In her new book, It Doesn’t Have to Hurt to Work, author and holistic health coach Erin Paruszewski challenges the misguided concept that “more is more” when it comes to exercise. Instead, she emphasizes functional movement.

A healthy gut microbiome is one with a richly diverse set of bacteria. Studies in the last five years have linked this diversity to optimal weight, better mood, reduced risk of chronic disease, and better immune function.

Becoming aware of the breath and slowing down the inhale and exhale has a powerful effect on both the body and mind. Research shows that mindful breathing shifts the balance within the autonomic nervous system, tamping down the “fight or flight” response and activating the “rest and relax” response instead. This shift results in reduced heart rate, lower blood pressure, better sleep, and even improved immune function.

Traditional gym classes emphasize exercise to build muscle, but what matters more is functional movement. This is the ability to use our bodies to do the things we love and avoid injury, whether it is bending over to pick up a grandchild or a package, or getting out of a chair with ease.

Taking time to pause now and then creates an opening. It is a portal to other options and choices. A pause helps us rest and regenerate, become more creative, connect with other people or ourselves, or simply enjoy what is going on around us (or inside us.)

More than just a social nicety, giving thanks is good for our health. In the field of positive psychology, gratitude is strongly and consistently linked to more positive emotions, better self-rated health, a greater ability to deal with adversity, and the ability to build strong relationships.

I had the pleasure of taking a cooking class recently with Dr. Annie Fenn, the founder of the Brain Health Kitchen. I expected to prepare great food, but I walked away with an added bonus: advice on cooking techniques to help avoid AGEs (advanced glycation products in foods). These inflammatory substances are formed when foods are exposed to high temperatures in the presence of sugar, such as chicken slathered in sauce and then grilled at high heat. AGEs have been linked to Alzheimer's disease, metabolic disorders, diabetes and heart disease.

Did you know that over 80% of all US healthcare cost is tied to the treatment of conditions rooted in poor lifestyle choices? These conditions include hypertension, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, and multiple types of cancer—all of which are largely preventable.

This week I wanted to feature a short video just produced by Stanford on insulin resistance. This the body’s inability to respond to insulin to keep blood sugar in check. Unfortunately this condition is increasingly common, affecting more than 32% of Americans.

Our society focuses on youth and often disparages old age, but these stereotypes are often wrong. When it comes to emotional well-being, older adults reign supreme.

It is no surprise that we crave sugar. It is hardwired into our biology. Consuming sugar gave our hunter-gatherer ancestors an adaptive advantage. It provided an instant source of energy, and if consumed in large enough quantities, it could increase body fat. This was quite helpful if you didn’t know where the next meal was coming from but in today’s food-rich environment, consuming too much sugar has lead to increases in obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Jeff Bezos is betting millions that the aging process can be reversed. According to a report from MIT Tech Review, Bezos and other billionaire investors such as Yuri Milner are backing a new Silicon Valley start-up called Altos Labs, named after Los Altos, California. The company was founded earlier this year with a mission to understand how cells age and then reverse that process.

For decades, a common belief has been that metabolism slows with age, leading to unwanted weight gain. It is true about the unwanted weight gain. A 2013 study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality showed an average of 1-2 pounds per year of extra weight between 40-59 years, which adds up to significant weight gain over time. However, don’t be so quick to blame this on “slowing metabolism.”

Age does not define us, yet ageism is one of the most prevalent and least recognized forms of prejudice in society today. In part, ageism is prevalent because as we age, we fall into the trap of believing the ageist stereotypes ourselves. We blame lost keys on a senior moment, or make jokes at our own expense about our changing faces and bodies.

I wanted to share a few favorite books that I have read in the last few years. Some caught my interest in a bookstore, and others were written by outstanding authors who delivered Wellness Wednesday presentations in 2021.

Cell-based seafood is created from a single needle’s worth of muscle cells from a single fish like orange roughy or mahi-mahi. These cells are then cultivated in BlueNalu’s labs where they grown into broad sheets of whole muscle tissue that can be cut into filets and sold fresh, packaged, or frozen, similar to seafood we buy today. However, cell-based fish will be lacking in a few areas: these fish will have no head, tail, bones, or blood.

Good posture does more than help us look better. It provides a myriad of health benefits, including better breathing, back relief, brighter mood, and improved digestion. Posture also plays a key role in balance, which makes every day movement easier, from getting up from a chair to toting packages to turning around to look behind you.

At a recent meeting of my Healthy Habits Network community, we talked about superpowers. Specifically I asked people “what superpower do you have that helps you stay on track with your healthy habits?” It was a fun exercise to get people to focus on their strengths, and I expected answers like “discipline” or “good planning.” One answer, however, surprised me. Jenny said her superpower was pause. PAUSE? I didn’t get it at first. What kind of superpower was that?

I have always considered planning a virtue, and something that contributes to people’s success.

Then I met Patricia Ryan Madson. She is the author of Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up, and her perspective has helped me balance my planning tendencies with a little more improvisation.

While we are years or decades away from that in humans, the latest research from John Hopkins Medical Center shows that a particular gene called Lhx6 can be turned on or off in mice to produce better sleep. This turning on and off of genes is called “gene expression” and it is something our bodies naturally do to regulate how proteins are made. This, in turn, determines how cells function. Epigenetic research is a rapidly growing field which studies how our behaviors and environment can cause changes in the way our genes work.