Kate Hudson Spills What She Does in the Gym to Get That Bod

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In her new lifestyle book, Pretty Happy: Healthy Ways to Love Your Body ($18, amazon.com), Kate Hudson shares her best wellness secrets. One nugget we couldn’t resist: What exactly she does at the gym to stay so incredibly fit. In this excerpt, Hudson, 36, explains her go-to routines for the days when she has plenty of time to work out, and the days when she’s only got 15 minutes.

RELATED: Kate Hudson’s Workout Secrets for Sculpted Abs

My approach to how I exercise is based on combining three forms of movement: cardio, strengthening, and toning or lengthening my muscles. I wish I could work out every day, but I don’t. I try for four days a week, but some weeks it’s only three days—I just don’t have the time. But the reason this minimal approach works for me is that I figured out how to push my body just enough, change up the actual exercises so my body doesn’t plateau, and alternate the types of exercise to maximize their effect. I know that probably sounds like a giant cliché, but I do think if you pay attention to what your body needs in three ways—aerobic fitness (through cardio exercises), strengthening (through weighted exercises), and toning (through stretching/sculpting/lengthening of the muscles)—you, too, can figure out some shortcuts to the body that you want, with minimal time commitment.

Ideally, what you’re aiming for in any given week is this:

1. Work out four or five days a week for 30 to 60 minutes.
2. Alternate cardio, strength, and stretch/tone/sculpt (this means alternating within one workout or over consecutive days).

Realistically, what will keep you in shape is this:

1. Once or twice a week, go for a long, strenuous workout that includes 20 to 30 minutes cardio, 20 to 30 minutes strengthening, and 20 to 30 minutes stretch/tone/sculpt.
2. On two other days, do 15 minutes of either cardio, strength, or stretch/tone/sculpt.

Because it feels like I don’t have enough time, I’ve become efficient at putting together some go-to routines—just like I do with my meal prep. Some days, I go to a Spin class—an intense 45-to 60-minute cardio workout to music. Other days, I go to a dance studio and do 2 to 3 hours of advanced jazz-modern, which hits all three of my goals—cardio, strengthening, and toning. And one of my all-time favorite workout classes is pole dancing. This is an intense, full-body workout that is so fun and fabulous—I recommend it to anyone with the guts to try it! Grab a friend or two and do it together—trust me, you’ll laugh, move, and connect with that inner sexy diva who’s dying to come out of her shell!

Twice a week, I try to do a long workout; a typical one includes:

• 30 minutes of dance cardio
• 30 minutes of butt and core
• 10 minutes of arm exercises (which typically means arm “shapeners” using low weights—I love Tracy Anderson’s Method).
• A few short workouts (20 to 30 minutes) I do to a song or two: First half of the song, I do tricep push-ups on my knees (resting in child’s pose when I need to). Second half of song, I do wide arm push-ups on my knees.

Exercise really comes down to moving in a way that makes you feel good. I love music and dancing—that’s my thing. You might love a short run or a walk around the block chatting with your girlfriends. Whatever works for you is what’s best. But remember two really important points: 1) food is more important than you think; the more clean you eat, the more effective even short workouts will be; and 2) you absolutely need to switch up what you do for exercise so you don’t get bored. Trust me on that one.

RELATED: The Kitchen Ingredient Kate Hudson Uses on Her Skin

From the book PRETTY HAPPY: Healthy Ways to Love Your Body by Kate Hudson. Copyright (c) 2016 by Kate Hudson. Dey Street Books/HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission.

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Pregnancy May Ease PTSD for Some Women, Study Finds

TUESDAY, Feb. 16, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Being pregnant may decrease symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in some women, new research suggests.

PTSD can be caused by a traumatic event such as combat, traffic crashes, robbery, sexual assault, childhood or domestic abuse, natural disasters and house fires.

The new study included 319 pregnant women with the stress disorder. Those with high levels of PTSD in early pregnancy saw symptoms decrease as they got closer to giving birth, the findings showed.

Among women with low levels of symptoms, there was little change early on, the investigators found. But PTSD symptoms worsened in about one in four of these women as their pregnancy progressed.

The study authors pointed out that this can affect women’s ability to bond with their newborns and may raise the risk for postpartum depression.

