• It's important to make sure you're eating the right kind of food to fill you up
• Simple carbohydrates cause your blood sugar levels to dip
• INSIDER found out which foods are the most filling to eat

Even if you seem to be snacking all day, you may still find yourself hungry for more. That's because not all food will keep you equally full and satisfied. 

If you’re trying to have a healthier, more filling diet, then Rima Kleiner, MS, RD and blogger at Dish on Fish recommended staying away from simple carbohydrates — think baked goods, chips, candy, and full sugar sodas, as these won't keep you satisfied.

To help you create a more satisfying diet, INSIDER talked to nutritionists to find out which foods are the most filling to eat.

Protein-rich foods can keep you fuller for much longer.

Multiple nutritionists advised eating foods high in protein to fill you up. “Protein may help our brains recognize the hormone leptin, which helps us feel fuller longer and provides energy for our bodies,” says Kleiner.

“Protein also breaks down slower than carbs, so you'll feel full for hours after a meal with a good amount of protein,” added registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Bright Body Nutrition Mikka Knapp. “Lean meats like chicken, turkey, or seafood are the best option here. Aim for 4-6 ounces of meat at lunch or dinner. Beans are also high in both protein and fiber, so you'll get double the benefits with a bowl of lentil curry or black bean soup.”

Kleiner also suggested eating high protein foods that are low in fat and carbohydrate — like salmon — to give you the strength you need to power through your day-to-day activities. “Also add nuts or seeds to your cereal or oatmeal, salmon and cucumber to your whole grain toast, beans, and tuna to your salad at lunch, yogurt to your fruit snack and shrimp to your pasta dinner,” she said.

High fiber foods are also known to satisfy your appetite.

According to Chandler Ray, RD, genetics dietitian at Pathway Genomics, high-fiber foods slow down the digestive process, helping you feel fuller and more satisfied for longer. She also noted that high-fiber foods can also help lower your cholesterol and improve blood sugar levels.

How does fiber exactly work? According to Knapp, the stomach takes a much longer time breaking down high-fiber foods, and it moves through your digestive slower than their low-fiber counterparts. Knapp noted that the foods highest in fiber are beans, avocados, berries, pears, broccoli, and nuts.

Dr. Mike Roussell, Ph.D., nutritionist and co-founder of Neutein, also pointed out that oats and boiled potatoes are filled with gut-satisfying fiber. “Boiled potatoes have the highest satiety rating according to the Satiety Index,” he said.

Foods high in healthy fats, like Omega-3, are also filling options.

According to Knapp, healthy fats are actually helpful in signaling satiety, making smaller portions filling options for your diet.

“A dollop of hummus, half an avocado, or a handful of nuts as a snack or with a meal releases signals to oral receptors that tell your brain you've eaten enough,” she said. “Research has also shown that including some MCT oil with a meal improve fullness and results in weight loss.”

Roussell noted that pistachios are also a filling snack that’s high in healthy fats, along with other hunger-satisfying components: “Pistachios contain what I call the satiety trifecta - fat, fiber, and protein,” he said. “Pistachios also help control blood sugar levels which aim in maintaining satiety following a meal.”

• The royal family is well known for their impressive style, but what's lesser known are the style hacks that allow them to always look so pristine. 
• Queen Elizabeth sews weights into her hemlines to prevent billowy skirts.
• Kate Middleton wears adhesive tights to prevent shoe slips.
• Leather insoles are the foolproof solution for combatting heel pain.

Being a member of the royal family is perhaps one of the most demanding and high-pressure jobs in existence. Public figures like the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Queen Elizabeth are constantly in the public eye, which means they're under intense scrutiny and must represent their titles in a professional and pristine fashion.  

With this responsibility comes the expectation that the royals are always prepped and ready for their extensive duties, and that extends into their style choices. But maintaining a perfect wardrobe is no easy feat, and their highnesses have a few tricks up their sleeves to keep up appearances.

Keep reading the royal style hacks you'll want to copy. 

Queen Elizabeth sews weights into her hemlines to prevent billowy skirts.

Traveling to and from place to place can make anyone prone to a wardrobe malfunction, especially in windy areas. But to prevent any mishaps from happening at events and appearances, Queen Elizabeth actually has literal weights sewn into her hemlines to prevent billow skirts, according to her couturier, Stuart Parvin, in an interview with The Daily Mail.

And it's also common practice to wear static-heavy bodysuits for the same reason.

For those who choose to opt out heavy clothing like Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, static-friendly bodysuits are a popular choice because the static from the undersuit helps hold down the fabric of the skirt, according to etiquette expert Myka Meier in an interview with The Sun.So if a drastic move like weights in the hem isn't preferred, bodysuits are the way to go.

Princess Diana used her purses to maintain modesty.

Crudely named by Princess Diana as "cleavage clutches," small purses were the late princess's favorite trick to maintaining modesty in public outings. Designer Anya Hindmarch spilled the secrets of her loyal customer to The Telegraph in 2009, saying "She was … a lot of fun. We used to laugh when we designed what she called her 'cleavage bags', little satin clutches which she would cover her cleavage with when she stepped out of cars."

• We recently talked to 11 couples who got married at Disney World, Disneyland, or another one of Disney's many resorts around the world.
• Most of the couples we spoke to described the wedding planning process as easy and fun.
• While some of Disney's wedding packages are expensive, a few are surprisingly affordable, one couple said.
• Take a closer look at their magical weddings below.

For many Disney fans, getting married at one of the company's many resorts and parks around the world is the ultimate dream come true.

From a ride in Cinderella's horse-drawn carriage to a towering cake featuring beloved characters like Mickey Mouse, Disney's wedding packages offer dozens of perks designed to add some fairy-tale magic to your big day.

Below, find out what it's like to plan and have a Disney wedding, according to 11 couples who've actually done it.

Indonesian actress Sandra Dewi and Harvey Moeis got married at the Tokyo Disney Resort in November 2016.

According to a representative for Sandra, the couple first tied the knot in another ceremony a few days before they wed at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Harvey proposed to Sandra on Christmas Day in 2014.

Sandra's close friend, Indonesian television host Daniel Mananta, introduced her to Harvey, and the couple "started to fall in love" one month later, a representative for the actress told INSIDER.

It was a "dream come true" for Sandra when the couple started planning their Disney wedding.

