Introducing AOL Healthy Living: More of What You Need to Live a Healthier, Happier Life

These days, anytime someone wants to describe a bigger and better version of something, they usually describe it as "... on steroids!" This is probably not the best approach when talking about health and wellness coverage. Nevertheless, AOL Healthy Living, launching today, really is "our Health section on steroids!"

It's got more -- a lot more! -- of the information you need to help you live a healthy, happy, well-rounded life.

Taking an integrated approach to health and wellness, AOL Healthy Living is divided into easy-to-navigate sections offering comprehensive information and advice on maintaining a healthy mind, body, and spirit.

The modern trend of medical specialization has fragmented and compartmentalized the healing process. But our well-being is not merely a function of having a fit and ailment-free body. Our emotional and spiritual fitness are equally important. We are not one-dimensional beings -- when our mood and our feelings change, so do our bodies. That's why more and more doctors and patients are looking up from the minutiae to which modern men and women have been reduced and are taking an aerial view. This integrative approach, far from dismissing what each discipline has to offer, seeks to unify the different aspects of our lives and embraces an approach to health and wellness that treats our whole being.

So, along with up-to-the-minute stories about health research and scientific innovations, you'll find articles, opinion pieces, and tips about sleep, diet and nutrition, fitness and exercise, weight loss, and aging gracefully (Body); redefining happiness, stress reduction, love and relationships, meditation, and the benefits of "unplugging and recharging" (Mind); spiritual development, mindfulness, the value of forgiveness, accessing our inner wisdom, and dealing with death and dying (Spirit).

In short, AOL Healthy Living is a one-stop shop that will inform, enlighten, engage and inspire you to make more educated decisions about your health. It will also feature a lively, ongoing conversation about the best approaches to all aspects of health. Among those contributing to the debate will be HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Dr. Dean Ornish, Mehmet Oz, Deepak Chopra, Jon LaPook, John Robbins, Harvey Karp, Bob Sears, "Sleep Doctor" Michael Breus, Susan Kaiser Greenland, and many, many more.

AOL Healthy Living is edited by Alana Elias Kornfeld, with Dr. Dean Ornish as medical editor, Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald as wellness editor, Dr. Lloyd Sederer as medical, mental health editor, and Dr. Susan Blumenthal as public health editor. The section also features a Medical Review Board to provide guidance and allow us to maintain the highest standards.

As I put it last year when HuffPost gave Health its own section, "Our approach to matters of sickness and health has changed radically over the past few decades. We no longer approach our health as a passive experience, one where we sit back, allow ourselves to be poked, prodded, examined, receive the verdict, and compliantly go along with whatever the High Priests of Medicine say. We've become partners in our medical care, and the best healthcare providers welcome and encourage the partnership. Because of this, making sure we have the latest information, the widest range of perspectives and options, and the fullest understanding of ourselves and our health is vital."

AOL Healthy Living builds on this mission, and will help you navigate the ever-changing landscape of health and wellness -- and hopefully set you on the path to a healthier and more balanced future.

Check it out, and let us know what you think.