Each morning, we dish out a few links we love.

Feeling a bit un-challenged by your same old running routine? Here are some affordable gadgets that will help take your jogs to the next level.

Get awesome glutes -- Shape your backside with these creative variations on the traditional lunge.

How much you weigh matters, but where you carry that weight also matters -- research suggests that people who carry a certain kind of fat will have a harder time losing it than anyone else.

Don't let achy joints keep you from working out -- As Health.com points out, a bit of sweat can really help you manage the pain.

Looking on the bright side isn't so easy -- or is it? Here are some easy tips on how to become a "glass half-full" kind of person.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues and improve their overall health.

Dr. Turner answers all your detox questions.

Beginning the fall with a cleanse or detox is a fantastic way to jump-start your weight loss process, clear your complexion, improve digestion and optimize wellness. Toxicity of the liver and the digestive system makes us feel bloated, tired and generally unwell, which makes it tough to begin an exercise program and to stay motivated.

Weight Loss and Toxicity
The majority of the toxins in our body are fat-soluble. This means they are stored in our fat cells and may be released into our system when we begin a weight loss and exercise program. Another important factor to consider is that being thin does not necessarily mean being healthy and that the steps used today to achieve your weight loss goals must be safe, well-planned and executed. Now, let's tackle a few questions you may have regarding detox so that you can get started and successfully complete your cleansing program.

How long should I stay on the detox?
A minimum of two weeks is best for a cleanse. However, individuals with chronic symptoms or conditions (arthritis, endometriosis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc.) may wish to continue for four to six weeks. Before beginning, and in order to avoid cheating or falling off the program, it is best to eat the foods currently in your fridge that will not be allowed in your detox program. Plan your meals to prepare for the detox, shop for specific foods and supplements and make sure all your social commitments are out of the way. Revisit The Hormone Diet for a detailed detox plan.

Which supplements should I take?

Each morning, we dish out a few links we love.

Ladies, listen up -- If you're not worried about arthritis right now, you should be. This form of the disease is three times more likely to hit women, and it tends to pop up as early as 25.

Addicted to your iPhone? It's not necessarily an unhealthy one -- government officials in the USA are insisting that certain apps can help you lose weight and eat healthy.

Don't feel bad -- workout slumps happen to the best of us. Fit Bottomed Girls has some advice, plus they want to know what you do when this happens.

Going on vacation? That's no excuse to miss a workout -- find out how dedicated runners still keep up their morning jogs even when they're travelling.

Don't assume that all sugars are equally bad for you -- recent research shows that fructose in particular can feed cancer cells in a way that other sugars don't.

I've had a few questions from readers about flaxseeds recently, so I thought I'd do another post on them. One reader wanted to know what lignans are as they are often mentioned on packaging for flaxseeds and flaxseed oil. Another wanted to know why some flaxseed brands claim to have B6 while others don't, and likewise, some manufacturers advertise iron and others don't. And finally, one reader wanted to know whether it was a better idea to consume the whole flaxseed or just the flaxseed oil. I'll get to all these questions below as well as give a little more info on these power-packed little seeds.

Flaxseeds, while originally used for little more than horse feed and birdseed, have risen to prominence in the last decade and are now often referred to as a superfood. Part of the reason for this is that new studies are continually discovering the amazing health properties of the seeds. But in large part, the popularity of flaxseeds is due to the discovery that they are extremely high in the omega-3 fat alpha linolenic acid (ALA).

Omega-3 fats, along with omega-6 fats, are essential, meaning they need to part of your diet and cannot be created from other components in the body. The reason flax has become so valued in health fields is that its high ratio of omega-3 fats to omega-6 fats makes it the perfect remedy to the North American diet, which is far too high in omega-6 (containing anywhere from 14 to 25 times more omega-6 than omega-3) due to the preponderance of sunflower oil, soybean oil and corn oil.

This imbalance leads to inflammation in the body along with a host of health problems such as heart disease, arthritis, cancer and depression. The inflammatory effect of over-consuming omega-6 also suppresses the body's immune system.

Are you dying for a work out but have been sidelined by a knee or ankle injury? Personal trainer Kathleen Trotter explains how to work around an injury, and offers some simple exercises that won't interfere with healing.

Q: How do painful ankles and knees affect our ability to exercise?

A: People often equate 'exercise' with going to the gym, pushing one's body to the limit and as Jane Fonda would say, "feeling the burn." As a personal trainer, the first thing I teach my clients is that everyone's individual gym/activity program should be unique and tailored to fit their fitness level, history and goals. What this means is that for some people 'working out' may be about how many sit-ups and push-ups they can do, but for people who have joint pain, exercise and staying active should be about improving or maintaining range of motion (ROM), increasing or maintaining bone density, training balance and proprioception (perception of movement and spatial orientation), and training the nervous system.

Noni is a tropical fruit that was originally native to Polynesian islands, but is now grown in many tropical regions around the world. It has been widely regarded in the traditional cultures of these regions to have medicinal properties. And it has a reputation as a relaxant and stress reliever, being used widely as a natural means of calming nerves and helping support sleep when consumed before bedtime.

A new study out of Japan may confirm that very reputation. The animal study, published in the journal Physiology & Behavior, has found that noni actually protects the brain from stress in a way that maintains cognitive function. Mice were subjected to stress and then made to run a water maze, a commonly used test to determine cognitive function. One group was given noni juice while the control was not. What was found was that the group that was given noni were both more efficient at completing the maze and showed less signs of inflammation in the blood vessels of the brain, a common effect of stress. The researchers concluded that noni juice has a protective effect against the kind of stress that causes cognitive impairment.

That's good stuff. And it makes me wish I knew about noni juice when I was still in school doing exams. I could have used something that helped me think clearly under stress.

