If you don’t know about the energy drink trend, you must not be spending too much time with teenagers. Energy drinks like Redbull, 5-Hour Energy, Rockstar and Monster offer hours of brain and body stimulation through potent blends of caffeine, vitamins and nutrients – and they’re being guzzled by the gallon by exhausted, overworked Americans who want to be more alert at work or school, enjoy an evening energy buzz, or stay up all night and party.

The green drink has grown in popularity in recent years, and for good reason. Green drinks are a concentrated form of nutrition. Juicing or blending greens with fruits and veggies infuses your body's cells with living enzymes, easily assimilable nutrients, and alkalinity. That's why a green drink makes for the perfect morning beverage, as it's the first thing to enter your body and sets you up for a bright day. However, there are notable distinctions between a green smoothie and a green juice. Both have their benefits and their limitations. Which one is best for you depends on your personal preferences and needs. 

Several new studies out just recently extol the many benefits of the Mediterranean Diet--a diet rich in fish, grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats from sources like olive oil and nuts, but low in dairy products, red meat, and processed foods. One study found that this diet significantly lowered people's risk of heart attack and stroke (as compared to a low fat diet). Another study showed that people on a Mediterranean Diet actually saved money and spent less on food overall.

Get healthy and spend less money? Sounds like a miracle to me! But is it really all it's cracked up to be?

Like many carb-watchers, I swore off white grains long ago (or at least attempted to—I still may fall under the occasional spell of a fresh baguette or brownie). But it turns out I may have been too quick to judge. Some white carbs are perfectly fine—healthy, even—despite their pale hue. Adding the "good" white grains to your diet, in moderation of course, will not make your stomach balloon a full dress size in mere hours. I promise. In fact, some of these tasty morsels are actually whole grains in disguise, and pack a mighty dose of energy, vitamins and minerals. Here are the white carbs that you can feel better about. 

Whether you are healthy or sick, it’s likely that your healthcare bills are a large portion of your monthly income. Those without health insurance face astronomical medical bills, and even those with health insurance can largely expect their premiums to increase as Obama's Affordable Care Act is implemented in the future. Either way, there’s a good chance your healthcare costs are high and getting higher.

"They process your food now they're processing you / gonna climb in your mind and control what you chew."

Another hip-hop music video aimed at teens takes on big food.

In the 1960s, civil rights leaders introduced the sit-in as a form of non-violent civil disobedience aimed at changing the world. Today, Dr. Mark Hyman, author of "The Blood Sugar Solution" among other books, wants to do the same thing for the food industry with an "eat-in." On April 7, he is inviting the world to join him in a healthy meal for the first-ever eat-in.

The treadmill has become an incredibly popular cardiovascular machine and can be found by the dozen lining the periphery of gyms. However, there’s something to be said for good ol’ outdoor running. The question is: which one is better? Some swear by the spontaneity of outdoor running while others prefer the consistency provided by running indoors. In the end, there is no right or wrong; it all depends on your personal goals and preferences. Consider the following pros and cons inherent in both running on a treadmill and taking your cardio to the streets.

We're all familiar with discomfort—from a rough night's sleep in an unfamiliar bed to an unrelenting case of poison oak. Or sometimes, it can be a lot worse, like a chronic illness, deep grief or anxiety, making comfort feel like an impossibility.

It's been all over the news: New research suggests that calories from added sugars are more detrimental to our health than calories from other sources. But good luck if you want to try to track how much added sugar you're eating with any accuracy—it's not required for food manufacturers to list "added" sugars in grams on food labels, so there's almost no way to know when you're getting natural sugars, from fruit or milk, for instance, and when you're getting added sugars. And those added sugars can go by any one of dozens of names.