ArcaMax

As a nation, we seemed obsessed with obesity -- there's "My 600 Pound Life" and "1,000-Lb. Sisters" on TV and "The Whale" in theaters. And while we gawk at those folks (real and fictional), 73.6% of adults age 20 and older in the U.S. are overweight and obese.

There are many causes of the weight epidemic, including environmental toxins, poor ...Read more

It's estimated that 34 million Americans do yoga at least once a year -- a practice that brings mind and body into harmony through movement, breathing and meditation. But that's not frequently enough to reap its far-reaching benefits of better balance, less joint and muscle pain, enhanced immune response, less stress, stronger muscles -- and, it...Read more

Super-busy superstars Rihanna, J.Lo and Mariah Carey have all admitted to being so wound up by their non-stop schedules and ambitions that they got very little sleep -- for years. Now, they say they've changed their ways. I hope so. A new study shows that insomnia and sleep deprivation (getting five or fewer hours of sleep nightly) increase the ...Read more

Sixty to 70 million Americans contend with gastrointestinal diseases that interfere with their daily life, according to the American Gastroenterological Association. In fact, the association's recent survey showed that nearly 40% of Americans stopped routine activities for some period of time during the last year because of uncomfortable bowel ...Read more

Aerosmith's 1975 hit "Walk This Way" -- now covered by everyone from Hank Williams Jr. to Run DMC -- isn't talking about making healthy choices (that's for sure!). But if you're 70 or older (Aerosmith's Steve Tyler is 75) and follow the advice of researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham to walk their way, you could significantly ...Read more

There are around 7 million stroke survivors in the U.S. -- and between a third and a half of them contend with post-stroke depression, as Senator John Fetterman is currently experiencing. He had his stroke in May of 2022 and began treatment for depression in February 2023. (Election stress probably didn't do him any favors.)

Whether depression ...Read more

About 50% of men ages 51 to 60 have an enlarged prostate -- known as benign (meaning it's not cancer) prostatic hyperplasia or BPH. By age 70 and older, it hits 80%. A lot of guys think the discomfort and frequent urination it causes are just a part of aging and not worth talking to a doctor about. Wrong.

The prostate continually enlarges ...Read more

When Gwen Stefani croons "Sweet Escape" -- "Woo hoo (I wanna get away) yee hoo (to our sweet escape)" -- she's hoping that will make her damaged relationship better. And when you opt for sweet escape by using artificial sweeteners, you're hoping to dodge the damage you know added sugar can do to your health. Not really turning out like you hoped...Read more

Around 2.5 million folks in the U.S. see a doctor each year because they're constipated. And in 2021, Americans spent $1.68 billion dollars on laxatives! The money is flowing a lot better than many folks' bowels, that's for sure.

Constipation means that you have fewer than three bowel movements a week -- although what's normal is highly ...Read more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 59% of U.S. adults carry around "abdominal obesity." In other words, belly fat -- the kind that's found in the spaces between your organs, such as the stomach, liver and kidneys. Excess belly fat is particularly bad for your health because it is biologically active and secretes ...Read more

With all the coffee shops and specialty coffee stores in the U.S., you'd think we would rank at the top globally for coffee drinking -- but, no. A new survey finds that we're 25th in the world in per capita consumption of coffee. Nonetheless, Americans consume 3.3 billion pounds of coffee a year -- or 517 million cups a day.

For coffee-drinking...Read more

Kimchi is a Korean dish made from fermented vegetables -- usually cabbage and radishes along with garlic and hot chilies -- although one online kimchi site says there are 180 varieties. It's been a favorite complement to breakfast, lunch and dinner since 935 B.C.

But it delivers more than flavor. It's loaded with gut-friendly pre- and ...Read more

"When you're smiling/the whole world smiles with you" are lyrics from a 1928 song that's never lost its popularity -- it was recently sung by Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret in Season 3 of "The Crown."

Smiles are good for your physical and mental health, no matter your age. Unfortunately, they're increasingly difficult for many older ...Read more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases annually in the U.S. Produce accounts for 46% of those cases and germs on fresh produce, such as listeria, salmonella and E. coli, are frequent sources of infection.

One potential source of ...Read more

Good nutrition is the fuel for happiness, intelligence, accomplishment and enduring health. But American kids are being deprived of those remarkable benefits in record numbers and to a degree that is hard to wrap your head around.

New information released in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report ...Read more