the truth serum

How much sleep do you get a night? Most sleep experts recommend getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Is your response an automatic “Are you kidding!? I’m lucky if I can fall asleep and not toss and turn all night. I can’t shut off my brain.”  A good night’s sleep isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity. Most experts agree that getting enough sleep is equally as important to your health as diet and exercise. A consistent lack of sleep can contribute to many health issues, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, weight gain — the list...

Have you noticed a shimmery feeling in the air lately? Days are getting longer and warmer, and the prospect of dining outdoors beckons. Summer's almost here!  Memorial Day weekend has become the unofficial kickoff of the season, and it's the perfect time to fire up the grill, host a potluck or plan a picnic. So, you'll want to have a few go-to, crowd-pleasing recipes for shareable dishes that are quick to prepare. If the word potluck makes you shudder (Another vegetable platter? Haven't I seen that pasta salad before), don't fret. You can easily change it up. I often turn...

Yes, you heard me right. Round it up to $7, and it’s still a bargain.  I’ve talked before about meditation and the role it plays in my daily life. However, it’s a time commitment practicing TM (Transcendental Meditation) and doing the full two 20-minute sessions every day can feel like I’m carving out hours. Enter, “The Shift.” “The Shift” app is a curated selection of practices inviting you to make intuitive choices about mood, energy, mindset, and whole health. Cultivate awareness in your daily life through practical ritual, diet, and physical activity. Using all the senses of the body, The...

Did you know your stomach is a smarty-pants? Our digestive system is the second largest part of our neurological system - that’s why it’s called our second brain. Would you be surprised to know that 70–80 percent of your entire immune system is located in your digestive tract? We’re used to thinking of bacteria as nasty germs; however, there’s plenty of healthy intestinal bacteria inside us as well. (Also called microflora, which is such a prettier word, isn’t it?) The trick is to keep all these microorganisms in a healthy balance. Digestive experts agree that the balance of gut flora...

“For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.” — Lily Tomlin “Slow living isn’t about doing everything in life as slowly as possible. It’s about doing everything at the right speed. It’s about saying “no” to the things that don’t add value to your life so you can fully say “yes” to the things that do. Slow living is about well-being and doing everything as well as possible instead of as fast as possible.” — Kyle Kowalski Quick, let’s talk about the Slow Living Movement! I was delighted to find a website that I really clicked with called Sloww.Co. It’s written by...

Looking for more inspiration for health and wellness? Check out, Katie Cavuto. We’ve long admired the work that Katie does and couldn’t agree more with her philosophy that health is holistic and wellness begins with positive messages of self-love, self-respect, and joy. Katie not only shares health and wellness tips but also tons of good for you recipes! Here are two recipes that are definitely going onto my rotation of easy and simple meals.  “Creamy” Cauliflower Soup with Za’atar Mix and Match Simple, Healthy One-Pan Chicken Dinners Check out Katie Cavuto's blog or follow her on Instagram (psst, stay tuned for a...

Anybody remember the first Earth Day? It was April 22, 1970, and millions of Americans came together to march for environmental reforms. This event marked the beginning of our modern environmental movement, leading to the creation of the Environmental Protection Act, quickly followed by the passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act. Good work, citizens!  This year’s Earth Day’s mission: End Plastic Pollution. Earth Day Network (EDN) has outlined several goals to this campaign, including “ending single-use plastics, promoting alternatives to fossil fuel-based materials, promoting 100 percent recycling of plastics, corporate and government accountability and changing human behavior concerning...

“I accept each moment and each step as it is.” We’ve probably all heard how beneficial meditation can be. But if you have a hard time carving out time or if you get too antsy for a sitting meditation, this book offers ideas on another approach. “Mindfulness is a way of being present and focused on what’s happening in your life, with less struggle. A key part of mindfulness is letting go of resistance and trying to control. Stress happens when we try to control or change things we can’t, including how a mindful walk will be.” “Five-Minute Mindfulness Walking”...

Long before the ancient Greek surgeon Galen carried out meticulous dissections of the heart, the Egyptians wrote about health and disease in relation to how the heart "speaks in vessels" with the rest of the body. Today, physicians may not associate the heart with the soul (or soul mates), but many credit early Egyptian medical knowledge of the heart as a precursor to modern cardiology. The Heart: Powerful, but Vulnerable A key element of a healthy body is a healthy heart. The heart is the center of our cardiovascular system and beats an average of 100,000 times per day supplying...