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Resilient Health

The Vagus Nerve: Your Body's Secret Superhighway

Vagus__nerve

If there's one thing I've learned in my decades as an integrative medicine physician, it's that the vagus nerve is the unsung hero of the human body. This remarkable cranial nerve may not get the same flashy attention as some of its more well-known counterparts, but trust me, when it comes to overall health and wellbeing, the vagus nerve is where it's at.

The Vagus Nerve: Your Body's Control Center

Think of the vagus nerve as the superhighway connecting your brain to the rest of your body. It's th…

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The Skinny on Fats

Fats have been widely demonized in the health industry. “Fat makes you fat” is a common belief for many people, though that is truly not the case. Fats are essential for our overall health. They are burned as fuel for our body and are an integral part of our cell membranes. They maintain healthy skin and hair, and can even affect brain functioning in our mood, behavior, and cognition. Given that some fats are absolutely necessary to eat because they cannot be manufactured in the body, this w…

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What Are You Wearing?


Clothing is an essential part of our lives. Whether we choose our outfits based on style or function, quality of material matters. However, quality is not limited to the softness of a particular sweater; rarely do we think about the quality of our clothes in terms of our health. The clothes we wear sit on our skin all day, everyday, so what goes into them matters. With labels like “flame resistant, stain resistant, wrinkle resistant, water repellant or easy care”, we might not be thinkin…

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Surfing Our Emotions

As much as I meditate, seek to communicate consciously, and strive for balance and wellness in my life, I’m still human and my emotions swallowed me up like a big wave over the past couple of months – tumbling in the churning swirl as I sought to get more solid footing and figure out which way was up.

And I know I’m not alone. Even before the pandemic, in the United States we were having a mental health crisis – with almost half of adults experiencing a mental illness during their lifetime.…

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Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

I recently tried this recipe out from Cookie and Kate. I made a couple of modifications and it was a great hit. I love how the red of the cranberries and the green of the kale makes this a festive holiday dish. And the leftover quinoa stuffing (I added garbanzos), combined with additional chopped kale made a great salad as well!


Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

 

  • 2 acorn squash
  • 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, divided
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1 cup water

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Are These “Health Foods” REALLY Healthy?

My clients often tell me that they are eating a “healthy diet,” so they don’t understand why they can’t lose weight, have digestive issues, crave carbs and sweets, or still feel sluggish. And part of my intake is to take a deep dive into exactly what they are eating on their “healthy diet” which oftentimes reveals that they are consuming what I will call health food imposters.

What is a Health Food Imposter?

If you are not eating food in its original form – such as a piece of fruit, vegeta…

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3 Tips to Reduce Mindless Holiday Overeating

Holiday Overeating

With the holidays upon us, the temptation to eat is all around. Reduce the temptation to mindlessly overeat with these helpful tips.

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

A client was telling me that she kept mindlessly eating M & M’s because her husband had his candy jar out on the counter. He was great about self-control, but it seemed that each time she walked by the see-through candy jar, the multicolored M&M’s would grab her attention, her hand would go in the jar and the M&M’s would go in her mo…

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Forgiveness and Gratitude

Tis the season for gratitude and Thanks-giving. And it’s also a good time to practice forgiveness. Both forgiveness and gratitude have been linked to enhanced happiness and well-being. While practicing forgiveness can be a process that takes effort, daily gratitude practices can be relatively easy to accomplish.

The Freedom of Forgiveness

Throughout life, we experience disappointments and hurts both big and small. But when we are unable to forgive, we hold on to the negative feelings – kee…

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Optimize Digestion with Mindful Eating


From joyful holiday traditions to stressful news headlines, different types of events can sometimes trigger “stress eating” or cause you to lose awareness of the food that you are consuming. It’s so easy to eat mindlessly—grabbing a handful of candy left out on the counter, mowing through an entire bag of chips while watching TV, eating food just because it is there and not necessarily because it is healthy and nourishing for us at that time. The key is to shift from consuming foods “just be…

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Light Up Your Life With Red

Have you heard of red light therapy (RLT)? After learning about the many health benefits, I had to try it and I’ve been consistently using my red light for over 18 months. Without changing much else in my routine, I noticed within a matter of weeks: more energy, more power, better mood, less pain, and improved skin texture. And then when I stopped using it for a couple of weeks I felt the difference, so I’m back at it and wanted to share this information with you.

 

A red light device is…

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