Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and while you can show your appreciation with a card or a bouquet of flowers, making her a delicious, healthy brunch from scratch is a terrific way to let her know how much you care. Plus, it has other benefits—eating in is often more  budget-friendly than dining out, and home cooking lets you control the nutritional content of the meal you’re making! You can even tailor the meal to suit your mom’s favorite flavors.

Whether your mother loves savory goodies or she has an unstoppable sweet tooth, our brunch menu ideas have got you covered!

At Integrative Nutrition, May means Vitamin M—a recognition of mothers everywhere!

Why are we honoring all the amazing moms out there? There are tons of reasons, but first and foremost is the fact that mothers are essential to our health and happiness. Not only do they provide support, love, and comfort, but they act as touchstones to our roots, matriarchs for our families, and models for living our lives with passion, heart, and integrity.

Integrative Nutrition is dedicated to appreciating moms around the world, and this May, we’re excited to debut Vitamin M! To show our admiration for the tireless work moms do and the joy they bring, we’re celebrating mothers with our exclusive gift guide, special webinars, and even a Vitamin M contest! You can read all about it here.

Could avocado oil fight aging and chronic disease? Christian Cortés-Rojo, a researcher at Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo in Morelia, Mexico, thinks it could prove to be a helpful tool in promoting health at the cellular level.

The oil, which is similar to olive oil in fat composition, could help to shield our bodies from and reduce the adverse effects of free radicals, damaged cells that can cause everything from heart disease to Alzheimer’s disease. According to Cortés-Rojo, “avocado oil could eventually be referred to as the olive oil of the Americas.”

Free radicals are particles that are in need of an extra electron and to stabilize, will often obtain this electron by damaging stable particles. This can cause a chain reaction, creating many more free radicals out of previously stable particles. Though free radicals are caused by pollutants, cigarette smoke, radiation, and certain chemicals, they’re also produced by your immune system and are a natural part of the aging process.

Nasal congestion can make you feel tired, sluggish, and spacey, and can cause painful pressure behind your eyes, your nose, or even your teeth. If nasal allergies or headaches get the best of you, there’s an easy, natural, tried-and-true way to clear your head while being kind to your poor stuffed sinuses: the neti pot.

The Sanskrit word “neti” refers to an Ayurvedic purification technique that dates back thousands of years to India’s ancient yogic traditions. Since congestion made it difficult for yogis to practice a set of breathing exercises called Pranayama (and achieve the enlightment resulting from it), they developed the practice of neti to help them clear nasal passages of dirt, dryness, debris, and disease and to reduce the resulting sinus inflammation. Over time, they developed the neti pot (“neti lota”), a tool created specifically for this purpose.

Building core strength is important, but who knew it could be so sexy? A recent study has shown that women who do extended abdominal exercises may be able to really, really enjoy their core workouts.

According to a study helmed by author and researcher Dr. Debby Herbenick, the curiosity known as the “coregasm” is legit. Along with her team, Herbenick, who acts as the co-director of Indiana University’s Center for Sexual Health Promotion, surveyed 370 women to gather information about this titillating phenomenon.

Courtesy of the World Health Organization

Much like Integrative Nutrition (where we’re all about rocking the ripple effect), the World Health Organization (WHO) believes in using global efforts to promote and achieve good health around the world. 

If you’re not familiar with it, the WHO is the United Nations’ primary health authority, and is responsible for everything from creating health-related guidelines and guiding public policy to examining health trends and their effect on the population at large. According to the organization, "health is a shared responsibility, involving equitable access to essential care and collective defense against transnational threats."

Embarking on a new, healthy eating plan can be a great way to shed excess weight, feel better about yourself, and make some serious enemies. 

Enemies? That’s right. According to The Wall Street Journal, your friends and co-workers may not be so thrilled about your new dietary regimen, especially if you’re out and proud about your nutritional and lifestyle changes.

Happy first official day of spring! Today, we celebrate the new season and the vernal equinox. (Scientifically speaking, that’s when the earth’s axis is parallel to the sun instead of tipped towards or away from it, and it only happens twice a year!) 

Traditionally, spring is associated with new life and fresh beginnings—blossoming trees and plants, brighter weather, and a sense of renewed spirit and energy after the cold, long winter. So, what does the start of the season mean for us? It’s a great time for mental and physical spring cleaning.

For some ideas on how you can detox as the weather warms up, listen to Spring into a Clean Mind, Body, and Home, a pre-recorded webinar with Julia Argenti, Health Coach and founder of Lemons & Loafers, a popular food and fashion blog.

Integrative Nutrition has such a strong, powerful female population. Today, as we observe International Women’s Day—a “global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future”—we toast women everywhere for their strength, beauty, and desire to stand up for what’s right.

As you may know, International Women’s Day dates back to the turn of the 20^th century. On the heels of the Industrial Revolution, women began to rise up against the oppression and unfair treatment they experienced in the workplace and society at large. Campaigns for equal rights and women’s suffrage gathered more and more support, and in 1908, a massive group of “15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.” (Left Image Courtesy of International Women’s Day)

Two years later, the International Conference of Working Women voted to commemorate the spirit of this march with an annual celebration set on the same day every year—and so International Women’s Day was officially born! In 1911, the holiday spread to countries including Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, and received an outpouring of support; 30,000 women demonstrated, and “village halls were packed so full that male workers were asked to give up their places for women.”

Welcome to the latest installment of Integrative Nutrition Reviews, where we consider books, movies, and other media related to health, food, and personal wellness. Want to suggest something for us to review? Post it in the comments!

As you probably know, obesity and type 2 diabetes—two diseases that go hand in hand—have become major global epidemics. Recent estimates predict that by the year 2030, over half of American adults will be obese and 552 million people will struggle with diabetes.

The statistics look grim, but is there anything we can do? As it turns out, there’s hope after all. In his new book, The Blood Sugar Solution, renowned physician and IIN visiting teacher Dr. Mark Hyman offers an encouraging answer for the dual-pronged problem of obesity and insulin resistant diabetes, which Hyman refers to as “diabesity.”

Diabesity may have a tight grip on the world’s population, but Hyman offers some good news: the condition is highly preventable, treatable, and often reversible. The Blood Sugar Solution provides a personal plan that breaks through myths and misconceptions about diabesity, and lays out seven key steps to preventing, treating and reversing both diseases by dealing with the underlying causes.

The eight-week plan is designed to reboot the metabolism, foster weight loss, and essentially reverse type 2 diabetes. According to Hyman, additional benefits may include reduced blood pressure, increased energy, the elimination of joint and muscle pain, improved sleep, and an overall better mood and outlook.