After being requested to write about a plant-based diet, I wondered how to encapsulate this diet—the most delicious, vibrant, juicy way to promote health—into a brief piece? So this will lead to more installments, as it is a topic too good to contain in one post. Eating is something we all do, and there are…
Cocoa, “Cocobiota,” and Health
February brings Valentine’s Day and along with it, a spike in chocolate sales. February also has been designated Heart Month by the American Heart Association. It turns out there’s a good medical reason to associate chocolates and hearts: cocoa is beneficial to cardiac health. (Cocoa, please note, is the solid portion of the bean that…
Quick and Easy Fermented Vegetables for Good Health
In a few weeks I have the pleasure of partaking in a fermented foods culinary class, open to the public, here at Sunrise Springs with our brilliant and lovely Chef, Rocky Durham. Specifically, we will focus on vegetable fermentation by bacteria, not the fermentation of fruit, grains, and honey by yeasts—aka the kingdom of…
Roasted Chicory Root Peach Tea
There is nothing like a cold glass of iced tea on a hot summer’s day! Even better if you’ve made the brew yourself. With summer already in full swing, why not try a few new recipes for yourself?There are many different herbs that can be used to brew a good cup of iced tea. While…
Microbes are Us – How the Gut Influences our Health
We are not alone.Since the beginning of human existence we’ve been in a complex dance with the microbial world. Thanks to new technology we now understand that our lives and theirs are crucially and intimately bound together.Human beings contain an astonishing ten trillion cells, but we host ten times that amount of microbes. That’s 100…
6 Foods That Can Make You Happier
By Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD Courtesy of Health.comI’m a happiness research junkie. I love reading about simple things we can do to elevate mood and boost contentment. Mindfulness meditation, adequate sleep, laughing, volunteering, and spending time with pets (as well as with happy people) all help. And believe it or not, science shows you can…