According to Sandra's representative, Harvey knew from the beginning of the couple's relationship that the actress is a "huge Disney fan," and he wanted to "make her feel like a real princess" on their wedding day.

Sandra is also a spokesperson for Disney in Southeast Asia, the representative added, which made the wedding planning process much easier.

• The parents of Shanann Watts, the Colorado woman who was murdered by her husband along with her two young daughters, recently sat down for an interview with ABC News' "20/20".
• In one segment of the interview, Shanann's mother, Sandra Rzucek, said that after her daughter and granddaughters were first reported missing, Chris Watts didn't appear worried.
• "He didn't give a flying flip," she said.

The parents of Shanann Watts, the pregnant woman who was murdered along with her two young daughters by her cheating husband in August, have sat down for their first television interview.

In preview clips of their interview on ABC News' "20/20", Shanann's mother, Sandra Rzucek, said her daughter's husband did not appear worried when his wife and daughters were first reported missing.

"He didn't give a flying flip," Rzucek recalled.

Chris Watts would later admit to disposing of his three family members' bodies at an oil site where he worked, after strangling his wife and smothering his daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste.

Before confessing to the three murders, Watts spoke to local reporters about the disappearance in a bizarre interview on the front porch of his house.

Read more:Text messages and phone records show pregnant Colorado woman murdered by her husband told friends before her death that he had 'changed' and didn't want another baby

Rzucek said she advised her son-in-law not to speak to the press, but he decided to anyway.

"I said, 'Chris, you know, I don't think you should do any media.' I said 'Um, you're the last one to have seen them. So I don't think you should.'

"I thank God he did. I thank God in heaven that he didn't listen to me," Rzucek said.

When Sandra and her husband Frank saw the interview, they said Watts was acting out of character.

He was "definitely somebody else," Shanann's mother said. "It was frightening."

Last month, Chris Watts was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The full interview with Sandra and Frank Rzucek is set to air on Friday night's episode of "20/20" at 10 p.m.

• Read more about the Chris Watts case:
• Mistress of Chris Watts, the man accused of murdering his pregnant wife and 2 daughters, speaks out about their affair
• 'I put my hands around my wife's neck': Video shows the chilling moment Chris Watts confessed to strangling his pregnant wife
• In the days before he murdered his wife and 2 kids, Chris Watts was Googling the price of an Audi and 'marrying your mistress'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Beautiful time-lapse videos show how much China has changed over the years

At IGNITION 2018, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman talked about the 13-year-old e-commerce company, bouncing back from tough times, and what's in store for Etsy in 2019.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors of "Avengers: Endgame," said that the Oscars are out of touch with audiences.
• "It feels like Oscars do need a change in perspective," Anthony said.
• The Oscars introduced a "popular Oscar" category this year that it quickly scrapped after backlash, but the Russos support any way to solve the disconnect from moviegoers.
• "I think it [the popular Oscar] represents them trying to find an answer, which is what's valuable," Joe said.

Contrary to some years past, this year's Oscars could highlight some of the highest-grossing movies of 2018. "Black Panther,""A Star is Born," and more are expected to get attention in major categories, and already did so with Thursday's Golden Globes nominations.

If you ask Joe and Anthony Russo, that would be great news. The directors of Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War" and next year's "Avengers: Endgame"spoke to Business Insider during this week's Ignition conference, and said that the Oscars had been out of touch with audiences.

READ MORE: 'Avengers: Endgame' directors on dealing with sky-high expectations, and which characters they want to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe

"It feels like Oscars do need a change in perspective," Anthony said. "It seems there is a bit of a disconnect between movies that audiences are responding to globally and what the typical Academy presentation is of those films. I think that's largely based on the membership of the Academy and the fact that it's this sort of older group of people."

"We have to be careful that we don't lose touch with audiences," Joe added. "That's the reason we make movies. And if it feels elitist in a way and disconnected, I think it can create a divide between audience perception of content, and the industry perception of content."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has taken steps to address those concerns in recent years, most notably by expanding its membership. It also proposed a "popular Oscar" category this year that it quickly rolled back after backlash. But the Russos support the Academy addressing the divide between the Oscars and moviegoers.

"It doesn't necessarily need to be the popular Oscar but something like the popular Oscar can certainly shake things up and help evolve the thinking and the approach the Academy has when celebrating film," Anthony said.

Joe added: "I think it [the popular Oscar] represents them trying to find an answer, which is what's valuable. However they reach that is going to be important. I do think the disconnect has to be addressed."

SEE ALSO: FX leads the Golden Globes TV nominations, with Netflix falling behind Amazon and HBO

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The inside story behind the Marvel movie you were never supposed to see

• Gold prices rose 1% Friday, and were on track to post their best week since March.
• A weaker-than-expected jobs report renewed expectations the Fed would embark on a slower rate path.
• Watch gold prices in real time here.

Gold was headed for its best weekly gain in nine months on Friday after the jobs report showed hiring slowed in November, renewing expectations for the Federal Reserve to pursue a slower rate path next year.

Spot prices of the yellow metal climbed 1% at 2:15 p.m. ET to around $1,250 per ounce, the highest since July. Meanwhile, the greenback fell against a basket of peers.

"Dollar is down and gold is up slightly – both expected reactions to more dovish expectations for 2019," said Chris Gaffney, president of World Markets. "Jobs data was slightly weaker than expected, alleviating some of the investor anxiety over the future of interest rates."

The Labor Department said early Thursday the economy added 155,000 jobs in November, well below expectations of 198,000, and the unemployment rate held near historic lows at 3.7%. Wages grew at a slightly slower-than-expected pace, rising 0.2% for a second month.

Gaining about 2% this week, gold prices are on track for the best seven-day stretch since March, according to Reuters.

Gold prices was down 0.5% over the past year.

Now Read:

'It ends next year': What Wall Street's biggest firms are forecasting for the stock market in 2019, and where they say you should put your money

A top cannabis CEO talks about what's next following a $300 million merger, and says he's playing 'Risk' while his competitors are playing 'Monopoly'

SEE ALSO: Jobs report misses estimates as unemployment holds at 49-year low

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This 13-year-old scientist invented a safer way to treat pancreatic cancer, and he hasn't even started high school yet

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Fintech hubs — cities where startups, talent, and funding congregate — are proliferating globally in tandem with ongoing disruption in financial services. 

