Exercising is one of the best ways to keep your heart healthy and reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease, which causes 25% of deaths among Americans each year.  At the same time, skipping exercise can increase your risk. For example, it's estimated that 35% of deaths from coronary heart disease are caused by physical inactivity.  "Even without having risk factors, physical inactivity can lead to heart disease and dying from premature cardiovascula...

The godfather of fitness Jack LaLanne himself once told me that his secret to avoiding plateaus was religiously changing his workout routine every three to four weeks. He was pushing 90 at the time, and though certainly past his physical prime, he was still remarkably fit and strong, thanks to heeding his own advice. LaLanne understood that the human body is incredibly adaptable. That’s why we train: When you push the limits of what your body is comfortable with and capable of,...

Miki Gorman-an elite runner and the last American woman to win the New York Marathon until just last year-was known for running as if she had a built-in metronome. She had a vibration with each step, a beat she followed: one step at a time, one breath at a time. No distractions. In fact, she described running as a meditative state of movement, a feeling many runners can relate to. Yet, there's a disconnect: Have you ever really connected your feet to your mind? While we often follow ...

Art therapy is a way of using art and creative expression to support healing and health.  Anyone can benefit from art therapy, but it's particularly useful for people who might have difficulty processing their emotions in words. That includes children, people with trauma, and people with dementia.  "Art therapy is the use of the creative process, alongside a masters-level art therapist [a mental health therapist with formal art therapy training], to increase resiliency...

For parents of kids who are picky eaters, introducing any new food item into their diets can be a challenge. That challenge gets even more complicated when parents try to introduce kids to vegan or vegetarian diets—especially when they’re doing it at older ages The good news? There are a lot more options now than in the past. Carolyn Scott-Hamilton, a holistic nutritionist, vegan chef, cookbook author, and television personality, points out that plant-based food products have improved in...

Whether it’s a never-ending to do list, the constant stream of somber news, or trying to focus on that Zoom meeting while the dogs bark and the doorbell rings, the sources of stress in our lives right now are at an all-time high. The good news? There are simple steps you can take to regain some calm in your life. Here are six ways to reduce stress and anxiety in five minutes or less: 1. Focus on your breathing. According to Dr. Marlynn Wei, a psychiatrist based in New Yo...

Just as our bodies tend to atrophy the older you get, so do our brains. We all know you can keep your body physically fit to stave off an inevitable decline, but can we do the same with our minds? Despite what you may think about your brain being a hardwired organ incapable of reinventing itself past a certain age, there are ways to forge new cognitive connections through a concept called neuroplasticity—the ability of neural networks in the brain to establish new connections in response to new...

It feels like I’m constantly checking the metrics of my workout—how much time has passed or how much “distance” I’ve traveled—during virtual spin classes. And it’s no surprise that such a habit isn’t exactly what an expert in exercise psychology recommends. “Attending to the metrics during a workout can be harmful because our reliance on time, pace, or distance can replace our ability to listen to our bodies,” says Amber Shipherd, PhD, CMPC, executive board member for the Association ...

Intermittent fasting, or limiting your eating to a set window of time each day (or week), is one of the biggest trends in nutrition right now. Promising research has linked intermittent fasting with health benefits like weight loss, better blood sugar control, and healthier aging. But it's far from a cure-all for any of these issues, and there are still limitations to the research showing its benefits for humans, experts say. Abstaining from food - even for short periods - can...

What if one of the best ways to feel healthy and confident in our bodies is to shift eating habits in a way that betters the world around us? In 2019, a global group of experts formed the EAT-Lancet Commission and released the planetary health diet as a science-based, accessible solution to the growing population in a struggling environment. For three years, an international team of 37 scientists studied and researched practices around the world and developed a well-rounded ...