This past weekend I attended a 12 hour conference on neuroendocrine health. It was fascinating and detailed course about how our bodies respond to stress. What happens to us when we have poor sleep, severe stress, depression, low energy, and low libido? Have you ever asked yourself "where am I at?" "How am I measuring up?"

Many of us just go through life day in and day out without ever checking in, and then all of a sudden there are a plethora of symptoms. There are some very natural ways to combat the cellular changes that happen in our body in response to stress, fatigue, low energy, and poor nutrition. Ever wondered why there is so much in the media regarding eating vegetables and drinking green tea? It's because food is medicine and it's the foundation of our biology. Eating a moderate diet, drinking green tea, having a teaspoon of turmeric daily, eating plenty of broccoli and blueberries, and incorporating a moderate exercise program, is essentially the secret to robust health and a long life.

It is when our immune system is weakened and inflammation in our body increases in response to stress that perhaps an exercise and diet plan isn't enough. It is then when we need to think about phytochemicals. This is a term that can be interchangeable with herbal medicine or plant medicine. Herbs are complex, and knowing which ones to take will affect every aspect of your health. In spending many hours researching herbal medicine and how herbs react with in the proteins in cells to initiate change and prevent inflammation, I realizeed again that most people play roulette with herbal medicine. Most people walk in to Whole Foods or other markets not knowing what they should really buy. Because herbs are medicine which initiate cellular change on the most deep level, that I encourage you to see a licensed herbalist that understands how to use phytochemicals in a prescription properly.

Good herbal medicine gives a positive outcome because they are chemically complex. It is then when you combine exercise, good nutrition, and quality herbs which will allow for a lifetime of better health. It is important to understand how to use plant therapy in order to affect and make change with digestion, immune system, improve sleep, and better metabolism.