The American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine have issued some new exercise guidelines and have clarified some of the old ones recently. Here's a quick summation of what they've mandated:

• Whereas the old guidelines recommended 30-minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week, they've clarified that we should be getting 30-minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days a week or 20-minutes of vigorous-intensity activity three times a week.
  
• This must be in addition to your day-to-day activities, so housework doesn't count. But it doesn't mean you need to fork out a bunch of money for a gym -- there are lots of ways to get in your daily activity.
  
• The new guidelines emphasize the important of weight-training too, particularly for seniors.

If you want to find out more, visit the American College of Sports Medicine's website. And make sure you're getting enough activity -- your life is at stake.

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Fruits and vegetables are good for us, we all know that. So why do we have so much trouble getting enough of them? By some reports only 11% of people get the recommended number of servings on a daily basis, that's an embarrassingly low number!

Excuses, excuses, that seems to be the problem. Common excuses include it's just not convenient, veggies and fruits don't taste good, they cost too much, or they spoil too fast. Solutions? Keep fruit out where you can see it so it is convenient, try new kinds of fresh produce to see if you can't find something you like (or add it into foods you already enjoy like), buy frozen or (when possible) in-season to reduce cost, and drink juice or try dried fruit for longer-lasting options.

That's just a few of the several common excuses many people find themselves using, but thankfully there are also ideas on how to overcome them!

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If you don't think that people want a bright cheery smile, then do a quick google search on your computer with the phrase "Teeth Whitening" and you will find almost 3 million website to visit. Teeth whitening is the number one requested dental cosmetic service these days and not just in the dentist's office. Americans spend more than a billion dollars on over-the-counter teeth-whitening products annually.

Factors to consider before bleaching or whitening your teeth are age, gum disease, and sensitivity. Teeth whitening is also not recommended in pregnant or lactating women. Some more important factors to know is that teeth whitening is not suitable for all types of teeth and you can over do it. Whitening will not help people with tetracycline staining stains and darkness in their teeth. If you have fillings in the front teeth the fillings will not change but the teeth will leaving you with patchy looking teeth. There have been cases where people have turned their teeth blue because they've gone past the point of using it regularly and they're using it way too much. It is important to follow the instructions on the packaging. With so many products on the market how do you choose what works best for you. You can always ask your friendly pharmacist and research which products are backed by the American Dental Association.

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