I love hot showers -- probably a little hotter than is good for me actually. I don't know that I have taken an actual cold shower ever, although often in the summer months I'll take what I'd call "cool" ones. But aside from all the jokes that guys make about 'needing a cold shower,' have you ever thought of taking one for your health? Or how about instead of a cold shower a cold foot soak? This interesting article over at Natural Health suggests that alternating cold and warm foot soaks is like a mini strength-training session for your insides. The cold water (around 70º) constricts and tightens vessels, while the warm water (around 100º) loosens and expands them. Asking them to adjust quickly makes them stronger.

I'm guessing alternating cool and warm showers would do the same thing, but obviously that's not so easy. So are you buying this? The science seems sound enough to me, but then it also strikes me as more than a little unnatural.

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Those who travel long distances on airplanes risk developing fatal blood clots in their legs. The clots, termed Deep-Vein Thrombosis, can be fatal if they break off and travel to the heart or lungs. It's not only travelers who risk this condition, though. A new study out of New Zealand reports that those who work so hard they rarely take a break are at risk too.

This study of 62 patients hospitalized for dangerous blood clots revealed that 21 percent had been on long flights while 34 percent had spent long hours at their desks the previous month. "Long hours" means the workers had been at their desks for more than eight hours per day, with a three-hour period void of any standing. It also includes 12-hour days with one hour void of movement.

Good news. Blood clots can be prevented, by the very thing that keeps our bodies healthy in so many other ways: Stretching. All it takes is getting up and giving your legs a solid stretch every 30 to 60 minutes.

Are you sitting down right now? Well, get up. And give those legs a good stretch.

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While both men and women can get varicose veins, it seems that we ladies tend to worry about them more than guys. The bulging masses occur when veins weaken and become loose, allowing blood to pool. Not only are varicose veins unsightly, they can also be painful and itchy. Not exactly fun.

Genetics, obesity and pregnancy all play a part in causing veins to weaken but there are still ways to try and prevent varicose veins from forming. Blood flows to your heart faster when muscles contract and put pressure on your veins, forcing blood though more quickly. If blood isn't moving, it starts to pool resulting in varicose veins. Exercise helps because it keeps blood flowing but for those who spend a lot of their day being inactive (if you've got a desk job, for example), you can still contract leg muscles by standing up and down on your tip toes or by flexing your feet.

If you're obese, losing weight will help, and wearing support hose also works as the garment puts gentle pressure on your legs, helping constrict veins and force blood back to your heart. Want more ideas? Check out this article for additional ways to keep varicose veins at bay.

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You can spend a fortune on fancy face moisturizers and wrinkle-reducing eye-creams, botox yourself into an expressionless oblivion and go through the pain of plastic surgery in order to stay young looking (and I say go for it, if you've got the money and it makes you feel good about yourself), but no matter what you do to keep your face looking young, if you forget to look after your hands as well, they'll be a dead giveaway to your real age.

Sun exposure over the years as well as the natural aging process result in things like dryness, sunspots and bulging veins, which all act as aging agents on your hands. Moisturizers with SPF as well as alpha-hydroxy acids can help prevent and treat thin and dry skin, as well as sun spots. For more ideas on products and treatments -- both cheap and not-so-cheap -- that will help you keep your hands looking as young and fit as the rest of you, check out the information provided here.

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Like most Hollywood actresses, Angelina Jolie has an intense fitness routine to keep her in shape. Recently, however, the star's punishing workouts have been attributed to the bulging veins in the star's arms, wrists and finger.

It boils down to this: if you don't eat enough, and you workout like crazy, bad things will happen.

According to Steve Mongey, head trainer at a posh West London gym, "If you don't keep your eating up and do a lot of exercise the fat gets stripped away and the veins become exposed."

This isn't to say exercise -- even the fanatical exercise that stars like Jolie engage in -- is bad for you. But if you are going to push yourself, make sure the body has the fuel that it needs. If your fitness routine isn't keeping you healthy, what's the point?

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