Each month, we bring our readers tools and information to assist them on their path to personal wellness and healthy living...naturally! We feature articles by national authors as well as from local leaders in the fields of natural, integrative and complementary health, nutrition, fitness, organics, personal growth, nature, sustainability and natural pet. Have something you'd like to read about? Contact us directly!
Intermittent Fasting Basics
How to Improve Health by Eating Less Often
Fasting has been part of religious and cultural practices since ancient times, but now it is entering into everyday American eating habits. Intermittent fasting (IF), which involves restraining from eating for periods ranging from hours to days, was the most popular dietary strategy among Americans in 2020, outpacing low-fat...
Why We Need Wild Places
How to Invite Nature Back into Our Lives and Landscapes
On a blustery day, Julian Hoffman stood outdoors and watched wild bison grazing in the restored grassland of Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, fewer than 50 miles from downtown Chicago. For him, it was a wild place, affording a glimpse of what North America looked like hundreds of years ago when...
The Bounty of Farmers Markets
Buying Local Boosts Health, the Economy and the Planet
Throughout the nation, an estimated 8,000 farmers markets offer some of the freshest food available anywhere. Often open on weekend mornings or select weeknights, these nutritional meccas allow local farmers to sell their fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat and dairy directly to consumers, thereby providing an attractive business channel for...
Buzz-Free Drinking
The Healthy Rise of Non-Alcoholic Beverages
As a former bartender, Katie Cheney enjoys mixing drinks for friends, and one night recently, in her San Francisco apartment, she tried out something new: an alcohol-free “Noquila Sunrise” made with a distilled,...
Eating for the Planet
Diet for sustainability
What we choose to put on our plates influences not only our physical health, but also the health of the environment. While much of the climate conversation focuses on the burning of fossil fuels, commercial food production—particularly livestock—uses large amounts of land, water and energy. Wasted food contributes...
Spirited Strides
Power Walk to Better Fitness
We all know that the more steps we take in a day the better. The Mayo Clinic advocates walking regularly to keep bad cholesterol in check, maintain a heart-healthy weight and keep blood pressure within a normal range. Power walking—going a mile in...
Spring is a State of Mind
Every year, spring lifts us from lethargy, her blossomed enthusiasm nudging us to take down the curtains for an annual wash, clean out the closets, and plot this year’s garden. If we...
Pest Control
Keeping Dogs Safe from Ticks and Fleas
Fleas and ticks are different types of pests; so, when considering how best to protect a dog, it is important to make a distinction—fleas are an annoyance, but ticks can be life-threatening. Many veterinarians recommend...
Nature Speaks
Storytelling Connects Kids to the Natural World
Children are natural storytellers with imaginations that shape their play and learning. In outdoor settings, everything from puddles to pine cones can engage children and draw them closer to the natural world, opening up a...
Expiration Dates
When to Eat or Toss Food
Americans waste about 40 percent of the food supply every year, which translates to billions of pounds of edible food rotting in landfills and generating dangerous greenhouse gases, along with...
Plant-Based Foods Go Mainstream
Healthy Eating Gets Easier with Innovations
Plant-based eating has seen an explosion in the past few years as consumers become increasingly aware of how their food choices impact their health and the environment and align with their ethics. According to market research firm SPINS, plant-based eating is now...
Easing into a Vegan Lifestyle
Clever Meat Substitutes that Please the Palate
Today’s wide availability of vegan meat substitutes in the grocer’s freezer helps break the ice for people that want to experiment with plant-based foods. The taste, convenience and quality of these products has improved greatly over the past decade, but like many convenience foods, some packaged faux meat products can be high in...
A Weekend Warrior Survival Guide
Prevention, First-Aid and Recovery
At first glance, it seems harmless to sit at a desk all week and then dive into gardening, hiking, shooting some hoops or playing softball with the kids. We think nothing of it until that pulled hamstring, stiff shoulder or painful knee makes...
Burnout Recovery
Ways to Reset and Find Balance
“I’ll sleep when I die,” Kristina Shea used to joke about her three hours of nightly shut-eye. In retrospect, she says ruefully, “It almost became a reality.” Her hectic life as a...
Beyond Picky Eating
Help for Pediatric Eating Disorders
Most kids go through food phases and bouts of fussiness during mealtime, but more serious problems can lurk beneath the surface of such all-too-common behaviors. Eating disorders are often associated with...
Journaling to Access Inner Wisdom
On a summer afternoon in 2015, I sat in my favorite coffee shop waiting on life-changing news. With each minute, my anxiety mounted, so I turned to the only thing that calms me in a stressful situation—my journal. As my pen...
Ann Armbrecht
on the Business of Ethical Botanicals
Writer and anthropologist Ann Armbrecht explores the relationship between humans and the planet, notably through her work with plants and plant medicine. Her book The Business of Botanicals: Exploring the Healing Promise of Plant Medicines in a Global Industry tells the stories of the people...