Cassey Ho Opens Up About Her Past Eating Disorder: ‘I Thought I Had to Be Super Skinny’

Photo: Getty Images

Social media sensation Cassey Ho is known for inspiring her millions of followers with her workout videos and body positivity. But the Blogilates founder has struggled to overcome her own insecurities, a painful process that she courageously shared at VidCon last week.

“I used to have an eating disorder and a body image disorder because I thought I had to be super skinny, and super toned, and all of that kind of stuff, and compared myself with other fitness people and Instagrammers,” Ho said on a #GirlLove panel at the online video conference.

RELATED: Why Health Cover Star Cassey Ho Will Never Go On Another Diet

Ho went on to say the body-shaming comments she got on social media didn’t help, People reported. All that negativity and criticism turned into “a physical war” on her body, she said.

Earlier this year, the former Health cover star posted a video in which she opened up about a time in her life when she became obsessed with getting a six-pack and flat abs. “I was frightened of bananas, and I just didn’t want to touch a grape because I thought it would make me fat,” she said.

But after a year and a half, Ho fortunately realized she needed to make some changes. Today, she explained, exercise is no longer about weight loss. “It’s about feeling good and that high I get after the workout that motivates me to be a better businesswoman, a better person, and better instructor, ever single day.”

At VidCon, Ho left the crowd with a similarly empowering message, urging her fans to let go of the pressure to look perfect: “Your body is not what you’re about. You’re about what’s inside your body, inside your brain, your heart, your character, your talent,” she said. “Once you realize there’s so much more than your abs and your booty, then you can really thrive in life. There is so much more to life than your body.”

 

 

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Chrissy Teigen Breastfeeds Her Baby Luna in Her Latest Glam Selfie

Honestly, if you haven’t signed up for post notifications from celebrity makeup artist Patrick Ta, you are missing out in a major way. He seems to have access to all of the most major celebs in the most candid way possible. The proof? His latest upload of him helping get Chrissy Teigen glam.

And you may be thinking, what’s so special about that? First, Chrissy Teigen supplies some of the best beauty inspo ever. #HairGoals for life. Second? Well, not only is Teigen rocking a smoky eye that has us lime-green jello and having her hair preened and primped by Lauren Polko, but she also has her little bundle of joy in the frame, too. Specifically, she’s breastfeeding her 2-month-old daughter, Luna.

RELATED: The One-Year-Old’s Contouring Video Is the Only One You Need

While the topic might be controversial, Chrissy seems super comfortable with her decision of sharing breastfeeding photos on social media. ICYMI, she’s snapped quite a few pics breastfeeding on Snapchat. She now joins other celebs, like Karolina Kurkova and Gisele (remember that #multitasking pic?), who have both taken to Instagram to share breastfeeding photos.

We’re getting a little weepy thinking about this beautiful mother-daughter moment. Thank you Patrick Ta for access to all of the cute. And while you’re at it, maybe take a trip over to Chrissy Teigen’s Instagram page. The cutesy baby pictures will make you squeal.

This article originally appeared on InStyle.com/MIMI.

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Type of Disease May Dictate End-of-Life Care

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Patients who have cancer or dementia tend to receive more end-of-life care than those dying from other conditions, a new study of Veteran Affairs hospitals finds.

The study also found that fewer cancer and dementia patients died in intensive care units, because these patients had more palliative care and end-of-life planning, such as do-not-resuscitate orders, than people with other serious illnesses. Those other illnesses included end-stage kidney disease, heart failure, lung disease or frailty, researchers said.

“Historically, efforts to improve end-of-life care have focused on cancer and more recently on dementia,” said lead researcher Dr. Melissa Wachterman. She is an assistant professor of medicine at the VA Boston Healthcare System and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston.

“We really do need to expand efforts to improve care to other patients that haven’t gotten that focus,” she said.

While it seems obvious that a lot of patients with cancer are facing death, patients with other conditions such as heart, lung and kidney disease are also suffering from fatal conditions, Wachterman said.

“Most people don’t die of cancer, but the palliative care of those dying from other diseases is not as good,” she said. “But palliative care and hospice can help a lot.”

Palliative care is an approach to treatment that focuses on easing symptoms, such as pain, and improving quality of life for people with life-threatening illnesses, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It also aims to offer support to families and loved ones of the seriously ill person.

Hospice care also offers similar assistance and support for the sick person, as well as their families. But, hospice care generally begins when attempts to cure the disease stops. Palliative care, on the other hand, can be offered in conjunction with curative care, according to the NIH.

