April 2023 Natural Awakenings Gulf Coast AL/MS

A Brighter Future for Farming

Eco-Friendly Food Shopping

Repairing Muscles After Exercise

Minimizing Toxic Exposure

PEOPLE. PLANET. PURPOSE.

PUBLISHER Michelle Smith

EDITOR Julie Peterson

AD DESIGN Gabrielle W-Perillo

LAYOUT Melanie Rankin

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123 Fig Ave., Fairhope, AL 36532

Ph: 251-990-9552

NAGulfCoast.com

MichelleS@NAGulfCoast.com

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A is for April, A is for Action

Dear Friends, Spring is here! Luckily, here on the Gulf Coast, we had a fairly mild winter, especially in February when the temps were in the 60s and 70s most of the time. If you are like me, outdoor activities revolve around the weather and as I get older that window of opportunity between too cold, just right and too hot is dwindling to a narrow margin, something like 60 to 75 degrees.

Nevertheless, it’s the time of year when some of us realize, oh shoot, I’m going to be wearing a bathing suit very soon and I haven’t started my New Year’s Resolutions yet! It’s time to stop procrastinating and take action. So… I wanted to share that by the time this letter is published I will be 14 days into my 21-day ‘healthy body’ active reset. I am looking forward to being more active and detoxing on every level, mind-body-spirit. In case you want to cheer me on or better yet, join me, here are my reset objectives:

21 days to…

n Lose 9 pounds or one size!

n Get moving 30 to 60 minutes a day, 6 days per week.

n Eat mostly whole foods that are nutritious, like organic lean meats, fruits and vegetables.

n Eliminate alcohol.

n Drink only clean hydration—alkaline water or organic cold-pressed juices.

n Reduce sugar intake and limit processed foods (including anything with enriched flour).

n Pamper my body weekly with massage, mani-pedi, lavender or Epsom soak, infrared sauna (or any other detox actions… suggestions?)

n Daily uplifting reading or podcast to inspire a peaceful mind and a joyful heart.

By design, Easter is day 21 of my reset. The day all is made new. On the third day after His death, He rose for me and for you. I hope you will join me in celebration of making all things new.

May God bless you and keep you,

•

Michelle Smith, Publisher

Letters to the Editor

This is the spot in the magazine where conversation with readers are invited and nurtured. Your comments and questions about the contents of this publication are invited and may be printed here.

Here are a couple of notes I received last month that gave me joy!

We are snowbirding here in Gulf Shores. Somehow this little paper found me. After reading your February Natural Awakenings we took a road trip to Fairhope Piggly Wiggly. The Goat was awesome! Mr. T. is a rock star. I went for a sandwich and came home with $200 worth of his wonderful food and a wealth of information. Keep writing and promoting health. Thank you.

Wendy from PA

In the March ‘letter from the publisher’ I commented on an article from that issue, “The Cellular Magic of Compassion,” and how it taught me to practice kindness for seven days to increase happiness. And I mentioned how “The Joy of Movement,” a Fit Body article from last year, inspired my husband and me to implement a once-amonth dance date night, which prompted this note:

My 7 days of kindness starts now! What a great publisher’s note from your March issue. I love the magazine. I really love the once-amonth dance night. I may schedule that for me and my kids!

Nikki in Mobile

How does Natural Awakenings help you with your happy, holistic lifestyle? MichelleS@NAGulfCoast.com

Clean Beauty & Toxin Free Living from TruAura Beauty

The term Clean Beauty came about in the 1970s. Since then, there’s been a ‘clean makeup’ movement growing as more brands develop makeup that favors natural, healthier ingredients that are also better for the earth.

“Basically, clean beauty refers to toxin-free living using makeup, skincare and hair care products formulated without synthetic chemicals and ingredients that could harm the body or irritate the skin,” says Karen Watson, Brand Partner with TruAura Beauty. She adds that many makeup brands sold today still contain formaldehyde, parabens, artificial fragrance, silicones or triclosan, often used for consistency and texture upon application.

Clean Beauty is different from products that claim to be allnatural. “An average of 168 harmful substances can be found in most ‘natural’ makeup and skin care products. The reality is beauty products on store shelves are not regulated, in fact, it’s common and legal to mix formulas with harmful, skin-irritating, chemicals,” says Watson.

TruAura Beauty is a skincare and makeup company that keeps the health and wellbeing of its customers top of mind. Skincare serums, lotions, cleansers and cosmetics support healthy skin and are completely free from parabens, gluten, synthetic dyes, FD&C color pigments, silicones, synthetic additives, artificial flavors and fragrances.

“Products free from toxins are important because daily use of even trace amounts of some harmful chemicals in beauty products may cause damage ranging from minor skin irritation or allergic reactions to serious hormonal imbalances and disease,” says Watson. Some of the makeup applied to the skin can make its way into the body's bloodstream, multiplying the risks of irritation and imbalance. According to Watson, here are some examples of things to avoid:

Hair dye contains over 5,000 chemicals, including some known to lead to potential health risks. Likewise, many makeup products are known to have toxic chemicals like formaldehyde. FD&C color pigments are made from petroleum-based products which often break down into lead and arsenic, both known carcinogens.

Parabens are a group of chemicals used like preservatives to keep makeup fresh, reducing bacteria and preventing mold. According to the Environmental Working Group, parabens disrupt hormones in the body, harm reproductive organs and fetuses and increase the risk of cancer.

For more information contact Karen Watson 256-508-0389 (call or text). Shop online 24/7 at TruBeauty4u.TruAuraBeauty.com. See ad, page 20.

Local Seafood, Brews and Talent for a Great Cause

OnSaturday, April 29, from 4 to 7 p.m., the 13th Annual Bald Eagle Bash–the Alabama Gulf Coast’s Party for Preservation will be held at Tonsmerie Resource Center on Weeks Bay. The Bald Eagle Bash is an annual fundraiser for South Alabama Land Trust (SALT) and has earned a reputation for delivering great food, great music and a great time, surrounded by beautiful Weeks Bay.

The Bash includes fresh Gulf shrimp prepared by the area’s best chefs and restaurants, a low country shrimp boil, delectable desserts by area bakers, beer from Fairhope Brewing Company and Braided River Brewing Company and a selection of wine. This year’s musical entertainment will feature two musical acts with Nashville-based headliner, LadyCouch, and Mobile-based opener, Dial Street Band.

Purchase tickets online and plan to party on Weeks Bay all for a good cause—to support your local land trust and build community.

Funds raised from the Bald Eagle Bash benefit SALT’s mission: to protect land and promote environmental education in coastal Alabama so current and future residents can enjoy clean water and the marine life, wildlife, and outdoor recreation that define our area. Since 1990, SALT has protected over 11,000 acres of critical plant and animal habitat, coastal lands, the edges along creeks, rivers and bays, clean water and the scenic beauty that defines coastal Alabama. SALT is currently seeking sponsors for the Bald Eagle Bash. Check the website or call Katherine Kuhn 251-990-5004.

Location: Tonsmerie Resource Center on Weeks Bay. 11525 US-98, Fairhope, AL. For more information, visit: SouthAlabamaLand Trust.org/Bald-Eagle-Bash. See ad, page 11.

If you’re the only person left, as long as your hope is committed in action, then hope is alive in the world.

~Julia Butterfly Hill

Earth Day Mobile Bay

Earth Day Mobile Bay 2023 is Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is sponsored by Earth Day Mobile Bay volunteers, City of Fairhope and Sierra Club Alabama Chapter Mobile Bay Group.

Earth Day started in 1970. Now, 53 years later, it is a community tradition that has resonated with conservation concerns and environmental ethics, spurring creation of the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and other landmark pieces of environmental protection legislation. To a remarkable degree, Earth Day forever changed protection for land, air and water.

“The 2023 Earth Day Theme: ‘Invest in Our Planet’ highlights the importance of dedicating time, resources and energy to solve the climate crisis and other environmental issues. Investing in our planet is necessary to protect it and the best way to pave a path toward a prosperous future. When we do this together, we are supporting healthy, happy and wealthy communities, creating a 21st century economy that restores the health of our planet, protects our species and provides opportunities for all. The goal is to connect the community with the people and resources found in the region, which foster innovation, initiate change and ultimately implement an equitable partnership for a green planet,” says Carol Adams-Davis, Earth Day Mobile Bay committee volunteer.

Celebrate the Gulf Coast’s largest Earth Day festival at Fairhope Pier Park. This free event is filled with family-friendly and pet-friendly fun, including live music and performances throughout the day. Attractions include engaging and educational activities for all ages from a variety of exhibitors and vendors.

Exhibits will be hosted by community groups, environmental organizations, government agencies, museums, schools and local green businesses. The new 2023 hybrid and electric vehicles will also be on display. Attendees can also learn about local sources of organic foods and organizations supporting the development of a stronger sustainable economy, meet with local area nonprofits with environmental values and the environmental issues that the Alabama Gulf Coast faces will be presented through educational activities and exhibits. Attendees will be encouraged to live in partnership with the planet, to help the climate crisis, to restore nature and build a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future for future generations.

The City of Fairhope will sponsor free onsite electronic recycling to drop-off unwanted household electronics (computer monitors, computer towers, desktops, CPUs, keyboards, printers, scanners, fax machines, stereo equipment, televisions, cellphones and ink and toner cartridges). Recycling options will be showcased with information to help recycle every day.

Music from the Baldwin County Youth Orchestra, Nue Bicycle, The Gawlees, Rambli' Roses, Molly Thomas, Rare Birds and more will be provided.

The festival will also observe the 13-year anniversary of the BP oil disaster by featuring organizations involved in a healthy and sustainable Gulf Coast recovery.

Exhibitors who promote year-round civic participation and environmental responsibility are still being accepted. To host an earth-friendly exhibit, showcase renewable energy, environmental technology, green lifestyle or the tools to pursue earth-friendly solutions to help save the environment, lower cost of living and improve health, please contact us.

Free bike valet parking provided by The Baldwin County Trailblazers

Earth Day Mobile Bay is a non-profit organization dedicated to the environmental education of the Gulf Coast communities. Inspired by the worldwide Earth Day Network, we promote environmental citizenship and steer environmental awareness around the world. Earth Day Mobile Bay seeks to grow the environmental movement on the Gulf Coast and sees it as an effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet.

Location: Fairhope Pier Park, 1 Beach Rd, Fairhope, AL 36532. For directions and more event details: EarthDayMobileBay. org. For information on exhibiting, contact 702-496-5050 or mcadamsdavis@earthlink. net. See ad, page 4.

River Rock Yoga and Pilates

Expanding to Comprehensive Holistic Health Destination

Moira Anderson, owner and director of River Rock Yoga and Pilates, is passionate about welcoming students to the holistically healing, wisdom tradition of yoga in her Ocean Springs studio. Anderson, who has taught yoga for 23 years and worked in mental health for 13 years, is a Licensed Master Social Worker who advocates for improved mental health in her community and has been seeing clients full-time since 2018. River Rock Yoga and Pilates, in business since 2006, has deep roots on the Gulf Coast. “I am grateful to have a business in my beloved hometown, surrounded by its natural beauty and the gracious and lovely people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” says Anderson.

Now, River Rock Yoga and Pilates is announcing its expansion as a wellness destination. The Mississippi Center for Yoga and Health will include River Rock Yoga in an expanded studio and sanctuary space with a hot yoga studio, Namaha Hot Yoga with therapeutic FAR infrared heat panels. The center will also offer expanded mental health services, more Pilates offerings, aerial yoga, Reiki, massage and spa services, ayurvedic and nutrition services and other health and fitness services. “The Mississippi Center for Yoga and Health is in partnership with an amazing healthy food restaurant, The Fig and the Olive, and will offer a tea, coffee and juice bar at the new location,” says Anderson.

Anderson and her staff are looking forward to serving the Gulf Coast community with expanded classes and services, community-building events, workshops, music concerts and opportunities to gather, meet, build tolerance and increase understanding and education.

“Other offerings will include a community garden, free classes and health and wellness programs for people in need. The aim is to support individuals in body, mind and spirit,” says Anderson. The mission is to assist individuals in reducing mental and physical suffering by using integrative, transformational practices rooted in yoga philosophy, therapeutic intervention, self-care, wellness, nutrition and social work ideology.

The core philosophy of River Rock Yoga and the Mississippi Center for Yoga and Health is related to the core philosophy of yoga: connection. The word “yoga” literally means “to yoke”, or to “bring together”. “The current studio and the new project are about opportunities for connection. Our dream is that people learn to feel connected with themselves, with each other and with the spiritual practice that sustains them and is nourishing for them,” says Anderson. “My prayer is that the center’s presence in the community is welcoming, inspiring and educational. If it contributes to bringing peace to people and reducing suffering, I will feel very blessed.”

