I first learned about yarrow in this beautiful piece by my friend Meredith Martin-Moats. As Meredith explains so well, yarrow is a hearty plant with lovely flowers and leaves, considered by many people to be a weed. Yet, it has hundreds of traditional medicinal uses, including bringing down fevers, treating colds, improving digestion, and reducing bleeding. It is also a pollinator plant, helping to nourish butterflies and bees that are so necessary to our ecosystem. Meredith actually came to our house last summer and ceremoniously scattered yarrow seeds in our flower bed. As she shared her seeds, she also shared touching stories of how flower gardens help people deal with grief.
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I’M JUDGING YOU RIGHT NOW!
Haha. No, I’m NOT. (Stop thinking I am.) Sometimes I get the feeling that people think I’m judging them based on how healthy they’re eating. They look a little sheepish to be eating sugary or junky foods in front of me. First, let’s get one thing out of the way: my family eats stuff like that, too…not all the time, but it DOES happen. Want some proof?
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Five Tips for How NOT to be Snobby When Going Gluten-Free {VIDEO}
- Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, Group Programs, Let's Chat Over Lunch, Strategies for Your Healing Diet, SWO Newsletter
Why It Really Is Worth it to Try Cutting Out Dairy
Dairy is a favorite food for many people – it might even be the most difficult food for many of us to consider giving up. Like gluten, it’s a comfort food that has emotional connections for us, too. Many people tense up and dismiss the idea completely when considering giving up their evening bowl of ice cream.
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Is Giving Up Gluten Really Necessary?
Cutting out gluten has gotten downright trendy lately. I’m sure you know at least a few people by now who’ve given up gluten without being diagnosed with Celiac disease (the autoimmune condition triggered by consumption of gluten). Wherever you do your grocery shopping, you are likely seeing an increase in the number of “gluten-free” products. And, even products that seem completely unrelated to gluten (like popcorn and cheese) are starting to bear the “gluten-free” label.
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Finding Healing in My Own Backyard: Chickweed
I struggle often with the price of health in today’s world. In a country where our soil is depleted, chemicals are all around us, and most of us no longer grow our own food, eating a healthy diet is undeniably expensive. If you cut out common allergens or choose a healing diet for a period of time, the price tag climbs even higher. Add to that care from natural practitioners not covered by insurance and herbs and supplements to promote healing, and you’ve soared out of most people’s price range.
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A Initial Response to the Biggest Loser Study
The New York Times report on a study of the Season 8 contestants of The Biggest Loser has been all over my Facebook news feed. It’s quite a compelling piece, reporting that the show contestants have been unable to maintain their weight loss successes due to their now reduced metabolism and hormone imbalance (specifically a decrease in leptin). All this is a result of the strict dieting and unsustainable workout regimen recommended on the program.
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5 Tips for Giving a Better Back Massage {Live Webinar}
There is just about nothing I love more in the world than a good massage. I have often thought that if I were exceedingly rich, the extravagance I would spend my money on would be daily massages. My husband jokes that he can accidentally poke me or inadvertently put his hand on my back, and I lean into him like a cat and say “aah” like he was starting to give me a massage (when he had no intention of that at all).
- DIY Bodywork, Facebook Live-Streaming, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, Let's Chat Over Lunch, SWO Newsletter
Let’s Hang Out This Week!
I am excited to be offering some mini-webinars this week via the new Facebook live-streaming option. We’re going to be doing all sorts of things together over the course of the week – from talking about the inner workings of our bodies to making lunch together! And, don’t worry if you can’t make it live, the video recordings will be available to you immediately after they air.
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Who Do You Talk to About Your Health?
A Common Thread I have always been an introvert as well as a person who loves to connect deeply with people. Big parties and other large social events were never my thing. For me, the magic of making friends happened in small group settings. My first small group experiences happened when I was a child in Sunday school or at summer camps. These were chances to get to know people with discussion questions and silly games like seeing how many marshmallows you could stuff in your mouth at once. As a teenager, I felt a gaping hole in my life in the area of community and small groups. My family…