Category: Lifestyle Medicine
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Eight glasses of water per day is a myth that refuses to die
The eight glasses of water per day myth has been debunked over and over again – yet it refuses to die. Where did it come from? And why isn’t it going away? Let’s travel back in time, to 1829, when Vincent Priessnitz opened the first ‘hydropathy’ clinic in Austria. He believed that water could cure…
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Self-care at the mercy of others
“Just remember to make time for you,” said every person I interacted with in the first year after having a baby. It certainly felt like every person, anyway. I would smile and “Mm hm” back at them but some days the temptation to bitch slap these well-intentioned people was almost overwhelming. It’s not the message…
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Mindful eating and hypocrisy
I dipped my spoon into my soup and slurped the creamy goodness noisily. I crunched my piece of toast, delighting at the way it broke into chunks in my mouth… And then crumbs spilled all over my keyboard and I very nearly knocked the bowl of soup over trying to clean it up. I eat…
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Want to increase IQ and EQ? Read a novel
Recently I was told that I’ll never “develop as a person” if I continue to read novels instead of more serious non-fiction titles. It’s hard to explain my reaction when confronted with this view: a mix of exasperation, incredulity and facepalming. But sadly, this is a common misperception among self-help book devotees. I couldn’t bring…
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Breastfeeding is more than the milk
Recently, a mother complained on Twitter about the pressure to pump and bottle feed instead of just OG breastfeeding. I had only been on Twitter a couple days at the time and I was nervous to comment and share my own story, but I wish I had. The pump-then-bottle-feed message was pushed on me time…
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Spacing out
Some time ago, my then 2-year-old was sitting on the couch, staring off into space. In this blissful moment of silence, I pulled my phone out and started going through my emails, writing the shopping list, and checking my To Do list for what else I needed to get done. And all the while my…