These hubs are all vying to become established fintech centers in their own right, and want to contribute to the broader financial services ecosystem of the future. Their success depends on a variety of factors, including access to funding and talent, as well as the approach of relevant regulators.

This report compiles various fintech snapshots, which together highlight the global spread of fintech, and show where governments and regulatory bodies are shaping the development of national fintech industries. Each provides an overview of the fintech industry in a particular country or state in Asia or Europe, and details what is contributing to, or hindering its further development. We also include notable fintechs in each geography, and discuss what the opportunities or challenges are for that particular domestic industry.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Most countries in Europe have made some formal attempt to foster the development of domestic fintech industries, with Germany and Ireland seeing the best results so far. France, meanwhile, got off to a slow start, but that's starting to change. 
• The Asian fintech scene took off later than in the US or Europe, but it's seen rapid growth lately, particularly in India, China, and Singapore.
• The increasing importance of technology-enabled products and services within the financial services ecosystem means the global fintech industry isn't going anywhere. 
• Fintech hubs will continue to proliferate, with leaders emerging in each region.
• The future fintech landscape will be molded by regulatory bodies — national and international — as they seek to mitigate the risks, and leverage the opportunities, presented by fintech. 

 In full, the report:

• Explores the fintech industry in six countries or states, and identifies individual fintech hubs.
• Highlights successful fintechs in each region.
• Outlines the challenges and opportunities each country or state faces. 
• Gives insight into the future of the global fintech industry. 

Subscribe to an All-Access pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

	This report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports
	Access to all future reports and daily newsletters
	Forecasts of new and emerging technologies in your industry
	And more!

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Purchase & download the full report from our research store

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

The gift-giving season is upon us.

Here to help you choose the perfect gifts for everyone on your list — from your coworkers to your dad, or the person you pulled for a White Elephant gift exchange— are the editors and reporters from the Insider Picks team.

If you need some inspiration for what to get for her this holiday season (whether she's your sister, mom, daughter, wife, or otherwise), we have you covered with some truly excellent gift ideas. Though you can never go wrong with a new leather wallet or festive, holiday-themed beauty gift set, we've also included some more unique gifts, like a custom map poster and a book about everything "Friends" in our list.

Check out all 64 gifts for her, and happy shopping! 

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out all of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides for 2018 here.

SEE ALSO: All of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides, in one place

DON'T MISS: 55 creative and unexpected gifts for her that are all under $50

A stylish and comfortable pair of shoes

Allbirds Wool Loungers, available at Allbirds, $95 (9 colors)

Popular shoe startup Allbirds came out with a new high-top sneaker this month, dubbed the Tree Toppers, but for the uninitiated (and honestly really anyone), the classic Wool Loungers make an excellent gift. 

The Amazon Echo Spot

Amazon Echo Spot, available at Amazon, $130 (2 colors)

The Echo Spot is the perfect addition to her nightstand. Like every other Echo, it uses Alexa to accomplish any number of tasks, from answering questions to reordering supplies on Amazon. In addition Alexa's verbal response about the day's weather forecast, the Echo Spot displays it on its 2.5-inch screen. 

A reusable bag that comes in dozens of fun prints

Standard Baggu, available at Baggu, $10 (35 colors)

You can never have too many reusable bags, especially when they're as cute as the ones Baggu makes. The Standard Baggu is design to hold 50 pounds and folds into a flat 5-inch by 5-inch pouch for easy storage in her purse. 

At IGNITION 2018, Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and investor on ABC's "Shark Tank," spoke with Insider US editor-in-chief, Julie Zeveloff West, about entrepreneurship. She explained the key to a good business partnership, why she fired 25% of her sales staff, and the roles gender and wealth play in career success. 

Join the conversation about this story »

While the Grammy Awards have often been criticized for being out of touch, there's plenty to celebrate about the 2019 nominations.

The late rapper Mac Miller secured a posthumous nod for "Best Rap Album;"Janelle Monáe's groundbreaking "Dirty Computer" is up for "Album of the Year;""A Star is Born" and Lady Gaga fans alike will be thrilled to see "Shallow" nominated for two of the biggest awards offered.

But as many fans know, for every success from a major award show, there is usually a source of rage or confusion.

Here are INSIDER's picks for the 11 biggest snubs, in no particular order.

Mitski's singular nomination for "Best Recording Package" is just plain rude.

"Best Recording Package" is an award that honors the visual look of an album, not its sonic achievements.

It is also the only category that recognized "Be the Cowboy," the fifth album from Japanese-American indie rock musician Mitski, and easily her most masterful to date — despite landing within the top five in everymajorroundup of this year's best albums.

Ariana Grande's "Sweetener" didn't get much love.

Ariana Grande is optimistic, alluring, and more confident than ever on her fourth studio album, "Sweetener." By many accounts, including Grande's, it's her best album yet.

"This feels like the most 'me' an album has ever felt. It just feels super close to home,"Grande recently revealed. "A lot of people were like, 'How does it feel stepping out of your comfort zone?' And I'm like, 'Nah, I don't feel like I've stepped out of my comfort zone. I feel like I found it.'"

But while "Sweetener" did secure a nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Album," it was shut out of most major categories, including "Album of the Year."

Grande's hit single "God Is a Woman" was thankfully recognized for "Best Pop Solo Performance," but the most glittering, nuanced, and impeccably crafted tracks on the album (most notably "No Tears Left to Cry,""Get Well Soon," and "R.E.M.") were completely ignored.

Travis Scott was one of the most successful artists this year, but his No. 1 album "Astroworld" was nearly ignored.

Travis Scott has never been a Grammys darling, but "Astroworld" demonstrated a growth in skill and musical maturity that many thought would change his fate; after all, he somehow managed to get Drake, John Mayer, and Stevie Wonder on the same album. 

"A real driver on this album too was when we got snubbed for the Grammys in 2016," Scott's A&R told Rolling Stone earlier this year. "We were like, man, are they not respecting us? That's when it was like, 'No, y'all got it f---ed up.' We went back and wanted to make an album that was undeniable."

And yet: Scott secured a nomination for "Best Rap Album," but was still denied entry to the coveted "Album of the Year" category.