Women with the strongest social support during pregnancy were less likely to have worsening PTSD symptoms, the study found. This indicates that partners, relatives and friends can play an important role, according to the University of Michigan researchers.

The study was published recently in the journal Depression and Anxiety.

“We hope our results give a message of hope that women who have a past diagnosis of PTSD aren’t all headed for a worsening while they’re pregnant,” study leader and psychiatrist Dr. Maria Muzik said in a university news release.

“But we also have highlighted a vulnerable group that has a heightened risk of worsening symptom and postnatal issues that could have lasting effects for both mother and child,” she added.

Many women may have undiagnosed PTSD before pregnancy, and doctors should screen for the disorder as part of regular prenatal care, Muzik suggested.

“With a few questions and screening measures, they can identify women who are experiencing risk factors, and heighten their awareness for support and treatment,” she said.

“Preventing the worsening of symptoms could reduce their chance of post-birth illness, and protect their future child from the lasting ill effects that a mother’s mental illness can have,” Muzik added.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about PTSD.

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Overweight, Obese Kids Fare Worse in Hospital ICUs, Study Finds

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 16, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Overweight or obese children may be up to 57 percent more likely to die in a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU), a new study indicates.

“With increasing weight, there was an increasing risk of death,” said study author Dr. Patrick Ross, a critical care specialist with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

However, all children in the ICU had an overall low death rate with only 2.5 percent dying during treatment. And, the study did not prove that excess weight caused death risk to rise, it only found an association, the researchers added.

The pattern of higher death risk appeared in children as young as 1 year old and in kids who were overweight but not obese, two findings that were “a bit surprising,” said Amanda Staiano. She is director of the Pediatric Obesity and Health Behavior Laboratory at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in Baton Rouge.

“Even before children reached obesity, we saw a relationship between weight and mortality,” said Staiano, who serves as a spokeswoman for the Obesity Society.

Procedures and equipment in pediatric ICUs could be contributing to this increased risk of death, Ross and Staiano said, or it could be that excess weight is much more detrimental to a child’s health than previously thought.

Nearly 17 percent of children aged 2 to 19 are obese in the United States, the study authors said in background information. But until now, no one had looked into how obesity might affect a child’s chances when fighting for life in an intensive care unit.

For this study, Ross and his colleagues gathered information on more than 127,000 pediatric ICU patients from an international database, with cases running from January 2009 to March 2013.

They found that children carrying excess weight were 18 percent to 57 percent more likely to die while receiving critical care.

Underweight children also appeared to have an increased risk of death. But, that finding lost its statistical significance after researchers adjusted for factors such as the severity of their illness or other additional health problems they had.

The findings were published online Feb. 16 in the journal Pediatrics.

Heavy children might have an increased risk of death because a pediatric ICU isn’t set up to care for children their size, Ross said.

“On the extremes of weight, very overweight, it’s harder to care for those children,” he said. “The equipment is designed for size X and they [overweight children] are 3X.”

“The next step really would be to see if there’s something systematically we can do better,” Ross continued. “Is there a way we give them fluids or breathe for them that is compounding this?”

Doctors also might be providing too much medicine or too little medicine to children in the ICU based on their weight, Ross and Staiano said.

Adult intensive care units base medication dosing on a person’s “ideal weight” rather than their actual weight. This practice stems from the understanding that the size of people’s organs more closely correlates to their height than their weight, Ross said. Therefore, the person’s “ideal” BMI (body mass index, a ratio of weight to height) based on their height is a better tool for safe dosing.

But since children are still growing, pediatric ICUs continue to use their total weight, “and we’re not sure whether that’s right or wrong,” Ross said.

Staiano said: “Physicians may not be appropriately adjusting the medication to the weight of the child. Some of these children are physically older than what their chronological age is. When you’re a considering a child who’s 5, their body, due to their obesity status, might be presenting as an 8- or 9-year-old. Because of that, the medication might need to be adjusted.”

Ross said another study is looking into whether a child’s weight affects the size of their lungs. These future results could help doctors better prescribe appropriate doses of medication.

Finally, heavy kids might be more likely to die in the ICU because their excess weight exposes them to health problems, Ross and Staiano said.

“Whatever brought you into the ICU, you are compounding it with potentially other organs that have damage or have issues,” Ross said of this theory.

