As I prepared this month’s Food & Nutrition issue, I couldn’t help but remember my own interesting journey with food. One of my early influences was Ann Wigmore’s autobiography Why Suffer?, which completely changed my way of eating and thinking. I was inspired by her philosophy on healing, and her foundation of the Hippocrates Institute, one of the first health centers to offer sprouts, wheatgrass and raw foods for their restorative and therapeutic benefits.

As I got deeper into growing and eating a variety of sprouts, I ended up with a garage full of sprouting machines that could produce a new crop every three days, which I packaged and sold to Southwest Florida retailers for many years. My sprout business was a wonderful way to work from home while my children were little, and also to meet people and practitioners that valued the path of natural health.

But then my kids went to school, and I was ready to grow beyond my little farm. Wanting to create a product that wasn’t perishable but still offered people natural health empowerment, I was divinely inspired to launch this magazine. Every month, Natural Awakenings offers new lessons in nutritional vitality, and I’ve had fun exploring many of them over the years, including fasting, cleansing diets, veganism, vegetarianism, flexitarianism, eating for my blood type and my ayurvedic vata constitution and many more. 

Today, my nutritional decisions are simpler in some ways and more technical in others. I stick to the basics: real food, organic when possible, and the elimination of foods I’m sensitive to—namely wheat, dairy and, of course, sugar. But I also have the help of an ever-evolving health team, as well as all sorts of functional medicine tests—including hormone and microbiome testing—which then leads to finely tuned supplements and dietary guidelines. With all of this help and insight, I feel fortunate and—at times—overwhelmed.

This month’s feature story, “Personalized Nutrition: Fine-Tuning the Dinner Plate,” by Carrie Jackson, reflects so much of what’s available these days and explains why targeted nutrition emerges as one of the year’s biggest areas of growth in the field of health care. We’ve discovered that human beings are not all alike, so what might work well for one person or health challenge doesn’t necessarily work for another. Emerging tools like smart devices, artificial intelligence and comprehensive testing are making it easier to make informed choices. Learn more on page 24.

Nourishment comes in all forms. When I invite friends over to share a healthy meal, bite into fruit grown on my friend’s land or take a walk in nature, I am fed on many levels. 

With the busy winter season in high gear, remember to stop and slow down. Breathe in peace and calm. Breathe out gratitude. We’re enjoying the nicest weather in the country!

Happy Spring,