In an age where chaos often overshadows connection, stories of compassion, restoration, and sustainability shine like beacons of hope. At Spirit of Change, we...
Today is a day marked by profound contrasts for me: my eldest daughter is getting married, while my father lies in the final stages of life. This poignant intertwining of hope and loss brings me face-to-face with the complexity of love—the messy, beautiful, and often contradictory force that shapes our relationships and our very selves.
The Unloved Self and Our Capacity to Love
Love isn’t simple. It is a dance between the parts of ourselves that feel loved and those parts still shadowed by the experience of being unloved. To understand how we love others, we must first embrace the unloved self within us with as much care as we offer to the parts of us that...
In recent years, gluten-free diets have become a mainstream trend embraced by millions — but does going gluten-free actually deliver the health benefits many expect? A recent study published in Plant Foods for Human Nutrition sheds light on this question, revealing some surprising and important insights about the nutritional profile and costs of gluten-free products.
A Growing Gluten-Free Market — and a Disconnect
About 25% of Americans consume gluten-free products, a striking number when you consider that only about 1% of the population has celiac disease (a serious autoimmune reaction to gluten), roughly 6% experience non-celiac wheat sensitivity, and an even smaller group suffer from wheat allergies. This means many are adopting gluten-free diets for reasons other...
Seed oils have found themselves at the center of a nutritional storm.
From political figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to countless wellness influencers, there’s a rising tide of criticism against common cooking oils such as canola, soybean, and sunflower oil. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign even hawks merchandise stamped with slogans like “Make Frying Oil Tallow Again”, echoing the nostalgic days of beef fat sizzling in cast-iron pans.
But is this backlash backed by science—or are we oversimplifying a complex dietary issue?
What Are Seed Oils, Really?
Often grouped under the misleading label of “vegetable oils,” seed oils are extracted from the seeds of various plants. These include what some call the “hateful eight”:Canola, corn, soybean, cottonseed,...