• Coupang is the largest online shopping platform in South Korea, with sales totaling nearly $5 billion.
• It has been called "the Amazon of South Korea" for its dominant position in the country, but Coupang employs a different model from its US counterpart.
• The company canceled an IPO four years ago in order to pivot to a completely different business model, which has seen success today.
• It recently received an extra $2 billion in capital investment from SoftBank's Vision Fund to expand that model.
• Even with all of its success, the company has racked up losses.
• CEO Bom Kim discussed how the company rose to its dominant position — and what comes next — in a recent interview with Business Insider.

Coupang was this close to an initial public offering in 2014.

"The printers were waiting for us, and we just decided to not go forward," CEO and founder Bom Kim told Business Insider in a recent interview. "We took a bold step to basically stop the IPO process, and to go and invest heavily." 

Coupang was in fact profitable at the time, Kim said, by operating as a fairly standard online marketplace for other sellers. It was much like Amazon's or Walmart's marketplace, or how Ebay operates now — a platform that connects sellers and buyers.

But Kim realized that wasn't what he wanted for the company. 

"We don't believe that a company should exist or that a company should be created to strive for a five or 10% better customer experience," he said. "It's just a waste of our passion, our time, talents. Our vision, our goal, what we aspire to, is to create a customer experience that's 100 times better."

So, instead, Kim pulled the plug on the IPO and decided to pivot Coupang. 

"I had this moment of clarity where [I asked myself] 'Is this really living up to that mission?' Kim said. "The DNA, the company was so wrapped around this mission, and I couldn't reconcile it. Because we were, essentially, not there. Not even close. We're still a long ways away."

A whole new world of online shopping

Kim says he decided to take Coupang down a completely different route, which put it on the path to become what is now the biggest online-shopping company in South Korea.

Coupang invested heavily in building a network of fulfillment centers and developing its own last-mile system. That included a fleet of trucks and personnel for a service called Rocket Delivery, which the company says is able to deliver millions of items —from fresh food to electronics — to almost the entire country of 51 million people, within the same day of ordering. 

Kim likes to call it an end-to-end delivery system, which he says gives Coupang complete control over the customer experience. The package never leaves Coupang's hands until it arrives at a customer's door.

The holistic logistics system allows the company to offer unique services that upstart competitors can't match. One of its more recent initatives is a service the company calls "dawn delivery." Orders placed by midnight can be delivered to customers first thing in the morning.

Read more: Amazon and Nike are charting a course for the store of the future

Coupang's model also allows for other services that even the most die-hard Amazon customer would be unfamiliar with. For example, many products aren't delivered in traditional cardboard boxes. Instead, more than half of Coupang's orders are hand-delivered in a bag to customers' doors by a Coupang employee. Doing so saves more space in the delivery truck than packing items in cardboard boxes would, and some of the company's employees make deliveries only on foot.

Coupang delivery people can also cart away returns and do exchanges on the spot.

Spending money to make money

Kim says that "millions" of customers now order from the service at least 50 times a year, or nearly once every week. Coupang is now the largest retailer in South Korea for some items, like diapers. Kim says the company sells half of all diapers sold in the country — either online or off. 

The company is now approaching $5 billion in annual revenue and is projecting 70% growth by the end of this year. 

All of that innovation is expensive, though, and the changes are largely outpacing revenue growth. It has been fueled by investments from venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital, BlackRock, and SoftBank's Vision Fund, which Kim says was pivotal in its growth. By 2015, Coupang was valued at $5 billion.

Though it was once profitable, the company posted a loss of up to $600 million in 2017, according to Bloomberg.

Kim doesn't seem worried, however. 

"Right now, we're just so focused on building a foundation for the long term," Kim said. "I think the market, and the opportunity for customers' lives to be changed, is so huge right now ... It's just so early in that evolution, that our investors, and we are aligned, that this is the time for investment."

It's not uncommon for companies — especially e-commerce-centric ones — to post losses as it builds infrastructure. Amazon, for example, posted losses for years before its current stunning growth streak began.

Amazon does not have domestic operations in South Korea or in the vast majority of Asian countries, instead focusing on developing countries like India. Shoppers in South Korea still do order from Amazon's worldwide website, however, and that trend is picking up steam. According to the US Department of Commerce, online sales of cross-border commerce from foreign companies reached $2 billion in South Korea in 2017, up from $1.6 billion in 2016. Amazon and Ebay led the way.

SoftBank has tripled down on its bet on Coupang with another $2 billion investment it announced in November, which a source told TechCrunch valued the company at a cool $9 billion. It has raised $3.4 billion in total to date. 

It's home for now

Coupang has grown ito the dominant position in South Korea. And that is projected to bear fruit. On the back of the country's investment in infrastructure and the very high percentage of the population that both owns a smartphone and is willing to shop from it, e-commerce in South Korea is expected to reach 31% of all spending in the country by 2021, according a report by Euromonitor cited by the Wall Street Journal.

For comparison, US online spending is projected to reach about a third of that next year, according to EMarketer data.

But that doesn't mean Coupang will never leave home.

"The home market for us is still very much the focus," Kim said. "The constraints that we are solving for: high penetration of smartphones, people living in vertical, dense cities. These are similar challenges that you would find in other emerging Asian economies as well. I think there are possibilities of the platforms that we're building translating in other markets."

As for another IPO on the horizon? We'll have to wait and see. 

"At some point, an IPO is in our future," Kim said. "I don't think there's any specific time table I can share right now."

SEE ALSO: Walmart has a new initiative that proves it still has a serious edge against Amazon in one key way

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Almost 80% of the textbook industry is dominated by 5 publishing companies that make books so expensive most students skip buying them

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Food, and specifically sweet treats, is an essential part of the holiday season. If you're not spending your holidays in flannel pajamas picking out which chocolate truffle to eat next or fueling your solo performance of Christmas carols with peppermint candies and a shot of hot cocoa, you might not be doing it right. 

The greatest gift you can give a sweet tooth who enjoys indulging in the above activities is something they can eat. Candy, cocoa, cookies — as long as it's sugary and seasonal, they'll love it. 

These 20 holiday food gifts will keep them full and happy this season. 

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out all of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides for 2018 here.

A fan-favorite peppermint bark

The Original Peppermint Bark, $21.71, available at Williams-Sonoma

Gifters have been flocking to Williams-Sonoma's peppermint bark for years. It gets the proportion of dark to white chocolate just right, is topped with crunchy peppermint candy pieces, and comes in a nostalgic collectible tin. 

