5 Tips for a Heart-Healthy Valentine's Day

Research studies show that love plays an important role in cardiovascular health. This Valentine's Day, forget the candy and celebrate with some heart-healthy activities instead. Whether you’re planning a romantic evening, a night out with friends, or time with the family, here are six ways to connect with loved ones and support heart health at the same time.

DIY Lemon Coconut Salt Scrub

 

Use this simple sea salt scrub to soften winter-hardened skin. Lemon gives it an uplifting aroma, salt acts as an exfoliator, and coconut and almond oils moisturize skin. Apply it to your body but avoid delicate areas like the face.

7 Reasons to Exercise Outdoors All Year Long

As we settle into autumn and anticipate winter, we tend to spend more of our active time indoors. We go to the gym instead of the park. We take a spinning class instead of a long bike ride. We climb a machine instead of a mountain. Shorter days and colder temperatures do make it more challenging to schedule outdoor activity, but it’s still as important as ever. Here are seven reasons to exercise outside whenever you can.

12 Pantry Staples For a Healthy Diet

A healthy diet is essential for a healthy body. One of the easiest ways to eat well is to cook at home, where you control the quality of ingredients. The foods you keep in your kitchen are the ones you’re going to cook and eat, so stocking a pantry full of healthy choices is a good way to make positive changes to any diet. Here are some staples to put on your grocery list if you don't already have them on hand.

6 Food-Based Toxins That Increase the Risk of Diabetes

Toxins are chemicals in the environment that are harmful to our health. Most of the time, we can’t see or smell or taste them, but they’re very real and we’re exposed to them every day. So far, research studies have identified six different toxins we ingest through food and water that are associated with an increased risk of diabetes, even in small doses that are well below acceptable levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Naturopathic Medicine Week

The United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution in 2013 designating the second week in October as Naturopathic Medicine Week.  This year it will be celebrated from October 5 through 11.

Preserving Your Summer Harvest

My trip to visit family in Minnesota this summer was well spent. We fit in a little bit of everything: hiking, canoeing, wine tasting, cooking, and relaxing with family and friends. To my good fortune, my sister Jennifer sent me home with dried versions of her garden's bounty and I will savor them all winter long.