We hear a lot about metabolism these days. It has become quite the buzzword in weight loss circles, and you've likely heard about ways to "jumpstart" or "boost" your metabolism on blogs, podcasts, and even in many fitness classes.

But the truth is that the metabolism is a lot more complicated than fitness "gurus" may have you think. In fact, your metabolism isn't one specific process or system within the body - it is the sum of many different processes which perform many different roles.

And it's not just how you exercise that influences your metabolism - it's also your environment, your diet, your hormones, your microbiome, your genetics, and more.

This interesting podcast episode discusses why the old way of thinking about metabolism doesn't really make sense with what we have learned in recent decades - and how you can truly make positive changes to your metabolism at any age.

Cancer is one of the most feared modern diseases - and with good reason. Many of us feel that cancer is a frightening and inexplicable illness that can strike without warning - even if we think we're doing all the right things and living a healthy lifestyle. We often feel that cancer is the result of mysterious forces beyond our control. And while in some cases this may be true, it is also true that there are MANY things we can do to help reduce our risk of this dreaded disease.

Diet plays a big role in cancers - both developing and fighting them. For example, sugar is a favorite food of cancer cells, and simply reducing or eliminating this substance from your diet can go a long way towards reducing your risk. However, there are also a number of healthy and immune-supportive foods that can help to prevent cancer, or even stop it in its tracks.

This month's free guide lists 30 healthy and delicious anti-inflammatory foods that have shown promise in fighting cancer. And if you're still healthy, enjoying these foods regularly may help to prevent problems from developing in the future! Learn more and download your copy below...

In order to maintain good health as we age, it is important to implement habits and practices that support not just a long lifespan, but also a long "healthspan". This means feeling and functioning at our best throughout our life, regardless of how long it is.

Unfortunately, as this interview points out, "most of us know more about our cars or iPhones than we do about our bodies." One of the greatest downfalls of that is that many people don’t trust our bodies’ natural ability to heal. We tend to give into the misconception that we need to go to the doctor for every little thing and we often put off healing until it becomes too big to handle.

The truth is that we don’t need to go to the doctor for every little thing. In fact, many common health problems can be treated at home with simple treatments - or avoided altogether simply by making healthier choices. And, by listening to and healing our bodies, we can not only feel better, but we can also reduce our risk of developing more serious health problems in the future.

Most people don’t realize that health isn’t created by our doctors — we are the ones in control. Our bodies actually come fully equipped with some pretty amazing healing mechanisms which include the ability to repair, regenerate, renew, and fight infection! They just need us to give them the right inputs to work optimally. 

If you’re looking to learn more about how to heal your body naturally, I've got a great video for you today, featuring one of the most well-known figures in the integrative medicine space! Check it out below...

Eating local is an admirable goal. It supports local farmers, redirects money away from the destructive industrial food system, and provides healthier, fresher food for your family. For all these reasons and more, it is worth the effort to seek out local and sustainable food sources.

However, it can sometimes seem like more work than we're willing to put in - after all, we humans are lazy creatures by nature! Shopping at your local supermarket is so simple and convenient... And you can always find the same foods there year-round, whereas in many areas, it can be difficult to find locally grown produce in the winter months. The tradeoff is that you give up any and all control over the source of your food supply.

However, the good news is that you don't have to trade health and sustainability for convenience - these days it is easier and easier to find local sources of food - especially if you live in a large metropolitan area. Farmers markets and community supported agriculture (CSA) programs can be found even in small towns today, and the internet makes it easier than ever to find and connect with local farmers year-round.

Even here in Ohio, we have been able to find sources of locally grown produce in the winter, and we buy the majority of our meat directly from local farms, which not only are able to offer a much higher quality product at a more affordable price, but also offer us the comfort of knowing how our food is grown and raised.

If you want to find a way to eat more locally-produced food, support your community farmers and producers,  and have more control over your food supply, below are 3 tips for eating local year-round - even if you don't live in California!

In modern day America, few of us think of food as a healing substance. Millions of people struggle with addictions to sugar and junk food (and the resulting obesity and diabetes), and many of us have an unhealthy sort of love-hate relationship with food: we know we should eat better, but we either can't resist the allure of the junk food that is marketed to us at every turn, or we simply can't afford the higher prices of healthier foods. Our bodies crave salt, fat, and sugar, and the creative geniuses at food manufacturing companies have figured out how to get these substances (or at least their flavors) into just about every type of processed food, making it nearly impossible for us to say no - even when we know we should choose to eat something with more nutritional value instead.

However, if you look at the animal kingdom, you see a different story - at least, in environments where animals are allowed to live in their natural habitat and eat what they want. Most animals in their natural environment will eat what they need nutritionally at any given time.

I see this even with our chickens. For example, when it's cold out, they prefer high-calorie grains to greens and juicy vegetables. However, in the summer, they will eat all the good veggies, fruits and greens they can get! When they're molting and growing new feathers, they will gobble up extra high-protein legumes (peas and lentils) that they don't usually enjoy.