Using medical records and results from the “Bereaved Family Survey,” the researchers reviewed data from 146 hospitals in the VA health system for patients who died between 2009 and 2012.

Among nearly 58,000 patients, half of those with kidney disease, heart failure and frailty received palliative care consultations, compared with 75 percent of cancer patients and 61 percent of dementia patients.

In addition, about one-third of those with kidney failure, heart failure and frailty died in an intensive care unit. But, just 13 percent of cancer patients and 9 percent of dementia patients died in intensive care units, the study showed.

Cancer and dementia patients were also more likely to have “Do not resuscitate (DNR)” orders, which means no extraordinary measures should be taken to prolong life, such as shocking the heart when it stops beating. Around 94 percent of those with cancer and dementia had a DNR, compared to 87 percent of those with other serious illnesses who chose to have a DNR, the study revealed.

About 60 percent of families of cancer and dementia patients rated the end-of-life care as excellent. About 54 percent of families of patients with other conditions gave a similar rating, the researchers found.

Wachterman said one limitation of the study was the difficulty of defining frailty. Another is that these findings may not apply to patients being treated outside the VA system.

Outside the VA system, patients may not get their choice of whether they get end-of-life care or not. Currently, Medicare patients have to choose whether to get palliative care or continue with curative care — they can’t have both, according to Dr. F. Amos Bailey. He is a palliative care physician at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora.

“This is called the ‘terrible choice,’ ” he said. “It’s being recognized as a false dichotomy. In fact, palliative care and curative care should be integrated.”

Bailey coauthored an editorial to accompany the study findings, which were published June 26 in JAMA Internal Medicine to coincide with presentation at AcademyHealth’s annual research meeting in Boston.

“Patients should get both,” he said. “Studies show that those who do get better care are less depressed and live longer.”

Dr. Eric Widera, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, also believes end-of-life care should be offered to all patients suffering from a life-threatening condition.

“A lot of people have misconceptions about palliative care — that it’s just for people at the very end of life,” he said.

Palliative care can be for anybody who is dealing with a serious illness, he explained. And, he noted that it can benefit family members, too.

“Think about asking your doctors about getting palliative care involved earlier in the disease as an extra layer of support,” Widera suggested.

More information

For more on end of life care, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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Are Omega-3s Linked to Lower Risk for Fatal Heart Attack?

MONDAY, June 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Regularly eating fish and other foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids may lower your risk of fatal heart disease, a new research review suggests.

“Our results lend support to the importance of fish and omega-3 consumption as part of a healthy diet,” said senior study author Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, in Boston.

“At a time when some but not other trials of fish oil supplementation have shown benefits, there is uncertainty about cardiovascular effects of omega-3s,” Mozaffarian said in a university news release.

Fish are the main dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, anchovies, sardines and herring, are the richest source of these nutrients.

Walnuts, flaxseed oil, canola oil and some other seeds and nuts contain the plant-based omega-3 known as alpha-linolenic acid, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For the study, the researchers analyzed 19 studies from 16 countries that involved nearly 46,000 people. Of these people, nearly 8,000 suffered a first heart attack over time, which resulted in 2,781 deaths.

Plant-based and seafood-based omega-3s were not associated with a lower risk of non-fatal heart attacks. But they were linked with a roughly 10 percent lower risk of fatal heart attacks, although the study can’t prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

“These new results, including many studies which previously had not reported their findings, provide the most comprehensive picture to date of how omega-3s may influence heart disease,” said study leader Liana Del Gobbo, a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine. “Across these diverse studies, findings were also consistent by age, sex, race, presence or absence of diabetes, and use of aspirin or cholesterol-lowering medications.”

The study was published June 27 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

More information

The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health provides more on omega-3 fatty acids.

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Health Risks Higher for LGBT Community

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — In yet another sign that lesbian, gay and bisexual people face additional health risks, a new study finds they’re more likely to drink heavily and smoke.

Gay men and bisexuals of both genders are also more likely to report moderate-to-severe “psychological distress,” and lesbians have a higher risk of poor or fair health than other women, the researchers reported.

The study, which mirrors the findings of earlier research, doesn’t determine why gay, lesbian and bisexual people face these higher health risks.

However, the study authors suggested that discrimination causes stress and could be a contributing factor.

“Stigma and discrimination against the LGBT population can lead to lower levels of self-esteem and cause feelings of shame and rejection,” explained study author Gilbert Gonzales. He is an assistant professor with Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, in Nashville.

