Kristen

Easy Roasted Artichoke Hearts Recipe

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Artichoke Hearts with Garlic Sauce

My friend and I like to go to a Spanish tapas restaurant and order their Artichoke Fritters with Serrano Aioli along with sangria. We always do this after a nice long walk, so the food tastes especially good. More than once we’ve finished our shared appetizer and ordered a repeat!

I really wanted to make something similar at home, so I started to search for frozen artichoke hearts, which are surprisinly hard to find. I eventually found some at Whole Foods, but they are not kept in stock all of the time, so when I see them, I grab several bags.

My attempt to replicate the artichoke fritters was a failure. The breading wasn’t the same without the frying technique that the restaurant uses. I decided to just roast the artichokes without breading, and instead just add olive oil, seasoning salts, and some fresh ground pepper, to see how they’d turn out. They turned out fabulously.

It’s so easy to do and artichokes go well with just about any protein you want to add to them. They work well on salad, in wraps, on pizza, or can just be dipped into an aioli or a tzatziki, garlic, or tahini sauce.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

Frozen artichoke hearts

Olive oil

Seasoning Salt

Ground Pepper

Whole garlic cloves (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Pour olive oil on the still frozen artichoke hearts (and whole cloves of garlic if using) on a pan with parchment paper. Sprinkle seasoning salts and grind pepper on top. Cook for 20 minutes, then flip the hearts over. Cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Quick Video

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Since I am usually just cooking for myself, quick, easy recipes that are still healthy are my favorites right now. I hope you enjoy the idea and it sparks some creative cooking for you.

Happy almost Valentine’s Day!

You are What You Consume

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Most of us know about the Super Size Me documentary. In it, Morgan Spurlock ate McDonald’s for a month and shared his physical and mental decline during this period. Dr Chris van Tulleken conducted a similar experiment using ultra-processed food instead of fast food. He documented his health and well-being over a month when he ate a diet composed of 80% junk food in order to draw attention to the heavily processed food that children in the UK are routinely fed. This can be seen in the BBC Documentary, What are We Feeding our Kids?. What strikes me most about these two experiments is the fact that these people experienced such negative results in just a matter of a few weeks. It does not take long to create significant imbalances in the body.

Whether fast food or junk food, both of these men experienced physical and mental symptoms including weight gain, fatigue, addiction to food, erectile dysfunction, depression, and more. Luckily both were capable of reversing those symptoms once they switched back to a healthy diet. It’s so easy to go through our busy days without thinking about how our food affects us, but it clearly has a fundamental impact on our mind, body, and emotions.

Mind vs. Reality

Everyone thinks they have a healthy diet. Seriously, ask anyone and they will say that yes, they eat healthily. But the truth is we all have a tendency to go with the flow, and ‘the flow’ has been toward ultra-processed, fast and easy foods. It’s understandable. We are busier and more distracted than ever. We lack the time to even think about the food we eat, much less cook it from scratch. Most first world countries are indeed experiencing a longer life expectancy, but America is in fact, getting less healthy.

Consumption Beyond Food

These experiments have been on mind lately for a different reason than the connection between food and health though. I’ve been thinking about how fast it is to take a healthy body and make it unhealthy. It took less than a month for those two men to have serious consequences from their unhealthy diets. What about our minds? Can an intelligent person become less intelligent in a similar amount of short time due to what they consume?

For example, if we take a person with average intelligence, and give them books, time to process information, classes with instructors who mentor them, work that builds cognitive thinking skills, and discussions that encourage using them, won’t that person get smarter? If we take that same person of average intelligence and fill their days with social media, entertainment disguised as news, podcasts and articles that simplify issues and play on emotions and implicit bias, won’t that person lose intelligence? I’m just asking questions, but when I look around, these seem like reasonable questions.

