Blog Posts by Health.com

A heel-to-toe guide to keeping your feet and ankles in perfect working order

By Hallie Levine Sklar

Your feet are two tough tootsies. They spend their days shoved into stilettos, pounding pavements, and supporting your weight while you bounce around on the treadmill or take a Zumba class. It's no wonder that one out of six people in this country complain of foot problems.

The biggest reason women in particular limp in to see their doctor? Improper footwear. In fact, nine out of 10 women's foot issues can be attributed to too-tight shoes, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS).

But no need to stay seated in sneakers all day. "If you just tweak your footwear and give your feet some TLC, you should be able to stave off most problems," says Hillary Brenner, DPM, a New York City podiatrist and spokeswoman for the American Podiatric Medical Association. Here, the key moves that'll keep you striding strong for years to come.

Health.com: Are Your Shoes Killing You?

Christina Applegate has a new hit show(Up All Night), a baby daughter (Sadie), and a foundation that funds breast cancer screenings for women who can't afford it (she's a BC survivor). And, as she tells us, she doesn't take her family or her health for granted.

By Amy Spencer

I should have known Christina Applegate would have a cozy living room. It's a "take your shoes off" kind of place in Los Angeles, and Christina, 40, is barefoot on her couch. She's wearing cargo pants and a sweater wrap, with a gold "Sadie" necklace. As for her 14-month-old daughter, Sadie? She's napping upstairs, but Christina is on high alert for the baby monitor. "I love wake-ups," she says, smiling.

It's a rare break for the star of NBC's Up All Night, who likes to spend her downtime with Sadie and fiancé Martyn LeNoble. With her dog huddled at her feet, Christina talks about what she thinks now of the breast cancer she battled four years ago and the hopeful future she sees for herself and other women, too.

Finally! Right here, right now-a hunger-free way to flat abs.

By Melissa Daly

Your waistline has gone MIA and you're ready to reclaim it-for health reasons, yes, but also because you want to look better (there, you said it). Happily, this is one area where vanity and wellness align.

"Visceral fat, which surrounds the organs in your midsection, plays a big role in the risk of metabolic conditions like diabetes," says Claire Wheeler, MD, an instructor at Portland State University's School of Community Health and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Losing Belly Fat.

And contrary to what a lot of people think, the belly is not a stubborn fat zone. "Unlike fat in other places, belly fat is earmarked to provide quick energy in the event you need to fight, flee, or endure a famine," Dr. Wheeler says. "When you engage in moderate activity (akin to fleeing or fighting) and cut calories (as in a famine), most of the fat you lose first will come from your belly."

It's ready to come off;

Does your metabolism grind to a halt after 35? Can certain foods rev it up? Answers ahead-and they're good.

By Paige Greenfield

Here's something to feel good about: Your body is a calorie-burning machine. You'll even torch a few while reading this article. The point is, every single thing you do-from breathing to eating to sleeping-uses energy. The number of calories it would take just to lie in bed all day is called your resting metabolic rate. And just like your curly hair or warm personality, yours is unique.

"There are so many factors that determine your metabolic rate," says Janet Rankin, PhD, professor of human nutrition, foods, and exercise at Virginia Tech. Among them: your height and weight (bigger people burn more calories), your gender (women have slower metabolisms than men), your age (your metabolic rate declines as you get older), how much muscle or fat you have (muscle burns more calories than fat does), and your DNA.

Although you can't rewire your double helix or

From this day forward forget what you did (or didn't do) to your skin years ago. There are moves you can make today to turn back the clock and look more gorgeous than ever.

By Holly Pevzner

Finding a yoga class used to be simple. You'd walk into your local gym and there would be The Class. Your choices were few because, well, there weren't that many people looking to get their om on: In 2001, 4.3 million Americans were hitting the yoga mat; just over a decade later, that number has almost quadrupled to about 16.5 million.

Studios, gyms, and rec centers now offer an estimated 800-plus styles to choose from, says Leigh Crews, a spokesperson with the American Council on Exercise. Some of it has to do with yoga's (well-deserved) reputation for being an excellent stress reliever. But a big part of yoga's popularity surge is it's just plain good exercise.

Virtually any type of yoga improves strength, flexibility, and balance, explains John P. Porcari, PhD, director of the clinical

From this day forward forget what you did (or didn't do) to your skin years ago. There are moves you can make today to turn back the clock and look more gorgeous than ever.

By Kimberly Goad

OK, so you baked yourself silly in high school. Who didn't? What counts-at least in terms of looking younger-isn't so much what you used to do, but what you're doing right now. "Studies show you can reverse the damage," says Debra Jaliman, M.D., author of Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist. "You can actually take 10 to 15 years off your age."

We know what you're thinking: Sure-if you're willing to empty out your savings in the name of skin care, anything's possible. But you don't have to go to extremes: Pricey procedures at the dermatologist's office aren't the only anti-aging options that work.

"You can reverse skin damage with three basic tenets," says New York City dermatologist Neil Sadick, M.D. "Turn over skin cells, stimulate collagen, and add volume." In the last

A sleeker, stronger body could be just a tweet or a Facebook post away.

By Jamie Beckman

One of the best tools for peeling off pounds is already in your bag: It's your smartphone or iPad. In fact, all that texting, tweeting, and posting-the average woman spends more than 80 minutes a day on her phone, according to a recent report from the mobile apps analytics firm Flurry-can tip the scales in your favor.

And one in three of us are already using social sites like Facebook to get slender, reports research from the University of Arizona. So go ahead and steal these suggestions from women who took their shape-up viral.

Tweet your way thin
Nancy Tessier, 50, lost 28 pounds by posting all her meals and snacks to Tweet What You Eat (@twye), an online food journal that lets others eyeball your noshes. "Sometimes it was a lot easier to decide not to eat something than to have to tweet it for the world to see," she says.

Posting your weight-loss numbers can help, too. The University of

By Paige Greenfield

It's true: Certain foods have a very high thermogenic effect, so you literally scorch calories as you chew. Other eats contain nutrients and compounds that stoke your metabolic fire. Feed your metabolism with these.

Whole grains
Your body burns twice as many calories breaking down whole foods (especially those rich in fiber such as oatmeal and brown rice) than processed foods.

Lean meats
Protein has a high thermogenic effect: You burn about 30% of the calories the food contains during digestion (so a 300-calorie chicken breast requires about 90 calories to break it down).

Health.com: Best Superfoods for Weight Loss

Low-fat dairy products
Rich in calcium and vitamin D, these help preserve and build muscle mass-essential for maintaining a robust metabolism.

Green tea
Drinking four cups of green tea a day helped people shed more than six pounds in eight weeks, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports. Credit EGCG, a compound in the brew that temporarily