I've been wearing these new Vibram Fivefinger "barefoot" shoes that kinda look like monkey feet: Source These shoes are kinda amazing. Check out this writeup from a blogger on why we should run barefoot (or at leas…

I wish I had the willpower to completely ignore the need to eat. Yes, I know it's an illness. I have the opposite 'illness', but it's not treated as an illness. It's treated as a choice or a character flaw. I come f…

Today we live in a world of texting. No matter where you go you always can find someone doing it. At the bank, at the movies, at restaurants, it's everywhere! One place that it shouldn't be is while driving. I can…

Anti-depressants are something I was raised to view as an unnecessary crutch for the weak minded and irresponsible. I was never told, however, that my mother had been on them for the majority of my life, which in a…

I consider myself a health magazine junkie. Since there are so many, I haven’t had a chance to take a look at all of them yet, but I would definitely like to sometime soon. The ones I normally stick to are Women’s Heal…

I'm sure there are A LOT of you who love traveling to different places around the world. You can call me weird or blame it on pure laziness, but I don’t really like traveling, especially if it's for more than a week. Bu…

Last night when I was looking at my calendar, I was surprised to discover that next week is already September. With all the “back-to-school” commercials on TV and ads everywhere else, I knew fall was right around t…

Blogger's Note: This post is part of a series that takes a closer look at commonly held assumptions about personal health, nutrition and fitness. If you have an idea for a Second Opinion topic, let me know and I’ll do…

A friend of mine was recently grumbling about getting up in the morning. She was telling me that despite setting up a number of alarm clocks, she can never wake up in time for work. Clearly, she needs an alarm clock that…

I have never been anything but chubby my entire life. After not really caring about it for several years of my adolescence, I decided this year that enough was enough, and recently worked my tail off to lose 40 pounds.…

I know it would be best to be at a healthy weight and not smoke. But I seem to be faced with the choice of one or the other.If I want to lose weight, I have to not worry about smoking. I lost 120 pounds in about a year…

After scanning the weekly coupons, one could find in some of their local junkmail a flier with a coupon for Papa Johns Pizza having a deal where you buy a cheese pizza and get free toppings for a limited time. Great!…

In the fantastic state of CT (and possibly other places too), the plan for making money is to tax the fat and fatty foods. Double Bypass Burger: A burger topped with five slices of bacon, four slices of cheese, two f…

Once upon a time, if you wanted to see a really good knock-down-go-see-your-dentist-in-the-morning kinda' fight you had to drop 39.99¢ on Pay-Per-View -- but those days are no more. Who needs to pay for a good old ghe…

I know a lot of guys who are all about getting in shape and being muscular who take protein supplements (such as protein bars or shakes) to help their performances and to see faster results (I'm not saying every guy t…

Few weeks ago, I read an interesting article from Time Magazine that talked about “Why exercise won’t make you thin.” (Click here to read the article). Wow! To a health nut like me, that was a total shocker.

And there's nothing that can be done about it.At the beginning of February she fell to the ground in the middle of gym class and began shaking. She was unresponsive so the teacher was called over and she was rushed t…

I have been struggling to lose this extra little bit of stomach fat that I have to let my abs show. I've been lifting weights for a year, with short run sprints in-between every 2 sets or so. But, I'll start with the…

It amuses me to think of just how paranoid people are of germs these days. It seems that you cant go anywhere without somebody around you having the need to sanitize their hands, or somebody ranting that the air should b…

Before you answer I want you to know a few things about my health and habits. I am epileptic. As a child my seizures were more frequent. There is no cure for my type of epilepsy, nor is there a name. During a seizure my…

Over the course of a year, a good friend of mine has lost over 50 lbs. Through effort, changing her way of eating, careful attention, and exercise, she's keeping a healthier lifestyle. And when people comment that she's…

Anyone else out there ever base their lives around whether they might die this year? Source I'm a natural doom and gloomer. To me, the ultimate optimism is expecting the worst, and when it doesn't happen, your day…

I don’t really swear a lot except for those certain “excusable” times, such as when I’m REALLY irritated, frustrated, or in tremendous pain (ummm…thinking about it now, maybe I do swear more often than I think). I tr…

I've been working for a grocery store off and on for almost 2 years as a cashier, a customer service rep, and now a deli clerk. When I first started there in '07, all I would drink was Sprite, maybe 7Up on occasion, with…

I'm sure a lot of you may have already heard about the term “mood foods,” and how eating the right food can not only help maintain your health, but can also boost your mood.I've always wondered what kind of food you sh…

When you first meet someone, you notice their appearance first. Their smile.How they are dressed.The way they stand.The way they walk.The shape of their legs.The shape of their chest. I like to notice someone's smile fir…

Portion control is especially important when you're at a party, or a friend's house or somewhere that the food choices are unexpected. Here’s a list of common foods and the portion size here: Your stomach is about the s…

