We’ve all seen those ads extolling the virtues of various bodybuilding programs or health supplements. I used to look like this, and now I look like this. Voila!!!

It turns out we may have all been duped.

This guy, who goes by the name of Furious Pete (don’t ask me why), decided to test a theory. He took the After photo first, then did some horrible stuff to his body before taking the Before photo. And what do you know.

Even without the Photoshop enhancements there is a huge and very noticeable difference. Sadly the things he did in the five hours between the two photos are what I do each and every day. That’s right folks, I’m a walking Before photograph.

In a recent announcement, McDonald’s revealed that they would remove their “pink slime” ingredient from their food manufacturing process. Many suspect that the decision was largely due to clips such as this one showing chef Jamie Oliver making McNuggets.

How the American kids react to the “food” is disturbing- there is clearly something wrong with the way we are teaching health in schools.

Jamie, I applaud you for trying, but the real problem isn’t that junk food exists or how it’s made. The real problem is the simple fact that a lot of Americans don’t realize how much food affects their health and body.

“You are what you eat” isn’t on the high priority list for public education, especially when the food served in schools isn’t very healthy in the first place.

A few days ago, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, who is the largest breast cancer organization in the United States, announced that they would cut funding from Planned Parenthood.

Well, after an overwhelmingly negative reaction, they have decided against their original “not politically motivated” decision.

Komen originally stated that they were cancelling their funding because Planned Parenthood was “under investigation” of some sort, but which organization was doing the “investigating?” It’s no secret that their new VP is a pro-life Republican and the head of the organization was formally working for the Bush Administration.

I have to agree with the women interviewed in this video, “I can’t understand why a women’s health organization funding women’s health is trying to take that away from another [one].”

Paula Deen, the celebrity chef queen of butter, sugar and all things deep fried, has taken a lot of criticism on her ‘cooking’ choices after coming out as a diabetic.

No bad deed goes unpromoted, however, and Deen is taking her diagnosis to a new promotional level by teaming up with a drug company.

Lovely. That ‘lemonade’ she’s making out of ‘lemons’ damn well better taste good given it is probably worth thousands of dollars.

Despite everything, including dishes that would send blood sugar through the roof, you have to give her credit for sticking with her passion no matter what.

Use these quick and easy tips to both avoid and cure that nasty hangover.

While New Year’s Eve is well and truly done, you might have decided to keep the party going on Sunday as well. With all that drinking, it’s likely you’re not feeling so great today.

You can always decide to just not drink, but that’s not always easy when you’re trying to be social.

With the solutions consisting of things like orange juice, bananas, a bath and some sleep, there’s no reason not to.

Plus, the orange juice and bananas are a great way to lose that weight you want to lose this year…

So go to MoBro.com and support your favourite MoBro – for the awesome face fuzz and for men’s health.

Okay, so we all know think pink and a lot of other great events out there to raise awareness about different causes.

But have you heard of Movember?

Come on, men, sport your face fuzz and raise money for an amazing cause that helps research and raises awareness for men’s health.

Namely, to raise awareness about prostate cancer.

Men are often reluctant to go to the doctor for a number of reasons, but you can do it! I have a friend who got in and got treated early.

It saved his life.

So grow your mo and show it off to the doctor!

The Heart Attack Grill has been around for a while now, offering fast food packed full of fat and calories to those who don’t care about their health. And it has now moved to Las Vegas, where there are already temptations galore.

The Heart Attack Grill tells you up front that eating this food will make you put on weight and eventually kill you. It’s a controversial statement but is surely better than the resistance to tell the truth shown by other well-known establishments.

The guy in this commercial, the one-time face of the Heart Attack Grill franchise, died earlier this year aged just 29. He weighed 575 pounds and is fought to have succumbed to pneumonia.

If you want to eat the the Heart Attack Grill then go ahead. It is, after all, your free choice to do so. In the same way its up to you whether you smoke, drink, or drive fast cars. Just don’t be surprised if it affects your life expectancy.

Rather than thinking in terms of black and white, boy and girl, there is much more of a ‘grey area’ in terms of sex than you might think.

BBC: “It is a deeply-held assumption that every person is either male or female; but many people are now questioning whether this belief is correct.

This compelling and sensitive documentary unlocks the stories of people born neither entirely male nor female. Conditions like these have been known as ‘intersex’ and shrouded in unnecessary shame and secrecy for decades.

It’s estimated that DSDs (Disorders of Sexual Development) are, in fact, as common as twins or red hair – nearly one in 50 of us.”

Jenny McCarthy talks about how she cured her son from Autism created by unsafe vaccinations.

I understand being passionate about a subject, but she could help her argument a lot by stopping using the word ‘frickin’.

So, is she a nut job or is she a revolutionary calling for a better way of life?

At the risk of being labelled, I think she has a few points. Yes, big phrama has a lot of power. Yes, vaccines can hurt people because we’re all different and have different sensitivities.

But to completely abandon every and all vaccinations? Not so sure about that one.

What do you think?

There are so many things that we take for granted. Like all the senses. It’s probably impossible to truly imagine what it’s like not to be able to see, hear, touch, smell, or taste.

In which case it’s definitely impossible to truly imagine what it must be like to gain one of those sense after decades of living without it. But that is exactly what happens in this video.

We get to see, to share in, the moment in a 29-year-old woman who has been deaf since birth hears herself and those around her for the first time ever. And it’s a truly joyous moment that even the most hard-hearted person would struggle not to appreciate.

This is happiness of the highest order. The woman cannot contain her joy at experiencing sound for the first time. And it’s all thanks to technology in the form of a hearing implant. I could watch this over and over.

