Category: Radiant Life

The Subtle Dangers of Alcohol and Grieving

My history with alcohol has been fairly tame. In my teen years, I partied with friends, but eventually my drinking tapered off as I got older and focused more on physical and spiritual health. Over the years, my attitude toward drinking ranged from indifference to suspicion as I noticed how others used or misused alcohol….


We Can Ease Up on the Disinfectant

A lot has happened over the past year, so you can be forgiven for not having a clear memory of what some of the major concerns were at the beginning of the pandemic. One of the major concerns was the role that surfaces played in the transmission of the virus. As an epidemiologist, I remember…


Do You Know the Signs of Vitamin D Deficiency?

Vitamin D regulates the expression of hundreds of genes and is integral to biological functions that affect every bodily system. Vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency can trigger several generalized symptoms that you may have associated with other health conditions. It’s also called the sunshine vitamin since your skin makes vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet…


10 Lifestyle Changes Linked to Lower Blood Pressure Without Medication

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you may not know that you can make some easy lifestyle changes to help reduce your risk of heart disease. Before turning to medication, you should manage high blood pressure—which is also known as hypertension—through diet and exercise. By successfully following a healthy lifestyle, you may…


Why Do Kids Have Milder COVID?

A new Australian study, published in Nature Communications, provides insight into how kids’ immune systems respond to infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It’s the first study, to my knowledge, that directly compares children and adults with mild COVID-19. Children are less likely to become infected, and when they are, they are more likely…


Microscopic Fungi Living Inside Us May Affect Weight Gain: Study

Mice with certain communities of fungi living in their gut gained more weight when eating processed food than mice whose gut microbiomes hosted different communities of fungi, according to our study published March 5 in the journal Communications Biology. Microbiomes are communities of microorganisms. In this study, we explored whether the fungal members of the gut microbiome—called…


Why You Shouldn’t Neglect Eye Care During the Pandemic

Lockdowns and concerns about COVID-19 exposure have caused people of all ages to cancel and delay routine eye appointments, raising red flags among eye care professionals. As the pandemic continues into its second year, can ocular health be neglected any longer? Our team of optometrists and clinical scientists at the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE)…


The 7 Most Super ‘Superfoods’

Despite their delineation as “super,” not all superfoods are created equal. What makes a food “super” in the first place? While not a regulated or certifiable nutritional claim (yet), food experts define superfoods as having a nutrient density that outweighs caloric intake. Think of a zero-calorie cup of green tea that’s loaded with catechins and other…


Choose Your Mood Wisely

An old friend stopped by recently for conversation. She spent the previous two weeks in a sad mood contemplating whether to end a four-year relationship with her fiancé. After hearing her list of grievances, I asked if she still loved him. She did, and then I revealed what her problem was. I said, you think…


Why Aren’t People Good at Thinking Just for Fun?

If you find it harder to be pleasantly lost in your thoughts or daydreams these days, you’re not alone. “This is part of our cognitive toolkit that’s underdeveloped, and it’s kind of sad,” said Erin Westgate, a psychology professor at the University of Florida. The ability to think for pleasure is important, and you can…