Humans evolved to spend our days hunting and gathering in the great outdoors, getting plenty of exercise, excitement, camaraderie, fresh air and sun. Those were the good old days when the best things in life were free, including a flood of summer sunlight that created as much vitamin D as it penetrated our bare skin as we would need all year round.  But we moved further and further from the equator, where sunlight is most abundant, and began spending more and more of our lives indoors. We adopted a less healthy diet with fewer and fewer fresh fruits and vegetables with their antioxidants that protected us from potential damage by the sun, and medical authorities began recommending sun avoidance and sunscreens, the weakest of which (PF8) block 95% of the sun’s vitamin-D producing UVB rays. (See here on using the sun intelligently to still get free vitamin D.) Vitamin D deficiency is now so widespread that alternative doctors say virtually every new pa…

You never feel like you have enough time. Your day seems like it just doesn't have enough hours, or you're too tired to tackle everything on your list. However, rather than attempt to speed up your pace or try another time management technique, consider addressing your sleep - specifically if and how much restorative sleep you're getting in each night. What Is Restorative Sleep?To operate at top energy and efficiency, getting a good night's sleep - seven to nine hours of "restorative sleep" that leaves you waking up feeling rested and refreshed - is essential.The body is self-healing, self-repairing and self-detoxifying - but only if it gets enough rest and sleep, because all this healing, repairing and detoxifying work is done when the body is at rest.To put it straightforwardly, when you wake up feeling alert, rested and ready to start your day, you've had a night of restorative sleep. Restorative sleep applies to the period lasting from deep sleep and rapid eye movement (REM), durin…

The school year is back and we have some tips on how to cold and flu-proof your child.Children need special nutritional support as they head back to school each fall. Any gathering of kids creates a perfect opportunity for germs to spread, and no sooner has the school year gotten underway then flu season beginning.How can you strengthen your child’s immune system and avoid winter colds and flus?Number one, banish sugar from your child’s diet. Even a small amount of refined sugar can suppress your child’s immune system for hours. Immune cells need a lot of vitamin C to function normally, but sugar, which has a chemical structure similar to vitamin C, competes with the vitamin to enter the cells, creating an artificial vitamin C shortage. Avoid fruit juices (including orange juice), which are also too high in sugar. Whole fruits, however, are fine in moderation.Feed your child the right fats. Trans fats and excess omega 6 fats (found in supermarket vegetable oils) depress immunity,…