The concept of diets can be traced back thousands of years to the 5th century, B.C., when Hippocrates began prescribing fasting for many of his patients. Since then a myriad of diets have emerged, mostly with an emphasis on quick or easy weight loss. In 1087, William the Conquerer, who found himself too fat to ride his horse, proposed the Alcohol Only Diet, which required him to lay in his bed drinking whiskey until he had lost sufficient weight. 1912 brought the Tapeworm Diet, in which people swallowed mail-order, live tapeworm eggs to consume the extra calories from junk food; instead they became malnourished. The 1920's introduced the Cigarette Diet…

As a result of the overwhelming evidence linking sleep to good health, I began to make sleep a priority, after years of short-changing myself with only 6.5 hours of sleep per night like most Americans. As part of my research as a gerontology student at USC, I also began to study age-related changes to sleep.

My favorite blogs are those inspired by questions from the community. I recently gave a presentation on gut health, and shared that pickles are a natural and healthy form of probiotics. Probiotics are live bacteria that are good for you. They add to the diversity of microbiota in your gut, which results in better immune health, improved digestive health, and may even contribute to better moods and weight control.

When the going gets tough we may rely on external resources like friends, family, caregivers, and medical professionals. While all of these are good, we have a vitally important resource within us—our minds. Humans have a unique capacity to turn the negative aspects of life into something constructive. In the face of challenges, we have inner strengths to draw on, and the ability to choose our response.

Self-care is more important than ever, as our normal routines are still disrupted a year after the outbreak of a global pandemic. Even though vaccines are rolling out, many older adults still reside in relative isolation. Working moms and dads are commuting from their bedroom to the kitchen office, and kids hunch over computers for hours each day. Whether we are old or young, we need to do something for our physical and emotional well-being.

Since our first shelter-in-place orders back in March, 2020, we have spent a great deal more time in one position: sitting. This includes hours hunched over the computer in lieu of face-to-face visits or meetings in a position that resembles a kidney bean. Combine this “hunching over electronic devices” with the normal wear and tear that our spine undergoes due to age, and we have a perfect storm that leads to back pain, leg pain when standing or walking, and even loss of height.

We spend a lot of time talking about sleep — why we need it, why we don’t get enough of it, and how to get more of it. Yet we give little thought to how we wake up in the morning, which plays a significant role in our overall health.

Our quality of life is directly impacted by the health of our feet, but far too many of us put up with pain or discomfort. An estimated six percent of the US population see podiatrists for foot injuries, bunions, flat feet or fallen arches each year. Foot problems only increase with age, with one in three people over 65 experiencing foot pain, stiffness, or aching feet.

As I coach people on healthy weight loss, one thing is very clear: muscle matters. The amount of lean muscle you have directly impacts your resting metabolic rate (RMR). This is the number of calories your body needs at rest just to perform basic body functions like breathing and maintaining your heart rate.

Willpower is more than mind over matter. It is a complex biological and psychological response, which is also true of the stress response. While stress helps us deal with external pressures, willpower helps us deal with internal conflict. Health psychologist Kelly McGonigal calls it the “pause and plan” response vs. “fight or flight.” Willpower puts the body into a calmer state and sends signals to the prefrontal cortex of the brain, allowing us to make better decisions.

Music has an amazing ability to lift our spirits by releasing the pleasure-related neurotransmitter dopamine as we listen. It is also a powerful way to evoke memory. Music may jog an explicit memory such as “where was I that summer when this song was popular?” but it also summons implicit memories. These are more reactive, emotional memories that occur outside of consciousness.

For centuries, people have sought a youth pill without realizing it is already available and free. It is called sleep. Getting the recommended 7-8 hours per night provides an abundance of benefits, including a healthier heart, an increased ability to fight malignancy, improved learning and memory, and better weight control.

A 2020 study of 168,000 people using data from over 68,000 fitness trackers showed that activity levels were down about 39% while sleep time increased by 20% (1). While the sleep is probably a good thing for most of us, lack of movement is a problem. Not only does sedentary behavior lead to weight gain, but it is connected to greater levels of depression and anxiety.

I was recently asked if I could recommend any healthy meal delivery services. This industry has certainly grown since the first company called Middagsfrid was launched in 2007 in Sweden by Kicki Theander. I reached out to members of the Zing community for the suggestions in this SmartBite.

Sugar increases dopamine levels in the brain, providing pleasure with every sip of soda or bite of chocolate. It also activates the insula in each hemisphere of the brain, triggering an emotional response that rewards us even when we think of a favorite sweet. On top of this, sugar affect other brain regions like…

Self-compassion helps us treat ourselves with the same kindness and caring as we would show to others. If a friend said, "I am so sick of all these restrictions and not being able to go out," you would never say, "Oh, just get over it and be happy for what you've got." Never! Yet that is what we tell ourselves, hoping to shore up our emotions with a stiff upper lip. The problem is, it doesn't work. We end up judging and criticizing ourselves, feeling worse as a result.

There is a big gap between knowing and doing. We can have the best intentions about our health -- but how do we bridge the gap between what we know to be important and taking action on a regular basis? The answer lies in habit.

This week I wanted to share a few practical tips for easing anxious feelings which were provided by my meditation teacher, Cassie Schindler. Cassie is a certified mindfulness educator and coach and founder of The Alternate Path.

For more than five thousand years, "old" was defined as between 60 and 70 years of age. With people living longer, it means that many of us will spend more time in elderhood than childhood. Sadly, at a time when we are living longer than before, we've made old age into a disease -- a condition to be denigrated and denied.

Dr. Louise Aronson, physician and award-winning author, says it's time to rethink aging in America.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that plays a critical role in our ability to absorb calcium. It is called the “sunshine vitamin” because it produced in the body when sunlight strikes the skin and activates Vitamin D synthesis. It doesn’t take a lot of sunlight.