In the study, the researchers examined the results of the 2013 and 2014 National Health Interview Surveys. Both surveys were the first to include questions about sexual orientation. The research team focused on the survey results of 525 lesbians, 624 gay men and 515 bisexuals and compared them to those of 67,150 heterosexual people. All participants were adults.

A few of the top findings:

• Forty percent of bisexual men were considered to have moderate to severe psychological distress, compared to 25.9 percent of gay men and 16.9 percent of straight men. Forty-six percent of bisexual women had psychological distress compared to 28.4 percent of lesbians and 21.9 percent of straight women.
• “We were surprised to find that bisexual adults were so much more likely to report psychological distress compared to their gay and straight counterparts,” Gonzales said. It’s possible, he added, that they suffer from both anti-gay discrimination from the wider society and anti-bisexual discrimination within the gay community.
• There was a big gap in moderate smoking among gay men (19 percent) and straight men (13 percent). And there was a gap in moderate smoking among lesbians (20 percent) and bisexual women (22 percent), compared to straight women (11 percent). The study defined heavy smokers as those who smoked at least a pack a day and moderate smokers as those who smoked less.
• The study defined heavy drinkers as those who drank more than 14 drinks a week (men) or 7 a week (women). There was a big gap between bisexual men (11 percent were heavy drinkers) compared to straight and gay men (5 percent to 6 percent). Twelve percent of bisexual women were heavy drinkers compared to 9 percent of lesbians and 5 percent of straight women.
• Bisexual men and lesbians were most likely to report their health as poor or fair instead of excellent, very good or good.

The researchers found that gaps remained even after they adjusted their statistics so they wouldn’t be thrown off by factors like high or low numbers of survey respondents who shared factors like age, education level and ethnicity.

What’s going on?

Brian Mustanski, an associate professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago who studies LGBT issues, said stigma does indeed appear to play a role. His research has linked intense bullying of young LGBT people to higher rates of depression.

Susan Cochran, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, who studies sexual orientation and health, said the findings aren’t new. She also cautioned that a greater risk of substance abuse and health problems isn’t a guarantee that a person will suffer from them. “Being gay, lesbian or bisexual doesn’t necessarily lead to this,” she said.

In addition, factors beyond sexual orientation may play a role, she added. “For example, women who work are more likely to drink and white women are more likely to drink, but women raising small children are less likely to drink. So lesbians — who are more likely to work, be white and not raising kids — drink more,” she said.

Researchers can try to adjust their findings so they won’t be thrown off by factors like this, Cochran said. But others are impossible to capture, she added, such as differences in straight and lesbian cultures regarding the acceptability of drinking in bars.

The study was published online June 27 in Annals of Internal Medicine to coincide with its presentation at AcademyHealth’s annual research meeting, in Boston.

More information

For more about LGBT health, try healthypeople.gov.

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Even ‘Good’ Insurance Comes With Hidden Hospital Bills

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Quality private health insurance is no protection against large out-of-pocket bills following routine hospital stays, a new study warns.

“Hidden” costs of hospitalization for privately insured adults rose more than 37 percent over five years, with patients paying more than $1,000 on average by 2013, researchers found.

These hikes came in the form of deductibles, patient co-pays and so-called “co-insurances,” or percentages of final costs.

“People expect that under-insured or uninsured people will often face big hospitals bills, but a lot of people probably think that if they have high-quality insurance they’re OK,” said study author Emily Adrion.

“We found that between the co-payments that the better-insured have to make right when they walk in the door, and the deductibles they have to reach before any insurance actually kicks in, and the percentage of the cost of care that 85 percent of patients are still responsible for even after insurance kicks in, the final bill is high and getting higher,” she said.

Adrion is a research fellow with the Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy at the University of Michigan Medical School, in Ann Arbor.

For the study, investigators analyzed data from the Health Care Cost Institute concerning 7.3 million hospital medical claims filed between 2009 and 2013. This was before the Affordable Care Act took effect.

The claims were processed by one of three major health insurers who cover patients in all 50 states: Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Humana.

The team looked at expenses accrued by hospitalized adults aged 18 to 64. Billings for seven common reasons for hospitalization were also examined: heart attack, childbirth, pneumonia, appendicitis, heart bypass surgery, total knee replacement and spinal fusion.

The result: Out-of-pocket costs averaged $1,013 in 2013, up from $738 at the start of the study.

Patients with individual market plans fared the worst. They were stuck with an average bill of $1,875 per hospitalization by 2013, followed by roughly $1,200 for those with consumer-directed health plans, which generally allow use of health savings accounts, the study found.

