More than 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV, and 1 in 7 people don’t know they have it. The good news is you can help change this – spread the word about National HIV Testing Day on June 27.

In a new study involving people over 70 who have exercised regularly for years, scientists discovered that the participants' hearts, lungs, and muscles were in equivalent shape to those of people in their 40s.

Regular exercise could help keep the body young, new research shows.

Join AOTA and occupational therapy practitioners, educators, and students across the country as we help others Live Life To Its Fullest by avoiding the pain and injury that can come from heavy backpacks and bags.

Joint-friendly exercises offer you the benefits of physical activity while keeping your body safe from impact. What’s not to love?

Maintaining an exercise regime provides conditioning for your body and tones and strengthens your muscles. It can improve your balance and add strength to enhance quality of life and experience superior joint function.

Every day, hundreds of children are taken to emergency rooms with burn injuries.
Learn how you can prevent injuries from fires, scalds, electrical sources and other risks in the home.

• Electrical safety
• Fire safety
• Home safety
• Scald safety

Allergens are widespread, but highly variable in U.S. homes, according to the nation’s largest indoor allergen study to date. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health report that over 90 percent of homes had three or more detectable allergens, and 73 percent of homes had at least one allergen at elevated levels.

People who have reached their later years may think it's primarily a time to relax, not to increase their physical activity. Not so. Previous research has suggested that exercise can improve memory and reverse muscle loss in older adults, among other benefits.

Photo credit: Zing Images/Getty Images

Hooray!  Farmers market season is in full swing around the country, and it's the perfect time to heal and energize your body by indulging in the healthy, nutritious foods that it craves.  Forget about old New Year's resolutions, crazy diets, guilt and deprivation, they just don't work. Take advantage of the summer season to embark on a healthier lifestyle by making delicious meals from the bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables overflowing in the market stalls. It's not a hardship to acquire healthy habits when you begin adding new foods to your everyday diet — fresh, vibrantly colored foods that not only taste good but have the nutrients and vitamins that will help to recharge you, body and spirit: 

It's been a long, hot day.  First a morning of yard work, then three hours helping coach the kids' baseball and soccer games, followed by the weekly shopping.  Now you're finally heading home with a week's worth of groceries to unload and put away.  You're tired and thirsty, cranky with your family, and wincing at the throbbing in your temples. You could also be experiencing the first symptoms of dehydration, which is far more common than most people realize.

Do you treat sleep as a luxury, a few brief hours of rest squeezed in between home, work, family and social obligations?  Think again—a sensible and sufficient sleep schedule is of prime importance to your good health and well being.  Many people have a hard time making the connection, accepting fatigue, lethargy and more serious complaints as a fact of life or a product of our hectic lifestyles.  But what if we understood better how essential quality sleep is, and began to apply some self care by making healthy sleep a priority instead of an afterthought?  Consider these sleep facts and statistics:

The Mayo Clinic defines hoarding as "... the excessive collection of items, along with the inability to discard them" and states that "compulsive hoarding and compulsive hoarding syndrome, may be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)." We are not talking everyday household mess and clutter here, or collections of specific objects that may, in the opinion of other family members, be taking up too much space in the house.  True hoarding can be a sign of mental and/or physical illness that manifests itself in the obsessive accumulation of things—items that can range from mounds of clothing, unopened shopping bags, stacks of newspapers, magazines and mail, to piles of trash and rotting garbage that are dangerous to the health of an individual or a family.

Holidays bring families together to celebrate the season and enjoy sharing time together.  They also offer opportunities for us to spend lengthier periods of time with aging parents and loved ones — sometimes long enough to observe changes in habits or lifestyle that give rise to concerns about their health or well-being, especially when they live on their own. The changes can seem slight or innocuous:  a forgotten face, a mismatched outfit, a wrong turn on the way to the grocery store.  Or, they can be more alarming: 

As Americans, we tend to be a nation of gobblers when it comes to eating.  In other cultures, meals and conversation can run on into the evening, with family members enjoying conversation and sharing the news of the day.  On average, our meals last a whopping 11 minutes—and that's for dinner.  Breakfast and lunch clock in at under 5 minutes for some people. The good news is, to realize an abundance of health benefits all we need to do is slooooooow dooooooown.  And here are few good reasons why:

Right now is a good time to focus on ongoing fitness practices that can help to keep us healthy all year long.  One daily practice you may want to consider is Tai Chi.

Tai Chi is a series of physical postures, or "forms", which are linked slowly and precisely by meditative movement.  It originated in China more than 1,000 years ago and is considered a martial art that is practiced primarily for its health benefits, including reduction of tension and stress.

One of the best ways to enhance nutrition and improve your health is to bypass processed and pre-packaged foods in favor of fresh vegetables, fruits, grains and proteins. 

As with almost any health-related topic, we find ourselves bombarded with "expert" and frequently conflicting advice from all quarters -- nutrition is no exception.  How many meals a day are the best?  How many servings of vegetables?  Of grains and cereals?  Is white sugar ever okay?