Location: 2429 W. Commerce St., Ocean Springs, MS 39564. To schedule a class, download our app, go to RiverRockYoga.com or call Kim at 228-369-0266 or Moira at 228-365-3191. Call for more information about mental health services and other holistic health support. See ad, page 8.

Moira Anderson

Non-Denominational, NonJudgmental Spiritual Growth at Unity on the Eastern Shore Unity

on the Eastern Shore has been providing the Gulf Coast with spiritual practices and enlightening guest speakers for over 30 years. Bobbi Jo Machholz, Unity Board President, walked into the center three years ago looking for something different than she had found at other churches. She was on a personal quest to serve others while finding a community of like-minded individuals who were interested in spiritual awareness and growth.

Machholz says, “I found a non-denominational community that speaks my language.” She brought all of herself to the celebrations and volunteer opportunities. The language she was attracted to was that of universal truths and ancient wisdom teachings that promote love, SEVA (selfless service), oneness and non-judgment of others while honoring all living things.

After the pandemic, the center returned to in-person and Rev. Linda Fisher walked through the same doors and felt like she was home. She found a kindred community where she could practice her beliefs developed over years of study and leading three other New Thought congregations. Rev. Fisher was seeking a meaningful connection with people who want to live life from deep within and help create a better world for others. Currently practicing as a minister at Unity, she offers the love and acceptance we all seek.

Revs. Fisher and Machholz relate to this quote from Brene Brown: “Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion. Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective, meaning and purpose to our lives.”

Unity offers varied events including meditation, Tai Chi, dream workshops, art therapy, singing bowls, drum circles, potlucks, family game nights and more.

Location: 22979 US 98, Fairhope, AL. UnityEasternShore@gmail.com. See ad, on page 18.

Eastern Shore Rolfing Adds Somatic Therapy

Pam Reaves, Certified Rolfer, has recently added Somatic Therapy to her practice. Somatics is a broad term that refers to the body.

Having just finished her first Somatic Experiencing (SE) module in Nashville, Reaves is incorporating this mind-body connection into her sessions. Based on the work of Peter Levine, Somatic Therapy helps release stored negative emotions that have been trapped in the body.

“Specifically in relation to trauma, talk therapy focuses on the mind while bodywork focuses on the body. By asking questions and observing body cues, an SE provider works with the mind and body so clients can gently release trauma without being re-activated,” says Reaves. “Furthermore, clients may notice signs in their body as memories or emotions surface then learn how to regulate these emotions themselves. This work has been able to help with chronic pain, PTSD, depression and anxiety.”

A native of the Eastern Shore, Reaves has always been active. Whether running, yoga, barre or boot camp, she’s always moving. In 2000, a horseback riding accident left her with pain and long-term physical limitation for the first time in her life. By experiencing Rolfing she walked without pelvic pain and knew she had stumbled onto the answer she had been looking for. Inspired by her personal experience with this unique bodywork, she dedicated herself to becoming a certified Rolfing practitioner. Training at the original School of Structural Integration in Boulder, Colorado, afforded her highly skilled training and unmatched life experience. Rolfing is her way of transforming lives through the power of touch.

Rolfing is a wholistic approach to manual therapy that seeks to improve health and function by reestablishing the natural alignment and structural integration of the human body. A Rolf series is normally done over the course of 10 sessions systematically designed to reorganize the body.

Location: Within Eastern Shore Chiropractic, 22806 US HWY 98, Fairhope. Call Pam Reaves 706-681-2935 to schedule an appointment. For more information visit EasternShoreRolfing.com. See ad, page 25.

Rev. Linda Fisher (L) and Bobbi Jo Machholz

Pam Reaves

Peak Alkalinity Continues to Grow

Please welcome the newest member of the Peak Alkalinity holistic health team, Faith Sullivan. She is married, a mother of four and works part-time. Here is her story.

After experiencing chronic and unexplained hives for an entire year, being told by multiple doctors that they couldn’t help, Sullivan found herself at the grace and mercy of Jesus, who she says ultimately led her to healing through several natural remedies, including prayer. Once her health was reclaimed, she knew that she would prioritize her wellness for the rest of her days. That wellness journey is what led Sullivan to Peak Alkalinity. After witnessing a friend’s foot detox results, Sullivan and her sister decided to give Peak Alkalinity’s foot detox a try, which for Sullivan resulted in a 4 day burst of energy. Then, when Faith decided to rent a water Ionizer, she met James Long, manager at Peak Alkalinity. While waiting for it to be installed, she made frequent trips to the store to get her alkaline water. During this time, she became friends with Long and the owner, Missy Guitterrez.

During this timeframe, Sullivan’s husband came down with an upper respiratory infection. Instead of going to the walk-in clinic for a steroid shot (which is what he wanted to do), she insisted that he try to remedy it naturally through IV vitamins plus a session at the salt room at Peak Alkalinity. The steroid shot was avoided! Later, when their water system was installed, Long called Sullivan and asked if she would be interested in working with their team as a client associate. They must have decided since she was there all the time, she should just work there as well. She now works with the Peak Alkalinity team at the Fairhope and Mobile locations.

Location: 217-B Fairhope Ave., Fairhope and 2724 Old Shell Rd., Mobile. Call 251-270-7200 or 251-586-8198. For more information visit PeakAlkalinity.com. See ad, page 21.

AUTHENTIC MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE•ALL-NATURAL NO PRESERVATIVES•NOTHING SYNTHETIC

Zaatar Flatbread•Tortellini Salad•Spanakopita

Greek-Style Shrimp Scampi•Seasoned Lamb

Gyro & Muffuletta Sandwiches•Fresh Tabouli Asiago-and-Feta Dip•Ravioli•Cheeses, Olives International Sourced Items Signature Coffee

Resource Center on Weeks Bay, Fairhope, AL

Come to a “party for preservation”

Live music by Dial Street Band and LadyCouch

Local shrimp prepared by over a dozen local restuaruants, beer from Braided River and Fairhope Breweries and a selection of wine Funds raised support the mission of:

Tickets and info at:

southalabamalandtrust.org/bald-eagle-bash/

Each

Faith Sullivan

De-Stress With Sauerkraut

A new study published in Molecular Psychiatry has shown that eating more fermented foods and fiber daily for just four weeks significantly lowered perceived stress levels. Forty-five participants with relatively low-fiber diets were split into two groups.

One group met with a dietitian that recommended a psychobiotic diet, which included six to eight daily servings of fruits and vegetables high in prebiotic fibers, such as onions, leeks, cabbage, apples, bananas and oats; five to eight daily servings of grains; three to four servings of legumes per week; and two to three daily servings of fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha. The control group received only general dietary advice based on the healthy eating food pyramid.

The group following the psychobiotic diet reported feeling less stressed compared with those in the control group. Moreover, significant changes in the level of certain key chemicals produced by gut microbes were found in these participants. Some of these chemicals have been linked to improved mental health, which could explain why the participants reported feeling less stressed. The quality of sleep improved in both groups, but those on the psychobiotic diet reported greater sleep improvements.

Screening Children for Anxiety

After a systematic review of 39 studies to evaluate the benefits and harms of screening for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents aged 8 to 18, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a group of disease prevention and medical experts assembled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, now recommends that primary care physicians perform such screenings, even if there are no signs or symptoms of anxiety.

A common mental health condition in the U.S., anxiety disorder involves excessive fear or worry that manifests as emotional and physical symptoms. In children and adolescents, it is associated with impaired functioning, educational underachievement and an increased likelihood of a future anxiety disorder or depression. The 2018-2019 National Survey of Children’s Health found that 7.8 percent of children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 had a current anxiety disorder.

USPSTF recommended using screening questionnaires to identify children at risk, noting that studies show that children with anxiety benefit from treatments that may include cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy. They also concluded that there is insufficient evidence to assess children 7 years old or younger.

Exercise for the Brain

Researchers in the UK compared the effect that different types of daily movement had on overall cognition, memory and executive function. Their study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, reported that replacing sitting, sleeping or gentle movement with less than 10 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity (brisk walking, bicycling, running up and down stairs, aerobic dancing, jogging, running or swimming) can protect the brain and improve working memory and executive processes like planning and organization. The intensity of the exercise matters, and study participants that engaged in light physical activity, rather than more vigorous activity, saw declines in cognitive performance. However, light activity is still more beneficial than sitting, the scientists found.

The data for these findings was taken from the 1970 British Cohort Study, an ongoing survey that tracks the health of a group of UK-born adults. The group of nearly 4,500 participants consented, at age 46, to wear an activity tracker and complete verbal memory and executive functioning tests, and they were followed from 2016 to 2018.

Pomegranate May Offer

Skin and Gut Benefits

Pomegranate fruit has been widely used in traditional medicine, and a new, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine looked at the effects of taking pomegranate extract for a period of four weeks on different aspects of skin and gut health. Using facial imaging, researchers found the group that received the pomegranate extract had significant reductions in wrinkle severity and a decrease in the rate of forehead sebum excretion. They also found beneficial effects to the gut-skin axis, noting that participants in the pomegranate extract group had a higher abundance of Eggerthellaceae in the gut with accompanying wrinkle reduction. The scientists concluded that the skin benefits from pomegranate extract may be due to the potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of phytochemicals, as pomegranate contains more than 100 bioactive constituents.

Mr Boiko Oleg/ShutterStock.com

SCHEDULE TODAY! 251-240-0842

Next Month: TOP WOMEN IN WELLNESS

Don't miss interviews and lifestyle tips for reducing stress.

Scan the QR code to JOIN US LIVE ONL INE

each Tuesday in May at 7 p.m.

CDT as these top women in wellness share their expert insights for reducing stress and achieving WELLthier Living!

Trevor Cates, ND Stress Impact on Skin

Jaclyn Chasse, ND Stress and Fertility

Carol Penn, DO Aging Gracefully

Carrie Jones, MD, FAAP Stress and Your Thyroid

Jaquel Patterson, ND, IFMCP Sleep, Cortisol and its Relation to Stress

Anna Cabeca DO, OBGYN, FACOG Stress and Libido

Arti Chandra, MD, MPH Healing Your Gut

Anne Marie Fine, ND Cracking the Beauty Code

Kela Smith, PhD, DNM Stress and Fertility

Jyl Steinbeck Women’s Health & Homeopathy

Rebuilding Coral Reefs With Sound

Rapid ocean warming and other effects caused by climate change have stressed and degraded corals around the globe, and scientists have been studying ways to rebuild, manage and conserve these vital ecosystems. A new Australian study published in Journal of Applied Ecology tested whether playing certain sounds underwater at reef restoration sites could boost the recruitment of oysters and enhance their habitat-building activities. Australia’s flat oyster is a key reef-building organism targeted for restoration efforts.

Previous studies had shown that the sound of healthy reefs differs from that of damaged reefs. Using inexpensive marine speakers, the researchers reproduced the sound of a healthy reef at four sites across two of the largest oyster reef restorations in Australia and compared the results to areas that did not receive this soundscape enrichment. The sonically enhanced areas resulted in the presence of more and larger oysters that formed more three-dimensional habitats atop the reef restorations. The scientists propose that the use of marine soundscapes during early stages of new reef restoration projects could reduce the cost of habitat recovery.

Insect-Inspired Drones Build Structures

Two London-based roboticists, Mirko Kovac and Robert StuartSmith, have developed new technology that mimics the way bees work together to build a structure. They used two free-flying drones to build a human-sized tower. The “build drone” carried expanding foam and sprayed it in slow, steady circles to form layers, while the “scan drone” surveyed the structure and identified spots where the last layer was either too thin or too thick, and it then created a plan for the build drone to even things out on the next pass to keep the structure straight and sturdy.

In a second demonstration of the technology, the drones made a cylinder the size of a large round cake using a cement-like material. The duo exhibited a great deal of precision in stacking the material to within millimeters.

The team plans to take the drones outdoors to deal with the elements and add to the complexity of the objectives and number of drones involved. If the technology can be perfected, these collaborative construction drones could be used in places where it is difficult for humans and heavy machinery to reach, like the tops of buildings, remote pipelines and disaster areas.

Lowering the Carbon Footprint of Batteries

A Swedish battery manufacturer, Northvolt, in partnership with Stora Enso, one of the largest private forest owners in the world, has developed a battery for electric vehicles (EV) with an anode made of sustainably raised and harvested wood instead of graphite, paving the way for battery production from a renewable source.