In particular, average deductibles — what consumers pay before insurance kicks in — nearly doubled, jumping from $145 to $270.

And co-insurance ballooned 33 percent, from an average of $518 to $688.

Although the study was conducted before Obamacare, the team pointed to recent Kaiser Family Foundation figures that suggest the upward trend is continuing unabated. Today, Kaiser says 81 percent of patients with employer-based insurance will face an annual deductible approaching $1,300.

“These results are very similar to an analysis we put out a couple months ago,” said Kaiser senior vice president Larry Levitt.

“Out-of-pocket health costs are increasing rapidly for people with health insurance at the same time that wages have been stagnant,” he said. “This can be a particular challenge for low-wage workers, who often don’t have enough savings to cover a financial emergency like a major illness.”

The results illustrate the changing nature of health insurance, with the bottom-line being less generous coverage, Levitt added.

The best response, said Kevin Lucia, a senior research professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., is to arm consumers with information.

“Health insurance works for many until you actually have to use it,” Lucia said. “And that’s because there’s a very low level of health literacy among consumers, both among those who have a history of having insurance and all the new people Obamacare is bringing in.”

Insurance is a very complicated instrument, Lucia added. “But it’s very important that we provide the resources to help consumers get involved and better understand the policies they’re buying and their financial risk, so there are fewer surprises,” he said.

The findings were published online June 27 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

More information

There’s more on out-of-pocket expenses for the insured at U.S. Healthcare.gov.

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Raw chocolate mousse recipe

 

This easy and tasty this raw chocolate mousse recipe is definitely one to add to your sweet treat recipe book. 

 

 

What you'll need:

• 4 soft avocados
• 1/4 cup coconut nectar
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Method:

Blend until creamy and serve

Recipe from Phuket Cleanse

Browse more recipes in our healthy eating section.

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Those Baby ‘Milestones’ May Have Longer-Term Importance

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Babies who learn to stand up relatively early may also do a bit better with attention, memory and learning by the time they are preschoolers, a new study suggests.

Experts have known that significant delays in reaching movement “milestones” — such as crawling, standing and walking — are a sign that a baby may go on to have developmental disabilities.

But the new study found a pattern even among babies who hit those milestones within the “normal” time frame. Those who reached certain milestones sooner tended to have higher scores on some developmental measures by the time they were 4 years old.

Specifically, babies who learned to stand with assistance relatively early had higher scores on tests of “cognition” at age 4. That refers to a young child’s ability to pay attention, learn and remember.

Preschoolers who’d hit the standing milestone sooner also tended to score higher on “adaptive” skills — such as using utensils and helping to dress themselves.

Although this research couldn’t definitively prove cause-and-effect, the researchers wrote, “This study provides evidence that the age of achieving motor milestones may be an important basis for various aspects of later child development.”

The research team — led by Edwina Yeung, of the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development — also noted that past studies have found a connection between age at standing and IQ in adolescence, as well as mental skills in adulthood.

Still, a pediatrician who reviewed the study cautioned against making too much of the findings.

“Every child is different, and we can’t put them in a box,” said Dr. Gloria Riefkohl, a pediatrician at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, in Miami.

The fact that one baby stands a little later than her peers doesn’t automatically mean there’s a problem, Riefkohl said. By the same token, she noted, early standing doesn’t mean a baby will cruise through childhood with no developmental issues.

Riefkohl also pointed out that “gross motor” skills — crawling, standing, walking — are only one facet of early childhood development. There’s also language and social development, for instance.

The current study found no connection between movement milestones and a child’s communication or social skills at the age of 4.

The findings are based on 599 children whose mothers kept journals to record their milestone achievement. On average, the babies learned to crawl and stand with assistance at around 9 months of age; they were able to stand on their own at 11 months, and walk on their own at 13 months — again, on average.

In general, Yeung’s team found, babies who stood with assistance relatively earlier did a bit better on cognitive and adaptive-skills tests at age 4.

And when the researchers focused only on children with no developmental disabilities, early crawlers also tended to do better on the developmental tests.

Those connections were, however, only seen among single-birth babies — not twins. According to Yeung’s team, that may be because twins are often born preterm and underweight. Those are key factors in a child’s development, and might “overshadow” any link between movement milestones and overall development.

The researchers speculated on some reasons for their findings. For example, there is evidence that some of the same brain structures that underlie movement skills also play a role in thinking, memory and learning.