Evidence is mounting that even young children can develop chronic illness from obesity, Staiano said.

“We’ve accepted that teenagers now are presenting with advanced heart disease and diabetes,” Staiano said. “We’re starting to see cases as young as 8 or 9 years old with diabetes or heart disease. It could be children even younger than that are developing these risk factors.”

Doctors need to use these findings to figure out ways to better care for these kids, she said.

“From here, we need to start performing the trials to actually start improving these children’s survivorship and quality of life,” Staiano said.

More information

For more information on pediatric critical care, visit the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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Organic Milk and Meat Have Higher Nutrient Levels: Study

TUESDAY, Feb. 16, 2016 (HealthDay News) — New international research has good news for people who’ve been shelling out extra money to buy organic milk and meat — these products are healthier than conventional products in a number of ways.

“People choose organic milk and meat for three main reasons: improved animal welfare, the positive impacts of organic farming on the environment, and the perceived health benefits. But much less is known about impacts on nutritional quality, hence the need for this study,” team leader Carlo Leifert, a professor at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, said in a university news release.

“Several of these differences stem from organic livestock production and are brought about by differences in production intensity, with outdoor-reared, grass-fed animals producing milk and meat that is consistently higher in desirable fatty acids such as the omega-3s, and lower in fatty acids that can promote heart disease and other chronic diseases,” he explained.

The researchers reviewed studies from around the world. The analysis included 196 studies on milk and 67 on meat. The investigators discovered that organic products provide higher levels of beneficial fatty acids, certain essential minerals and antioxidants.

For example, compared with conventional products, both organic milk and meat offer about 50 percent more healthy omega-3 fatty acids, the study found. Organic milk also provides 40 percent more conjugated linoleic acid. Organic milk also has slightly higher concentrations of iron, vitamin E and some carotenoids, the research revealed.

However, conventional milk has 74 percent more of the essential mineral iodine and slightly more selenium, the study authors pointed out.

Organic meat has slightly lower levels of two saturated fats that are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, the study found.

The results of the review suggest that switching to organic milk and meat would help increase people’s intake of nutritionally important fatty acids, the researchers said.

“Omega-3s are linked to reductions in cardiovascular disease, improved neurological development and function, and better immune function,” Chris Seal, professor of food and human nutrition at Newcastle University, said in the news release.

“Getting enough in our diet is difficult,” Seal added. “Our study suggests that switching to organic would go some way towards improving intakes of these important nutrients.”

The study was published Feb. 15 in the British Journal of Nutrition.

In a previous study, the same research team found that organic crops and organic crop-based foods have up to 60 percent more key antioxidants and lower levels of the toxic metal cadmium than conventional crops.

“We have shown without doubt there are composition differences between organic and conventional food,” said Leifert. Taken together, these studies “suggest that a switch to organic fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy products would provide significantly higher amounts of dietary antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids,” he added.

Leifert said more studies are needed to better estimate the differences in meat from different farm animals and for many nutritionally important compounds (vitamins, minerals, toxic metal and pesticide residues). Right now, he said, there’s too little data to make comparisons.

“However, the fact that there are now several mother and child cohort studies linking organic food consumption to positive health impacts shows why it is important to further investigate the impact of the way we produce our food on human health,” Leifert concluded.

The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, and the Sheepdrove Trust, a British charity that supports organic farming research, paid for the analysis.

More information

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has more on organic foods.

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More College Students Misusing ADHD Med as Study Aid

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 16, 2016 (HealthDay News) — College students aiming for an academic edge may explain a surge in the misuse of a stimulant commonly prescribed for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), new research suggests.

Among U.S. adults, the number of Adderall prescriptions stayed stable from 2006 to 2011, but misuse of the drug jumped 67 percent and related visits to emergency rooms went up by 156 percent, researchers found.

“The majority of adults who are using Adderall nonmedically are in the age range of 18 to 25,” said lead researcher Dr. Ramin Mojtabai, a professor of mental health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. Most get the pills from friends or relatives who have prescriptions, the study found.

Mojtabai and his team suspect college students use Adderall to help them stay up all night to cram for exams. Similarly, young working adults may use it to stay sharp and focused on the job, he said.

Also, “it’s possible some of this use is recreational,” said Mojtabai. “There’s a pattern of concomitant use of other substances in about half of these adults.”

