Join the largest health conversation in 140 characters or less! Tweet what you want to talk about to @SharecareNow and let’s start chatting!

In fact, The 100 instructs you to start every day by putting half-and-half in your coffee.

Cruise, a trainer, chef and best-selling author of so many weight-loss guides that he could fill his own shelf at a bookstore, based The 100 on many of the ideas popularized by science writer and iconoclast Gary Taubes. For years, Taubes has been arguing (pretty persuasively, if you ask me) that our society’s emphasis on low-fat diets is part of the reason that our society has developed such a big obesity problem.

Here’s what Cruise says: Eat all the fat you want, within reason. (“Within reason” pretty much means that you can eat a slab of beef but not the whole cow.) You’ll lose weight so long as you keep your sugar calories to no more than 100 per day—and by “sugar,” Cruise means not just the stuff in the sugar bowl but most carbohydrates. That includes bread (yes, even whole-grain bread), crackers, pasta, and even starchy vegetables. All of these act like sugar in your body, Cruise says. And that’s bad, because sugar makes your insulin levels spike. And high insulin levels make it hard for muscle cells to burn blood sugar for fuel (and also make your fat cells store more fat). And that makes you get hungry again faster.

So cut way back on sugar and carbs, Cruise says. And then go ahead and eat any of the following without bothering to count a single calorie:

Eggs and bacon…rump roast, ribs and ground round…salmon, scallops and sausage…chicken, cheese and corned beef. I could go on, but you get the message.

Surprisingly enough, there’s a lot of science supporting this way of thinking, even if the government food pyramid doesn’t reflect it. And maybe even more surprisingly, not only do high-fat, low-carb diets seem to help people lose weight—they also seem to be good for the heart.  But enough about science. Here’s what Cruise told me:

“When people make this lifestyle change they notice dramatic results. The weight comes off quickly and they feel great!

“Sugar has some pretty intense effects on the body, and once you start reducing it or even cutting it out, my clients have told me their cravings practically disappear and they have tons of energy.”

Cruise says you can lose up to 18 pounds in a couple of weeks with his 100-sugar-calorie approach to eating. If you try it, let us know how it works. Just don’t forget the half-and-half in your coffee!

What do you think about the low-carb, high-fat way of life? Let us know in the box below.

Researchers have asked this same question for many years now. Following hundreds of thousands of women over long periods of time, randomized clinical trials have found that very few women have their lives saved by routine mammogram screenings. Instead, women who have regular screenings are more likely to experience unnecessary treatment (such as biopsies, surgeries, and drugs for benign conditions or risk factors that were not themselves life-threatening). A leading source of health-care analysis, the Cochrane Collaboration, analyzed clinical studies and found that “for every 2,000 women invited for screening throughout 10 years, one will have her life prolonged,” and “10 healthy women … will be treated unnecessarily.”

Unless we have high odds for winning the lottery, probabilities are not something most of us want to hear. We’ve been told for years that finding breast cancer “early” increases a person’s chances of not dying from the disease, and that mammograms are the gold standard for finding breast cancer early.

The problem is that some breast cancers don’t show up well on mammograms, or at all; some cancers, even though they may be small, have already spread throughout the body; and some of the most aggressive types of breast cancer show up between mammograms. In the end, “early” may not be early enough in determining prognosis. Researchers have identified at least ten molecular types of breast cancer, each associated with different prognoses. Because of cancer’s complexity, the limitations of x-rays and computer-aided technologies, as well as differences in expertise among radiologists and diagnostic centers, screening has helped to reduce the death rate by only about 15 percent. Some studies put the screening-associated reduction as low as two percent.

A typical response to concerns over the limitations and risks of routine screening is to observe that “mammograms are not perfect.” In reality, costly programs of regular screening result in under-diagnosing some people and over-diagnosing others — as much as 30 percent of women who get regular mammograms experience over-diagnosis and the treatments that go along with it. The net effect: Fewer lives are being saved than anticipated and more people harmed. With such high rates of over-diagnosis and over-treatment, questions are growing about just who really ought to be screened, and how often.

There is no doubt about the importance of mammograms as a diagnostic tool — that is, as a test for women who have symptoms of a problem. But there is mounting support for the 2009 United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendation of fewer screenings for most women (every other year from age 50 to 75). Still, in the midst of shifting protocols, what is a woman of average risk to do?