Personal Responsibility

Some people might take issue with my saying that we gain or lose intelligence, and perhaps I should say cognitive thinking skills instead. I use the word intelligence though because it seems like the right word. We are not guaranteed health, just because we were born healthy. We have to support our health through what we eat, how we move our bodies, prioritizing sleep, hygiene, and more. I think it is the same with intelligence. We are not guaranteed to keep our intelligence just because we made decent grades in school or have a certain career. We have to support it, continue to be aware of what we are consuming, when our emotions are being played upon, and when we are goaded into thinking that aligns with our implicit biases.

I’m trying to stay hopeful about the state of the world. It seems to me that if we can collectively use less social media, respect the integrity of journalism, build communities in real life, and have a growth mindset, we might be able to survive, and perhaps even evolve.

Again, I’m just asking questions. I would love to hear what your thought and opinions are about the state of the world. So tell me, what do you think?

Wishing you days of fulfillment, and rejuvenating nights 🌱🍓🍜🫖💜

Boost Brain Health with Essential Oils: A New Study

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Plug in diffuser, candle diffuser, and essential oil

Want an easy, pleasing way to increase your health and longevity in the new year? Something that doesn’t feel like deprivation but is instead adding aesthetically pleasing components to your life? Or maybe you have a parent or loved one who is getting toward the 60+ range, who is starting to take brain health more seriously. This is for them, and YOU.

I heard about this study in the news a few times this year, and I intended to look further at the study but always got distracted when I sat down to do so. I finally looked into it and, wow, it’s a good one. It is rare to have a scientific standard study involving natural ingredients, but one was carried out recently involving ‘odorants’ and aging brains, and the results were statistically significant!

The Study

If you want to read the entire article on the study, here it is. I actually found it by way of another article which I will link to here also because it is a good one as well. I will try to give you the biggest takeaways here in a short summary:

There was a study involving adults ages 60-85 who were instructed to put essential oils into a diffuser for two hours at night when they went to bed. There was a control group that did the same actions, but the ‘essential oils’ were just a highly diluted, scant scent. The adults were given cognitive tests before and after the six month trial period, and the adults who used the essential oils had a significantly significant better outcome than the control group.

This study was undertaken because there has already been a recognized correlation between the sense of smell and brain health. The decline of the former foretells a decline in the latter. This has been shown not only related to dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other age-related decline, it has also been recognized in COVID patients who have lost their sense of smell. The article on this study says that even those with chronic sinus infections show declines in certain regions of the brain.

How to Use these Findings

If you want to emulate the study’s participants, you need a diffuser and seven unique essential oils. The diffuser needs to be the kind that can stay on for two hours, and then automatically shut off, such as this one from Mountain Rose Herbs. It is a plug in model that allows for 120 minutes of diffusing time, exactly what is needed. They used one essential oil per night, no blends, just one pure scent per evening. The novelty of a different scent each night was deemed important, as well as the fact that these were not blends. The essential oils used in the study were: eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, orange, peppermint, rose, and rosemary. The essential oils that they picked don’t seem to matter so please use whatever seven essential oils best suit you. Theirs were obtained from The Essential Oil Company, Portland, OR, but you can get essential oils from any natural foods store such as Whole Foods, or online at Mountain Rose Herbs, or Aura Cacia.

Recap

Each night, before you or your loved one goes to bed, put a few drops (the amount varies depending on the diffuser) of an essential oil in a diffuser. Turn it on its two hour setting, so it will automatically turn off after you are asleep. Then go to bed. That is it! Remember to use a different essential oil each night, and rest assured you are building up your brain while you sleep.

Other Takeaways

The original research article discusses other studies showing how using essential oils throughout the day benefits the brain. The larger truth found in that article is that we would all benefit from using more essential oils in our lives, whether it is at night, in the morning, or sometime in-between. Preferably multiple times in-between AND morning and night! There are so many factors that cause ill health, poor aging, diseases, and declines in all areas of our lives now, so it makes sense to counter some of those factors with what we know works. Essential oils have been proven to work.

