What if the secret to calming inflammation in perimenopause isn’t restriction—but nourishment? Perimenopause has a way of putting inflammation in the spotlight. Suddenly, the things you used to brush off—achy joints, brain fog, random skin flare-ups, autoimmune symptoms—are all taking center stage under a very unflattering fluorescent light. For many women, the first response is:…
Your gut actually produces more serotonin than your brain (yes, your gut is the original mood factory). It also plays a starring role in hormone metabolism. Which means: if your gut is cranky, your hormones are probably cranky, too. Let’s dive into why healing your gut might just be the missing piece in your hormone…
When I was serving as a missionary, my spiritual mentor—who had studied under a Coptic monk—taught me to feed and expand the spirit by proclaiming scripture over every part of my being: body, soul, spirit, and mind. Not abstract theology—embodied practice. Breath and spoken truth. Prayer placed gently on the tissues that were holding old…
When I couldn’t run without pain… I knew something deeper was going on. It started as knee pain while I was packing to move to Northern Ireland. My husband had already gone ahead for work after our visas were denied, and I was managing life solo with our three young kids, preparing to reunite after…
Back in 2017, I didn’t know I was running on fumes—because I was drinking so much coffee. By afternoon, I’d switch to fizzy homemade water kefir or ginger beer I brewed in my kitchen and handed out to friends like some kind of Middle Ages alewife. I didn’t know the words “adrenal fatigue” yet. I…
Winter meals are about survival — soups that bubble away for hours, and root vegetables that, if you forget them in the crisper too long, go from crisp to Gumby-flexible. (If you grew up in the ’80s like me, you know exactly what I mean. #IYKYK) But spring? Spring feels like the farmers market is…
Most of us think about hydration like filling up a glass of water. But inside your body, hydration is more like a river system — carrying nutrients, flushing out waste, keeping cells bathed in the fluid they need to function. When that river slows to a trickle? Everything else suffers. Digestion backs up. Blood sugar…
I’ve never thought of stress as “just in my head.” I’ve always felt it in my body — the racing heart, the tight chest, the way it steals my sleep. Maybe I’m just a sensitive soul despite being a Cadbury egg (hard shell, gooey center). Either way, my body made it clear: stress is physical.…
For years I thought sleep was optional — a luxury for people with fewer kids, lighter to-do lists, and more margin. Coffee was my stand-in. But here’s the truth: sleep isn’t optional. It’s the body’s most advanced healing therapy. Without it, even the cleanest food and best supplements can only get you so far. 1.…