New Study Suggests A Minimum One-Hour Workout May Be Necessary

New research suggests that older women who are at a healthy weight may need a minimum of one hour of moderate activity per day to stay in shape. Women who are overweight may need even more exercise to "avoid gaining weight without eating less," according to the CBS News article "Study: 1-Hour Workouts Needed to Fight Fat."

The study's results, which appear today, April 7, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is "based on 34,079 non-dieting middle-aged women followed for about 13 years. The women gained an average of almost 6 pounds during the study." Only women were included in the study and "researchers from Harvard's Brigham and Women Hospital said it's uncertain whether the results would apply to men."

To read the full-length article on the CBS News website, click here.


To watch "The Early Show" CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton talk about this study and how you can include more exercise in your everyday routine, click on the video link below.

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Juice therapy: spring cleaning from the inside out

Before you plant a new spring garden, you prepare the soil. You make sure the soil is healthy, full of nutrients, aerated, well hydrated, and so on. Well, just as we prepare our gardens for the optimal harvest, our bodies benefit from a little spring clean up, and clean out too.

Juice therapy—or juicing—is an all natural, easy-to-use, and affordable way to flush leftover wastes sitting sedentary in your body, dragging you down. Juice therapy helps to flush these toxins from the body, which improves major body functions, as well as overall vitality, energy, healthy skin, and heart health, to name a few benefits.

Here are some common juicing fruits and vegetables, and their potential functions.

Apple: general cleanser, fights infection, and stimulates digestion
Apricot: blood builder, constipation, and skin problems
Lemon: gout, arthritis, laxative, and sore throats (always dilute)
Cabbage: obesity, antiseptic, duodenal ulcers, and constipation
Celery: all arthritic disorders, builds blood, and diuretic

Juice is a relatively mild cleanse and can be done at home daily. One 8-oz glass would be a healthy addition to the daily diet. Why juice? First—when made into juices, fruits and vegetables have concentrated amounts of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants. Second—juicing increases the bioavailability of these nutrients. (Bioavailability is the rate at which a substance, in this case the health properties of the juiced fruits and vegetables, are absorbed by the body. In general, juiced fruits and veggies are absorbed by the body at a faster rate than when eaten whole or cooked.)

Juice fresh. Don’t juice, then store for later consumption. Doing this can lead to a loss of minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. You can make juices from fruit combinations or vegetable combinations, but do not mix fruit and vegetables. The combination of fruit and vegetables impairs digestion and limit the assimilation of nutrients.

For more information about a holistic approach to nutrition, CLICK HERE.