About her anti-aging secret, 54-year-old Meredith Vieira says: "I don't have one." She does have good people, though -- none of whom are plastic surgeons.

One good person is NBC President Jeff Zucker, who hired Vieira as Today co-host. Passing up for the job folks in their 20s and 30s, Zucker told Vieira, who has been in front of a camera for nearly two decades: "I want someone with experience. I'm not looking for a number, I'm looking for a human being."

"I give him a lot of credit [for] that," says Vieira, who joins the ranks of women like Jamie Lee Curtis who take aging as it comes and accept it with simple grace. Vieira's kids help the cause. They don't care about her celebrity or anyone else's obsession with it, she says.

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Swimming with dolphins seems like it would be a really fun experience. If I were on a tropical vacation, for instance, you can bet that's one of the first things I would do. But as far as medical treatment via these aquatic animals is concerned, two Emory researchers say it's just a dangerous money trap.

DAT, or dolphin-assisted therapy, is a way for chronic patients of mental and physical disabilities to get outside the realm of typical treatment. Proponents say dolphins help the healing potential of these individuals. But those against the therapeutic interactions say it's a lose-lose situation for both the dolphins and the patients.

For one, there's no evidence that suggests long-term benefits to swimming with dolphins. Sure, they're social creatures with great intelligence -- but that doesn't make them a doctor. Another reason picks at the fact that it is such a novel experience. Costing upwards of a thousand dollars or more for these private sessions, critics say it may just be an expensive sales pitch. The danger they talk about stems from the claim that children could be put in tanks with 400-pound animals caught in the wild with potential trauma. In all practicality, they don't know for sure if anything comes from swimming with the dolphins. But if it puts a smile on a child's face who would otherwise never get the opportunity, then it should be worth all the costs!

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A new U.S. study this week stated that training and experience has a direct impact on how a person's brain is organized. In the study, people with music training were pitted against 20 others with no music training.

It's been said many times that patterns (like music) can spawn creativity and organizational effects from people who otherwise would not have had the same organized brain, but this is one of the few studies that made that connection with music conducting that I have seen.

Brain activity in the study was measured with a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) procedure. The result showed that as auditory tasks became more complex, those without music training tuned out more of their visual senses and acuity.

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If you've had a heart attack recently but think you're feeling well enough to go back to work, you may want to think again. According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Laval in Quebec, for those who have suffered a heart attack, going back to work at a stressful job can lead to another heart episode.

Results of the study showed that both men and women who returned to a high stress work environment were at twice the risk of experiencing another heard attack irregardless of age, marital status and education. Unfortunately, it's isn't realistic for most people not to return their jobs after a significant heart event.

So what should you do if you've had a heart attack and have to go back to work? According to the article, you need to find ways to lessen mental and physical strain at your job. Suggestions include eating healthier lunches, going for walks during breaks, learning how to be assertive when dealing with colleagues and more.

Have you got any tips on how to make work a healthier, more relaxing place to be?

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Alright, I have to say that I find it hard to accept that women feel more pain than men. However, according to this article, numerous studies have shown otherwise. I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong, but I don't know if the evidence provided sways my opinion very much.

The piece states that, not only are women hurting more than men, but that they rate the pain that they feel at much more intense levels than do men. It also says though, that studies are based on how each sex feels about their pain, rather than some sort of actual scientific measure. They give various theories on why girls and guys may feel differently about the aches that they experience, including possible genetic links. I think it may be more cultural. Perhaps men just don't want to admit that they're hurting?

In the end, I'm really not bothered either way about who lives with more pain. It's just a fact of life that everyone is going to experience it at some point. I guess I just find it hard to accept since women are the ones giving birth! What hurts more than that? But I suppose that IS the point of the study. Women know that they experience some huge, intense pain during childbirth and other situations. I guess it's just how we all (men AND women) deal with it that counts.

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We are so used to negative feedback that we are more aware of our weaknesses than our strengths. So it is often hard to enjoy success, no matter how small each success might be. Celebrating your strengths and achievements is a natural process to building self esteem. Learning to recognize that we are human and that we will make mistakes will also help us build self esteem so we all need to learn to forgive ourselves.

Self acceptance is required before self esteem can develop. Self esteem is built by experiencing success whether small or large. To build self esteem you need to stop dwelling on your weaknesses and learn to forgive yourself for your mistakes. Beating yourself up is only defeating yourself and your energy is better spent if you build positive thoughts about yourself even when things are not as successful as they can be. Learning to recognize if you are judging yourself against unreasonable standards will help you to know your strengths. So setting goals that you can reach is a good way to set yourself up for success and will continue to build strength in yourself.

A self help exercise is to write down the things you do successfully. Every mistake a person makes can be an opportunity to learn. We can't be afraid to make mistakes, this is how we learn to improve. Persistence and learning from past mistakes will help us succeed.

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Friday April 17th, I'll be attending a fitness conference. Fitness conferences are a blast and are designed to take fitness professionals to the next level. Keep us updated on new tools, toys, and training ideas. It's a place where we share our research, invention and experience. It's a awesome!

I've been going to these conferences for almost two decades and I look forward to each and every one. I love my job, would do it for free if I was one of those 'trust fund kids,' and love the buzz I get from the whole experience of helping others live better and longer. Fitness conferences are super cool, because they inspire and educate my colleagues and I to better ourselves in order to better you.

Fitness pros aren't the only ones who'll benefit from them though. I would love to see more general fitness enthusiasts there. You get to choose the courses you're interested in taking and just go experience a bunch of different innovative workouts. For example. The area I live in does not offer any Strip Tease classes. But, I got to try one at a conference. Does that mean I want to become a stripper or become the Strip Tease instructor? NO! I just wanted to go do it for fun. By the way.....from my experience, the class is basically a hip hop dance workout with some extra thrusting and hair flipping.

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