The partners figured out a way to extract lignin, a carbon-rich natural binder that comprises up to 30 percent of many trees, and turn it into a material they call Lignode. According to Stora Enso, by replacing graphite or copper anodes with Lignode, lithium-ion batteries will offer faster charging and discharging, higher cycling stability and more efficient performance in low temperature.

More than 50 percent of the EV’s carbon footprint comes from the manufacture of its battery—both in sourcing raw materials and producing the component. Mining graphite is an expensive and labor-intensive process that requires considerable resources that come from parts of the world where workers’ rights are inadequately protected. While Northvolt’s battery is not on the market yet, this development, along with others like solid-state batteries, may help to reduce the carbon footprint of EVs.

A NEW DAWN ON THE FARM FRONT

STEPPING AWAY FROM INDUSTRIALIZED AGRICULTURE

by Sandra Yeyati

We all have to eat, and the food industry is big business, with wide-ranging implications across many arenas. Because agriculture is controlled by a handful of multinational corporations, the priority to maximize profits often conflicts with what is best for human and planetary health. In many ways, our food production and consumption practices are broken or on the brink of failure. They are inhumane, socially unjust, environmentally unsound and unsustainable.

Viable, achievable solutions to these immense challenges exist, and the emerging consensus is that regenerative organic agriculture is the key to preserving human health and helping solve the climate crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered weaknesses in the system, such as supply chain vulnerabilities, and altered human behavior as more people started cooking at home and exploring healthier lifestyle choices. The time is right to make positive changes to the way we grow, distribute and consume food.

The Problems With Our Current Industrial Farming Model

For decades, doctors, scientists, farmers and nonprofits at the forefront of the environmental movement have been sounding the

alarm about the inherent weaknesses in the national food chain and the harmful effects of industrial agriculture. In his book Food Fix: How to Save Our Health, Our Economy, Our Communities and Our Planet—One Bite at a Time, Dr. Mark Hyman notes, “Food is the nexus of most of our world’s health, economic, environmental, climate, social and even political crises. While this may seem like an exaggeration, it is not.”

In the late 1800s, American farming began to transition from small, diverse operations that produced a variety of crops and livestock to feed a family or community to an industrialized system dominated by multinational corporations that focused on maximizing yields of just a few crops, primarily corn, soy and wheat. Today, these crops overwhelmingly end up as animal feed, biofuels and cheap, processed food ingredients—a staple of the standard American diet since the 1950s.

Industrial agriculture is now the dominant food production system in this country, characterized by large-scale monoculture, heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and meat produced in confined animal feeding operations (CAFO). Most modest family farms have been forced to either get into business with a big company (contract farming) or go out of business. The

Natural Resources Defense Council reports that 90 percent of the 9 billion chickens raised each year in the U.S. are grown under contract, and 57 percent of hogs are owned and slaughtered by just four companies. According to Rodale Institute, only 8 percent of farms produce more than four crops, while specialty crops like fruits, vegetables and nuts are grown on just 3 percent of cropland. With industrial dominance comes numerous devastating consequences.

Human Health Costs

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, industrially produced food is bad for us on several fronts. Heavy pesticide use is poisoning our food, fertilizer is polluting our drinking water, junk food made of corn and soybeans is degrading our health and the overuse of antibiotics in CAFOs is accelerating the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Bioethicist Peter Singer advises, “Factory farms are breeding grounds for new viruses. We’ve had swine flu and avian flu coming out of factory farms. It’s quite possible that the next pandemic will originate there.”

Zach Bush, a triple board-certified physician and producer of the documentary Farmer’s Footprint, says, “Over the last 25 years, we have seen the most profound explosion of chronic disease in human history. Research from around the globe now suggests that environmental factors are contributing to a combination of genetic, neurologic, autoimmune and metabolic injuries that underpin the collapse of health in our children and adults.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that chronic and mental health conditions account for 90 percent of the nation’s $4.1 trillion in annual health care expenditures. Obesity affects 20 percent of children and 42 percent of adults. More than 850,000 Americans die of heart disease or stroke annually, and 37 million have diabetes. Each year, more than 1.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer, while 600,000 succumb to the disease.

“Most of those diseases are caused by our industrial diet, which means they are avoidable if we transform the food we grow, the food we produce and the food we eat. Eleven million people die every year from a bad diet,” Hyman asserts.

Solutions Using Regenerative Organic Farming

Led by the Regenerative Organic Alliance, which includes organizations and brands like Rodale Institute, Dr. Bronner’ s

and Patagonia, the Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) standard helps consumers make informed choices about their food purchases. Its three pillars—soil health, animal welfare and social fairness—are designed to ameliorate the problems associated with conventional agriculture.

Soil Health Equals Planetary and Human Health

Chemical-heavy farming practices employed by conventional agriculture deplete topsoil, draining it of all its organic matter— the very microbiome needed to nourish the plants we grow and ultimately nourish us. In 2014, Maria-Helena Semedo, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, said that if current farming practices continue, we have only 60 years of harvest left. The clock is ticking.

Farming techniques proposed by the ROC are designed to continually rebuild soil. They are proven by years of science done at Rodale Institute and practical results achieved by regenerative organic farmers already growing food this way. “On the farm that we operate here at the Institute, we know that Native Americans were farming this land 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. We’d like to be farming this land 8,000 to 10,000 years from now. We probably won ’t be using tractors or diesel fuel, but we will be using the soil,” says Rodale Institute CEO Jeff Moyer.

Under ROC standards that include a variety of rotating crops, cover crops, no tillage, no synthetic inputs of any kind, no genetically modified seeds and staggered grazing by animals, farms become biodiverse ecosystems with organically rich soil that absorbs water, doesn’t erode over time and produces safe, nutritious food. As J.I. Rodale said, “Healthy soil equals healthy food equals healthy people.”

Healthy soil draws carbon from the atmosphere deep into the ground, and that is a boost for our fight against climate change. “Regenerative organic farming has a very positive impact on climate, because we ’re sequestering more carbon than we are emitting,” Moyer explains. “Under its current production model, agriculture is part of the problem. If it’s part of the problem, then it can and should be part of the solution. That’s the whole premise behind the [ROC] standard itself—treating agriculture as one of the primary tools that we’ re going to use as a society to improve our relationship with the planet.”

Animal Welfare Is the Right Thing to Do

Under the ROC model, animals must be raised in a humane way that frees them from discomfort, fear, distress, hunger, pain, injury and disease, while also being able to express normal behavior. To achieve these aims, they need to be taken out of CAFOs and reintegrated into farmland, so that they are pasture-raised and grass-fed, creating meat that is more nutritious and less diseased without chemical interventions.

“We’re integrating animals onto the cropland, with livestock, chickens, sheep and hogs. Imagine what the Great Plains of the United States was 500 years ago. You had bison, elk, deer, rabbits, wolves and myriad different birds, because the birds always followed the migrating animals. We’re trying to mimic that to a small degree on our ranch,” says North Dakota farmer Gabe Brown, who started transitioning into regenerative organic practices in the mid-1990s and wrote an influential book on the subject, Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture.

Social Fairness and Farming Resilience

Taking care of the farmers and workers that plant, raise, harvest and transport our food is not just the right thing to do, it also creates a system that is more stable and resilient, says Graham Christensen, a Nebraska farmer and president of GC Resolve. “There are serious issues with how the big agricultural companies are treating workers. We saw horrible situations with COVID in the meatpacking plants and how the workers were being treated. This is just one of the many reasons that this over-centralized, monopolized system is affecting people in bad ways,” he says. “Regenerative organic farming requires more hands-on work, which creates jobs. Structural changes in the food production system to decentralize agriculture in favor of regional markets comprised of smaller farms would allow for more equity and better management of the ecosystem.”

Sandra Yeyati is national editor of Natural Awakenings magazine.

mythja/ShutterStock.com

TOXIC OVERLOAD

HOW TO CLEAN OUR WATER, FOOD AND INDOOR AIR

by Madiha M. Saeed, M.D.

Toxins are in the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chemical Substances Control Inventory shows the magnitude of our potential exposure, listing more than 86,000 industrial chemicals that are manufactured or processed in this country. Despite regulations and safety protocols, a number of these dangerous compounds run off into waterways or are released into the atmosphere. Food manufacturers use some of them to preserve or beautify their products.

“We live in an increasingly toxic world, and the best defense against becoming overwhelmed by toxins is limiting what we take in as much as possible,” emphasizes Paul Anderson, an integrative and naturopathic clinician and co-author of Outside the Box Cancer Therapies. While our bodies

are not designed to handle the accumulation of industrial chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and radiation that seep into our personal space, we can take measures to reduce the assault and protect our health.

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“For the health-conscious individual, toxins in the water is the top threat often overlooked or inadequately addressed,” says Rajka Milanovic Galbraith, an Illinoisbased functional medicine practitioner, noting that drinking water is packed with chemicals like per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (also known as forever chemicals), solvents, pesticides, metals, bleach and radiological contaminants such as uranium and cesium. These substances can cause cancer, reproductive health concerns, and kidney and liver problems.

“I have treated hundreds of patients who have restored their health and are already eating and living clean by properly

filtering their water, but sometimes, even when using a very expensive water filtration system, people will still find high levels of contaminants like MTBE [methyl tertiary-butyl ether], an additive in unleaded gasoline that is banned in several states,” Galbraith says. “Reverse osmosis typically filters most hazardous chemicals from your water, but they can be pricier. An inexpensive alternative are the filters from Clearly Filtered, which reportedly remove 99 percent of MTBE, among many other chemicals.”

“Everyone should try to filter their water with any means available, from a carbon block pitcher to the most aggressive method using a reverse osmosis water filter under their sink. Given the state of municipal—and well—water and the amount we need to clean our bodies and brains every day over a lifetime, we need to get this right,” advises Aly Cohen, M.D., an integrative rheumatologist, founder of The Smart Human and co-author of Non-Toxic: Guide to Living Healthy in a Chemical World

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Read Food Labels

“For the individual newer on their health journey, I would say food additives are the ‘hidden’ environmental exposure that is a serious cause for concern, contributing to autoimmune diseases and from a metabolic standpoint, think weight gain, obesity, prediabetes and diabetes,” Galbraith says. “These additives are used to increase palatability, shelf life and texture and can include some you may have heard of, like sucralose, citrate and carrageenan, and others you may not have, like carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80. Carrageenan is common in many nondairy milk alternatives that have made their way into coffee shops.”

According to Galbraith, the most effective way to steer clear of food additives is to avoid or greatly minimize the consumption of highly processed foods. She recommends eating whole foods, especially for those dealing with chronic health issues or experiencing signs or symptoms of an ailment. She also encourages people to read food labels and avoid products with artificial colors, carrageenan, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), monosodium glutamate (MSG), nitrates and nitrites, polysorbate 80, propyl gallate, propylparaben, methylparaben, sodium benzoate, potassium benzoate, tert-Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) and titanium dioxide.

“You are what you eat!” Cohen exclaims. “Eating clean food, without synthetic chemicals that break down the protective microbiome of the gut, is critical to the health of our immune system and our mental health, so we should try to eat whole, unprocessed foods that are USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] Certified Organic whenever possible.”

Improve Indoor Air

According to the EPA, “Americans, on average, spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, where the concentrations of some pollutants are often two to five times higher than typical outdoor concentrations.” The Environmental Working Group offers a comprehensive blueprint at ewg.org/healthyhomeguide that identifies dangerous chemicals found indoors (from lead, asbestos and flame retardants to volatile organic compounds, antimicrobial agents and radon) and recommends actions to clean up our sanctuaries.

“We can lower our toxic burden by decreasing the chemicals in the air that we breathe, and that begins by reducing the junk we bring into our homes,” Cohen remarks. “Start by removing air fresheners, perfumes, bug sprays, scented cleaning and laundry products, and by opening the windows daily, adding lots of plants and possibly adding an air filter for those who live in cities and areas with poor air quality.”

Madiha Saeed is a holistic, functional and integrative doctor in Naperville, Illinois, and director of education for Documenting Hope and KnoWEwell.

Relax and heal with a far-infrared sauna, complete with aromatherapy and Bluetooth surround sound. Follow up with an amazing collagen and lavender shower.

We live in an increasingly toxic world, and the best defense is limiting what we take in as much as possible.

Bon Appétit!

