By Raad Ghantous, Staff Writer

San Clemente, CA

What is the definition of “home”? Well, in most dictionaries home is where you live at a particular time, a dwelling, an environment offering affection, safety and security, a haven. But it also goes beyond the confines of four walls and a roof over our heads. Home is also used in a broader sense relating to or being where one lives or where one’s roots are; as in “my home town,” a place where something began and flourished and even possibly the country or state or city where you live. Read the full story

By Raad Ghantous,

Staff Writer 

“Holidays are coming, holidays are coming, holidays are coming … watch out, look around, something’s coming, coming to town, coming to your town, holidays are coming, something magical, can you see it shining bright? Tis the season …” Read the full story

Artificial sweeteners: friend or foe?

By Sarah Alaoui
Staff Writer

I was born with my mother’s eyes and my father’s mouth, my mother’s sensitivity and my father’s stubborn nature. I was also blessed with my father’s sweet tooth, a genetic history of diabetes that has plagued many members of my family (including my grandfather whose prosthetic leg is the result of his lifelong battle with an unrelenting affinity towards sweets) and an Arab family who loves to cook and feed me (koul, koul!).

When I stay in my grandparents’ house in Morocco, I am spoiled with kisses from more aunts and great-aunts than I can count on both hands and a daily abundance of…sugar. Breakfast includes Moroccan pancakes soaked-er, drizzled-in honey, a plethora of cookies with almonds and jam prepared in every way possible and of course, Moroccan mint tea. The tea, which is served after almost every meal is the biggest perpetrator because it is served with generous amounts of sugar cubes- “Let her drink it, she doesn’t need to be worrying about sugar at this age!” I don’t refuse the aforementioned food-how could I, that would just be rude. Let’s be honest, though, I don’t fare any better in the United States. Brownies and cookies are my downfall, not to mention my newfound comfort food discovered during finals week in college- self-serve frozen yogurt with any and every topping imaginable (cheesecake bites, anyone?).

With my family’s medical history and a long list of future goals, including the chance to Read the full story

Dr. Hanna Shammas in front of his Shammas Eye Medical Center in Lynnwood. (Photo by Samir Twair)

By Pat McDonnell Twair
Contributing Editor

In the mid 1990s, I wrote an article about ophthalmologist Dr. Hanna Shammas’ latest scholarly tome dealing with cataract surgery.

At the time, I told him I was so glad I knew him because when the time came, I was assured I’d be putting my precious eyesight into the best of all possible hands.

I hoped that time would never come because after the Big C, cataracts were the health disaster I most feared. When I was in the eighth grade, I overheard relatives whispering about the cataract surgery my maternal grandmother was going to undergo. After the operation, she eventually went blind. Fifteen years later, my grandfather slowly lost his eyesight after cataract surgery.

Needless to say, I wasn’t a happy puppy when I started to see pinwheels and halos revolving around street lights at night. An eye checkup in December 2007 proved I had the Read the full story

By Bobbi Brown

Courtesy of LiveStrong.com

I’m not what one would call “a natural athlete.” Growing up, I always chose arts and crafts over physical activity. My aversion to exercise carried over into high school, during which my mother wrote many notes excusing me from field hockey. It wasn’t until my twenties that I had my fitness epiphany. What turned my attitude around? I started going to the gym and quickly noticed that I felt stronger, leaner, calmer and more balanced. If you’re reluctant to exercise like I once was, taking the following approaches may convince you to break out your sneakers.

Find an exercise that suits your style. At the start of my love affair with exercise, I gravitated toward aerobics. It sounds funny, but I was really inspired watching a perfectly aerobicized Jamie Lee Curtis in the film, “Perfect”. And I’ll admit it, Jennifer Beals’ off-the-shoulder sweatshirt in “Flashdance” made me want to sweat it out in a studio too. Think about the kind of exercise that excites you. If you love biking, try a spinning class. If you’ve always been curious about yoga, visit a studio. (Many offer beginners’ classes Read the full story

By Jennifer Nichol

Courtesy of LiveStrong.com

1. Reduce Your Portion Size

Most restaurants “beef up” the look of their meals by offering large portions of cheap foods, such as bread and potatoes. The standard steak house meal of a basket of bread, a baked potato, a 16-ounce steak and sauteed vegetables, is enough for two or even three standard meals. If you remind yourself that you don’t need to eat an entire meal at one sitting — just because it’s all on one plate — you can begin to eat more sensibly and cut calories.

When you are out to eat, ask for a to-go container and put half of your meal into it to be enjoyed the following day. You can also ask the waiter to avoid bringing the bread basket and the dessert menu to the table. It’s much easier to avoid temptation when it isn’t staring you in the face — or accompanied by colorful, laminated pictures.

2. Undress Your Food

Sauces, spreads and dips may seem like just a small portion of Read the full story

By Jason Taylor

Courtesy of Fitness.com

Skipping breakfast may seem to be a good idea, and indeed that seems to be the case for quite a lot of dieters. Some people just do not feel like eating from the first moment they wake up, while others see it as an easy way to avoid a few calories.

The problem with this though is that it is actually counterproductive to avoid breakfast. In fact, studies have revealed that far from causing you to lose calories skipping breakfast can greatly increase your chances of gaining weight.

There are several reasons for this. One of the main ones is that breakfast acts to fire up the body’s metabolism for the rest of the day. By delaying this process you will be less energetic and less able to Read the full story

By Richard Laliberte

Courtesy of Good Housekeeping

To be successful at any big undertaking – starting a new career, salvaging a shaky marriage, mastering a foreign language – you have to “give it 110 percent,” as the saying goes. But when it comes to what may be the most important change of all – revitalizing your health – you may be better off giving only 10 percent and not worrying too much about the other proverbial 100. “You’re more likely to succeed by making small changes,” says Catherine Champagne, Ph.D., professor of research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System. “If you totally overhaul your diet or start an ambitious exercise program, you’re less likely to stick with it.”

Micro-improvements do more than chip away at a larger objective – they accomplish plenty on their own. Some of these are cumulative; do several and you’ll see an even bigger benefit. Here are (count ‘em) 10 small shifts that can reward you with a big health payoff.

1. Smile at the scale

The small change: Lose 10 percent of your body weight. If you’re 5′ 5″ and weigh Read the full story