Aging WellDesonta Holder on how they do it
Supermarket SleuthGigi Lehman sorts health from hype
Sweat EquityHoward Cohen works it out for you
Margaret Pericak-Vance and her husband, Dr. Jeffery Vance, spend their days searching for clues to unlock human disease. Their maze: the thousands of genes in the human body that cause cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, autism, Parkinson's and myriad other medical mysteries.
As he hit his early 40s, Fernando Bastidas started to notice the signs of aging: the saggy skin, the tired eyes, the loss of the hard body of his youth. The solution? Go under the knife. He's part of a growing group of men, mostly middle aged, turning to cosmetic surgery to battle aging and shore up their physical shortcomings.
So far, our six dieters are holding onto their New Year's resolution -- lose weight in 2008 -- despite a few speed bumps. Collectively, they've shed more than 100 pounds the old-fashioned way, by eating less and moving more.
Sometimes it's the little touches that make a fitness center stand out. Take the Biltmore Fitness Center's twin water cooler. One, enticingly glistening with condensation, held plain ice water. The other was filled with fresh-cut lemons and water. That's not only classy but it's a smart and healthy drink to offer someone who has lost minerals through sweat.
There's some good stuff to be found in a pizza, like lycopene-rich tomatoes and calcium and protein from the cheese, but the sodium and saturated fat usually cancel out the benefits.
Karl Egerman, 73 retired pediatrician Hollywood Small town doc: I practiced in Trussville, Ala., a small town outside of Birmingham. I lived there about 30 years and I was the only doctor in town for a long time.
ORAL CARE
In 1983, Isador Schleicher, a 79-year-old concentration camp survivor, walked into a North Miami dentist's office with a few teeth dangling from his gums.
Energizer Holdings recently conducted an ''All Ears'' survey of 1,065 baby boomers whose spouses suffer from hearing loss. Key findings include:
Ratcheting up the competition among big retailers battling in the healthcare field, Wal-Mart announced Monday that it was expanding its $4 prescription-drug program to include 1,000 over-the-counter drugs and adding 90-day prescriptions for $10.
Most of us know that eating fruit is a good boost for your health, but does that mean you should just plop an apple into your lunch sack every day and call it nutrition accomplished? Here's a quiz to find out if you are making the best choices when it comes to fruit.
intenSati: Great Body, Great Life -- A High Energy Workout for Body, Mind & Soul combines martial arts, yoga and other exercises as well as spoken meditation for an energizing, uplifting experience. $14.99 at www.intensati.com.
Sandi Sirotowitz and Alisa Cowan, mother and daughter, both grew up in the stark shadow of cancer. Sirotowitz's mother, her mother's sister and every first cousin on her mother's side had breast cancer. Her maternal uncle had cancer, too, possibly pancreatic. Her father, who died recently at 96, had survived three bouts with cancer -- bladder, lymphoma and prostate.
Product: Airborne Peach Tea, $4.79 for 10 tablets. Key ingredients: vitamins C, A, E and B2; magnesium; zinc; and an herbal extract that includes ginger and echinacea.
Get a year's worth of fitness suggestions with 365 Ways to Get Fit (Collins & Brown, $9.95). Among the 365 are: No. 41: Buy a Hula Hoop and practice wiggling your waist.
GENETICS
When the doctor told Maria Agosto that she had breast cancer, she wasn't ready to accept the diagnosis. It was 2001 and she was busy with her 6-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son. The North Miami resident also was anticipating the birth of her 24-year-old daughter's second child.
In the past few years, three of my good friends have contracted breast cancer. They're women with full lives -- wives, mothers, professionals. One plays tennis. The other two run and walk regularly.
Wal-Mart announced a major expansion of its $4 prescription-drug program Monday morning to include 1,000 over-the-counter drugs and offer 90-day prescriptions for $10.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Peter C. Brandt, a longtime Pfizer executive, has been named president and chief executive officer of Noven Pharmaceuticals, the Kendall-based company specializing in medicated patches and other drugs.
Kathie Sigler, longtime president of the Medical Center Campus at Miami Dade College, received the Lifetime Achievement Award Thursday at the annual luncheon to celebrate Miami-Dade's Health Care Heroes.
CAMPAIGN 2008 | HEALTHCARE
In his first major healthcare speech since becoming the Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain said Tuesday he would support efforts by the states to cover the most uninsurable patients, work hard to lower healthcare costs and offer families up to $5,000 in tax credits to purchase insurance.
Top executives of OPKO Health, the Miami-based firm developing pharmaceutical products for the eye, were granted stock options by the compensation committee of the board of directors, the firm announced Wednesday.
Peter C. Brandt, a longtime Pfizer executive, has been named president and chief executive officer of Noven Pharmaceuticals, the Kendall-based company specializing in medicated patches and other drugs.
Sandra Seaton, 63 Miami standards coordinator for Baptist Children's Hospital Rah, rah, whoops: Years ago people would say I looked like I'd be a great cheerleader. I was encouraged to try out, but I was totally uncoordinated. Now I do belly dancing classes with my daughter and I love it, but I still lack coordination, which you need if you really want to get it right.
Time for a confession: The Sleuth's guilty pleasure is . . . butter. Sweet cream butter, no salt, slathered on crusty bread. But butter started getting a bad rap a few decades ago for its saturated fat, so diligent diners turned to margarine -- until it was discovered that margarine's trans fats are worse than butter's sat fats.
Rhonda Fine, a clinical sexologist and psychiatric nurse practitioner at Miami Institute for Age Management and Intervention, shares her thoughts on the topic:
PLASTIC SURGERY
What does mommy tell her toddler when she comes home from the plastic surgeon with a new nose? Not another lie, like the one about the stork bringing baby home, urges Dr. Michael Salzhauer, a Bal Harbour plastic surgeon and author of My Beautiful Mommy (Big Tent, $19.95). The book is aimed at helping 4- to 7-year-olds understand plastic surgery and the recovery period, which can be marked by bandages and bruises.
Push-ups should be some of the primary exercises in your upper body training program. Varying the types of push-ups you perform will continue to challenge your muscles and keep boredom at bay. A push-up you may not be performing is the tap push-up. It's especially useful for those who find regular push-ups challenging to their cardiovascular system. Hint: You can quickly catch your breath during the tap portion of this exercise.
Osteoporosis, the gradual loss of bone mass, is one of the most common bone diseases. Your diet can make a big difference in your bone strength. Do you know what changes you need to make to have strong bones?
Video | Researchers work to end disease that killed son
