Category: Habits

Ask a Health Coach: Is Cannabis Primal?

Hey folks, Board-Certified Health Coach Chloe Maleski is here to answer your questions about cannabis. Whether you’re wondering if it’s Primal, thinking of experimenting, or trying to cut back, you’ll learn important considerations to keep in mind. Got a question you’d like to ask our health coaches? Leave it below in the comments or over in the Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook group. 
Julie asked:
“I never thought I’d be asking this, but is weed Primal? Is it addictive? I’m a 45-year-old mom of two and ‘partying’ means Netflix in bed. But my state legalized cannabis, and I’m curious to try it. Bad idea or no big deal?”

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Why Am I Waking Up at 3am?

Whenever I write about sleep, I hear from a chorus of people who struggle to sleep through the night. Anecdotally, it seems a far more common complaint than difficulty falling asleep in the first place.

These complaints are one of three types:

People who have trouble falling asleep
People who sleep fitfully, waking multiple times throughout the night
Those who reliably wake once, around the same time most nights

Understandably, this is a hugely vexing problem. Poor quality sleep is a serious health concern. Not to mention, sleeping badly feels simply awful. When the alarm goes off after a night of tossing and turning, the next day is sure to be a slog. String several days like that together, and it’s hard to function at all.

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All About the Liver, and How to Support Your Favorite Detoxification Organ

The liver is incredible. Most people think of it as a filter, but filters are physical barriers that accumulate junk and have to be cleaned. The liver isn’t a filter. It’s a chemical processing plant. Rather than sit there, passively receiving, filtering out, and storing undesirable compounds, the liver encounters toxic chemicals and attempts to metabolize them into less-toxic metabolites that we can handle.

It oxidizes the toxins, preparing them for further modification
It converts the toxins to a less-toxic, water-soluble version that’s easier to excrete
It excretes the toxins through feces or urine

Bam. It’s an elegant process, provided everything is working well back there. And it’s not the only process it controls.

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The Benefits of Quitting Caffeine

The love of coffee and tea transcends national and cultural borders. Around the world, most of us start our day with one of these beloved beverages. We meet friends, clients, and first dates at coffee shops or tea houses because they are comforting spaces. Connoisseurs take pride in sourcing the best beans and leaves, pairing them with the ideal grind and brewing method. 

Yet today, I’m going to make a case for quitting caffeine. Before I get into why—and before you grab your pitchforks—let me assure you that by and large, I still think coffee and tea have more benefits than downsides. (Energy drinks and soda, not so much.) Coffee improves workouts, boosts memory, and fights fatigue. Tea delivers powerful antioxidants. Epidemiological evidence links both coffee and tea consumption to a host of health benefits. 

There are downsides, though. In the pursuit of optimal health, it’s essential to examine our choices and behaviors and ask which of them might be holding us back. That’s what I’m suggesting you do today.

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6 Mind-Body Approaches for Menopause

Perimenopause and menopause comes with a complex web of physical, psychological, and social symptoms.

The treatment usually prescribed by doctors, hormone therapy (HT), is controversial and not appropriate for some women. I won’t get into the HT debate here—Mark did a great job covering the pros and cons recently. Suffice it to say that HT isn’t the answer for everyone, and it’s not a panacea by any means.

Whether or not they choose to go the HT route, many women desire additional support during perimenopause and beyond. For the sake of keeping this post from becoming a novella, I’m going to focus on mind-body therapies today.

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How to FINALLY Take the First Steps Toward That Big Scary Goal This Year

The smaller, simpler goals are what everyone goes for every New Year’s. You know the ones I’m talking about.

Run three times a week.

Join the gym and use it.

Meditate for fifteen minutes every morning.

Call your parents every week.

Apply to new jobs every month.

These are worthy goals. Important goals. They form the backbone of a healthy, sustainable lifestyle—the staples of self-improvement. But let’s face it: they’re boring. Of course you should be training regularly, regulating stress, maintaining strong relationships, and pursuing professional success. These are non-negotiables. Make them goals if they’re missing from your life, but also stretch for greater things. Stretch for the big, scary goal you’ve always thought about.

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