We’ve all heard the term “heart rate” thrown around at the gym, but understanding what it means in relation to exercise is crucial not only for your health and well being, but to ensure you get the maximum benefit from your exercise routine.

Heart rate (HR) is the number of heart beats per minute. Your heart rate varies greatly depending on your age, genetics and fitness level. When you exercise, your heart rate increases, which in turn causes you to breathe more heavily. Doing so allows more oxygen to be transported to your cells and tissues. Read the rest of this entry »

Vigorous exercise may be an especially good way to keep kids lean, but sitting around, in and of itself, doesn’t appear to have a major role in making them fat, new research shows.

Nevertheless, there are still plenty of reasons to avoid too much sedentary “screen time,” Dr. Ulf Ekelund of the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, UK and colleagues say, given potential negatives including “violence and aggressive behavior, poor academic performance, and poor body image.” Read the rest of this entry »

As you probably already know, just like numerous other health situations, adult acne is largely genetic. The myth that you can’t have any control over it though, is completely untrue. There are several other factors that determine whether or not a person gets acne as an adult, and there are things that people can do to treat the condition.

Here, we’ll discuss some of the ways that physical exertion can help in the fight against adult acne. If you’re not much of a gym rat, you can do all of these things without ever setting foot inside the gym. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone worries about sex. Are you doing it right? What if your body’s not supermodel-standard? Why doesn’t sex feel as good as it should? We go under the covers to try and solve the top ten sex worries for women.

1. What if he doesn’t like my body?

With often unattainable superbods gracing mags and media, body image has a lot to answer for and can affect your ability to enjoy sex. Read the rest of this entry »

It is a common issue…we want our kids to spend their non-school time wisely, but they often watch more TV than then we would prefer. In spite of activities to structure their time we have to look at other ways to keep kids busy so they are not caught in the TV trap.

Parents are wise to limit kid’s TV watching to a couple of hours each day. It’s a difficult limit to stick to, but if parents can establish this habit early on, it’s easier. Selective TV watching prevents children (and adults) from turning into couch potatoes with withered brain cells. Read the rest of this entry »

Contrary to the cliche of eating for two, it is not how much you eat (you only need on average 300 more calories a day) but what you eat that matters. Focus your diet on fruit and vegetables.

Raw green vegetables like spinach and lettuces become particularly valuable because they contain folic acid and iron, but remember to wash them well.

Essentials:

There are a few critical nutrients that play particularly important roles in foetal development. Those important nutrients are: Read the rest of this entry »

Many recipes can tolerate a healthy renovation without affecting the taste or texture of the food. So whether you’re trying to stick to a healthy-eating plan or you’re following a special diet, use these techniques to make your recipes — including your time-honored family favorites — healthier.

1. Reduce the amount of fat, sugar and sodium

With most recipes, you can reduce the amount of fat, sugar and sodium without losing the flavor. By cutting fat and sugar, you also cut calories. How much can you leave out without affecting the flavor and consistency of the food? Apply the following general guidelines: Read the rest of this entry »