Personal care products make up a multi-million dollar industry. While there are many wonderful products on the market that help us feel better, look younger or solve minor medical issues, most products from simple petroleum jelly to the most advanced skincare lotion contain potentially harmful chemicals. Are the chemicals worth the positive effects we gain from the products? Read on to find out more.
In this time of rising expenses, it’s a great time to reevaluate the amount of meat in your diet. As a cost-saving measure, think of increasing the number of vegetarian meals you eat in a week. It could help your waistline and cholesterol, too. According to the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, “The production of animal-based foods—particularly beef—is responsible for about half of the food system’s greenhouse gas emissions…cattle use far more resources than they produce in edible food, including about 45% of grain produced in the U.S.” Reducing our reliance on meat has many positive impacts.
Everyone experiences some heartburn or reflux every once in a while, but if it’s a regular occurrence, you could be dealing with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This happens when stomach acid regularly enters the esophagus, and that acid irritates the esophageal lining. Over time this irritation leads to discomfort and pain. Read on to learn more about GERD and how you can help your body heal from its effects.
This isn’t new information, but it’s a sad fact: As delicious as sugar tastes, it isn’t good for us. According to Dr. Frank Hu at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, “The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease– are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.” Sugar, especially when consumed in sweetened beverages, tricks our brains into turning off the appetite-control system. Drinking (and eating) too much sugar has a double effect: it makes us feel less full and makes us crave more of it. This makes Americans prime candidates for Type 2 diabetes, among the other health problems mentioned above. So what can we do to promote a reasonable intake of sweet things, especially for those who are diabetic or pre-diabetic?
March 1, 2022
Education, Healthy Food, Healthy Living, Nutrition 
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garden, indoor gardening
With COVID cramping activities outside the home, and supply chain issues and staffing issues playing havoc with products we need, even the calmest among us can get agitated. Finding a stress-reducing activity that also yields a tangible product may be exactly what you need right now—indoor gardening. Growing your own produce is one way to be assured you’ll have some fabulous fresh food options at your disposal.
February 1, 2022 Education, Healthy Food, Healthy Living, Nutrition Leave a comment anti-inflammatory eating
Eating your way healthy always sounds like a worn-out truism, but we are what we eat. This has never been more relevant than today, while we are living in a time with COVID. A September 2021 study in the journal Diseases indicates that an anti-inflammatory diet can help reduce the severity of the disease. COVID suppresses the immune system by causing a systemic inflammatory response, called cytokine release syndrome. This syndrome results in COVID patients having high levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines.
December 3, 2021 Education, Healthy Food, Healthy Living, Nutrition, Obesity Leave a comment healthy, intuitive eating, mindful eating
With obesity rates at 42.4% in 2017-2018 up from 30.5% in 1999-2000, Americans have an imbalanced relationship with food. We eat a lot of food without considering the consequences. Mindful eating and intuitive eating are two methods of becoming more aware of our relationship to food. Read on to learn more about each method.
Cauliflower is a vegetable packed with nutrients. It is low in calories–only 25 calories for a one-cup serving, and it has 3 grams of fiber. Fiber is important in our diets to maintain digestive health, and cauliflower serves to keep your gut filled with the right kind of bacteria. This helps prevent constipation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and diverticulitis. It also contains 77% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C. Plus, it is loaded with Vitamin B6, Potassium, and Folate, too. Besides being rich in Vitamin C, cauliflower has an abundance of antioxidants, as do all cruciferous vegetables. The antioxidants in cauliflower are helpful for reducing inflammation and preventing several forms of cancer.
Shared memories are one of the things that make family and friends gatherings so special. In this socially distanced time, the holidays will look very different from years past. Getting together with people outside of your immediate household will be challenging, if not impossible. When you crave connections with others, thinking creatively is a good option.