A directory of local restaurants, eateries and markets

FEATURING

From the Docks to the Dinner Plate

Fresh, Local and Sustainably Sourced Seafood

Ahi Seafood Market (ASM) is not only the best source for superior local seafood, it also offers everything to create a superior seafood experience, from gourmet seasonings and rubs, to quality wine and beer selections and fine cheese. Friendly fishmongers are happy to help find a specific item or place a special order. Most of the fish is filleted on-site, so customers receive cuts to order or buy the whole fish.

For a small fee based on quantity, ASM will provide mouthwatering steamed seafood upon request, including delicacies such as shrimp, snow crab and lobster tails.

At ASM, part of bringing the best taste to the table is knowing where fresh seafood starts. By focusing on providing a wide variety of local, delicious seafood caught on the Gulf Coast, the ultimate goal is to provide customers with seafood of the

highest quality while supporting the future of the local fishing community with responsibly sourced tuna, crab, grouper, swordfish, shrimp and more.

“I’m a part of this community and I want to bring the best to my fellow seafood lovers. This is why we don’t cut corners and we search out the freshest, best tasting, quality seafood, beef, pork and everything else in the market that’s available,” offers market owner Don Rhodes.

Seafood inventory changes daily to provide the freshest seafood possible while offering a selection of fresh-caught local shrimp, snapper, grouper, tuna, crabs, scallops and oysters. Salmon, snow crabs, king crabs and other non-regional seafood are fresh (never frozen) and sustainably sourced from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. “Seasonal items are also in stock, so when crawfish season comes around,

count on Ahi Seafood Market for all your mud-bug needs,” says Rhodes, who encourages patrons to follow on social media for the latest lineup.

The market works with fishing partners all over the globe to fill special request orders quickly and reliably, making responsible and informed purchasing decisions that support long-term sustainability for the environment, future fisheries and the seafood industry.

Fish stocks play a vital role in food security, providing nutrition and a source of income for billions of people. The livelihoods of 10-12 percent of the world’s population – over 870 million people –depend on fisheries and aquaculture. And over three billion people worldwide rely on food from the ocean as a significant source of animal protein. Fisheries are a pillar of the global economy.

Many fisheries are threatened by unsustainable fishing. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, just over 30 percent of the world’s assessed fish stocks are overfished and being harvested unsustainably. Another 58 percent of fish stocks are being fished at or near their sustainable maximum and cannot support expanded harvest. All fish stocks require scientifically based, effective and precautionary management to ensure their long-term sustainability.

Ahi Seafood Market is committed to supporting sustainable seafood initiatives, practices and principles to keep the oceans healthy for generations to come while helping to support the long-term future of local and global fisheries.

The market also offers handmade pasta made in Denver, fresh hand-cut beef and pork chops, Nature Nine eggs, Local Appetite lettuce, homemade soups, red beans and rice, gumbo base, creole shrimp etouffee, cold water lobster tails, king crab, snow crab, half-shell oysters, R Bistro crawfish gravy along with an international selection of wines and monthly wine tastings. “We have something for everyone,” says Rhodes.

Location: 18874 Section St., Fairhope, AL 36532. 251-517-7533. Info@AhiSeafood Market.com. AhiSeafoodMarket.com.

Hours: Sunday 10-4, Mon & Tue closed, Wed-Sat 10-6.

April’s guide to local healthy food in Baldwin County

AGAPÉ JUICES

Nourishing your body, mind and spirit. Fountain Plaza Shopping Center

3782 South McKenzie St., Foley, AL Agape-Juices.com

AHI SEAFOOD MARKET

Fairhope Gourmet Market. Guaranteed fresh and highest quality seafood, beef and pork.

18874 S. Section St., Fairhope, AL 251-517-7533 • AhiSeafoodMarket.com

COASTAL ALABAMA FARMERS & FISHERMENS MARKET

Committed to Baldwin County’s local community & agriculture.

20733 Miflin Rd., Foley, AL CoastalAlabamaMarket.com

FAIRHOPE HEALTH FOODS

Homegrown in the South since 1975. 280 Eastern Shore Shopping Center Fairhope, AL • 251-928-0644

Va-FairhopeHealthFoods.com

FAIRHOPE JUICE COMPANY

Nourish the body. Fuel the soul. Battles Wharf Market

18327 Scenic Hwy 98, Fairhope, AL FairhopeJuiceCompany.com

LOCALS FAIRHOPE

Quaint, mom-n-pop eatery providing healthy eats in a casual atmosphere. 312 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL LocalsFairhope.com

MCKENZIE FARMS

Family-owned market supplying fresh produce and more to our community.

17558 A Greeno Rd., Fairhope, AL MckenzieFarmMarket.com

OHANA POKE

Poke combines ingredients of a delicious sushi roll into a quick meal. 561 Fairhope Ave. #102, Fairhope, AL OPFairhope.com

OX KITCHEN

Made with fresh ingredients in-house daily, approachable, not intimidating. 365 S. Greeno Rd., Fairhope, AL TheOxKitchen.com

SAGE LEBANESE CUISINE & CAFÉ

A surprising blend of traditional and new Mediterranean & Lebanese cuisine. 319 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL SageLebaneseCuisine.com

SUNFLOWER CAFÉ FAIRHOPE

Offering a healthy dining experience in a cozy, casual environment. 320 Eastern Shore Shopping Center Va-FairhopeHealthFoods.com

THE HAPPY OLIVE

Be happy, eat healthy, live well. Taste and experience culinary delight! 314 De La Mare Ave., Fairhope, AL HappyOlive4.com

THE INTERNATIONAL GOAT

Always fresh, all-natural ingredients prepared to melt in your mouth. Located inside Piggly Wiggly 100 Plantation Pointe Rd., Fairhope, AL Call ahead to order 251-928-0239

TWO SISTERS BAKERY & DELI

Gluten-free, keto-friendly options, featuring Boar’s Head meats & cheeses. 19452 Scenic Hwy 98, Fairhope, AL 251-517-0622

WAREHOUSE BAKERY & DONUTS

A neighborhood eatery serving made-fromscratch, vegan friendly, gluten-free goodness. 759 Nichols Ave., Fairhope, AL

WarehouseBakeryAndDonuts.com

WILDFLOWERS & FRESH FOOD

Simple and colorful high-vibe cooking classes, events and fresh recipes.

251-656-9112

WildFlowersAndFreshFood.com

For an online list of local healthy food sources, visit NAGulfCoast.com/healthyeats.

Mary Beth Svatek, M.A. Certified Hypnotherapist & Life Coach 251-300-9912 | energymodelofchange.com

13 Moons Animal Wisdom

13MoonsAnimalWisdom.com

The Earth as Muse

INSPIRATION MEETS CONSERVATION

by Marlaina Donato

The Earth is both our mother and our muse, sustaining our lives and blessing us with beauty when we make time to notice her perpetual creative forces. She has long inspired expressive souls of all disciplines, but some of our modern innovators are merging talent with the urgent need to minimize toxic impact. This eco-vision has resulted in some aweinspiring efforts.

In an awareness-based art installation he calls Ice Watch, Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson collected 30 blocks of glacial ice found free-floating near Greenland and placed them in public settings across London where passersby could observe them melting.

DO YOU KNOW ANIMALS WANT TO BE HEARD? Yes, they talk!

(Be careful because they’re listening, too!)

Heart-to-Heart Telepathic Animal Communication Book a session to discover how your animals feel, their thoughts and desires, what will help them and why they do the things they do.

Gabrielle Wyant-Perillo specializes in Multi-Species Animal Communication and End-of-Life Support. She will soon join the handful of certified Trust Technique practitioners in the United States.

Artists John Dahlsen and Rox De Luca spotlight the plastic waste catastrophe in their sculptures and paintings by using debris washed up on the shores of Australia’s beaches. Their sculptural assemblages hang from ceilings and criss-cross walls, driving home the prediction by the World Economic Forum that by 2050 our precious oceans will be more crowded with plastic than marine life.

When creating our own art, we can join these stirring visionaries by minimizing toxic impacts.

Buy Earthfriendly art supplies for the kids. The common crayon contains chemicals like formaldehyde and asbestos, which are harmful to humans and the planet. Opt for biodegradable glitter, non-toxic modeling clays and recycled paper. For more sustainable supply ideas, visit Tinyurl.com/EcoArtSupplies

Get creative with single-use trash items. Paper towel cardboard rolls, plastic shopping bags, bottles, straws and cutlery can be turned into fun projects for kids, teens and adults. Whimsical mobiles, sculptures and magical miniature cities are just a few ideas to conjure while contributing to Earth Day every day. For more ideas, visit Tinyurl. com/SingleUseTrashToArt

Inspire environmentalism by choosing art implements that celebrate nature. Consider using alternatives to toxic solvents, pigments and varnishes. Look for sustainable brushes made from bamboo or corn and easels fashioned from eucalyptus wood.

Marlaina Donato is a visionary painter who hosts art exhibits for community healing. She is also an author and composer. Connect at WildflowerLady.com.

Image courtesy of JohnDahlsen.com

Easter and the Hope of a World Made New

by Eric Hankins

And God saw all that he had made and it was very good…

An often overlooked but absolutely crucial detail of the Easter story is that Jesus rose from the grave bodily. The gospel writers take great care to communicate that the ultimate and glorious status of the resurrected Christ was not as an ephemeral spirit, free from the constraints of embodied existence, but as a walking, talking, eating, hugging, fleshly being. He lets Thomas touch his wounds. He eats breakfast on the shores of Galilee. To be sure, Jesus had a “new creation” body, but it was a body nonetheless.

While it is tempting to dismiss the bodily resurrection of Christ as the sort of parochial and doctrinal nonSTOCKsense that only clerics busy themselves with, to do so is to dismiss one of the most powerful and positive concepts in the Judeo-Christian worldview: the goodness of creation. The dualism that dominated the philosophies of Jesus’ day viewed the physical as evil and the spiritual as good. Physical, created matter was doomed to destruction and the sooner it was abandoned the better. Therefore, the body was the source of all of humanity’s ills; the life of the mind and the spirit was the only path of salvation.

But from the very first chapter of the Bible (Gen 1:31) to the very last chapter of the Bible (Rev 22:1-3), God declares that what he has made is good. He loves the world (John 3:16) and his ultimate purpose for creation and its inhabitants is to be fully and eternally alive. Human beings are purposed, therefore, to love and care for God’s good creation as much as he does. The story of the Resurrection is that, even when it looks like humans have ruined everything God made, there is always hope for new life, new beginnings and new creation. We, as his children, should be about the business of joining God in that work. The flourishing of creation and the flourishing of human beings, rather than being thought of as antithetical, should be understood as the whole point of the Easter story. The current debate about the fate of the Earth too often views people and their progress as the primary problem rather than the primary promise of the planet. But Easter reminds us that people can begin again and their world along with them. We celebrate the One who says, “Behold, I make all things new!” (Rev 21:5).

Eric Hankins, Ph.D., is pastor at First Baptist Church of Fairhope, 300 S. Section St., Fairhope, AL. For more information call 251-928-8685 or visit FirstFairhope.com

Education, Conservation, Adventure, Community at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo

The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, which launched in 1989 and opened in March 2020 at its new location, is one of the most popular family attractions in the region. Building a new zoo from scratch is an enormous project and it hasn’t been done in the U.S. in more than 20 years. The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo is also known as the “Little Zoo” for its starring role in the 2006 hit Animal Planet documentary series, The Little Zoo That Could.

Voted number one zoo two years running by the “Best of Bama Awards,” the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo is home to more than 300 animals, over 122 species and haven to 10 endangered and 5 threatened species. The mission is to create compelling experiences that connect people and community with wildlife and inspire personal responsibility for conservation of the natural world.

Tucked just off the main highway, visitors may feel like they have entered a tropical sanctuary thanks to the intriguing sounds from the diversity of exotic animals. From monkey chatter to wild birds, one is instantly transported out of life’s hustle and bustle and into the zoo’s tranquil domain.

Over four times larger than the old location, the new Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo is spread over 25 acres with expansive pathways. The exhibits provide close-up views of the animals along with picnic areas, rest stops, an onsite restaurant and a gift shop filled with unique animal-themed merch. The venue is ideally suited for all ages and levels of mobility as all buildings are handicap accessible and provide free parking.

Additional attractions include the Soaring Eagle Zip Line, Animal Adventures, one-onone visits with sloths, lemurs, kangaroos, giraffes and more. Interacting with some of the zoo’s most gentle and friendliest creatures is an educational experience beyond compare. If you find a zookeeper roaming around, ask what they like best about their job and their answer will always be educating kids and grown-ups about animals and conservation.

