Local Resources: Community Supported Agriculture shares for fresh, nutritious vegetables!

In an ideal world, I would go to the farmer’s market every week to buy fresh, locally sourced organic vegetables.  In reality, I get very busy on the weekends so getting to the farmer’s market is more of a special trip instead of a routine.  This is where Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares come in.  When you buy a CSA share, you play a flat rate for the season and your local farmer supplies you with a large box of fresh veggies each week. There are farms that deliver CSA shares to your home while others have a weekly pickup

Health Tech Resources for Cabin Fever

It is easy to use weather as a reason for letting physical activity fall by the wayside.  I find that the same people who say they can not exercise because it is too cold, often find themselves saying that they cannot exercise because it’s too hot only one month later.  So unless we want to limit our physical activity to one month out of the year, we need to find ways to bring physical activity indoors or find activities that we enjoy during each season. Here are some of my favorite resources for exercise routines that you can do indoors

Detox From Processed Foods

Based on the title of this article, you may be expecting me to suggest some kind of liver cleanse or detox supplement, but at Third Stone Health, we do not use those types of detox programs.  We often suggest more of a “diet reset” which may be spending a week eating only whole foods like vegetables and chicken or fish or doing the Whole 30 whole foods program.  Many of the detox supplements that are out there do little besides causing a laxative effect which will make your weight go down but will not benefit you in any long-term way. 

Sleep and Hormonal Balance

I taught an endocrinology class for herbalists at Farmacy Herbs over the weekend and I found myself referring to the importance of sleep in relation to the appropriate function of multiple hormones that regulate mood, metabolism, and food intake. It made me realize that I often ask patients about their sleep but rarely explain why I am asking about it in relation to their anxiety, muscle development, food cravings, or diabetes. The Importance of Sleep We often need more sleep in fall and winter because our circadian rhythms (sleep-wake cycles) are influenced by light exposure. I find that many people fight

Elderberry and Other Interventions for Colds and Flu Season

Elderberry is one of my favorite herbs for cold and flu prevention because it is easy to make a delicious syrup to take every day or for first symptoms of congestion and body aches. Elderberry has multiple mechanisms of action that are not fully understood including stimulation of the production of immune signaling molecules and prevention of connection between flu viruses and human cells. In studies where people were given elderberry or placebo at first signs of flu, the symptom severity was reduced and the duration of illness decreased from an average of six days to two days. Elderberry Syrup

Exercise for Arthritis

When your joints hurt, you may feel like you want to avoid physical activity. Pain is exhausting and it is also often a signal that we should stop doing what we are doing to avoid injury. With arthritis, physical activity is one of the most effective pain relievers (with only positive side effects) but it takes a significant amount of willpower to get moving when your body hurts. Arthritis-Friendly Physical Activity The Center for Disease Control says: “ Participating in arthritis-friendly physical activity improves pain, function, mood, and quality of life without making symptoms worse.” In the clinic, I have seen

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