While most know pineapple as an exceptionally delicious tropical fruit, indigenous peoples used it to treat a variety of ailments. Unfortunately, much of this intimate plant knowledge was considered by early anthropologists to be based on mere "superstition" and subsequently disregarded, so that few in the modern world are aware of its formidable healing powers. Thankfully, research on the medicinal properties of pineapple has steadily accumulated over the past few decades, to the point where the conventional medical system has been compelled to take notice. Bromelain, for instance, is a protein-digesting enzyme extract from the pineapple plant and has even been found to be superior to the highly toxic chemotherapy agent 5-fluorouracil as an anti-tumor agent in preclinical research. This remarkable compound, concentrated primarily within the stem (i.e., fibrous core), which is often wastefully discarded, has been researched for the following potential medicinal applications: - Allergic Airway Disease - Asthma - Breast Cancer - Breastfeeding Problems: Poor Milk Production/Quality - Colitis - Colon Cancer - Constipation: Post-operative - Debriding Agent - Dyspepsia - Edema - Glioma (Brain Cancer) - Immune Disorders: Low Function - Inflammation - Irritable Bowel Disease - Influenza - Liver Damage - Lung Cancer - Melanoma - Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack) - Osteoarthritis of the Knee - Sinusitis - Skin Cancer - Tendon Injury - Thrombophlebitis - Thrombosis (pathological clot) Bromelain extracts are actually composed of a variety of substances, including peroxidase, acid phosphatase, calcium, and protease inhibitors. But the main active ingredients are two enzymes: fruit and stem bromelain. Keep in mind that bromelain's potential therapeutic activity depends entirely on how you take it. When consumed on an empty stomach, the plant's enzyme enters the bloodstream and exerts systemic action. When consumed with food, its activity is mostly expended helping the body break down dietary proteins, easing the body's digestive burden.

You may have heard it takes 21 days to build a habit. I won’t go into the origin of that claim, but it didn’t come from a rigorous study. When it comes to building habits, consistency matters more than perfection. And that can be challenging, too. Travel. Family. Life gets loud. How are habits formed, and how do we maintain them? - When it comes to consistency, never miss twice. The single best rule for habit formation I found is to never miss two days in a row. Research supports this. UCL researchers found that a single missed day barely registered in the habit-formation process. Once people got back on track, their progress resumed. - Give it at least 90 days, not 21. In my experience, habits tend to take between two and three months to properly lock in. University College London researchers found it takes an average of 66 days — and for some folks, nearly 200 days — for a habit to go from effortful to automatic. So if you've ever "failed" to stick to a habit after a three-week challenge, there's a decent chance the timeline was the problem, not you.

There is no lack of scientific confirmation for the indisputable value of fermented food for the promotion of health and well-being. In fact, one could consider fermented foods like kimchi, natto, apple cider vinegar, and even – in moderation – wine, coffee, chocolate, and beer, 'medical foods' of sorts. There is a broad range of fermented foods we could look at to illustrate their healing power. After all, every single culture on the planet used (not a semantic coincidence:) culturing to sustain themselves. There is already such a huge body of clinical research demonstrating the amazing health effects of one specific strain of beneficial bacteria in fermented foods: Lactobacillus Brevis - Kimchi– a probiotic strain isolated from the fermented cabbage preparation known as kimchi, is capable of degrading organophosphorus pesticides.  - Kimchi – a probiotic strain known as Bacillus pumilus found within this fermented food, is capable of degrading BPA, a powerful endocrine-disrupting chemical. - Miso – a fermented soy food has been shown, when consumed regularly, to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women by up to 54%. - Miso can regress colon cancer growth in an animal model. - Nope– A fermented soybean extract that has been shown to suppress plaque buildup (as measured by the intima-media thickness) in the arteries in an animal model. - Natto – capable of contributing to nerve regeneration following sciatic nerve crush injury.

6 Natural Antidepressant Agents When you need natural mood support, the following natural compounds may be beneficial. 1. Saffron This ancient spice -- valued for its medicinal properties for more than 4,000 years -- contains compounds known to alter neurobiological mechanisms, including modulating pathways related to neurotransmitters and affecting immune system regulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and neurotrophins, which mediate neuronal survival and regeneration. When compared with a placebo, saffron works better for improving depressive symptoms in people with mild to moderate depression. It also worked as well as synthetic antidepressants, such that researchers writing in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease concluded, "[S]affron could be considered as an alternative to synthetic antidepressants in the treatment of mild to moderate depression." 2. Green Tea Catechins in green tea have been shown to reduce depressive symptoms in animal studies, possibly by inhibiting monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that degrades the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Green tea catechins may increase levels of noradrenaline and dopamine, helping to combat depression, while theanine, an amino acid in green tea, has anti-stress effects, further helping to reduce depressive symptoms. In a systematic review and meta-analysis, high green tea consumption was associated with a lower risk of depression symptoms. 3. Lavender Essential Oil Lavender essential oil, which is extracted from the flowers and stalks of the lavender plant, contains more than 160 substances. In Germany, a proprietary lavender essential oil known as Silexan® is approved for the oral treatment of anxiety and, in patients with both anxiety and depressive symptoms, Silexan has exhibited antidepressant-like properties. Lavender also reduced symptoms of depression in a systematic review and meta-analysis, while researchers from Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in Iran called aromatherapy with lavender essential oil "a complementary, simple, and inexpensive method to improve mild and moderate depression."

If you needed another reason to choose whole-food protein over highly processed meat alternatives, here it is. A new study published in Food Control analyzed 212 plant-based meat alternatives and beverages purchased from UK retailers and tested them for 19 different mycotoxins, which are toxic compounds produced by molds that colonize crops and are notoriously difficult to eliminate through standard food processing. Every single product contained at least one mycotoxin, and the co-occurrence of multiple toxins was the norm across all categories. Beauvericin, an emerging Fusarium toxin with known estrogenic and cytotoxic properties, was detected in 99% of plant-based meat alternatives. Two other emerging toxins, enniatin A and enniatin A1, each appeared in 94% of samples. Critically, most of these mycotoxins are unregulated in plant-based products specifically, meaning there are no legal limits and no systematic monitoring in place. The complexity of these products, many of which contain more than 10 distinct ingredients including cereal flours, legume proteins, oils, and spice blends, means each ingredient can contribute its own mycotoxin load. This is yet another reason I recommend choosing minimally processed, whole-food sources of protein over what I'd characterize as highly engineered products designed to simulate the appearance of real food.