I live in the South where religion is of upmost importance.  I’ve recently been thinking about the dozens of Facebook posts I see each month that start out with the words, “Please pray for me…”  

The post then goes on to say something like, “I was at Sam’s Bar-B-Que on Saturday when I started having a heart attack…” or, “I was leaving Jim’s Steak House when I fell down with intense pain.  Turns out I had a kidney stone…” or, “I’ve just been diagnosed with Type 2 Dia...
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If you have been around someone who is “on a diet,” most often you will hear them say, “Oh, I can’t eat potatoes.  They are fattening!”

However, I want to refute that claim and say that potatoes do belong on a weight-loss diet.
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It looks enormous – a large, black wrought-iron gate sitting at the top of the hill overlooking the houses below.  We have lived in our neighborhood for five years when suddenly that huge gate was installed.

For Halloween I normally buy large sacks of chocolate candy bars, candied peanuts, and other chocolate treats to give out to the hordes of children as they Trick-or-Treat in the neighborhood.  The long line of cars usually creeps along at a snail’s pace.

I got ready.  I put the dogs u...

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The most common symptom of a kidney stone is a sudden sharp pain felt in the back and side or lower abdomen.  Nausea and vomiting may sometimes occur.  The sharp pain is caused when the stone moves into the urinary tract and blocks the flow of urine.

There are several types of kidney stones, but the most common is made up of calcium oxalate.  The pain of a kidney stone is considered excruciating.  If you have ever had one, I’m sure you do not want to ever have another.

Eight Steps to Preve...

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Instead of setting a goal to lose 10 pounds (or 20 or even 100), set your goal to become healthy and fit.  It’s much more positive.  You will only set yourself up for failure if you fill your head with visions of the horrible deprivation you will have to go through in order to lose weight.  Why not set yourself up for success by deciding to become healthy and fit and then learning how to do it?

Healthy and fit people have learned how to be healthy.  If you want that lifestyle, you will need ...

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Prince William and Kate Middleton leave City Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Tuesday March 8, 2011. (AP Photo)

On Twitter, a handful of people posted comments about Kate Middleton's weight recently.  One said she shouldn't lose any more weight and should serve as a healthy role model to young girls.

WHAT?  Does that mean that we should only have role models for young girls who are appropriately heavy?  Who look like the rest of us?  I thought role models were people we aspire to either...

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January 1st has come and gone and many people have already abandoned their New Year's weight-loss plans.  Is that you?  Do you still want to lose that last 10 pounds?  Or, maybe you have a serious issue and would like to lose 100 pounds.  Either way, you can do it! 

But, you will have to watch out for all the fad diets out there.  The most popular ones now seem to be the high protein - low carb diets.  I think it's because they are easy.  Everyone loves to eat protein even if they don't want ...
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When times are good, we tend to eat in restaurants more.  We stop for treats at fast food places.  We order higher priced items from the menu.  In other words, start splurging on food and eating more junk food and more processed foods and more expensive animal products such as meats and ice cream and cheese.

Studies have indicated that during a recession people actually cut back on their food intake.  They cook more often and eat out less frequently.  
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