Obesity in America has reached epidemic levels, and it’s a growing concern with our youth. I remember when I was in grade school, there was usually one overweight kid, who usually got picked on. It seems these days there are enough overweight kids that they can pick on the skinny kid in the class!

Though there is humor in the irony, this is a very serious situation. In this day and age, children want to hurry home so they can either play video games, get online or watch TV. Combine that with high amounts of fattening food, lack of physical education classes in schools and lack of participation in organized sports and you can see how this problem has become so dire. (more…)

People cope with stress in different ways. One common method (and a very good one!) is by exercising. Others prefer to take out stress on a punching bag, stress ball, stress doll, etc. Another method - and probably the most popular - is eating. “comfort foods” such as ice cream become our best friend and therapist when we eat until we are too full to care about what was bothering us. This is one of the most unhealthy ways to deal with stress. If you are still inclined to tackle stress with food, try healthy comfort foods. This article on Yahoo! provides seven healthy foods which can be substituted for the norm: (more…)

I don’t know about you, but I have always been a big Wu-Tang Clan fan. As such, I was awestruck about a year ago when I saw a story on tv about a new sport called chess boxing (Wu-Tang has a track on their first album called Da Mystery of Chessboxin. The title is a reference to an old kung fu film where a student learns the strategic correlation between chess and kung fu.) (more…)

These days, it’s almost impossible to walk into a gym, look at the schedule and not see multiple Pilates classes listed. Pilates is an exercise method created by Joseph Pilates, a German man who spent time as a bodybuilder, circus performer, self defense trainer and gymnast. This combined with yoga formed the basis of Pilates, which was originally a method he used to strengthen and train inmates during the Second World War. (more…)

If you are like me, one of your biggest fears is getting older. I know that once I reach a certain age, I won’t be able to compete in the sports I compete in, lift weights as heavily or run as fast. But it’s inevitable; at some point I will reach my golden years and my days of heavy lifting, full contact fighting, Latin dancing and intense workouts will be nothing more than stories I tell to my grandchildren. Thanks to this article on buzzle.com, I don’t have to feel old as I age. They listed several tips for retaining a healthful youthful body as you age. (more…)

If you’re going to eat organic, you may as well do the full monty and drink organic, right? A recent article at Green Living Online reports that Americans consume approximately 7.4 BILLION gallons of beer each year. Given that beer has been known to contain possible carcinogens such as arsenic, asbestos, ethyl carbamate and acetaldehyde, by drinking these you could possibly put yourself at an increased risk of developing cancer of the mouth, larynx, pharynx or esophagus. Some beers also contain substances such as sulphur dioxide, protease and ammonia caramel. These have been deemed safe for consumption but are known to cause hangovers. (more…)

Several of my co-workers decided to try something different this summer to be Healthalicious - getting in better shape and saving money on gas. To accomplish this, they decided to ride their bikes to work. Not an easy feat considering that one of them lives about 20 miles away, then there’s traffic, weather changes, and trying to get to work early enough to shower and change, etc. I definitely commend them for it. In honor of my co-workers, here are nine tips from greenliving online for biking to work: (more…)

There are three components that play a role in determining the effectiveness of your cardiovascular workout: frequency, intensity and duration. These elements, along with a healthy diet, will determine whether you are a fat burning machine or not. We’ll tackle each of the categories in this article.

Frequency - is how often you exercise. Ideally, you want at least 3 days per week of cardiovascular activity. Any less than that and you won’t be doing as much good for your body as you could be doing, as your body will have time to begin to de-train itself. In addition, by exercising infrequently, you will not be able to create the necessary calorie deficit required to make you lose weight. (more…)

Buying organically produced foods is a big trend, something Healthalicious people tend to do. However, there are many people who still know nothing about the term other than the fact that organic foods tend to cost more. So, for those of you who don’t know much about organic foods, this article will teach you something new today.

What are organic foods? (more…)

Water is the best no calorie drink in all the world. What you may not realize is exactly why that is. Most of the human body is composed of water - the brain is 95% water; the lungs are 90%. Overall, approximately 70% of the human body is composed this stuff. Water plays a part in the prevention of certain types of cancer, keeping the kidneys flushed, weight loss and it keeps your complexion nice and clear. (more…)