How To Shop Healthfully, Even At The Piggly Wiggly 1
I grew up in a little town in Southeast Alabama. We had “wiregrass”, an annual Peanut Festival parade (at which I rode a unicycle), and the big ‘ol Piggly Wiggly up the street. Very Alabama. After having gotten out of town and circled the world a couple of times,...
How (and why) To Change How You Think About Science
Its so funny. At one point I really wanted to be a historian. Of science! This is the town center of metropolitan nerd-villebergington. You can’t get in the door without an elbow-patched tweed jacket and a vaguely distracted blankness to your face. My neuroscience thesis required a couple of...
The Last Lasagna
Take advantage of short bursts of exercise and make these bursts happen when dinner is in the oven. Time to the Table: 1 hour Yield: 15-18 servings Preheat the Oven to 350F For the Sauce You’ll Need: • 1 Pound spicy Italian sausage • 1 Onion,...
How (and why) To Change How You Think About Mindfulness
Most people think meditation just isn’t doable in a normal life. Have some kind of monk-like mindfulness? My cat just threw up on my shoes. Chanting some OM-like mantra for hours? I’d have to barricade myself in the bathroom to make that happen. Taking 30 minutes to an hour...
How (and why) To Change How You Think About Fitness
If fitness lives for you like a chore or something you just really hate doing, then you have to think about it differently. If it is not something you love doing, do something else. It’s easy to see where this all comes from. We’re told that you need to...
How (and why) To Change How You Think About Food
Food is a lot of things. It can be thought of as fuel. Further down, it’s a big pile of carb and fat and protein molecules. Even further down, it’s the resonating energy of its atomic bonds. None of these are wrong, but none of these descriptions are helpful...
How (and why) To Change The Culture of Health
Our “culture of health” is like the matrix, as defined by Morpheus: “The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out of your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it...
Building a Better Brain. Don’t Be A Slug.
In my former life as a neuroscientist (over 25 years ago), I did physiology research on certain aspects of the brain and behavior. At some point after a long week of working with monkeys, a few of us went out for a beer at the local place. And I...
Building a Better Brain. I’ll Drink To That.
A long time ago, in a lifetime far far away, I went to talk to someone with a concern about the shading of my teeth. The dentist said he had to ask me a couple of questions first. Dentist: “Do you have drinks like, I dont’ know, coffee or...
Building a Better Brain by Moovin & Groovin
Being active is not thinking, or doing puzzles, or sussing through brain teasers. It has to do with your muscles, cardiovascular system, and a whole lotta sweat glands, right? Sorry class, you only get partial credit for that answer. Yes, being active does involve those systems, but it also...
Building a Better (Emotional) Brain
Levels of sadness exist within the brain. Some of them are trivial, like when the Patriots win … again! Others are all consuming, as when you cannot see the good, find the good, or feel the good in this world even when you are surrounded by it. Think of...
Building A Better Brain. Use it or Lose it.
Remember that saying, “you only use 10% of your brain”? It’s completely wrong. If you don’t use your brain, you lose it, which means that IF you have brain cells up there, they’re being used. At the cellular level, the connections between brain cells will retract and ultimately die...