Sustainability is a high priority for the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. There is a seasonal community garden onsite for the restaurant and the animals where a variety of seasonal veggies, fruits and herbs are grown in 16 organic raised beds.

Safari Club restaurant, open daily, has a popular Sunday brunch and is a Green Circle Certified venue. With emphasis on LED lights, Energy Star equipment, recycling and composting, it’s easy to see how important conservation and sustainability is to both the zoo and the Safari Club restaurant. With great tasting food as a priority, the staff competes over who can deliver the most delicious meals. Try the vegan, gluten-free mushroom burger, cauliflower crust pizzas or ever-popular blackened shrimp tacos or Gulf lump crab. All proteins are cooked over a fragrant wood fired grill.

“One of the unique features at the zoo is having a full service green circle certified restaurant on site,” says Joel Hamilton, Zoo Executive Director. “Come enjoy yourself, the zoo has something for everyone. Learn about the animals, conservation, and explore our adventures. You can even contact us about holding your special event in one our uniquely charming spaces.”

The zoo’s most important mission is to offer zoo goers of all ages educational experiences that are accessible, engaging and meaningful, providing current science-based information about animals and the threat of mass extinction of our planet’s wildlife over the coming decades.

In addition, the zoo offers events throughout the year such as Zoo Camp in June, July and August; Fall Zoo Brew with food, beer and bands; National Seed Swap Day and Art on the Wild Side where animals make art!

The new and improved Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo is a 501c3 nonprofit that relies solely on admissions, memberships and contributions to maintain and grow their organization. All are invited to visit and become an active participant by joining the zoo family. The zoo has an additional 72 acres, purchased by the Zoo Foundation, waiting to be developed. You may sign up for a zoo membership, donate, become a sponsor or leave a legacy with brick pavers. Or you can simply help spread the word about The Little Zoo That Grew and cheerlead on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networking sites.

ZOO HOURS: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (last ticket sold at 3:30)

RESTAURANT HOURS: Mon, Tue, Wed 11-4; Thu, Fri, Sat 11-8; Sun 10-3

LOCATION: 20499 Oak Rd. E, Gulf Shores, AL. 251-256-7008. For more information visit: AlabamaGulfCoastZoo.com.

Are you passionate about women’s health? Are you a holistic healer or provider of healthy products and services in the Gulf Coast area? We want to include your story in May’s Natural Awakenings. Call or email Michelle Smith. 251-990-9552 • MichelleS@NAGulfCoast.com

Be a part of our 2023 Gulf Coast WOMEN IN WELLNESS May feature.

MUSCULAR MAINTENANCE 101

HOW TO REPAIR MUSCLES AFTER EXERCISE

by David J. Sautter, NASM CPT, FNS, PES, ACE SCS

In any fitness regimen, rest and muscle recovery are just as important as strength training or cardio workouts. Allowing our body to heal micro-tears and inflammation after strenuous exercise readies muscles for subsequent training sessions. By strategically planning a muscle recovery regimen, we optimize performance and reduce injury risk.

Key factors that affect recovery time include workout intensity and duration, stress, sleep and nutrition. Workouts that are longer in duration or higher in intensity require a greater amount of recovery time. High stress levels can increase cortisol and adrenaline, and consistently excessive levels of these fight-or-flight hormones have been shown to impact the body’s ability to repair. If we are chronically deprived of proper sleep (at least seven hours every night) our muscles will suffer. And a poor diet is akin to using broken tools to fix something. Following a healthy, well-balanced and proteinfocused eating plan can significantly improve muscle recovery time.

Here are a few scientifically proven approaches that promote tissue repair. A solid, muscle-recovery plan should include one or more of these techniques.

Earthing

Earthing is the practice of connecting with the Earth’s surface energy by going barefoot outside. Also known as grounding or barefoot healing, recent studies suggest that this practice can promote muscle recovery. One study that divided 32 healthy young men into either a grounded or sham-grounded group found that the grounded participants had significantly greater concentrations of neutrophils and platelets, which are essential for pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses.

In another study, researchers wanted to observe the impacts of grounding on immunity, focusing specifically on delayed onset muscle soreness. Results suggested that being grounded considerably lessened pain levels and altered circulating neutrophils and lymphocytes, as well as various chemicals related to inflammation.

“The feeling of being grounded will calm your mind and center your body,” says Anthony Roumell, a personal trainer, gym owner, gymnast and long-time proponent of earthing. But there’s more to grounding than a clear head. He explains, “Our entire cellular system charges with free electrons when we connect to the earth. Studies suggest that these free electrons act as antioxidants in the organism, neutralizing the inflammation response.”

Jonathan Jordan, a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach and grounding practitioner, advises, “Simply getting off computers or devices and going outside has immediate benefits. Just taking a break, being outside in nature with sun and fresh air lowers the fight-or-flight response. My

clients who take the time and practice this for just a few minutes during the day all see great benefit to their health and in their workout programs.”

Hydration

Another way to improve muscle recovery is by hydrating properly. Staying adequately hydrated before, during and after a workout helps the body flush out toxins, reduce inflammation and promote muscle repair. Hydration is more than just drinking water. We also need electrolytes such as sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium, which can be found in natural sources like coconut water, fruits and vegetables. Electrolytes can also be found in sports drinks, but make sure to choose brands that do not contain sugar, preservatives or food coloring.

Diet

Having a balanced meal before and after a workout is important for muscle recovery. Eating the right foods can provide the essential nutrients needed to repair muscles. Healthy examples include protein like poultry, wild-caught fish, eggs and grassfed protein powder; carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, quinoa, oats and dark leafy greens; and fats like avocados, nuts, seeds and medium-chain triglycerides, known in the market as MCT oil.

Massage

Massage increases the oxygen-rich blood flow in muscles and may decrease lactic acid buildup—a condition that causes soreness and puts a damper on proper exercise. Consider getting periodic massages from a well-trained professional. A good massage can encourage muscles to heal faster. Self-massage using a foam roller, trigger point balls or our own hands can also be helpful. To promote better blood flow, compression clothing designed to apply pressure to certain parts of the body may also be helpful.

Contrast Therapy

Contrast therapies involve alternating between hot and cold, such as taking a hot shower followed by a cold one. A related muscle-recovery technique is whole-body cryotherapy, which involves exposure to extremely cold temperatures for a very short amount of time, usually one or two minutes.

“Learning how to embrace the discomfort within the cold and heat has had a profound change on my life,” Roumell says. “Contrast therapies will reconnect you to the power of your mind, your breath and your belief in your body’ s magnificence. After all, when you are finished sitting in a 34-degree tub for two to 10 minutes, what could possibly be much harder in your day?”

David J. Sautter is a professional fitness writer for KnoWEwell and Natural Awakenings .

By strategically planning a muscle recovery regimen, we optimize performance and reduce injury risk.

JEFF MOYER

ON FARMING FOR HUMAN AND PLANETARY HEALTH

by Sandra Yeyati

Why is conventional agriculture problematic?

Because it boils down the measurement of farming success to one word: yield. By focusing just on yield and sacrificing long-term resource stability to get it, we’re chewing up topsoil at a national rate of five-and-a-half tons per acre of farmland per year for short-term economic benefit. You can only do that so long before you run out of topsoil. It doesn’t make sense long-term.

What farming practices does Rodale Institute promote?

We’re suggesting a different production model, based on science, that incorporates other metrics of success: soil health and longterm planetary and human health. As a side bar, let’s say you’re a smoker and you stop smoking—your lungs will regenerate. The same is true with soil. If we change production practices, the soil will regenerate.

Under our Regenerative Organic Certified standard, we want well-thought-out crop rotations to get more biodiversity into the system, cover crops and reduced tillage to get more earthworms, and a reintegration of livestock into farms. I’m not going to argue whether people should be eating animals, but if you are going to have animals in the system, they should be raised on farms with grass, not feed lots with grain.

Why is soil health such a priority?

Jeff Moyer is CEO of Rodale Institute, which champions regenerative organic agriculture through scientific research, farmer-support programs and consumer education. On Earth Day, he plans to retire after dedicating 47 years to the influential nonprofit. Moyer revolutionized organic agriculture when he developed and popularized the roller crimper, a device that simplifies no-till crop management and reduces or eliminates the need for herbicides to control weeds. Under his leadership and as a member of the Regenerative Organic Alliance, Rodale Institute helped develop a Regenerative Organic Certified standard that expands USDA Certified Organic requirements to include soil health, animal welfare and social fairness pillars.

Healthy soil is more biologically active and has a positive impact on climate because it doesn’t just sequester more carbon, it sequesters it at greater depths. We want carbon to last in the soil for a very long period of time. We don’t want it to be short-cycled in and out of the system, and we want to sequester it at greater depths where we can control it and maintain it for hundreds of years. Ideally, we’ll get it deeper and deeper in the soil over time.

Can regenerative organic agriculture affordably feed the world?

Affordability is a strange term. Can we produce all the food we need at a reasonable cost? Absolutely. The problem with the conventional model is that we don’t pay the true cost of food production at the point of purchase. As an example, when we have

Image courtesy of RodaleInstitute.org

to dredge the Mississippi River because of all the soil that’s washing into it from agricultural lands, you don’t pay that bill at the supermarket or restaurant. You pay it as a hidden cost, buried in our tax structure.

In an organic system, you’re paying the true cost of the production of that food at the point of purchase, which makes more sense. And if you add the cost of human health—diabetes, heart disease—all the things that our current food production and food consumption model embodies, then the system we have now is outrageously expensive, and regenerative organic food is cheaper than conventional food.

Can regenerative organic agriculture produce the amount of food needed worldwide?

Yes. In most parts of the world, we use agricultural lands to produce all kinds of commodity products that aren’t food. Forty percent of the corn we produce in the U.S. goes to ethanol production and another 40 percent goes to livestock feed. The ink in your pen was made with soybean oil. If we decided to produce the most amount of food on an acre or hectare of land, we can produce way more food than we need.

What we’re saying is that conventional agriculture cannot feed the world longterm. In the short-term, we’re producing a lot of cheap food, but our current production model is doomed to failure over time because we’re going to run out of healthy soil to farm.

Are you hopeful about the future of agriculture?

Very hopeful. The USDA says that most organic farms are more profitable and expanding at a more rapid rate than their conventional counterparts, and that’ s because we have a growing population of support in the marketplace. People are beginning to pay attention to how their food is produced, asking the right questions and recognizing that they have a vote with their food purchasing dollars. We’re seeing the concept of regenerative organic enter into the daily conversation, just like we did a

few years ago with organic. People didn’t know what organic meant at first. Recent USDA statistics suggest that roughly 80 percent of the nation’s population has eaten something organic in the last 30 days, so people are seeking out organic, and we’re going to follow the same course with regenerative organic.

Sandra Yeyati is national editor of Natural Awakenings magazine.

Sustainable Grocery Shopping

There are many ways to be environmentally responsible when shopping for food. Here are a few tips.

Bring Reusable Shopping Bags

Americans use approximately 100 billion single-use plastic bags each year, which accumulate in landfills and waterways and never truly decompose. Some states have banned disposable bags, but many still permit them. Come prepared to the grocery store with reusable bags to reduce the use of single-use plastics.

Shop the Perimeter

Food packaging and containers make up 23 percent of landfill waste. Shop around the perimeter of the store as much as possible to find the freshest, healthiest foods with the least amount of packaging, such as produce, bulk items, dairy, fresh fish and meat. Bulk items like nuts, dry beans, coffee, tea and grains can be purchased in exactly the amount needed with no packaging.

Plan Ahead

The average American wastes about 21 percent of the food they buy, which equates to about $1,800 a year. To avoid overbuying and shrink the carbon footprint of multiple shopping trips, plan meals a week (or month) ahead and come with a shopping list organized by the sections or aisles of the store.

Shop Local and In Season

Local produce has a drastically smaller carbon footprint than fruits and vegetables that must travel long distanc-

es by truck, airplane or ship. Buying local, in-season produce reduces waste because the produce is fresher when purchased and will not spoil as quickly at home. If the family’s diet includes meats, choose pasture-raised, grass-fed products from farmers that practice regenerative organic agriculture, which improves the quality of the land and maintains local ecosystems.

