The Checkup - Health and Wellness Blog - April 25, 2010

Is that right? An extra 10 pounds won't hurt, might help?

Ugh. Just when I start to make some real headway in my effort to lose 10 pounds before I turn 50, my friend sends me this article from the Wall Street Journal. I'd been thinking that shedding those last few pounds would help keep me healthy -- and more attractive...

By Jennifer LaRue Huget | April 30, 2010; 7:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Aging , Cancer , Cardiovascular Health , Diabetes , General Health , Is That Right? , Me Minus 10 , Obesity , Prevention , Women's Health
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On Shakespeare, medicine and modern nutrition

Opportunities to indulge the former English major in me are so rare in this health-writer job of mine, I'm inclined to seize them when I see them. Scanning the contents of the new issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, I came across this item in the publication's...

By Jennifer LaRue Huget | April 29, 2010; 7:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: General Health , Mental Health
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The Burrito Diet?

Anybody who loves spicy food knows that jalapeno peppers are a staple of Mexican cuisine. Now there's evidence that a non-burning version of the substance that gives jalapenos their sizzle might help burn calories too. The substance in jalapenos that makes them hot is called capsaicin. There's a naturally occurring,...

By Rob Stein | April 28, 2010; 7:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Nutrition and Fitness , Obesity | Tags: Calorie, Obesity, Research, Weight loss
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Betting on breakfast

What did you have for breakfast today? I'll admit that in recent years I've been kind of bad about eating breakfast. I don't like to eat anything before yoga class (I prefer practicing on an empty stomach), which means that four mornings a week I wouldn't break my fast with...

By Jennifer LaRue Huget | April 27, 2010; 7:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (24)
Categories: Family Health , Me Minus 10 , Nutrition and Fitness , Obesity
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Chocolate and depression linked, but how?

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) This afternoon, with the publication of this study, we know more about the relationship between chocolate and mood. But not much more. Researchers at the University of California analyzed just over 900 men and women's self-reported chocolate consumption and assessed those people's symptoms of depression (if...

By Jennifer LaRue Huget | April 26, 2010; 5:08 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Mental Health , Nutrition and Fitness , Psychology
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How do unschoolers learn what to eat?

A segment aired on Good Morning America last week raised a buzz over "unschooling," the practice of keeping your kids out of school and allowing them to live an unstructured life without offering any formal academics -- or really much guidance at all. The idea is that kids freed from...

By Jennifer LaRue Huget | April 26, 2010; 7:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Family Health , Nutrition and Fitness , Teens
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