EVOO

When you get pregnant you have to give up being self conscious about a handful of areas on your body. One of them is the perineum. The perineum being the muscular area just below the vagina that has to stretch during childbirth in order for your little one to be born. Why, must you forgo your fears of the area? Researchers have found that women who massage their perinea before childbirth have fewer episiotomies, a surgical incision through the perineum made to enlarge the vagina and assist childbirth.

Luckily, my doctors made me fully aware of this procedure before it became an issue, but iVillage's exclusive clip from Tina Fey's new movie Baby Mama reminded me how important the EVOO massage can be and how dreadful the experience might be for someone who hadn't been debriefed on the subject.

For tips on how the EVOO massage actually works, read more

As we all learned from the Butter or Margarine Quiz, olive oil is a much healthier alternative. Butter is bad for your heart since it is high in saturated fats, and most margarines are made from hydrogenated oil so they contain trans fats which raises your cholesterol.

OK back to olive oil — what's the difference between virgin and extra virgin? Is one healthier than the other? What about refined olive oil? Does refined mean better? Is one better suited for cooking?

Extra-virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of the olives. It contains no more than 8% acidity (oleic acid), and is said to have a superior taste. Extra-virgin olive oil has higher levels of Vitamin E, Vitamin A, chlorophyll and magnesium. Contrary to popular belief, heating it will not cause it to lose its health benefits, it will only lose flavor.

Want to know about virgin olive oil and which one is best to cook with? Then read more