Whatever the reason, the use of amphetamines, including Adderall, can lead to dependence, sudden death and serious cardiovascular events, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which requires a “black box” warning on the drug packaging.

“They are not harmless simply because they are prescribed by doctors,” said study co-author Dr. Lian-Yu Chen, an attending psychiatrist at Taipei City Psychiatric Center in Taiwan. Among the possible cardiovascular effects are high blood pressure and stroke, Chen noted.

People with ADHD are often prescribed stimulant drugs and/or behavioral therapy to help them focus, reduce their hyperactivity and curb their impulsivity.

Researchers looked at U.S. trends from 2006 through 2011, spurred by concern about misuse of the stimulants among children and teens. They analyzed three national surveys — one on doctor visits, one on drug use and another on ER visits — to track use of the stimulants Adderall (dextroamphetamine-amphetamine) and Ritalin/Concerta (methylphenidate). Ritalin is also commonly prescribed for ADHD.

In adults, the researchers found, treatment visits for Adderall were unchanged, although nonmedical use and ER visits rose significantly.

Concern about stimulant misuse among children and teens did not bear out. In adolescents, treatment visits for stimulants declined, and misuse of Adderall did not increase. Nonmedical use of Ritalin and Concerta declined by about 54 percent over the six-year period, the researchers found.

The study was published Feb. 16 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

The researchers speculate that college students may prefer Adderall over the other stimulants because it increases two brain chemicals linked with better cognitive functioning and has a reputation for making people smarter.

However, stimulant use often causes anxiety, insomnia or agitation, Mojtabai said. In younger children, growth can slow somewhat due to the medication’s appetite suppressant effect. Aggressive behavior and depression may also occur with long-term Adderall use, he said.

The study findings don’t surprise Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “This study highlights the growing problem of drug diversion as the main factor behind both misused and increased emergency department visits for Adderall,” said Glatter.

Doctors need to be aware of this and talk to patients who receive a stimulant prescription about misuse and the dangers of drug sharing, he said.

“Many students mistakenly believe these drugs will make them smarter and more efficient at studying, so in their view the risk is worth the reward,” he said. “And because Adderall can improve focus, it may also give some students an unfair advantage, thus constituting academic dishonesty.”

For those with legitimate stimulant prescriptions, Glatter recommended locking the drugs away to avoid theft from friends and even family members. “It’s important to keep track of pills and do daily pill counts to be assured that no one is removing their medications,” he said.

More information

For more on ADHD treatments, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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You Need to Try the ‘Ice Cream Cone’ Method for Applying Concealer

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Trust us, you’re going to want to try the “ice cream cone” method for yourself.

Instead of dotting coverup only under the eye area, draw a V, advises celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal: Apply from the inner eye corner down to the middle of the apple of the cheek and back up to the outer eye corner, then blend.

RELATED: The Best Concealer for Every Skin Problem

“Doing so brightens the entire face, as opposed to just lightening dark circles,” she says. “Plus, it lends itself to that glowy look we all love.” Don’t forget the eyelids. “It’s one of the biggest secrets to looking awake,” notes Roncal. “I call it the ‘ice cream cone’ method: The cone is the triangle, and the lid is the ice cream on top.”

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Moms Who Eat Fish May Have Heavier Children

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In a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers looked at an impressive number of new mothers—more than 26,000—and found that among them, those who ate more fish while they were pregnant tended to have children with higher BMIs.

While at first glance the findings might implicate fish as yet another food choice that adds on pounds, it’s worth taking a closer look at the study before avoiding the fish section.

The data were collected from women in 10 European countries and one U.S. city who all gave birth between 1996 and 2011. The women answered questions about their diet, including how much fish they ate. The researchers also collected information on the mothers’ pre-pregnancy weight, age, smoking status, education and whether she breastfed her child.

The size of the study is one of its strengths; the larger the number of people, the stronger and more reliable the findings generally are. There are also studies documenting the potential harmful effects on growing fetuses of exposure to mercury, which can be found in many deep ocean fish like tuna. That prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency to advise pregnant women to eat no more than three servings of fish a week, to limit their exposure to the heavy metal.