Read Labels

Choose foods that were produced with the environment in mind by looking for the following labels, seals and certifications:

n USDA Organic

n Biodynamic (BDA) for food produced without chemical pesticides or herbicides, using organic, non-GMO seeds

n Non-GMO Project Verified for foods that were not genetically engineered

n FAIRTRADE Mark and Fair Trade Certified for food producers committed to reasonable wages and the safe, fair treatment of workers

n Climate Neutral Certified for food manufacturers committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions

n Safe Catch for sustainably caught fish

n Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) for sustainably farmed seafood

UNWRAPPED EGG ROLL NOODLES

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

1 cup green cabbage, finely shredded

1 cup purple cabbage, finely shredded

½ cup carrot, finely shredded

¼ onion, sliced

½ cup peanut butter

3 Tbsp coconut aminos

2 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp garlic

Salt to taste

Konjac noodles (optional)

Sesame seeds

In a skillet, heat one tablespoon of sesame oil. Add the sliced onions and cook until softened. Add shredded chicken, cabbage, carrot, coconut aminos, remaining sesame oil, garlic and salt to taste. Once the cabbage has wilted and cooked, add the

SUSHI BITES

YIELD: 10 SERVINGS

1½ cups cooked sushi rice, cooled

3 sheets nori paper

SALMON OR MUSSELS

1 lb boneless, skinless wild-caught sockeye salmon, cubed (can substitute with mussels)

2 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup

½ tsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp coconut amino teriyaki sauce

Salt to taste

SPICY MAYO

¼ cup avocado mayo

2 tsp sriracha sauce

1 tsp coconut aminos

TOPPINGS

½ avocado, diced small

2 tsp black sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 350°. Cook rice according to package instructions and set aside to cool. Mix spicy mayo ingredients and set aside.

peanut butter. Mix in noodles.

Serve hot, sprinkled with sesame seeds. For a vegan or vegetarian alternative, omit the chicken.

Used with permission of Madiha

Mix salmon ingredients and set aside. Cut each nori sheet into four equal squares.

Line a muffin pan with unbleached muffin liners. To each nori square, add about 1 tablespoon of rice and top with the salmon mixture. Transfer the filled squares to the muffin pan. Bake 15 to 17 minutes for salmon or 7 to 10 minutes for mussels. Allow the sushi bites to cool slightly and top with avocado, sesame seeds and a drizzle of spicy mayo.

Used with permission of Madiha

M. Saeed, M.D.

M. Saeed, M.D.

Image courtesy of Madiha

M. Saeed, M.D.

Image courtesy of Madiha

M. Saeed, M.D.

To appear in the magazine, submit your listing online at NAGulfCoast.com . Online-only listings may be submitted online at any time. Please email MichelleS@NAGulfCoast.com with questions.

classifieds

$1 per word, per month. Email content to MichelleS@NAGulfCoast.com. Deadline is the 10th of the month.

HELP WANTED

FAIRHOPE SUNFLOWER CAFE IS LOOKING TO HIRE full- and part-time cooks. The Cafe is open for lunch MondaySunday 10:30am-3pm. Apply in store or call Sunflower Cafe 251-929-0055.

OSTEOSTRONG IS NOW HIRING SESSION COACHES. Seeking full- and parttime motivated individuals to join our team who love people and want to be a part of the next generation of the health and wellness, biohacking! Must have high energy, great personality, and some knowledge of fitness or kinesiology. Call 251-210-6955 or email Fairhope@OsteoStrong.me.

SERVICES

ACUPUNTURE & DRY NEEDLING –Holistic wellness care for the whole family addresses a wide variety of health concerns beyond just pain: Back, neck and joint pain, fatigue, allergies, fertility, hormone balance, sleep, stress, anxiety, headaches, neuropathy, sports injuries and more. Daphne Clinic, 6384 Bayfront Park Dr., 251-201-9303. AlMaxwellness.com.

ATTENTION PEOPLE WHO ARE STUCK. LOOKING FOR A LIFESTYLE CHANGE? Struggling to prioritize healthier choices? Get focused, get active, make a plan. Michelle Smith, Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach will take you by the hand and build change by designing customized BEST PRACTICES for your life. Find out how. 251635-6250 or TryMyCoach@gmail.com.

SUNDAYS

Discounts on Supplements – Every Sunday 15% off supplements at Fairhope Health Foods (251-928-0644) and Virginia’s Health Foods (251479-3952). 280 Eastern Shore Shopping Center, Fairhope, AL and 3055-A Dauphin St, Mobile, AL. VA-FairhopeHealthFoods.com.

Spiritual Awakening Center Sunday Community Service – 10:30am. In person and streaming LIVE at FaceBook.com/Sac360.org. Join Rev. Jack Fowler and a loving, inclusive spiritual community for an inspired morning of music, message and encouragement. We honor all spiritual paths, religions and lifestyles, believing the presence of God is found within all living beings. We are grateful to see humanity awaken to its spiritual magnificence. You are a part of this transformation. We meet at CoWork Daphne, 25369 US-98, Daphne, AL (next to Badcock Furniture). Spiritual Awakening Center 360, P.O. Box 848, Daphne. Sac360.org@gmail.com. Sac360.org.

Eastern Shore UNITY Sunday Celebration – 10:30am. We do “church” differently. Don’t believe in God? You are welcome here. In person, streaming on Facebook @UnityEasternShore or via Zoom. Rev. Linda Fisher, Bobbi Jo Machholz, and various local and national guest speakers present a metaphysical message each week. Live music on the first Sunday by Larry Andrews. Brenda Bledsoe plays Native American Flute on the second Sunday of the month. Empowering people on their journey with practical, progressive teachings that ignite spiritual awakening and transformation. We honor all religions, spiritual paths and lifestyles. Unity on the Eastern Shore, 22979 US-98, Fairhope, AL. UnityEasternShore@gmail.com.

Fairhope Unitarian Sunday Service – 11amnoon. Held inside and streamed on Zoom. Different guest speakers each week—either a member of our congregation or someone from the surrounding community. Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, 1150 Fairhope Ave, Fairhope, AL. FairhopeUnitarian Fellowship@gmail.com. FairhopeUU.org.

Mobile Bay Makers Market – 11am-3pm, 2nd and 4th Sundays. Open air, sustainably driven market showcasing 25+ local artisans and growers. Music. Food trucks. Year-round, family and dog friendly. Free. South Park of Fairhope Pier, Fairhope, AL. MBMakersMarket@gmail.com.

Conversations on ‘A Course in Miracles’ – noon. (Immediately after Sunday Service) 2nd and 4th Sundays. Scripture tells us that Adam fell into a deep sleep yet is there never a mention of him waking up. We are collectively experiencing this

‘Awakening’ now as our eyes are finally opening to the Truth of our spiritual magnificence. Join Rev. Jack Fowler for a discussion of these life-altering concepts that teach us to see the world through the eyes of love instead of fear. Donations accepted. Meet at: CoWork Daphne, 25369 US-98, Daphne (next to Badcock Furniture). Spiritual Awakening Center 360, P.O. Box 848, Daphne. Sac360.org@ gmail.com. Sac360.org.

Ecstatic Dance – 6:30-8pm, 1st and 3rd Sundays. Explore the wisdom of your body and connect with your intuition through free-form dance. This is a safe space for releasing stagnant energy and emotions to find self-expression and freedom within. No experience required, only openness and curiosity. $25. The Yoga Hive Studio, 1901 Main Street, Daphne, AL. Facebook.com/EcstaticDanceFairhope. Contact Rebecca Washburn at Dance@RebeccaWashburn. com or 251-929-4634.

MONDAYS

Qigong & Tai Chi Drop-in Sessions – 6pm. Casual movement sessions with James Harkins. Any skill level from novice to expert are welcome to come and move with Jim. A spiritual practice can change your health and well being. Unity on the Eastern Shore, 22979 US HWY-98, Fairhope, AL. UnityEasternShore@gmail.com. UnityEasternShore. wixsite.com/unity.

TUESDAYS

Open Door Drop-in Sessions – Noon-3pm. First Tuesday each month and by appointment. Drop-in and chat with our spiritual advisor/minister. Empowering people on their journey with practical, progressive teachings that ignite spiritual awakening and transformation. 22979 US-98, Fairhope, AL. UnityEasternShore@gmail.com. UnityEastern Shore.wixsite.com/unity.

SATURDAYS

Tai Chi & Qigong – 2nd, 3rd & 4th Saturdays, 7am-10am. Tai Chi for the first 2 hours & Qigong from 9-10am. Join Jim Harkins for an interactive hour of Mind, Body, and Spirit rejuvenation. 22979 US HWY 98, Fairhope.

Tai Chi & Restorative Yoga Morning Workshop – First Saturday of the Month, 9am-noon. Join Jim Harkins for three hours of Mind, Body, Spirit rejuvenation. Tai Chi, Qigong, Meditation – Spiritual Movement practices. Beginners and newbies welcomed. $25 donation to UES is suggested but not mandatory. 22979 US HWY 98, Fairhope.

mark your calendar

Saturday, April 8

Unity on the Eastern Shore Community Yard Sale – 9am. Unity is spring cleaning and you can benefit from our unwanted treasures. Drop by and pick up an item or two for free. We will be collecting items from our spiritual community all month to select from. We’ll have household items, small furniture, clothing, artwork, gardening items, etc. We want to share our GOOD with you. Donations welcome. We’ll also be collecting cereal and snack items for Emmy’s Food Pantry. If you have an item you’d like to donate, please email us for drop-off instructions. UnityEasternShore@gmail.com. See ad, page 18.

mark your calendar

Saturday, April 22

Earth Day Mobile Bay 2023 – 10am-6pm. The Gulf Coast’s largest Earth Day Celebration! Earthfriendly exhibitors and activities, live music all day long, art & educational activities for all ages, inspiring positive environmental solutions. Sponsored by Earth Day Mobile Bay volunteers, the City of Fairhope and the Sierra Club Mobile Bay Group. Fairhope Pier Park, Fairhope, AL. FREE ADMISSION. EarthDayMobileBay.org. See ad, page 4.

mark your calendar

Saturday, April 29

Bald Eagle Bash – 4-7pm. The 13th Annual Bald Eagle Bash–the Alabama Gulf Coast’s Party for Preservation is an annual fundraiser for South Alabama Land Trust (SALT) and has earned a reputation for delivering great food, great music and a great time at beautiful Weeks Bay. Includes fresh Gulf shrimp prepared by local chefs and restaurants, a low country shrimp boil, delectable desserts, beer from Fairhope Brewing and Braided River Brewing and a great selection of wine. Musical entertainment features Nashville-based LadyCouch and Mobile-based Dial Street Band. Tonsmeire Weeks Bay Resource Center, 11525 US-98, Fairhope. Purchase tickets online, SouthAlabamaLandTrust.org/Bald-EagleBash. See ad, page 11.

mark your calendar

August 5-15

Above and Beyond Yoga India Retreat – August 5-15. 10-day yoga retreat with Shoshana Treichel and Nrithya Jagannathan (director of KYM Institute of Yoga Studies). Visit several well-known locations including Mysore, Chennai, Pondicherry and the world-renowned Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. For more information or to register, contact Jake Treichel at Jake@ABHotYoga.com or 251-639-9030. See ad, page 8.

OSTEO{§lSTRONG.

Complimentary OsteoStrong Session

Present this coupon for one complimentary session at Osteostong. Includes whole-body vibration, Spectrum session, and one add-on service.

expires 5/31/23

HOURS:

Monday - Friday: 8am - 6pm

Saturday & Sunday: CLOSED

MOBILE/MIDTOWN

2724 Old Shell Rd, Suile D Mobile, AL 36607 251-586-8226

MidtownMobile@Osteostrong.me

FAIRHOPE 333 Greeno Rd South Fairhope Alabama 36532 251-210-6955

Fairhope@OsteoStrong.me

community resource guide

Connecting you to local resources for natural and green living. To find out how you can be included in the directory, email MichelleS@NAGulfCoast.com or call 251-990-9552.

BEAUTY

HUES SALON & WELLNESS AVEDA – GIFTS – JEWELRY

19 N. Church St., Ste. B, Fairhope, AL

251-200-2131 • Daymaker@huessalon.com

@huessalonwellness (Instagram)

Our team wants you to feel LOVED, HEARD & IMPORTANT. Come in for a cup of tea and enjoy up to 93% naturally derived permanent hair color along with massage, Rolfing, lashes, facials, hydrofacials, curly hair & blonding specialists, body & Brazilian waxing. Green Circle Certified. See ad, page 29.

KAREN WATSON

TruAura Skincare Specialist/Makeup Artist

Daphne, AL • 256-508-0389

TruBeauty4u.TruAuraBeauty.com

Skincare, anti-aging, cosmetics, body care and skin care that are pure, clean, safe and effective with zero harmful ingredients. Prebiotic/probiotic-based and microbiome-friendly.