If you need other ideas on how to incorporate more essential oils into your daily life, please use the search function on my website for ‘essential oils’, and take a look at my book, All Natural Perfume Making.

Personal Note

This post was written with my lovely, late friend, Lisa Garvey, in mind. This is exactly the kind of finding we would have excitedly talked about over drinks after a long day of working (and goofing off) together at Rainbow Blossom back in the late 90s. I miss you girl.

Happy New Year!

May 2025 be a year of exceptional health, growth, and peace.

Easy Salad Prep: A Time-Saving Hack for Healthy Eating

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Everyone seems to agree that salads made by other people are the best. Whether ordering one at a restaurant or picking one up in the deli section of a grocery store, there’s just something so satisfying about eating all that healthy, crunchy goodness without having to be the one to chop it all up and then see some of it potentially go bad in the fridge. I have had a particularly acute aversion to making salads, especially because I was the only one to really enjoy them in my house, so the prep and waste never felt worth it.

That is, until this summer when I figured out a hack that works for me to avoid waste and to condense the prep time to something more along the lines of soup which I gladly make. This came about through watching my Iranian friend make a similar salad every time we cooked together, and I realized I loved the simple base but wanted to add onto it as I ate through the leftovers for a few days. I thought I’d share, despite the fact we are entering into soup season and leaving salad season behind for now, in case this helps anyone else overcome their salad making block.

The problem for me has always been the fact that if I chopped up all the ingredients and put everything together in one big salad spinner to store for a few days, that the lettuce or mixed greens I used would inevitably wilt, and I’d get sick of eating the exact same salad every day. The simple hack I’ve found is to chop up cucumbers, tomatoes, part of a red onion, and a quarter of a green or red pepper, and store those separately with half a lime squeezed over them, as well as some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, seasoning salts, and some black pepper. That way, I can pull it out when I want and add it to some greens with any protein I have on hand for a salad, or use it in a wrap, with or without leafy greens.

It’s customizable so you can add in whatever salad fixings you like best, like radishes or carrots, or trade red onions for green, or leave out the pepper or double the cucumber ratio. Feta is a great choice to add in either while storing in the fridge or wait until serving, and I like to add fresh herbs to dishes once they are plated in a salad or wrap. Fresh basil leaves or cilantro work great with this base and are my favorites, but peppermint would be a good choice for summer roll inspired dishes.

Here’s my basic recipe for the base:

2 Persian Cucumbers or 1 regular cucumber

1 or 2 on-the-vine tomatoes

Chopped red onion to taste (I like about 3 heaping tablespoons)

1/4 of a green or red pepper

Half of a lime

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste (I use about 1 tablespoon each)

Seasoning salts to taste (1 teaspoon is a good place to start)

Ground pepper

I love how this supports variety in my meals and it’s so much easier to do most of the prep work all at once so when it’s mealtime, there are healthy, easy options available because when I’m hungry, easy is an important factor. When I get home from teaching a three hour class with an hour of class prep beforehand and an hour of meeting time afterwards, the last thing I want to do is chop veggies for lunch. Having a choice that is already chopped and ready to just put in a wrap with some falafels and garlic sauce, or spoon on top of greens with some tuna, makes a huge difference.

Meals should be enjoyed stress-free so please let me know your favorite hacks for healthy eating in our time-crunched world.

Summer Cycles

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Stargazer lilies

Every summer I think it’ll be the year that my lilies stop blooming. They are always at least a good two weeks behind all the other lilies in the neighborhood, and I watch and wait and eventually resign myself to thinking that this will be the year that their blooms never quite blossom. Not only is it the neighborhood lilies that make me question my own, it is the fact that I get photo reminders in my email from years past, where I am confronted with proof that my own lilies were indeed blooming earlier in past years. They keep showing up though, late blooming beauties that remind me that patience is rewarded, and as slow as some things seem to be moving right now, time is indeed moving forward and what must bloom, blooms. In less than a month, they will serve reminders of another turn of time’s wheel.

