Experience Life. Bumping up against skin problems (Sept 2008): I was skiing in Colorado a few years ago when a crusty scab appeared along my nose. I thought it was a weird case of acne. But the eruptions became more severe when the temperature dropped, so I sought help. The diagnosis? A skin disorder called rosacea. Fitness enthusiasts are especially prone to such skin conditions. Not only do we spend time braving skin-aggravating elements, but our activities cause heat and friction.

Men's Fitness. In obesity and health (Feb 2010): Before getting married in 1997, Neal Lyday never struggled with weight. Growing up, he'd always been lean and athletic. But once he and Sheila Lyday said, "I do," the struggles began for both of them. "We partied, drank beer, and ate a ton of fast food," Neal says. "I'd hit the drive-thru fives times a day and eat about 10,000 calories."

Men's Fitness. Flex your mental muscle (Aug 2009): Most of us don't worry about our memory fading. But memory problems can arise as early as your 20s, according to a new University of Virginia study. After evaluating more than 2,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 60 for seven years, researchers found that by the age of 27, brain speed, puzzle-solving capabilities, and abstract reasoning started to decline in most people. That doesn't mean you're doomed to not knowing your girl's name tomorrow. But it does indicate that your brain is one more part of your body you need to keep fit. Here's how.

MSNBC.com. Superwoman syndrome fuels pill-popping (Feb. 24, 2010): Popping a couple of pain pills helped Laurie J. Besden study night after night. They helped her pass the Pennsylvania bar exam. They helped her get more done in a day than many of her colleagues. Then they helped her land in jail. Besden doesn't seem like any drug addict you'd picture. She's smart, motivated -- and an overachiever. But she's one of an alarming number of women who have turned to prescription pills to get ahead -- or even just to keep up.

Natural Health. Easy bone boosters (Sept 2009): Exercise can improve almost anything: from small things like balance, agility, and coordination to big things like blood pressure, cholesterol -- and bone health. But while almost any type of exercise will help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, not every kind will strengthen the entire skeleton. You need targeted activity for that. Fortunately, you won't have to give up your favorite form of exercise. You'll just need to add something like jumping rope or strength training -- activities that create force or stress on the skeletal system, which responds by building more bone to tolerate that force or stress.

Natural Health. The super vitamin (Nov 2008): New research reveals that vitamin D may play a more significant role in preventing certain kinds of cancer than previously suspected. Part of the steroid hormone family, which includes cortisol, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, vitamin D may be the most potent cancer prevention available today, says James E. Dowd, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine at Michigan State University and author of The Vitamin D Cure (John Wiley and Sons, 2008).

Natural Solutions. Allergy Test (April 2009): Every spring for as long as Julie Daly can remember, seasonal allergies would leave her with chronic sinus pain, postnasal drip, and debilitating headaches. For years, under an allergist’s guidance, she took prescription allergy medication, and while that helped ease some of her symptoms, her allergies never really went away—and the drug came with a host of not-so-pleasant side effects. 
Frustrated, Daly finally saw a naturopathic doctor and got some shocking news: Her love of sweets and her high-stress lifestyle had more of an effect on her symptoms than the daily pollen count. So Daly took her new doctor’s advice to heart: She cut out wheat and sugar, started running every other day, and took at least one yoga class a week—and it worked. “I couldn’t believe the results,” says the 37 year old. Sure it took a while, but for the first time in years Daly managed to get through allergy season without being completely miserable. “Now that I have my diet and stress levels under control,” she says, “I realize my allergy symptoms were telling me that things were out of balance in my body.”
 For the roughly 20 percent of the adults who suffer from seasonal allergies, results like Daly’s can seem like a pipe dream, particularly during allergy season. But the obvious suspects—pollen or ragweed—are merely triggers in the allergy bomb. The real culprit may actually be your immune system.

Oxygen. Blast past your energy crash (Sept 2008): It happens every day without fail. Around 3:00 p.m., you feel so lethargic that you crave a couch where you can curl up and take a snooze. You've thought about sauntering over to the vending machine to grab a candy bar -- a sugar rush might give you a kick in the pants -- but you're way too committed to clean eating and your active lifestyle so you know it's best to ride it out. What's making your body crash?

Redbook. Relax, already! (Feb 2010): Feeling more stressed than ever? Join the club. Three quarters of adults have experienced moderate to high levels of stress in the past year, according to the American Psychological Association. These surprising strategies will go a long way toward taming tension -- fast.

Runner's World. Surface tension (June 2010): Your shoes' worn soles and dirty laces aren't the only visible cues of the miles you've logged. Your skin shows signs of the good (healthy glow), the bad (chafing) and the ugly (blisters). While skin issues certainly aren't as devastating as a twisted ankle, hamstring pull or stress fracture, they have the potential to turn an ordinary run into a miserable experience.

Shape. The health risk most women ignore (Sept 2008): Wendy Mikola has a lifestyle any physician would praise. The 36-year-old accountant from Ohio exercises regularly, doesn't smoke, and fills her plate with fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains. But there's one glaring lapse: She doesn't give much thought to protecting her bones. "I figure that's something I can worry about later," says Wendy. "Osteoporosis usually affects older women."

Woman's Day. Healthy resolutions you'll keep (Jan 2010): We've all made live-healthier declarations at the start of a new year (Exercise every day! No dessert!). Problem is, most of the time, they're just too grand. "Big goals tend to be unrealistic and set you up for failure," says Joseph R. Ferrari, Ph.D., professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago. The key to making resolutions is to take little steps toward your main goals. Here's how to boil down those ambitions into action-size bites so that by year's end, you'll count yourself among the resolution keepers.