Health

While few people can remember the details of their first hit, everyone can identify with the rush of satisfaction, the tingling delight that starts on the tip of your tongue and then courses through your entire body.

Sunday afternoons were a sacrosanct time when I was growing up in Argentina. Everything seemed to quiet and slow down between 2:00 and 5:00 pm, during siesta. Even shops would shut. All you could hear was the sound of the cicadas as the whole neighbourhood took a nap. Young and old, rich and poor were unified by this wonderful tradition. At least, I...

Breathing is an act most of us take for granted, and there seems to be plenty of oxygen to go around. Yet, according to the World Health Organization, the use of e-cigarettes (aka vaping) has been on a steady incline during the last few years.

Our brain develops, unfortunately, a quirky response to nicotine. It shouldn’t really be there. It shouldn’t be in your breath, let alone you reacting to it, let alone you smoking anything or vaping anything. We shouldn’t even be near it.

Regardless of the form they take, crises give rise to legitimate questions about God's providence: Where is God when we suffer? Has He forgotten us? Is He punishing us? Does He still have things under control?

As we know all too well, life can be hard. Even in the best of times, life can be hard. But now this, a pandemic? How are we to cope?

Stress and anxiety are some of the most commonly used words today; we all have felt at least once in our lives what they mean and what effects they have. Are there any truly effective ways to overcome stress and anxiety?

The stigma surrounding mental health issues causes many Christians to hide their conditions, resulting in an epidemic of depression, even among pastors, says Sheila Walsh, a Bible professor and internationally renowned speaker.

The fear of protein deficiency is one of the oldest and most persistent barriers to adopting a plant-based diet.

Our bodies reap the first benefits of giving up smoking almost immediately after we have ceased the habit. The scientifically proven changes that are visible within the next hours, days, months and even years after we quit smoking reinforce the fact that putting out that last cigarette is one of the best decisions you will ever make for the benefit of personal health.

Attitudes toward food form a complex mosaic shaped by factors such as nutritional needs, hunger, taste preferences, socioeconomic status, demographic and emotional influences, as well as ethical, cultural, and religious values. Equally important is the level of education on nutrition (Gahagan, 2012). This plurality of factors helps explain the global diversity of dietary habits.

Dr Zeno L. Charles-Marcel is an associate director in the Department of Health for the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

For some people, being vegan is part of their lifestyle, but others cannot conceive of missing out on dairy products, meat or eggs. This could be explained by several myths that revolve around these diets.

Growing old is inevitable, but experiencing a significant cognitive decline isn’t. An encouraging piece of news uncovered by several studies that focus on people in their old age suggests that changing one’s lifestyle could increase the chances of having a sharp mind up until the age of 100.

A diet that significantly reduces carbohydrate intake may shorten life by up to four years, according to a study published in The Lancet Public Health.