Health

I am currently trying to starve a cold (due less to science, and more to a phlegm-induced lack of appetite), so I guess this might count as good news. According to recent research reported by USA Today — "Could 'extreme' low-cal diets bring longer, healthier life?" — living in a state of constant deprivation might help extend your life. (Though it's debatable just how happy you'll be in the meantime if you have to forsake fried chicken, key lime pie and pork belly sandwiches. But maybe I'm just projecting.)

Believe it or not, the monthly mood swings, breast tenderness, irritability, cravings and weight gain don’t have to come with the territory of being female.

We all know we should eat more fresh, homemade meals, but sometimes schedules can get in the way. After a long day at work, take-out can seem really appealing. New York Times writer Mark Bittman’s latest book, Kitchen Express, aims to make seasonal, healthy eating quick and appealing, with a variety of bare-bones recipes that can be completed in 20 minutes or less.

I spent an hour in the pool this morning, swimming laps. Since January, I've been swimming twice a week, arriving at the pool when it opens. You might imagine the pool to be a quiet place at 5:45 in the morning, but there are a dedicated number of regulars who take pleasure in starting their day with a swim.

I've spent the last year and a half traveling pretty consistently for work, and it's been thrilling. I've been to Greece, Hong Kong, Jamaica, India, Turks & Caicos, Mexico, Spain and a whole bunch of other amazing places. I have had my favourite leather boots stained by milk fresh from a goat on a mountaintop in Crete. I have received a deep tissue massage from a former Mr. Jamaica. I have written about a seemingly endless array of beauty treatments — from thalassotherapy to chocolate body wraps. And I have expanded my eating repetoire to include snake, turtle, crickets, ant eggs, gizzard and pretty much anything else that has been waved under my nose.