Aimee E. Raupp is the author of Chill Out and Get Healthy– a no nonsense guide for women on improving their health now. As well she is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist with a masters of science in Traditional Oriental Medicine. For more information visit AimeeRaupp.com.

Eat fat to lose fat

Yes, you heard me: eat fat to lose fat.

“But, isn’t fat is bad for my health? And, doesn’t it cause heart disease?” I hear you say. The answer to both is no.

For many centuries, cultures (like the French) have been eating high fat diets and, oddly enough, they have much lower rates of obesity and type II diabetes than we do here in the United States. You see, what happened was back in the 1950’s some scientists ran a small and very poorly designed study looking at the incidence of heart disease and the dietary habits of different nations. Somehow (after leaving out a great bit of data) these researchers determined that Americans hearty full-fat diet caused the most heart disease. And, voila now American’s eat a low-fat diet because their doctors recommend it.

Read Full Post >

By Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com

I am asked more frequently about cellulite in my practice than any other health concern. It is the plea from women everywhere, the curse of generations. “Why me?” I have spent hours in session hearing the cellulite lament.

Thanks to the media’s use of airbrushing we are bombarded with unrealistic images of women with perfectly smooth legs and not an ounce of cellulite. One can feel like they are all alone on cellulite island, like the only woman in the world that has “orange peel” skin (I refuse to liken cellulite to cottage cheese, I refuse!) In this era of “false” perfectionism it is difficult to embrace our imperfect selves, and really, really difficult to embrace our cellulite. I always encourage my clients to release the negative focus on those dimply thighs. It’s amazing how cellulite begins to disappear when you magically stop drawing attention to it. That is a great first step toward feeling better about your and your body, we are all imperfect in the most perfectly beautiful way.
Read Full Post >

By Jenilee Matz

We all know it’s risky for your health to be overweight. Does that mean you’re in the clear for dangerous medical problems if you’re thin? Not so, say experts.

The Skinny on Fat

Dr. Jimmy Bell, a professor of molecular imaging at Imperial College in London, says, “being thin doesn’t automatically mean you’re not fat.”

Doctors say internal fat that surrounds vital organs – such as the heart, liver and pancreas – may be just as risky to your health as visible body fat.

Experts aren’t quite sure why internal fat happens without the presence of external fat. They believe people accumulate fat around the stomach area first, but sometimes the body may store it in other places. The amount of internal fat you have also seems to increase with age.

Read Full Post >

People who seem to eat what they want, when they want, and still stay thin are the bane of many people’s existence who struggle with weight (or at least they are responsible for some mild resentment). However, just because you’re skinny doesn’t mean you’re healthy.

Scientists are now sending out a warning to thin people that being lean doesn’t mean you can be carefree with your health. The concern centers around a so-called “lean gene.” This gene keeps people slim but also masks signs of heart disease and diabetes, particularly in men.

What the gene does is reduce levels of fat under the skin. However, what’s left is dangerous tissue that surrounds the heart and other organs.

“We’ve uncovered a truly fascinating genetic story and, when we found the effect of this gene, we were very intrigued by the unexpected finding,” said Professor Douglas Kiel of the Harvard Medical School.
Read Full Post >

If you are a woman like me, two words can make you instantly start salivating: Ryan Reynolds. For men, he is someone to be admired and envied because he has a body like a super hero, which is very convenient since he will be portraying one this summer when Green Lantern is released in theaters.

Reynolds first became known for his rock-hard six-pack when he appeared in Blade: Trinity. Since then, his weight has fluctuated a little bit, depending on what kind of movie he was acting in. When Reynolds is going to be in an action film, he really concentrates on building muscle tone. According to his personal trainer, Bobby Strom, Reynolds weighed in at “200 pounds and 8 percent body fat [when he is in an action movie, but for romantic comedies] he’s about 180 and 11 percent body fat.”

In order to get in such fantastic shape, Reynolds works out for 90-minutes, seven days a week. His workouts vary, based mainly on what his role in the next movie is.

Read Full Post >