Shortcuts to 100% healthy!

No need to overhaul your lifestyle when you’d rather be enjoying fall fun. These ‘health hacks’ deliver the same benefits!

- 

The American Heart Association advises eating nine servings of fruit and vegetables daily to keep your ticker strong. But you don’t need to feel guilty if (like the rest of us!) you have trouble meeting that goal. A Canadian study of 135,000 people found that while fresh produce does cut heart disease risk by 22%, the benefits peak at an easy-to-manage three to four servings daily.

OR SNACK ON PEANUT BUTTER! 

Whether you spread it on a piece of toast, pair it with apple slices or simply savor it straight off the spoon, peanut butter is a heart-smart treat. Natural peanut butter is packed with beneficial minerals and plant fats that nourish the heart. No wonder a new study out of the Harvard School of Public Health shows eating 3 Tbs. daily reduces heart disease risk by up to 27%.

The scent that stops aches and pains

Taking a whiff of vanilla’s delicious aroma could ease stiffness and achiness in as little as 10 minutes. So say University of Illinois scientists, who found vanilla’s vanillin and vanillic acid raise pain threshold, soothe sensitive pain nerves and tamp down tissue inflammation.