Well, here is what I do. I remind myself that screening mammography is an option with risks, not an imperative. I look for balanced information about the benefits and harms of routine screening. I avoid health messages on pink products. I ask my doctor, “What do you think you will learn from that test, and what will we do with the information?” And I urge researchers and other experts in the public health sector to take women’s concerns seriously, to acknowledge the harms associated with screening, and instead of just telling us what to do, to take steps to address these issues so we’re not having still this conversation in another 30 years. Rather than spending billions on advertising campaigns to convince women to “just do it” and get mammograms, I’d rather see those funds go to treatments against the most deadly metastatic breast cancer and efforts to stop the disease before it starts.

How often do you get screened for breast cancer? Tell us about your experiences – good, bad or both – in the box below.

Remembering that one of my big goals this week was to be nice to myself, I refused to beat myself up about it. Instead, I put on my detective hat and tried to figure out what was behind my yo-yo diet.

I started with my food log, which is a big part of the Transform You2 program. It confirmed my suspicions. I would be perfectly “on plan” for a few days and then my food log would either be full of junk for the next few days—or blank, because I hadn’t wanted to put down in black and white what I had just eaten.

I decided it was time to get back to basics. I looked at the notes that I took when I talked with Sharecare fitness expert Wendy Batts back on Day 1 of my journey. One of the pieces of advice she gave me was to set SMART goals. SMART goals aren’t just not dumb. They’re:

- Specific

- Measurable

- Achievable

- Realistic

- Time-based

I was doing a great job of setting SMART goals when it came to exercise. I would say something like “I want to jog a 14 ½ minute mile on the elliptical by Friday.” And voila: By pacing myself and gradually increasing my speed over the week, I was able to do it.

When it came to eating, though, my goals were not so SMART. I’d decide: “I have to eat better.” How specific is that? Or: “I want to eat perfectly in order to lose weight.” Definitely not realistic. With goals like these, either I had nothing specific to aim for or I’d set the bar so unattainably high that I was bound to fail.

So this week, I’m finally wising up. Continuing with my theme of being nice to myself, I’m making my SMART goals “baby steps”—goals that are definitely achievable. I’m going to drink four glasses of water every day (that’s up from zero). I will eat at least one serving of vegetables at dinner every night. And I’ll pack my lunch at least three times (I make better choices when I pack it then when I pick it off a menu.)

Just like I was able to run a 14 ½ minute mile, I know I can start eating better. It’ll take patience and SMARTs, but it’ll happen.

What is your SMART goal for eating right? I would love to hear it. 

Although not everyone agrees on the prevalence of hepatitis C, here is what we do agree on:

- The majority of people with hepatitis C do not know they have it. Up to three out of four people with hepatitis C are undiagnosed.

- In the U.S., more people die every year from hepatitis C than from HIV.

- Baby boomers (those born in the years 1945–1965) account for approximately 75% of all hepatitis C infections in the United States.

- One in 30 baby boomers is infected.

- If current trends continue, by 2020 there will be a million cases of cirrhosis just from hepatitis C. Think about what this will do to Medicare. Think about that this means to your loved ones. Think about what this means to you.

The CDC recommends hepatitis C testing for people who:

- Were born from 1945 through 1965

- Received donated blood or organs before 1992

- Have ever injected drugs, even if it was just once many years ago

- Have certain medical conditions, such as chronic liver disease, HIV or AIDS

There’s a complete list of risk factors on the CDC site. But year of birth leads the list of reasons to be tested for hepatitis C. The CDC does not say that you don’t need to be tested unless you’re a baby boomer who used drugs in the heyday of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. It simply says: Get tested if you were born from 1945 through 1965.

Why Baby Boomers?
Hepatitis C, the most common blood-borne virus in the United States, was rampant before HIV infected anyone in this country. (Rates of hepatitis C were highest in the 1970s and 80s.) Nowadays, it seems like everyone uses disposable gloves: people in health care and dentistry, of course, but also police officers and firefighters. Teachers, coaches and those working in the personal care and janitorial industries are trained to protect themselves and others from body fluids. But we treated blood more casually back then, and we came into contact with each other’s blood more easily. If the person in the dentist’s chair before you had hepatitis C, you may have been exposed. Tattooing, manicures, and medical procedures were riskier propositions. Blood used for transfusions before 1992 was often contaminated with hepatitis C. Anyone who injected drugs even once may have been exposed to hepatitis C; the same might even be true for anyone who shared straws for inhaled drug use. All this means that baby boomers are at increased risk, if only because of their timing. 