Grown-up gummy bears

24k Gold Rose All Day Bears, $24, available at Sugarfina

They'll savor each one of these fancy gummies, which are infused with rosé from Provence and gilded with edible 24k gold leaf. 

A huge variety of Belgian truffles

Ultimate Truffle Collection (80-piece), $175, available at Godiva

The only way to experience Godiva at its best is with this decadent collection. They can try creative flavors like Rocky Road Ice Cream Parlor alongside staples like a simple Milk Chocolate. 

• Margaret Gieszinger, a science teacher at University Preparatory High School in Visalia, California, was arrested on Wednesday.
• She had been filmed singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" while cutting a student's hair at the front of a classroom.
• Students had reported her to officials days before the outburst happened in class. 

Students had reportedly warned administrators at a California high school about a teacher's strange behavior days before she was filmed forcibly cutting off a student's hair in the middle of class.

Margaret Gieszinger, a science teacher at University Preparatory High School in Visalia, was arrested on Wednesday after video of the incident was posted online.

According to one parent,though, students had reported Gieszinger for strange behavior on Monday, but school officials turned them away, the Visalia Times Delta reported.

Two days before Wednesday's incident, in which she was filmed as she belted out the national anthem and attempted to cut more than one student's hair, Gieszinger reportedly had an outburst over a missing test.

"I know that on Monday she had another freak out because a test was missing or something. She accused the students of taking the test," one student told ABC 30.

A UPHS parent, Sara Rocha, said her daughter's friend reported Gieszinger to administrators on Monday after the alleged outburst.

Read more:A California teacher was arrested after appearing to forcibly cut off a student's hair while singing the national anthem

"(Students) asked for help," she told the Visalia Times Delta. "But were told they had to go back to class." 

One student, Lauren Hizon, said Gieszinger is a "jokester" and that she was shocked by the teacher's actions.

“She was always nice, that’s why we were surprised,” Hizon told the Times Delta.

Tulare County Office of Education, which oversees the high school, is investigating the incident.

Read more:The husband of a teacher who got arrested after being filmed forcibly cutting a student's hair said he's shocked and confused by video of the incident

Officials said counselors would be available for students affected by Gieszinger's actions.

Jim Vidak, superintendent of Tulare County schools, said Gieszinger would not return to her classroom and a substitute will take over for the rest of the semester.

Visalia Times Delta reported that, according to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Gieszinger's teaching credential was suspended in 2007 and 2016. The reasons behind the suspensions remain unclear.

Gieszinger is now being held at the Tulare County Pre-Trial Facility on $100,000 bail on suspicion of felony child endangerment.

Administrators at UPHS did not immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.

• Read more:
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• President Donald Trump hinted on Friday that he would make an announcement about the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• The chairman is the president's top military adviser and oversees US military operations.
• According to reports on Friday, Army chief of staff Gen. Mark Milley will be picked for the job.

President Donald Trump will tap Army chief of staff Gen. Mark Milley to take over as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, people familiar with the decision told The Washington Post.

The New York Times also reported that Milley would be named chairman, citing administration sources.

Milley, a four-star general, was commissioned in 1980 and has led command and staff positions in eight Army divisions and Special Forces. He has also held positions with the 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain Division and is well known at the Pentagon and throughout the Army.

Read more: 11 books the US Army's top officer recommends to help understand the world

He was deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and served three tours during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, where he was the commanding general of International Security Assistance Force joint command and deputy commanding general of US forces.

Milley's experience with counterinsurgency operations informed the creation of the Army's Security Force Assistance Brigades, which are units tasked with training and advising local partner forces. The first brigade was launched earlier this year and deployed to Afghanistan. Several other brigades have been stationed in the US.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs oversees US military operations around the world and is the top adviser to the president on military affairs. The current chairman, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, is set to retire on October 1, 2019.

Milley, along with Navy chief of operations Adm. John Richardson and Marine Corps commandant Gen. Robert Neller, is expected to complete his current position around the middle of 2019.

Trump hinted a looming announcement about the chairmanship on Friday after confirming his picks for the attorney general and the US ambassador to the United Nations.

Read more: The US military's top officer says Russia and China present different challenges — but they both can rival US power

"I have another one for tomorrow that I’m going to be announcing at the Army-Navy game," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I can give you a little hint: It will have to do with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and succession."

Two weeks ago, Trump met with Milley and Air Force chief of staff Gen. David Goldfein, an experienced aviator who is also well respected at the Pentagon.

While Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had a good relationship with Milley, he preferred Goldfein, according to The Post. Trump's decision to go with the Army chief of staff was noted by some current and former officials as another sign of Mattis' waning influence.

If chosen, Milley will need to be confirmed by the Senate.

SEE ALSO: 'We can do better': The Navy's newest fleet commander says US ships and sailors got 'beat up' during NATO's biggest exercise since the Cold War

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• Stocks turned negative after opening higher Friday.
• The US jobs report showed a slowdown in hiring.
• Watch the major US indexes trade in real time here.

Stocks turned negative Friday amid concerns of a slowing US economy after the jobs report missed Wall Street estimates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 2.5%, or more than 600 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3.2%, and the S&P 500 was down 2.6%. Stocks had earlier climbed on the back of renewed expectations for the Federal Reserve to pursue a slower interest-rate path.

Semiconductor companies including Micron Technology (-4.9%) and Nvidia (-6.1%) were among the biggest losers. Technology giants were also lower, with Apple down nearly 3% and Intel 3.2% lower. 

The US economy added 155,000 jobs in November, well below expectations of 198,000, and the unemployment rate held near historic lows at 3.7%. Wages grew at a slightly slower-than-expected pace, rising 0.2% for a second straight month.

"For markets, of course, this is the new Goldilocks: still strong-enough job growth, but a more cautious Fed will be good for markets and overall business confidence," said Josh Wright, the chief economist at iCIMS Inc.

Treasury yields seesawed as market watchers digested the report. After initially falling, the yield on the benchmark 10-year note erased its early losses and climbed back to unchanged near 2.895%. All eyes have been on rates this week after parts of the yield curve inverted, an occurrence seen as a potential recession signal. The dollar slipped against a basket of peers.

