Mediterranean Diet: A Heart-Healthy Eating Approach

Quick quiz: Where is heart disease less common ... in the U.S. or in Greece? Yes, it's true. Unfortunately (for us, at least), in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, heart disease is less common than in the United States. Researchers believe that the Mediterranean Diet pyramid -- common to Greece and southern Italy -- is a major reason for this difference.

So what's in Mediterranean diet recipes, anyway? What's the Mediterranean diet food list? Here's what people in that part of the world are doing to maintain their heart health, according to the Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.

Massages For Depression, Arthritis, Indigestion and More

In the last decade, massages have enjoyed a surge of popularity. Once thought of as a luxury for the pampered, it has become a favorite of stressed out office workers, recreational athletes and those of us who appreciate its ability to cleanse and relax both our bodies and our minds.

Massage’s benefits go way back; it’s an ancient healing art mentioned in Chinese literature as early as 3000 B.C., and Greek and Roman physicians used it to treat their ruler. “Massage has its roots in earliest medicine,” says Richard Why, president of the Texas-based Bodywork Institute. “It’s always been a crucial part of the health systems of most cultures.

Martial Arts Training Helps Seniors Fight Falling Injuries

Have you sharpened your karate chops? Perhaps you should. A new study has found that martial arts training as a form of exercise may be an effective way for osteoporosis patients to learn to reduce the potential for falling injuries.

Researchers in the Netherlands measured hip impact forces during martial arts fall exercises, and they determined these exercises could safely be taught to patients with osteoporosis. Fully aware of the risks of performing these tests on seniors, researchers took their initial measurements from a group of six healthy people, asked to perform martial arts fall training exercises.

Love Jogging With Your Dog? Well, What If You Could Get Him to Pull You on a Scooter?

When I first read about a harness that dogs wear to pull their owners on scooters, I thought "that's crazy, but wait, why does that look insanely fun?!" Then I immediately felt sorry for the dogs and realized that my pooch wouldn't make it around the block pulling moi (she's getting older and a horse and carriage she is not). What do you think of this funny new trend ...

I read about a kind of funny new thing on FitCeleb recently: dog-powered scooters. While a jog with your dog (even a walk!) is great exercise, a newish harness device from DogPoweredScooters.com probably doesn't really count as exercise, since, well, your dog is doing all the work! Fans say it's lots of fun, but at least a few critics have concerns about people and doggie safety with these things.

Let's Talk About Cankles

You know the term "cankles," right? They're described as "chubby ankles" or calves that stretch down to the ankle region without much definition. One major nationwide gym is waging war on cankles, and here's why it kind of bugs me ...

Gold's Gym has designated July as "Cankle Awareness Month." According to their Web site: "The word comes from the combination of 'calf' and 'ankle.' It occurs when the calf merges with an obese or swollen ankle."

Gold's claims that cankles are the "fastest growing aesthetic affliction in the United States"--even more than muffin tops and saddle bags. "Millions of people across the country are currently affected by cankles and millions more are at risk," they write on their "Say No to Cankles" Web site. "In fact, it is estimated that if current trends continue, by the year 2012 Cankles will surpass Love Handles as the number one aesthetic affliction in the world."

Lady Gaga's Secret To Staying Fit? The "Drunk Diet"

So Lady Gaga went on a Sirius radio show the other morning, and let her staying-fit secret out of the Birkin bag...

She said: "I'm on the drunk diet. I like to drink whiskey and stuff while I'm working. But the deal is, I've got to work out every day, and I work out hung over if I'm hung over."

So, you know. It's Lady Gaga, so we're not going expect the most traditional of staying-healthy secrets from her. Also, her boyfriend, Luc Carl, "just signed up to write The Drunk Diet, about how he lost 40 pounds while still 'being a hard-drinking party maker,'" so there could be a convenient tie-in there.

Just Looking At Your Body May Relieve Your Pain, Say Researchers

When you have to get a vaccine or give blood, do you look at the needle or away from it? I'm the type who not only has to look anywhere but my arm when giving blood--I also have to keep up a steady stream of babble so that I keep breathing and don't faint. (This just in: I am ridiculous.) In any case, researchers may have found some evidence that, if you want to control how much that shot (or other pain) hurts, you should look right at it.

A study in the journal Psychological Science revealed the interesting results of several power-of-the-mind-on-pain experiments.

Study participants had "heat probes" placed on their left hands, and the heat was gradually turned up until the participants felt it was too much pain. (Who else is glad they weren't part of this study? Anyway!) While the temperatures were increasing, participants either watched their own hand, or a wooden object. When they were looking at their hand, participants' pain threshold was about 3°C higher.

I Tried It: Reebok's Jukari Fit-To-Fly Workout

It involves a pole, it gets you rather sweaty, and it's been done by Audrina Patridge and Mischa Barton. Get your mind out of the gutter, girls! I'm talking about Reebok's new "Jukari Fit to Fly" class, AKA one of the best workouts I've ever gotten.

