I don't believe in diets
From The Optimist Magazine Summer 2014 Kris Verburgh knows how you can age well and lose weight, but don’t call him a diet guru. By Marco Visscher Many pages into writing his new book, Kris Verburgh realized the truth. Darn it, he was writing a diet book! This from someone who dislikes diet Read More...
Turn up the stress
From The Optimist Magazine Summer 2014 Even as we anxiously try to avoid and suppress it, more and more research shows that stress is actually beneficial. It results in better performance, keeps us alert and is even good for our health. BY ELLEKE BAL One morning in 2007, Arianna Huffington awoke Read More...
Find your own way
From The Optimist Magazine Summer 2014 Whether they choose traditional or alternative therapies, cancer survivors all embrace these six habits of mind. By Laura Bond When Laura Bond’s mother, Gemma Bond, was diagnosed with ovarian and uterine cancer in March 2011, she refused chemotherapy and Read More...
Inspiration: A year without processed food
From The Optimist Magazine Fall 2015 Megan Kimble, a journalist based in Tucson, Arizona, decided to spend one year eating only whole, unprocessed foods. Her book Unprocessed: My Busy, Broke City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food tells about her journey. Why did you decide to stop eating Read More...
Possibility: Kale is dead. Long live watercress.
From The Optimist Magazine Fall 2015 Marketing is an art, and more often than not it doesn’t produce the best results for the consumer. Take the case of kale. In recent years, this vegetable has become the darling of the health-conscious movement. There’s hardly any healthy-cuisine restaurant Read More...
How dangerous is my mobile?
A growing body of research suggests that radiation from cellphones and other electronic devices may harm our health. How worried should we be and what can we do about it? Kim Ridley | December 2006 issue Perhaps more than any other technology, wireless communication is incredibly seductive and Read More...
Healthy behaviour: Friendship
Making and maintaining friends. | June 2003 issue 1. Aways be friendly to everyone; experiment excessively. 2. Surround yourself at home and at work with pictures and memories of friends. 3. Listen to friends' dreams and try and do everything you can to make them yours. 4. Always have the feeling Read More...
Healthy behaviour: Silliness
Getting silly, a guide.| June 2003 issue 1. Laugh in public at least three times a day in every imaginable setting, especially wherever your inner voice says 'not here'. You are standing in line at the checkout counter and… 2. Practice being totally crazy with children. At least once a week go to Read More...
Healthy behaviour: Smile!
Laughing matters.Patch Adams | June 2003 issue The first time I saw him he was wearing a rubber nose, a multi-coloured print shirt, and a polka-dot tie over yellow balloon pants held up by suspenders. Beneath the rubber nose was an elaborate handlebar moustache; on the back of his head, a ponytail Read More...
Healthy eating: Food theory
On carbohydrates, fats and proteins.Andrew Weil | June 2003 issue Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are the most fundamental nutrients. They consist of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The most simple carbohydrates are sugars: glucose and dextrose, fructose (sugar from fruit) and sucrose (table sugar, cane Read More...