Healthy and Simple

The budget deficit is soaring, we are trillions in debt and the economy is in a shambles, so how are we going to dig ourselves out of this hole? One idea being bandied around is introducing something called VAT. It stands for Value Added Tax but having grown up with it in England I can [...]

I was listening to NPR’s. Terry Gross interview William Hurt, the actor, on “Fresh Air” and he said something very truthful.  You know the feeling, when someone is talking and suddenly a what they say, just rings of truth and deeper meaning to you?  If that never happens to you maybe you just haven’t been [...]

A close friend of mine was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It wasn’t a huge surprise. She hadn’t been taking care of herself; she ate a diet heavy in fats and sweets, and got very little exercise. She also has a family history of diabetes so with that kind of background and that kind [...]

A woman I work with – let’s call her Carolyn, because that’s her name – recently underwent back surgery. She says since the surgery she’s been in some pain, not just in her back but pretty much throughout her body. At first she thought it was just the usual recovery process, but as the pain [...]

Sometimes it feels as if you can’t turn around without bumping into another study that tells you how wonderful exercise is. Most of it is stuff you probably already know – at least it is if you read Health and Simple regularly – but once in a while you come across some fun new benefit [...]

What if I told you I knew a way that you could have a longer life, a healthier heart, lower your blood pressure, lower your risk of breast cancer, lower your risk of prostate cancer, lower the risk of back pains and migraine headaches, have a better physique, raise your testosterone level,  have fewer menopausal [...]

I have played many sports in my life; everything from football (soccer) to tennis and basketball, rugby, even cricket god help me! People have used many adjectives to describe my performance – enthusiastic, determined, crap – but one word that has never been used is ‘elegant’.
Just like the daring young man on the flying trapeze (OK, that [...]

So, Shirley got back from a quick visit to inject economic stimulus into the New York economy late Tuesday night. She does her bit for the country you know; dinners here, theatre there, a museum or four, pretty soon it all adds up.
Then Wednesday she was up early and running around taking care of business. [...]

You have to love a news release with an opening line that says: “It seems like a no-brainer, and it is.” Now that’s honesty for you. It’s also very clever and good writing because it instantly gets your attention.
The no-brainer in question is a new study that says if you take the junk food out [...]

Last week Shirley and I saw our first Christmas tree of the season. No kidding. It wasn’t even Halloween and there it was, front and center in the window of a flat in a big apartment building, a real Christmas Tree, bedecked with lights and decorations. Scary stuff.
We knew it was real and not some [...]