Valerie Monroe, beauty director for The Oprah Magazine, writes a monthly column -- Ask Val -- that appears on the pages of Oprah's feel-good publication. She responds to questions about make-up, skin care, hair care, and overall body care too.

In her February 2007 column, Val writes, "Many of you have written to tell me that you began to be less critical of your body when you appreciated the things it could do." As I read this, I had what Oprah would call an Aha! moment, a moment when something just clicks and makes sudden sense. Aha!, I thought, as I considered all the things my body can do, completely independent of how I look on the outside. So while I was jogging today -- my body can now easily run three miles -- I ran through all of my body's accomplishments, and I stored them in the files of my mind so I could later write them down.

Here are seven things my body can do. As you read them, consider your own body -- its strength, its power, its capacity for greatness -- and remind yourself of your wondrous self the next time you start to criticize the way you look.

• My body can partner in the creation of human life. It can carry babies and deliver them and love them and care for them and raise them. Not all bodies have this power. I am lucky.

• My body can climb an attic staircase, crawl into cramped and dark corners, pull large boxes out of wedged spaces, drag them back to the staircase, and walk backwards down the stairs with goods balancing on my head so that I can fulfill the wish my five-year-old child who wanted so badly in early November to assemble our Christmas tree and decorate our house for the holidays. "Let's wait until Daddy gets home," I told Joey when I found myself crammed into a tiny space in the attic, wrestling with a heavy box full of artificial tree parts. "You can do it, Mommy," Joey said. "You are strong." And so I fought my way through the frustrating feat because I was afraid of the lessons I would teach this little boy if I didn't. In the end, it was Joey who taught me the lesson. I can do it. I am strong.
  

• My body can endure and conquer a 5K run when it once could barely run around the block. With a little extra effort and push, I think my body can accomplish even more.

• My body, once weak and without definition, can lift increasingly heavy weight and can generate muscle tone. It can even do push-ups -- real push-ups. It takes dedication and practice and persistence and mental toughness too. But I see progress. I feel progress. And I want more.

• My body can help others. I can use my fingers to type words on a keyboard that will reach friends and family and people I don't even know. My words can inform and support and encourage and heal. I can use my hands and my semi-creative talents to create hand-made gifts, to cook and deliver very mediocre meals for friends in need, to massage my husband's sore back, to braid my niece's beautiful hair and paint her tiny nails. I can use my arms to hug my little boys with all my might. I can use my voice to communicate, my ears to listen, my senses to feel.
  

• My body can tolerate surgery and chemotherapy and radiation and horrible allergic reactions to antibiotics. My body was badly beaten by a treatment protocol intended to cure me of a disastrous disease. And somehow, in some way, it survived.
  

• My body killed cancer. With the aid of medical intervention and a hopeful attitude, my body overcame the worst and best thing that has ever happened to me. And if it could do nothing else, I would be truly happy for this one thing my body can do.
  

However unintentional she says it has all been when it comes to the sultry and seductive persona that oozes sexuality through the television screen during her cooking shows, How to be a Domestic Goddess author Nigella Lawson has made a career out of making food sexy and the act of food consumption sensual. It is part of her not-always-so-subtle coy kitchen charm.

But if we believe her life to be as silky smooth and decadent as warm cream flowing over a morning bowl of juicy plump strawberries, and equally as charmed as she is charming, we would be mistaken. Yes, she is remarried to multi-millionaire, ad man and art dealer Charles Saatchi, but she is also the widow of journalist and writer John Diamond, who died of tongue cancer five years ago, leaving her suddenly mother and father to their two children, Cosima and Bruno.

A decade earlier, Lawson's mother had died of liver cancer. Her sister Thomasina died in her 30s of breast cancer. Cancer changes people. It is unavoidable, and the change can take many forms. For Nigella, who in the public eye has taken criticism for her ample figure and lack of concern for the fat content of food, has an almost unreasonable fear about thinness. After watching three family members waste away and die from cancer, she sees thin as a sign of illness.

