Letter from Co-Publisher

Vanessa Fleur
As we say goodbye to a decade in time, Natural
Awakenings San Diego celebrates a decade of publishing content that
educates and inspires our readers to live out our “Healthy Living, Healthy
Planet” tagline. We do this by providing current research, necessary tips
and tricks, as well as a directory of practitioners to help you along your path
to a healthier and happier you. January 2020 marks our Annual Health &
Wellness Guide & Directory, giving you all the tools and support you need
to make the New Year a success—including ways to avoid January 17th’s infamous
“Quitter’s Day,” in an article written by coach Elisabeth Hancock, on page 23.
This issue contains a wealth of knowledge about immune
health and age-defying habits, but if there is one thing we know works best,
it’s consistency. We say this to our advertisers as well…because consistency is
key when we want to affect change—whether it be for the health of our body or
our business.
Immune health can also be considered brain and gut health.
As you may remember from our March 2019 issue, 70 percent of our immune system
resides in the lining of our gut. With an extensive network
of neurons lining our guts, some scientists have nicknamed it our
“second brain”.
In "Living Long
& Well" on page 18, Dorothy Sears, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at the Arizona State University College of Health Solutions, makes recommendations for longevity and anti-aging by both improving diet quality and restricting calories
which appears to help slow the rate of aging at the genetic level. And Michael
Grandner, Ph.D., director of the Sleep
and Health Research Program at the University
of Arizona College of Medicine, emphasizes
that sleep is one of the three pillars of health, along with good nutrition and exercise. Even though sleep is a necessary biological
requirement, many see it as a waste of time
and their health suffers because of that belief. Check our Elaine’s Publisher’s Pick, on page 23, to find out
how we recommend gaining the healthiest night’s sleep.
As someone who avoids traditional news like the plague,
being a part of the #NASDMag team has given me access to news that seems so
much more important than what we can see on TV every morning or evening. And
with the launch of our new website last year, we now have endless space to
educate you, our readers, with local articles, videos and events! 2020 is expected to be an exciting year of
events such as the Mars Mission, the opening of the Yahoo! Time Capsule, the
Great South American Eclipse, and EXPO 2020 in Dubai, which is like the World’s
Fair, with 192 countries showcasing the newest in art, technology, science and
countless other spheres, with themes including happiness and environmental
stability. We invite you to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social
media to find our where we are and what we are getting into around America’s
Finest City and beyond.
Feel good…live simply…laugh more
Vanessa