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When Science Meets (Meditation) Practice While it's of no surprise to the gurus, the Buddhas, the Dharma Punks, the mystics, sages, and hermits of time past (and anyone else with a mindfulness or meditation practice), it is nice to have science to confirm what many of us already know: Meditation has vast rewards for brain and mental health. An eight week study conducted by Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) determined that meditation literally rebuilds the brain’s …

Sleep for the Yin,  Sleep for the Win. I’ve written previously about the importance of sleep. If our health were a barrel, sleep would be one of the staves (the long, vertical pieces of wood that construct the sides) of the barrel If one stave is missing, even if there are 50 staves in the barrel, if one is missing than it will absolutely hold nothing (well, I suppose it would still hold, if you're being pedantic). If one of the 50 staves extends just 50% of the way to t …

Stress is a Locked Door to Wellness As kids, we were taught that boogeymen lurked in shadows and in the dark, always just beyond eyesight. And as children, while the stories were ethereal, their manifestations in our early psyches were not. As adults, stress has become that boogeyman. Threads interwoven both expectedly and unexpectedly throughout our lives, and just like our childhood boogeymen, stress comes with very real manifestations. Namely, our health. Accord …

Get Better — Feel Better — Be Better Some may argue (including myself) that cooking makes humans out of animals. And—anyway—being in the kitchen is just plain fun and immensely satisfying. So to go along with our  Fortify Immune Health blog post, we headed into the kitchen and created several immune fortifying tonics to share with you. These are specifically delicious (goal #1), while also being powerful tonics (goal #1, it's a tie). Use these when you're getting sick. And use them when …

Small Steps and Big Changes We’re having a strange Fall so far here in the North East. The weather is absolutely gorgeous and it’s—almost (optimistically?)—easy to forget what season it is. But, without question, it’s Fall and people are getting sick. The most positive and powerful steps we can take towards improved immune health all begin with small personal lifestyle changes. And, as with so many areas in life, when we reenforce our foundation through improved lifestyle mo …

Promoting Health Through War? A lot has changed since I first became interested in Pine Pollen and combating (undoing) the long term effects of Lyme Disease and the effects of a conventional, Western approach to Lyme Disease treatment. At that time, I was a firm believer in treating Lyme Disease and it’s co-infections with antimicrobials, whether those be pharmaceutical or herbal. This made sense to my science based mind. I’m not so convinced anymore. A few patterns and questions have …

Home-Crafted Summer Rejuvenation Inspired by the budding spring and the aroma of hot summer days spend in the open wilderness, we've captured that essence and transformed it into a spray that can be used on the body, as a room spray, and directly upon the skin to help freshen and rejuvenate the skin. This is a set of recipes developed specifically for men and applicable to everyone.  Body/face and room spray ingredients: Face oil ingredients: 10 drops …

Can probiotic supplementation increase testosterone levels? The relationship between L. reuteri and testosterone in the aging male. There is no shortage of research into—or reporting on—the many inexorable connections between gut health and the overall, holistic health of the body and mind. However, there is relatively little research done into the relationship between the microbiome, the HPA (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal/testis axis), and reproductive fitness, specifically in the ag …

Dynamic and Holistic Wellness in Harmony with Nature At RAW Forest Foods, our persistent connection to nature has always driven our mission. We firmly believe fostering and nurturing this bond goes beyond a mere recreational pursuit; it is an integral element of dynamic and holistic wellness. We are thrilled to announce our partnership with American Forests, the oldest conservation organization in the US, with a history spanning over 140 years. American Forests has successfully planted …

What is Estrogen Dominance? The following article will discuss what estrogen dominance is, the role of estrogen in the male and female body, signs and symptoms of both low and high estrogen in men and women, sources of xenoestrogens (including phytoestrogens), and the importance of liver health in maintaining healthy sex-hormone levels. The term estrogen dominance was first coined by Dr. John Lee, MD, to describe a condition of either high, normal, or low estrogen, but with low to no prog …