5 Foundation Hacks to Prevent Winter Skin Woes

Photo: Getty Images

Wintertime brings hot cocoa, pom pom hats, and cozy sweaters … as well as sharp winds, freezing temps, and overheated office spaces. This can mean dry, flaky skin—not cute. The good news? A change as simple as switching up your foundation to a cold weather-friendly formula can help keep flakes at bay and leave you with a hydrated, glow-y complexion.

RELATED: 10 Surprising Beauty Uses for Coconut Oil

1. Go for a darker shade

Typically, skin gets paler in the winter (it’s not rocket science), which may lead you to pick a lighter foundation shade. But instead of matching your skin, try a formula that’s half a shade darker to bring some warmth to your face. (We won’t tell if you don’t!)

2. Look for a creamy consistency

A formula that glides on easily will help even out skin tone. It’s important to find one that’s light and moisturizing, so it won’t cake in fine lines. We like Sephora Collection Teint Infusion Ethereal Natural Finish Foundation ($24; sephora.com). It has an eye-dropper applicator that picks up just enough product for each use. And thanks to flower extracts, it also works to help reduce the appearance of fine lines over time.

RELATED: 8 Steps to Younger-Looking Skin

3. Keep skin hydrated

You’ve heard it time and time again, but it’s true: A flawless complexion needs water. In addition to drinking plenty of H20 each day, try switching to a hydrating foundation such as Too Cool For School Aqua Serum Cover BB Dinoplatz La Ola ($49; sephora.com). This BB foundation compact is named “La Ola” after the Spanish word for “waves” because of the water particles in the foundation. They burst on contact with skin to hydrate and add a cooling sensation, making this formula ideal for calming skin before you go out into the winter air. Bonus: There’s an additional compartment that contains highlighter, concealer, and blush for easy on-the-go application.

4. If you have oily skin, opt for a mineral formula

Women with oily skin tend to steer clear of liquid foundations in fear of making their complexions greasy. The solution? Mineral-based foundations go on with ease like a liquid, but dry like a powder—keeping skin hydrated but not oily. We like Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation ($62; sephora.com). It’s formulated with moisturizing botanicals that plump skin and give you a youthful glow.

RELATED: 20 Things That Can Ruin Your Smile

5. Don’t forget the SPF

Yes it’s winter, but the sun can still cause damage. If you have trouble remembering to wear sunscreen through the colder months, you might want to consider a foundation or tinted moisturizer with SPF. Try L’Oreal Paris True Match Super Blendable Makeup SPF 17 ($12; drugstore.com). It’s lightweight, melts flawlessly into skin, and helps hide imperfections while giving the appearance of naturally gorgeous skin.

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Genetically Modified Monkeys Might Aid Autism Research

By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Jan. 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Chinese scientists report they’ve created monkeys that carry a gene linked to autism-like behaviors.

The altered monkeys also produced offspring that inherited the human gene, according to research published online Jan. 25 in the journal Nature.

The so-called “transgenic” monkeys provide a “very unique model for studying human autism,” study co-author Zilong Qiu, of the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy of Science in Shanghai, told reporters at a news briefing to announce the findings.

Currently, gene-altered mice are widely used to model human genetic conditions, but scientists cite obvious limitations.

The question is “whether we can mimic the complicated symptoms” of human autism patients in a mouse, explained Qiu.

The hope is that developing better animal models — such as monkeys — may lead to important new autism therapies for people.

“This takes us one step closer to having better tools to understand the biological and genetic underpinnings of the signs and symptoms of autism,” said Daniel Smith, vice president of innovative technologies at Autism Speaks, in Boston.

“But, it’s still a tool on that long road to discovering new medicines and interventions,” he added.

One in 160 children globally has autism spectrum disorder, a cluster of complex brain-development disorders in which symptoms include repetitive movements and problems with social interaction. As many as one in 68 children in the United States is believed to be on the autism spectrum, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To find a better animal model of autism, Chinese researchers generated monkeys that “overexpress” the human gene, known as MECP2. In humans, having too much MECP2 leads to a condition called MECP2 duplication syndrome, which shares core symptoms with autism spectrum disorder.

The research team injected macaque monkey eggs with a virus carrying MECP2. Once fertilized, the resulting embryos were transferred to surrogate monkeys, yielding eight live births. All of the monkeys carried the human gene.

While the monkeys’ mental abilities appeared largely normal, their behaviors did not. Normally, monkeys sit together and groom each other, but the transgenic monkeys in the study were less socially engaged. They also moved about more frequently in repetitive, circular motions. And, they exhibited increased levels of anxiety when faced by a human, as if they were “trying to defend their territory more,” Qiu said.