"So even though I mind it when I put on weight I have a visual memory of seeing those people become skin and bone, and that gives me a slight reality check," explains Lawson. In watching her cooking show Nigella Bites, she came through as warm, down-to-earth, without a care for pretentious protocol or rules for the sake of rules. It is the way she cooks, and I get the feeling it is the way she lives. Cancer changes every person it touches and shapes perspectives about what is truly important in life. Being comfortable and enjoying yourself, including the food you eat, is a good recipe for life. A recipe Nigella seems to dish up with ease.

Nigella Lawson is Food Network's newest host in Nigella Feasts. On January 7, the theme of the show will be Feel Good Food featuring Smoked Salmon, Avocado and Pumpkin Seed Salad, a Vietnamese Prawn and Glass Noodle Salad, a colorful Antioxidant Fruit Salad, and a Syllabubbed Yogurt. Yum.

I am always a bit nervous before I head out for a check-up with my oncologists. I have two of them -- a medical oncologist who delivered my chemotherapy and a radiation oncologist who delivered my radiation therapy. Today I see my radiation oncologist and she will examine my breasts and manipulate my breasts and feel my underarms and check for lymphedema -- swelling in the arm due to removed lymph nodes -- and she will ultimately determine whether or not I have anything to worry about at this time. It's been just over one year since my last radiation treatment and six months since I saw this doctor for a follow-up.

So I am a little apprehensive about what I might hear -- because it's always possible that something does not feel right, that something is questionable, that something has returned. I am mostly confident that I am okay but there is still an unknown that lies ahead of me. An unknown that in a matter of a few hours will be known. And I will either learn that I am in fact okay. Or I will begin another spiral into the what-if-it's-cancer scenario. Only time will tell.

Chris Rosenbloom, Georgia State nutrition professor and former American Dietetic Association spokeswoman, is marking the milestone of her 100th published health column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution with a collection of 100 simple and easy health tips that can lead to better health.

The following are educational online resources Rosenbloom suggests for learning to eat healthy.

With a commitment to helping people enjoy healthy lives, the American Dietetic Association's key areas of interest include: obesity and overweight, with a focus on children; healthy aging; safe, sustainable and nutritious food supply; nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics; and integrative medicine, including supplements and alternative medicine. While some of the areas of the website are restricted to members only, they make a wealth of diet and nutrition information accessible to all visitors.

The MyPyramid Plan helps create a personalized eating plan based on individual needs. By entering in your age, sex, and activity level, the program can provide suggestions on the best diet to follow in making smart choices from every food group; finding the balance between food and physical activity, and in getting the most nutrition out of your calories. The website provides weekly tips and resources.

Provided by the US Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food Labeling and Nutrition has everything you have ever wanted or needed to know about food labels. Learn how to understand, read and use a food label to your health benefit.

Rosenbloom recommends visiting the bookstores at the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society for cookbooks and reference books.

In reading through Rosenbloom's column, 100 ways to look and feel better, I really did discover creative and unique ideas and tips for making small changes that can make a big difference in developing a healthy lifestyle. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has published her special anniversary column here.

We just had a family water balloon toss -- me, my husband, and our two little boys. Little hands helped fill tiny balloons that were tossed and fumbled and rolled all over our sidewalk and driveway. Our game resulted in wet clothing and wet hair and lots of laughs. And when we walked inside to prepare for dinner, Joey -- five years old -- said, fun is good for the body. I told him that he is so right -- fun is good for the body, And this one fact really needs no scientific proof or validation -- although I'm sure research is out there to support this simple truth. Fun is simply good for the body. And anyone who has felt the aftermath of fun knows what I mean. It sends good vibes through the body, it relieves stress, it refreshes and recharges, it lightens the load.

So try to incorporate some fun into your weekend -- organize your own water balloon toss, fly a kite, take a bike ride, go rock climbing or sailing or swimming. Whatever you choose, consider it a gift to your body. Celebrate yourself. Celebrate life. Celebrate Independence Day. Set yourself free and enjoy all the moments you have at your disposal. And if you like what you feel, try having fun every day.

I confess. I was once a sun worshiper. I grew up in Ohio where a really sunny day was rare -- so on the occasion when the sun was bright and hot, I was in my back yard or at a swimming pool or at a lake soaking up the warmth and comfort of the rays that mostly burned my skin but gave me a glow that eventually turned the slightest shade of tan and made me feel healthy. It's ironic really -- that I felt healthy when the act of sunbathing is so completely damaging. And I knew this at the time and for the many years that followed -- and I still basked in the sun and vacationed in Florida and sometimes actually drove in the direction of the sun on a overcast day, in search of a tan that was never fully achieved because my skin is pale and fair and was never meant for any amount of sun exposure.

