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Research & Articles

Shared Resources ​

A collection of health and nutrition related articles. Please send any findings you would like added to this page to             counselingwell@gmail.com.

Health Corps
HealthCorps is a national non-profit organization that gives teens tools to improve physical and mental health so they can learn to live more productive and happier lives. HealthCorps students exercise more, eat better and practice positive thought.
​

AddictionResource.com
Dedicated to raising 
awareness on the dangers of addiction and helping young adults stay drug-free.

ALL Seasons Eating Guides
Aryuvedic seasonal eating guides from Life Spa!  Can also find seasonal grocery shopping guides here!


Antidepressant Microbes In Soil: How Dirt Makes You Happy
By Bonnie L. Grant
Prozac may not be the only way to get rid of your serious blues. Soil microbes have been found to have similar effects on the brain and are without side effects and chemical dependency potential. Learn how to harness the natural antidepressant in soil and make yourself happier and healthier..

Jungle Healing Technique You Can Use Anywhere…Full Immersion In Nature
Posted by Nick Polizzi- The Sacred Science Team - I LOVE THIS POST!!!
A common question that I am asked after screenings of The Sacred Science film is, “Do I have to take a trip to the Amazon to get this type of healing?”.
My response to this, believe it or not, is that many of the techniques seen in the film can be applied in just about any town or city on the planet. With a little creativity, you don’t necessarily need to seek out a pricey jungle healing center or track down a traveling
shaman in order to heal using these methods.  
Below is one of the fundamental strategies that the shamans used in our film. Don’t be deceived by how simple it is! 

Be Free of Gluten Free  
Say What???  From LifeSpa: Today, there is a new condition on the rise called Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS), which refers to folks who are not celiac but feel better when they do not eat gluten.  In a new study, gluten turned out not to be the culprit of much of their perceived gluten-based indigestion. (1) Peter Gibson, a professor of gastroenterology at Monash University in Australia, performed a fairly sophisticated, randomized, controlled trial comparing gluten against other potential digestive irritants.  

Sitting Disease: The New Health Epidemic  
Sitting is the new smoking. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys report that 50-70 percent of people spend six or more hours sitting every day. An inactive lifestyle is shown to shorten your lifespan, cause hormonal changes, and increase inflammation.  Sitting dormant for hours on end, combined with a lack of exercise has been proven to cause type-II diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.  Here are some simple solutions to prevent and combat the negative side effects of six health complications that are associated the "sitting disease.”  READ MORE

Alternative Supports for Cancer
This is from a website of another fellow health coach ~ a wonderful resource if you are looking for alternative approaches to healing cancer.  

10 Dietary Tips to Transition Into Spring
More great info from Life Spa!

Superfoods for Your Body: Spring Edition
More from Dr. Doulliard! Happy New Year! Spring is the start of nature’s annual nutritional cycle, where it takes one full year to get ones’ nutritional needs met. Spring is a heavy, wet and warmer time of the year that encourages seeds that have weathered a long winter to germinate and sprout, offering an abundance of nutrient-dense foods so desperately needed after a long sparse winter. For our ancestors, early spring was always a tough time in nature to get nourished, as the winter stores have likely run out and the spring harvest is still in its infancy. 

7 Superfoods That Fight the Cold and Flu  
by: Valencia Porter, M.D., M.P.H., FACN
When the weather turns chilly, you spend more time indoors where the air is recycled and you’re in closer quarters with other people who might be harboring cold-causing viruses. Yet even if you share an office, plane ride, or home with someone who is sneezing, sniffling, and coughing, you can stop a cold in its tracks by incorporating these immune-boosting superfoods into your diet this season.

Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits!
I love apple cider vinegar!  Check this out!  From the Global Healing Network- Great Stuff!

6 Home Remedies for Acid Reflux 
I like this guide, shedding some light on all of the confusing information out there.  

14 Foods to Cleanse the Liver 

Clean Guide to Cooking Oils

Which oils are the healthiest to cook with? And which ones should I avoid?
Today, I want to answer these questions and share with you the Clean Guide to Cooking Oils created by my team.
If there’s one thing in your diet you could change today that would have a huge impact long term on your health, it’s this one.
Change your oils, change your health.  

How to Support the Gut: Cheat Sheet
Hi everyone, Dr. Junger here.   Over the last four weeks, I’ve taken you on a journey through the gut. It’s a system of incredible intricacy that requires our care and support.  The deeper we explore the connections between the gut and our health, the more we realize that we’re only at the beginning of our understanding

How to Support the Gut, Part 4: Our Second Brain
There is an incredibly intricate and tight connection between our gut and our brain that science is only beginning to understand.  Articles are continually being released about the “gut-brain-axis” and our “second brain”, otherwise know as the nervous system in our gut.
Today, I want to finish our 4-part exploration of the gut by focusing in the nervous system. I’ll walk you through what it does, what gives it problems, and what we can do to support it. 

