In simpler times, a chemist discovered a substance vital to human health that the body could not produce and called it a “vitamine,” a portmanteau of “vital” and “amine” (due to a mistaken belief that this substance was an amino acid). Things got slightly more complicated when another such substance was found, but the scientists handled it with aplomb: they proclaimed the first “vitamin A” and the second — do you see where this is going? — “vitamin B.” Then came C, and D, followed by E, and then K, as several compounds in a row (F, G, H, I, and J, presumably), didn’t pass vitamin muster.

But then things started getting messy. When researchers began to realize that vitamin B was actually an entire family of substances, similar in form and function, but unique in the roles they play in human health. Instead of adding more letters (there weren’t that many left, and who knew where this proliferation of Bs was going to end), the namers turned to numbers: B1, B2, B3, B5, and so on.

A few things here. First, there’s no B-4, which you could charitably chalk up to not wanting to be responsible for the following hypothetical conversation:

Parent: “Did you take your B-4?”

Child: “Did I take my what before?”

Thank you, science.

Second, while there are eight B vitamins, there are no B batteries, which feels suspicious to me.

In very important ways mind and body are being connected as never before. The separate specialities that modern medicine is divided into are blurring around the edges. This is particularly true when it comes to mental health, which has long been outside the skill, or interest, of M.D.s who are not psychiatrists.

As mental health is increasingly connected to the body, it is becoming clear that a faraway region like the intestine, and its population of micro-organisms known as the microbiome, plays a major role in a person’s moods and general susceptibility to anxiety and depression, both of which rose alarmingly during the COVID crisis.

By now most people have learned at least the basics about the gut microbiome. Its teeming microbes are essential for digestion, and the proportions of thousands of species of bacteria are dynamically changing all the time. The advent of the microbiome is barely a decade old as a serious subject of study, but research has progressed rapidly.

You don’t really know your own body unless you have absorbed the following facts:

Dietitian, Bari Stricoff, and Nutritionist, Sophie Bertrand - authors of the much-anticipated, no-nonsense guide to health & nutrition, Forking Wellness: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Health and Nutrition, & co-hosts of the Forking Wellness podcast - give us the low-down on getting through the holiday without IBS ruining play. 

It’s normal for our eating patterns to change over the festive season. We eat foods we’re not used to eating year-round, such as mince pies, and our alcohol consumption may increase. Routines change, and depending on our holiday situation, we may have less control over our food choices. And that’s okay… food is a normal part of celebrating with friends and family! But, for those suffering from IBS, a disruption to your routine and eating habits may lead to exacerbated symptoms. Here are 10 tips that can help:

As they say," It is all in the mind". Your mind is your most prized possession, but it is only of consequence when used wisely.

The world is changing and people have started talking about the "New Earth". Did our minds ever conceive of anything so drastic and dramatic entering the lives of humanity, and then turning it into a Global scenario?  Well, life has changed permanently, although we can still agree with the cliched phrase, which is that "Change is the only Constant" 

Over the years, in the mad rush over materialism, human values had taken a back seat. The stresses of life were mainly, "What what one could, or couldn't buy".And yet, all that mulling over seems to be a thing of the past. We are living in the times of a Pandemic, which has brought the world down to its knees. 

Ayurveda is the science of balance. The focus on symptoms or particular illnesses circulating at any given time is not the primary focus of Ayurveda. It is certainly concerned with these, but rather it addresses the core of health, that which allows illness to take place in the first place – imbalance. Ayurveda encourages daily, life-long attention to maintaining balance. When our body is in balance, when our doshas are in balance, we naturally respond in the most powerful way to our environment, whether it be stressful situations, environmental pollution, or pathogens. Ayurveda talks of the “seed and land theory” – if the land is fertile the seed will grow. If the body is out of balance, stress, or pathogens will have a place to take root.

How is balance achieved?

First, digestion. The best place to start is with digestion. Strong digestion is the underlying foundation for good health and strong immunity. Try our Organic Digest Tone (Triphala Plus). This traditional formula, thousands of years old, is a daily detoxifier and rejuvenator for the colon. It supports the assimilation of nutrients and thus helps make all other herbals you may be taking more effective.

How to be kind to yourself during difficult times in life. 

These are challenging times. 

We are all going through the same storm as humanity, but not all of us are on the same ship facing the same experiences. 

As we all go through these moments of uncertainty, some of you might be thinking how you are going to pay your bills this week or this month.

Some of may be wondering how to keep your health and  immune system high. 

Some of you are concerned about your loved ones, children or elderly parents. 

We are all in a different boat but in the same storm and regardless, the storm is the storm. 

And, these are difficult moments. 

While the number of zeros in your bank account certainly aren’t the only determiner of your quality of life, the direct correlation between one’s health and wealth can’t be ignored. While Americans at any income level are statistically less healthy than those with a higher income, wealth includes more than just your paycheck.

It also includes your net worth, assets, and abundance of valuable possessions and experiences in life. Your wealth has a direct affect on your health in such a way that you might be harming yourself if you ignore it. The greater your wealth, the lower your likelihood of disease, premature death, and countless other health concerns.

But what is wealth?

A dear friend, and self love expert, Christine Arylo www.christinearylo.com reminded me of the actual definition of wealth. If you look up the word wealth in the dictionary the original root meaning of the word was happiness. In the 1700’s, the definition changed. Wealth definition became “the accumulation of money”. This was happening at the beginning of the industrial revolution, it was all about consuming and accumulating. Hmmmm…interesting! The second root meaning of wealth is shown on dictionary.com is that wealth is modeled on our health. So our wealth is related to wellness. Which is exactly my point.

