Women have been taking oral contraceptives, aka The Pill, for almost 50 years to prevent pregnancy. But there are a lot of misconceptions about taking the pill, particularly those about weight gain. Most side effects of taking oral contraceptives are mild and include breast tenderness, nausea, headache and breakthrough bleeding….
By Janet Martin Some people complain that no amount of exercising or dieting can help them lose their weight. It seems that even if they reduce the amount of calories they take in daily or increase their exercise regimen, the drop in their weight stays marginal at best. There are…
There’s a reason MP3 players have taken over the gym. One of the best ways to pump up your adrenaline during a workout is to turn up the tunes. Studies have shown that listening to music can actually heighten the flow of your exercises. If you’re a runner, then the…
If you’re like most people, you’ve been doing the usual set of workouts and exercises to get into shape. Push-ups, sit ups, crunches and lunges are great exercises when you’re first starting out, but your body will adapt to the routine fairly quickly. The result? Fewer calories burned and little…
Diet & Fitness / Healthy Eating
by Amy Daughdrill Fasting has been instituted by people of nearly all faiths as a religious practice since before recorded history. By definition, it is the act of abstaining from food, drink or both for a period of time. As a spiritual practice, it is believed to be an act…
It’s that time of the year again, when kids stop complaining about summertime boredom and start complaining about what’s in their lunchboxes. The easy way out might entail throwing an all-inclusive Lunchable in the box and calling it a day. But that Lunchable label isn’t so lovely – those handy,…
The sheer amount of dos and don’ts when it comes to weight loss is mind-boggling. How can you keep it all straight? When to eat, when NOT to eat, cut out certain food groups, eat low-fat, eat more fats…no wonder it’s so hard to stick with a healthy eating plan….
If you like to run, power walk or participate in high-impact activities, then you’re probably familiar with shin splints, that excruciating pain that occurs a few inches below the knee. The term is a generic one that describes pain near the shin bone where the calf muscle attaches to the…
Everyone can benefit from and enjoy exercise, but what if weather, transportation or time restrictions keep you away from your favorite workout? Novice exercisers may feel uncomfortable at a gym or exercising in public, so what is there to do when embarking on a fitness plan? You might want to…
Diet & Fitness / Healthy Eating
There has been a blizzard of information about anti-inflammatory diets within the past several years, beginning with the anti-aging studies of Yale University professor Dr. Nicholas Perricone. He introduced the anti-inflammation concept into popular vocabulary in 2002 with his book, The Perricone Prescription, as baby boomers grew more concerned with…