Your body contains 78 organs, about 600 muscles, and 28 trillion cells. All the parts have to work together in order to create a functional body. And what keeps everybody in sync is communication. The principal messengers in your body are known as neurotransmitters, sending information back and forth between your brain and other parts of your nervous system. Your neurotransmitters have profound impacts on your mental health and overall well-being, influencing mood, sleep, and the ability to bounce back from perceived stressors. For a long time, the thought was that the role of these messengers ..read more

The agricultural industry is addicted to pesticides, and the entire world is paying the price. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that global pesticide use in 2012 amounted to approximately six billion pounds. Unfortunately, they haven’t published a report since then, but the number likely hasn’t improved and may have gotten worse. While the term “pesticides” implies that these chemicals target and kill “pests,” a better name would be “biocides” — destroyers of life — because they do a lot more than poison pests. Pesticides poison insects and pollinators; contaminate soil, wa ..read more

They may sound like sunglasses you wear after dark, but nightshades aren’t the subject of an 80s pop song. Instead, nightshades are a family of plants, many of which are staples in human diets around the world. Despite this, nightshades are often the subject of food controversy. On one side of the argument, they are touted for their tremendous health benefits, while the other side claims nightshades promote inflammation, are high in dangerous antinutrients, and may be damaging to your health. So what’s the truth about nightshades? Are they good for you, bad for you, or somewhere in between? An ..read more

If you’ve ever visited a Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Cava, or the like, then you’ve most likely eaten, or heard of, a grain bowl. Grain bowls are culinary poster children for many fast-casual restaurants that aim to offer healthy and plant-forward options. But are these prepared grain bowls really all that good for you? The truth is that many restaurant grain bowls come with animal-based ingredients, fried items, sugar- and oil-laden dressings, and way too much salt — all of which are the antithesis of the grain bowl’s origins. You see, the concept of the grain bowl is similar to a Buddha bowl, a ve ..read more

by Johnathan Hettinger, Originally published July 20, 2023 on Investigate Midwest If Clay Bolt went looking for a rusty patched bumblebee, he would head to a city. The wildlife photographer said his best bet would be Minneapolis or Madison, Wisconsin, in a botanical garden or even someone’s backyard — as long as it was far away from crop fields and neonicotinoid pesticides. “It’s kind of ironic. Cities have become a refuge for some of these most endangered pollinators,” said Bolt, Manager of Pollinator Conservation for the World Wildlife Fund. “Thousands of acres of monocultural row crops ..read more

I know I shouldn’t do this because of confidentiality, but I can’t help but eavesdrop on arugula’s therapy sessions. They usually go like this: “I don’t understand why I’m so underrated! I’m the highest in plant-based nitrates, and I’m even an aphrodisiac! I know my taste is strong — I often get the message that I’m ‘too much’ — but hey, I’m just being me. What do spinach and kale have that I don’t?” Arugula — known as rocket in the UK — has a point. It’s not nearly as popular as other leafy greens, largely due to its spicy and slightly bitter taste. Arugula was brought to North America by Bri ..read more

Jump to Recipes You wouldn’t expect a vegetable called “rocket” to be mild or boring. And arugula — also known as rucola, roka, roquette, and rocket — does not disappoint. The Roman poet Virgil wrote that the plant could excite amorous desire in “drowsy people.” And according to some historians, it was forbidden in monastery gardens because it could inflame the passions of the monks, challenging their vows of celibacy. With that kind of reputation, I wouldn’t be surprised if arugula started to challenge kale as the “it” green of the 21st century. Traditionally, recipes with arugula feature pr ..read more

By Dr. Mindy Pelz, author of The Menopause Reset Menopause, often shrouded in uncertainty and discomfort, is a process that many women find themselves unprepared for. This gap in understanding is not a personal oversight, but a reflection of a broader lack of accessible and credible education on the subject. Even many health care professionals are grossly uninformed about perimenopause and menopause, and how to help their patients transition gracefully through this stage of life. Seeing as it affects over half the world’s population, you would think it would be a mandatory topic in medical sch ..read more

I imagine that our ancient ancestors celebrated when they discovered that cooking, drying, and salting meat made it last longer, taste better, and reduce the probability that it could poison them. Win-win-win, right? The question of whether this processed meat could cause cancer later in life wouldn’t have occurred to people whose main food problem was not getting enough, and whose life expectancy was often only around 30 years. These days, however, the risk-benefit profile of processed meat is different, especially for people in the industrialized world. Statistically, you’re likely to be ali ..read more

We all want to look good. And the global beauty industry is happy to help — providing and marketing products that earn $579 billion in revenue per year. However, this pursuit is not without its pitfalls. The use of certain chemicals in many mainstream beauty products has raised concerns, with studies linking them to serious health issues such as cancer, hormone disruption, and other problems. And while there are “clean beauty” alternatives, the lack of regulation in the beauty industry makes it difficult to assign a universal definition to the term. It’s also worth noting that the approach tak ..read more