The last time you suffered through a sinus infection, sprained an ankle or felt the irritating itch of a mosquito bite, you experienced the effects of inflammation first hand. Infections or injuries trigger a chain of events called the inflammatory cascade. The normal, familiar signs of inflammation such as redness, pain, swelling and fever are the first signals that our immune system is being called into combat.

Behind the scenes, the body strives to maintain a critical balance between the signals that enable and sustain this protective response and the signals that announce the battle has been won. Eventually, the inflammatory response stands down and the body's powerful, natural anti-inflammatory compounds move in to initiate healing.

Due to a large campaign by cereal companies back in the '70s and '80s, pretty much everyone knows how important fibre is in the diet. Fibre is the bulk component found in all plant foods that does not get digested when eaten. It is necessary for pushing the digested portions of food through the digestive tract. Getting enough fibre is associated with lower cholesterol levels, lowered incidence of colon cancer and

It is recommended that we get a minimum of 35 grams of fibre every day, but the truth is, we could do with a lot more than that. It is estimated that paleolithic man, existing before farm and therefore before grains made up a staple of his diet, ate up to 100 grams of fibre daily.

Each morning, we dish out a few links we love.

Hefty Hollywood actor and director Kevin Smith was recently kicked off a flight for being too fat and took to venting his anger on Twitter. What would 'Silent Bob' say?

Interesting -- the world's fattest man is giving tips on how to slim down. Which begs the question, would you take diet advice from someone who weighs 700 pounds after weight loss?

Lent begins today -- and many Bishops are urging you to give up your iPod. It's to help save the planet, they say.

Suffering from aches and pains of Arthritis? Studies show that taking short, frequent walks can help.

What causes compulsive hoarding? Here's some insight into this frankly baffling condition.

Each morning, we dish out a few links we love.

It's one of the leading causes of death today, but apparently, 40 percent of cancer cases can be prevented by people protecting themselves from the killer disease.

Don't let arthritis slow you down -- Join the millions of Canadian uniting in the Power of Movement yoga fundraiser to fight this debilitating condition.

You can't always trust the number on the scale -- Experts are quick to point out that even if you're a healthy weight, you can still be unhealthy if you don't have a balanced lifestyle.

Sit up straight! It's not as easy as it sounds, but here are some tips for keeping your posture in check all day long.

Fallen off the New Year's resolution wagon already? Don't wait until 2011 to start fresh -- Self's Editor Lucy Danziger explains why you should have 'Mulligan Mondays' every now and then.

A new food takes the stage as a possible ally in our ongoing fight against cancer. A recent study out of California has found that a compound in pomegranates may lower the risk of hormone-dependent breast cancer. The findings, published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, were supported by the National Institutes of Health in the US.

The compound from pomegranate is called aromatase and it is a metabolite of ellagic acid, a polyphenol antioxidant found in past studies to stop carcinogenic compounds from binding to DNA, therefore preventing the formation of cancer. Aromatase may work by inhibiting an enzyme that prevents the hormone androgen from converting to oestrogen, a hormone that plays a key role in the development of breast cancer.

Principal investigator Shiuan Chen, PhD. was surprised by the findings: "We previously found other fruits, such as grapes, to be capable of the inhibition of aromatase. But, phytochemicals in pomegranates and in grapes are different."

Cinnamon is one of those heavenly sweet smells that is the essence of comfort food. It's been topping our desserts and sweet beverages for generations, providing comfort to our ancestors as much as ourselves. But could it be that the link between sweet, sugary treats and cinnamon has a more subconscious connection?

Just in time for Diabetes Awareness Month, a study published in The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine has found that type II diabetic patients were effectively able to lower their blood glucose levels using cinnamon in conjunction with their usual care.

The researchers randomly assigned two groups of type II diabetics, giving one group 1000 mg of cinnamon along with their usual treatment for 90 days. They measured hemoglobin A1c levels -- a type of blood cell that helps to identify the average blood glucose levels over time -- both before the cinnamon treatment and at the conclusion of the study. They then compared the two measurements.

The results of the study showed that the group taking cinnamon with their usual treatment lowered their hemoglobin A1c levels by 0.83%, compared to a 0.37% drop experienced by the treatment alone group. The use of cinnamon more than doubled the effectiveness of blood sugar lowering treatment.

I'm not going to tell you that the smell or taste of ginger reminds me of my childhood, or that mom used to keep the funny looking rhizomes in the pantry where I'd look at them curiously. The truth is that I didn't discover ginger until I had moved out of the house and was cooking for myself. After a fantastic meal at an authentic Chinese food restaurant in Chinatown in Toronto (before this I had thought that Chinese food was chicken balls and fried rice) I became obsessed with Asian cuisine; buying ingredients I didn't know how to use and trying to mimic flavours without really knowing what I was doing.

These days I use ginger both to give cooking that irreplaceable spicy sweetness and to take advantage of its medicinal properties. Ginger is a great source for antioxidant phytonutrients including gingerol, shogaol and zingrone. Gingerol is actually a potent antioxidant that has been found in studies to relieve osteo and rheumatoid arthritis pain, even in patients who didn't respond to medications.

Each morning, we dish out a few links we love.

Yes, sitting in front of the computer can be bad for your waistline, but not if you're spending you time on Twitter -- it can shame you into being healthier.

You know those copper bracelets that are supposed to help with arthritis? Save your money -- they apparently don't do a thing.

Here's some motivation to do some housework -- that clean smell helps you clear your conscience and feel superior.

Thinking of trying Gwyneth Paltrow's cleanse? Be careful -- one dieter says it turned her into a monster.

Want to lose weight? Start on this day of the week.