Aging WellDesonta Holder on how they do it
Supermarket SleuthGigi Lehman sorts health from hype
Sweat EquityHoward Cohen works it out for you
Tony Mendoza fractured his ribs and mangled his nose after he had an epileptic seizure and fell down a flight of stairs. Sydney Pershing often cried in her room because of the depression resulting from her epilepsy, a neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures, usually of unknown cause.
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.
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.
A newlywed Sleuth was quite disconcerted to be greeted at the breakfast table by the racket of her spouse crunching through a bowl of Grape Nuts in the morning.
Ina Lee, 62 publishing company owner Fort Lauderdale Time to reflect: Every morning I look in the mirror and say, ``Who I am is the possibility of vibrant lifelong well-being.''
1 The product: It's a wristwatch with a detachable link that captures data from a sensor in a Nike+ shoe. It monitors time, pace, distance and calories burned. After a run, you can track your progress on www.nikeplus.com.
The question: Are youngsters who are not physically active more likely to face health problems as they grow up? This study analyzed data on 389 children ages 7 to 10 at the start of the study. They were measured for height, weight, body fat percentage, cholesterol levels and blood pressure, tested for aerobic fitness and questioned about physical activity. Seven years later, as teens, about 5 percent of them were found to have metabolic syndrome, a collection of five conditions (hypertension, high...
Dance away the pounds with: Dance off the Inches: Fat Burning Belly Dance: Sultry moves from belly dance, Bollywood and other Eastern-flavored dances provide an an upbeat workout. $14.98
The mind, the ad campaign goes, is a terrible thing to waste. It's also the most complex part of our being. The medical community believed for years that brain damage was irreparable, particularly in adults. Science has since shown that an injured brain can reroute signals.
If you like his body, check out his book, Mario Lopez's Knockout Fitness: The Six-Week Plan for Sculpting Your Best Body Ever (Rodale, $26.95). Since his days on Saved by the Bell, Lopez has been sculpting his body. Now he wants to help others sculpt theirs. The book includes illustrated exercises, sample meal plans and dance and yoga workouts. There are also a few lists worth copying and taping to your refrigerator: good proteins, carbs and fats vs. bad.
Good fats, bad fats, so-so fats. Do you know which is which? Here's a quiz to test how up-to-date you are about the fat in your diet.
UNBUTTONED
Jhonny Salomon isn't the first physician to see left-brain creativity in his work. But in South Florida, he's one of a few who puts his money where his mouth is.
COVER STORY
When real estate developer Linda Rozynes lost a South Miami-Dade apartment building to a storm in 2000, she knew she would rebuild the property -- as medical offices.
Pediatrix, the Sunrise company offering neonatal and other healthcare services, reported revenue of $245.6 million for the first quarter, up from $211 million for the same period last year.
Miami-based Continucare said improved expenses and operating efficiencies lifted third-quarter profit to $3.7 million, or 5 cents per share, from $1.8 million, or 2 cents per share, in 2007. Revenue grew 9 percent to $65.9 million at the provider of primary care outpatient services.
One evening five years ago, Debbie Brooks, 44, phoned her mother: ``Hey, Mom, I need to talk to you.'' She and her boyfriend drove to Kendall, where they sat at her mother's kitchen table. Face to face with her mother, Rhoda Brooks, Debbie couldn't speak.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Video | Researchers work to end disease that killed son
