As I was getting dressed this morning, I heard 2 news items on The Today Show that did not bless me.

1. Punxsutawney Phil came out and whispered to his handlers on Gobbler’s Knob (what happened to seeing his shadow?) that there would be 6 more weeks of winter. I was really hoping that Old Man winter had skipped us this year, and I guess I was wrong because this groundhog prediction is hard science.

2. Dr. Nancy Snyderman came out with the not-so-new-news that high heels worn day after day can really be dangerous and alter not only the biomechanics of the foot and ankle, but stiffen the Achilles Tendon and shorten the calf muscle and fascia. “When you wear a high-heeled shoe, your foot is forced into a plantar-flexed position. In other words, you’re pointing your toes as long as you’ve got the shoes on. Imagine Barbie feet.”

The sermon we have been hearing is that high heels cause foot pain and that’s not good. The weight pounds on the ball of the foot and causes much tenderness. The other danger is of course falling off the heel and causing an ankle sprain. Do we even need to discuss bunions and hammertoes and the need for surgery? I give you – NBC Today’s “The Attack of the Killer Heels,” with Dr. Suzanne Levine.

It gets worse: Dr. Neil J. Cronin, a researcher at Finland’s University of Jyvaskyla says that the risks even extend to workouts, when heel wearers abruptly switch to sneakers or other flat shoes. “In a person who wears heels most of her working week,” Dr. Cronin says, the foot and leg positioning in heels “becomes the new default position for the joints and the structures within. Any change to this default setting,” he says, like pulling on Keds or Crocs, constitutes “a novel environment, which could increase injury risk.”

So here is the good news, and thank you Dr. Nancy, that you are not a hater and wear some great looking heels. But here is the difference. Dr. Nancy wears her Uggs or Merrills into the studio, and then changes into her heels when she is with people. She treats her shoes as an accessory. Another Nancy, my Premier Jewelry consultant, taught me this principle so that I could extend the life of my nice costume jewelry: It should be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off. That is what Dr. Nancy says is the way we should wear heels. So, carry a pair of reasonable shoes to wear when it doesn’t matter, and rock those heels when you dress to impress. Moderation is the new black.

GIVEAWAY WINNER ! Congrats to Andrea who commented on 2/1 at 7:51pm. You won the Under Armour backpack! Your email is on the way.