If you’re like most of my friends, family, and clients, you, too, are completely confused by the deafening chatter surrounding the dangers of sugar. How can something that tastes so terrific, seems so benign, and has been a mainstay for treats during holidays, gatherings, and celebrations, suddenly be described as so harmful? 

Recently, the scientific community has provided a mountain of evidence supporting the health-enhancing power of a plant-based diet.

For couples, Valentine’s Day conjures up images of candle-lit dinners, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, marriage proposals, and other romantic gestures. But when there’s no “special someone” in your life, Valentine’s Day can be challenging. The rest of the world seems to be basking in romantic love while you’re considering how to dodge the holiday altogether. Some singles may experience the day as one giant taunt, a reminder that they’re alone in a coupled world. The result: feelings of isolation and loneliness.

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”  
George Eliot

Around this time every year, at least 40% of us who made 2017 resolutions will already have hung them out to dry.

According to common lore, the most magical time of the year is right around the corner. Soon, families and friends will gather together to enjoy cherished holiday traditions, warm themselves by the fire, and imbibe in the numerous delicacies of the season.

The word “microbiome” seems to be popping up everywhere—in newscasts, magazines, podcasts, books, and more. How many of us really know what it means? And why should we care?

Alarmingly, a serious health condition is wreaking havoc with 1 in 3 people in the U.S., 80% of whom are completely unaware that they have it. How is that possible? This condition, prediabetes, is lurking just below the radar. Blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as Type II diabetes.

Imagine for a moment—you take the first sip of your morning coffee, and instead of enjoying that familiar, delicious aroma, you’re met with the smell, then taste, of gasoline. Or you bite into a juicy piece of steak and it tastes like dirt. Or you lean into a rose in full bloom, anticipating its beautiful fragrance, but no scent rises to meet you. These are the experiences befalling hundreds of thousands of people world-wide as a result of having gotten COVID-19.

Who amongst us hasn’t had a night of desperately trying to fall, or stay, asleep? If you’ve been struggling with sleep problems, perhaps you’ll feel comforted to know you’re not alone. In fact, insomnia affects up to one-third of us, and that’s not good for our health.

This month, I want to share with you one of the most powerful ways for quieting your mind and body, and managing the negative thoughts that may keep popping up. By practicing meditation, you can learn to clear your mind, relax your body, and find calm and stability in the face of uncertainty.

Is it any wonder that, especially now, many of us find ourselves mindlessly staring into our refrigerators and pantries, looking for comfort in food? With so many of our normal pleasures and activities on hold, it’s not surprising that food offers such a tempting oasis. After all, no matter what our lives were like before, they have certainly been fundamentally altered. Many of us are lonely, bored, stressed, worried, or a combination thereof. This can become toxic when we’re sheltering in place and food is so easily accessible. The result: Even when we’re not hungry, we often reach for food when we’re looking for comfort.

Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Keep your hands away from your face. Practice social distancing. We’ve learned to follow these instructions in this time of COVID-19. But isn’t there something more we can do to protect ourselves from the coronovirus?

For months, we’ve been living a trauma of unprecedented scope—a global pandemic. In the broadest terms, it has meant living with worry and uncertainty, and the anxiety that can bring. In our daily lives, it has meant medical emergencies and possible loss of life among our loved ones; job insecurity and the financial concerns that accompany it; missed weddings, funerals, proms, and graduations, and more.

A few weeks ago, I was listening to my health coaching client, Brian (not his real name), explain the reasons why he had put off accomplishing several of his weekly health and wellness goals. His reasons all made perfectly good sense. He had some last-minute client needs pop up. He hadn’t slept well for a few nights and was feeling less productive than usual. He didn’t know what he wanted to say in one of his communications to a client. You get the picture. Anyway, after we had a chance to discuss this further, we came to a mutual realization: Brian’s tendency towards procrastination was habitual, and it was time for us to address it head on.

Chances are that you, your friends, or members of your family have suffered from depression at one time or another. While psychotherapy and prescription drugs help many people suffering from depression, you can also lessen depression by making several lifestyle changes.

Now that January has come and gone, how are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions? If you’re like the majority of people, you’re already looking at your resolutions in the rear-view mirror—and you’re not too thrilled with the view!

There are way too many conflicting dietary “dos” and “don’ts” floating around in the universe.

In this season of fried clams, ice cream cones, and lemonade, how can a lowly broccoli spear or a wedge of watermelon compete for our attention? 

Spring sure has taken its sweet time showing up. And while we’re all joyfully anticipating the warmth of the summer sun, splendor of our gardens and onset of our well-deserved vacations, some of us may also be a bit conflicted about the arrival of warm weather due to what I affectionately like to call the “big reveal.”

“Grief never ends, but it changes…It’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith…it is the price of love.”

–Author unknown

If you’re like most people, you probably think that eating high-fat foods make you fat. Sounds sensible, right? As it turns out, even thought the belief that eating fat will make us fat seems intuitively obvious, it's dead wrong. 

It’s no secret that we’ve become a nation of obese, chronically ill people. But what many people don’t know is how we got there. 

Getting less than seven hours of sleep per night makes you more likely to develop chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and frequent mental distress. But simple lifestyle changes can be implemented to help you get the healthy sleep you need.

Here it is, the end of January. And how are those New Year’s resolutions working out for you? If you’ve already bid them “good riddance,” you’re not alone.  More than 35 percent of us have already abandoned our New Year’s resolutions.

Nobody wants to count calories, run marathons, or skip her favorite desserts while celebrating the holidays. But a little moderation can go a long way. So here are my 10 favorite tips for managing your weight and health this holiday season.

Nearly 90% of all dieting efforts fail. That's right—90%! While there are numerous reasons for so many broken dreams, today I’m focusing on just one that I believe to be of primary importance.

So many diets fail because people on diets are hungry.

Let’s face it—it’s easy to be seduced into the quest to recapture our youth, and there’s certainly enough societal pressure to do so. Furthermore, there’s a lot to be said for fighting the good fight. But what are we fighting for?

Surely there’s more to aging gracefully than finding the perfect wrinkle cream. Or squeezing into our tightest pair of designer jeans. Or engaging the world’s best cosmetic surgeon.