Wouldn’t I know if I have it?
Hepatitis C can go unnoticed for as long as several decades. The liver has no nerve endings, so it often doesn’t complain until hepatitis C is in advanced stages. (Some people do feel liver discomfort, probably from the membrane that surrounds it, but this pain does not mean there is damage.) 

If hepatitis C progresses, it can cause cirrhosis, or serious scarring of the liver. When cirrhosis is advanced, symptoms include severe fatigue, ascites (accumulation of fluid in the belly), varices (a term for vessels in the esophagus that become fragile and can easily bleed or hemorrhage), jaundice (yellowing of skin, eyes, and mucous membranes), and hepatic encephalopathy (a type of dementia). At its worst, hepatitis C-related cirrhosis can cause liver cancer and death. Hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplantation in the U.S.

These are pretty grim prospects. Yet, in many cases, these disasters can be prevented—because hepatitis C can be treated. The current cure rate for hepatitis C is about 80%. And treatment is improving, with new drugs on the horizon.

But you can’t treat hepatitis C if you don’t know you have it. The test is inexpensive, and is covered by most insurance companies. Some locations are offering free testing for National Hepatitis Testing Day on or around May 19th. Look at the CDC’s hepatitis website for a location near you.

Here’s the bottom line on hepatitis C: It’s not how you lived—it is when you lived. The CDC estimates that 120,000 lives could be saved if baby boomers are tested for hepatitis C. Your life could be among them. Get tested!

Have you been tested for hepatitis C? Tell your story here.

Join the largest health conversation in 140 characters or less! Tweet what you want to talk about to @SharecareNow and let’s start chatting!

Our 2013 Youngest & Oldest Cities in America report is out, with a list of the places where people are so healthy and fit it’s like residents have erased the year on their birth certificate and penciled in a later one. The report also lists areas where you’d swear the inhabitants are older than their driver’s license would lead you to believe, thanks to day-to-day choices that speed their decline.

Sharecare analyzed health data generated by its patented RealAge Test to determine the Top 10 Youngest & Oldest Cities in America. Results from more than 250,000 people went into the calculations as we did the math on America’s 50 largest metropolitan areas. The analysis included not just dietary and exercise habits but also cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and sleep patterns and anger-management skills—28 factors in all.

The number-crunching revealed that for the second year in a row, the youngest city in the country is San Francisco. The reasons are clear: People in that city keep moving, eat right and have a host of other healthy habits that make their RealAge two years younger. Where do people age fastest? Louisville, Kentucky, where residents are less likely than people anywhere else in the country to exercise, snack on a piece of fruit or ladle a vegetable onto their dinner plate.

Your city or town can make it easy or hard to make healthy choices, says Keith Roach, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Sharecare and a co-creator of the RealAge Test. Part of that has to do with local habits: “If your friends are likely to say ‘Hey, let’s go for a hike on Mt. Hood today,’ you’re probably in better shape than if your friends always say, ‘Hey, let’s go get some fried ice cream,’” he points out. Part of it has to do with policies and regulations: New York City’s bans and taxes on cigarettes have made a big dent in smoking rates in that region, for instance.

But your city doesn’t condemn you to having problems, Dr. Roach adds. “Even if you live in New Orleans“—the country’s fifth-oldest city—“you can eat healthy. By the same token, living in San Francisco doesn’t prevent you from going to McDonalds or sitting around playing videogames all day.”

Check out how young or old your city is, then take the RealAge Test to see how you rank. After you’ve answered all the questions, you’ll get a personalized report that identifies the key changes you can make to improve your health. It is, says Dr. Roach, “a plan for how to make yourself grow younger.”

Top 10 Youngest Cities in America:

10. Los Angeles

9. Hartford, CT

8. Seattle

7. Washington, DC

6. Minneapolis-St. Paul

5. Denver

4. Boston

3. San Diego

2. Salt Lake City

1. San Francisco

Top 10 Oldest Cities in America:

10. St. Louis, MO

9. Memphis

8. Las Vegas

7. Greenville, SC

6. Jacksonville, FL

5. New Orleans

4. Oklahoma City

3. Tampa, FL

2. Greensboro, NC

1. Louisville, KY

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

One other thing San Franciscans do right: They just say no, to cigarettes, at least. There are fewer smokers here than in any other city in the country. On the other hand, San Franciscans strike out on social connections, ranking dead last in the country. Since those ties are potent health-promoters, Northern Californians could feel even younger if they made time for a few more friends.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

