I recently brought home one of those free magazines you get at the health food store checkout because I usually find some tasty recipes. With January turning into the shed-the-holiday-pounds month, you can find weight-loss articles in just about any magazine lately, and the issue I picked up was no exception with a piece about how to lose weight — for good.

One of the sections of this piece talked about the importance of exercise with some suggested routines for weight loss:

If possible, get 60 to 90 minutes of moderate exercise every day to lose and keep weight off.

If you're the average non-athletically-inclined person reading that recommendation, you'll probably have the same thoughts I did. If I have to work out that much, I'd be killing myself and making myself miserable…so what's the use? And how could I fit 90 minutes into my schedule every day when I'm cramming so much into it already?

Not only is that much regular exercise for the average person a formidable and unrealistic goal, but more recently the benefit of exercise for weight loss has come into question.  Several controversial studies have been published, or are underway, that give us a fresh perspective of the role exercise plays in our quest to burn body fat: Read the rest of this entry »

With all the health and lifestyle recommendations I post on my site, people must think I live a blissfully perfect life. Well, I don't know anybody that close to perfection, especially me. I readily admit I cave in to occasional sugar-cookie and potato-chip binges (gasp — white sugar and carcinogens!) or sit at a computer all day without blinking. BUT overall, I usually seek to maintain balance in my life in the easiest, most natural way possible.

I'm 45 and have stayed the same weight all my adult life, about 110 lb. I hardly have any graying hair. And — with the exception of red wine and chocolate intolerance (which is slowly disappearing possibly thanks to coconut oil) — I don't have any health problems. I must be doing some things right, but exactly what they are, I'm not quite sure. So here are my typical health habits. Read the rest of this entry »

In recent years, antioxidants have been touted as a secret to healthy living: The molecules bind to reactive oxygen compounds called "free radicals" that are known to damage the body's tissues. The amount of oxidative damage increases with age, and according to one theory of aging it is a major cause of the body's decline [The New York Times]. But a new study examined the effects of the antioxidant vitamins C and E when combined with an exercise regimen, and found a considerably more complicated story. The researchers found that free radicals may be beneficial in small doses, and may even help protect against diabetes. And mopping them up with antioxidants may do more harm than good [BBC News].

During a workout, the muscles metabolize glucose to create energy, but in the process some free radicals are released. The body has a natural defense mechanism to combat these free radicals, but many researchers had theorized that the body can't catch all of the harmful compounds, which makes antioxidant supplements sound like a logical solution.
Read the rest of this entry »

F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," illustrates a fictitious character who was born an old man, and as time progressed, grew increasingly younger. It goes without question we accept this as an impossible scenario, since our current body of scientific knowledge holds that a human's natural cycle is to be born tabula rasa, starting fresh as a newborn, only to experience decay and disease as we are exposed to the antagonists of healthy living. But after seeing the movie my curiosity was piqued. If we can think ourselves healthier, can we think ourselves younger?
Read the rest of this entry »

Liver cleanses, lemonade fasting, fat flush plans, herbal kits…is the money you spend to detoxify your body well spent, or are you just throwing it away on useless products?

Such detoxification routines are becoming extremely popular, as people try to bring back into balance what they feel is an unhealthy living environment full of carcinogenic chemicals, such as PCBs, PBDEs, and phthalates,  now being found in everyday consumer products.

PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), in particular, pose a significant concern regarding uncontrolled overexposure to manmade chemicals. Read the rest of this entry »

There are some holistic therapies notable for improving and maintaining good heart health based on the work of cardiologists Dr. Stephen Sinatra and Dr. James Roberts, and also experiential data, folklore, and time-tested indigenous wisdom handed down through many generations.

Read the rest of this entry »

You may already be familiar with one of the biggest threats to our health: it is heart disease in all its existing forms — atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries from plaque buildup), stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), peripheral artery disease, arrhythmia, high cholesterol, congestive heart failure, aneurysm, and thrombosis.

While sometimes genetic, it is mostly preventable and treatable, yet is the leading cause of death in the United States, Canada, and England (affecting approximately 700,000 people in the U.S.).
Read the rest of this entry »

A genetic study of worms has challenged the prevailing theory of aging, which holds that organisms eventually break down and die as a result of wear-and tear on their bodies. Researchers have found that certain genes in the worms are genetically programmed to stop functioning as the worm ages; while there's no guarantee that a similar process takes place in humans, the results nevertheless give hope that science eventually may find a way to stop or reverse the aging process [HealthDay News].

Researchers have thought that aging is due to damage inflicted on our cellular DNA (genetic material) by factors such as smoking, disease, the sun's ultraviolet rays and chemically reactive molecules called free radicals, which are produced when our cells make energy. [This study] suggests instead that a combination of factors is at play — that in addition to [environmental factors], there are also certain genes that may carry instructions to start the aging process [Scientific American].
Read the rest of this entry »

Go ahead, order that latte with a double shot of espresso. Then do it again and again. A new study shows that drinking up to six cups of coffee a day won't shorten your life span, and for women that daily coffee habit may even protect against heart disease.

The Spanish researchers who conducted the study are excited about their findings, but they stop short of prescribing coffee jolts to all. "Our results suggest that long-term, regular coffee consumption does not increase the risk of death and probably has several beneficial effects on health," said lead researcher Dr. Esther Lopez-Garcia…. Lopez-Garcia stressed that the findings may only hold true only for healthy folk. "People with any disease or condition should ask their doctor about their risk, because caffeine still has an acute effect on short-term increase of blood pressure," she said [HealthDay News].
Read the rest of this entry »