The researchers also showed that the gene could be passed along to the next generation, a step toward creating colonies of transgenic monkeys for research. Five offspring of one of the genetically altered male monkeys carried the human gene, and those baby monkeys were less social than wild monkeys of a similar age, the study authors said.

MECP2 could be useful in illuminating brain pathways that impact autism patients’ intellectual and cognitive (mental) function, “but it’s not perfect, either,” Smith said. For example, the gene-altered monkeys did not have seizures, a key feature of MECP2 duplication syndrome, he said.

People with autism have a higher-than-average risk of epilepsy, according to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Currently, Qiu said, the Chinese team is using brain imaging to try to identify the brain circuits responsible for the autism-like behavior. Once the target areas are identified, the researchers intend to use a powerful new gene-editing tool, called CRISPR/Cas9, to manipulate the gene and explore potential therapies.

Maintaining monkeys for research is more expensive than housing and feeding rodents, Mu-ming Poo, director of the Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai, acknowledged during the news briefing. He added that estimates of the costs of using the monkeys are not yet available.

U.S. labs using non-human primates are the exception, not the rule, experts said.

“It’s so expensive here, so I think it’s very tough to do this,” said Rudolf Jaenisch, a founding member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, in Cambridge, Mass. Jaenisch is a pioneer in the field of transgenic science, in which researchers alter the genetic makeup of animals.

Primate models, being more human-like than mice, also raise ethical questions.

Poo said the use and care of animals met the Shanghai-based Institute of Neuroscience protocols, which “are exactly the same as an NIH [U.S. National Institutes of Health] protocol.”

Asked for comment on the paper, the NIH said in a statement that it “has supported the development of transgenic non-human primates as early as 2001.”

More information

Visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health for more on autism spectrum disorders.

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Rate of Severe Stomach Birth Defect Increased Over Two Decades: CDC

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A birth defect involving the stomach called gastroschisis has been increasing among U.S. infants for decades, and more than doubled among young, black mothers over an 18-year period, federal health officials report.

Babies with gastroschisis have a hole in the stomach wall at birth through which the intestines, and sometimes other organs such as the liver, protrude. The condition requires immediate surgery. Most babies do well after the operation, experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

“We don’t know why gastroschisis is increasing,” said Suzanne Gilboa, team leader and an epidemiologist in the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

Despite the increase, the disorder is still rare. About 2,000 babies in the United States are born each year with gastroschisis, the CDC said.

What causes the condition isn’t known, Gilboa said. However, some possible risk factors have been identified. These include smoking, illegal drug use, alcohol use, and being underweight before getting pregnant. “But we don’t know if these are the explanation for what we are seeing,” Gilboa said.

The report was published in the Jan. 22 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

“The concerning part of this is the inexorable rise in gastroschisis going back to the 1970s,” said Dr. Edward McCabe, senior vice president and chief medical officer at the March of Dimes.

More research is needed, he said. “When you see something rising as fast as this is in all population groups, and in all ages, it tells you something serious is going on. We need to try and figure out what it is so we can prevent the rise,” McCabe said.

Surgery returns the protruding organs into the baby’s body and seals the stomach wall. Even after surgery, however, babies can have problems eating or digesting food. In some cases, the condition can be life-threatening, Gilboa said.

Gastroschisis is a surgical emergency, McCabe said. “Babies still die from infection after surgery,” he added.

For the study, CDC researchers collected data from 14 states. They compared the prevalence of gastroschisis among babies born to mothers of different ages from 1995 to 2005 with those born between 2006 and 2012.

Gastroschisis was most common among mothers younger than 20 and in babies born to young black women, the report found. From 1995 to 2012, a 263 percent increase in gastroschisis occurred among babies born to black mothers 20 or younger, the research showed.

The increase in gastroschisis among teen mothers is not due to an increase in the number of births in teen mothers. Teen births actually declined over the same period, the report said. Between 1995 and 2012, the incidence of gastroschisis increased among mothers of all ages and racial and ethnic groups.

Gilboa said more research is needed “to figure out why this increase is happening. Planning and preparing for pregnancy is really important — things like having a healthy diet and weight, and not smoking or drinking, avoiding drug use and sexually transmitted diseases are all really important.”

McCabe agreed. “Women need good preconception and prenatal care, especially if these lifestyle issues are involved,” he said. “Women need to plan their pregnancy and go into it in the best condition they can.”

