Category: Fitness & Nutrition

If Weight Loss Is Your Only Goal for Exercise, It’s Time to Rethink Your Priorities

As an aesthetic society, we often demonize body fat and stigmatize people with lots of it. There’s often an assumption that people carrying excess weight don’t exercise and must be unhealthy. But that’s not true: you can be fat and fit. In fact, as we age, low levels of fitness can be more harmful to our health than high amounts of…


When Cold Yin Energy Reaches Its Peak, Protect Your Heart

A solar term is a period of about two weeks and is based on the sun’s position in the zodiac. Solar terms form the traditional Chinese calendar system. The calendar follows the ancient Chinese belief that living in accordance with nature will enable one to live a harmonious life. This article series explores each of…


How My Family Beat COVID-19

My family contracted COVID-19 in mid-summer of 2021. We fully recovered within 2 1/2 weeks and haven’t experienced any long-term symptoms, or what’s commonly referred to as long COVID. Others haven’t been as fortunate. As of November, according to a report from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, between 3 million and 10…


Fall Foods for Good Health

I grew up on a bluff overlooking the Connecticut River. Looking out our front window gave us a view over the entire river valley, which on a clear day allowed us to see all the way to the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Behind our house was a large orchard that rose even higher on our hill….


Insights Into Seasonal Affective Disorder

As the days continue to get shorter and colder, it’s likely that you or someone you know has started to experience seasonal mood changes. Symptoms such as a loss of energy, a dip in mood, a lack of interest, or trouble focusing can often be attributed to the lack of daylight we take in. When these symptoms…


Addictive and Unhealthy

Every year, millions of Americans try to cut down on ultra-processed foods—industrial formulations that are typically high in added fat, refined carbohydrates, or both. Think cookies, cakes, potato chips, and pizza. For many, the desire to change what they eat is triggered by concerns about potentially life-threatening health conditions like diabetes and heart disease. The impact of diet…


Interrupting Insomnia

A good night’s sleep is crucial for a healthy and productive day, not to mention a good and healthy life. A simple way to understand why we sleep is to think of what our bodies do when we exercise or even just go for a long walk. After a time (shorter for some, longer for…


Staying Hydrated Is About More Than Drinking Water

The age-old advice about drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily just doesn’t hold water for everyone, although it can be a reasonable starting point. According to the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, men need about 15.5 cups of fluid daily while women need 11.5 cups. But what if the man weighs 150 pounds…


Sitting More Linked to Depression, Anxiety

Almost everyone has heard the saying “sitting is the new smoking,” but a new study shows it has an impact on depression and anxiety as well. With so many people self-isolating during the early months of the COVID-19 outbreak, more people found themselves sitting for longer periods than ever before. Zoom meetings erased time spent…


Hair Today, Hair Tomorrow

Want more good hair days? Don’t we all. For many of us, those luxurious locks we so proudly wore with confidence and grace when we were younger have gotten thinner and duller with age. But if you’re like me, you aren’t giving in to aging easily. That means holding on to every strand of hair…