HealthYour Gut Is Your Second Brain: How Food Affects Mood, Stress, and Aging
We often think of our brain as the center of how we feel—our mood, our stress, our energy. But there is another system in the body quietly influencing all of these: the gut. Often referred to as the “second brain,” the gut is home to trillions of microorganisms that play a vital role in how we feel each day—not just physically, but emotionally as well. I’ve always believed that the foods we choose each day are deeply connected to how the body functions as a whole. One of the most powerful of these connections is the one between the gut […]READ MORE
July 7, 2025
Published by Ginger Hultin, MS RDN CSO
Liver disease is more common than you may realize and has many negative health effects to be aware of. In the United States, about 4.5 million adults live with chronic liver disease including hepatitis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alcoholic liver disease, liver cancer, cirrhosis, and liver failure. Having high blood pressure, uncontrolled blood sugar, a high body mass index (BMI), and excessive alcohol intake can all increase your risk but the good news is — there’s a lot you can do to support your liver, too. Herbs and foods that support or protect the liver do so mainly by […]
July 6, 2025
Published by Life Extension
Most of us are aware that protein is the building block for muscles. However, not everyone is aware that protein is made up of various amino acids, all of which have special functions in the body. Adding to the confusion, there are also many types of protein to chose from (whey, egg, brown rice, pea, soy, hemp, etc.) – all of which have different amino acid profiles. There are 21 standard amino acids, of which nine are considered essential in humans. Essential amino acids can’t be made by the body like other amino acids are, so you need to get […]
May 30, 2025
Published by Ginger Hultin, MS RDN CSO
Summer is a great time for gardening and boosting anti-inflammatory foods that you grow on your own. Get strategic about which plants you want in your garden this year by including some beautiful aromatic culinary herbs. The top 10 medicinal herbs below can help you add more flavor to your cooking and also offer many health benefits. Some of the top health benefits you can gain by using more herbs include: reduce salt in your cooking while still including lots of flavor blood pressure control benefits (herbs are often high in potassium) boost potent antioxidants that can help calm inflammation […]
May 30, 2025
Published by FoodTrients
Looking for books on essential oils and aromatherapy? Completely updated, the best book on the topic available anywhere has just gotten better. The new edition of The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy contains more than 800 easy-to-follow recipes for essential oil treatments from author Valerie Ann Worwood, a consultant and international expert on the clinical uses of essential oils. Explore the multitude of benefits of essential oils and aromatherapy. In her clear and positive voice, Worwood provides tools to address a variety of health issues, including specific advice for children, women, men, and seniors. This aromatherapy book also […]
May 16, 2025
Published by Ginger Hultin, MS RDN CSO
Natural Pain Relief: What to Try Before OTC Medications. When it comes to managing pain, many people instinctively reach for over-the-counter (OTC) medications or even pharmaceuticals. However, several natural remedies can provide effective relief for different types of pain – think back pain, headaches, muscle aches, and menstrual cramps. These approaches are gentle on the body and can provide other benefits to the body as well. They can be used to prevent inflammation and pain from occurring in the first place and set you up for healthy, balancing habits that enhance your life. This is the FoodTrients® guide to natural […]
May 15, 2025
Published by Angela Pettera
“Few things on earth are as misunderstood as women, food, and hormones,” writes Sara Gottfried, MD, the director of precision medicine at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health and the clinical assistant professor of integrative medicine and nutritional sciences at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Pennsylvania. Dr. Gottfried is also the author of Women, Food, and Hormones: A Four-Week Plan to Achieve Hormonal Balance, Lose Weight, and Feel Like Yourself Again. She has a deeply personal interest in her subject: “I come to this topic as a doctor and scientist, but also as a case study […]
May 12, 2025
Published by FoodTrients
Forget everything you think you know about your body and food and discover the new science of how the body heals itself. Learn how to identify the strategies and the dosages for using food to transform your resilience and health in Eat to Beat Disease: The Body’s Five Defense Systems & the Foods That Could Save Your Life by William Li, M.D. We have radically underestimated our body’s power to transform and restore our health. Pioneering physician scientist, Dr. Li, empowers readers by showing them the evidence behind over 200 health-boosting foods that can starve cancer, reduce your risk of […]
May 12, 2025
Published by Ginger Hultin, MS RDN CSO
Interested in how essential oils could enhance your life? Whether you’re a seasoned essential oil user or a novice, these health-promoting aromas have gained a lot of recognition as people turn to them to treat a variety of ailments, mental health and sleep concerns, and to replace fragrances and conventional home and body care products. Essential oils are produced by steam distillation or cold pressing to capture the aromatic (“volatile”) compounds in plants that give them their characteristic scent. They can be used for aromatherapy by inhaling the scents with a diffuser or by applying directly to the skin. Because […]
April 7, 2025
Published by FoodTrients
How Healing Works is the most comprehensive and comprehensible book on how and why people heal. It is a masterful survey of the research on the physical, psychological, and spiritual factors that help us regain and retain our health. Drawing on 40 years of research and patient care, author Wayne Jonas, M.D. explains how 80 percent of healing occurs organically and how to activate the healing process. In How Healing Works, Dr. Jonas lays out a revolutionary new way to approach injury, illness, and wellness. Dr. Jonas explains the biology of healing and the science behind the discovery that 80 […]
April 7, 2025
Published by Grace O
Gut health refers to the overall wellness of your digestive system, particularly the balance and function of the microorganisms that live in your gastrointestinal tract. Did you know that your digestive system is a whole plant/animal kingdom of its own? The GI tract is a complex system responsible for digesting food, absorbing nutrients, and eliminating waste from the body. It’s inhabited by trillions of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, collectively known as the gut microbiota or gut microbiome. Chew on this: There are more microbes in your digestive system than there are cells in your body! It’s estimated that […]
April 7, 2025
Published by Ginger Hultin, MS RDN CSO
You’ve likely noticed the herb rosemary being used in creative culinary ways from infused cocktails to ice cream flavors recently but did you know that it also has some healing properties in addition to being fragrant and delicious? A perennial shrub native to the Mediterranean, rosemary is related to mint and is used as a spice in leaf or oil form. You may even have it growing in your yard this summer as it is easy to cultivate, hearty, and sometimes even used in decoration or as a yard hedge. In manufacturing, rosemary is used for its fragrant scent in […]
March 18, 2025
Published by Dr. Mark Rosenberg
Sometimes I’ll see patients with the complaint that they’re having trouble swallowing, or a sensation that food is getting stuck in their throat and doesn’t go down easily. The medical term for this is a hard word to pronounce –dysphagia (dis-faj-ah) – and could stem from a number of causes. If you experience difficult swallowing, here’s what you should know about it. Dysphagia – What Trouble Swallowing Could Mean Trouble swallowing – dysphagia – rarely occurs on its own. It usually accompanies some other condition of which it is a symptom. It most frequently occurs in older people, and those with […]
March 17, 2025
Published by Ginger Hultin, MS RDN CSO
Whether you want to sleep better, work out more or lose some weight, most people are ultimately after one outcome from making health changes: more energy. Food is the fuel that provides us that get-up-and-go feeling so we can accomplish everything we want to tackle. From a light dose of caffeine to hydrating foods and those naturally packed with B-vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, or fat for fuel here is the ultimate FoodTrients® list of the top 50 foods that help boost your energy to live your best life. 1. ALMONDS Aside from the natural energy in almonds – protein and healthy […]