and on both hands, according to NBC News, and was treated on the scene before being airlifted to the mainland town of Greenville.

This follows two shark attacks from last weekend, bringing the total in North Carolina this season to seven. According to USA Today, the number of shark attacks in the U.S. in 2015 is slightly above average for this time of year—there have already been 23, with one fatality in Hawaii; normally, there are 30 to 40 in a whole year, with no or one fatality. They’re also occurring further north than usual, with most typically occurring in Florida, rather than North Carolina.

RELATED: Beat 16 Summer Health Hazards

“If it had been in Florida, I wouldn’t have batted an eye,” George Burgess, head of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH), told The Washington Post.

Why the uptick in N.C.? It could be due to a higher number of sea turtle eggs being laid there this season, Burgess said, which can attract sharks seeking food. Warmer water temperatures—which bring with them fish and the hungry sharks that feed on them—could also be to blame, he noted. So could fishermen on piers who attract sharks with their bait; there are at least 19 piers jutting out into the sea in North Carolina.

RELATED: Stay Safe at the Beach

Still, it’s important to remember that your chance of death from a Jaws-style shark attack is extremely low—approximately 1 in 3.7 million, which is much, much smaller than your chance of getting struck by lightning (a somewhat scary 1 in 500,000 possibility).

To keep yourself safe in the water, your smartest strategy is to swim in an area with a lifeguard, who’ll have a way better vantage point from which to spot a shark than you do in the surf. (And no, you don’t have to stay on dry land if you’re having your period—there’s no evidence that menstruating makes you more prone to shark attacks—though if you’re bleeding profusely for some other reason, keeping out of the waves is a good idea.)

Finally, don’t swim near piers, especially those manned by fishermen and their shark-attracting lures. As Burgess told USA Today about the coming Fourth of July holiday: “I can almost guarantee there’ll be a bite or two this weekend.”

RELATED: 3 Things You Can Catch from a Pool

 

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Move of the Week: Squat and Overhead Press

Nobody has the time to spend hours in the gym, which is why adding compound exercises, such as the Squat and Overhead Press, to your routine is key. It combines two moves in one to up the number of muscles you’re working while cutting back on the time you spend working out. The result: double the fat-burning power. (We thought that would get your attention.) In fact, this one powerhouse move, demonstrated here by Health contributing fitness editor Kristin McGee, hits the quads, hamstrings, butt, abs, and shoulders.

RELATED: The Squat Mistake Even Fit People Make

Here’s how to do it: Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding an 8- to 10-pound dumbbell in each hand, elbows bent at sides and weights just above shoulders. Bend knees, push hips back, and lower down into a squat. As you push through your heels to rise to standing, press your arms overhead. Lower weights and repeat entire sequence. Do 3 sets of 15 reps.

Trainer tip: When you get down into that squat, pause for a moment before rising back up.

Try this move: Squat and Overhead Press

RELATED: Shape Up for Summer With This Total Body Workout

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How to Avoid July Fourth Allergy Flare-Ups

THURSDAY, July 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Fireworks, picnics and parades are favorite Fourth of July traditions for many people, but for those with allergies or asthma these activities could be uncomfortable or even dangerous.

“Summer is the time of year when everyone wants to enjoy being outside,” said allergist Dr. James Sublett, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. “That’s why it’s so important to be prepared, so allergies and asthma don’t overshadow the festivities.”

Asthma and allergy experts offer these tips for avoiding or coping with common summer triggers, particularly on the holiday weekend:

• Smoke: Fireworks and campfires are fun holiday traditions but smoke can trigger an asthma flare-up. Try to maintain a safe distance from fireworks and campfires or stand upwind. It’s also important to carry a reliever inhaler at all times.
• Chlorine: Chlorine isn’t an allergen, but it can cause allergy-like symptoms, such as itchy eyes. For people with asthma, chlorine could also cause breathing problems. If irritation develops, wash the affected area with clean water. People with a more serious reaction may need a prescription corticosteroid cream.
• Stings: Insect venom can cause serious or life-threatening reactions that require immediate medical attention. Facial swelling and trouble breathing are signs of a severe allergy that may require epinephrine (adrenaline) and evaluation by an allergist. In some cases, those with an insect allergy are treated with allergy shots.
• Temperature swings: A rise in temperature can cause an asthma attack. So can walking into a chilly, air-conditioned room or jumping into a cold swimming pool. Be aware of environmental temperatures and consider exercising indoors on particularly hot, humid days.
• Mold: Allergies to mold are common in late summer and fall. Avoid walking on or near freshly mowed grass or dry, dusty athletic fields, which could increase exposure to mold.