How to Support the Gut, Part 3: Immune System
Did you know that 80% of our immune system is located within the gut?  That’s why I place so much emphasis on gut repair. The healthier our gut is, the better our overall health will be.  So for part three of our journey through the gut system today, I’m going to focus on how we can support the extraordinary immune system that sits right behind our intestinal wall. 

How to Support the Gut, Part 2: Intestinal Wall
The Gut and the microbiome that lives within it is the Wild West of medical research. (“Microbiome” is a fancy name for all the microorganisms that share our body.)  Each week there are new articles that showcase how the gut, the organisms that live within it, our brain, and our behavior cannot be neatly separated.(1) They are all connected with each other, and the health of the gut sits at the center of them. 

How to Support the Gut, Part 1: Intestinal Flora
Over the next few weeks, I’ll take you on a journey through the gut system. The image above shows you the different parts of the gut that I will be talking about. You’ll see what they do, how they get damaged and what we can do to repair them. Today we’ll start with the fascinating intestinal flora.
We’ll be doing some basic physiology which I think will give you a good picture of how important the gut is and how gut repair can really aid our health. 

Food as Medicine Movement
Is food medicine?  Should health care providers prescribe healthy food to prevent diet-related diseases and hunger?  Although health professionals have long understood the critical importance  of good nutrition to individual and population  health, millions of Americans  still suffer from diabetes and other diet-related diseases. 

Science Confirms Turmeric As Effective As 14 Drugs
Turmeric is one the most thoroughly researched plants in existence today.  Its medicinal properties and components (primarily curcumin) have been the subject of over 5600 peer-reviewed and published biomedical studies.  In fact, our five-year long research project on this sacred plant has revealed over 600 potential preventive and therapeutic applications, as well as 175 distinct beneficial physiological effects. 

Top 10 Weight Loss Tips from LifeSpa
With spring upon us, this is the time to reset our ability to burn fat. Each season and its harvest has an important role in maintaining good health. Winter stores fat, proteins, vitamins and minerals to rebuild and insulate. Spring, as illustrated by its low fat harvest and austere menu, naturally forces us to burn stored fat cells for energy. This triggers fat cell detoxification, which is a requirement for weight loss. But wait, the benefits of fat burning far outweigh our weight loss obsession. Being a good fat burner does not depend on whether you are fat or skinny. We have lost our ability to burn fat as a culture, and that is a real problem. Let me explain why we all need to reset our fat burners. The benefits of fat burning are huge and go way beyond weight loss!  .

Our Moods, Our Foods
This article explores the intrinsic link between our mood and the food we eat.  This is a subject VERY near and dear to my heart, coming from the mental health world and incorporating nutritional health into my practice with people.  Good stuff HERE!

Top 10 Food Lies that Keep Us Sick and Fat, Pt. 2
By Dr. Mark Hyman.  Here are The First 10 Lies and in this article he continues with the next 10.  These are great, easy and simple things to learn and know to stay healthy and trim!

Soy: Friend or Foe?  The Ayurvedic take on it all!
Research from both sides of the debate and a brief look at two anceint medicine approaches.  A 3rd balanced path to soy is concluded.  Read MORE

Ayurvedic Therapy for Occasional Headaches
Lots of folks complain of nagging, occasional and mild headaches. Taking pain pills has been shown to be harsh on digestion and should be used sparingly at most.According to Ayurveda, there are two reasons for an occasional mild headache. Perhaps the most common type of discomfort is from stress or tension, where the muscles around the head and neck contract temporarily, causing sluggish blood flow. This block of blood flow can cause occasional discomfort usually from the back of the head spreading to the forehead.  Continued...

The Scientific 7 Minute Workout
Exercise science is a fine and intellectually fascinating thing. But sometimes you just want someone to lay out guidelines for how to put the newest fitness research into practice.  An article in the May-June issue of the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal does just that. In 12 exercises deploying only body weight, a chair and a wall, it fulfills the latest mandates for high-intensity effort, which essentially combines a long run and a visit to the weight room into about seven minutes of steady discomfort — all of it based on science.  READ MORE

Eating Fermented Foods Seasonally
By Dr. John Douillard
We know that fermentation was used by traditional cultures as a way of preserving fruits, veggies and dairy products.  An abundance of fruits and veggies were harvested in the fall when cultures would celebrate the harvest with big feasts like Thanksgiving or Octoberfest.
There was no real need to ferment or preserve foods in the summer because they commonly couldn’t eat the foods from their garden fast enough. Plenty of food was available right off the vine in the late spring, summer and into the fall.  Read More

