Sensational headlines are everywhere, especially in the health and fitness arena. Every day it seems we learn another way to add some extra days to our lives, reduce our risk of diabetes, or lose stubborn belly fat for good. But you need to be a careful reader to get the full picture. Look for red flags like a small sample size, a very specific population sample, or any other “but” that you may come across in the article. These tell you that you probably don’t need to run out and change your lifestyle right this second—more research is needed.

If you’re interested in getting more information you can usually track down the original article online (or at least a good abstract). Occasionally, however, it doesn’t matter how carefully you read the research—sometimes the researchers lie. One of the leaders in the area of red wine and your health has been accused of faking the data in several of his studies!

Perhaps you heard last year that the FDA issued new guidelines for labeling sunscreen. Well, the new rules must be in place by this summer, so your favorite sunscreen might be looking different soon.

Probably the biggest change for all you outdoor exercisers is that the designation “sweat proof” is going away. Instead, you’ll want to look for one that’s “water resistant.” They’ve made this change since the truth is that all sunscreen wears off and needs to be reapplied frequently.

You’ll also want to pick one that says “broad spectrum.” That means it blocks both the UVA and UVB rays. The first causes premature aging and the second causes sunburns; they can both cause cancer.

In addition if you currently buy a sunscreen with an SPF above 50, know that you won’t be able to find that anymore. 50+ will be the highest SPF assigned since there’s not enough proof that anything above that makes a significant difference.

It’s time to find some new ab exercises and make the endless crunches a thing of the past. Crunches just don’t strengthen your core in a way that’s particularly useful in your every-day life, and they put an awful lot of pressure on your lower back which could lead to an injury over time.

Instead, try wood chops, planks–both front and side, or seated trunk rotations. Even if you can’t bring yourself to give up crunches completely, varying your core exercises will both make you stronger and reduce your chances of injury.

Bike, run, swim, walk. Whatever you like. Here’s why:

1. Goals. If one of your goals for the year is something along the lines of “get in better shape,” “run a 5K (10K/half marathon/etc.),” or, “sign up for the ______ race,” then this is your chance to achieve it.
2. Structure. Signing up and committing to an event and/or distance gives you incentive to train, as well as a time frame in which you must do it.
3. Camaraderie. While many of the people who participate in these events do it for the competition, a greater number do it for fun and a sense of accomplishment. It’s a good feeling to push through a physical challenge alongside others who are doing it too.
4. Good Deeds. An added bonus is that many of these events are held for charity. So your entry fee goes to a worthy cause while you reap the physical benefits.

Two great sites to search for races are The Runner’s World RaceFinder, and Running in the USA. For bike rides visit BikeRide.com.

One of the first things I ask my clients who are trying to lose weight is if they have a pop habit. (Yes, pop. I’m from Iowa. That’s what we call it.) You see, cutting out the empty calories found in all regular pop can make an immediate difference.

Let’s say you like Coke and drink one can every day for an entire year. Each can of Coke has 140 calories (most pop falls between 140 and 190 calories per can).

140 calories x 365 days per year = 51,100 calories per year

51,100 calories per year / 3500 calories per pound = 14.6 pounds per year

Again, in case you missed it, that’s 14.6 pounds that you will gain in one year from all that pop unless you exercise enough to burn an equal number of calories!

Additionally, a study published last year found that sweetened beverages (including pop and many flavored waters) cause other health problems in women. The study followed 4,166 women for five years and found that women who drink two or more sweetened beverages a day are more likely to develop high triglycerides and elevated blood glucose—regardless of whether they gained any weight during that time!!

There are food journals, virtual personal trainers, calorie counters, recipes, exercise classes, and even heart rate monitors all available through the app store. Basically anything you might want or need relating to health and fitness.

My “app of the moment” is FitnessClass where I can either rent or buy fitness videos. It’s got a pretty good selection of classes taught by well-known instructors and the 30-day rental fees are quite reasonable (most are between $.99 and $4.99).

Take a minute to explore and find an app that will give you a little boost!

The amount of research done on how alcohol affects your health is truly staggering! Over the years some studies have shown that it’s great for you, while others have found that it increases your risk for certain diseases. Two new studies come down on the side of “moderate consumption.”

The first, recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found that having one alcoholic drink per day lowers your risk for breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancers. On the flip side, however, heavy drinkers who have more than three drinks per day increase their risk for each of these cancers.

The second study, conducted at Harvard, looked specifically at women. They found that women who are moderate consumers (here defined as one or two drinks per day) are more likely to “age successfully.” That is, they are less likely to suffer from 11 major chronic illnesses—such as cancer, diabetes, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease—or cognitive impairment.

To that I say, “Cheers!”

We do exercises to keep most of our other body parts in shape, yet we rarely give a second thought to our feet. It’s time for that to change.

Our feet work pretty hard for us every day. If they aren’t kept in proper shape they will rebel causing pain not just in your feet, but possibly your knees, hips, back, and even in your neck and shoulders.

Show your feet a little love by doing toe articulations every day. Start with one foot flat on the floor. Lift your big toe and then lift the rest of your toes, one at a time, until all five are off the floor. Next lower your big toe to the floor followed sequentially by the remaining four. Do it again in reverse: lift and lower your little toe first. When you finish on one side, switch to the other.

It probably seems hard, but believe it or not our toes should be able to do this—our shoes have beaten it out of them! Keep practicing and your whole body will thank you.

There are lots of good ways to mix up your exercise program:

• try a new class at the gym (or even your usual class with a different instructor)
• add some exercise videos to your Netflix queue and work out at home
• get on-line and search for variations of your favorite moves

And the list could go on and on.

Changing up your routine once in a while is great for both your mind and body. It keeps you from getting bored—such a de-motivator! And it keeps your body guessing what comes next which is actually pretty important for staying in shape.

Over the summer sociologists at the University of Washington presented a study which found that working mothers who have unrealistically high expectations for themselves and their abilities to balance their work and home lives are more likely to be depressed than those working moms who expect to have difficulty. The women in the latter group know they can’t be perfect and are much more relaxed in their approach. They know (and accept) that certain things will most likely go un-done.

I suspect this applies to all people, women and men, parents or not, who have extremely high expectations for themselves and strive for perfection. It’s exhausting! It’s also difficult to consistently achieve at that level in every area of your life all the time. And so if that’s your goal then it seems likely to me that you might find yourself frustrated, tense and perhaps even depressed pretty regularly. Give yourself a breather this week and let the unimportant stuff wait. You might be surprised to find how good it feels to “just let it go.”