Anyone who experiences allergy symptoms that interfere with normal summer activities should be properly tested for allergies.

More information

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America provides more information on how to avoid allergy triggers.

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Naps May Boost Worker Productivity

THURSDAY, July 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) —
Taking a nap while on the job might help workers be more productive, new research suggests.

A University of Michigan study found power naps or extended breaks during the day could ease frustration, help offset impulsive behavior and increase workplace safety.

“Our results suggest that napping may be a beneficial intervention for individuals who may be required to remain awake for long periods of time by enhancing the ability to persevere through difficult or frustrating tasks,” study author Jennifer Goldschmied, a doctoral student in the department of psychology, said in a university news release.

A growing number of people do not get a full night’s sleep, which can take a toll on their energy level, attention span and memory, the researchers noted.

To examine how a short nap affected people’s emotions, the team gave 40 people between the ages of 18 and 50 a consistent sleep schedule. For three nights, the volunteers followed this schedule before performing various tests on computers and answering questions about sleepiness, mood and impulsivity.

The researchers then randomly assigned an hour-long nap to some participants. The rest had to watch a nature video, and were not allowed to doze off. Participants were then re-tested.

Those who napped were more patient, spending more time trying to solve a problem than those who did not get an hour of rest. Those who napped also felt less impulsive, the study published online June 29 in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found.

The researchers said their findings support previous studies, which have found that sleep deprivation makes it harder for people to control negative emotional responses.

More information

The National Sleep Foundation provides more information on the benefits of napping.

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Summer Danger: BBQ Grill Brush Wires Causing Big Health Woes

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, July 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Before you bite into that burger on Independence Day, you might want to ask the chef whether a rusty old grill brush was used to clean the barbecue.

Wire bristles from grill brushes can snap off, land on the grate and find their way into grilled meats, public health experts warn.

If ingested, these bristles can tear up a person’s throat and digestive tract, causing potentially life-threatening injuries.

“The worst are the bristles that make it all the way down to the intestines,” said Dr. David Grand, an associate professor of diagnostic imaging with the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University in Providence, R.I. “It if gets to your intestine and then perforates through the wall of your intestine, that is scary. We saw one migrate into the liver and cause a liver infection that had to be treated, and we’ve had bristles that pierced the intestines at multiple points and had to be retrieved surgically.”

Grand’s hospital saw six cases of ingested grill brush bristles between March 2011 and June 2012, according to case reports he wrote for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Three patients had wire bristles that wound up in their intestinal tract, which had to be removed through surgery or colonoscopy. The other three had bristles stuck in their neck, which were removed using a tube run down their throat.

In May, a Connecticut woman needed emergency surgery to remove a bristle from her digestive tract, CBS News reported. A stray bristle wound up in a hamburger she ate, and within a day she was in the emergency room complaining of severe abdominal pain. A CT scan revealed the wire, which was surgically removed.

About 80,000 people wind up in the ER each year after they accidentally swallow foreign objects, according to the CDC.

Wire brush bristles are part of that group, but cases are difficult to track, Grand said.

“A lot of people are asymptomatic. They swallow the bristle and it goes all the way through, and they never know what happened,” he said.

It also can be difficult for doctors to determine that a wire bristle is causing a patient’s distress. People typically show up with severe pain in their throat or their abdomen, and an ER doctor’s first thought may not be to look for a brush bristle, said Dr. Pranith Perera, an internist at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

“The tricky thing is that when people ingest these things, if you don’t have a physician who’s very savvy, they can miss it,” said Perera, who once presented a case report of wire brush bristle ingestion at an American College of Gastroenterology meeting.

And even when doctors look, they might not be able to find the bristle. “They’re very thin, and they can be easily missed on a CT scan,” Grand said.

Grand and Perera recommend that people who grill toss their wire brush in favor of a safer option. Grill-cleaning stones and bricks, bristle-free brushes made of metal coil and grill brushes with nylon bristles are all safe alternatives, they said.

People who want to stick with wire brushes should make sure their brush is in good condition, wipe down the grate with a wet paper towel after they’ve scraped it, and then inspect the grill thoroughly before cooking, Grand and Perera added.

If you experience severe abdominal pain within a day of eating grilled meat, be sure to tell your doctor, Grand added.

“People often don’t think, ‘I have abdominal pain, I should tell my doctor about the burger I had yesterday,'” he said. “Tell your doctor you were grilling.”

And there’s one more option that might not appeal to all barbecue lovers.

“You also could become a vegetarian,” Grand said. “We’ve only seen bristles lodged in meat. We haven’t found any in grilled vegetables.”

More information

Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on injuries caused by stray bristles from wire grill brushes.

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