There are plenty of places to practice yoga. You might do it inside a community hall with a few geriatrics and pregnant women. You might do it on a beach at dawn where you can feel a little closer to nature. You might do it in your lounge room so people don’t notice you can’t nail the poses.

But you probably shouldn’t do it on the subway.

These women take no notice of that warning though, and proceed to twist and contort their bodies in front of morning commuters. I concede that they’re very talented, but there’s a time and a place. Rush hour on a crowded subway carriage isn’t it.

On David Letterman, Colin Farrell opened up about his son’s condition: Angelman’s Syndrome.

While this video doesn’t talk a lot about the specifics, Angelman’s Syndrome is a condition that effects about one out of every two thousand people.

“Children with Angelman Syndrome typically have a happy, excitable demeanor with frequent smiling, laughter, and hand-flapping movements. Hyperactivity and a short attention span are common.

Most affected children also have difficulty sleeping and need less sleep than usual. Some affected individuals have unusually fair skin and light-colored hair,” according to Genetics home reference.

Kudos to Farrell for being willing to talk about this condition.

Mental illness of any sort is often hard to understand and treated with various stigmas in society. Stephen Fry takes us through his own battle with mental illness: Manic Depressive Disorder.

Stephen Fry has always been a hero of mine for only a few years now, but my admiration for him grows more and more.

“In candid interviews, we hear tales of mood swings and extremes of behaviour that can leave a sufferer living like Jekyll and Hyde; with reckless aggression, crazy sex, wild decisions and criminal impulses all thrown in.

And we hear about the lows that make you wonder how they survive.”

Unlike decades ago when gallbladder removal surgery left you weeks in bed and with a large scar, today’s keyhole surgery makes it much easier on doctors and patients.

I had my gallbladder removed in January 2010 after losing weight too fast and developing gallstones. This ended up causing my gallbladder to become infected.

Truly, a gall attack is one of the most painful things you can experience; something some mothers compare to childbirth. The best thing you can do is have it removed.

Two key things to remember:

*Surgery does not solve all pain. You can still get phantom pains.

*Pain in the body can refer, meaning pain under your ribs on your left side and pain up into your right shoulder can mean gallbladder problems.

Oprah Winfrey show star now with his own show, Dr. Oz, recommends that women have more sex and don’t diet! Keeping the romance and taking baby steps with nutrition is key for a healthier, longer life.

Well, that is definitely the kind of health advice I can take to heart (and to my bedroom…)

I have never been one to like celebrity doctors in the past, but even I have to admit that Dr. Oz has an air about him that makes him appear honest and enthusiastic.

And if there is anything that overweight, unhappy people need, it’s someone to be enthusiastic about their health.

Most of us have had a nasty sunburn at one time or another. We forgot our sunscreen or hat, thought we didn’t need it because we wouldn’t be out for long, or we really wanted that tan. Many of us will only suffer some soreness for the next week or so, but others won’t be so lucky.

This moving PSA speaks to those people before they even know what’s in store, the 16-year-olds.

At around five minutes this video is very long but its moving, honest snippets of truth and wisdom make it feel much shorter. It’s funny, sad, and above all real. And it gets you thinking.

If you know a 16-year-old, I think it’s worth sharing this one with them.

Lupus is a multi-faceted autoimmune disease that is potentially life threatening. Learn more about it with this video.

While the classic butterfly shaped rash on the nose and cheeks is well-known, it actually effects only about thirty percent of patients.

If you think you might have lupus or even if you haven’t been feeling quite right for a while, get to a doctor. And like it says in the video, if your first doctor isn’t sure, get a second opinion.

Just remember that when it comes to self-diagnosis, the internet is not your friend. It’s bound to scare you more than help you find answers.

This video tells the story of one man given the chance to walk once again after having been confined to a wheelchair for 20 years. All thanks to a genius technological advance.

The first time I heard about the ReWalk was on the Christmas episode of Glee, when Brittany asked Santa Claus to give wheelchair-bound Artie the ability to walk again. A ReWalk appeared under the tree next day.

Trials on the device are still continuing, and I’m guessing work on improving the robot exoskeleton will also continue. probably forever. But it’s amazing that something exists which can help people walk again.

OK, it costs $150,000 and has a battery life of just 8 hours at the moment, but I’m sure both will improve over time. And when they do the ReWalk could become a common sight.

While only people with Celiac disease need to make sure they avoid gluten in their diet, it is possible that even if you don’t have the disease, you could benefit from doing the same.

So obviously if you have Celiac disease, gluten is not for you, but should you really give up the gluten if you haven’t been diagnosed?

Well, it’s hard to tell. This lady says that it could benefit everyone. A food show I watched a little while back said there is no reason to go gluten free if you don’t need to.

I say, try it out and see how you go. I always lose weight on things like The South Beach Diet and such, which cuts out breads and pastas, so maybe this could be good for me.

There are many health benefits associated with following a strict vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. And once you get used to looking at food in a different way it isn’t even all that hard to maintain and even enjoy.

This video shows eight people extolling the virtues of being vegetarian or vegan. They all look and feel extremely healthy on their diet of choice, with none exhibiting the pasty, need-a-good-meal syndrome that unrefined meat-eaters will try and tell you is the norm.

I’ve been vegetarian since the start of the year, having experimented with it throughout my life. I’m not yet ready to go vegan, but I may well do later on.

If I’m honest it does take some getting used to, especially if you live with people who still eat meat. You’ll know you’re destined to stay vegetarian if you can resist the lure of bacon the first morning they fry some up for breakfast.