Here is an infographic showing how human brain size has shrunk over these last 10,000 years - exactly the period of time during which we became increasingly subsistent upon agriculture. Source: SuperScholar.org … [Read more...]
Archives for 2015
Oct 14, 2015
Healthy travel tips
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Ok, video blog - maybe a new thing? I guess it depends on feedback! Someone asks "I'm wondering if you've ever addressed the topic of traveling and Ayurveda? An approach to take in terms of preparing for travel prior to leaving ones home country, during travel and returning home." … [Read more...]
Oct 8, 2015
Hubris, and the avocado pit
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I was recently informed that the most recent fad to hit the health scene is the avocado pit. Yep, it’s that hard slippery seed disgorged from the avocado that you normally compost, or turn into a science experiment for the kids. And while it’s also great to keep the guac from going brown, I have yet to see anyone actually eat the pit. But apparently this is all about to change. Avocado pit, you see, contains antioxidants. If you receive regular science updates from sites like sciencedaily, or peruse r/science over at reddit, you will have likely noticed an uptick in the amount of research being conducted into plant chemicals. The recognition that natural compounds have a lot to offer is now being recognized, the best most recent example being the Nobel Prize in Physiology awarded to Youyou Tu for her work with artemisinin (derived from medicinal herb Artemisia annua). As a herbalist, it is both of great interest and also very gratifying to see all this scientific attention … [Read more...]
Sep 7, 2015
On what to feed your puppy
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Some of you who follow my Facebook page may have seen updates about the birth of five puppies to my female dog, Sophie, in late April. For those who haven’t, I’ve compiled an online photo album that documents their growth and development over the past few months. If I had to choose one word to describe the whole process of being surrogate grandparents to these pups, it would be epic. Every day since their birth has been filled with interest, excitement, and wonder. From a neurochemical perspective, snuggling with puppies has done a lot to raise the collective oxytocin levels in our home. Over the summer, our front garden—with its jumble of humans and puppies lying together in the grass—often resembled something like an opium den, attracting a steady stream of “customers” from far and wide. Of course, this bliss was sometimes interrupted. I underestimated their collective destructive power. Up until about six weeks old, the fencing I had around my backyard pots, garden boxes, … [Read more...]
Feb 2, 2015
Love, death, and magic mushrooms
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Some of you that know me closely, or have been apprised of my personal situation over the last few months, know that the health of both of my parents underwent a sudden decline at the end of last summer. About three years ago my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, but the cancer came back with a vengeance this fall, and just a couple weeks ago, she finally succumbed to the disease. To add to this complication, my step-father has late-stage Parkinson’s disease. Unfortunately, neither of them is particularly old: my mother died just before her 68th birthday, and my step-father is just 73. It has been an exceptionally challenging time for all involved. Layered into the situation is the reality of our family history, which to say the least, has been very painful. My mother met my biological father in 1968 when she was 20, and after a few weeks of dating my mother got pregnant. They weren’t in any sense a stable couple, and my mother after much deliberation decided to have an … [Read more...]