We go through so many phases in life, repetitions that spiral us along our paths, experiences that seem different on the daily scale, until we step back and see how cyclical life is. Seasons and stages, milestones and disappointments, we treasure the highlights and manage, again and again, to somehow get through all of the challenges from irritants to miseries.

I’ve been thinking a lot about life cycles and stages lately, mostly about perimenopause and menopause, firstly because I read a novel about a women going through perimenopause and interviewing other women about their experiences with both perimenopause and menopause and it was fascinating. The second reason why it’s been on my mind is that at 49, I must assume that I too am in perimenopause although I haven’t had any symptoms yet that others have noted, such as hot flashes, irregular cycles, or emotional/hormonal upheaval. I’ve been wondering though if I have experienced quieter symptoms without realizing it, just as puberty serves up so many changes that do not always get acknowledged as puberty’s influence. For example, at times I’ve wondered if my irritability at the crowded traffic or the construction in every direction around my home are really just calling cards of perimenopause, letting me know that my hormones are changing, my life stage is changing, and therefore I too need to make changes.

I want to honor these changes but I also intend to support myself through them with lifestyle choices and of course, herbs. The first herb I am taking is Vitex Berry, also known as Chaste Berry or simply Vitex, and it is the go-to traditional herb for supporting women’s cycles at all times of a female life, although not for use when pregnant or lactating. When I start to notice more changes and actually enter menopause, I will likely opt for a blend of herbs such as this daytime combination formula and this nighttime product. Even with herbal support, the fact that menopause is dubbed, “the change of life” is enough evidence to know that big changes are coming, and if puberty is the best reference for how it’s going to go, I think preparing in advance is the best option. One thing that is encouraging though, is I’ve read that women say their mental health is much improved after menopause because of the end of the hormonal ups and downs every month. I wonder if that is why so many older women have such even, serene demeanors…my guess is yes.

I love how herbs can support us throughout our lives, even when modern Western medicine shrugs its shoulders or offers invasive options with bad side effects. As I have often said here, I am all for making use of modern medicine and would not choose to go back in time when leeches were employed in medical procedures and surgeries were unmedicated, but when it comes to supporting life stages, it is so nice to have our herbal allies to rely on with their gentle offers of balance.

What new herbs are you experimenting with right now? I’d love to hear!

Anti-inflammatory Support for Active Lifestyles

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Gaia Herbs Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme

Gaia Herbs is my most trusted herbal supplement company, so I’m thrilled to say that I’ve entered into a partnership with them as an herbal ambassador. This means that they will send me products occasionally and I will be posting reels about some of them. The first product that I will be posting about is Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme which has been a daily staple of mine for many years.

Background

On the trail with my dog in the background

I started having pain in my feet, mainly my toes, after having babies, which is quite common due to the softening of ligaments during pregnancy. In fact, many women’s feet grow a half or even a full size during pregnancy! As a runner, I wasn’t going to just accept the pain so I visited a podiatrist who gave me a cortisone shot but said that it’d only help for a year and then I’d need another one. Right on cue, a year later the pain was back and I found myself in that same office, wondering if I’d have to be there every year for the rest of my days. That wasn’t an appealing thought, and luckily by then my pregnancy brain fog had worn off enough to allow for some clear thinking. I remembered that turmeric has a long reputation as an anti-inflammatory with an impressive amount of research to back up the traditional use literature. I started taking it right away, and have never been back to a podiatrist nor had any need for any more cortisone shots.

The Product

I didn’t start out with Gaia Herb’s Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme. I tried all the turmeric products I could find, but when I stumbled onto this one, with the black pepper included in the formula to help move the turmeric all the way out to the extremities, I was impressed… and hooked. It works incredibly well and in fact, it was the first herbal supplement I ever signed up for a subscription to have at all times, because there have been periods when I’ve run out and been lazy about getting more and I’ve felt the difference. No one has time for that! I’ve since added a couple of other Gaia Herbs products to my subscription, but it remains the only subscription I have to any herbal or supplement company.

