John Aaron Wellness

I like stress. Stress is good. Stress can cause you to grow, become faster, and more keenly aware of your surroundings. It sets off all sorts of hormones that can get your heart beating and your body pumping. After all, that which does not kill us can only serve to make us stronger, right? True - except for when that something is stress. The fact remains; too much stress actually CAN kill us. When we experience an overload of stress for too long, our ability to live in grace and balance may be challenged. As a result, our health can be severely compromised. The great thing about therapeutic massage is that it is a stress buster that actually works with little or no effort on your part and has become well known as one of the best ways to deal with the overload of stress so common in today's world. Therapeutic massage can give you a break from the buildup of stress and can help trigger the "relaxation response" (a natural function of the nervous system tha...

A few years back, manufacturers of vodka, gin and clear rum were promoting the idea that drinking clear alcohol would keep you trim as long as you counted the calories (calculated at about 7 cal per gram). What they didn’t tell you was that your body can discriminate (and prefer) one type of calorie source over another. According to some research from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, alcohol can literally put a halt to fat metabolism. Participants in this study were given two servings of clear alcohol administered 30 minutes apart. Fat metabolism was monitored before, and after each serving. What they discovered was that even hours after drinking both drinks, fat metabolism had decreased by over 70%. This means that while your body might be busy processing alcohol as fuel, it will also be simultaneously suppressing you're fat burning abilities. Basically: the more your drink, the less your body burns fat. They also found test subjects to have decreased levels o...

This year it is estimated that over 315,000 women died from heart disease. The sad note is that most of them won’t even know they have heart problems until it's too late. Unfortunately, heart disease is the leading cause of death in women across all ethnic and age groups. Commonly thought of as a “mans” disease, many women feel that they are not susceptible to heart disease. In fact, heart disease affects as many women as it does men. In no way is it gender-specific. Because women who die from heart disease don’t usually exhibit the common symptoms (chest pain, chest tightness, numbness in the left arm) associated with heart attacks in men, it is important that women, regardless of age or ethnicity be regularly screened and tested for heart disease. To help get you started, here are a few ways to reduce your risk; just don't forget to discuss them with your doctor: • Screenings for blockages associated with strokes or heart disease • Lowering your LDL cholesterol and...

My friends know they will rarely find me without a coffee mug in hand in the morning. What can I say? I love the stuff! And while some are sensitive to the negative effects of caffeine, I like to dwell on a couple of very real health benefits that coffee may have for you. For example, a recent study seems to indicate that coffee may have a positive effect on reducing men’s chances for developing prostate cancer. In fact, men who drink four to six cups of coffee per day may be able to reduce their risk by up to 20%. But, the most impressive part of the study was that it did not matter whether the coffee was caffeinated or decaffeinated. As for the ladies, coffee may also reduce your chances of developing endometrial cancer which is a form of cancer that attacks the womb. Effecting over 46,000 women each year, this cancer serious and may be linked to levels of estrogen and insulin. Women who drank an average of 2-4 cups per day also reduced risk of developing endome...