OK—this may be a stretch for you, but it’s not really. Yes, there is a brain in your gut. The gut — the digestive system — has sometime been called the “second brain.” In fact, there are 100 million neurons in your digestive tract. Those nerve cells transmit messages to the brain and have a … Read more
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On my recent wondrous trip to Peru’s Amazon River basin, we stayed in a retreat center far from any city. There was electricity only for a handful of hours a day from a generator and no waste disposal system. Because of the delicate ecology of this most precious part of our planet, we were asked … Read more
Not only are you most likely being invited to lots of holiday parties, this is a time of year when we inevitably have a few more restaurant meals than normal. I know. We had three restaurant dinners this week as part of an extended celebration of my husband’s birthday. Whew! Restaurants meals don’t have to … Read more
I recently acquired a fitness band.* It’s certainly a love-hate relationship. Not only does it tell me how many steps I have taken in a given day (averaging over 12,000!), it monitors my sleep. That’s the not-so-good part. Despite the fact that the monitor sometimes thinks I am up for the day and I’ve only … Read more
OK—so yesterday, you chowed down on that turkey and dressing and mashed potatoes and gravy and yams and pumpkin pie and ….. If you’re old enough, you might remember an old Alka Seltzer (is that heartburn remedy still around?) commercial that started out something like “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.” It’s OK … Read more
I’m a girly girl and I nearly always have nail polish on my toenails. Not on my fingernails, mind you, since they get wrecked in no time in the garden and in the barn. But I just love the sight of pretty toes. But now I’m re-thinking that little personal indulgence based on some new … Read more
We’re headed into the holiday season already. Can you feel it? I sure can. The rush is already upon us. Every year, I make a pledge to minimize the stress of the holiday season with mixed results. I don’t mean to stress you even more, but the health-destroying effects of long-term stress are just about … Read more
Most of us now understand that table sugar is detrimental to our health, not only to our waistlines, but in myriad other ways, including causing inflammation that leads to a host of health problems including high blood pressure and diabetes. I don’t need to go all the way down the list because I know I’m … Read more
If you wake up in the morning complaining that you are as tired as when you went to sleep or you’ve gained weight and find it impossible to lose, no matter what you do or your hair is falling out or you’re feeling depressed, you just might be suffering from low thyroid function. Fatigue, weight … Read more