Supplement Facts
Gaia Herbs Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme
Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme
Suggested Use

Gaia Herbs

With Gaia Herbs, you know the product contains the herbs that the outside of the bottle says it contains. Unfortunately, with herbal supplements, that’s not always the case, so I stick with a few companies that I trust, and Gaia Herbs grows many of their own herbs so they really know their plants. Their formulations are smart and thoughtful, using herbs synergistically together to create products that are potent and reliable. Their website has a ‘learn’ section so you can educate yourself about the herbs you are taking, safety precautions, and side effects (which, with herbs, are generally beneficial things.) Here’s a link to their turmeric information.

(West Coast Swing practice shoes on dance floor)

Side Effects as Added Benefits

What I mean by that is that herbs generally have a reputation for one main thing, such as ‘anti-inflammatory’ or ‘adaptogen’ or ‘anti-depressant’, and while that label is true, they also do more than just what they are known for. For example, St. John’s Wort is known pretty much only known for its reputation as an antidepressant, but it also has been traditionally used for its antiviral properties and it has long been used topically for aches and pains as well. While pharmaceuticals have lists of scary side effects, with herbs the side effects are usually things you want, such as improved digestion or enhances skin texture. You can see some of turmeric’s added benefits on Gaia Herbs’ page dedicated to turmeric.

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Longevity

It is widely known now that inflammation plays a huge role in how well, or not well, we age. Our modern lifestyles and western diets tend to promote inflammation, so it is up to us to thoughtfully counterbalance this fact with any way that we know how. Healthy food, moderate exercise, relaxation techniques such as meditation, and herbs such as turmeric can all help keep inflammation within healthy parameters. My own knees and feet do a lot for me, as I’ve been a runner for almost 35 years, do a lot of dance cardio, and recently started West Coast Swing Dancing, and I have no intention of giving up any of my beloved activities as I get older. This excellent turmeric supplement is my favorite way to support my active lifestyle.

Keep on moving

Conclusion

If you have any questions about Gaia Herbs, Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme, or turmeric in general, please let me know. I’m always happy to talk herbs with anyone, but if you want specific advise about a health issue, please find an herbalist through the AHG website or talk to a naturopath who knows about herbs. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see how my first ever reel turns out. I’m a little nervous since I’ve never used the reels tool on either platform, so if you have any suggestions for me, I’d love to hear them.

Cheers to health and longevity! 🥂🌱🌷

Summer Bug Repellent Reminder

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Shady lane on a sunny summer day

In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s that time of year again when longer hours are spent outdoors alongside our insect frenemies. We can’t live without them, but I think we’d all prefer to not be their snack nor their targets for taking out their buzzy ire. If you find yourself particularly tasty to mosquitos or simply irresistible to their more combative cousins, one way to shield yourself from the unwanted attention is to use essential oils. Bugs do not like essential oils, so you can make a body spray or body oil to use daily, or simply add a few drops into your sunscreen or lotion if you are in a hurry as I wrote in the post linked above. Here’s a recap of that post if you don’t feel like clicking through:

Instructions:

To make your sunscreen or body lotion into a bug repelling screen as well, all you need to do is squeeze about a tablespoon of sunscreen into your palm. Add 5 to 10 drops of essential oils into the sunscreen, mix it together, and then lather it on your body. This hack is for your neck down, not your face. Start on the lower end of that 5-10 range, so 5 or less drops of essential oils per tablespoon, to make sure your skin isn’t sensitive and then you can add more drops next time if you wish.

Which Essential Oils?

