If you're feeling weak or like you have low energy, folate deficiency might be to blame. Folate is one of the essential B vitamins – B9 to be exact. This water-soluble vitamin is essential for making red blood cells and keeping levels of the amino acid homocysteine low. Lack of sufficient folate is linked to a variety of concerns, including anemia, memory loss, bone fractures, and hearing loss. Folate is also critical for developing fetuses. (more…)
Summer is prime time for enjoying the outdoors. But more often than not, there's a dark cloud hanging over that backyard barbecue: bugs – and especially mosquitoes. These blood-seeking fun busters expertly follow their senses right to your skin. But if you can repel them with one quick application of bug spray, then what's the concern? It turns out that many old-fashioned bug sprays contain neurotoxic ingredients that may increase cancer risk. But, worry not – there are plenty of nontoxic essential oil blends that repel the bugs, without the […]
The body needs cholesterol to make hormones and vitamins and to digest food. But too much of this waxy substance — particularly the "bad" LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol — can attach to the walls of arteries and limit or block the flow of blood, eventually causing heart disease. "Good" HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol carries LDL cholesterol from the body to the liver, which eliminates it from the body. (more…)
There are many sources of stress in life, some overt, some less obvious. One type of stress that doesn't get a lot of attention but has a big effect on our health is the stress associated with our environment. Some environments are very low stress – like getting out in nature. Other environments, like a loud, noisy industrial factory, wear on us much differently. If you're trying to live a healthy life, you need to consider all the inputs, including how your environment affects you. Here, we’ll take a look […]
Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that is becoming more common. People with this illness often find it debilitating and are always seeking new ways to improve their lifestyle and live with less discomfort and disruption. One of the ways people with Crohn’s alleviate symptoms of this condition involves a change in their daily menu. Adopting a Crohn’s disease diet along with a few other lifestyle changes can reduce your symptoms to improve your health, quality of life, and even encourage remission. (more…)
