For this holiday issue, I had originally planned to share some of my favorite health gadgets that would be good stocking stuffers. (Okay, they might not exactly fit into your stocking.) But thinking about the holidays more gave me pause to reconsider something less commercial and much more important, the subject of generosity, especially as we enter one of the most social times of the year, for some, and for others, the loneliest.

We hear more and more about the adverse effects of a sedentary lifestyle. For decades, the desk was the center of work culture, and it still is to some extent. Computers and mobile phones keep us glued to large and small screens alike, and with the wide array of entertainment content options available these days, it is easy to become that quintessential “couch potato” without even realizing it.

As a child, my parents instilled a passion for learning I’ve carried with me all these years. Learning is not just a verb. It’s an attitude—one of curiosity about the world around us. I call it “epi-curious”—an epicure of curiosity about continually noticing and paying attention to what interests us and brings us joy.

I hope you had a joyful holiday with friends and family. Here’s to you in 2023! May you be healthy, happy, and inspired. Along those lines, I’ll make this short and not so sweet. Maybe it’s time for you to break up with sugar? Just for a little while, at least. You probably had plenty over the holidays, so the beginning of a new year is the perfect time to kick off a 30-day sugar detox. I challenge you to 30 days, as most folks abandon their health resolutions within a few weeks. It’s important to stay with it.

While many of us watch our diet and exercise, we probably have not given much thought to how we breathe. Some of us cannot ignore our noses, especially if we suffer from respiratory or sleep issues such as asthma, snoring, or sleep apnea. Considering the average human takes up to 25,000 breaths per day or an average of 670 million breaths over a lifetime --- breathing is an area of our well-being worth paying attention to. Taking time to explore its potential benefits when done properly and understanding the negative consequences when done incorrectly is important to our health.

This one is for the ladies. Sorry, gents, but we have our unique issues. Recently, at a retreat hosted by BlueWave Medicine, I had the opportunity to meet New York Times bestselling author and speaker, Berkeley resident and physician Sara Gottfried. She recently just published her fifth book, WOMEN, FOOD AND HORMONES: A 4-Week Plan to Achieve Hormonal Balance, Lose Weight and Feel Like Yourself Again. This book is a must-read for any woman wanting to shed those extra pounds, balance hormones, achieve metabolic flexibility, and enjoy greater mental acuity. Just about all of us fit into at least one of those buckets.

Americans are on the move again, with both business and leisure travel expected to increase. In January, Tripadvisor published its “Travel in 2022” predictions report indicating “2022 is the year of the travel rebound” and further noted “planned travel in 2022 is expected to exceed actual travel in 2019.” Over the past two years, we learned how taking care of ourselves is key. So, how can we minimize risk and continue our commitment to healthy living when we travel?

No one is sure when humans first started having “pets.” A search on the internet turned up somewhere between 12,000 to 40,000 years ago. Fast forward to 2021, according to the 2021-2022 APPA National Pet Owners Survey,” 70% of U.S. households own a pet, which equates to 90.5 million homes.” Dogs take first place, cats second, fish third and birds fourth. Pets are big business—the same survey estimates in 2021, “$109.6 billion will be spent on our pets in the U.S.”

More than ever, specially now during covid, we have become aware of the air we breathe. Developing and honing our air quality IQ might just save your life and improve your health or the health of others. Of course, there’s nothing like trial by fire to focus our attention on something most of us probably never thought of before. In the past year, we have had plenty of wake-up calls, such as California’s forest fires, the impact of COVID, and—to top matters off—likely more consecutive hours indoors than ever before.

Most of us know the stock market hates uncertainty. Humans don’t deal with it particularly well either—it can affect both our physical and mental well being. Right now, no question, we are living in uncertain times. Stress, anxiety, and depression are escalating as economic instability and social isolation rises with companies struggling and job losses mounting and no end in sight.

If someone promised a miracle cure to improve your vitality, appearance, hormone balance, immunity, weight, and overall health and longevity, you would probably believe that person was kidding, right? And, place an order immediately? Well, the miracle cure is good quality sleep. It’s free and we do it every day—just some of us are better at it than others. Here lies the conundrum…

Friends visiting from out of state often remark the quality and quantity of the fresh fruits and vegetables we enjoy in California. While buying fresh produce at our year-round farmers markets and always cooking at home (where we know exactly what is in our food) is ideal, we often fall short due to busy schedules and long commutes. Although we aspire to eat healthfully, we’re vulnerable when we buy prepared foods (try to choose fresh foods over processed foods) or dine out in the Bay Area’s fabulous restaurants…

In the March/April issue, I featured “Building Homes That Heal.” This was a popular article, and writing it left me wanting to explore more information. Now, we continue that discussion. Funny, how when we begin a journey as if in synchronicity, the journey leads us to some interesting people and places. And so it was, I unexpectedly crossed paths with Bill and Adriana Hayward of Carmel/Monterey.

Few names in health and wellness have had the staying power of Dr. Dean Ornish. With a litany of accolades too vast to name here and fans including past U.S. presidents, celebrities, and ordinary folks, Ornish pioneered what has become the revolutionary field of lifestyle medicine…