See ad, page 20.

TMAC’S HAIR STUDIO

Old Government, Mobile: 251-607-6666

2101 Hwy. 98, Daphne: 251-725-4334

TMACsHairStudio.com

A relaxing salon environment that is free of harmful chemicals, impurities and fragrance. Offering customized hair services and regenerative treatments with 100% vegan organic products and essential oils. Ask about following the lunar calendar effective hair treatments. See ad, page 25.

BREAST SCREENING

THERMOGRAPHY ADVANTAGE

Carolyn Olson, Certified Thermographer

Mobile & Foley (other locations by request)

251-623-2225

ThermographyAdvantage.com

FDA registered thermography offers breast/full-body screenings that are noninvasive and radiation-free, without compression or bodily contact. Valuable for detecting early-stage breast disease and more. Also offering ElectroLymphatic Therapy. See ad, page 13.

CBD HEALTH & WELLNESS

FAIRHOPE HEALTH FOODS

280 Eastern Shore Shopping Center

251-928-0644

Va-FairhopeHealthFoods.com

Comprehensive health food store offering a range of CBD products: caps, soft gels, gummies, sprays, tinctures, topicals, mixed with ghee, teas, waters, hot cocoa, infused honey, pedicure powders. See ad, page 31.

VIRGINIA’S HEALTH FOODS

3055 A Dauphin St., Mobile, AL 251-479-3952

Va-FairhopeHealthFoods.com

Comprehensive health food store offering a range of CBD products: caps, soft gels, gummies, sprays, tinctures, topicals, mixed with ghee, teas, waters, hot cocoa, infused honey, pedicure powders. See ad, page 31.

COMMUNITY FELLOWSHIP

FAIRHOPE UNITARIAN FELLOWSHIP

1150 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL 251-929-3207 • FairhopeUU.org

FairhopeUnitarianFellowship@gmail.com

Welcoming people of any age, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or cultural background. We seek truth and knowledge, care for the Earth and show kindness to others while creating an atmosphere of love.

SPIRITUAL AWAKENING CENTER 360

Daphne, AL

251-289-1038 • sac360.org

sac360.org@gmail.com

A new loving, inclusive spiritual community focused on the integration of spirit, mind and body. If you’re ready for support and growth in all areas of life, this is the place to be.

Join Rev. Jack Fowler and a group of inspired spiritual seekers for our 10:30 a.m. Sunday service and upcoming events, classes and workshops. Call 251289-1038 for meeting location. All are welcome.

UNITY ON THE EASTERN SHORE

22979 US-98, Fairhope, AL 36532

UnityEasternShore@gmail.com

251-304-4715

UnityEasternShore.wixsite.com/unity

An extraordinary spiritual family honoring every religion, path and lifestyle. All are welcome to join our progressive Sunday morning service or attend one of our life-affirming classes & events. With the presence of God within each of us, we are co-creating a world that works for everyone. See ad, page 18.

DEMENTIA HELP

MIND PERFORMANCE CENTER, LLC

112 West Section Ave., Foley, AL 251-597-8787

MindPerformanceCenter.com

Drugs are not the only answer. Our unique approach is noninvasive and has helped dementia patients that originally scored poorly on cognitive assessments restore to normal scoring on the same assessment. See ad, page 3.

DEPRESSION RELIEF

MIND PERFORMANCE CENTER, LLC

112 West Section Ave., Foley, AL 251-597-8787

MindPerformanceCenter.com

We can reduce or eliminate symptoms of depression. Our treatments often deliver improvement when nothing else has. 70% of our depression patients see symptoms reduced by at least 50%.

See ad, page 3.

FARMERS MARKETS

COASTAL ALABAMA FARMERS & FISHERMENS MARKET

20733 Miflin Rd. (Co. Rd. 20), Foley, AL

251-709-4469

CoastalAlabamaMarket.com

Open year-round on Saturdays only, 9am2pm. Featuring local farms with seasonal produce, meat, eggs, honey, jellies, baked goods, seafood, hand-crafted soaps and more. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest

NATURE NINE FARMS, LLC

Foley, AL

NatureNineFarms.com

100% sustainable farming practices. Your source for local, ethically grown food. Pasture raised eggs, grass fed and finished beef. Find us at your local Piggly Wiggly Fairhope, Greers Markets, or order online at NatureNineFarms.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

FOOD & NUTRITION

DOWN TO EARTH CONNECTIONS, LLC

HYDROPONIC PRODUCE & HEALTHY COOKING CLASSES

Daphne/Baldwin County

251-298-3001 • Facebook.com/

DownToEarthElopementsArtAndLashes

Coaching a healthy lifestyle with hydroponic growing and cooking. Learn ways to minimize our footprint by living sustainably. Class uses fresh hydroponic herbs and vegetables with a demonstration on how to make a countertop hydroponic unit. During group coaching, prepare a meal to eat or take home. A four-course meal is also donated to a family in need. Classes vary: cooking for vegetarians, vegans or omnivores. Group coaching and private in-home cooking classes also offered. See ad, page 11

FAIRHOPE HEALTH FOODS AND THE SUNFLOWER CAFÉ

280 Eastern Shore Shopping Center

251-928-0644 • Café: 251-929-0055

Va-FairhopeHealthFoods.com

Comprehensive health food store and organic café serving the public for 40+ years. Extensive supplement selection: organic groceries, produce and meats; bath and body products; bulk bins; pet supplies; baby products; CBD and more. See ad, page 31.

VIRGINIA’S HEALTH FOODS AND THE SUNFLOWER CAFÉ II

3055 A Dauphin St., Mobile, AL 251-479-3952

Va-FairhopeHealthFoods.com

Comprehensive health food store and organic café serving the public for 40+ years. Extensive supplement selection: organic groceries, produce and meats; bath and body products; bulk bins; pet supplies; baby products; CBD and more. See ad, page 31.

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE

INTEGRATIVE HEALTHCARE OF LOWER ALABAMA

620 N. McKenzie St., Ste. 200, Foley, AL 251-210-8615

AlabamaIntegrativeHealth.com

Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner and Family Nurse Practitioner Tara McLellan addresses the root cause of disease with integrative medicine—a blend of traditional western medicine and science-based functional medicine. Ask about our custom weight loss program. See ad, page 13.

HEALING JEWELRY

THE NEW YOU MIRACLE BAND

Jeff Nursey, Customer Service 850-207-6621

TheNewYouMiracleBand@gmail.com tnymb.com

Change your frequency, change your life! Our jewelry has an integrated charged disk to protect against 5G and EMFs along with the added benefits of alleviating pain and improving strength and balance. See ad, back cover.

HEALTH & WELLNESS SPA

HYDRO ZEN AT PEAK ALKALINITY

217-B Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL 2724 Old Shell Rd., Midtown Mobile, AL 251-270-7200 • 251-586-8198

PeakAlkalinity.com

Offering cleansing far infrared sauna sessions followed by a hydrating collagen shower and detoxifying foot spas. Ask about package specials. See ad, page 21

HEALTH AND WELLNESS COACHING

GOOD LIFE HEALTH COACHING

National Board Certified Functional Medicine Health & Wellness Coach

251-635-6250 • TryMyCoach@gmail.com

GoodLifeHealthCoaching.com

Attention health conscious, men and women struggling to prioritize the things that will prolong your life—healthy meals, exercise, recovery. Health Coaches help you make changes when change is hard, in all areas of your life. I’ll take you by the hand to offer guidance + tools that work. See ad, page 21.

THRIVE HEALTH & WELLNESS COACHING

Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach & Personal Trainer

251-504-5237 • BeHealthyAndThrive.com

Kimberly@BeHealthyAndThrive.com

Holistic, Integrative Health Coach specializing in helping busy women get off the diet rollercoaster, release stubborn weight, balance hormones, gain energy and achieve the health they deserve in mind, body and spirit. Come love yourself healthy versus starve yourself thin!

See ad, page 19

LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE

THERMOGRAPHY ADVANTAGE

Carolyn Olson, Certified Lymphatic Therapist Mobile & Foley (other locations by request) 251-623-2225

ThermographyAdvantage.com

Electro-Lymphatic Therapy is noninvasive, painless and calming. Similar to a light touch massage, the certified lymphatic therapist uses an instrument with two small handheld wands that are lightly moved across the body in a direction that correlates to the body’s lymphatic flow. An impaired lymphatic system often results in inflammation, colds, flu, sinus problems, edema, excess water retention, heart disease, fibrocystic and tender breast, cellulite, enlarged prostate and cancer. The proper flow of lymphatic fluid can have a positive impact on many of these conditions. See ad, page 13.

Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.

~John Muir

MASSAGE THERAPY

ELEMENTS THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE

6920 Airport Blvd., Ste. 111, Mobile, AL 251-342-6415

ElementsMassage.com/Mobile

A therapeutic massage handcrafted just for you. Reduced stress, elevated mood and a strengthened immune system are all part of experiencing a therapeutic massage The Elements Way. Schedule an appointment today. See ad, page 27.

JUBILEE HEALING ARTS

Jennifer (Adams) Killgo, LMT #3263

28170 N. Main St., Ste. C, Daphne, AL 251-616-4201 • JubileeHealingArts.com

Intuitive integrative massage techniques are used to facilitate the body into a state of healing without the “no pain no gain” mentality. Over 15 years experience in the bodywork and natural wellness field.

MED SPA

ENRG WELLNESS

3099 Loop Rd., Orange Beach, AL 620 N. McKenzie St., Ste. 200, Foley, AL 251-240-0842 • enrGWellness.com

Weight loss, fat burning, food programs, vitamin IV lounge, chiropractic and functional medicine clinic. Custom plans include nutrition, medication and peptide combo. IV vitamin therapies provide relief, healing and recovery for people with health concerns ranging from dehydration to chronic illness. Call us for a free consultation. See ad, page 13.

METAPHYSICAL SHOP

WILD FLIER BOUTIQUE

127 Harbor Blvd.

1018 Government St., Ocean Springs, MS Info@WildFlier.com

We carry a wide selection of crystals, jewelry, yoga apparel and accessories along with men’s and women’s coastal fashion. Find your inner Zen and fly high with us. See ad, page 28

PERSONAL GROWTH

ENERGY MODEL OF THERAPEUTIC CHANGE

Mary Beth Svatek, M.A. Certified Hypnotherapist, IMDHA 251-300-9912

EnergyModelOfChange@gmail.com

35 years experience with anxiety, PTSD, weight loss, smoking cessation, removing blockages, regression, behavior modification, energy healing & streamlining, pain management. See ad, page 24.

PHYSICAL THERAPY

OSTEOSTRONG

Unique System for Developing Skeletal Strength

Josh Fandrich, Owner Fairhope, Mobile 333 Greeno Rd., Suite 2B OR 2724 Old Shell Rd., Suite D Fairhope@OsteoStrong.me MidtownMobile@OsteoStrong.me

Just 15 minutes, once per week on our proprietary, osteogenic loading equipment can help you build a stronger you. See ad, page 35.

PLANT-BASED FOOD

DOWN TO EARTH CONNECTIONS, LLC

HYDROPONIC PRODUCE & HEALTHY COOKING CLASSES

Daphne/Baldwin County 251-298-3001 • Facebook.com/ DownToEarthElopementsArtAndLashes

Coaching a healthy lifestyle with hydroponic growing and cooking. Learn ways to minimize our footprint by living sustainably. Class uses fresh hydroponic herbs and vegetables with a demonstration on how to make a countertop hydroponic unit. During group coaching, prepare a meal to eat or take home. A four-course meal is also donated to a family in need. Classes vary: cooking for vegetarians, vegans or omnivores. Group coaching and private in-home cooking classes also offered. See ad, page 11

THE SUNFLOWER CAFÉ

320 Eastern Shore Shopping Center, Fairhope, AL • 251-929-0055

Va-FairhopeHealthFoods.com

An organic cafe offering vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairyfree options. Open for lunch daily.

See ad, page 31

THE SUNFLOWER CAFÉ II

3055 A Dauphin St., Mobile, AL 251-479-3952

Va-FairhopeHealthFoods.com

An organic cafe offering vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairyfree options. Open for lunch daily.

See ad, page 31.