More information

For more about gastroschisis, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Cystic Fibrosis Drug Seems OK for Preschoolers: Study

MONDAY, Jan. 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — The cystic fibrosis drug ivacaftor appears safe and effective for young children, a drug company-funded study suggests.

“This was a small trial, but we are thrilled to see these results,” said study leader Jane Davies, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London in England. “Ivacaftor is a potential new treatment to offer children aged 2 years and older with cystic fibrosis and a [specific gene mutation linked to the disease]. This novel therapy could substantially impact these children’s lives, potentially opening the way to even greater progress in years to come.”

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease that destroys the lungs and digestive system. More than 70,000 people worldwide have cystic fibrosis, the researchers said.

One expert explained that ivacaftor has been considered a big advance in the treatment of the disease.

“Ivacaftor, approved in 2012, was the first groundbreaking drug of its kind in that it works to correct the genetic defect in cystic fibrosis patients,” explained Dr. Joan Decelie-Germana, director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

“For many older patients who have been taking it since 2012, they report feeling ‘normal,’ have no daily symptoms and lung function has stabilized or improved — it has been a ‘game changer,’ ” she said.

Prior studies found that ivacaftor was safe and effective in children 6 and older, as well as in teens and adults, the researchers said. However, this is the first study to assess the pill’s effects in younger children, they added.

The clinical trial included 34 cystic fibrosis patients between the ages of 2 and 5. All of the youngsters had at least one copy of a mutation in a gene linked to cystic fibrosis called the CFTR gene. For six months, they took two daily doses — 50 milligrams (mg) for children who weighed less than 14 kilograms (31 pounds) and 75 mg for those who weighed more.

The children showed improvement in several areas, including weight gain, pancreatic function and sweat chloride levels, which suggests an improvement in the body’s ability to restore the balance of salt in and out of cells. When this process is defective, it leads to cystic fibrosis complications, the researchers said.

The drug was generally well-tolerated by the children, the study showed. The most common problems were coughing and vomiting. Five children had liver function abnormalities, leading one to stop treatment, the researchers said.

Funding for the study was provided by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., maker of ivacaftor. The findings were published Jan. 20 in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

The study is “groundbreaking for cystic fibrosis care in children aged 2 to 5 years,” wrote the authors of an accompanying editorial who are from University Children’s Hospital Bern and University Children’s Hospital Zurich, in Switzerland.

“Targeted treatment of this basic defect has potential for both prevention of damage and functional improvement of affected organs,” they wrote. But, many unknowns remain, they added, such as the earliest age the drug can safely be used.

Decelie-Germana agreed that the results of the new study are largely positive.

“Longer term studies and increased number of patients are needed, but these are very promising results,” she said.

Although levels of certain liver enzymes did seem to rise in a small percentage of children taking ivacaftor, this side effect was reversible, Decelie-Germana said.

The new study “offers hope that in the youngest CF patients in whom we are trying to establish good nutrition we may then have improved health longer term,” she said. “Good nutrition is associated with slower progression of the lung disease.”

More information

The American Lung Association has more about cystic fibrosis.

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Cystic Fibrosis Drug Seems OK for Preschoolers: Study

MONDAY, Jan. 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — The cystic fibrosis drug ivacaftor appears safe and effective for young children, a drug company-funded study suggests.

“This was a small trial, but we are thrilled to see these results,” said study leader Jane Davies, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London in England. “Ivacaftor is a potential new treatment to offer children aged 2 years and older with cystic fibrosis and a [specific gene mutation linked to the disease]. This novel therapy could substantially impact these children’s lives, potentially opening the way to even greater progress in years to come.”

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease that destroys the lungs and digestive system. More than 70,000 people worldwide have cystic fibrosis, the researchers said.

One expert explained that ivacaftor has been considered a big advance in the treatment of the disease.

“Ivacaftor, approved in 2012, was the first groundbreaking drug of its kind in that it works to correct the genetic defect in cystic fibrosis patients,” explained Dr. Joan Decelie-Germana, director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

“For many older patients who have been taking it since 2012, they report feeling ‘normal,’ have no daily symptoms and lung function has stabilized or improved — it has been a ‘game changer,’ ” she said.

Prior studies found that ivacaftor was safe and effective in children 6 and older, as well as in teens and adults, the researchers said. However, this is the first study to assess the pill’s effects in younger children, they added.

