As part of my annual check-up, I had my cholesterol tested, certain that the numbers would improve due to a year of great nutrition and exercise. Imagine my surprise – and disappointment – when the LDL (“bad” cholesterol) and triglycerides had actually gone up. The overall ratios were excellent and hadn’t changed in the past 10 years. However, I could not see beyond those other two numbers. How could they be bad, when I had been so good?

A friend told me about a recent trip to the Kaiser Emergency Room in which she and other patients were given a weighted blanket in the waiting room. She was amazed at the calming effect it had on her and how it reduced both her heart rate and blood pressure by the time she saw a doctor. She bought a similar blanket for home and told me, “I am sleeping better, longer and deeper than I have for years.” This made me curious – what does the research say?

With a current market value of $4.5 billion and distribution in over 17,000 restaurants (1) as well as grocery stores, the Impossible Burger is getting the attention of the cattle ranchers in a way that Tofurkey never did. But is the Impossible Burger good for you?

What ever happens to those resolutions? Do you find yourself making the same ones year after year because you never quite master them? Do you even remember what your resolutions are by year end?

Too often, resolutions are aspirational plans without a means to accomplish them. That’s where habit comes in. Think of a resolution as a goal, and habits as a system for accomplishing the goal. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says…

We’re familiar with two popular measurements, heart rate and blood pressure, to indicate the health of an individual. In both of these cases, lower is better with respect to overall health.

Another measurement called heart rate variability (HRV) is getting the attention of fitness experts. This is the variability in the length of time between your heart beats. For example, if you have a resting heart rate of 60, your heart doesn’t simply beat once per second. Rather there are millisecond variations between beats and this is what HRV measures.

Two recent Smart Bite blogs talked about the importance of exercise. Cardio training is especially important to help our bodies age better at the cellular level. Strength training is key to maintain muscle mass, bone strength and functional movement. We all know about the importance – but who has more time in the day to exercise? Here are a few tips from the broader Zing community on exercise options for people who travel, don’t have access to equipment, have hectic jobs or are just plain busy!

Strength training is more important than ever as we age. In addition to firming and toning which make us look good, strength training has these health benefits:

Who wouldn’t want to look better and feel healthier? This is true no matter what decade of life you are in. The good news is this: there are things you can do now to improve the way you age at a cellular level.

For years we’ve heard the advice to cut down on red meat and processed meat to avoid health risks such as heart disease and cancer. On September 30th, an international group of researchers turned that advice on its head in an article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

For people trying to eat healthy and manage their weight, finding the perfect snack can be a bit of a quest. Often they tire of their “go-to snack” or find that they are still hungry after eating it. Here are snack guidelines as well as recipes.

For decades we have heard “stress is bad” and “you need to better manage your stress.” Stress has been blamed for everything from the common cold to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. We’re afraid of dying from stress – but we don’t know how to deal with it. However, new research shows that stress itself isn’t the enemy – rather it’s our perception of stress that impacts our health and mortality.

When we think of food, we think of nutrition, but researchers and physicians have come to understand that it’s more than that – it’s medicine.

Anyone trying to achieve an ideal weight knows that it’s more than a “calories in, calories out” equation. Our ability to sleep and manage stress both play a key role, along with our overall metabolism and general health. But what role does compassion play in reaching that appropriate weight?

When it comes to snacking, real foods (apples, hard-boiled eggs, tangerines, etc.) are best. That’s because they don’t contain added sugars or questionable ingredients like erythritol, sucralose, or xanthan gum to increase shelf life. I’m not sure exactly what those ingredients are, but if I can’t pronounce them, I generally don’t eat them. However, real food isn’t always convenient, especially if you are traveling.

Even though you may have a predisposition to certain health risks due to your DNA, this is not carved in stone. While the sequence of your DNA can’t be altered, the way in which your genes express themselves can be changed. The emerging field of epigenetics looks at gene expression: how genes can be turned on and off. While this may sound trivial, the impact of gene expression is huge.

Drinking sufficient water is an important part of your nutrition plan. You need 32 oz. for every 1,000 calories of your Resting Metabolism Rate (RMR). So…