Category: FITNESS
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Strong legs help power summer activities: Hiking, biking, swimming, and more
My favorite summer activities officially kick in when the calendar flips to May. It's prime time for open water swimming, running, cycling, hiking, and anything else that gets me outside and moving. Yet, my first step is to get my legs in shape. “Legs are the foundation for most activities,” says Vijay Daryanani, a physical…
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PTSD: How is treatment changing?
Over the course of a lifetime, as many as seven in 10 adults in the United States will directly experience or witness harrowing events. These include gun violence, car accidents, and other personal trauma; natural or human-made disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 terrorist attacks; and military combat. And some — though not…
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Sexually transmitted infections: What parents need to be sure their teens know
It’s never easy for parents to talk to their teens about having sex. Many parents feel that talking about it is the same as condoning it, so they are hesitant to do so. But according to the most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a national survey of high school students, by the end of…
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What is cognitive behavioral therapy?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) teaches people to challenge negative thought patterns and turn less often to unhelpful behaviors. These strategies can improve your mood and the way you respond to challenging situations: a flat tire, looming deadlines, family life ups and downs. Yet there’s much more depth and nuance to this well-researched form of psychotherapy.…
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Salmonella is sneaky: Watch out
Pop quiz: what is Salmonella? If you’ve ever had a run-in with this bacteria, you know it can cause a food-borne illness called salmonellosis, a form of food poisoning. But you may not know that Salmonella bacteria sicken an estimated 1.35 million people and hospitalize 26,500 every year in the United States. What’s more, it…
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Power your paddle sports with three great exercises
On the Gulf Coast of Florida where I live, the telltale sign of summer is not an influx of beachcombers, afternoon storms that arrive exactly at 2 p.m., or the first hurricane warning, but the appearance of hundreds of paddleboarders dotting the inlet waters. From afar, paddleboarding looks almost spiritual — people standing on nearly…
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Ultra-processed foods? Just say no
Americans love their ultra-processed foods, whether they come as cereal (like Cap’n Crunch, a favorite of mine as a kid), snack foods (like Cheetos), entr’es (like hot dogs), or desserts (like Twinkies). Sure, loading your plate with vegetables, fruits, fish, healthful oils, and grains in a Mediterranean-style diet boosts heart and brain health. But if…
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Have you exfoliated lately?
Social media has a way of making the ho-hum seem fresh and novel. Case in point: exfoliation, the process of removing dead cells from the skin’s outer layer. Anyone scrolling through TikTok lately might be convinced this longtime skin care approach can transform something old — let’s say our aging epidermis — into like-new skin.…
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The cicadas are here: How’s your appetite?
You’ve probably heard the news: Cicadas are coming. Or — wait — they’re already here. And are they ever! Due to an unusual overlap of the lifecycles of two types (or broods) of cicadas, trillions of cicadas are expected to emerge in the US by the end of June, especially in the Midwest. If you’d…
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A bird flu primer: What to know and do
A bird flu strain that began circulating in 2020 continues to evolve globally and locally within the United States. If you’re wondering what this means, understanding the basics — what bird flu is, how it spreads, whether foods are safe, and prevention tips — can help. More information will come in as scientists learn more,…