But would it hurt San Diegans to pick up the phone once in a while? The city ranks a mere 41^st in social networks, and it does only marginally better when it comes to happy marriages. Social and emotional connections are powerful aids to health and have been linked to longer life. Besides, all those extra years are much more fun when enjoyed with others.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

When residents come inside, they behave well in the kitchen, getting plenty of whole grains and eating a diverse diet. These habits probably contribute to their better-than-average cholesterol levels and low rates of high blood pressure and diabetes. What can’t hurt: The region has high levels of employment, income and health insurance coverage. The booming economy keeps stress low and makes it easier for residents to take care of themselves.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

Living among gorgeous mountains also has its upside: Residents rank high in the amount of exercise they get. All that time outside may be one reason Seattle is the twelfth most optimistic city in the country, a personality trait that’s been linked to a long, healthy life.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

Other traits that boosted Hartford into the youngest cities: Men ranked second in their anger-management skills, giving them a healthy approach to emotions that lengthens life by two years, on average. Hartford residents are also non-smokers, a fact that shaves years off nearly every biological system. And it probably doesn’t hurt that natives of the city known as “The Insurance Capital of the World” rate third for insurance coverage.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

Angelenos also benefit by playing hard, ranking in the top 10 for exercise. On the other hand, a lot of those workouts must take place in Zen-calm yoga studios or pumped-up spinning classes, because residents score only a middling 25^th in vitamin D levels (in sunny California, that must mean they don’t get out much).

What ages these golden gals and guys most? They have some work to do on their relationships. LA scores a dismal 47^th in social networking, and dead last for happy marriages.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

St. Louisans also fared poorly on four other factors that affect blood vessel health: diabetes control, and levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and C-reactive protein (a measure of inflammation). And yet, with all these heart disease risks, St. Louis does not take advantage of a proven cardiac protector: It comes in 49^th in the use of aspirin to prevent heart attacks. One bright spot: Folks in this Midwestern city eat above-average amounts of healthy whole grains, fruits and veggies.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

Still, healthy moves don’t always take time or money. Note to Las Vegans: Even if you lose track of day and night under the bright lights, you should still fit in a morning and evening bout with the toothbrush. Las Vegas ranked last in oral health, but taking care of teeth and gums can prevent inflammation that affects the entire body.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

What are New Orleanians doing right? They have lots of friends—in fact, they rate tops in the country for the strength of their social networks. Those emotional connections are such strong medicine, they help make up for some of the unhealthy habits that make life in New Orleans fun but high-risk.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

Tampa residents have good reason to be reaching out for stress relief, even if smoking isn’t a healthy way to find it. They’re especially likely to be unemployed, have low incomes and lack health insurance, all of which can make it hard to carry through on healthy intentions. No wonder they also reported high levels of stress, anger and poor sleep. What is a surprise: Residents of this Sunshine State city have low levels of vitamin D, a nutrient that lowers the risk of cancer and bolsters the health of the heart, mind, bones and skin. A little exercise could improve many of the risk factors that age these Floridians, says Keith Roach, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Sharecare and a co-creator of the RealAge Test. Even better, many smokers find it easier to quit once they start working out.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

Louisville natives can be proud of the Kentucky Derby and the fact that the town hosts one of only eight Ironman triathlons in the country. But on other weekends, residents could benefit by giving up their spectator status and wandering through one of the town’s famed parks or urban forests.

To get your RealAge—and a personalized plan for growing younger—take the RealAge Test.

The first step to reducing your outdoor seasonal allergies when gardening is to figure out which plants and flowers cause you discomfort. The typical pattern of pollen exposure each spring starts with trees, then grasses and weeds. Mold spores, although present year-round, peak during the mid-summer, or even early autumn in many areas, corresponding to higher periods of humidity. Seek out an allergist, who will run tests to identify the troublemakers and also develop an individually tailored allergy action plan. Then, stay tuned to daily pollen level counts during the season so you can plan outdoor activities accordingly. Windy, dry and clear days are generally associated with higher levels of airborne pollens. Lower counts are typically found during wet and windless days.

Many of us naturally want to blame our allergies on relatively showy flowers that are insect-pollinated. However, these are not generally the ones that cause those pesky allergy symptoms. (Of course, very fragrant flowers can cause your nose to tickle, due to the irritant properties of scent.) A little-known fact is that it may be the sex of a plant (flower, tree, shrub, etc.) that can dictate whether its allergy triggering pollens will cause the familiar sneezing and itchy, watery eyes. Male plants are the prime offenders. Unfortunately, because male plants require less work (they don’t drop fruit, so there’s less clean-up involved), they’ve been overplanted in many urban areas during the past several decades. So if you want to reduce pollen allergies, think female plants!

