Author: Catherine

Homeowners frequently enhance their outdoor living spaces with attractive plants and trees. When that greenery also produces food, the results can be both beauty and bounty. People who plant vegetable gardens and fruit trees in their yards can be blessed with an abundance of fresh pickings once it’s time to harvest. In fact, many home gardeners may have visions of warm evenings pulling vegetables right out of the garden and tossing them on the grill or in salads. But insects and animals enjoy fresh produce just as people do. The joy of harvesting from a garden can be diminished when unwanted guests have gotten there first. Homeowners can employ these all-natural strategies to protect their fruits and vegetables from lawn pests and critters. Keep reading at Post & Courier

Inflammation is of two types - acute and chronic and is body's natural response to protect itself against harm as without it, injuries could fester and simple infections could be deadly. According to a Harvard health study, inflammation activates the body's immune system to dispatch an army of white blood cells to surround and protect the area which has been hurt, creating visible redness and swelling but chronic, low-grade inflammation can turn into a silent killer that contributes to cardiovas­cular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and other conditions. Hence, inflammation can be good or bad depending on the situation where on one hand, it’s your body’s natural way of protecting itself when you’re injured or sick and can help your body defend itself from illness and stimulate healing. O...

A diagnosis of gastroparesis had gone a little way to solving the mystery, but I was still feeling almost constantly unwell. A FODMAP reintroduction diet was the next logical step, so I was given a pamphlet and sent on my way. I dutifully read the pamphlet and tried to absorb the science jargon and the seemingly enormous list of foods that needed to be restricted. I quickly decided that I was not desperate enough to learn what felt like an entirely new language. It is funny (or not remotely funny), though, how you come around to these things when your hand is forced by an unruly digestive tract. Over the years, I have caved in to almost everything my doctor and digestive system have asked of me. Keep reading at Body and Soul