Exercise. It can improve your health on all levels. We’re not just talking about being fitter and stronger. We’re talking about overall health and longevity. Regular exercise improves your heart health, brain health, muscle and bone health, diabetes, and arthritis. Beyond those, it also reduces stress, boosts moods, increases your energy, and can improve your sleep. And exercise prevents death from any cause (“all cause mortality”). Convinced yet? The benefits of exercise com

So much of health is all about habits and actions, but where do these all stem from? What if we don’t have to make as many changes as we think we do? What if there was one powerful thing that makes a lot of difference? That thing is mindset. Mindset is sometimes called “the story we tell ourselves.” It’s our attitude toward things in our life. And we have control over our mindset. And research is showing that it may be far more powerful than we thought. Very interesting healt

“Pre”biotics? Yes! They’re the food that we feed our probiotics, the friendly gut microbes that are oh so important for good health. Our gut microbes are alive, and they need to eat too. Their favorite foods are called “prebiotics” and include dietary fiber and resistant starch. The same fiber that keeps us feeling full slows down digestion and provides roughage that keeps us regular. Resistant starch helps promote healthy blood lipids. Both of types of prebiotics (fiber and

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck that releases hormones. Thyroid hormones help your body regulate a few things - not a big deal - just the metabolism of ALL cells. And this is critical for maintaining a healthy body weight and having the energy to live your life. (Yes, your thyroid IS a big deal!) It’s estimated that at least 3.7% of US adults have an underactive thyroid. When you don’t have enough thyroid hormone, it’s called hypothyroidism. This can resu

In a nutshell, intermittent fasting is just that: fasting intermittently. It's limiting calorie intake during certain hours/day or days/week. It's more of an eating pattern than a diet. It limits when to eat, and not so much what to eat. And that’s part of it’s appeal to people who don’t want to count calories or use their food log to track everything. Some would say that it's a more natural way to eat because humans evolved without refrigerators, drive-throughs, or 24-hour c