Hey U.G.L.Y. Unique. Gifted. Lovable. You., an organization that develops self-esteem building tools for teens, asked celebrities to donate their laughter for a fundraising CD of contagious laughter called Laugh It Off. According to the president of Hey U.G.L.Y. Betty Hoeffner, "We know the healing powers of laughter and how it can improve health and relieve stress." Past research has shown, from a biological standpoint, that laughter and humor do have healing power.

Why a CD of celebrity laughter? "When we saw other charities asking celebrities to donate things like purses, shoes and even bras, we thought celebrities donating their laughter would be a perfect fit," explains Hoeffner. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Rick Erwin, the 60-minute CD and includes the laughter of: Jimmy Neutron voice talent, Debi Derryberry; Emmy-award winning actor/comedian Ben Hollis; JBTV host, Jerry Bryant; and commercial voice talent, Richard Schoen; Saturday Night Live's Tim Kazurinsky; Frank Sinatra's opening act comedian, Tom Dreesen; nationally syndicated radio host, Mancow Muller; and Late Show with David Letterman regular, Bob Sarlatte. One woman wrote Hey U.G.L.Y. that her brother, who has cancer, listens to the CD three times a day and loves it.

Can laughter cure cancer? Not by itself -- but there are numerous studies that show laughter initiates a powerful biological process of feel-good healing chemicals that support and strengthen the immune system. We have done several posts here, here, here, here, here and here about the healing power of humor and the laughter associated with it.

When Amy Turner Tunick, an actress and writer who wrote The Feel Good Column for the South Florida Sun-Times, was first diagnosed with cancer she wrote:

"It doesn't seem real. There were no signs or symptoms. Maybe it's a genetic thing. But will I ever really know? I've been a very healthy active 44 year-old woman. I don't drink or smoke.  But, sometimes, unfortunate things do happen to good people. And I don't doubt I'm a good person. Actually, I believe I'm an exceptional person. I'm positive, optimistic, inspiring and enthusiastic. I try to be caring, loving and honest. So, sadly, I'm not blaming anyone, including God, that I've just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer." 

Tunick did not exaggerate when she described herself as a positive, optimistic, inspiring and enthusiastic person. Her columns reflected that, and she had a way of inspiring the reader to feel optimistic about life. She had a way of reminding you of the simple joys of life and the importance of the people in your life. In one of her last columns, she wrote, ''Cry, scream, feel sorry for yourself -- but not for long. Basically, this is all about hope. Never lose it. Never give in or give up.''

Tunick had this to say about death, "I believe that Death teaches us that the time is now. The time is now to pick up a telephone and call the person that you love. Death teaches us the joy of the moment. It teaches us we don't have forever. If teaches us that nothing is permanent. It teaches us to let go, there's nothing you can hang on to. And it tells us to give up on expectations and let tomorrow tell its own story, because nobody knows if they'll get home tonight."

Tunick won't be getting home tonight. She lost her battle to cancer and the world lost more of its light. Tunick was 47.

Norman Cousins, in Anatomy of an Illness, is said to have started the mind-body medicine phenomenon that led to much of the research proving laughter is good medicine. From a biological standpoint, laughter releases feel good hormones. Feel good hormones can lead to physical healing. In addition, researchers proved that simply holding a pencil between your teeth forced the muscles in your face into the same position a smile would, and this was enough to release the same beneficial hormones. So far, I realize I am probably preaching to the choir.

There is more, and this is new. Loma Linda University in California researchers completed a study that shows just the anticipation of a humorous experience can trigger the activation of feel good hormones. According to Professor Lee Berk, people who are aware they are about to watch their favorite funny video had 27 percent more beta endorphins and 87 percent more human growth hormone, HGH, than people who are told they will be reading magazines for an hour. Beta endorphins provide natural pain relief. HGH is involved in growth, development and cell maintenance, and there is research to suggest it plays a role in maintaining a healthy immune system. Berk poetically calls the anticipation of laughter the biology of hope.