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3 weeks ago | 
experiencelife.lifetime.life | Maggie Fazeli Fard |Alyssa Ford |Heidi Wachter
Water cremation — also known as aquamation or alkaline hydrolysis — is an alternative to flame, or fire, cremation. Like flame cremation, water cremation is a process that reduces human remains to bone fragments. But instead of flame, it uses water and an alkali solution of potassium hydroxide that, when heated, dissolves the body, leaving behind bone fragments and a sterile liquid.
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1 month ago | 
experiencelife.lifetime.life | Heidi Wachter |Nicole Radziszewski |Mo Perry
Physical HealthCold has a dramatic effect on the body: Step into a cold shower or jump into an icy lake, and you’ll likely feel your heart race and your lungs gasp for air. Your blood vessels constrict (a process called vasoconstriction), and you may start shivering. Your newly alert brain activates cold-shock proteins, which bind to nucleic acids and other proteins to help your body adapt to the cold. The molecules regulate various cellular processes, including metabolism and the stress response.
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1 month ago | 
experiencelife.lifetime.life | Maggie Fazeli Fard |Courtney Helgoe |Heidi Wachter
Death is a forgone conclusion of life — it is one thing we all have in common. What remains to be decided, and where we each have the opportunity for personalization, is everything that comes after the last breath. Once there were two conventional funerary methods: embalming followed by a casket burial and fire cremation. Now, a growing number of options for greener disposition — the final arrangements for a body after death — are available across the United States.
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1 month ago | 
experiencelife.lifetime.life | Craig Cox |Heidi Wachter |Jon Spayde
My Lovely Wife and I earlier this year finally got around to preparing our descendants for our eventual demise by drafting a will, power of attorney, and healthcare directive. We are not normally as forward-looking as we probably should be, so we left the lawyer’s office feeling like responsible adults for a change. But results of the latest National Poll on Healthy Aging suggest that we — and most of our contemporaries — may not be as ready for the end as we think we are.
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1 month ago | 
experiencelife.lifetime.life | Heidi Wachter |Samantha McKinney |Andrew Heffernan
In my late 30s, I was in the best shape of my life, cycling 20 to 30 miles daily, pumping iron regularly, and eating a plant-forward Mediterranean diet. Digestive issues I’d been dealing with had dissipated, and I was sleeping well after years of insomnia. I felt healthier than ever. Imagine my surprise when my doctor told me I was overweight. Many of us have faced this puzzling experience.
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1 month ago | 
experiencelife.lifetime.life | Heidi Wachter |Jill Metzler Patton |Nicole Radziszewski |Margret Aldrich
Physical HealthExposing your body to intense heat can initiate a host of adaptive responses. An increased heart rate triggers greater blood flow to the skin and helps you cool off, and sweat can help the body excrete small amounts of heavy metals, pollutants, and other toxins. The body responds to a higher core temperature by producing heat-shock proteins, which enhance your ability to manage stress and build resilience.
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2 months ago | 
experiencelife.lifetime.life | Heidi Wachter |Lindsey Palmquist |Nicole Radziszewski |Jill Metzler Patton
In search of places other than bars to connect with people, Susie Whitlock visited a Minneapolis sauna with an old high school friend. “She said she’d been doing a ‘fire and ice’ activity; I was like, ‘I’ll try that,’” Whitlock recalls. “But what I ended up loving more than the heat was the cold water.
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2 months ago | 
experiencelife.lifetime.life | Tina Nguyen |Heidi Wachter |Bahram Akradi
Earlier this year, the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles became the second-most destructive wildfire in Southern California history. The persistent blaze, exacerbated by severe winds and drought conditions, received extensive media coverage and brought national attention to the wildland-urban interface. Whether they’re in the areas surrounding L.A. or the forested landscapes, destructive wildfires are increasing in frequency and severity, impacting entire communities and ecosystems.
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2 months ago | 
experiencelife.lifetime.life | Heidi Wachter |Nicole Radziszewski |Samantha McKinney
With the finish line behind you, the focus of your fueling shifts from performance to recovery. Exercise breaks down your body’s tissues, and good postworkout nutrition can repair this damage and support your body’s regenerative powers. This helps not only to minimize postevent fatigue and soreness but also to rebuild your body stronger than before so it can tackle your next endeavor.
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2 months ago | 
experiencelife.lifetime.life | Kara Douglass Thom |Courtney Helgoe |Heidi Wachter |David Schimke
I met Jakers on my first visit to Anne Krocak’s horse-rescue sanctuary, Art, Heart, and Hoofbeats, in Cologne, Minn. The 14-year-old quarter horse — a black, brown, and white paint with asthma — had come to live with Krocak only two months earlier. As we brushed the excess hair from his winter coat, Krocak interpreted Jakers’s body language for me, explaining how a particularly subtle movement was suggestive of his state of mind.
