Blog Posts by Everyday Health

By Sharon Tanenbaum

Paramount's new animated film Rango has left many parents - and anti-tobacco advocacy groups - fuming over the portrayal of characters smoking cigarettes and cigars. In fact, there are more than 60 instances of smoking throughout the PG-rated Western,according to Kori Titus, CEO of Breathe California, a Sacramento-based non-profit dedicated to clean air and anti-tobacco programs. rango

"While some in the film industry have taken preliminary steps to protect young audiences by making more movies smoke free, Paramount's decision to include smoking in a movie designed for kids is really troubling," said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, president and CEO of Legacy, the non-profit anti-smoking organization, in a statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

8 Must-See Health Movies

Paramount spokesperson Virginia Lam says that the movie in no way glamorizes cigarettes: "The images of smoking in the film, which primarily involves the animals, are portrayed

By Diana Rodriguez
Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Who hasn't wished for a miracle product to hit the market that can help you get fit, slim, and toned without putting in any extra effort?

Researchers, or at least marketing departments, were listening. About 10 years ago, a company called Masai Barefoot Technology, or MBT, launched their toning shoes.

Now all types of unusual-looking fitness shoes are on the shelves, promising to firm up your thighs and butt as you walk. Choices include the Reebok EasyTone, Skechers Shape-Ups, and New Balance True Balance toning shoes. For toning up in warm weather, there are Reebok EasyTone Flip Flops, FitFlop toning sandals, and Skechers Tone-ups. Some companies, including FitFlop, also make toning boots as well as shoes and clogs.

10 Ways to Fit In Exercise

Toning shoes are designed with a base that's different from traditional shoes. Rather than being flat and stable, they're rounded at the bottom, which forces

By Heather Boerner

The human papillomavirus (HPV) garnered news headlines again this week when researchers from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., revealed that 50 percent of U.S. men are infected with HPV at any given time. In February 2010, Ohio State University researchers said that HPV causes more than 60 percent of oropharynx cancers (a type of throat cancer), making the virus a bigger risk factor for that kind of throat cancer than tobacco. No wonder HPV is a hotbed of medical research right now: It's extremely common, partly vaccine-preventable, and plays a significant role in multiple kinds of cancer, including cervical cancer.

But for all the buzz about HPV in the scientific community, experts worry that many people are still fuzzy on details about the virus - including how it's transmitted, who's most at risk, and how to protect yourself from infection. "There's so much people don't know or misunderstand about HPV," says William Robinson, MD, a professor of gynecologic

By Sharon Tanenbaum

Bret Michaels has had quite a year. The frontman for iconic 80s hair band Poison has had an emergency appendectomy, brain hemorrhage, and a stroke -- all in the span of about six weeks.

The Rock of Love star also has type 1 diabetes (he was diagnosed when he was six years old), for which he takes four insulin injections a day.

Appearing in his first television interview since heart surgery in January, Michaels opened up about his extraordinary year.

"I should be dead," Michaels told Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN on Wednesday. In April 2010, about two weeks after an emergency appendectomy, the rocker suffered a brain hemorrhage. "My brain exploded. Later on I would find out they call it a thunder clap, but when it happened it made the appendicitis, the appendectomy, every broken bone, all of it go away because it feels like your head explodes."

RELATED: What other celebs have bounced back from the brink?

The "thunder clap" headache Michaels experienced is when a

By Lambeth Hochwald
Charlie Sheen's highly public unraveling (read about his rants to ABC News and NBC News) - and his aura of invincibility despite his recent hospitalization, failed rehab, and cancellation of his top-rated CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men - has everybody talking. Everyday Health asked leading mental health and addiction specialists for their explanations of Sheen's increasingly bizarre behavior.

Their take: Sheen may very well have bipolar disorder, cognitive disturbances from long-term drug use, or both.

Related: Take our Facebook poll: What's Charlie Sheen's Health Problem?

The Bipolar Disorder-Drug Abuse Connection

"It's not unusual for there to be an overlap between bipolar disorder and substance abuse problems," says Andrea Bonior, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Washington, D.C., and an adjunct professor of psychology at Georgetown University.

Sheen hasn't been formally diagnosed as having bipolar disorder, a

By Diana Rodriguez Medically reviewed by Christine Wilmsen Craig, MD

If you've been doing the same exercises as part of the same fitness routine - using the same old machines, taking the same classes, and doing the same repetitions - for ages, you might be in a workout rut. If you just aren't enjoying workouts any more or aren't getting the same satisfaction or results you used to enjoy, it might be time for a makeover.

Your Fitness Routine: Spice Up Your Workout

If you're forcing yourself to go to the health club and watching the clock during a workout or cutting out a little early (or avoiding the gym altogether), it may be time to try a new fitness routine before you give up.

If you're already trying ways to switch things up - such as bringing along a friend, listening to music, or watching TV - and it's the workout you're bored with, try these suggestions:

• Work with a personal trainer. If you feel like your fitness routine

By Sharon Tanenbaum for EverydayHealth.com

A recovery for Charlie Sheen - whose ongoing unraveling in front of one major media outlet after another - may seem hopeless at the moment. But many equally down-and-out stars, including Sheen's own father Martin, have made peace with addiction and gone on to live healthy, clean, fulfilling lives. "Celebrities are role models, and they can use this status with fellow celebs to demonstrate their own healthy journey into a legitimate, long-term treatment program," says David Kipper, MD, a substance abuse specialist in Beverly Hills and author of The Addiction Solution. Maybe Charlie can learn a lesson from the inspiring recoveries of such celebs as Elton John, Kelly Osbourne, Robin Williams, and more.

Take our Facebook poll: What's Charlie Sheen's Health Problem?

Sheen, who is a recovering alcoholic and active member of Alcoholics Anonymous, primarily credits his religion with his success. "I got sober through Catholicism,

By Wyatt Myers Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

To guide people shopping for produce, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases a new list of "dirty dozen" fruits and vegetables each year. Simply put, these are the fruits and vegetables that have the most pesticide contamination based on the EWG's analysis of more than 89,000 laboratory tests. Considering this, they are also the foods that you might want to put on your organic shopping list.

1. Celery

This veggie is not the richest in vitamins and minerals, but it still has value as a low-calorie, high-water content snack that fills you up without bulking you up. Carla Fynan, RD, a nutritionist at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., recommends adding peanut butter for a bit of protein and healthy monounsaturated fat. Rinsing and scrubbing celery may help somewhat, but celery's thin skin lets pesticides penetrate all the way through, so you're really better off choosing celery from the organic fruits and