The clinical trial included 34 cystic fibrosis patients between the ages of 2 and 5. All of the youngsters had at least one copy of a mutation in a gene linked to cystic fibrosis called the CFTR gene. For six months, they took two daily doses — 50 milligrams (mg) for children who weighed less than 14 kilograms (31 pounds) and 75 mg for those who weighed more.

The children showed improvement in several areas, including weight gain, pancreatic function and sweat chloride levels, which suggests an improvement in the body’s ability to restore the balance of salt in and out of cells. When this process is defective, it leads to cystic fibrosis complications, the researchers said.

The drug was generally well-tolerated by the children, the study showed. The most common problems were coughing and vomiting. Five children had liver function abnormalities, leading one to stop treatment, the researchers said.

Funding for the study was provided by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., maker of ivacaftor. The findings were published Jan. 20 in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

The study is “groundbreaking for cystic fibrosis care in children aged 2 to 5 years,” wrote the authors of an accompanying editorial who are from University Children’s Hospital Bern and University Children’s Hospital Zurich, in Switzerland.

“Targeted treatment of this basic defect has potential for both prevention of damage and functional improvement of affected organs,” they wrote. But, many unknowns remain, they added, such as the earliest age the drug can safely be used.

Decelie-Germana agreed that the results of the new study are largely positive.

“Longer term studies and increased number of patients are needed, but these are very promising results,” she said.

Although levels of certain liver enzymes did seem to rise in a small percentage of children taking ivacaftor, this side effect was reversible, Decelie-Germana said.

The new study “offers hope that in the youngest CF patients in whom we are trying to establish good nutrition we may then have improved health longer term,” she said. “Good nutrition is associated with slower progression of the lung disease.”

More information

The American Lung Association has more about cystic fibrosis.

---

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Free Nicotine Patches by Mail May Help Smokers Quit

MONDAY, Jan. 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Helping smokers quit may be as easy as mailing them free nicotine-replacement patches, even in the absence of counseling or other support, a new Canadian study shows.

The finding didn’t surprise one expert in lung health, Dr. Len Horovitz.

“Sometimes smokers simply need access to help and a jumpstart,” said Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

In the study, a team led by John Cunningham at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto randomly sent nicotine-replacement patches to smokers who had said they were interested in quitting.

The researchers mailed a five-week course of nicotine patches to 500 people free of charge. The smokers were not offered any behavioral assistance — for example, counseling — to enhance their quitting efforts. The smokers averaged 48 years of age.

The participants’ self-reported 30-day abstinence from smoking after six months was more than twice as high as that of 499 similar smokers who had not received the free nicotine patches, the study found.

To help make sure the participants were being truthful about quitting, about half returned usable saliva samples, which enabled the researchers to confirm abstinence at six months.

Quit rates were still low, but were higher in people who’d gotten the free patches, Cunningham’s team reported.

Overall, 2.8 percent of the smokers who received the patches had not smoked for the past six months (based on the saliva test), compared to 1 percent of those who didn’t have the therapy.

Dr. Patricia Folan directs the Center for Tobacco Control at Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y. She said that a smoker’s decision to try and quit is a crucial first step.

“Both groups in this study, whether they received patches or not, were interested in quitting,” she said. “Perhaps the receipt of the free patches was the added incentive needed to actually make the attempt and succeed. The patches may have tipped the scales in favor of trying to quit at a time of great readiness for these smokers.”

Most smokers do want to rid themselves of the cancer-causing habit, Folan added.

“Seventy percent of smokers say they want to quit, but not all are willing to seek out coaching/counseling or have access to such help,” she explained. “Providing patches via mail may be an alternative method of quitting for some highly motivated smokers, ready to quit.”

The study was published Jan. 25 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Cunningham’s team cautioned, however, that because it had recruited participants by dialing random phone numbers, the findings don’t yet make a case for the effectiveness of mass distribution of patches.

“However, the results of the trial provide general support for direct-to-smoker programs with free mailed nicotine patches,” the researchers wrote.

More information

The American Cancer Society provides more information on nicotine replacement therapy.

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Chickenpox, Shingles Vaccines Linked to Rare Eye Inflammation

MONDAY, Jan. 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — The vaccine for chickenpox and shingles has been linked to inflammation of the eye’s cornea, but the number of such cases is small, a new study says.

“Keratitis, or inflammation of the clear layer on the front of the eye, is a vision issue that can cause serious complications or even permanent damage to your vision if left untreated,” Dr. Frederick Fraunfelder, chair of the ophthalmology department and director of the University of Missouri Eye Institute, said in a university news release.