Here are some other moves that can help you stay sneeze-free while working your green thumb this season:

- Wear a pollen mask while gardening, raking or mowing the lawn

- Keep grass cut short

- Avoid touching your eyes and nose while gardening

- Don’t bring your yard-work clothes into the bedroom

- Brush off your shoes and rinse off your glasses before coming inside

- Consider curtailing long periods of outdoor gardening on high pollen days

- Reduce exposure to damp places and stagnant water if you are sensitive to molds

- Keep your garden free of flowering weeds

- Plant female trees in your yard that can attract and trap incoming airborne pollen from male plants

- Keep soil moist to reduce the amount of molds and dust that become airborne

- Avoid allergy-producing plants, such as amaranths, coneflower, crocus, elderberry, juniper, peony, poppy, privet, chrysanthemums, daisies and sunflowers

- Plant these allergy-friendly choices: azalea, begonia, bougainvillea, cacti, dandelions, daffodil, dahlia, gladiola, iris, lily, narcissus, orchid, pansy, petunia, snapdragon, tulip, verbena, violet and zinnia

What’s your best tip for enjoying the great outdoors in spite of your allergies? Share it here.

I am determined that this time is going to be different, but that means I need help. I need to figure out how to keep my motivation strong. Or to put it another way: I need a kick in the pants. So I turned to Sharecare to get some tips, and here is what our experts had to say:

- Focus on your gifts. Psychologist Lara Honos-Webb, PhD, says I can find more stick-to-it-iveness by defining myself by my strengths. She suggests I jot down ten reasons I can succeed in my efforts to lose weight and get healthy. Making the list, she says, will boost my confidence and spark a desire to show what I can do.

Well, one of my gifts is that I am a good cook. That will definitely come in handy as I develop new eating habits—I can try out some new recipes to keep from getting bored with eating the same foods over and over again.

- Be nice to yourself. NASM Elite Trainer Andrea Ingram says kindness is key to achieving wellness goals, and that I should talk to myself as nicely—as if I were talking to a good friend.

I do have a tendency to beat myself up over slip-ups and mistakes. This constant self-criticism is, well, exhausting. In the past it has worn me down to the point of giving up. Something’s gotta give. If I am nice to myself, I am more likely to make progress.

- Build a support team. Change expert John Norcross, PhD, recommends identifying friends, family members and other key people who are on board with your change. Then (and this part is key) you have to enlist their help when the going gets tough.

During this process many people have come forward with offers of help, but I have been too proud or embarrassed to accept it. I need to get over those feelings and choose a few key people to whom I can turn when I need help. My co-worker Nicole has offered to go for a walk with me on our lunch break—that could help me on days when I can’t face the elliptical. If I start hearing the chocolate in the vending machine calling my name, I can call my mother to talk me down off the diet-sabotaging ledge. I can “get by with a little help from my friends.”

So those are my marching orders for this week: focus on the positive, be nice to myself, and ask for help. They seem like simple tasks, but I have been in a negative frame of mind about my weight for so long that I know I won’t turn around overnight.

At this point I usually ask you to wish me luck. I have decided to stop relying on wishes and luck and instead rely on myself. But I will take any kind words of encouragement. I need the example of how to be kind to myself.

To start your own journey toward a healthier weight, check out Sharecare’s Transform You2.

Nursing is a grand profession. It’s grand because so many of you nurses are making such a positive impact on this planet. You help people, often when they need it most. You change lives for the better. You provide answers and provoke new questions. You navigate the health system for folks who are enduring health challenges so that no one has to feel alone. And you celebrate the human spirit, so that all of us can feel that anything might be possible.

Nurses are widely regarded as the most trusted source for health education, maybe because nurses understand that honest, open communication with folks about their diagnosis, concerns, fears and treatment options empowers them to make the important decisions.

Whether working with the old or the young, nurses help ease people’s fears by illuminating the unknown. Nurses guide adolescents through the trials of peer pressure. You point out the latest breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment. You show how to find dignity and grace in the last days of life. You help folks navigate the pathway forward, regardless of the diagnosis, with evidence-based information and with caring.

I am grateful to all nurses for taking on the hard questions and sharing the lessons you have learned from each other and those you serve. Nurses remind us every single day that one of the greatest privileges in life is to have the opportunity to work hard at work that is worth doing.