Almost any essential oil can be used and will be effective, but do not use citrus oils because they can cause hyperpigmentation. Citrus oils are mostly obvious, such as sweet orange, lemon, and lime, with one exception, bergamot. Please avoid these and any other citrus essential oils in your sunscreen. Particularly effective essential oils are citronella (of course!), lemon eucalyptus (not a citrus oil despite the name), thyme, and all the mints but especially peppermint. Be a little cautious with peppermint because it is a cooling essential oil but just as dry ice can burn, so can peppermint at certain levels and everyone’s skin sensitivity level is different. Mixing essential oils is recommended because some bugs are repelled more or less by certain scents, so your end result will be more effective with two, three, or more essential oils.

Make Your Own

If you prefer to make your own dedicated spray and/or oil, which I highly recommend because it is a fun way to scent yourself for summer with the added benefits of less bug bites, I have all the deets on this post (linked) but if you don’t want to click through, here are the most important paragraphs:

Body Oil

One way to take a precautionary measure before even getting dressed in the morning is to apply a body oil with essential oils on your arms, legs, and stomach. To make a body oil, you just need a base oil or a mix of base oils such as sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, or jojoba oil, and add whichever essential oils you want to wear. Almost any essential oil or blend of essential oils will deter bugs, but especially good picks are lavender, peppermint, thyme, and lemongrass. You will want there to be 5-7 drops of essential oils per 1 teaspoon of base oil. (There are 6 teaspoons in an ounce, so aim for 30-42 drops of essential oils per ounce.) Make sure to shake the mixture before blending, and allow time for the oil to dry before putting your clothes on for the day to avoid oil stains. This can be reapplied throughout the day, but it is probably easier to make a spray for day time reapplication.

Body Spray

To make a bug spray, add essential oils to distilled water with at least a teaspoon of vodka, or use witch hazel instead, in a spray bottle (preferably dark glass) in the same proportion as above, 5-7 drops of essential oils per teaspoon of distilled water and vodka, or witch hazel. You can spray this as often as needed on yourself throughout the day and it will help deter bugs and also provide a nice little scent pick-me-up when you do so. Again, any essential oils will be helpful, but the ones mentioned above would be a great place to start. Of course, citronella is always an option too.

4573EC2A-90F2-4FA1-AEC9-5A5BAE907BA21.jpg

Travel

If you travel with essential oils, as I do, to secure your sleeping area you can put some drops on cotton balls to keep bugs away, especially around open windows or near your bed. I actually like to take a little terracotta diffuser with me when I travel. They are quite small and do not require any heat, so it’s a convenient option. These make cute little gifts as well, and are one way to easily use essential oils in your car or in other places where you don’t have the option to light a candle or use an outlet.

After Care

If you do happen to get bitten or stung by an insect, lavender can be applied neat to the area. Applying essential oils to the body without a carrier is 99% of the time NOT recommended, but lavender is one of the few that can be applied without a carrier and it actually is quite good for burns, bites, and other skin issues. Do use caution if you have sensitive skin though and always assume you do have sensitive skin and start small until proven otherwise.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your bug-free outdoor time! Please share this article with anyone who might be interested in flower powered bug repellent.

In case you missed the links above, here’s more information on making your own body oil: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/body-oils-diy/ and more details on making a body spray: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/essential-oil-sprays-for-body-and-home/.

Strawberries in June

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Three strawberries

Most months of the year find me waxing poetic about blueberries, not only my favorite berry, but also my favorite fruit due both to taste and nutrient value. Even raspberries tend to top my favorites list before strawberries, except for in June that is. In June, strawberries win it all, promising summer is nearly here despite the PNW’s distinctive month of Juneuary. There is nothing like the scent of slicing strawberries when they are perfectly ripe, plump and juicy and packed with so much flavor that the sweet taste hangs in the kitchen before one has ever even made it to a waiting mouth. While prepping strawberries the other day, I allowed myself to sink into the scent and occasionally snuck one straight into my mouth despite my intended goal of divvying them up in equal proportions for my two sons. I sliced through those bright red hearts and felt a bit cold blooded, but those juicy treats sent love notes of sweet scents out into the world despite the harshness of the knife. I thought about timing, and how much time dictates the way we look at things, interact with objects and others, and how it all changes, endlessly, as we are simply dancers reacting to a song that will eventually end.  

