AAHH: updates and questions answered

Spring is here, but respiratory season isn't over. Between seasonal colds, lingering winter viruses, and day-to-day life, your immune system is working hard. Today I want to talk about one of the most studied and time-honored herbs in natural medicine: Echinacea purpurea — the purple coneflower.   What Is Echinacea Purpurea? You've probably seen it growing in gardens or spotted it on the shelves of your local health food store. Echinacea purpurea is a striking flowering plant native to the eastern United States that has been used as medicine for centuries — first by Native American peoples, and later widely adopted in both European and American botanical medicine. Of the three common types of this flower, (E. purpurea, E. angustifolia, and E. pallida), Echinacea purpurea — particularly the above-ground parts of the plant harvested at flowering time —   is the species recognized by Germany's Commission E, one of the world's most respected herbal medicine regulatory b...

  The Walnut Way: Small Nut, Big Impact February 25, 2026    Today, we are cracking open the science behind one of nature’s most potent superfoods: the walnut. Already well-known by the American Heart Association as a heart healthy food, walnuts are more than just a crunchy addition to your morning oatmeal. Recent landmark studies suggest they are a powerhouse for longevity and disease prevention. A Shield for Your Heart The most robust evidence for walnuts lies in cardiovascular health. The Walnuts and Healthy Aging (WAHA) study—the largest and longest trial of its kind—tracked healthy elders for two years. Researchers found that adding just a half-cup of walnuts to a daily diet significantly improved lipoprotein (cholesterol) profiles. Specifically, participants saw: A 4.3% reduction in total LDL (the "bad" cholesterol) particles. A 16.9% decrease in Intermediate Density Lipoprotein (IDL), a subclass closely linked to heart disease risk. Fu...

Everyone knows that the goal for your daily step count should be 10,000 steps, right???  But wait, where did that number come from?  And was it based on science or myth? It turns out that the 10,000 step goal originated in Japan in the 1960s, and was based more on Japanese culture and values rather than on any science.  I kept that number as a step goal for many years without any reason other than it "felt right."  But now we have some solid science that suggests the number may  have real value for your health!   Let's start by talking about what leads to health declines in old age. Chronic low-level inflammation, sometimes called "inflammaging," leads to decreased immunity, muscle loss, brain declines, risk of heart disease, and many cancers.  What leads to that chronic inflammation?  Poor food choices is a big factor (more about that in separate posts), and at least as important is the lack of physical activity. So, a person with a diet of high...

  Let's make this very practical.  This is not the first time you have heard that fiber is important, so I want to not only remind you of why this important, but give you practical safe steps to get there.  First, be suspicious of high fiber health claims on boxes of packaged or prepared foods.  While the claim may be technically true, it may also be a distraction from other health problems with the item in question, such as high sugar or salt content.  Also, to make an otherwise unhealthy product qualify for a health claim, some manufacturers are using “fiber additives” such as inulin, maltodextrin, and polydextrose.  It seems doubtful that these are as healthy as natural fibers occurring in foods.  Take home point: foods with a long list of ingredients should raise suspicions.  Second, it's easy to add fiber without making radical changes, and just picking a few of your favorites to include on a daily rotation. Beans and le...

OK, be honest now. Have you ever been puzzled about why wellness coaches tell you to pay attention to your breath?   Don’t you already know how to breathe?    And it happens automatically.   So what?  When Gail and I took the five-day professional education course from the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in September, our small group practices always started with a time to focus on the breath.   And it was remarkable how that simple practice focused our attention on our work and time together, and how it calmed any sense of rush or stress we were bringing into the moment.   We were able to be fully present with each other and also to be more aware of our own important thoughts and feelings in that moment. We felt that our thinking was clearer after such a breath awareness time, such an important gift for a group working together.    I suspect that (if you are like me) there are plenty of times when you have too many thoughts happening at once...

Your doctor wants you to eat...chocolate? I know what you're thinking. "Does chocolate really belong with all these other healing foods?  I've heard him touting the delights of tofu, and beans, and vegetables, and fish... there must have been some mistake." But no, for you chocolate fans, it's your lucky day. With a slight catch. Let me explain.  Chocolate is actually a very imprecise name, for any number of blended foods that contain some amount of cocoa (produced from cacao beans). And yes, the "a" and the "o" are reversed depending on whether you are talking about the beans or the solid extract from the beans. Actually in the case of "white chocolate" the only ingredient from the cacao bean is the fat (cocoa butter) that was pressed out of it, so it's not really chocolate in my view, just fat and sugar (hint: stay away from that one....) But on the "real chocolate" continuum, there's a lot of variety.  It...