When people think about mindfulness, they often picture a person sitting on a cushion in a lotus position, eyes closed, focusing on the breath. When they think about climate change, they picture melting glaciers, wildfires, or international policy meetings. It can be...

A health practitioner recently emailed me a screenshot of an Instagram post advertising mushroom coffee and asked: “Many of my patients are using this product. Does it really reduce cortisol?” Thanks for this great question! Fungi-laced coffees are positively...

When people first hear about mindful eating, they often imagine: sitting up at a table, chewing each bite 30 times, eating in silence, and only consuming food when you are physically hungry. Though potentially helpful, those practices are not the heart of mindful...

I turned 60 yesterday. I feel freer and more optimistic than ever before. Much of my 50s were a process of emotional decluttering: letting go of what no longer served me to make space for ways of living that feel lighter, kinder, and more true. Looking back from my...

We plan big things: weddings, work projects, cruises, retirement. When it comes to the single most important activity keeping us alive—eating—we often wing it. We’re busy until suddenly we feel famished and grab whatever is quickest or closest, hoping it will be “good...

When people think of exercise, the first things that come to mind are weight loss, toned muscles, or maybe running a faster mile. The real magic of movement goes deeper, and broader, than what you see in the mirror or on the scale.  There are well known...

If you ever feel that exercise is just another chore on your to-do list, or worse, a punishment for what you ate, let’s hit pause and take a breath. As a nutritionist and proponent of the Mediterranean way of living, I believe that movement should be about pleasure,...

Let me confess: I am a nutritionist and health coach who spent most of her life terrified of exercise. Not just “I’d rather not” or “I’m too busy,” but full-on, heart-pounding, stomach-churning, please-don’t-make-me-do-it terror. If you’ve ever felt this way, trust...

In recent years, the language of dieting has shifted. "Weight loss" has been replaced with "wellness," and calorie counting has given way to "clean eating," "detoxing," and "anti-inflammatory" regimens.  Wellness diets appear to offer a healthier, more holistic...

When Sarah, a healthy young woman in a larger body, consulted her doctor about itchy hives all over her body, he told her to lose forty pounds -- and so she contacted me for weight-loss support. Not seeing how weight loss might cure hives (it can’t), I suggested she...

The Mediterranean way of eating and living has long been celebrated for its heart-health benefits, but mounting evidence also highlights its profound role in cancer prevention and survivorship. Research links the Mediterranean diet with a reduced risk of overall...

If your doctor recommended a drug that had a 30-50% chance of preventing a life-threatening disease and no side effects, would you take it? I would.  The good news is that 30–50% of cancers could be prevented by eating a nutritious diet, engaging in regular physical...