In a world where seemingly everything is written… and answered by AI, it makes me long for old school blogging. I find myself fawning over vintage everything these days. I recently started decorating by basement in the vintage era 70s style it was built, and we’re having so much fun finding consignment and flea market pieces to add to the …
The Superfood Labeled as a Bad Vice
That cup of Joe is doing a lot more for you than giving you a little comfort and pick-me-up. Coffee is a great source of dietary bitters. Bitters are a category of biological compounds for which the tongue happens to have specialized taste receptors which register bitter taste in the brain. Bitter bioactive compounds in food play a starring role …
Understanding Red Light Therapy: Near infrared, far infrared, visible red light—what’s the difference and can it help?
You may have seen ads for infrared saunas or blankets popping up everywhere and wonder how that could help you. Of course, a sauna sounds very nice but what’s up with the infrared part? What does that do? And why would you want an infrared blanket? What does infrared even mean? First of all, infrared refers to light that is …
Three Ways to Practice Gratitude
Gratitude has become a bit of a buzz word the last few years, and I would say for good reason. The practice of gratitude is one of the best methods to change the pattern of your thoughts that influence your emotional health. When you are grateful for your life as it is currently, it becomes much harder to feel bitter …
Conquering Emotional Eating
Are you an emotional eater? Do you turn to food when you are upset? Even more common place is stress eating. In today’s society, continuous exposure to stressors is somewhat out of control. Many of us don’t even realize we are stressed and turning to food to make us feel better, unfortunately only temporarily. For that matter, many of us …
The debittering of our food supply and its impact on our health
I am often in awe of the innate wisdom of nature to provide for us through plants that contain such unique compounds that not only gift us with the fuel to run our bodies, the vitamins and minerals that power all our complex biochemical reactions, but also the bitter bioactive compounds that can enhance our overall health. There are broad …
How to eat when you’re over 35
I have spent almost 20 years treating patients with many different types of health problems from autoimmune diseases to mood disorders. In addition, many patients visit me for advice on how to lose weight. Often times, they have tried many diets and they are getting lack-luster results. In the earlier years, I didn’t realize the one common thread that ran …
The True Power of Greens
Most people are aware that adding greens to their daily diet can provide health benefits, but they probably don’t know exactly why these super foods can make a difference. Leafy greens have been popularized mostly for being rich in vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, vitamin E, B vitamins, iron, magnesium and potassium. Also touted for their antioxidant activity, both …
What are bitters? And why you need more of these in your daily diet
Written by Dr. Jennifer Stagg The only exposure you may have had previously to the term ‘bitters’ is as a cocktail ingredient. Those are indeed in the category of bitters as they are an alcoholic preparation infused with botanical ingredients to intentionally impart a bitter flavor to drinks. Beyond alcoholic beverages, bitters are widely distributed in many other foods. Bitters …
The Unhappiness Habits
The four vicious modern habits that affect our happiness Not unlike other addictions, people can become stuck in the vicious cycle of ‘rewarding’ themselves with more unhappiness. This happens when they practice the mindless, habitual activities and thought patterns that lead them to wishing time away. When you get up feeling the burden of the day that lies ahead of …
4 WAYS TO BOOST ENERGY AS DAYLIGHT HOURS DECREASE
Many of us notice a significant shift in energy levels and slight changes in mood when autumn hits and the daylight hours start slipping away. We now know that changes in light and temperature can actually change how our DNA gets expressed and result in alterations in hormones and neurotransmitters. (I was recently interviewed about this and how it may …