If you haven’t heard about the current Congress’ plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, you may have been hiding under a rock.  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a federal agency of the US government that provides budget and economic information to Congress, recently released a report outlining the anticipated consequences of repealing […]

Climbing, honestly, is not the thing about which I am most passionate, but it is the thing by which I am most consumed. Another winter has crept silently in, freezing all ambition into things statuesque, objets d’art to be gazed at in wonder, the entirety of autumn one far away idea to be thawed in the […]

People don’t  make resolutions and then spring into lasting action. Behavior change researcher James Prochaska and others (link is external) have written about how people actually change — in stages. The actual behavior change, like starting to exercise, or going on a diet, is not the first stage of change, but rather comes after contemplating a change and then preparing […]

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season. While the holidays should be a happy time, for many people, it is a time filled with sadness, self-reflection, loneliness, and anxiety.  Typical reasons for the holiday blues include stress, fatigue, financial concerns, and separation from family and friends. Stress and depression can ruin your holidays and […]

We’ve come a long way in our understanding of how the body works and how food influences the body’s performance.  Back in the 80s and 90s, we were obsessed with the low-fat lifestyle, eschewing foods with fat like cheese, butter and yogurt, for their low-fat, and usually less satisfying, siblings. Recently, a trend called Carb […]

Now that Daylight Savings Time has ended, we face a few months of shorter days and less sun exposure.  For those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), this is a particularly difficult time of year. SAD is a type of depression triggered by seasonal light changes. In most cases, symptoms begin during late fall […]

Though the sun shines unseasonably strong and its rays heat the air in days that are unrecognizable as November, nothing stands motionless as it would in the lethargy of summer, and a near-constant wind sweeps the city and kicks up dirt and is not powerful enough to really affect that which it touches, but instead […]

It’s cold and flu season again!  Because colds and flu share many symptoms, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to tell the difference between them. The flu and the common cold are both respiratory illnesses but they are caused by different viruses. Colds generally do not result in serious health problems, such as pneumonia, […]

We crossed under the gate in the chain-link fence and onto the tarmac, which was dotted with small planes. The day was clear and filled with a low wind, and that spot on the earth was open and so clearly a point of ejection into everything surrounding it. The sky was blank and ended only […]

I can feel my bones hardening, a stolid ache of the marrow like monoliths being built under the skin. I have spilled more blood in the last five months than life ever taught me was even mine to spill. The flesh of my lip split into ribbons is the prettiest pink, I see, soft and […]