Graeme MontgomeryJenny Deam, SELF magazine

Buffy Martin Tarbox is a hip, smart public relations professional in San Francisco. She volunteers for the local AIDS Foundation, and on weekends she scoots around the Bay Area in her baby-blue VW bug helping rescue wounded wildlife.

She is also armed.

Tarbox says her Smith & Wesson handgun is just like any other modern accessory in her life, along with her designer heels and handbag. "My personal satisfaction is that I can take care of myself," she says. "I don't need to rely on a man to protect me."

See more: 20 Superfoods for Weight Loss

But is Tarbox, or any woman, truly safer with a gun? Pro-gun forces want us to think so: They have aggressively promoted the idea that guns level the playing field against a stronger foe. Manufacturers have made weapons lighter and barrels shorter so they're easier for smaller hands to shoot--or to tuck into a purse or stylish holster. Sellers have customized handguns and rifles with pastel colors and

Read More »from Would You Buy a Gun?

Are myths stopping you from getting a flu shot? (Photo: Thinkstock)We're in the thick of cold and flu season, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that seasonal flu shots prevented 5 million cases of influenza last year and helped keep 40,000 people out of the hospital in 2011. Still, more than half of the population of the United States avoids getting an influenza vaccine each year, usually because they're afraid that the flu shot itself will give them the flu.

Related: 7 Foods the Fight Cold and Flu

It's one of the biggest myths about the flu shot out there. "It's impossible to get the flu, and it's impossible to spread the flu" from the injection, Dr. Dennis Cunningham, an infectious disease specialist at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio, told LiveScience.com

The confusion may come from the fact that some of the vaccine's side effects—low-grade fever, body aches, and soreness at the injection site—feel like flu-like symptoms. But, "the soreness is often caused by a person's immune system making protective

Read More »from Flu Shot Myths, Busted

SELF magazine

We asked hundreds of SELF reader-testers to put 421 pairs of sneakers through their paces. Four weeks, 6,035 miles, 253 workout DVDs, 418 classes and 766 hours of strength training later, we present our first annual sneaker awards! Pinpoint your perfect pair to step up to your fitness goals.

More from SELF:

6 Moves for a Great Butt

5 Simple Steps to Cellulite-Free Skin

3 CrossFit Total-Body Workouts

6 Secrets to Firing Up Your Metabolism

Read More »from Are You Wearing the Right Sneakers?

By: StacyatZeel

.The following blog post was contributed by Alma Myers, LAc, and is a continuation of a recent series of articles on the use of touch, movement and energy work to provide lasting healing and health. In it, Alma explains that acupuncture is just one of many treatments offered by licensed acupuncturists. As he puts it: "Care and self-care can come in many forms, and needleless might be better suited to help you meet your health and wellness "acu-" goals, while avoiding "-puncture."'


Conscious Eating: Building Your Way to Health

If you are what you eat, what are you made of?

Many ancient and modern cultures recognize the importance of "food as medicine" and encourage the consumption of a diet that is rich in local, seasonal ingredients. Using dietary and nutritional therapies such as this, you can guide the way you live, building, repairing and balancing your body through foods that contain properties appropriate to your diagnosis and complement and enhance your current

Read More »from Don't Get Stuck with Acupuncture: The Medicine of Nutrition and Herbs

Let's put this archaic idea to bed, once and for all: Your physique is not destined for a downhill slide as you age. Sure, your body changes as the decades go by, but there's plenty of proof that good diet and exercise habits can override your chronological age, says Barbara Bushman, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at Missouri State University. "By simply staying active, it's amazing how you can slow down the decline that would otherwise happen," says Bushman.

The key to maintaining your hotness as you rack up birthdays is knowing your body's ever-evolving strengths and weaknesses. (Need an updated baseline? Try these 6 Mini Fitness Tests for areas that matter most.) Things that can be a struggle at 20, like finding a routine you enjoy, can be second nature by your forties. And stuff you took for granted early on, like recovering quickly from a workout, doesn't come as easily in future decades. Knowing what you'll encounter will help keep you looking your best at any, and every, age.

Read More »from The 3 Rules of Staying Fit at Every Age

by Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD

How to lose weight for goodChances are you've tried at least once to eat healthier. And, unless you are super strong-willed, chances are you didn't stay on track. Don't feel bad about it-you certainly aren't alone!

A new survey finds that nearly one in three young people embark on a new diet each month, but 45 percent give up after a week and about half abandon their goals within a month. Studies also show that rather than choosing a plan and committing to it long-term, 48 percent of dieters switch plans every six months.

In my private practice I've seen countless clients over the years struggle with stick-with-it-ness for numerous reasons. Here are the three big obstacles I see and how to overcome them so you can jump of the diet rollercoaster, stay the course, and achieve sustainable weight loss that doesn't feel like a daily struggle.

1. Choosing the Wrong Approach
Even if a weight-loss strategy works, I can guarantee that you will give up and gain all the weight

Read More »from 3 Guaranteed Ways to Lose Weight for Good

Courtesy of NightWaveBy Christie Griffin

You've heard it plenty of times: There are a lot of devices out there that can hinder your sleep health. (We're looking at you, laptops and TV screens.) But what about the good-for-you gadgets geared toward improving your sleep? We sifted through a pile of thingy-ma-bobbers that promise to send you to dreamland, tested them out, and picked our top five favorites. Prepare to rest easy -- finally.

Related: The 10 Best and Worst Foods to Eat for Sleep

NightWave Sleep Assistant
What it is and how it works: This lightweight, tiny gadget -- it's about the size of a jewelry gift box -- projects a pulsing, soft blue light on your ceiling or wall. Then you begin what is best described as a pre-sleep exercise: Breathe in as the blue light gets bright, breathe out as it goes dark. After seven minutes, the soothing light rhythms automatically stop...and your ZZZs start.

Expert opinion: "The breathing routine that cycles with the projecting light will potentially reduce thought

Read More »from 5 Great Gadgets to Improve Your Sleep

Looking for a fun way to get your daily exercise? Dancing along to these six music videos will get you -- and your heart -- pumped up.


Beyonce: Move Your Body

In this educational video, Beyonce doesn't just move her body, she encourages school children to move theirs, as well. Her high-energy dance routine was specifically designed to make exercise more appealing to children with the idea that they'll strive to imitate the actions of a popular musician. She leads a flash mob of middle school kids through the easy-to-follow dance routine, working traditional exercise moves in with hip-hop flavor. If you're looking to lose weight, this is an easy and fun way to get started.

See Also - Losing Weight the Fastest Way

Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil' Kim, Mya: Lady Marmalade



This high powered dance routine is well choreographed with dance moves that you can follow at home with some practice. If your goal is to be thin, sexy, and svelte, cardio is the best way to get there and this video

Read More »from 6 Music Videos for Dropping Pounds