Miranda Kerr: Behind the Angel Wings

Australian-born model Miranda Kerr is one of the most well-known angels to grace the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and its campaigns. What you may not know is that there is a lot more to Miranda than a gorgeous face and a killer bod rocking the 2.5 million dollar Fantasy Treasure Bra on the runway.  Read More

The Healthy Side of Gaming

Despite common conceptions, women playing video games is not uncommon. As time moves forward, that stereotype is proving to be less and less true as more women pick up a gaming controller, a Nintendo DS or even a Wii. Read More

How to Find Affordable and High-Quality Moisturizers

Every girl wants to put her best face forward, but before you highlight your cheekbones or gloss your lips, it’s vital to take care of your skin! Skin is the largest and most exposed organ in our bodies. It is subject every day to the wear and tear of our environment. The sun, germs and even laughter can be detrimental to our faces. One way to counter damage is by wearing a daily facial moisturizer. Unfortunately, the process of selecting an effective and affordable facial cream is not an easy one. Use this guide to find out which active ingredients you should look for in your moisturizer (it will also help you get the best bang for your buck!). Read More

Healthy Varieties of Chocolate (Yes, Chocolate!)

By Kathleen Hansen

Eating chocolate can provide many great health benefits (in addition to being delicious!), including a lower BMI (body mass index), lower blood pressure and decreased risk of heart disease. However, certain varieties of chocolate provide more benefits than others. Most studies recommend dark chocolate over milk and white chocolates.

According to LIVESTRONG.com, the more cocoa (cacao) chocolate has corresponds with the number of health-benefit-causing antioxidant flavonoids it has. As a rule of thumb, the cacao content should be around 70 percent in order to reap the most benefits. The percentage can usually be found on the package. Dark chocolate has the most, followed by milk chocolate. White chocolate actually does not have any due to the method of food processing. Check out Women’s Health Magazine’s side-by-side comparison of the calories, sugar and cacao content of the three popular types of chocolates. Read More

Five Quick, Easy Breakfast Meals

By Erica Palumbo

In a recent Health article, we discussed why breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It helps you focus and kick-starts your brain so you can start accomplishing tasks as soon as you head out the door. Breakfast is especially important for students because they need that energy boost to keep their eyes open during the dreaded early morning classes. However, many students, particularly college-aged, find it hard to find a spare second in the morning to squeeze in breakfast, especially since that snooze button is so tempting. Fear not snoozers: there are plenty of healthy, quick and easy breakfast ideas that will take up less time to make than hitting that alarm button. Read More

Nutritious Snacks for On-the-Go

By Kathleen Hansen

Sometimes your schedule is jam-packed with class, meetings and homework so it can be hard to squeeze in a meal or snacks to give your body the nutrients and energy it needs. We’ve compiled a list of easy-to-prepare and healthy snacks to fuel your body. Enjoy the food anywhere: walking to and from class or on the train–just make sure to eat!

Strawberries and Peanut Butter Toast
Spread peanut butter on a slice of whole-wheat toast and top with chopped strawberries. Typically, when you think of peanut butter’s fruit companion bananas come to mind. However, strawberries provide a fresh alternative (and a sweeter taste!). Feel free to experiment with other fruits, such as granny smith apples, raspberries or raisins. This can be made for an on-the-go breakfast or a quick snack. Read More

When Veganism and Vegetarianism Cross the Line

By Sora Hwang

When people hear someone is a vegan or vegetarian, there is an amount of respect for his or her decisions and self-control. Whether the person has chosen this dieting routine based on animal rights or simply personal preference, very few people look down on veganism and vegetarianism.

This almost noble air about these dieting habits make it an easy mask to hide behind when offered something to eat. People typically do not question what a vegan or vegetarian can or cannot eat. They simply nod and wait for the next dish. Unfortunately, this rising trend in this day and age is no longer just about saving animals, but about losing weight. Read More

Get Sun-kissed Skin without the Damage

By Angela Vertucci 

As the weather gets hotter, and shorts get shorter, lots of girls (and guys too) take to the sunny outdoors or tanning beds to get the bronzed glow of a summer tan. It may be hard to fight the allure of the sultry summer sun, but if you don’t layer on the SPFs first, you’re doing your skin a serious disservice. Fortunately, there are easy ways to achieve a healthy, short-term color boost while avoiding sunspots, wrinkles, and dangerous skin cancers like melanoma down the road.

Sunscreen—use it! Whether you’re lounging on the beach, going for a run, or simply running errands around town, if you have to go outside you should be wearing sunscreen. According to WebMD, your sunscreen should have an SPF of at least 15. The SPF rating corresponds primarily to the amount of time your skin will be protected, though higher SPFs also deflect more of the sun’s damaging rays. As a point of reference, know that SPF 15 protects against 93 percent of harmful rays, while SPF 30 protects against 97 percent. Read More

50 Ways to a Healthier You

For my last post at the Health columnist here at Pink and Black, I wanted to leave you guys with the most healthy advice as possible and since lists are my thing…what better way than make a list of the 50 easiest way to be healthy? Everything in this list is simple and effective to keep your mind, spirit and body as healthy as possible. In today’s world, being healthy isn’t necessarily the easiest thing so here are quick and mindless ways to keep yourself in tip top shape! Read More

Hair 101: Keeping Hair Healthy

Your hair. Nearly every girl has qualms about her hair – it’s too straight, too curly, too flat, too big. While it seems that nothing will stop us from complaining about one aspect of our hair or another, the least we can do is keep our hair healthy. Healthy hair is beautiful hair, after all! Even if you don’t like everything about your ’do, keeping it healthy can make things look ten times better. So here’s a few tips that will help you do just that:

Washing Your Hair

While it’s a common assumption that you have to shampoo your hair everyday, it’s not true! That can actually hurt your hair by stripping it of its natural oils. Only shampoo if your hair is oily or if you’ve just exercised. But don’t worry if you skip a day or two, it won’t hurt! Also, make sure to use a conditioner after you shampoo (leave-in conditioners are great because they provide longer protection against harsh elements).

After you’ve washed your hair, gently squeeze out the water and use a comb to go through it. Don’t be rough while drying it out, and don’t use a brush; this could cause breakage. Read More