"The immediate reaction in Treasuries was that this is a soft report, but yields are now back to the pre-data level; we think that makes sense," Ian Shepherdson, the chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in an email. "These numbers won't deflect the Fed next week, and we see every reason to expect a return to 200K job gains in December."

Officials are still expected to hike the fed funds rate by a quarter percentage point to a target range of 2.25% to 2.5% next week, but the path for next year is less clear.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized the strength of the labor market late Thursday, saying,"By many national-level measures, our labor market is very strong." The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported the central bank might adopt a "wait-and-see approach" to future policy decisions.

The S&P 500's energy sector was little changed after the OPEC cartel of oil producers reached a deal to cut coordinated output levels. Oil spiked following the agreement, with West Texas Intermediate trading at $52.95 a barrel and Brent at $61.73. Prices are still in bear territory, however, losing nearly a quarter in value since the beginning of November.

On the trade front, President Donald Trump said early Friday that "China talks are going very well!" Wall Street suffered its worst session since October on Tuesday following the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies. The incident cast doubt on trade relations between Washington and Beijing, which agreed last weekend to pause tariff escalations for negotiations.

Elsewhere, Altria, one of the largest tobacco companies in the world, was up 0.2% after announcing plans to invest $1.8 billion in the cannabis producer Cronos.

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NOW WATCH: 7 things you shouldn't buy on Black Friday

Hello,

Welcome to Dispensed, a new email containing the biotech, pharma, and healthcare stories that kept Business Insider's healthcare team busy this week. 

For those of you who've followed my previous newsletter, Drug Developments, never fear! This will feel the exact same way, just sent through Business Insider rather than independently — and with a much cooler name. It'll still come out on Fridays as a way to recap the week.

New to the newsletter? You can sign up here. 

And boy was it a week. For starters, Emma Court joined our team on Monday! Based in NYC, she'll be working alongside me, West Coast correspondent Erin Brodwin and our editor Zach Tracer.

Not sure who to reach out to on a topic? Feel free to find us all at healthcare@businessinsider.com. 

On the news side too, there were some exciting developments. On Friday alone, we witnessed the biggest initial public offering in biotech history after Moderna priced at $23 a share, raising more than $600 million. 

Moderna is sliding in its Wall Street debut after the biggest IPO in biotech history

• Moderna Therapeutics started trading Friday in its initial public offering under the ticker "MRNA."
• It raised more than $600 million in the biggest IPO in biotech history, selling shares at $23 each.
• Moderna's stock declined in its trading debut on Friday.
• Moderna is developing medical treatments based on messenger RNA, and the company is still in the early days of human trials for its treatments.

I also took some time these past few weeks to dive into the urgent care market, whose offices are seemingly turning up in every neighborhood in the US.

The move toward convenience is making everyone from hospitals to health insurers pay attention. 

The doctor who founded CityMD and sold it for $600 million explains how a new kind of medical clinic is changing how Americans get healthcare

• Urgent-care centers have become an increasingly popular way to get healthcare in the US.
• Big players — from health plans to hospital systems to private-equity investors — all want in on urgent care, which grew by 25% between 2014 and 2017.
• The growth is coming at a time when the way Americans access healthcare is changing.

As part of it, I chatted with CityMD CEO Richard Park, who walked me through his decision to open up an urgent care site in Jackson Heights, Queens, even though it ended up losing millions. 

In pharma, I had a standing-desk-style meeting with Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan at the Forbes Healthcare Summit last week. Here were some of the highlights from our chat:

• The CEO of $230 billion pharma giant Novartis explains why he's not scared of buying biotechs at an earlier — and riskier — stage
• The CEO of Novartis wants to 'un-boss' the $230 billion pharma giant, and he's starting with letting employees wear jeans to work

Emma's first official BI byline was a story about the latest development from AbbVie's Stemcentrx acquisition. 

A cancer drug that AbbVie acquired in a $10 billion deal is looking more and more like a failure

• AbbVie acquired the buzzy cancer drug Rova-T in a 2016 deal worth up to $10.2 billion.
• But the company just stopped enrolling a late-stage trial at an independent committee's recommendation because patients had shorter survival results on the drug.
• Wall Street had already been lowering its expectations for Rova-T earlier this year.

And Zach and Erin tackled an interesting story coming out of the DNA space about a startup that wants to pay for your genetic code. 

A tiny startup wants to pay you for your DNA, and it could lead to the next wave of medical innovation

• A startup called LunaDNA is taking a new approach to genetic research by paying individuals to share their information with scientists.
• Right now, some DNA testing companies already sell your genome for medical research, though you can usually opt out.
• You probably won't get rich off your DNA. LunaDNA estimates the value of your whole genome at $21, for now.

Zach and the graphics team also mapped out the percentage of income devoted to healthcare spending in each state. Definitely makes me want to move away from NYC...

More ahead now that the team is fully assembled! I'm going to be out in Seattle for the first half of next week learning more about the health and tech developments taking place in the area. If there's folks I should be meeting while I'm out there, please let me know — my days are pretty full, but still on the hunt for breakfast and dinner companions. 

Tips, things we missed while waiting for Moderna to start trading, or — perhaps importantly — suggestions for places to go/eat in Seattle while I'm out there next week? Find me at lramsey@businessinsider.com. 

And don't forget tosign up for the newsletter!

- Lydia

SIGN UP: Dispensed: A weekly dose of pharma, biotech, and healthcare news

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• On Friday, China launched a space mission to the far side of the moon — the first ever to land on the face of the moon that Earth can't see.
• Called Chang'e-4, the mission aims to gently set down a rover and lander on the lunar surface.
• The two Chinese-built robots will record unprecedented measurements of the moon's geology and chemistry in an ancient impact crater.
• The moon mission will also see if the area is appropriate to build a powerful deep-space radio telescope or maybe a base.
• The lander contains a sealed box that will try to grow plants and silkworms.

China has just blasted toward a unique place in space exploration history.

Around 1:23 p.m. EST on Friday (early Saturday morning in China), the country's space agency launched a lunar-landing mission toward the moon's far side, which is hidden from Earth's view.

The mission seeks to gently touch the spacecraft down on the far side some time in January 2019, according to a post by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Group. No country or space agency, including NASA and Russia, has ever landed a spacecraft on the far side of the moon.

