Long Read

All Movement Counts (Even the Aimless Kind)

I love to walk. Back when I lived in DC, I'd spend hours on weekends just getting lost in the city with my camera, capturing whatever caught my eye. Those long, meandering walks were never about hitting a step goal; they were about exploring and discovering. Turns out all those hours of wandering were doing way more for my health than I realized.

fQBAQsf.jpg

Two recent studies offer encouraging news about movement and how it protects us, and the takeaway is that how and when you move matter less than moving itself.

Keep reading
Mediterranean Sunshine for Under $4

I saw a kitchen renovation that made me stop scrolling: a London couple turned their IKEA cabinets into bright-yellow, striped beauties inspired by the towels and umbrellas at an Italian seaside hotel where they vacation every year. The genius part? They used painter's tape, not paint .

Dorian Caffot de Fawes (an antiques dealer) and his husband Thomas Daviet (an interior designer) bought rolls of yellow painter’s tape, under $4 on Amazon, and wrapped their cabinet doors in vertical stripes. It’s durable enough to last but removable whenever they want something different.

Keep reading
Chasing Sunlight: My Vitamin D Journey

Winter's here in Kentucky, which means less sunlight and thinking about vitamin D. Most of us aren't getting enough—[35% of American adults](https://www.prevention.com/food-nutrition/a69797685/foods-with-vitamin-d/) fall short. I'm one of them. Both my doctors told me I wasn't getting enough, so I've been taking 1,000 IU supplements year-round.

fQBw75X.jpg

What really surprised me: targeted vitamin D3 cut the chances of a second heart attack in half for people who’d already had one. I knew deficiency could affect health, but I had no idea it was tied specifically to heart health.

Keep reading
What Food Defines You?

I came across a question this week that I can’t stop thinking about.

Software engineer Cassidy Williams posed this on her blog:

If Jesus’s body and blood were bread and wine, what are yours?

Her answer? Lasagna and a root beer float. Her husband went with fried chicken and boba. Friends chimed in with everything from sushi and beer to fried plantains and Pepsi to Costco rotisserie chicken and a Manhattan.

Keep reading