But it’s not clear why some milestones — such as walking — were unrelated to a child’s later development.

According to Riefkohl, the bottom line for parents is this: Take your baby to the pediatrician for routine well-child visits, and bring up any concerns you have about “late” development.

If there is an issue, Riefkohl said, your doctor can refer you to any special services that might be needed — such as speech or movement therapy.

But she also cautioned against comparing your baby to another, including siblings. “Not every child is going to have 200 words at the age of 2,” Riefkohl said. “No child is exactly like any other.”

The study was published online June 27 in Pediatrics.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on infant milestones.

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Looks-Conscious Teens Trying Risky Supplements

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Many teens are turning to risky, unregulated supplements to boost their looks, warns a leading group of U.S. pediatricians.

These products — including protein powders, steroids and diet pills — are often useless at best, toxic at worst, said the American Academy of Pediatrics in a new report.

“Doctors think of performance-enhancing substance use as an athlete problem, but many non-athletes are using these substances for appearance enhancement,” said Dr. Michele LaBotz, a report co-author.

Boys go for protein supplements, caffeine, steroids and creatine, which revs up energy in cells. Nonprescription weight-loss supplements are popular among girls, the researchers reported.

Over-the-counter supplements, which were deregulated in 1994, are the substances used most often by teens, LaBotz said. Studies have shown many are contaminated with toxic heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, or steroids and stimulants like amphetamines, she added.

The report urges doctors to educate parents and teens about the dangers of these supplements and discourage their use.

“Substances spiked with stimulants put you at higher risk for cardiovascular problems,” said LaBotz, a sports medicine physician from South Portland, Maine. “If you are one of the many teens already on stimulants for ADHD, you’re compounding the risk of heart problems.”

Steroids are obviously dangerous, too, LaBotz added. “A lot of the effects of steroids are irreversible, including stunted growth and the growth of male breasts — gynecomastia. These don’t go away when you stop putting steroids in your body,” she noted.

In addition, steroids can cause severe acne, and suddenly stopping them can result in depression and heightened risk of suicide, she said.

There are other concerns about supplements. Many studies have found performance-enhancing supplements are a gateway to using drugs and alcohol and participating in other risky behaviors, LaBotz said.

Based on U.S. surveys of eighth- through 12th-grade students, 5 percent to 7 percent of teen boys use steroids, as many as one in five use creatine, and 20 percent take protein supplements, LaBotz said. Many kids using protein supplements aren’t playing sports, the report said.

For most teens, these supplements build no more muscle than what naturally occurs with puberty and a good diet and exercise program, LaBotz said.

Much of the supplement use is driven by the supplement industry and popular culture, LaBotz said. Fitness and health magazines that promote bodybuilding attract teens at risk for using performance-enhancing substances, she said.

One physician faults the culture that promotes a muscled and trim appearance as desirable.

“As long as top athletes make use of such substances, they will propagate the inclination in young people looking on,” said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center at Yale University, and president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

Professional athletes may not have signed up to be role models, but that comes with the power of success and celebrity, he said.

“Professional sports and society at large should do everything possible to ensure that these ambassadors of peak human performance model only healthy, legitimate means to those ends,” Katz said.

These substances lead to health risks more often than they offer any meaningful performance or appearance enhancement, he added.

The pediatricians’ group hopes the report will spur discussions about the harms of supplement use. “Often, doctors avoid talking about supplements with kids because it’s something they don’t know a lot about,” LaBotz said.

Parents have a role to play too, she said. “They have a lot of influence and they should know what their teens are taking and should discourage the use of these supplements,” she said.

The report was published online June 27 in the journal Pediatrics.

More information

For more on dietary supplements, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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Healthy carrot cake recipe

 

Try this delicious carrot cake recipe from SHA Wellness Clinic for a treat.

 

What you'll need:

• 1 cup wholewheat pastry flour 
• 1 cup chestnut flour 
• 1 tbsp baking powder 
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg 
• 1/2 tsp all-spice
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil 
• 2/3 cup maple syrup 
• 2/3 cup soy milk 
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 2 cups grated carrot 
• 1/2 cup pineapple, crushed 

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 180° C.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt into a bowl.

Mix oil, maple syrup, soy milk, and vanilla extract in a bowl with a whisk.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients to form a batter.

Add the walnuts, carrots and pineapple and mix gently.

Pour the batter into 2 oiled cake tins and bake for 25–30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Garnish with grated carrot.

Feeding for something chocolatey? Try thise chocolate cloud cake today.

 

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