The Chinese moon mission is called Chang'e-4. The name "Chang'e" is that of a mythical lunar goddess, and the "4" indicates that this is the fourth robotic mission in China's decade-long lunar space exploration program.

"The mission is ambitious and the science is amazing," Tamela Maciel, an astrophysicist and communications manager at the National Space Center in Leicester, England, tweeted on Friday. "Chang'e-4 plans to explore the oldest and deepest impact basin on the moon — the South Pole-Aitken basin, which we never see from Earth since it's on the far side."

In fact, Chang'e-4 is poised to make the first-ever "soft landing on and inspection of" the far side of the moon, an official said in August at China's National Defense Science and Technology Bureau in Beijing.

The mission's rover and lander could take unprecedented measurements of the rocks and lunar soil, or regolith, on the moon's far side (a lunar "dark side" is something of a misnomer), while also paving the way for a lunar landing with people.

Read more: NASA's first moon landings in nearly 50 years may happen in 2019. The agency thinks these 9 companies can get it to the lunar surface.

China hopes to launch a crewed moon-landing mission in the early 2030s. If that happens as planned, it could be the first time people set foot on the lunar surface since NASA's Apollo program ended in 1972.

Some military experts worry a crewed landing would help China dominate dominate the moon, which is rich in water ice and other resources to support permanent moon bases, make rocket fuel, and power deep-space exploration.

What Chang'e-4 will do — and why it could be revolutionary

Chang'e-4 is made from backup hardware for Chang'e-3, a nearly identical mission that launched the Yutu or "Jade Rabbit" rover along with a stationary probe to the moon's near side in 2013.

Given Chang'e-3's success, officials said at the time that the backup hardware would be retrofitted for Chang'e-4.

If the landing is successful, Chang'e-4 will set down in a 1,550-mile-wide crater called Von Kármán. The crater exists within a huge and ancient feature called the South Pole-Aitken Basin, which was the site of a cataclysmic impact about 3.9 billion years ago. This collision may have punched all the way through the moon's crust.

"It's possible this basin is so deep that it contains material from the moon's inner mantle," Maciel said. "By landing on the far side for the first time, the Chang'e-4 lander and rover will help us understand so much more about the moon's formation and history."

The Chinese robots might therefore be able to study some of the moon's most ancient and hidden rocks. Those samples could help scientists better understand the moon's extremely violent history, since they might be wildly different than anything the US or Russia has ever examined.

Erik Asphaug, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, has said that other exotic grit could also be found.

"The moon's far side is the oldest surface, and there are probably some Earth rocks over there that got transported early on. And there they still sit," Asphaug previously told this reporter for a story published by Popular Mechanics. "Locked within those samples may be direct records of conditions on Earth between 4.3 and 3.8 billion years ago — right around the time biologists think life got its start here.

Asphaug describes the moon as "a storehouse of terrestrial evolution."

"It's kind of like granny's attic, where you find her old pom poms and question everything you knew before," he said.

Read more: The space between Earth and the moon is mind-boggling. This graphic reveals just how big it is — and what's out there.

The scouting done by the Chang'e-4 rover might also help identify a suitable place to build a telescope that could study the Big Bang's afterglow, according to Air and Space magazine.

That afterglow is called the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, or CMBR, and it's tough to "see" amid all of the signals emanating from humanity's telecommunications. But the moon's far side should be extraordinarily quiet, since that noisy chatter is blocked by the moon itself.

Chang'e-4 could deploy an experiment to take images of the CMBR in low-frequency radio waves — a feat that's practically impossible on Earth.

Yet such frequencies are essential to understanding the universe's and our own origins.

"We need these signals to learn whether and how the universe inflated rapidly in the first trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang," Joseph Silk, an astronomer at Johns Hopkins University, wrote in Nature earlier this year.

Chang'e-4 will also test some hardware that China plans to use for Chang'e-5: a mission designed to collect about 4.4 lbs of dust and rocks from a northwest part of the moon and bring those samples back to Earth. That mission is supposed to launch in late 2019.

China had to launch a special satellite to make its far-side mission possible

For the same reason the moon is very good at blocking Earth's radio signals, it's pretty complicated to pull off a far-side lunar landing and exploration mission.

When Apollo astronauts orbited the moon, for example, they temporarily (and expectedly) lost contact with mission control in Houston each time they passed behind the 2,159-mile-wide ball of rock.

To get around this problem, China successfully launched a precursor mission in May called Queqiao.

Queqiao is a telecommunications satellite that's now parked in a gravity-neutral spot in space, called a Lagrange point, that overlooks the far side of the moon but maintains a line-of-sight to Earth.

"The name Queqiao means 'magpie bridge' in Chinese and comes from a Chinese folk tale, a love story about a flock of magpies that form a bridge crossing the Milky Way once a year to reunite lovers known as the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, as well as their children" according to a blog post by Luyuan Xu at the Planetary Society.

Queqiao will act as a "bridge" between Earth and the Chang'e-4 mission after its robots land. Specifically, the lander will communicate with both the rover and the Queqiao relay satellite, and the satellite will connect with mission control at China National Space Administration.

Lunar silkworms, potatoes, and mustard

China designed its solar-powered moon rover to last about three months and its lander to function for about a year.

In addition to the rock-sampling and radio-astronomy experiments, the mission will carry a miniature ecosystem of life on Earth.

The lander will hold a seven-inch-long aluminum container, designed by 28 universities, that's packed with potato seeds, Arabidopsis (mustard) seeds, and silkworm eggs, according to People's Daily, a state-supervised media outlet in China.

Zhang Yuanxun, chief designer of the container, explained the goal for these seeds and worms in the Chongqing Morning Post, according to People's Daily.

"The eggs will hatch into silkworms, which can produce carbon dioxide, while the potatoes and seeds emit oxygen through photosynthesis," Yuanxun said. "Together, they can establish a simple ecosystem on the moon."

This story has been updated with new information. It was originally published at 12:16 p.m. EST on December 7, 2018.

Na Li contributed Mandarin Chinese translation for this story.

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• Air Italy announced on Wednesday that it plans to launch new routes to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
• Representatives for American, Delta, and United along with members of the Senate have complained that Air Italy shareholder Qatar Airways is bankrolling the airline's expansion with government subsidized money.
• The US carriers believe this behavior is in violation of agreements between the US and the Qatari government.
• US carriers have long accused Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Etihad of using more than $50 billion in government subsidies to tilt the field of competition in their favor.
• The long-running feud between the carriers was thought to have been settled in May. 