RELATED: Fish, Mercury and Alzheimer’s Risk

The current study shows that women who ate fish at least three times a week were 22% more likely to have children with rapid growth in their first two years, and 22% more likely to have children who were overweight or obese at six years, compared to women who ate fish less than three times a week. The researchers note that the hormone-disrupting effects of some contaminants found in fish, including mercury, could explain the effect on BMI.

But they also point out that the connection is still an association. The findings do not suggest that eating more fish causes pregnant women to have heavier children.

For one, the scientists did not distinguish whether the women were eating deep sea or river fish, which carry different amounts of pollutants. They also did not analyze how the fish was cooked, whether it was fried, which can contribute to overweight or obesity, or grilled or broiled.

RELATED: Eating Fish—Even Tuna—During Pregnancy Linked To Better Brain Health: Study

But perhaps most importantly, the authors also did not take into account the overall exposure to organic pollutants that the women might have been exposed to, either in their environment or in their water. While it’s true that the result were consistent across many different countries, all of these countries are relatively industrialized and may have similar rates of environmental pollution.

Finally, they acknowledge that they did not have data on the mothers’ total diet during pregnancy, nor did they have information on her exercise habits. A mother’s weight gain during pregnancy can affect the child’s weight, and the researchers say that they used the mother’s gestational weight gain as a proxy for her diet and energy use. But if a mother’s diet included fatty foods, that could have a stronger effect on her child’s weight than her fish consumption. Finally, the scientists also did not have information on the children’s diet and exercise habits; because they were followed until they were six years old, their own eating patterns and physical activity could have more influence on their weight than any foods they were exposed to in utero.

Most nutrition experts recommend that people eat more fish because of they contain high levels of healthy fats like omega-3s. Studies have shown that while there is a small risk of harm to developing fetuses from mercury in some fish, the benefits outweigh these risks. And these results, while worthy of more study, shouldn’t change that advice.

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

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The Trick Behind This Set of Before and After Photos Will Blow Your Mind

How To Get Our Favorite Healthy Wine Delivered Right to Your Door

You’ve got good reason to raise a glass. Sipping a 5-ounce serving of red wine daily can improve heart health, and even help control type 2 diabetes. That’s why Health decided to team up with wine club Firstleaf to make a special introductory offer of editors’ picks: A three-bottle selection of California reds, including a medium-bodied cabernet sauvignon, a fruity Napa Valley blend of merlot and cabernet, and a Monterey pinot noir with vibrant mix of aromas. All Firstleaf shipments to follow will be customized to your taste preferences. We’ll toast to that! The three-bottle offer is $29.95 with club membership, or $44.95 as single purchase. To find out more and sign up go to health.com/wine.

RELATED: Why a Glass of Wine Can Make You Look More Attractive, According to One Study

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Ronda Rousey Reveals She Had Suicidal Thoughts After Loss to Holly Holm

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In an emotional interview on the The Ellen Degeneres Show, MMA fighter Ronda Rousey revealed that she had suicidal thoughts after her devestating knock-out loss to Holly Holm in UFC 193.

The former bantamweight champ, who appeared on Ellen to promote her new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover, lost her UFC title last November after sustaining a brutal kick to the head that made her question everything. “I was like, in the medical room, I was sitting in the corner and I was like, What am I anymore if I’m not this?” she explained in tears. “I was literally sitting there and thinking about killing myself, and in that exact second, I’m like, I’m nothing. What do I do anymore?”

RELATED: Here’s How Hard Ronda Rousey Got Hit—And What It Means for Her Health

But seeing her boyfriend, UFC fighter Travis Browne, helped Rousey pull through: “To be honest, I looked up and I saw my man. Travis was standing there, and I looked up at him and I was just like, I need to have his babies, I need to stay alive,” she said. “That was what I was thinking. That I was meant to have him while I was at my lowest, for sure. I don’t know if I would have made it without him.”

RELATED: 5 Times Ronda Rousey Seriously Inspired Us

The heartbreaking match has given Rousey new perspective. “I do believe all the best things come from the worst things,” the MMA fighter said. “Everyone has their moment of picking themselves off the floor, and I’ve gone through several of mine, but no one had ever seen me go through it.I really do believe I’m still undefeated because being defeated is a choice. Everyone has losses in their life, but I choose to always be undefeated.”

If you or someone you love is having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and all calls are confidential. For more information, visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

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