It’s time to awaken your wealth so you can reach your greatest happiness and health potential.

Grandparents are like the root of a family. Being the senior most in the family, they are looked upon as mentors and role models for the younger generations. Grandchildren are the ones who usually get all their love, support and companionship. And during times of distress, parents often consult these senior members of the family for the right advice. So, it’s clear that the role of grandparents in a family is much more than we can comprehend.

However, to enjoy their companionship and to let them be the way they are, it is important to take proper care of their health. With old age come various health issues which if not taken care of properly can wreak havoc on their health. Routine visit to the doctor and all is fine but, it is more important to make them stick to some healthy regimen for their overall wellness (both physical and mental). This is where the holistic practice of yoga and Ayurveda comes in handy.

Yoga and Ayurveda are the age-old systems of preventative and curative medicine. A holistic approach to life and health, both the ancient practices have taken the health and fitness industry by storm.

Anyone who has taken a cooking class with me, knows I'm in love with green foods. They are my warrior ingredients whether I'm teaching about detoxification, weight loss, cancer, brain health, or gut health. Recently, I discovered a whole new reason I steer toward eating so many greens. The color green reflects the qualities of LOVE: openness, expansiveness, nurturing, compassion, abundance. The impact of color in our diet and the way it influences our health comes from the work of one of my nutritional sheroes, Dr. Deanna Minich. I'm knee, or I should say heart, deep into her new course Rainbow Food and Supplements. After 15 years studying nutrition she is rocking the way I look at color in our diet. In light of spring, let's look at the color green or what she refers to as our "LOVE system". 

 

Take a minute to reflect on how GREEN foods make you feel.

 

Think about how you feel when you work in your garden or take a walk in nature. Taking in the color green through your senses fills your heart with peace, and gives you a sense of being alive and in harmony with life. Similarly, eating green foods can have a strong sensation in the heart center. Some people claim that green foods makes them feel more vital. Others, have a hard time consuming green vegetables. There is no right or wrong feeling here. It is simply good information for your relationship with the LOVE system. 

As I stood in the back of my church on Palm Sunday, I found myself thinking a lot. Actually, I came into church already thinking, as I had just spent an afternoon with a friend who was struggling with cancer.

A year ago, my friend was the picture of health—laughing, debating issues of the day, and planning her future like the rest of us. She is my age, and like my friend Nancy whom I wrote about last week, there is no future left to dream about for her, either. So instead, we reminisced about the past.

The past made us laugh. It was filled with adventures and possibilities. Dreams and opportunities. I called her on my way home and said, “Thank you for today. There’s nothing like an old friendship.” “So true,” she replied.

They say that youth is wasted on the young. So is our health. So, whether you’re young or old, I encourage you to value your friendships. Value your health. (I hope you’ll register and join me in June for Move for Minds 2018.) Value the moments you have now to let someone know that you care about them.

Pets bring unconditional love and immense joy to many families. They also consume nearly 1/3 of the animal products in the United States — creating what is, for many people, an ethical and environmental dilemma. What’s the answer? Can dogs be vegan or vegetarian? Can cats be plant-based? Or must they eat meat to survive?

I grew up with cats. The sound and warm vibration of my beloved Popo purring in my lap is one of the happiest memories of my childhood.

Companion animals teach us about unconditional love and devotion, and they often bring out the very best in us humans.

Now, studies are showing that having a companion animal can be good for us, too.

How Dogs and Cats Can Improve Our Health

It’s no secret that children often love pets. But recent research has taken it a step further.

Children raised with pets are less likely to become asthmatic, more likely to be kind to other children, and more likely to have healthy self-esteem once they reach their teens.

Researchers are also finding that having pets positively influences children’s physical and emotional development and even their scholastic achievement.

But it’s not only children who can benefit from a loving relationship with a furry friend. One of the most celebrated “pet studies” was undertaken by Erika Friedmann and her co-workers at the University of Pennsylvania.

They found an unmistakable association between pet ownership and extended survival in patients hospitalized with coronary heart disease.

Those patients who had pets at home were far more likely to survive — even after accounting for differences in the extent of heart damage and other medical problems.

In 1991, the medical value of pets became unexpectedly apparent to researchers who were conducting the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial. They were studying the effects of two pharmaceutical drugs (encainide and flecainide) on men who had had heart attacks and were now experiencing irregular heartbeats.

Paradoxically, the drugs were found to cause an increase in cardiac deaths. At the same time, however, it was noted that those patients who had dogs were only one-sixth as likely to die during the year of the study as those who did not have dogs.

Can you imagine what would have happened if the drugs rather than the dogs had been shown to cause a six-fold decrease in deaths?

The drugs might be prescribed for every heart attack patient in the world with an irregular heartbeat. And drug companies would be spending hundreds of millions of dollars telling physicians and the public how great the drugs were.

But because the loyalty and loving friendship of a dog cannot be bottled and sold, there has been no such publicity campaign. And most people to this day do not realize how much healing can be found in loving relationships — including ones with companion animals.

But There’s A Shadow Side, Too

No offense to Fido or Buddy, nor to Leo or Cleopatra, but there are also shadows to pet ownership. It’s worth taking a fair look at them to round out the picture.