By the middle of the twentieth century, petroleum-based gasoline became the fuel used by the vast majority of cars on the road. It is only now, decades later, that we realize our gasoline addiction has many long-term side effects and unintended consequences, not appreciated until potentially irreversible havoc has been …

The meat industry as it currently stands is cruel, unsustainable, and frankly indefensible. In the case of beef, the industry produces meat that is unhealthy, from stressed-out animals that are pumped full of antibiotics and fed a highly unnatural diet of throwaway grains and even candy. * But let’s not …

The average stool sample is more than half bacteria, with each gram consisting of one hundred billion microbes. That’s nearly fourteen times the global human population in just one gram of dookie! Fecal matter is so dense with microbes, in fact, that every time you go to the bathroom, you …

How Neurotransmitters Work For a microscopic system, neurotransmitter function is an incredibly elegant design. Some of the neurotransmitter gets released by a neuron. This neuron is called the presynaptic cell because it initiates the message and thus comes before the synapse. The neurotransmitter then moves into the synaptic cleft, which …

A SLEEPLESS BRAIN IS PRIMAL—AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY Ever had the sensation of “losing yourself” in a great movie, book, or video game? What about a workout session, sex, or playing your favorite instrument? We owe this incredible, life-affirming sensation of complete immersion to a relative disengagement of …

The Brain Grower Okay, so you’re sold on exercise. Where do we start? There are two main energy systems that you can train— aerobic and anaerobic. For simplicity’s sake, aerobic exercise is akin to a long bike ride or hike, while anaerobic exercise tends to include weight lifting and sprinting. …

Clear Out Your Kitchen Cue the opening chords of “Eye of the Tiger.” (Prefer “The Final Countdown”? That works too.) You’re about to take an inventory of your kitchen and clear out the foods that are no longer serving you. Grab a garbage bag and get ready to load it …

The Sweet Smell of Nature The scent of plants on a wet early spring morning; the smell of newly mown grass; the first roses of summer; the hot, dry, arid herbs on a scorched mountain — these are just a few of the many sweet smells of nature Plant Aid …