You dolls may know me as the Louboutin-loving blogger from Slaves to Fashion, but I also happen to be kind of a hardcore fitness freak. I do yoga at least two or three times a week, and I try to hit the gym, go for a run, or do a spinning class about twice a week, too. But like anyone else who loves to work out, I sometimes find my routine getting a bit boring. So when the team at Reebok invited me to check out their Jukari Fit to Fly class at NYC's Equinox gym, I was in (plus, I scored all kinds of Reebok goodies to wear while I worked out--how could I say no?)

I Tried It: A Dust-Mite Eliminating and Sanitzing Vacuum

A vacuum that is said to kill dust mites, bacteria and sanitize your mattress, carpet and couches? Um, I had to get my hands on one of these bad boys and take it for a test run. Here's what I thought...

For a few months now, I've been eager to try Hammacher Schlemmer's Dust-Mite Eliminating Vacuum. Recently, I got my hands on a machine to give it a try. And, oh, was it fun!

First, a confession: I love to vacuum. I realize this makes me sound like a nut. But the satisfaction I get from sucking up dog hair, dust, dirt, etc. with my handy-dandy Dyson is something I find oddly therapeutic. (And when friends confess that they hate vacuuming so much that they'd rather clean their bathroom than their carpets, I give them strange looks.)

Is Your Ex Peeking at Your Health Records?

Your health history is between you and your doc, right? Yes, but. If you're Britney Spears, for example, your health records-every pill, scratch, bruise and headache you've ever had-made juicy reading for some employees at the UCLA Medical Center who had no business in her business. While this news broke several months ago, investigators are now saying that it wasn't just a handful of unethical employees involved-it may have been more than 100 of them.

Why is this scary? Because even if you're not a pop princess, this could happen to you, too. What's stopping your disgruntled ex, who happens to work at a medical facility where you've been treated, from pulling up your files and having a look?

Is It Just Me, or Does It Seem Like Every Woman in America Is Getting Breast Implants?

Celebs have been getting breast implants for ages, of course (well, since Baywatch, anyway). But there was a lull in the last decade (or so it seemed) filled by "I'm happy with my natural size" sentiment. And then, suddenly, it seems we've hit another breast implant wave. Case in point: The star I thought would never let a surgeon touch her chest has reportedly caved ...

Lots of breast implant talk in the news these days. There's Heidi Montag, of course, and her unbelievably augmented chest (which, according to reports, she wants to make even bigger!), and then Amy Winehouse was in the hospital complaining of pain from her implants, followed by the--sort of shocking--news that actress Kate Hudson got implants. Kate Hudson! Hollywood Life had the photos and a story detailing how she reportedly had the surgery done after years of feeling insecure about her chest.

How Flexible Are You, on a Scale of 1-10?

Hi my dears. I've been thinking a lot about flexibility lately--maybe because I keep tweaking my back. When it comes to fitness, it's easy to focus on muscle tone and weight loss, but don't forget to actively work to increase your flexibility. Here's what simple, daily stretches can do for your bod...

On a scale of 1-10, as in 1 being stiff and 10 being extremely bendy, I'd say I'm about a 7. I am pretty pliable (what a weird way to describe myself!)--I can do some advanced yoga poses without too much trouble, but on a day-to-day level, I tend to fall victim to the kinds of aches and pains that could be alleviated from some daily stretching.

Health Controversy: U.S. Considering Banning Peanuts on Planes to Protect Allergy Sufferers--Support It?

Approximately 1.8 million Americans sufferers from a peanut allergy (many of which are severe and life-threatening)--my 3 year old is one. The U.S. is now considering a ban on peanuts on airplanes to protect allergic fliers from peanut particles in the air. Some say it's about time, others say "what's flying without peanuts?"

Airplane travel has gotten pretty bad (thank you very much, shoe bomber). And, in a world where we're nickled and dimed and herded like cattle, some really love the one last perk: the free pack of peanuts on airplanes. But, even at the expense of those who are severely allergic to them?

Health Controversy: Should This Alcohol-Caffeine Drink Be Banned?

Last month, nine women were hospitalized after they were found lethargic and very ill at a house party near a college in central Washington state. Investigators initially blamed date-rape drugs and fingered several men as suspects, but now police say something else--something legal--was to blame...

Central Washington University investigators determined that a high-alcohol energy drink called "Four Loko" was to blame for a frightening ordeal that happened October 8 in a small town near the school during a house party. Nine students were hospitalized, some with blood-alcohol levels ranging from 0.12 percent to 0.35 percent. Because of the ratio of men to women, and how many of the women were found to be sick (some in engaging in barely-conscious sex acts, according to some reports), experts initially thought that date rape drugs were at play--so scary!