A basic easy guide to creating your own walking fitness plan, including how to get started and stay motivated.

The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provides science-based guidance to help Americans aged 6 and older improve their health through appropriate physical activity. The primary audiences for the Physical Activity Guidelines are policymakers and health professionals.

This completely revised and updated version of the perennial bestseller offers you a detailed, easy-to-follow program for treating arthritis at home, based on a simple diet of health-building foods. With this book, you can relieve or even reverse most cases of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis without expensive drugs or equipment. The key is to substitute "restorative foods" for certain inflammation-generating foods, tap your inner well-springs of good health, and practice easy-to-do exercises for increased flexibility. You will discover: • The incredible arthritis-healing and health-renewing powers of restorative foods • How to maximize your chances for complete recovery of arthritis • Aspirin-free ways to reduce pain and inflammation • "Stressor foods" to avoid that block the healing of arthritis • Simple tests to help you pinpoint the foods that can aggravate your arthritis • Easy diet changes that eliminate joint inflammation, gout, migraines, osteoarthritis, lupus, and more No matter how old you are or how long you've suffered from arthritis, with this program you can help overcome arthritis and free yourself of debilitating pain in just a few weeks.

A comprehensive self-help program designed to prevent and reverse degenerative inflammatory diseases without drugs and their unwelcome side effects. • The program in this book is designed to help millions who suffer from chronic arthritis pain to heal, rather than to just medicate their symptoms. • Takes a holistic approach to finding the causes of arthritis pain and offers a self-help treatment program designed to heal the body from the inside out by incorporating medicinal herbs, nutritional supplements, exercise, diet, and chiropractic care. • Raquel Martin is the author of the bestselling book The Estrogen Alternative. Each year thousands of people struggling with the debilitating effects of arthritis hear their doctors say that they will just have to learn to live with the pain. After experiencing this firsthand, Raquel Martin was determined to find a better way. Together with Dr. Karen Romano, Martin developed a comprehensive self-help program designed to prevent and reverse degenerative inflammatory disease without drugs and their unwelcome or dangerous side effects. The authors show readers how to address the causes rather than medicate the symptoms of arthritis by implementing holistic lifestyle changes--from medicinal herbs, nutritional supplements, and natural hormone therapy to whole foods, exercise, and chiropractic care. Thoroughly researched and clearly presented, Preventing and Reversing Arthritis Naturally guides readers through the labyrinth of recent medical studies related to the effects and treatment of this disease. In addition, it discusses the exclusion of alternative therapies from most insurance coverage and provides advice on the action consumers can take to address this. Part practical medical resource, part encouraging guide, Preventing and Reversing Arthritis Naturally will inspire all readers to take charge of all aspects of their health.

A medical breakthrough explained by the leading authority on the connection between health and your body clock Chronotherapy-adjusting the care of the body to coincide with the body's natural clock-is poised to be the next major revolution in medical science. An understanding and awareness of these rhythms will enable us to maximize the effects not only of medications and other treatments, but also of diets, exercise programs, and other daily routines. The Body Clock Guide to Better Health combines a detailed discussion of major issues such as sleep, exercise, and nutrition, with a comprehensive A-to-Z reference to specific disorders. Among the health concerns it addresses are AIDS, arthritis, asthma, ADD, backache, cancer, depression, diabetes, digestive problems, allergies, heart disease, chronic pain, sexual dysfunction, stroke, and complications from pregnancy. General chapters explore the big picture-including monthly cycles and life cycles-and provide invaluable advice on foods and dietary supplements, fitness, better sex, jet lag, and more. The first book to look at body rhythms from a practical perspective, The Body Clock Guide to Better Health offers readers the dual benefits of improving the treatment of specific conditions while boosting their overall health and wellness.

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

A longtime teacher and Harvard researcher presents the latest science on the benefits of T’ai Chi as well as a practical daily program for practitioners of all ages Conventional medical science on the Chinese art of T’ai Chi now shows what T’ai Chi masters have known for centuries: regular practice leads to more vigor and flexibility, better balance and mobility, and a sense of well-being. Cutting-edge research from Harvard Medical School also supports the long-standing claims that T’ai Chi also has a beneficial impact on the health of the heart, bones, nerves and muscles, immune system, and the mind. This research provides fascinating insight into the underlying physiological mechanisms that explain how T’ai Chi actually works. Dr. Peter M. Wayne, a longtime T’ai Chi teacher and a researcher at Harvard Medical School, developed and tested protocols similar to the simplified program he includes in this book, which is suited to people of all ages, and can be done in just a few minutes a day. This book includes: • The basic program, illustrated by more than 50 photographs • Practical tips for integrating T’ai Chi into everyday activities • An introduction to the traditional principles of T’ai Chi • Up-to-date summaries of the research on the health benefits of T’ai Chi • How T’ai Chi can enhance work productivity, creativity, and sports performance • And much more

The flagship title of the certification suite from the American College of Sports Medicine, ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription is a handbook that delivers scientifically based standards on exercise testing and prescription to the certification candidate, the professional, and the student. The 9th edition focuses on evidence-based recommendations that reflect the latest research and clinical information. This manual is an essential resource for any health/fitness and clinical exercise professional, physician, nurse, physician assistant, physical and occupational therapist, dietician, and health care administrator. This manual give succinct summaries of recommended procedures for exercise testing and exercise prescription in healthy and diseased patients.