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" 1. Welcome pasta back to your pantry. If you&amp;#039;ve banned pasta from your kitchen, it might be time to start restocking those shelves. Dried pasta is made from the bud of durum wheat, which is rich in proteins, enzymes, fiber, and vitamins B and E. But overcooking breaks down pasta&amp;#039;s structure and can send those vitamins out into the water and down the drain. So keep your noodles al dente and nutritious with these tips from Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D., spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association: For every two ounces of pasta, bring two or three cups of water to a rolling boil. Throw your pasta in; when you think it&amp;#039;s ready (check the package for cooking times), fish out a piece and slice into it. If there&amp;#039;s a white starch line in the middle, let it boil 30 seconds more. Keep checking until your test piece is totally yellow and has a crisp bite. Then turn off the heat and drain.  2. Click for help at the grocery store. Overwhelmed by all the options at your supermarket? For tips on how to read labels, pick the best brands, and find out what potentially harmful ingredients might be lurking in the food you&amp;#039;re eating, log on to ebrandaid.com.  3. Go green with feminine hygiene. Switching to biodegradable or reusable hygiene products makes for a more eco-friendly period. Think about it: We each use an average of 16,800 tampons or pads in our lifetime. Multiply that by every woman in America, and it adds up to serious waste. Some green products, including menstrual cups like the DivaCup or the Moon Cup ($35 at gladrags.com), last for years and are as easy to use as a tampon. Sound too weird? Try tampons with biodegradable applicators or pads in recycled packaging (such as Seventh Generation brand, sold at health-food stores and Whole Foods Markets). They come in a variety of styles, like drugstore brands, at similar prices.   4. Be a heavyweight (yoga) champ. You don&amp;#039;t need a size-6 body to downward dog: Yogis of all shapes and weights can increase strength, gain flexibility, and improve balance with the DVD HeavyWeight Yoga ($24.95, heartfeltyoga.com). &amp;quot;On this DVD, overweight and obese people get an instructor they can identify with,&amp;quot; says its plus-size creator, Abby Lentz. &amp;quot;I wanted them to know that if someone like me could practice yoga, they can too.&amp;quot; The DVD offers a range of modified poses and workouts to choose from. Says Lentz, &amp;quot;We can be healthy and strong regardless of weight.&amp;quot;  5. Avoid your home&amp;#039;s germ hot spots. Refrigerator door handles. TV remotes. Doorknobs. Bathroom faucets. These are the top four places where cold germs hide in your home, according to scientists at the University of Virginia, who found that people with signs of the sniffles most commonly left traces of rhinovirus \u2014 which causes about half of all colds \u2014 on those objects (as well as on salt and pepper shakers, phones, light switches, and dishwasher handles). To keep from catching a bug, wash your hands after touching household surfaces and before touching your eyes or mouth; ask sick family members to lather up often too. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/body/health-fitness/advice/a4494/easy-ways-to-be-healthy/>