Unfortunately, as humans, we seem to have largely lost the ability to eat intuitively - although I contend that we really just need to break our addictions, and then learn to listen to our bodies again - and this episode of the Doctor's Farmacy explores this topic in more detail, as well as many more elements of how to eat for healing.

We all know that fruits and vegetables are good for us, and there really isn't any need to overthink it. As long as you eat a wide variety of fruits and veggies on a daily basis, you're doing good things for your health. There's not one "magic" vegetable that is going to make you healthier, and you don't need to spend tons of time categorizing foods or counting calories.

However, if you really want to make sure you're doing all you can to optimize your health and longevity, you may want to be sure to include some of the high-nutrient foods that have become known as "superfoods" in your daily diet. These foods are especially high in antioxidant vitamins, minerals, and good fats. And no, they're not all weird, exotic, expensive berries from the Amazon!

In fact, most of these foods are common fruits and vegetables - but not all - and you may be surprised to learn what else made the list...

Check it out below to discover which foods you should be eating regularly for optimal health!

It's no secret that modern disease is on the rise. Despite having the largest (and by far the most expensive) healthcare system in the world, it seems we're constantly hearing about increasing incidence of health issues from Alzheimer's disease to auto-immune conditions, to autism, cancer, and more.

So what gives?

Given that many of these diseases and health conditions have a dietary component, or a link to gut health...  Could it be that our behemoth of a food system is failing us?

I have previously written at length about the problems with our food system, so feel free to check out more on this topic here and here.

In the meantime, I wanted to share this month's free resource. It's a truly eye-opening and amazing docuseries on how food can be both more nutritious AND more environmentally friendly! Watch the inspiring trailer here, and sign up to save your spot now...

In recent decades, anxiety has become the most common mental health issue of our time. If you don't suffer from anxiety, you probably know someone who does. Women (most commonly), men, teens, and even children may experience anxiety on a regular basis.

Anxiety is your body's natural response to a threat - either real or perceived. But in today's world, anxiety has become a chronic condition. There can be many causes for anxiety, but chronic anxiety is typically manifested in an imbalance of brain chemicals.

What causes this imbalance is the subject of much debate, but there can be many factors - some of the most significant being related to diet. In fact, substantial amounts of research have found a close connection between gut health and anxiety (as well as other mental disorders). If you've been medicated for your anxiety and have never been told that your gut health may be a root cause, it may be time to take a closer look - and perhaps seek another doctor...

The upcoming Anxiety Summit will focus on the gut-brain connection, and delve into the research-based anxiety nutritional solutions and practical steps that you can use to determine your root causes, ease your anxiety and prevent it from coming back. The event is going on this week, and you can register here for free access. In the meantime, grab your copy of the free e-Guide below to discover 9 nutritional solutions for anxiety and improved gut health.

Over the past couple of decades, carbs have been vilified almost as thoroughly as fat was previously. Where once fat was blamed for America's weight problem, now carbs are the new evil, and low-carb (or even no-carb) diets have become all the rage. Books and articles abound about the different types of carbs and how much of them you should (or shouldn't) consume.

But as is the case with many dietary trends, we often end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. In fact, the body needs both fats AND carbohydrates to function properly. So are carbs really bad for you, or is this just another passing fad - and what will happen to our health when the pendulum swings back the other way?

The truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle.

When I look at what's going on in health and wellness these days, it seems that the conversation around food in recent years has become more and more polarized - with the extremes of Keto and "Carnivore" dieters on the one side, and veganism on the other.

Unfortunately, this isn't the way that humans were made to eat. We are omnivores, and our true "sweet spot" when it comes to healthy eating lies much more in the middle of these polar opposites.

As our modern world struggles to find our food identity, all of these extreme fad diets are not really doing our health any favors. It's true that different people's bodies respond differently to different eating styles, so perhaps it is up to each of us to find what works best for us.

My mom, for example, has adopted a loosely vegan diet in recent years (after following a number of various diets earlier in life - some of them quite extreme), and she says she has never felt better. That said, she isn't always strictly vegan (which is nice during family dinners), but us kids still worry about her bone health and her lack of muscle mass as she moves into her senior years.

However, while some people may find they do well on a vegan diet, there are many foods that many people would consider "plant-based," which are definitely NOT healthy for us. In fact, if you look at most processed junk foods out there, most of them are mostly if not entirely made of plants (mostly corn and corn and soy byproducts).

French fries are plant-based (since almost all restaurants now use vegetable oils instead of animal fats for frying). So are potato chips, tortilla chips, sugary condiments, and beer! In fact, so are most carb-heavy foods like bread, pasta, and rice. Obviously, just because something is "plant-based" doesn't make it healthy.

And the same definitely goes for fake meats, which are all kinds of sketchy in my book...

Side Note: This is something that I really don't understand personally. If you don't want to eat meat, then don't! Trying to make something that's not meat taste like meat seems so pointless to to me. If you only want to eat plants, then just eat food that tastes like plants! Anyway, that's my really quick rant for today. :-)

This podcast episode is extremely interesting, and it goes into the many problems with fake meats - which are bad for not only your health, but also the environment as well. Listen below to  learn more...