Articles

The Rumor: We’ve underestimated how much vitamin D we really need — and most people don’t get enough. Recent studies blame everything from poor memory to cancer on having a low amount of vitamin D in the bloodstream. The official guideline for vitamin D supplementation is set at 600 IU per day, but some say...

The Rumor: You must drink eight glasses of water a day We’ve all heard it before: To have perfect health and perfect pores, you need a die-hard dedication to drinking water. In fact, everyone from our doctors to our favorite preachy fitness magazines says we need to down eight glasses a day. But is it...

“Not tonight, honey, I’ve got a headache” might be a common sitcom punchline — but for 36 million men and women in the U.S., headaches are no laughing matter. That’s how many people in America suffer from migraine headaches, which can cause an intense throbbing or pulsing sensation in one area of the head and are...

The helichrysum plant is a member of the sunflower family with the oil being steam distilled from its deep yellow flowers. Its name comes from helios (sun) and chrysos (gold). It is also known as “immortelle” or “everlasting” because the blooms do not wither and the vibrant colour remains even if they are picked and...

The Rumor: Love handles are a cute and normal form of excess fat The term “love handles” is often used to describe the endearing little rolls of excess fat that commonly appear on people’s midsections — as in, “Honey, I love your little love handles. They’re totes adorbs,” and so on. They’re so named because...

You took a spill, and now your ankle hurts and looks like it ate a softball. How can you tell if it’s strained, sprained or broken? Well, with both a sprain and a strain, something has been either stretched or partially or completely torn. The difference between the two lies in which body part has...

Taking a bath can do your body a whole lot of good, especially if you incorporate a key ingredient: essential oils. “Baths are an effective way to deliver their healing power,” says Joie Power, Ph.D., director of The Aromatherapy School in Fairview, North Carolina, and a clinical consultant for the essential-oil company Artisan Aromatics. “The oils...

A lot of us spend a big chunk of our waking hours stuffed into cubicles that would give a veal calf claustrophobia. We slump over keyboards and stare at computer screens two feet from our faces — and we can feel the toll this takes on our bodies (which is why an after-work trip to the gym...

The history of yoga — a practice that focuses on conscious movement, breathing and meditation — dates back more than 5,000 years. It was initially used by those who wanted to achieve greater personal freedom, health and longevity. The practice has evolved over the millennia — and today, physicians, yoga instructors and practitioners alike herald its...

If you could spend 90 minutes today doing anything, what would it be? I’d choose shopping, lounging beachside with a cold drink in hand or watching bad (yet so good) reality TV. Was “sitting on the floor in a hot room with a bunch of other sweaty people” on your list? Maybe not, but it’s...