Living the WELL Life

Why we should have the right to know which foods are genetically modified…
Although Prop 37, also known as the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, is a California initiative, it has national implications. Prop 37 would require food manufacturers to label any foods containing genetically modified (GMO) ingredients. This is a major win for consumers and a setback for companies like Monsanto.  Read more

Whether you are following one of Christina's delicious baking recipes that calls for chocolate, or you are simply enjoying a scrumptious chocolate bar, you now have a great opportunity to help the rainforest. Next time you buy chocolate, try to choose brands that are made from sustainably sourced cocoa. Shade-grown, fair trade, organic, Rainforest Alliance Certified − these are the words a rainforest lover looks for when choosing this sweet.  Read more

The end of summer means our golden, sun-kissed glow will fade as fast as we can say ‘the end of summer,’ leaving us with dry skin that is not so well adjusted to the cooler weather. This simple scrub, done daily, will result in moist, supple (although pale) skin that will stay nourished right through the cold days to come.  Read more

For almost two years, I have eaten a gluten-free diet…mostly. I say mostly because I do have moments, although they are rare, that I “cheat” and eat something that contains gluten. But I don’t have celiac disease; at least my blood test for celiac disease came back negative. So why do I eat a gluten-free diet? Am I just one of those people jumping on the bandwagon of the latest diet trend? After all, gluten-free items are all over the supermarket shelves and restaurant menus. Celebrities swear by them to “detox” or lose weight. But that’s not my reasoning. Let me explain.  Read more

Change is in the air. The air is crisp and cool; the days shorter. We leave the dreamy days of summer behind and return to school, work and…the kitchen.

We turn on the oven, and begin cooking in ways that will warm us for the cool weather ahead. 

For the next ten weeks, we will send you tips, tricks and delicious recipes designed to create health and vitality for autumn.  Read more

At one of my weekly Thursday lunch dates with my dad last summer, he mentioned that he wanted to surprise my mom for her 65th birthday by taking her to Italy without any plans so they could “figure it out as they go” (my trademark description of my preferred means of traveling to foreign lands).  That was an interesting idea, but being that I’ve explored nearly 35 countries this way, I understood the potential challenges my sweet parents might face.  Read more

Not only has Shane formally asked me to sleep in the guest room by way of a post-it note on the vanity, she actually burned that special copy of my great opus -- Zucchini, the Other White Meat – that I autographed for her on our first date. It gets worse.  I have also been ostracized by my Wednesday lunch group, the Fermented Four.  In fact, they have asked me with menacing undertones by way of a Craigslist personal ad to maintain a minimum distance of 100 feet from any Whole Foods salad bar lest I bring pestilence and contamination to those most sacred grounds.  They have also notified me that they have changed their name to the Kimchi Three following my excommunication.    Read more

How many hundreds of dollars do women spend a year on fancy facial creams, expensive chemical peels or radical laser treatments to look and feel years younger? And at the end of the day, are these methods worth it? Are they working? Or are we contradicting ourselves by creating a need for these measures with the very food we put in our bodies?  Read more

The intelligent reporting of National Public Radio on the news of the day is without peer.  Shows like ‘Morning Edition’ look at important issues of the day and conduct frank discussions.

And then I heard a story that made my blood boil because it was so, so un-NPR-like. While my attention was piqued at the mention of organic food and its effect on health, I was stunned by the actual report.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/09/04/160395259/why-organic-food-may-not-be-healthier-for-you

The show begins benignly enough, telling us that many people have come to embrace the $29 billion organic industry. The host talks about buying organic food because he believes it’s healthier. His experts quickly shoot that argument down with the new study released by Stanford University in California. According to the reporters on the show, the new study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine has found scant evidence that there are health benefits to eating organic foods.  Read more

NATURAL WEIGHT
What is your ideal size and weight? The honest answer is we do not know. Using nature as a guide, we would put on weight leading into the winter, and need more fat if we live in colder climates. Fat provides insulation, a store of energy and physical protection for our organs.  Read more