Late summer is a great time to enjoy fresh, crisp summer apples, and what better way then when paired with creamy avocado and anti-inflammatory turmeric root? Turmeric root offers loads of health benefits, and has an earthy, warm flavor that pairs well with the tart-sweet apple and spicy ginger in this salad. The avocado provides healthy fats as well as vitamin E, and will help your body absorb the turmeric, especially when paired with a pinch of black pepper.

It isn't always easy to find fresh turmeric, but late summer and early fall is the most likely season. You may be able to find it at your local farmer's market, or at some Asian grocery stores. If you can't find any, you can use dried, ground turmeric instead. The flavor is a little different, but you'll still get all the health benefits. (Be careful, as both fresh and ground turmeric are highly pigmented and will easily stain both clothing and countertops!)

This simple salad is both satisfying and refreshing, and it's packed with healthy ingredients! Enjoy it all throughout the summer and fall season for a healthy finish to the year.

Besides air, of course, water is the most important element for human life. Water is critical for just about every single function our bodies perform. Did you know that you can live for 3 weeks without food, but only 3 days without water?

Sadly, many of us don't drink as much water as we should, which is especially dangerous during the hot days of summer. If you are already in the habit of drinking lots of water, your body will usually remind you when you need to drink more. But if you are used to ignoring your body's signals, you may become dehydrated very quickly when you are sweating more than usual. This is especially common among older people, who may lose their sense of thirst over time, which can be quite dangerous.

Personally, I am somewhat of a water fiend, and usually never go anywhere without a water bottle or tumbler. However, I know a number of people who seem to think drinking water is "boring" - an unfathomable concept for me, but it's surprisingly common. I know people who have actually passed out in hot weather due to dehydration, and it can be a scary thing. 

If you are working out or exercising hard in hot weather - or even just putzing around the the garden when it's hot out - be sure to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Add a few slices of fruit or vegetables if you want a bit of flavor.

But regardless of the time of year, you can also eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies with high water content. Not only do they contain valuable vitamins, minerals, and fiber, but they will help you stay hydrated while reducing the amount of water you need to drink. (Keep in mind that even if you're eating plenty of these hydrating foods, you should still make sure to drink extra water in hot weather or whenever you are sweating a lot.)

Below are some delicious water-rich foods to eat more of in the summer and year-round to keep you healthy and hydrated (surprisingly, although you may think of fruits as being more "juicy," many veggies actually contain more water, as you will see in the graphic below):

With everything I've had going on personally over the last year, it has been a while since I've gotten really fired up about a health issue, but the recent suppression of health information on many online platforms is extremely troubling to me, and is worth taking an hour or two out of my busy schedule to share with you.

I'm sure by now you are probably aware of the uproar over the recent measles outbreaks in the U.S.. Until this topic came to the forefront of mainstream media coverage, so-called "anti-vaxers" (who have been around for decades) weren't much more than a joke occasionally mentioned on late-night TV, or pointed out as a "lesson" in medical drama shows. Now, vaccinations (or lack of them) have become a hotly debated topic seemingly overnight.