Pets. There's just something about them that makes us feel good! So good, in fact, that pet owners visit their doctor less often than non-pet owners. While this is true, few people know the reasons why, until now. These health benefits may not seem life-changing individually, but when combined, they add up to a healthier and happier you. ...

After 40, some parts of our bodies become tighter and stiffer while others become rounder and squishier! There are a couple of reasons why this happens. The metabolism slows by about 5% every decade after the age of 40. You will have to eat 100 calories less every day to maintain your weight, and much less if trying to lose weight. As if having to ...

Physical fitness gets a lot of attention and for good reason. It can literally keep the doctor away by preventing obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other diseases that are caused by unhealthy lifestyles. However, being physically fit is only half the battle; the other half is emotional fitness. Emotional fitness doesn't just happen automa...

More than 45 million Americans experience mental illness every year. That's about 1 in 5 adults. There's so much stigma surrounding this ailment that people go to great lengths to hide their mental health condition, including failing to seek or dropping out of treatment. A huge chunk of the negative stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding m...

Addiction is a complex and chronic disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Even so, many misconceptions remain. This article attempts to provide answers to some of the whys and hows of addiction. Who is at risk for addiction? Anyone can become addicted. Nonetheless, some risk factors significantly increase the odds of addiction. Genetics...

 Some foods are wearing a "healthy" halo they don't deserve. People mistakenly believe they're the healthier option because that's what the commercial claimed, and they eat them without question. For instance, due to a successful marketing campaign in the 90s, many people still think of pork as "the other white meat". Never mind that pork is r...

Many people have a love-hate relationship with exercise. They view exercise as a kind of penance for a bad diet or an unhealthy lifestyle, and the mere thought of exercise invokes feelings of shame, fear, and self-judgment. It's why so many people feel the need to hit the gym after the holiday season, and why more than 90% of those people quit afte...

Few people push their bodies past their physical limits like Olympic athletes, who've proven over and over that when it comes to endurance, strength, and speed, our bodies are capable of far more than we ever thought possible. What if we could learn from these athletes and incorporate their best practices into our workouts? Understanding Your ...

Most of us only know about one type of pneumonia - the one that hospitalizes about 1 million people every year. However, there's another kind called walking pneumonia, whose symptoms are very similar to the common cold or flu. About two million people in the US catch walking pneumonia every year. Most think it's a bad cold and go about life, a...

Having a serious illness like cancer, heart disease, or ALS can be very lonely, and no one should try to bear it alone. First, it isn't practical to hide something that serious from friends and family without them noticing that something is troubling you. Second, acting like everything is okay when it's not, requires energy you need for treatment a...

The average person gains about one pound during the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's. It may seem like a small price to pay for enjoying your favorite holiday treats, but it's quite difficult to shed that weight after the festivities. Did you come here for something in particular or just general Riker-bashing? And blowing into maximum ...