​Thyroid Health: Symptoms, Diagnosis & Healing
I’m usually a chirpy and peppy gal, so when I started feeling sluggish on a regular basis, I put on my detective’s hat and headed to my regular investigative hot spots—the doc’s office and the bookstore. After looking under the hood and between the lines, it turned out that my adrenals (and some plain ole stress) were the major culprits. But through my sleuthing I learned a lot about thyroid health and discovered that it’s a large contributor to many of the chronic physical and mental issues people face today.  Continued...Back to School Snack SolutionsBad eating habits develop early in life, becoming lifelong routines. More than one-third of children and adolescents are now overweight or obese,1 putting them at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease,2 joint problems, and even sleep apnea.3 A study in the journal Pediatrics revealed that almost a quarter of American adolescents have diabetes or prediabetes, up from just 9 percent in 1999.4 But dietary modifications at an early age can allow for a child’s optimal development and a reduction in risk factors for disease later in life.5,6   Continued....

Cholesterol Education: HDL, LDL, and How to Control It
Cholesterol is a substance that is produced in the liver, and it is often affected by a high intake of saturated fats. It is found in every bodily cell and is vital for cell function, but too much can lead to serious implications. When a patient receives a routine checkup, doctors check their bad LDL cholesterol and good HDL cholesterol.  Continue...

10 Reasons You Should Use Dandelion Greens In Your Green Smoothie
Dandelion greens are my number one choice for a smoothie green. Not only do they provide a higher amount of calcium and iron than most cultivated greens, they have a wide array of health benefits that make them the perfect all around nutritional boost.  Here are ten reasons you should use dandelion greens in your next smoothie.

Understanding How Soy Foods Impact Your Health
he Confusion over Soy continues...this is a good well-informed article that can help you get a better understanding of it all! Read more here

Got Proof? Lack of Evidence for Milk’s Benefits
There is no biological requirement for cow’s milk. It is nature’s perfect food but only if you are a calf. The evidence of its benefits is overstated, and the evidence of its harm to human populations is increasing.

Cancer Killing Dandelion Tea gets Research Grant
You all know this makes me thrilled since I LOVE Dandelion...give a quick read and consideration!
Researchers in Windsor, Ont., have received an additional $157,000 grant for a total of $217,000 to study how effective dandelion root extract is in fighting cancer. Siyaram Pandey, a biochemist at the University of Windsor, has been studying the anti-cancer potential of dandelion root extract for almost two years. His team’s first phase of research showed that dandelion root extract forced a very aggressive and drug-resistant type of blood cancer cell, known as chronic monocytic myeloid leukemia, to essentially commit suicide. 

Living in a Brainwashed Culture of Urgency
By Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.
Whether you like it or not companies know exactly how to get in your brain and control what you’re paying attention to. Everything today is about tricking our brains into a state of urgency. Think about how the news is delivered, “Breaking News.” Or how about how your phones is configured, everything plays to a sound or blinking light that tells our brain, this is something we need to pay attention to right now. Applications have become increasingly popular because they give you up-to-the-minute update alerts on whatever you want from news, to sports scores, to the newest Groupon or sale. Everything is urgent and important.  Read More....

.Make Superfoods- from Dr. Frank Lipman
Lose weight! Boost immunity! Improve your love life! If there were a pharmaceutical drug that did all three, there’d be a stampede to the pharmacy, but for now, no such pill exists. My advice? Build your own – not a pill, but a plan – an eating strategy that packs power, nutritional value and a host of benefits into every bite. Where to start? Simply load up on the “Superfine 9” – nine of the most nutritionally valuable foods you can buy.

It’s a Crapshoot: Feces Taint 50 Percent of Buffalo Chicken
A new PCRM billboard and report warn residents of Buffalo, N.Y.—birthplace of Buffalo chicken wings—that at least half of the retail chicken products sold in Buffalo are contaminated with feces.

Ayurveda Exposed
Ayurveda is a Vedic science which, like yoga, has only one purpose: to expose the illusion and neediness of the mind and become free. 
So, what does that mean? How about feeling free to love your partner, mom, dad or sibling fully, without holding back even just a little? How about feeling free to wear whatever and act however you like without concern for what people might think? How about not being addicted to sweets, chips, coffee, chocolate, money or shopping? 

The anti-aging superfood avocado
(NaturalNews) Foods that have an incredible array of health benefits that go well beyond just their nutrient value are considered superfoods. These foods are typically loaded with a combination of critical fatty acids, anti-oxidant phytonutrients and essential amino acids. Avocados are one of the best anti-aging superfoods to consume.  Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/035763_avocado_superfood_anti-aging.html#ixzz1uZDXdZYO

Zen for High Schoolers: ‘Notice the Anxiety. Notice the Fear.’
Students in trouble are given the choice of traditional punishments or participating in the meditation program, where Mr. Snyder will teach them how to meditate, understand volatile emotions and curb impulsive behavior. He intends to take the program to other schools as well.

