If you're like me, after you exercise, you spend a good ten minutes (at least) stretching all your muscles – so as to not be sore the next day. Well, The New York Times published an article citing a study from The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews regarding stretching that I thought I'd share because it has changed my opinion on the topic. The study concludes that stretching before or after a workout has little effect on either risk of injury or soreness. After reading the article and doing some research, I realized that not only was this certainly not the only study to reach this conclusion, but almost all other studies had a hard time reaching any conclusion at all.

There is a recent study out of the Monell Center in Philadelphia (www.monell.org) that may provide some relief to cancer patients suffering from chemotherapy-associated nausea. I thought I'd share since it is a pretty simple concept even for those who are not medically savvy.

There are nerves that pick up signals and transmit information from the receptors in the intestines to the brain. Since rats do not vomit as humans do when nauseated, Monell researchers used the incidence of "pica" in rats that received the powerful chemotherapy drug cisplatin, that has a high correlation with nausea and vomiting. Pica is the eating of non-food substances, such as clay or dirt rats do this when made sick by toxins. Hey, to each his own.

Do not eat any carbs. Only drink cabbage soup. Drink a lot of apple cider vinegar. Load up on meats and cheeses. Finally, society has figured out the secret to losing weight: weird faddish diets! I hope you're reading this dripping with sarcasm. It's the New Year, and with that comes New Year's resolutions. For many, the New Year marks a time after the egg nog and snowflake shaped cookies to buckle down and lose some weight. So let's discuss the best way to go about doing just that.

I am here to shout form the mountaintops that there are three ways to lose weight: 1. eat well 2. exercise more 3. eat well and exercise more. The fad diets all sound too good to be true, so many people think it's the quick simple way to lose weight. Well I have some news for you fad dieters: it IS too good to be true. Our bodies consume, digest and burn kilocalories in specific ways that any nutritionist or medical expert can detail; the trick is to understand our bodies and work with what we have. Experts recommend adopting healthy eating habits permanently, rather than impatiently pursuing crash diets. Cabbage soup will not do it!

Do you want to know that you are at risk for heart disease? Would you medicate your seven-year-old child if your doctor said he or she was clinically depressed? The New York Times had an article by three authors (H. Gilbert Welch, Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin) this week that really intrigued me and I want to share it with my blog readers – all three of you. The authors' stance is that we are over-diagnosing ourselves into oblivion. We are moving from a world of people to a world of patients – quickly. Their argument holds water – a lot of it. Drink it down and let it sit for a while before you choose to disagree.

I used to work at an HIV/AIDS nonprofit. I taught youth about ways to protect themselves and how to make healthy decisions. I also had the privilege of working with men and women who volunteered their time to talk openly about how they contracted HIV and how the choices the youth make will determine whether contract HIV/AIDS or not. Yes, I was the condom lady at the front of the room showing the class how to put them on correctly (pause for laughter). Since World AIDS Day was December 1st, what not a better time to talk about the state of worldwide HIV/AIDS and what you can do about it.

What is with the yellow-ish stuff that men carry around with them in thermoses at the gym?

There has been an extreme increase in the marketing and use of manufactured protein shakes in the past 15 years. Before you make the jump to use these shakes to either lose weight or build muscle, there are a few things to know about protein intake.

My father has cancer. He has a cancer that most people have never heard of. His cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States but it gets little publicity and funding. The topic of cancer funding and awareness is important for everyone – but it touches me closely and personally. He has pancreatic cancer and the awareness ribbon is purple. The awareness month is November. Did you know that? Doubt it. But – if I quizzed you on what color represents breast cancer awareness I'd bet that 99 out of 100 people would be able to give the correct answer: pink. Before you claim that I am putting one cancer ahead of another, I want you to understand what I am asking. I am not diminishing the importance of breast cancer funding and awareness by any means in this post; I am doing the opposite. I am claiming breast cancer is more than a color. I am simply asking everyone to give some thought to all the pink ribbons and campaigns that claim to be behind the breast cancer cause – or any cancer for that matter. Since Breast Cancer Awareness Month just ended, I am asking you to Think Before You Pink.

Got five minutes? Take some time out of your busy day and check out several actions you can do to help the homeless:

1. Add your name to a petition to Congress for homeless youth support efforts, including making November a National Homeless Youth Awareness again in 2008. Add your name at HomelessYouthAmongUs.org.

2. Virgin Mobile subscribers can text KARMA to 68405 and a piece of clothing will be donated to a young person in need, courtesy of American Eagle Outfitters and Levi Strauss.

3. Donate some money to a homeless charity. Go to NetworkForGood.org and enter "homeless" in the Keywords field to fine a homeless charity.