Researchers found 20 cases of keratitis in children and adults that occurred within a month of receiving a chickenpox or shingles vaccine. Symptoms of the disorder developed within 24 days of vaccination among adults. In children, symptoms began within 14 days of vaccination, the researchers said.

The researchers said there is a probable relationship between the vaccine and the eye inflammation. However, the new study wasn’t designed to prove that the vaccine actually caused the condition.

Despite the findings, most people should still get the chickenpox and shingles vaccine, the researchers said.

“While this is a rare occurrence, it’s important for physicians to know when giving the vaccine to individuals who have a history of the condition because it could be reactivated by the vaccine,” he said.

Anyone with a past history of keratitis should be closely monitored after they get a chickenpox or shingles vaccine to be sure they don’t have any inflammation of the cornea or additional scarring, Fraunfelder advised.

The study was presented recently at the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Las Vegas. Findings presented at meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about shingles vaccination.

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Preventable Ills Cause Nearly 8 Million Childhood Deaths Globally

MONDAY, Jan. 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Most of the nearly 8 million deaths of children and teens around the world in 2013 were avoidable, a new report says.

More than 6 million children younger than 5 lost their lives because of treatable conditions like malaria, diarrhea and respiratory tract infections, according to pediatric researchers who’ve analyzed results of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.

“The vast majority of deaths in children and adolescents are preventable,” said the authors from the Global Burden of Disease Pediatrics Collaboration. “Proven interventions exist to prevent diarrheal and respiratory diseases, neonatal conditions, iron deficiency anemia and road injuries, which result in some of the highest burdens of unnecessary death and disability among children and adolescents.”

For the study, the researchers from around the world used data from a variety of sources to target fatal and nonfatal diseases and injuries among children and teens in 188 countries.

The report revealed some sobering statistics for 2013, including:

• Respiratory infections, preterm birth complications, malaria, diarrhea and a neurological disorder in infants called neonatal encephalopathy were the leading causes of death among children younger than 5.
• Kids aged 5 to 9 accounted for 500,000 deaths. Diarrhea was the most common cause of death in this age range, followed by lower respiratory tract infections, road injuries, malaria and intestinal infectious diseases such as typhoid.
• Nearly 1 million deaths involved children aged 10 to 19. More than one-third of these deaths involved road injuries, HIV/AIDS, self-harm, drowning and intestinal infectious diseases.
• Half of the diarrhea deaths around the world occurred in five countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
• Anemia — marked by an abnormally low red blood cell count — was the leading cause of long-term disability among children and teens, affecting 619 million young people.

The report was published online Jan. 25 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The report “represents an important contribution to the field of global health and provides troubling evidence of the diverging trends in child health and well-being,” Dr. Paul Wise and Dr. Gary Darmstadt, both of Stanford University, wrote in an accompanying journal editorial.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more statistics on children’s health.

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Zika Virus Expected to Spread North Through U.S.: WHO

MONDAY, Jan. 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has harmed thousands of babies born in Brazil, will likely spread to all but two countries in North, Central and South America, the World Health Organization warns.

Transmission is probable because the Aedes mosquitoes, which spread the virus, populate the entire region except for Canada and continental Chile. Also, the “population of the Americas had not previously been exposed to Zika and therefore lacks immunity,” according to a WHO statement released Sunday.

Meanwhile, organizers of the Summer Olympics 2016 in Brazil said they’ll be on high alert to prevent Zika transmission.

According to the Associated Press, the committee plans daily inspections of the Olympic and Paralympic sites to seek out stagnant waters where Zika-spreading mosquitoes could breed. The games are scheduled for Aug. 5-21.

“Rio 2016 will continue to monitor the issue closely and follow guidance from the Brazilian Ministry of Health,” the committee said in a statement.

Since last May, 21 countries and territories in the Americas have reported cases of Zika, which is linked to a brain disorder called microcephaly. Babies with the condition have abnormally small heads, resulting in developmental issues and, in some cases, death.

Preventing mosquitoes from breeding, and protecting yourself from mosquito bites, is the best protection, the WHO said.

The situation has led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand a recent travel advisory. Pregnant women are warned to avoid trips to Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Martin, Suriname, Samoa, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. The agency also recommended screening for women who have recently traveled to these places while pregnant.

The CDC has also said that cases of the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome have been reported in patients with probable Zika virus infection in Brazil and French Polynesia, although more study is needed to confirm the link.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) — the largest organization representing obstetricians and gynecologists in the United States — said last week that it supports the guidelines aimed at shielding pregnant women from the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

According to a statement, ACOG is urging pregnant women and those planning a pregnancy to follow Zika virus travel and health guidelines recently issued by the CDC.