Regimens: Noise Canceling, Without Headphones
Studies have found that meditation helps prevent the recurrence of depression, perhaps by producing changes in parts of the brain associated with learning and anxiety. A new study suggests that meditation may modulate brain waves called alpha rhythms, which help regulate the transmission of sensory input from the surrounding environment.

Dairy Products Do Not Promote Bone Health
Dairy products and calcium do not prevent stress fractures, according to a new study published inArchives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Researchers followed adolescent girls for seven years, tracking their diets, physical activity, and stress fractures. Girls consuming the most dairy products and calcium had no added protection. In fact, among the most active girls—exercising more than one hour per day—those who got the most calcium in their diets (coming mostly from dairy products) had more than double the risk of a stress fracture, compared with those getting less calcium. Researchers found that vitamin D intake did help cut risk. Girls getting the most vitamin D had half the risk of a fracture, compared with girls getting less vitamin D.
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Nutrition: Brainpower Tied to Omega-3 Levels
Low blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids are associated with smaller brain volume and poorer performance on tests of mental acuity, even in people without apparent dementia, according to a new study.

Regimens: Antibiotic Use for Sinusitis Is Questioned
Antibiotics are commonly used to treat sinusitis, but a new clinical trial has found that a placebo works just as well.

Processed Meat Linked to Diabetes in Native Americans
Processed meat consumption increases Native Americans’ risk of diabetes, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers followed more than 2,000 Native Americans living in the Southwestern United States. All were free of diabetes at the beginning of the study, but those who ate processed meat (e.g., sausage, bacon) were more likely to develop diabetes over a five-year period. The association was particularly strong with Spam.  Read more here.

Exercise as Housecleaning for the Body
When ticking off the benefits of physical activity, few of us would include intracellular housecleaning. But a new study suggests that the ability of exercise to speed the removal of garbage from inside our body’s cells may be one of its most valuable, if least visible, effects.

Mindful Eating as Food for Thought
NYTimes...
Mindful eating is not a diet, or about giving up anything at all. It’s about experiencing food more intensely — especially the pleasure of it. You can eat a cheeseburger mindfully, if you wish. You might enjoy it a lot more. Or you might decide, halfway through, that your body has had enough. Or that it really needs some salad. Read more

Why you can't remember anything - and how to fix it
Mirror
We’ve all had days where keys ­mysteriously go missing and the names of people we know slip from ­our mind. But a worrying new study has claimed that our brainpower starts declining when we’re in our 40s – not 60s as previously thought. The good news is, most scientists agree we don’t have to accept these age-related memory problems as inevitable. Read more.

Digital addiction may damage your brain: Study [VIDEO] 
CBS News
We throw around words like "crackberry" to describe how dependent we are on high-tech devices. But now, a study finds that Internet addiction may actually damage the brain -- the same as too much alcohol or drugs. Watch here.

We’re Eating Less Meat. Why?
Mark Bittman, NYT
Americans eat more meat than any other population in the world; about one-sixth of the total, though we’re less than one-twentieth of the population.
But that’s changing. 

Chewing on the Best Diets 
By IIN teacher Dr. David Katz 
The Huffington Post
As you likely know, U.S. News and World Report released a list of "best diets" to coincide with the annual bumper crop of weight loss resolutions as the new year begins. I was privileged to be one of the 22 judges. We worked in isolation of one another, so none of us knew what the others were thinking.

Can positive thinking make you well?
By IIN faculty Deepak Chopra
Observers may have noticed recently that mainstream medicine is taking a harder line against positive thinking. Surveys of the leading research in the field conclude that recovery rates from cancer, for example, are not higher among patients who take a positive attitude about fighting their disease. Studies that show the reverse have been small and, according to their critics, flawed in serious ways.

Superfood Kale In The Limelight
NPR
What is it with kale? That's what one of our producers asked this week, after hearing about the "Eat More Kale" standoff between Vermont t-shirt maker Bo Muller-Moore and the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A. It's true that kale seems to be enjoying a certain limelight these days, and not just because Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin was willing to say publicly, "Don't mess with kale." Read more.

Teaching Doctors to Be Mindful
NYTimes
It was 6:40 in the morning and nearly all of the doctors attending the medical conference had assembled for the first session of the day. But there were no tables and chairs in sight, no lectern, no run-throughs of PowerPoint presentations. All I could make out in the early morning darkness were the unmoving forms of my colleagues, cross-legged on cushions and raised platforms, eyes closed and hands resting with palms upward in their laps.






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    • Client Testimonials
  • Counseling Services
    • Health Coaching
    • Workplace & Community Wellness
    • Professional Development
    • Counseling & Psychotherapy
  • Recipes
  • Herbal Medicine
  • Resources
  • Contact Me
  • Nourished and Radiant