If you want to get healthy, you may not need to go to a doctor. You might instead, dive into a community of like-minded individuals and watch your health soar! The power of community to create health is far greater than any physician, clinic or hospital.

According to Dr. Mark Hyman, “You are more likely to be overweight if your friend’s, friend’s friend is overweight than if your parents are overweight. Your social networks may matter more than your genetic networks. If your friends have healthy habits you are more likely to as well.  So, get healthy friends!”

Community: The Best Medicine for Change

Group models of intensive lifestyle change like the one modeled by Dr. Dean Ornish for heart disease and prostate cancer, are more effective and will save more lives and more money than using medication and surgery for diseases caused by lifestyle and environmental factors.

In my personal experience directing The Daniel Plan, a roadmap for physical and...

Treating other people well is a great rule to live by. But did you know it’s also good for your health, vitality and growing resilience?

Psychology researcher Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, author of Love 2.0: Creating Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection, studies how “micro-moments” of connection with others, like sharing a smile or expressing concern, improve emotional resilience, boost the immune system, and reduce susceptibility to depression and anxiety.

In Fredrickson’s view, we need affirmative human connection in much the same way that our bodies need wholesome food. “Moments of uplifting positive emotions function like nutrients for creativity, growth, and health,” she says.

Interested in encouraging that positive shift within yourself? Here are a few simple tips on growing compassionate connections and fostering kindness from the authors at Experience Life…

Adjust your automatic responses.
Stress triggers us to act...

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken breasts, poached and cubed
• ½ cup diced celery
• ½ cup diced cored Fuji, Gala, or Pink Lady apple
• ¼ cup cashew pieces, toasted
• ¼ cup currants

Dressing

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon each sea salt and ground white pepper, plus more as needed
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 12 whole butter lettuce leaves, for serving
• 1 tablespoon raw hemp hearts (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl toss together the chicken, celery, apple, cashews, and currants.
2. MAKE THE DRESSING: In a small bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients until smooth.
3. Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture and toss until well coated. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
4. Serve scoops of the chicken salad in the butter lettuce leaves and top with a sprinkle of hemp hearts, if desired, for an added omega-3 boost and a nice little pop of texture. 

For more...

At RISE we focus on small steps that add up to significant results…

...and we’ve found integrating these five foundational tips into your daily routine promises to improve your health, shed unwanted weight and rev up a sluggish metabolism.

#1 Eat a Diet Rich in High-Quality Protein
A diet rich in high-quality protein is a proven way to reduce your cravings and burn extra fat. In fact, research indicates a diet high in quality protein is associated with a lower percentage of belly fat, leading to increased muscle mass and a higher metabolic rate. 

RISE healthy proteins include chicken, turkey, beef, bison, lamb, eggs, wild- caught fish (check out www.seafood.org) and plant-based proteins like lentils, quinoa, tofu, and tempeh. 

#2 Increase Your Intake of Healthy Fats
You may be thinking this seems counterintuitive. However, increasing your intake of healthy fats keeps you fuller for longer periods of time and helps prevent weight gain.

Enjoy a variety of...

Ingredients

• ½ cup water
• cup wheat-free tamari or soy sauce
• 2 drops liquid stevia extract
• ¼ cup fresh orange or pineapple juice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 1 pound flank steak, cut against the grain into thin strips
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1½ teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 cups brown rice

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the water, soy sauce, stevia, juice, garlic, and ginger strips. Pour ½ cup of it into a plastic bag; add beef. Seal bag, and turn to coat the beef. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.
2. Remove steak from bag, and discard marinade. In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry beef in oil for 2−3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from pan but keep warm.
3. Add broccoli, onion, and minced ginger to pan; stir-fry for 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4. Return beef...

We all want to make positive changes in our life, and Dr. Daniel Amen provides an encouraging roadmap of how to reach our goals and make them stick.

“If you have come to the decision that you want to make changes in your life, you probably want them to happen NOW! But after nearly 30 years of helping patients navigate the change process, I have learned that taking a gradual approach is the surest way to success.

So many people try to change all at once, but this almost inevitably invites disappointment and failure. You don't have to change dozens of behaviors at once. Start with a few vital behaviors—the ones that will have the biggest immediate impact—and go from there.

Here are 5 essential tips to retrain your brain to make the long-term changes you want most.

1. Focus on your successes. 
Rather than dwelling on the habits you haven't managed to change yet, focus on the positive steps you have made. Are you drinking more water? Terrific! Are you...

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 2 lbs dark ground turkey
• 1/2 large red beet (about 1 cup finely grated)
• 1 large sweet onion (about 1 cup finely grated)
• 8 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tablespoon ginger (peeled fresh)
• 1/2 cup parsley (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Set oven to 375F (the convection roast setting will help create a browning of the outside of the meatball but isn’t necessary if you don’t have convection)
2. Cut the half beet and sweet onion into large chunks.
3. In a food processor, blend the beet, onion, and garlic, and ginger until a fine mealy consistency.
4. In a medium to large bowl, mix the turkey meat, the beet mixture, chopped parsley, turmeric, smoked paprika, and coriander, salt and pepper.
5. Line a...

We’ve gleaned some great tips from Dr. Aviva Romm, a Yale trained MD, specializing in all areas of women’s health (and not to worry to all the men reading this, her practical tips will apply to you as well!)

We all know it’s essential to bring some form of relaxation into our daily lives in order to achieve the well-being we all desire. Volumes have been written about relaxation, meditation, and mindfulness, but here are a few fantastic tips from Dr. Romm to replenish and repair… 

Cave Proactively
When you hit the wall of overwhelm, stop everything. Unplug. Step away from your cell phone, stay off the internet, turn off alarms and notifications, and take some time to be a human being — not a “human doing.” It takes downtime for productivity to blossom, clarity to return, and your mood to smooth out. It could be a minute, an hour, or a vacation! But when you need it: cave.

Take a Bath
Before you go to bed, or anytime you need to...

In his book, Spontaneous Happiness, Dr. Andrew Weil writes about lifestyle practices that can help people achieve and maintain happy lives. His practices are designed to help people reach and maintain a state of contentment and serenity. From there, a person can still experience appropriate emotional highs and lows, but knows that he or she will soon return to a balanced state.

We love his summary of 9 lifestyle practices that will greatly benefit all who follow them, and be especially helpful to those who struggle with mild to moderate depression. 

1. Exercise
“Human bodies are designed for regular physical activity. The sedentary nature of much of modern life probably plays a significant role in the epidemic incidence of depression today. Many studies show that depressed patients who stick to a regimen of aerobic exercise improve as much as those treated with medication. Exercise also appears to prevent depression and improve mood in healthy people.  Many...

Sticky Cauliflower Rice

• 5 cups cauliflower rice (use ready-made or see step 1)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut vinegar
• ½ cup coconut milk

Tahini Miso Sauce

• cup tahini
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely grated
• 1 teaspoon wasabi paste (optional)
• 1 teaspoon fermented miso paste
• 1 tablespoon coconut vinegar
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
• ¼ cup cold filtered water

Add-ins

• 6 organic raw nori seaweed sheets
• 1 large cucumber, julienned
• 8 ounces wild-caught pre-cooked salmon, skinless and broken into pieces (option to use smoked or canned salmon instead)
• 1 cup purple cabbage, thinly sliced
• cup scallions, white and green part, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. If you’re making cauliflower rice at home: Chop the cauliflower into one-inch chunks, including the core. Transfer a third at a time to a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower has a rice texture.

2. Heat the coconut oil in a large sauté pan over high heat....