The CEO of Xenna Corporation (www.xenna.com), a distributor of natural footcare products, says, "For fitness and weight maintenance, it's critical to keep up with exercising through the winter months. Yet running and walking can lead to cracked skin -- especially on heels. Whether your feet are moderately or extremely dry, they need to be moisturized more often in the winter months when the humidity is lower."

Podiatrists also say proper footwear for activities such as running or walking is extremely important -- especially for diabetics -- and that proper care must be taken to prevent blisters which can be caused by wet socks. They advise choosing footwear carefully, trying on a number of models and wearing them around the shop whenever possible.

For outdoor winter activities, it's important to keep feet dry, but moisturized. The October issue of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter recommends the use of a petrolatum based moisturizer such as CalleX® Ointment, which also contains natural exfoliating enzymes for cracked or dry skin on the toes, soles and heels.

Acid-free and safe for diabetic use, patented CalleX moisturizes and rejuvenates dry, cracked heels, and has been shown in consumer studies to significantly reduce thickened skin areas within 15 to 30 days.

C. J. Buck, CEO of Xenna, says, "Another major problem for runners and walkers is yellow or thick toenails. This, too, is more common as we age. Xenna's patented NonyX® Nail Gel was developed to get at the cause of the discoloration and thickness, which is a granular substance called keratin debris. When it builds up under the nail is causes the nail to look yellow or gray."

NonyX Gel breaks down and softens keratin debris and within 3 or 4 weeks, the keratin debris is loose enough to begin scraping out from under the nail. With continued use overall nail appearance improves over time, resulting in nails that are clear and healthy-looking after 5 to 12 months. Once keratin debris is removed, NonyX Gel then keeps nails looking clear and attractive with periodic use.

Winter runners and walkers can find NonyX Nail Gel in the footcare section of Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, Wal-Mart, Longs, Eckerd Pharmacy, Brooks Pharmacy, Duane Reade, HEB, Bruno's and BI-LO grocery stores and most Medicine Shoppes. Online, it is also available at www.drugstore.com and www.xenna.com.

Moisturizing CalleX Ointment is sold in the footcare section of Walgreens, Longs and some Medicine Shoppe and Leader pharmacies, and online at www.drugstore.com and www.xenna.com.

For photos of toenails and heels before and after using Xenna products, click on www.xenna.com.

Xenna Corporation is a privately-held, woman-owned company based in Princeton, NJ which develops and distributes natural personal care products for skin, hair and nails.