It's just two weeks 'til Christmas! If you haven't completed your Christmas shopping, here is a list of ideas to shower your loved ones with the most precious gift of all—good health! Real food and snacks that nourish Pili Nuts from Que Rica (,www.querica.ph) - Pili nuts are known for their antiaging and anti-inflammatory benefits. They're also a wonderful source of Omega 3s. Que Rica sources their pili nuts from Bicol, packs them at the source and crafts them in small batches. Choose from sweet and savory flavors such as ube, Davao chocolate and truffle pecorino. The Dream Coffee (,thedream ..read more

I love my morning walks. They don’t take long, especially on weekdays; 15 minutes at most, as I don’t really have a lot of time between house chores and work. It’s a wonderful way to start my morning: I get to shake off any stiffness in my limbs, feel the sun on my skin, and get energized by a first dose of endorphins. But also, I get to smile and greet my fellow early walkers: babies being pushed around in strollers by their yayas or dads (not a lot of mommies, for some reason); the elderly, some of whom are guided by their younger relatives; and even the cats who are often just stretched ou ..read more

July 8th. I was at the obstacle park in Bridgetowne, Pasig. It was only a quarter past 9 in the morning and already the sun was hot enough to cook eggs on a concrete pavement. Thank God I had slathered on some sunscreen. My husband Dex and I had signed up for a Spartan community workout, exactly one week before the Spartan Stadion event, to give everyone a feel of what the actual race would be like. We were surrounded by several young, very fit-looking people, and I felt like I had been cast for that Netflix show, Physical 100, as one of the old underdogs. The Spartan Stadion was to be only m ..read more

Health is such a big topic for people these days -- from the Titas and Titos of Manila who talk about their weight issues or maintenance meds over brunch, to Millennials who deal constantly with stress, poor lifestyle choices and lack of sleep, to people already suffering from chronic disease. Doctors have only so much time they can spend with patients and don't really have the bandwidth to work with patients individually on making change happen. It's typical to be given advice like "go on a diet, exercise more and make lifestyle changes" and for many of us this isn't actionable. What kind of ..read more

I’ve been taking ballet classes regularly now for about a year and half, and enjoying it so much I don’t ever want to stop. My son asked me why I was taking lessons -- Did I want to perform one day? Did I want to teach? What was my end-goal? When I think about it, there is no end-goal (yet), but it’s many things that motivate me to put on those tights and leotards three times a week: I enjoy the challenge, I love learning new things and seeing my progress. I do it because it makes me happy! I spent many of my younger years as a jazz dancer and got into contemporary dance only recently. But le ..read more

I've been working from home since the start of the pandemic and somehow, working from home has made me work more. It’s as if taking traffic out of the equation has given people license to schedule back-to-back-to-back meetings all day long. And so, finding time to cook has been quite the challenge. To begin with, I’m not the most enthusiastic cook; occasionally I’ll really put in an effort, but for the most part, I’d rather do the eating than the cooking. It’s so much more convenient to just place an order using a food delivery service, but because I want to control what goes on my plate when ..read more

Some time ago a co-worker mentioned that she had just started on an exercise program and was told to limit her intake to 1300 calories per day. People immediately started reacting: 1,300 calories?!?! That's too low! That's not enough! You're starving yourself! I wonder if we've gotten so used to seeing "2,000 calories/day" on food labels that we think that it's the standard for everyone. But it really all depends on a number of things: your height, your current weight, your target weight, age, gender, activity levels....they all help determine your target intake. Elite athletes may need 4,000 ..read more

Even if many of us have been working from home for a while now, having no physical separation between the home and the office can be a continued source of stress. It seems, however, that remote work will continue to be a trend, so here are 7 things you can start today to help you make it more manageable: 1. Establish ways to transition from home to work, and from work to home. If going to work means stepping outside your bedroom, then it helps to create your own rituals that signal your transition from home to work, and vise-versa. In the morning, it could be something as simple as brushing y ..read more

It's HOT!!! It's so hot. At the moment, my aircon is off and I have a fan blowing even more hot air my way. Fantastic. These are the days that -- more than ever -- you need to obey your thirst and stay hydrated. Water has always been -- and always will be -- my drink of choice, but if like me you've been yearning for the beach but are unable to leave the city due to quarantine restrictions, treating yourself to a nice cold drink (that isn't water) can be a very welcome treat. Here are a few ideas for you to try! Ginger turmeric soda Ginger is almost like an all-around cure, best known for its ..read more

Many of us have been spending most of our time at home for the last year, and one of the unfortunate side effects of that has been a reduction in physical activity. Ten thousand steps a day is difficult enough even when you have access to the outdoors, moreso when the only walking you get to do is from the bed to the kitchen, and to the couch. Even if you do a "proper" workout for 30 minutes or more, it doesn't help to be virtually motionless for the other 16 or so hours that you're awake. What are the dangers of physical inactivity? Do you remember that animated film Wall-E in 2008, where th ..read more