For so long, I always believed that “healthy” and “travel” went together about as well as chocolate and toothpaste. After all, where’s the fun if you can’t have the pizza and wine carafe(s) in Italy, the paella in Spain, or… read more
Ted Spiker
Humorous Side of Health: Food Fight
As much as I’d love to have flung marinara-dressed noodles across a cafeteria once or twice in my life, I’ve never had a real food fight. Unless you count these battles: The bloody nose I got after wolfing down 12… read more
How Songwriters Unintentionally Inspire Your Journey to Better Health!
It does not matter whether you listen to soul or Sinatra, classical or Kanye, music improves your health. It has been shown to lower stress, boost mood and elevate workout performance. It is also linked to better memory, sleep and… read more
Ted Talks: Hobby Shopping
Typically, I like to make decisions thoughtfully and quickly. I don’t hesitate over simple choices (tonight it shall be merlot!), I try to use a mix of logic and emotion to come to conclusions, and I don’t like to linger… read more
Ted Talks: New Year, New You
The season of resolutions usually brings about mantras of motivation and fist-pounding declarations that this year — THIS YEAR! — will be the one in which we [stop smoking/lose 25 pounds/give up bacon-cheese fries]. For good reason, too. Coming off… read more
Ted Talks: 9 Things I Hate About the Holidays
Why these two months tend to be my danger zone. We all know that New Year’s resolutions exist in direct correlation to the 60ish days of holiday hoopla that precede them (bookended by an Oct. 31 candy gorge and a… read more
Ted Talks: Will I Win the Food Fight?
At a recent gathering of friends and former colleagues, I caught up with some people I’ve seen only once or twice since the late ‘90s. Amidst the conversations, the reminiscing, the beer, the wings and an Oreo dirt concoction that… read more
Ted Talks: Can You Just Stop?
For more than two decades, Diet Coke, the artificial liquid was my oxygen. I had it with breakfast, all morning at my desk, with lunch, all afternoon at my desk, with dinner, all night by the couch. I pumped so… read more
Ted Talks: Take the Plunge
When one of my good friends recently called me, he opened with this: “I think I got it.” For years, we’ve talked about signing up for some kind of physical challenge, but we just never found the right one. We… read more
Ted Talks: Is it time to ditch the workout tips?
In my role as a health writer, I’ve read, researched, and/or written hundreds—maybe thousands—of wellness tips. Do this. Do that. Don’t do this. Don’t, for the love of guacamole, ever eat 11 mashed avocados in 43 seconds! Tricks. Strategies. Actions.… read more
