If we heard that someone was a workaholic 30 years ago (if we even used that term back then) I bet most of us would assume the culprit was male. I bet all of us would.

But women as workaholics is a reality that is rapidly growing in numbers.

A subject that is often overlooked in women's health is that of substance addiction, particularly alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

Depending on what study and research you review, most of them conclude the same results: women's rates of alcohol use is climbing (in number of drinks per week), and the number of women who are choosing to drink (instead of abstain) is also increasing.

There has been recent discussion on EmpowHer about women being in abusive relationships. I wanted to share a Safety Planning Checklist, as well as information about how to protect your computer use (deleting internet history, for example).

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence Safety Planning Checklist
* Think of a safe place to go if an argument occurs - avoid rooms with no exits (bathroom), or rooms with weapons (kitchen).
* Think about and make a list of safe people to contact.

Allow me to be your poster child for what not to do when outside.

I'm the first to advise all to wear sun screen, not to sunbathe in direct sunlight with no protectant and to generally avoid prolonged exposure to the sn.

So off I trot, out to our deck having slathered my kids in a very high factor sunscreen about 15 minutes before hand. The huge umbrella is up and I sit beneath it, watching my children splash in their little pool. A couple of hours and a nice lunch later, I put everyone down for naps and continue my day.

Just a fun post!

Would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on how you would like to spend your upcoming birthday, or tell us the best fun & healthy birthday celebration you've had. I'm looking for ideas!

Ok, maybe not the best news EVER. But I suffer from these horrid little creatures and have painful bouts several times a year that last about 10 days every time. Even highly touted creams like Abreva have done nothing for me.

Have you ever been subjected to a bully or "toxic" person in the workplace? I certainly have! My experience was with an individual I was supervising (which made the situation really tough!) and my job became difficult enough, with no available disciplinary approaches or support, that I eventually left the position. According to a recent NY Times article, 37% of American workers said they had experienced bullying on the job.

In a perfect world, we'd all eat fresh fruit and veggies, low fat, high protein foods and fast foods would be non-existent.

But since we all live in the real world, fast food is a reality for nearly all of us.
Simply stated - Americans love fast food.

To answer the question of how much is too much, many nutritionists would say any amount is too much. Fast food is an overly processed collection of salty, saturated fats that offer little in terms of nutrition. And for the most part, the nutritionists are right.

I just heard on NPR that yoga is trying to make its way into the 2020 Olympics! Some practitioners of Bikram yoga (the fast-paced yoga, where you sweat it out in a heated room) are creating a competitive-style of yoga, in which seven poses are performed within a few minutes for judging and perfection.

Yesterday was National HIV Testing Day. Americans, especially between the ages of 13-64 are encouraged to get tested for HIV in an effort to have everyone ultimately tested for this disease that often leads to death if not diagnosed and treated.

The bad news is that HIV/AIDS still has no cure, and although many people are living healthy lives after an HIV diagnosis, the reality is that many will succumb to the disease of AIDS - particularly poorer individuals who may have no access to health care and may not even know they have HIV in the first place (and thus spreading the virus).