Dieting now makes you gain weight?
Katherine Seligman
If it's January, then it must be time to diet, right? You've spent the past month at the buffet trough. Now every time you turn on the TV news you're seeing that same person with a three-story midsection jiggling past,...

5 Things in January
Sam Whiting
San Francisco: For the past year, naturalists have been studying endangered species in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Check out what they found at the GGNRA Big Year Closing Ceremonies Jan. 10, 1 to 4 p.m. at...

The activist doctor: Stephen Lockhart, M.D.
On the National Parks Second Century Commission Our charge is to develop a strategic plan for the next 100 years of the national parks. This is the first time such a commission has been formed. We have senators and...

Doing the numbers on medical tourism - is it worth it?
Carol Lloyd
What with the glories of the new, new economy, it's easy to imagine consigning "health and fitness" to the ash heap of personal history. Remember when we could afford yoga and Pilates? Or when we didn't price-shop for...

Pickleball: The fastest growing sport you've never heard of
Sam Whiting
As Northern California ambassador for the USA Pickleball Association, it is Greg "Komo" Komisarek's duty to get more courts dedicated to his sport, which employs paddles and a plastic ball - like pingpong, but with the...

Corporate wellness, Safeway style
Gail Bensinger
Eric Ward finally said goodbye to Baby Roo. A trim man with an easy smile, the 47-year-old Benicia resident realized he needed to make some changes in his life after his father died in his 60s of prostate cancer. "My...

UCSF researcher Elizabeth Blackburn's search for longer quality of life
Katherine Seligman
Elizabeth Blackburn, one of the nation's most distinguished microbiologists, was in her office one fall day demonstrating what are known in her family as Ron's exercises. "Any exercise which involves this," she said, as...

Seeking comfort in a meaty classic
Michael Bauer
Comfort food has become a major trend, which seems reasonable, given the time of year and the financial climate. For one, this type of food is generally less expensive to prepare, whether at home or in a restaurant....