Blog Posts by Intent.com

The tale of Harry Potter is no doubt one of the most beloved stories of all time. The world, the characters and the stories are loved by people of almost every age. You might see a young school-goer reading it one day and an elderly woman another day. One of the most frequent (grossly incorrect) misconceptions about the books is that it is a "children's book" or you have to be a child to truly enjoy it. Not at all! The themes, stories and lessons in the book transcend age and that is why it is so loved.

9 Life Lessons We Can Learn From Harry Potter:

I. THE POWER OF LOVE

Even though Harry lives in a world of wizards and witches and incredibly amazing magic, love is the single most important factor, is what saved his life. When Lord Voldemort attacks his family, Harry's mother Lily sacrifices herself to save her only son and that sacrifice of love is so powerful that it saves Harry's life against the killing curse (making him the only one ever) and destroys Voldemort, one

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That's right. You don't see the word acne in the title of this chapter. And although the subject comes up here, it's not my primary focus. As a dermatologist, healthy skin is my thing. So, I wanted to provide you with some tips and tricks to keep your skin healthy throughout your life. Just think -- you're going to get your acne under control one day, but you'll have the skin you're in for the rest of your life. So, treat it right. In this chapter, I show you how.

1) Steering Clear of Excessive Sun Exposure

The sun is an immense nuclear reactor. As well as producing heat and light, it also sends out other types of radiation that can sometimes damage your skin. The Earth's atmosphere filters out much of the more dangerous solar radiation, but some of it gets through -- mainly in the ultraviolet (UV) band. The UV radiation in sunlight can cause painful sunburns and certain types of skin cancer, and can also age your skin.

If you have a personal or family history of skin

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Lately, I've been loving watching a reality show, "Ruby", on the Style Network. It's a show about Ruby Gettinger a 500-pound blooming Steel Magnolia from Savannah weight loss journey. I've become her fan, and am passionately rooting for her success.

The first season she managed to lose over 100 pounds. This week on episode 2 of Season 2, she's hit a weight loss plateau at about 350 pounds. (Emotionally she's never weighed less than 350 during her entire adult life, and she's having back and knee pain when exercising on the treadmill.) So what's the hitch as she is working out diligently, and eating a prescribed, healthy meal plan?

One of the most common frustrations in weight loss is when all progress halts, despite the fact that you are diligently following a smart plan. Such plateaus are predictable and explainable.

Why? Because Basal metabolic rate (BMR)-the energy required to keep the heart pumping, lungs expanding, kidneys filtering and all other vital bodily functions going

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Being in a long-distance relationship can kind of suck. I know this because I've been there.

I met my current boyfriend three months before my pre-determined departure date to work abroad in Japan for an entire year. Not exactly the best timing in the world.

And yet... we decided to take the long-distance plunge anyway. And though it got difficult and lonely to maintain a committed relationship with a 17-hour-time difference and the entire Pacific Ocean between us, we made it fun as much as we possibly could.

If you are in a long-distance relationship, or are about to transition into one, my heart goes out to you for all the sacrifices you have to make and the unique challenges you have to endure.

Here are my 7 tips, from someone who's been there and done that.

1. Skype is Your Best Friend. You can drop a lot of money on long-distance overseas phone calls. Or you can download Skype for free with your significant other and talk as much as you possibly can. If you

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Criticism sucks. If you're being rightly criticized, your ego needs to shake it off like a wet dog and keep wagging it's tail. And if you're being unjustly 'dissed, you've still got to keep your ego limber so that you can objectively fight for your dignity. Either way, criticism is a call to be your classiest self.

11 TIPS FOR DEALING WITH CRITICISM:

1. Expand. Sometimes criticism stings because we know the criticizer has a valid point. After you've done the inner wince, take a deep breath and get back in the ring. And look, just because you may need to clean up your act a bit, it doesn't mean that you're a full scale loser. We're all just bozos on the same bus, as my dear friend Donna would say. So literally, take a deep expansive breath, with your fists unclenched. You sustain less injury when you do NOT brace for impact. I guess that's why they call it "rolling with the punches."

2. Admit that it stings. "Ouch. That's hard to hear. But I'm up for it." Honesty when criticized Read More »from 11 tips for dealing with criticism

Did you know that eating healthy is as easy as following the rainbow?

That's right, if you incorporate a rainbow array of colored fruits and vegetables in your diet, then you'll be well on your way to a well-rounded and nutritious diet.

Here are the five colors you need to eat on a regular basis to enhance your health!

As you read through these colorful food options, we will provide guidance on the foods that are best for Stage 1 of Body Ecology (the initial healing stages of Body Ecology) and the foods to add during stage 2 (once your inner ecosystem is healed). For more on Stage 1 and Stage 2 of Body Ecology, read: The Quick and Easy Guide to Improving Your Health on the Body Ecology Diet Part II

YELLOW & ORANGE

The Nutrients:

Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables pack a powerful nutritional punch. They are rich in beta carotene, vitamin A and vitamin C, powerful antioxidants that neutralize the free radicals that roam around your body and damage your

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I wanted to share a story about Euna Lee, who along with Laura Ling, has been held in N. Korea for 4 months. As a mother, the story has been haunting me since I heard it. It haunts me because I can totally relate to Euna's actions.

Several weeks ago, we had Euna's husband, Michael, over for dinner. I have never met Euna, and it was the first time I met Michael. Because of my brother's close friendship with Laura Ling, it seemed natural to connect with Euna's family, as well.

Michael is wonderful - vivacious, smart, funny. It was the first day, since this ordeal started, that he had left their four-year-old daughter, Hana. She was spending a night with his father. It was also the first time- at that time, the girls had been in captivity for about three months - that he was alone and could process his feelings. As other parents will relate, we often put aside our own emotions to focus on our children's emotions.

Michael chuckled as he told us about an urgent message he had

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Vegetables are an important part of the Body Ecology lifestyle and every healthy family's diet. Here are four easy ways to get your kids to eat more veggies!

Do you know any children who actually enjoy eating vegetables? I am acquainted with a few. I have a niece who appears to love them - she eats almost any green leafy vegetable with a smile on her face.

One of my son's best friends consumes baby carrots like they're candy. And a brother-sister team from across the street routinely polish off their dinner salads before even looking at the cheeseburgers on their plates.

Perhaps they are just being polite.

Perhaps my own children, when dining at other people's homes, also impress the resident adults by eating all the vegetables in sight. I will have to check on that.

In the meantime, vegetable consumption is sadly still a bit of an issue at our house. I have to be creative, persistent and sometimes downright sneaky to get a reasonable amount of veggies into

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