Karen Springen

It's now clear that emotions can affect our physical health, but what about the reverse? Can physical activity affect the health of our minds? Hippocrates thought so.

Is nothing sacred? Crisco, the shortening used to bake flaky pie crusts and fry crispy chicken, is now available in a trans-fat-free version. The rollout has hit about 40 percent of the country and comes as pressure mounts on food companies to remove the cholesterol-raising fats before they have to be listed on labels in 2006.

Don't expect to see Gwyneth Paltrow or Anna Wintour in the front row. But next week, after the New York fashionistas have gone back to their desks and their skinny lattes, Chicago--a city in which the only "must have" accessory is a good, warm muffler--will launch its first fashion week.

It's now clear that emotions can affect our physical health, but what about the reverse? Can physical activity affect the health of our minds? Hippocrates thought so.

Remember trying to trade the apple in your lunchbox for a Twinkie? Here's how to pack healthy fare so fun and tasty that your kids will want to eat it:Make fruits and veggies enticing.

Growing up in a big city, Junior may not learn to ride a two-wheeler in the middle of the street. But there's plenty he can do. In "The City Parent Handbook: The Complete Guide to the Ups and Downs and Ins and Outs of Raising Young Kids in the City," authors Kathy Bishop and Julia Whitehead (both New Yorkers) give tips on raising happy, healthy urban children.Prepare a medical-emergency list of favorite hospitals and specialists, which you should keep by the phone, leave with babysitters and...

Earlier this summer, Mike Trevino, 29, slept nine hours in nine days in his quest to win a 3,000-mile, cross-country bike race. For the first 38 hours and 646 miles, he skipped sleep entirely.

Rudy Yogiaman considers himself lucky to be a sophomore at USC. As a citizen of predominantly Muslim Indonesia, he got a visa at a time when many of his friends were being turned down.

Stroll along Lake Michigan, splurge on the Magnificent Mile and indulge in deep-dish pizza--and don't miss Chicago's newest cultural destinations.Millennium Park.

HEALTHNew Rules For A Safe PregnancyThe nine months between conception and delivery are filled with anticipation, and with confusing advice: cut out alcohol, don't dye your hair, avoid Brie.

SAUDI ARABIA: Holier Than Thou Most recent Saudi efforts to crack down on homegrown terror have involved tough talk and even tougher action. So what explains the statement read by Crown Prince Abdullah last week, in which the Saudi monarchy effectively offered terrorists amnesty and called on them to repent and return to the true (government-approved) path of righteousness?There is method to the offer, which many critics condemned as madness.

The nine months between conception and delivery are filled with anticipation--and with confusing advice: cut out alcohol, don't dye your hair, avoid Brie.

Breaking a bone is almost a childhood ritual. So is getting signatures on your cast--and keeping it dry. Because bacteria thrive on moisture, wetness can lead to a serious infection.

Nearly a year ago, Cathy Kapica, a director of nutrition education at Quaker Oats, got an offer to be McDonald's first "global nutrition director." "I was skeptical," she says.

At the age of 7, Nikki Morace weighed 160 pounds. By 9, she was up to 250 and had tried every diet from salads to Slim-Fast. Despite her efforts, she tipped the scales at 363 pounds by 14.

Eager to distract your kids from their bug collections? Hook them on geology. With a few books and some easy-to-gather gear, you can delve into the ancient history of your own backyard.

The Statue of Liberty isn't reopening for two more months, but the hoopla has already begun. This week the Ritz-Carlton at Battery Park is adding an edible statue-shaped swizzle stick to its $13 green Libertini cocktail and launching a $339 Liberty for All package that includes a telescope-equipped guest room, two tickets to Liberty Island and a statue replica in chocolate.

Soon the final school bell will ring, and 4 million teenagers will start their summer jobs. Aaron Janssen is one of them. Janssen, 16, is psyched to have landed a stint as a cook near his home in Iowa; working makes him feel like his dad and will help him buy a car.

All right, so maybe Atkins wasn't a nut. Two papers published in the Annals of Internal Medicine last week report that low-carb diets help patients lose weight faster than conventional plans.

EUROPE Curb Euro EnthusiasmEurope was strutting again last week as several major eurozone economies posted first-quarter growth rates that beat all expectations.

If you're not already taking steps to stay in shape, here's some extra incentive. A study in the May issue of the American College of Sports Medicine's journal, Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, reports that 40- to 66-year-old women who walked more than 10,000 steps a day (about five miles) averaged 18 percent less body fat and had slimmer waists than those who walked fewer than 6,000 steps.To calculate how many steps you take buy a pedometer, a motion-sensitive device that resembles a...

Quick--what's the leading cancer killer of women? If you answered "breast cancer," you're not alone--but you're wrong. Lung cancer is far deadlier. Its five-year survival rate is 15 percent, compared with 86 percent for breast cancer, and it takes a bigger toll.

Harry Potter" author J. K. Rowling is "happily writing," says Scholastic Book Group president Barbara Marcus. But sorry, kids: there won't be a new installment this year.

Like most women, Helen Bryce, 44, wife, mother and manager at a London-based computer company, was well acquainted with the emotional chambers in her heart.

Pat Staples's childhood gave birth to the demons that nearly killed her. Her father was a volatile alcoholic. "I was physically, verbally and emotionally abused," she says. "Nose broken, head into the walls." In kindergarten she started dreaming about running away; she finally escaped in 1959, at the age of 20, when she married young to get out of the alcoholic house.

So what if an African safari isn't in the family budget? These new exhibits may be the next best thing. For info on other animal havens, go to the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's aza.org.Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens, Jacksonville, Fla., jaxzoo.org.

Quick--what's the leading cancer killer of women? If you answered "breast cancer," you're not alone--but you're wrong. Lung cancer is far deadlier. Its five-year survival rate is 15 percent, compared with 86 percent for breast cancer, and it takes a bigger toll.

Pat Staples's childhood gave birth to the demons that nearly killed her. Her father was a volatile alcoholic. "I was physically, verbally and emotionally abused," she says. "Nose broken, head into the walls." In kindergarten she started dreaming about running away; she finally escaped in 1959, at the age of 20, when she married young to get out of the alcoholic house.

Like synchronized swimming, rhythmic gymnastics is a Summer Olympics sport that's easy to make fun of. Americans are used to seeing girls leaping on balance beams--not twirling ribbons and tossing hoops, balls and clubs. "You're never going to have a strong male demographic watching rhythmic," says Brian Eaton, a spokesman for USA Gymnastics. "Until you have that mainstream mentality about the sport, it's going to be the joke on the TV show 'Bernie Mac'."But is the joke on the United States?

Every gardener wants his flower bed to cause a flutter. To mark Earth Day next week, pick plants that will attract colorful butterflies all summer long. Here's how:Find a sunny site.