Food as Medicine
Turning Season Episode 11: Herbal Medicine & Systems Thinking (with Judyth Shamosh)
“He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.” – The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien That’s a favorite quote of my guest Judyth Shamosh, which she relates to seeing each person’s health as a whole system, and as part of even larger whole systems.…
Read More9 Ways to Be My Healthiest Self NOW
There’s never been a better time to be your healthiest self. I’ll keep this to-the-point: Here are 9 ways I’m optimizing my well-being and resilience right now, which you can consider too. These are the same recommendations that I give to most of my patients. As with everything posted on this site, it is for…
Read MoreWellness Overwhelm? How to Choose the ONE THING That’ll Make the Biggest Difference
I’m ready to feel better this year. I want more energy, less pain, and better sleep. You, too? So let’s just go ahead and go to bed early, exercise six days a week, cut all the junk out of our diets, meditate daily, and install that whole-house water filter, shall we? By January 31? Wait…
Read MoreMy Top 4 Immune Boosts (that are effective, low-cost and low carbon footprint)
I’d be willing to bet you’re ready to boost your immune system right about now. This time of year, I get asked over and over: “How can I keep from getting sick?” Here are four of my favorite simple ways to boost your immune system. They may make colds and flus less frequent, and, just as…
Read MoreWhat’s Your Insomnia Type?
“I’m so tired… but I can’t sleep!!” I hear you. Let’s start figuring out WHY. What type of “can’t-sleep” is it? Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or both? Restless? Night sweats? Waking up too early? I love sleeping. And I love helping other people get good sleep, because it helps everything! Lack of sleep –…
Read MoreWhat’s for (healthy) breakfast?
I like to start the day with warm lemon water, or hot ginger tea. But THEN what? Decisions, decisions. And conflicting opinions, conflicting opinions… One reason you see a wide variety of recommendations about how to eat is that there are lots of ways to eat that work. One reason you see such different recommendations…
Read MoreSkills for Resilience
So, there are some reasons to be alarmed right now, and reasons to be taking action. I feel there are the same reasons to be cultivating adaptability and resilience for ourselves, our loved ones, our communities. I’ve been reflecting on the skills/mindsets that I hope will serve me, my family and our community no matter…
Read MoreMint Tea for Stress
You know those cravings for sweet foods when you’re stressed? We get those cravings because the sweet flavor (temporarily) soothes the Liver network. If you go for a cookie or a sugary drink, though, you won’t really relieve your body’s stress, and you’ll get the negative effects of sugar on your nervous system and your…
Read MoreHow Much Coffee Makes YOU Anxious?
For some people it’s a sip, for some it’s anything over 2 cups. For me, it’s having more than 1 cup in a day. But I notice that even 1 cup raises things to a higher pitch, a little hum of urgency and agitation. And more sweating. Here’s a natural way of reducing anxiety that’s…
Read MoreBlood Deficiency & Foods that Help
June New Moon greetings! A note this month about that period-time tiredness, restless sleep, and craving for red meat – and some foods that can help. All those symptoms, and several others, are related to the Chinese medicine idea of “Blood deficiency” (or “Blood vacuity”). When your Blood is not rich with all that it…
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