Although blueberries tend to get all the superfood attention in the berry department, strawberries are also packed with nutrition as well. They are well known for their vitamin C content, and have other vitamins, minerals, and fiber that make them a healthy addition to diets. Lately, they have also been touted as having cognition benefits to aging minds as well. Here is a link to a study that shows strawberries can benefit cognition issues related to aging: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33468271/.  

It is important to only eat organic strawberries. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) consistently lists strawberries as the number one fruit/vegetable that is contaminated with pesticides, including toxins that can cause cancer and/or reproductive issues, and chemicals banned by the EU. They regularly test 46 foods and list the “dirty dozen”, so if you are wondering what else is on the list, you can check it out here: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php. I can’t help but think this is related to the health and longevity expectancy in America compared to other comparable nations.

There’s a reason the full moon in June is known as the Strawberry Moon. The brief period when strawberries are at their peak is so monumental, even the moon takes note of this transient moment, destined to return but never for long. I hope your week leading up to the solstice and the full moon are full of sun, sweetness, and all of the ephemeral treats of June, along with a sincere appreciation for the fleeting delights the earth, and time, offer us.  

☀️🍓🌕 

Earth Day 2024

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Summery path through greenery

A little bit of good news in the world of climate change:

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/12/1224196438/could-humanity-be-sustainable-its-not-as-hopeless-as-you-think

Take heart, we can do this. 💚🌎🌷🌍🌱🌏💜

A Better Life

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Sunny day along Juanita Bay

This is the time of year many people make resolutions for improving their lives, or at the very least think about their lives in terms of years instead of the minute by minute perspective in which we so often live out our days. I appreciate that we have this yearly built in reminder to look at the bigger picture, make goals, to think about who we want to be and how we intend to get there, although I don’t personally feel inspired in the dead of winter to make any big changes. I struggle every January with winter’s lessons, and leave my bigger picture thinking for the warmer, brighter days of early spring. Towards the end of last year though, I heard a bit of news that I’ve been gnawing on ever since I first heard it and felt compelled to look further into it. I have to wonder, as a whole, are we even making the right New Years Resolutions?

The news item was that American life expectancy is declining, while all other comparable nations’ life expectancy continues to improve. With all our health gurus, power supplements, fitness obsessions, smart watches, and expert doctors, how are we missing the mark in such a grand way? Almost every day there is some “new finding” that gets touted on the news and social media about what to do be healthy here, for example, eat blueberries for brain health, or walk 10K steps a day, (or is it thirty minutes? Or 7,000 steps? Or is the key to moderate the intensity? Or change it every 10 days? Keto or intermittent fasting or celery juice? ) It seems so…desperate, like a person who really really wants something so badly that they grasp onto every new promise like it’s their only hope, their last life saving technique that will float them to everlasting health and happiness. If this were one person, we’d call that person neurotic, but as a nation we call it culture, and it clearly isn’t working.

This website I found has graphs which illustrate the disparities between the U.S. and comparable countries, and it is pretty astounding. The one that shocks me the most, is the amount of money Americans spend on healthcare compared to peer countries, take a look:

https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/HqLAQ/

This isn’t just a healthcare problem, although I do think the American healthcare system is deeply flawed and the pharmaceutical industry is problematic at best, but it is also our food system, work culture demands, isolation and loneliness, stress of all sorts, racial and class systemic inequities, guns, and on and on. I know we can do better in all these realms because our peer nations are proving the point quite well. I don’t have any answers to overhauling all aspects of American life, but I am grateful for the statistical health organizations who track these things to make it clear that an overhaul is indeed needed. Knowledge is power after all. Let’s make real changes this year.

My wishes for you for 2024 is that wherever you are in the world, you have long-term goals defined, understand how to attain your goals, and enjoy your days while getting there.