On Wednesday, Air Italy announced plans to launch flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco from its main hub in Milan. 

"With the launch of these two new exciting gateways in California, our network will be expanding significantly, providing even more fantastic options for our equally rapidly expanding customer base," Rossen Dimitov, the airline's COO, said in a statement.

However, reaction to the news from American, Delta, United, and nearly a dozen members of the US Senate was swift and negative. 

Air Italy, itself, isn't the reason for the rancor. After all, it's a small airline with a modest 15-aircraft fleet. It's the presence of Air Italy's second-largest shareholder, Qatar Airways, that has ruffled so many feathers.

With this development, the nastiest feud in the airline industry is back on. 

The feud is back

Here's a quick recap of the dispute. 

For years, American, Delta, and United Airlines have complained that the Persian Gulf-based Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways tilted the playfield in their favor by using more than $50 billion in government subsidies to fuel their international expansion. 

The subsidies, the US carriers contend, are in direct violation of the "fair competition" stipulated by the Open Skies agreements that govern air travel between the US and the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. 

The Middle Eastern carriers all deny the existence of subsidies and have accused US airlines of unfair attacks.

Read more: The nastiest feud in the airline industry isn't over just yet.

In May, the governments of the United States and the United Arab Emirates agreed to settle their differences on air transport between the two countries. This agreement, along with a similar deal the Trump administration made with the Qatari government in January, looks to have effectively ended the long-running dispute.

Fast forward six months and here we go again. 

Here's why US airlines are concerned about Air Italy?

Qatar Airways acquired 49% of Italian airline Meridiana in October 2017 and was rebranded as Air Italy in February. The newly christened Air Italy relaunched service using a fleet of new Boeing and Airbus jets acquired with assistance from Qatar Airways.

For example, the airline's new Boeing 737 MAX jets were leased by Qatar Airways for use by Air Italy. While the Airbus A330s used for its US routes all previously served in the Qatar Airways fleet.

Qatar Airways declined to comment on the matter and Air Italy chose to emphasize that it remains an Italian-owned and Italian-run airline.

In a statement to Business Insider, Air Italy said:

"As has been stated previously, Air Italy is an Italy based and Italy registered independent airline owned by AQA Holding with two shareholders, Alisarda which owns 51% and Qatar Airways which owns 49%, with investment reflecting the shareholders’ respective ownership levels."

Alisarda is an air services, airport management, and tourism company based in Olbia, Italy on the island of Sardinia.

The opposition to Air Italy's US expansion believes the airline's growth is being bankrolled by Qatar Airways and is being used to bypass the deal signed by the US and Qatari government earlier this year. According to the Associated Press, the Qatari government indicated that it was not aware of any plans on the part of its national airline to launch new fifth freedom flights. The fifth freedom of the sky is the right to fly between two foreign countries on a flight that either begins or ends in one's own country. 

Read more: The 10 best airlines in the world for 2019.

"With the announcement of new routes from Air Italy to the US, fueled by money from Qatar Airways, the government of Qatar has demonstrated a stunning lack of respect for President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo," Scott Reed, campaign manager for the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies which speaks on behalf of American, Delta, and United, said in a statement.

"When the Trump administration negotiated an agreement with Qatar earlier this year to protect American jobs and restore fair competition to international aviation, the Qatari government agreed that its state-owned airline would not launch future ‘fifth freedom’ flights to the U.S," Reed went on to say. "By exploiting its investment in Air Italy to create a loophole and dodge this pledge, Qatar has violated this agreement and the trust of the United States."

In addition, Texas Senator Ted Cruz along with Senators from Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Oklahoma dispatched a letter this week to the Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to voice their concerns about Qatar Airways adding subsidized competition to the marketplace. 

Air Italy already operates flights to New York and Miami with its Los Angeles and San Francisco routes expected to launch in April. 

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• In an episode of his weekly docu-series, "I am more: OBJ," New York Giants superstar Odell Beckham Jr. said he spends more than $300,000 to take care of his body each offseason.
• The 26-year-old wide receiver said he was inspired by the longevity of Tom Brady and other players in their 18th and 19th seasons in the league.
• Other superstar athletes, such as LeBron James and James Harrison, have perfected the art of using the tools around them to extend the lifespans of their careers.

New York Giants superstar Odell Beckham Jr. has made a career out of defying the odds.

And in the latest episode of his weekly docu-series "I am more: OBJ," Beckham said his goal is to do so for years to come.

The 26-year-old Beckham estimated that he spends over $300,000 each offseason on body maintenance, with money going to doctors, massage therapists, trainers, track specialists, chiropractors, and more.

For most people that astronomical price tag is out of reach. However, with Beckham's $90 million contract and endorsements from Nike and others, Beckham sees that expenditure as more of an investment than anything else.

"I take care of my body each and every day," Beckham said, per ESPN's Jordan Raanan. "I put, probably, over $300,000 in my body in the offseason. It's a lot to upkeep. I don't ever want to decline."

Beckham cited Tom Brady as a source of inspiration. Brady — who is currently playing in his 18th NFL season — is famous for going to great lengths to keep his body in top shape. He eats a diet that consists nearly 80% of vegetables, opts for exercises that increase flexibility rather than those that involve lifting heavy weights, and goes to sleep at 8:30 every night. His former teammate James Harrison also spends six figures to keep his body in peak condition.

Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James places a similarly high premium on caring for his body. James has cited sleep as the most critical component of his recovery routine, aiming to get eight or nine hours of quality sleep each night. He also reportedly spends lots of money on his body care regiment, but at 33 years old, James shows no signs of slowing down.

But that doesn't prevent his younger teammates for teasing him about his age:

Beckham is in good company when it comes to investing in his greatest asset. Having endured a severe ankle injury last season, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native understands what it takes to keep his body right. He worked with popular NFL trainer Jamal Liggin and celebrity trainer Colt Colletti this offseason to regain his pre-injury agility and speed. He also consulted with USC Director of Track and Field Caryl Smith Gilbert.

"I feel like next year I'll be even better," Beckham said during the episode. And if Brady, Harrison, and James are any indication, he's probably right.

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