If you have been following a regular exercise program prior to your pregnancy, you should be able to maintain that program to some degree throughout your pregnancy. Exercise does not increase the risk for miscarriage in a normal low risk pregnancy.

If you are just starting an exercise program as a way of improving your health during your pregnancy, you should start very slowly and be careful not to over exert yourself. Consider a prenatal yoga class that is specifically designed for pregnant women. Shop Yoga for home

Scientists discover that physical activity leads to beneficial changes in gene activity, even after a single workout.

Exercise does a lot of good things — it burns calories, helps keep your weight in check and lowers your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Now add one more thing to the list: physical activity can change your DNA.

Bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of sodium in the American diet, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Salty snacks like chips and pretzels come in at No. 10.

The finding seems unlikely, since bread isn’t actually saltier than chips or many of the other foods on the list. But Americans tend to eat more bread and rolls, compared with other foods.

In this day and age, it has been made pretty clear that too much of anything can be harmful. But did you know that foods we eat everyday have the potential to kill us? Read below to find out what dangers lurk on your dinner plate.

Potatoes

Potatoes seem like one of the most harmless things on the planet. I mean, there’s a children’s toy modeled after them. But it turns out that the leaves, stems and sprouts of potatoes contain substances called glycoalkaloids, which can cause cramping,

In this day and age, it has been made pretty clear that too much of anything can be harmful. But did you know that foods we eat everyday have the potential to kill us? Read below to find out what dangers lurk on your dinner plate.

Potatoes

Potatoes seem like one of the most harmless things on the planet. I mean, there’s a children’s toy modeled after them. But it turns out that the leaves, stems and sprouts of potatoes contain substances called glycoalkaloids, which can cause cramping,

As the year goes by we've become more and more inundated with "shape up" questions. Here, we tackle four of your most pressing concerns.

Question: If I want to lose weight do I need to cut out all the fat from my diet?

Answer: "Absolutely not! Good fat is essential in your daily food plan. Healthy fats include avocados, olives, grape seed oil, raw almonds, cashews or peanuts and hemp seeds. Instead of worrying about fat, I would focus on eliminating all processed foods and soda and would try to both increase your water intake, and track your calorie intake. There are bunches of calorie tracking iPhone apps that give you a good sense of how many calories you are consuming throughout the day. Weight loss is not rocket science. It's [simply a matter of] calories consumed vs. calories burned."

Fact: Almost without exception, anyone who tries to lose weight rapidly with a diet fails.

They might shed kilos in the short term but will ultimately put it all back on - and then some.

In fact, one of the authors of a study published in the American Psychologist journal in 2007 went so far as to call dieting ''a consistent predictor of future weight gain''.

Perversely, it seems, if you want to get fatter, just go on a diet and wait for a bit.