Now here's a little piece of counter-intuitive health information for you. No, it's not that a big piece of chocolate cake a day keeps the doctor away – sorry to get your hopes up. If you had to guess, which do you think is healthier: fresh or frozen vegetables? Personally, I'd assume fresh; the name says it all. However, this is not always the case.

It turns out that frozen or canned vegetables can be more nutritious based upon what vegetable you're talking about and when. The vegetables that are in season are likely to be best for you eaten fresh; however, the ones that are not in season – and have been shipped to your grocery store from a farm far, far away are not packed with the highest amount of nutrients possible. In this case, it's probably best to head to the frozen isle.

We, as residents of a developed country, tend to take water for granted. How many times have you left the water running while brushing your teeth? Or left the sprinklers running in our backyard for hours and hours? We forget that in some other parts of the world, water is not as accessible as a turn of a faucet. The founder of Cirque du Soleil wants us to remember this.

I received an e-mail from Cirque du Soleil last week announcing the launch of ONE DROP Foundation, a non-profit organization that fights poverty worldwide by "ensuring equal access to water for everyone across the planet, now and in the future." In developing countries, ONE DROP establishes educational programs based on the arts to manage water and works in communities that need access to water. In developed countries, ONE DROP will develop artistic and educational programs to increase awareness of this issue.

You don't have to give anything to the organization to get involved (although your donation and help are greatly appreciated, I'm sure!). But you can easily help the organization and the people around the world by doing several simple things. ONE DROP website lists several actions that you can take to preserve water, such as limiting consumption of bottled water and filling your bath tub to only one-quarter full. Did you know that if you don't fix a leaky tap, just one drop of water per second yields an annual waste of 10,000 liters?

Check out ONE DROP Foundation's website for more ways to preserve water.

Everyone wants to have a spookily spectacular time on Halloween -- but safety must come first. No need to take the fun out of your little ghouls' and goblins' Halloween night. By following these quick tips, you're sure to have the best Halloween night yet.

1) Map out the route that you plan to roam, so adults are assured you will find your way home!

2) From the bravest of superheroes to the noblest of knights, please remember to bring your flashlights!

3) If you visit a house where a stranger resides, accept treats at the door and, please, don't go inside.

Read more tips from the American Red Cross Ghoulish Safety Guide.

Don't forget about your pets! Get Halloween safety tips for your pets, too!

Male birth control seems like an oxymoron in itself, but it is more and more becoming a highly researched topic. There are several types being tested and researched right now. Here are some of the promising methods out there:

1. The Hormonal method involves dosages of two hormones: progesterone, which will shut down sperm production, and testosterone to counteract the progesterone. It's taken under the skin and according to researcher Regine Sitruk-Ware, the Population Council Center for Biomedical Research is working on a way to deliver the necessary doses in one or two yearly implants. This makes me much more comfortable than relying on a man having to remember to take a pill at a certain time each day. Just being honest here...

What do you do with your old cell phone when you get a new one? Do you throw it out or recyle it? If you're like me, you probably just leave your old cell phone laying around somewhere at home and forget about it until the next spring cleaning.

Here's a solution that makes you feel good: donate it to help a charity. One of the charities that participates in cell phone recycling is CARE, whose mission is 'to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world.'

Cell phones donated to CARE are either used by their field staff while working on poverty-fighting projects, or sold in developing countries, where proceeds are used by CARE to complete their mission.

CARE works with an organization called CollectiveGood to collect cell phones. It's pretty easy to donate your cell phone -- just fill out a form on their site and send your cell phone to CollectiveGood. So what are you waiting for? Start digging up your old cell phone and turn it into something good!

I am tired of people getting emergency contraception (EC) confused with the abortion pill; let's just settle this issue here and now. EC is often called the "morning after pill" because it is to be taken within 120 hours of intercourse (or the morning after) to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. The most common known brand is called Plan B. In 2006, after many months of debate, it was approved by the FDA for over-the-counter use by women over 18 years of age.

To dispel the myth that it is somehow synonymous with an abortion pill, let's focus on how emergency contraception works. The key word in my above description of EC is prevent. EC is made up of hormones contained in birth control pills and works by either preventing ovulation, which is the releasing of an egg by the ovary, or by preventing fertilization, which is when the sperm joins the egg. Since it only works before the sperm has joined the egg, EC cannot cause an abortion in women who are already pregnant, and it won't affect a developing embryo. The abortion pill on the other hand, is used only after a sperm and egg have joined; it triggers the shedding of the uterine wall, which expels the embryo.

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, naturally there will be tons of breast cancer events. If you're not involved already, grab a friend and help support the cause.

Learn more about the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Find an event in your area during the month of October.