Hello mid-summer! Love it or hate it, the warm weather in our area carries with it a host of new possibilities for eating and living well. In this issue, we focus on tools to aid with detoxification and making healthier eating choices; summer is an ideal time to work on these objectives. The weather alone supports detoxification since sweating is one of the body’s most effective vehicles for ridding itself of toxic overload. The bounty of local farms is plentiful this time of year so making healthy choices seems easier. I encourage you to consider visiting one of the many local farms and markets for your produce and meats; we are blessed with a plethora of amazing such places in Fairfield and southern Litchfield counties.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received from a conventional physician was about my efforts to lose weight and eat healthier. “The thing to remember is that there’s no finish line,” he said. He was exactly right. That’s why fad diets don’t work. They are hard to sustain and as soon as we go off, we return to our usual habits and wind up where we started…or worse. There is no finish line or static goal number to reach when it comes to living a healthier lifestyle. I know this to be true from personal experience; it’s a journey of many, many steps and not all of them go forward or in a straight line. If my experience can be believed, the journey is more like a cha-cha.

Here’s the good news: just as that mythical finish line doesn’t exist, our bodies don’t exist in a finite state either. Our cells are in a state of constant flux, responding to our environment, the food we eat, the drinks we imbibe, the beauty products we absorb, and the changes in our relationships and emotional state. This means that making positive change can be as simple as the next thought we have, the next words we speak, or the next meal we select. Our bodies respond instantaneously to our intentional change of direction. Of course, this may not be visible externally for some time; the truth is that since it may have taken years to get out of balance, so it will take time to re-travel the road back to health and well-being. I believe that, with intention, it is always possible.

Enjoy your summer! Get outside and have some fun with the family (see inside for some fresh ideas) and let your mind, body and spirit recharge during the sunlit days.

With love and light,

Nicole