Welcome to March! With spring just around the corner, I've been busy as can be, trying to finish all my indoor cleanup projects before garden season arrives. The gorgeous weather this weekend (74 degrees!!) made it difficult to stay indoors, so I did get outside for a bit to clean out the chicken coop, pick some greens for the Buckaroos, and spend some time relaxing in the sun with the kitty.

Anyway, with a new month upon us, I wanted to share your monthly freebie - it's a really cool guide about forming healthy habits, from a functional medicine perspective. Grab your copy below, and if you would like to learn more about achieving health through simple healing habits like the ones you'll learn about inside, be sure to check out the upcoming online event on this topic (details below).

Welcome to 2022!! I'm feeling refreshed after a wonderful visit with family, and am ready to get the new year started!

To kick things off, I'm sharing something a little different with you this month... I thought it would be helpful to start off the New Year with a resource to help you live a happier and healthier life on all levels. That's why I'm excited to share a wonderful and free learning opportunity with you, to help you get your year off to a great start! This amazing online class will help you learn how to tap into your heart's innate intelligence and create a harmonious connection between your mind, body, and heart for greater peace, happiness, health, and immunity.

While humans have always had an innate sense that the heart is of central importance - not only for our physical health, but also for our emotional well-being - Western science has only recently begun to realize this truth. In this one-hour class, you'll learn what science says about the energy of the heart, and how to tap into it to optimize your health and well-being. Register here to watch for free, or click to learn more below...

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.

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.

As our modern medical system has evolved into the behemoth it is today, there's no doubt that it has provided us with many life-saving technologies. From vaccines to advanced surgical techniques, to greater knowledge of how our bodily systems work, and much more, there is much in modern medicine that has helped us to survive and thrive much longer than our ancestors.

However, there are also some aspects of our current medical system that could still use quite a bit of improvement. One of the most problematic issues is the tendency of modern medicine to rely on prescription medications to manage symptoms of disease and illness, rather than figuring out the actual root of the issue and helping the body to heal itself permanently, as well as prevent future problems.

In its rush for progress, modern medicine has forgotten much of the ancient wisdom that our ancestors passed down about how to maintain health and wellness. Things like the use of specific herbs, foods, and other simple practices that help our bodies maintain a natural, healthy balance, and may prevent or even reverse disease.

In this eye-opening video, Dr. Mark Hyman interviews the well-known naturopathic physician, nutritionist, and author Dr. Josh Axe, about how ancient remedies and simple, healthy habits can help us maintain health and longevity in the modern world.

Did you know that overall good health often starts in the mouth?

And I'm not just talking about the food you eat - although that is certainly very important too! More and more studies have found links between oral health and other health concerns, from gut health to cardiovascular health, and more.

Keeping your mouth as healthy as possible can help you avoid not only future dental problems, but also other health problems. But just going to the dentist every 6 months may not always do the trick... In fact, while there are many good dentists out there, the fact is that dentistry hasn't evolved all that much, and there are some dental practices that may even be harming your oral health. This month's Dental-Health Connection Summit examines some of these practices, and explores alternative and natural solutions to maintaining good oral health.

In conjunction with that even, this month, we're giving away a FREE DIY oral health guide, so you can quickly learn and implement some simple practices you can do at home to support your oral health. Learn more below, or go download your free guide here.

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that this week's topic may seem a little "woo-woo," in scientific speak. :-)  However, the guest on this fascinating podcast episode certainly comes with an impressive list of credentials, so I encourage you to tune in and open your mind to the possibilities of...your mind!

In fact, much evidence suggests that we are only just barely beginning to realize the immense powers that our minds possess - especially when it comes to healing our bodies. Although the scientific community has neatly divided the human mind from the human body as if they were two separate entities, the truth is that our bodies and minds have always been inextricably connected - in ways that modern medicine has yet to understand.

We, humans, on the other hand, have always had an inkling that these connections are very real indeed, and you can find the evidence in our language. For example, you've almost certainly heard the expression of someone "knowing" something "in my gut." Likewise, our heart also gets a lot of press as a center of knowledge ("I knew it in my heart," "I let my heart lead me," etc.).

Your body truly is part of your mind, just as your mind is a part of your body, and so it's no wonder that mental health has many physical aspects to it (depression and even addiction, for example, have been closely linked to dietary issues and gut health), and similarly, that our mind can have significant impacts on our physical health.

The placebo effect is one example that has long been recognized even by mainstream medicine. Once believed to be a mere fluke, the placebo effect is very real indeed, and has been used in a wide range of medical studies of many different health conditions and treatments. In fact, fascinatingly enough, some studies are now being conducted to learn whether the placebo effect can successfully be used to treat certain health conditions without using drugs at all!

Check out this podcast episode below to learn about the amazing powers hiding in your mind - including - "woo-woo" as it may sound - the potential for spontaneous healing!

Welcome back! I apologize that your August freebie is a bit late this month, as we returned a bit later than expected from our annual Tennessee trip last weekend. (It has been quite a busy summer, to say the least!)

However, I've got a fun little video class to share with you this month, and if you've ever been curious about the health benefits of mushrooms, you'll definitely want to tune in!

Did you know that humans have been using mushrooms for thousands of years for their health-promoting and medicinal properties?

In fact, there are thousands of edible mushroom species in the world - and approximately 250+ of them so far have been identified as having healing properties.

East Asian traditions and Indigenous cultures have always embraced mushrooms to treat all manner of ailments — and now Westerners as well are beginning to recognize their nutritional and medicinal superpowers for the body, mind, and even the spirit.

Dr. Christopher Hobbs, internationally renowned author, herbalist, botanist, mycologist, research scientist, and faculty at the University of Massachusetts, believes that "by incorporating mushrooms into our diets — fresh, cooked, or as dried adaptogens — we can help prevent and transform a myriad of debilitating issues."

And on this Wednesday, August 11, Professor Hobbs will share some scientifically supported benefits of making mushrooms a part of your daily regimen. He’ll tell you the ways that this fungi can strengthen and fine-tune your immune system to help stave off cancer, prevent heart disease, keep bones healthy, improve digestion, aid cognitive function, and much more.

Register here for Mushrooms as Medicine: Discover the Science-Based, Practical Benefits Mushrooms Add to Your Diet, Healing Regimen & Spiritual Evolution - or learn more below...

Gut health has become front and center in the health community in recent years. For so long, we simply thought of the gut as our digestive system, but science is now finding that it is SO much more...

In fact gut health is linked to just about every other aspect of our health - from our immune system, to our brain and mental health, and even our oral health!

Gut issues have been implicated in everything from heart problems, to auto-immune diseases, to periodontal disease, and even addiction, depression, and other mental health disorders. With all of these implications, doesn't it make sense that we should do everything we can to improve our gut health?

Yet despite the attention that the gut (and it's accompanying microorganisms) has received recently, few people truly understand how to actually improve their overall gut health and support the all-important microbiome.

In this episode of The Doctor's Farmacy, Dr. Mark Hyman interviews Dr. Emeran Mayer, author of The Gut-Immune Connection and The Mind-Gut Connection, and founding director of the UCLA Brain Gut Microbiome Center, about how to nurture the microbiome to support your gut and overall health, and fight the modern epidemic of chronic disease.