Your Best Body

Love Thanksgiving but not the love handles that come with it? Finish your feast this Thursday with some black tea. A study in the journal Nutrition suggests that black tea may prevent your body from absorbing fat from food. The one caveat is that you have to drink it plain; milk may inhibit the fat-fighting effect.

There are so many fantastically unhealthy “health” products out there. Granola, fat-free salad dressings, yogurt that comes loaded with corn syrup. Japan just came out with the latest diet illusion: fat-blocking Pepsi Special. Yes, you read that right. The new product includes wheat dextrin, a soluble fiber that moves food through your system so quickly you can’t absorb as much fat as you usually would.

Want to keep your inner cookie monster in check this holiday season? Don't deny yourself treats—just cut them up into smaller bites so you don't go overboard. A recent study at Arizona State University found that the optical illusion of cutting up a bagel into four pieces made test subjects feel fuller; those given a quartered bagel ate less bagel, and ate less at a complimentary lunch afterwards. Fewer calories now, fewer calories later: win-win.

Are you an energy drink fiend? You might want to think twice before getting your next fix. On Monday, the FDA announced that it was investigating five deaths and a heart attack that were allegedly caused by caffeine toxicity after drinking Monster Energy.

Some days, it seems like however much I eat, my stomach just won't fill up. One possible culprit? A lack of Zzzs.

A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that four nights of sleep deprivation reduced insulin sensitivity in fat cells by 30 percent—which means the body's producing that much less leptin, a hormone that inhibits our appetite. On top of that, previous research has also shown that getting only four hours of sleep a night slows our metabolism. Double oof.

Want to work out á la the Scottish Ballet? The company recently put out a pair of fitness videos that have been blowing up online. Although the 15–20 minute clips are aimed at a non-dance population, the exercises make nice cross-training routines for bunheads' upper bodies as well. One focuses on the core, the other on the arms. A third video is scheduled for release soon.

I know what I'm doing tonight!

Now that fall's officially here, it's time to get down to business. But while it’s important to work hard in the studio, make sure you know when to take a break. A recent study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that exercise, like anything else, can be harmful when over done. According to Dr. James O’Keefe of the Mid America Heart Institute of St. Luke’s Hospital, when an athlete exercises intensely for excessive amounts of time, the heart muscle begins to tear and releases troponin, the same enzyme that signals damage during a heart attack.

It's the end of the week, and if you're like most dancers I know, your body is sore and achy all over. Well-meaning friends and teachers will probably tell you to hop in an Epsom salt bath. But will that actually help? Maybe, but most of the benefit comes from the bath, not the salt.

You’ve always suspected that you’re different from your civilian, non-dancer friends. It turns out that science can back you up. According to a study published in PloS Genetics, dancers show consistent differences from the general population in two key genes. One contributes to spiritual experience, and the other modulates social communication and bonding behaviors.

Blisters are like irritating little sisters. While they aren't truly traumatic or career-threatening, for ballet dancers, they can be an almost constant annoyance, continually nagging at your toes with pinches of pain.

So what's a bunhead to do? Toe pads help, but there's more to blister care than stuffing your pointe shoes full of padding.

1. Get fitted by a professional. Feet change over time, so if you suddenly have blisters popping up, last year's maker may no longer be right for you.