Sugar. Would a food by any other name taste as sweet?

As it turns out, the answer to that question is yes, and our food industry is literally banking on consumers’ growing appetites for sugar and sweeteners. Americans are expected to consume 11.2 million metric tons of sugar this year alone, much of it through processed foods and in the guise of dozens of different names for sugar.

Take a look at these statistics:

• The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal reported that 74% of products in the U.S. food supply contain added caloric or low-calorie sweeteners, or both.

• A study published by the open-access medical journal BMJ Open found that nearly 60% of an average American’s daily calories come from ‘ultra-processed’ foods – products that contain flavors, colors, sweeteners and other additives that you wouldn’t use at home. These products are the main source of added sugar in the U.S. diet.

• The USDA reported that the average...

Is there any one out there that thinks it’s weird that you have to go to a gym to be healthy? How is it that I have an almost 93-year-old father who never set foot inside a modern-day gym? Sure he played basketball in high school, and he probably played some in the college gymnasiums. But going “to the gym” to work out?! No way. And yet he is still here and has opted to take only one prescription medication. The thing I remember about my mother, who was active until her death at age 84, is that we were always asking her to sit down. My memories of our visits were that she was always running here and there doing the laundry, grabbing a book to share, pulling food out of the freezer for supper, or any number of other activities necessary for running a comfortable home.

When I recall my early years, I never had to worry about weight, feeling strong, or staying healthy. I attribute that in a large part to the activities I was involved in and the diet that I was...

How many of you, in an attempt to take in everything life has to offer, have ever used the phrase – I’ll sleep when I’m dead? In honor of the end of Daylight Saving Time this weekend, yes it’s time to turn the clocks back, I wanted to share my take on the importance of sleep.

I have always been one to make sure that I get my minimum 8 hours of sleep during the night. I was not a night owl growing up. Always to bed between 10-10:30pm. I was always amazed at my friends that were able to stay up late enough on Saturdays to watch Saturday Night Live. I can remember many attempts only to wake up on the sofa having missed the whole episode and longing to be curled up in my nice, warm bed.

What my experience has shown me is that when I don’t get enough sleep my attitude sucks! I’m not a happy person to be around. I’ve also noticed that when I’ve had to force myself to have a stretch of nights where I get less than 8 hours of sleep, I usually...

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After returning home, I felt safe again.  Safety, security what beautiful sensations in my body.  I felt safe in my bones.  And now that I had a sense of safety in my life I could move forward with healing and personal growth.

After a day or two of being home, I thought to look at my calendar with the help of my sisters.  I realized that I had registered for a two-day, 20-hour seminar prior to my hospitalization.  It was in one week.  Ugghhhh.  Could I do it?  Should I do it?  I waited until the day before to make my final decision and figured I wanted to give it a try.  It was an hour and a half away in the Minneapolis/St Paul area.  Jim drove me up there since I had not driven in a long time and I was not comfortable at all behind the wheel.  He would be returning on Sunday evening to bring me back home.  I went into the seminar with my overnight bag to begin day one of the seminar.  My sister...