REIKI

SOUL SHINE

Emily Sommerville, Reiki Master 103B N. Bancroft St., Fairhope, AL 251-225-8994 • Emily@TheSoulShineLife.com

Reiki is a holistic system for balancing, healing and harmonizing all aspects of the person - body, mind, emotions and spirit - and it can also be used to encourage personal and spiritual awareness and growth. Offering individual sessions and Reiki attunements. Call or email to book. See ad, page 8

RESTORATIVE YOGA

ABOVE AND BEYOND YOGA AND SALT THERAPY

878 Hillcrest Rd., Ste C, Mobile, AL Info@ABHotYoga.com • 251-639-9030

New Member Special. Start your yoga journey with us. New members to Above and Beyond are eligible for a 30-day Yoga Trial

Membership for $49 and a Salt Therapy Trial

Membership for $69. Salt Therapy Sessions in our beautiful salt room can help with allergies, asthma, COPD and many other respiratory issues. In addition, it reduces stress and anxiety. For more information, please call Above & Beyond Yoga or visit. ABHotYoga.com. See ad, page 8

UNITY ON THE EASTERN SHORE

22979 US-98, Fairhope, AL

UnityEasternShore@gmail.com.

UnityEasternShore.Wixsite.com/Unity

Treat yourself to a relaxing, healing and rejuvenating session of Restorative Yoga with Bobbi Jo Machholz. Bring mat, pillow, blocks and willingness. 1st Saturday each month, 9 a.m. Donations to Unity accepted. See ad, page 18.

YOGA HAPPY

1015 Howard Ave., Ste. C, Biloxi, MS GulfCoastTraining.org • 228-229-3117

At Yoga Happy it is our mission to offer tools and training to assist you in your quest to achieve greater levels of health, well-being and happiness. As part of Gulf Coast Training & Education Services, we provide opportunities for learning and skill development for nearly every age and everybody. See ad, page 25

ROLFING

EASTERN SHORE ROLFING

Pam Reaves, Certified Rolfer® 22806 Hwy. 98, Fairhope, AL 706-681-2935

Rolfing® is a holistic approach to manual therapy that seeks to improve your health and function by reestablishing the natural alignment and structural integration of the human body. More information at EasternShoreRolfing.com. See ad, page 25.

WELLNESS SALON

HUES SALON & WELLNESS

AVEDA – GIFTS – MASSAGE

19 N. Church St., Ste. B, Fairhope, AL 251-200-2131 • Daymaker@huessalon.com

@huessalonwellness (Instagram)

Our team wants you to feel LOVED, HEARD & IMPORTANT. Come in for a cup of tea and enjoy up to 93% naturally derived permanent hair color along with massage, Rolfing, lashes, facials, hydrofacials, curly hair & blonding specialists, body & Brazilian waxing. Green Circle Certified. See ad, page 29

YOGA APPAREL

WILD FLIER BOUTIQUE

127 Harbor Blvd.

1018 Government St., Ocean Springs, MS Info@WildFlier.com

We carry a wide selection of crystals, jewelry, yoga apparel and accessories along with men’s and women’s coastal fashion. Find your inner Zen and fly high with us. See ad, page 28

Thyroid medication: why less really is more

by Dr. Raquel Espinol

Introduction

The thyroid gland regulates metabolism by releasing hormones called thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). When the thyroid underperforms, it causes everything in your body to work less efficiently. This is known as hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism affects more than 30 million American adults and is five to eight times more common in females.1 By conservative estimates, one in eight women will develop hypothyroidism.1

The most common cause of hypothyroidism is an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This makes up 75-85% of hypothyroid cases. Oftentimes, people with Hashimoto’s struggle to find a medication or treatment plan that works for them and continue to suffer through symptoms like:

• Fatigue

• Feeling cold

• Losing hair

• Gaining weight

• Depression

While there are many treatment options for hypothyroidism, not all are created equal. Selecting the most appropriate one is vital to managing this disease.

What can interfere with hypothyroid therapy?

Some commonly used prescription drugs that can interfere with thyroid medication absorption and efficacy:

• Antacids

• Lithium

• Amiodarone

• Antibiotics

• Antidepressants

• Dopamine agonists

• Colestipol

• Cholestyramine

• Estrogen, testosterone

Thyroid hormones: T3 and T4

The two hormones to remember are T4 (thyroxine) and T3 (triiodothyronine). T4 circulates throughout your bloodstream and is stored in your tissues until needed. Once your body finds a need, it converts T4 into T3. Establishing the exact levels of T4 and T3, and determining if the conversion process is working normally, are critical to designing the best treatment approach.

While most healthcare providers understand the critical nature of T4 to T3 conversion, many fail to recognize the factors that affect this process. These include:

• Nutritional deficiencies/excesses

• Autoimmune diseases

• Gastrointestinal diseases such as celiac disease, acid reflux, or irritable bowel syndrome

• Use of interfering medications like proton pump inhibitors (Nexium® and Prevacid®, for example) or H2 blockers (Tagamet®, for example), which inhibit the dissolution and absorption of thyroid hormone tablets

• The body’s own obstacles to converting T4 to T3

Some people continue to suffer from hypothyroid symptoms despite being on medication for years. But with some effort, patients can work with their doctor to find an approach that works for them.

Some commonly used nutraceuticals that can interfere with the absorption of thyroid medicines:

• Iron

• Calcium

• Magnesium

• Chromium picolinate

Some foods that can interfere with absorption of medication:

• Soy products

• High-fiber/high-bran foods

• Calcium-enriched foods/beverages

Digestive complications or diseases such as celiac disease, autoimmune gastritis, and irritable bowel syndrome can also complicate thyroid hormone therapy.

Make sure to discuss with your doctor all of your medical conditions, medications (both prescription and nonprescription), and nutritional supplements before starting or switching thyroid hormone therapy.

Dr. Raquel Espinol graduated with honors and received her doctorate in naturopathic medicine from Sonoran University of Health Sciences (formerly Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine). She struggled with her own thyroid condition, which was not successfully managed until she discovered naturopathic medicine and worked with a naturopathic doctor to control her condition. This firsthand success inspired her to pursue a career in naturopathic medicine specializing in thyroid diseases. Dr. Espinol works with men and women addressing thyroid conditions, hormone imbalances, and weight loss. She is licensed to practice in Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Montana.

Common choices for treating hypothyroidism

The most common treatments for hypothyroidism include T4 monotherapy with levothyroxine, natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) aka “glandular thyroid,” and a regimen of T4 and T3 medications taken together. Figuring out the best option for you may take some time. See the accompanying chart for pros/cons of commonly used hypothyroidism therapies.

T4 monotherapy

Pros:

• Current standard of care for hypothyroidism

• Proven safe and effective

• Available at all pharmacies

• Usually low cost

Cons:

• GI conditions, medications, sensitivities to excipients/ inactive ingredients in tablet formulations can interfere with absorption and tolerability

Natural desiccated thyroid (NDT)

Pros:

• Contains both key thyroid hormones: T4 and T3

• An option for people who need supplemental T3

Cons:

• Derived from thyroid glands of pigs – an issue for vegans

• NDT therapies are tablets that contain excipients or “fillers”

• The T4:T3 ratio contained in NDT tablets is 5:1 – different than the normal human ratio of these hormones

• Can lead to cardiac problems like rapid heartbeat, insomnia, and feelings of anxiety

• It comes from pigs and may contain porcine antigens, which may be problematic for some people

• Not all pharmacies carry NDT products. Not all insurance carriers pay for them

Combined T4 and T3 medication therapy

Pros:

• Consistent potency

• Can be an option for those in need of supplemental T3

• Available at most pharmacies

Cons:

• Two separate medicines that need to be taken daily. T4 is taken once a day; T3 may be recommended in multiple daily doses

• Some insurance plans may require two medication copays

• T3 can be risky for some patients with cardiovascular conditions. Some patients can experience heart palpitations and other side effects

Malabsorption and drug underperformance

Most thyroid hormone therapies come in tablet form. These contain inactive ingredients such as wheat starch (gluten), talc, lactose, sugars, and dyes that help hold the tablet together, but also can impede the absorption of their active ingredient, which results in suboptimal or inconsistent levels of thyroid hormones. When this happens, many patients often believe they need to change medication rather than address the factors that contribute to their therapy’s poor performance. They turn to their physician for new therapies in the hope that these can provide long hopedfor relief from their symptoms.2

Nutritional support

Nutrition can play a role in managing hypothyroidism. However, few patients can treat hypothyroidism with nutritional supplements alone. Some examples of helpful nutritional supplements include inositol, nigella, B vitamins, and selenium. However, excess amounts of certain nutritional supplements can also lead to hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. Always tell your physician about all drugs and supplements that you are currently taking as well as your soy, fiber, and non-animal product intake.

Thyroid treatment: sometimes less is more

Less is often more when it comes to hypothyroid treatment. Tirosint®-SOL (levothyroxine sodium) oral solution is a unique liquid hypothyroid medication made with only three ingredients. It contains no fillers or other ingredients that can irritate your stomach or lead to poor drug absorption. Because it’s a liquid, it doesn’t need to dissolve in your stomach like a tablet or capsule before your body starts to absorb it. It’s not made with any ingredients sourced from animals, and it’s easy to swallow and comes in precise monodose ampules that can be conveniently stored for travel. You can pour it into a glass of water and drink it, or you can squeeze the contents of the ampule directly into your mouth.

Since Tirosint-SOL consists of just water, glycerol, and levothyroxine, it’s a very simple yet effective solution for treating hypothyroidism. This is important to me. Additionally, I want to ensure my patients have consistent access to the thyroid medication that works best for them. That being said, Tirosint-SOL has a generous coupon program and low-cost mail-order option to help patients without insurance or with high insurance copays/ deductibles. These can be found on the product’s website.

So, which treatment is right for you?

Share your answers to the following with your physicians so they can work with you to pick the right option for you:

• Have you been treated for hypothyroidism and are dissatisfied with the results?

• Do you want a simpler approach?

• Do you need a drug that is free of excipients like gluten, dyes, lactose, and preservatives?

• Do you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or another GI condition?

• Problems swallowing?

Please see Important Safety Information on the following page or toward the back of this issue, and Full Prescribing Information at TirosintSOL.com.

References: 1. American Thyroid Association Website. https://www.thyroid.org/mediamain/press-room/. Accessed December 8, 2022. 2. McMillan M, et al. Results of the CONTROL Surveillance Project. Drugs in R&D. 2015;16(1):53-68.

PM-01-22-0089

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: NOT FOR THE TREATMENT OF OBESITY OR FOR WEIGHT LOSS

• Thyroid hormones, including TIROSINT-SOL, either alone or with other therapeutic agents, should not be used for the treatment of obesity or for weight loss.

• In euthyroid patients, doses within the range of daily hormonal requirements are ineffective for weight reduction.

• Larger doses may produce serious or even life-threatening manifestations of toxicity, particularly when given in association with sympathomimetic amines such as those used for their anorectic effects.

Contraindications

• Hypersensitivity to glycerol

• Uncorrected adrenal insufficiency

Warnings and Precautions

• Cardiac adverse reactions in the elderly and in patients with underlying cardiovascular disease: Initiate TIROSINT-SOL at less than the full replacement dose because of the increased risk of cardiac adverse reactions, including atrial fibrillation

• Myxedema coma: Do not use oral thyroid hormone drug products to treat myxedema coma

• Acute adrenal crisis in patients with concomitant adrenal insufficiency: Treat with replacement glucocorticoids prior to initiation of TIROSINT-SOL treatment

• Prevention of hyperthyroidism or incomplete treatment of hypothyroidism: Proper dose titration and careful monitoring is critical to prevent the persistence of hypothyroidism or the development of hyperthyroidism

• Worsening of diabetic control: Therapy in patients with diabetes mellitus may worsen glycemic control and result in increased antidiabetic agent or insulin requirements. Carefully monitor glycemic control after starting, changing, or discontinuing thyroid hormone therapy

• Decreased bone mineral density associated with thyroid hormone over-replacement: Over-replacement can increase bone reabsorption and decrease bone mineral density. Give the lowest effective dose

Limitations of Use

• Not indicated for suppression of benign thyroid nodules and nontoxic diffuse goiter in iodine-sufficient patients

• Not indicated for treatment of transient hypothyroidism during the recovery phase of subacute thyroiditis

Adverse Reactions

Adverse reactions associated with TIROSINT-SOL are primarily those of hyperthyroidism due to therapeutic overdosage including: arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, dyspnea, muscle spasm, headache, nervousness, irritability, insomnia, tremors, muscle weakness, increased appetite, weight loss, diarrhea, heat intolerance, menstrual irregularities, and skin rash

For Full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning, visit www.TirosintSOL.com