The Curious Case of Brooke Greenberg: 16-Year-Old Has the Body and Mind of a Toddler Like most 16-year-olds, Brooke Greenberg enjoys shopping and listening to rock music. But unlike other girls her age who are learni…

All I see are posts regarding anorexia, bulimia, and a combination of both. Everyone forgets about the other eating disorders out there that are equally as tragic and damaging. Binge eating (though, it's usually paire…

My name is Michael, and I am a Fattie.What is a Fattie, you ask? Personally, I would categorize a Fattie as a person who eats far too much and is aware of their habit, but continues to chow. A person who allows them…

I am getting really sick and tired of seeing posts on health kicker about eating disorders that only talk about weight,size, and shape. The real myth is that eating disorders aren't about size, shape, or dieting. Do I ne…

I have been sick for the past 2 weeks. It Sucks! I went and saw my family doctor on Wednesday, and by my symptoms, he couldn't tell me right off the bat what I have, so he got me to do some blood work, and an ultrasoun…

It just started with grades. Coming from a pretty strict Asian family, there was a lot of pressure for me to have straight A’s in my ‘special’ (way above average) middle school. At home, I would receive direct pres…

A collection of people I know are going to or have gone to the psychiatric ward. Either they were heavily depressed, or were just plain crazy, and perhaps, reliable on drugs, the people were screwed up mostly thanks to…

One person can truly make a difference in the life of another. I have believed that my entire life. However, I've only been donating blood to the American Red Cross for the past year since I was eligible. When I decid…

Whenever there is talk regarding the gym showers, we will always be taken back to the good old days of the high school dorm showers. For most people, taking a shower at school in the high school years was deemed as a bol…

Quick Facts and Myths -Around 8,000,000 people in the United States suffer from eating disorders -90% of the people are woman -Eating disorders usually start in the teens, but may begin as young as 8! Weight is always…

After reading Krissy_Cole's featured post on the frontpage http://krissy-cole.xanga.com/708859824/puppet-parents/ , I agree that parents should have control of their kids. When California banned snacks and soda ven…

Socks and jellybeans. My two favorite things. If my feet are wrapped in the pelts of Muppets and my belly is full of sour simple sugars then I am a happy girl. Unsurprisingly I have a wide assortment of both but today I…

I have to admit I’m such an early bird, especially for people my age. Unlike many of my friends who are in their twenties, I normally go to bed around 11 p.m. (sometimes 10 p.m.), and get up a little before my alarm…

When I was in college, there was this free “30-minute-Ab-workout” class in the evening at our school's gym that was offered twice a week. I always wanted to attend the class, but due to all my group project meetings,…

Didn't your mummy teach you some toilet manners? The other day I went to the girl's toilets at my university and was shocked by the lack of simple toilet manners. I go to university, where people are aged 18 years and ol…

I have been feeling "burnt out" these few days after working out because I kind of fell off the bandwagon for just 5 days. It took a lot out of me to even run 2-3 miles after the mini hiatus and I felt defeated and so o…

I get impossibly frustrated with one of my closest friends because she's dabbled in using several unhealthy/illegal substances, but the latest thing I've learned about her frustrates me the most. She recently told me tha…

Here's a video about Kosher Coke: Coca-Cola Classic with the telltale yellow cap and the Hebrew "Kosher for Passover" ("Kosher lapesach") text. The circled-U symbol is for the Union of Orthodox Rabbis, and generally…

"Goodbye Metabo" In Japan as of some months ago, there recently came about a campaign by the government to lower the waistlines of its citizens Since Japan isn't a country know for overweight people, it surprised me…

After many months of regularly reading Healthkicker, I have never read (or I may have missed it) a post about taking care of one of the most important things in your body, your teeth.Your teeth are a huge investment.…

"Outside of gastric bypass surgery, no system has ever produced any significant long-term weight loss. None. " So says Megan McArdle, channeling Paul Campos and Gina Kolata, in her article "Thining Thin" in The Atlan…

I have gone to several web pages claiming to give information about how and where to go to donate plasma. After 15 web sites, I still haven't found WHERE to go. Can anybody help?

(Please, if you have time to donate, please do) August 11-18, 2009 The Forum…

This is a thing that affects most men (myself included). You know, legs as wide as your ankles . I may have been blessed in the high metabolism department, but because of that, i grew up suffering from what i call ‘ Th…

(yay!) Remember how your parents used to tell you to keep smart friends around? How "bad company" will corrupt you as a young person? Well... Sad to say, but peer pressure does work, and your actions are directly asso…

Like most great things that are achieved…it will take time, hard work and perseverance (cliche i know! but still relevant). Building muscle, getting toned, ripped, cut or what ever you want to call it can be a thrilling,…