“Travel to regions with ongoing Zika virus outbreaks is not recommended for women who are pregnant or women who are considering pregnancy,” ACOG President Dr. Mark DeFrancesco said in the statement.

The CDC said doctors should ask all pregnant patients about recent travel and specific symptoms, such as a sudden fever or rash. If Zika virus infection is possible, doctors should have the patient tested for the virus.

If tests reveal signs of infection, ultrasounds should be considered to monitor the fetus’ development, and referral to a maternal-fetal medicine or infectious disease specialist with expertise in pregnancy management is also recommended, the CDC advised.

There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, and symptoms are usually mild in healthy adults.

According to ACOG’s DeFrancesco, “there is much that we do not yet know about the Zika virus and its effects during pregnancy, for example, whether pregnant women are of greater risk of infection than non-pregnant individuals. However, because of the associated risk of microcephaly, avoiding exposure to the virus is best. That’s why pregnant women and women who are considering pregnancy should delay planned travel to areas where Zika virus outbreaks are ongoing.”

Because there is no treatment for Zika virus at this time, “women should be counseled about all options available to them,” he said. “When possible, delivery at a center with the appropriate levels of neonatal expertise may be warranted,” he suggested.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about the Zika virus.

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The 5-Minute Ab Workout to Strengthen Your Core

Photo: Daily Burn

Got five minutes? That’s all the time you need to work your core, thanks to this quick 5-minute ab workout from Daily Burn trainer Anja Garcia. Whether you’re tacking it on to the end of your cardio session, or simply squeezing in five minutes of fitness before you start your day, we promise you’ll feel the burn. “If things start to shake, things are working,” Garcia says.

RELATED: Daily Burn 365: New Workouts, 7 Days a Week

Perform each move for 50 seconds, with 10 seconds of rest in between. You’ll be done before you know it.

The 5-Minute Ab Workout You Won’t Get Sick Of

1.Standing Cross Crunch
How to: Stand straight, arms behind your head. Perform a standing crunch, bringing your opposite elbow to opposite knee. “You may feel like you’re getting off balance, but that’s part of the drill here,” Garcia says. With each crunch, try to drive your knee so it’s at a 90-degree angle.

RELATED: Pulse, Plank, Plié: The Barre Workout You Can Do at Home

2. Beast Crunch
How to: Get down on the floor, positioned on your hands and knees. Lift your knees a few inches off the ground. Twist your torso side to side, bringing your right glute towards the ground (but not touching!), then your left. Need a challenge? Pick up your right hand, and bring your left knee in to touch your right elbow — and repeat on the opposite side. “You’ll feel that right into those obliques — those are the side abs,” Garcia says. “I really like this movement because we’re not on our back, but everything is working from the front of our core to the backside.”

3. Side Plank
How to: Lie on your right side, propped up on your right elbow, right knee on the ground, left arm straight up in the air. Reach your right arm down, threading it under your torso, then bring it straight up into the air again. Then, lift your left leg up, bending at the knee, as you bring your left arm down, touching knee to elbow. For an extra challenge, lift your bottom knee off the ground to come into full plank. Repeat for 25 seconds on each side.

RELATED: Tone Your Thighs: 3 Moves for Awesome Legs

4. Plank Walks
How to: Sit on your butt, legs out in front of you. Plant your hands on the ground just behind your butt, fingers pointing towards your toes. Lift your butt off the ground, keeping your legs straight. Hold there, or for an extra challenge, bring alternating knees towards your chest. “Now remember that your core involves your back as well as the front side, which is why this move is so important,” Garcia says. Keep your hips lifted as you go; they might start to drop as you get tired.

RELATED: Burn Fat, Build Muscle: 3 Killer Circuit Training Workouts

5. Tick Tocks
How to: Stand up, feet positioned wider than your hips, toes pointed out. Put your hands behind your head and get into a squat position. Then, keeping your torso upright, reach your elbows side-to-side, bringing your right elbow to your right knee, and left elbow to your left knee. Keep your belly button tucked up and in. “Pretend that there’s a wall in front of you, so you’re not starting to hunch forward,” Garcia says.

Want more no-equipment exercises like these? Head to DailyBurn.com/365 to get new live workouts, daily.

Life by Daily Burn is dedicated to helping you live a healthier, happier and more active lifestyle. Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain strength or de-stress, a better you is well within reach. Get more health and fitness tips at Life by Daily Burn.

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