Each month, we bring our readers tools and information to assist them on their path to personal wellness and healthy living...naturally! We feature articles by national authors as well as from local leaders in the fields of health, nutrition, fitness, organics, personal growth, sustainability and natural pet. Have something you'd like to read about? Contact us directly!
The Benefits of Planting Trees
More Foliage Means Lower Temperatures
Planting more trees can slow down climate change. Science magazine reports, “The restoration of trees remains among the most effective strategies for climate change mitigation.” The Arbor Day celebrations this month make it an apt time for taking actions that benefit...
Nature to the Rescue
Kids Come Alive Outdoors
As Angela Hanscom of Barrington, New Hampshire, watched her preschool daughters at play, she realized that a surprising number of their friends had problems with balance, coordination and muscle weakness, conditions she was attuned to as a pediatric occupational therapist. Teachers told her that compared to past years, young children were falling out of chairs and bumping into each other and walls more often—all evidence of...
Feathered Friends
The Pros and Cons of Keeping Birds as Pets
Kata May is a 30-inch-tall, blue-and-gold macaw. “It’s nice to come home and have a conversation with a snuggly bird,” says Joshua Luther, who took over care of the avian when he was 13 years old and she was 11. Now 17 years later, Kata May holds a...
Sheryl DeVore on Appreciating Nature and Wildlife
As we spend more time outside for pandemic safety to exercise and reduce stress, Sheryl DeVore suggests maximizing these experiences by being more aware of the wonders we see and the need to preserve them. The award-winning author of five books on science, health and nature also writes...
Indoor Edible Gardening
Grow Veggies, Sprouts and Microgreens Year-Round
There’s no need to wait until the last frost date to sow a kitchen garden. Impatient gardeners or those without outdoor space can grow almost anything indoors with a little light and creativity. You can start many edible plants from seed on a sunny windowsill, even in...
On a Roll
Foam Rollers Ease Pain and Workout Recovery
Foam rolling—rolling parts of the body on top of a lightweight foam cylinder—targets trigger points or painful knots in muscles and is a valuable tool for reducing chronic pain and enhancing workout recovery. From sciatica to pelvic floor dysfunction, there is...
Hemp-Derived Cannabidiol
A Primer on the Latest Research
Ever since the Farm Bill of 2018 legalized the commercial production of hemp, U.S. sales of cannabidiol (CBD) have exploded onto the scene with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of vendors popping up around the country. CBD, a cannabinoid, is abundant in the hemp flower. By law, hemp is...
Getting Pregnant
Lifestyle Strategies to Boost Fertility
More than 7 million American women face one of life’s deepest heartbreaks: They want a newborn in their arms, but their bodies are not cooperating. Happily, the growing use of natural approaches like healthier diets, supplements and acupuncture is changing that outcome for...
Down to Earth
The Promise of Regenerative Organic Farming
With its dependence on chemical pesticides and fertilizers, heavy tilling techniques, concentrated animal feeding practices and mono-crops—all designed to maximize yields—conventional farming has come at a great cost. Conventional intensive farming practices have significant negative consequences for the land and surrounding...
Plug and Pedal
The Benefits of Using Electric Bikes
Gas-guzzlers are the worst of vehicles, emitting harmful pollutants and using up non-renewable natural resources. An Earth-friendlier alternative for work commutes or pleasurable neighborhood spins is the e-bike, powered by...
HEALING FROM GRIEF
Four Ways to Find Peace
When I was 13, my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. At 15, I was at her graveside, navigating my first experience with the other side of love: loss. Ten years later, my beloved and only brother died tragically as a result of PTSD and untreated...
Canine Obesity
When Doggies Need Diets
A year ago, Leroy became exhausted lifting his furry head. Today, he has energy to run, chase and play, thanks to his owner helping the 11-year-old Shiba Inu lose 14 pounds. Leroy was adopted last May by Peter Nguyen, a facilities coordinator in Bellevue, Washington. Back then, Leroy...
The Healing Potential of Psychedelic Medicines
Promising Studies on Stress Disorder, Depression and Addiction
For more than 30 years, intersections of the human and natural world—our plates, farms and gardens—have been of interest to author Michael Pollan, who recently added the mind as another significant association in his latest book, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence...
Live a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle
Integrative Cardiologists on Preventing Heart Disease
Cardiology has made mind-boggling advances in efficiently repairing everything from clogged arteries to floppy mitral valves and even replacing the entire failing heart itself. Yet the stubborn fact remains that almost half of all Americans suffer from cardiovascular disease, killing one in four of us, and those numbers are rising....
Heartfelt Eating
Best Foods for a Heart-Healthy Diet
Hypertension affects nearly half of all Americans, increasing the risk for heart disease and stroke, the leading cause of death. We can help mitigate that risk and have a healthy “change of heart” by revamping our diets....
Halting Hypertension
Exercises to Lower High Blood Pressure
An estimated 75 million American adults have blood pressure high enough to require management, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For people with hypertension, tempering stress responses and limiting consumption of sodium, caffeine, alcohol and sugar can make a difference. Fortifying these lifestyle changes with aerobic exercise, yoga and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can also help prevent and manage worrisome blood pressure readings....
Tools for Inner Peace
Exploring Mindfulness and Meditation
The practices of mindfulness and meditation, although closely related, offer individual, science-backed benefits for both body and psyche. Mindfulness has been shown to amp up immunity and increase gray matter in the brain, and 2018 research published in Experimental Biology shows that just an introductory hour of meditation using breathwork and awareness of thoughts significantly reduced anxiety. The study indicates that when applied regularly, mindfulness minimizes arterial pressure and cardiovascular health risks associated with long-term nervous system stress....