Get Dr La Puma's Healthy Bites & Weekly Wows in your inbox to help you feel your best inside and out. Insights, healthy recipes and recommended household, culinary, literary, botanical and natural products to make your life easier, healthier and more fun.
Feeling sluggish? Unmotivated? Stressed? Depressed or anxious? Before you reach for medication, consider a remedy that exists just beyond your front door: nature and nature therapy! Compelling scientific evidence shows the less time children and adults spend in nature, the greater the detriment to [...]
I think it’s fair to say that most of us would love to learn more natural, simple ways to reduce our stress! Might I suggest looking into hydrotherapy? Hydrotherapy (or “water cure”) refers to the therapeutic use of water to stimulate the body’s healing force. Many [...]
You’ve probably heard of sustainable agriculture. But have you heard of regenerative agriculture? Welcome to another installment in my “What is EcoMedicine?” series, part of my goal to create a compendium of well-researched scientific blogs on the various kinds of ecomedicine out there. Since [...]
Digital addiction is a real thing — and something those of us who grew up without connected devices would have never imagined. Sit inside and stare at a screen alone rather than play outside with our friends? Not in a million years. But babies entering the world today may [...]
Growing up in Santa Barbara, I’ve loved the ocean my whole life. But it was only as an adult that I realized that — just like the ocean itself — there was more going on under the surface than I thought! If you also feel more relaxed or happy [...]
You might have heard about forest bathing before and know that it’s supposed to be good for your health — but you might feel a little in the weeds on the particulars. Why is forest bathing is good for your health? How, exactly, is walking around a bunch of [...]
What if I told you that a daily downward dog in the park could help you reduce your stress, heal your depression and PTSD, and even lower your blood pressure, manage your symptoms of chronic diseases like COPD and Parkinson’s, and help you sleep better? The health benefits of yoga [...]
There are about a million good reasons to get a pet, whether you want a mouse hunter, a couch cuddler, or an adventure buddy. But did you know that having a pet is actually good for your health? That’s right: pets can actually work just like medicine to help [...]
What if I told you that the right kind of sound or music could reduce pain and stress, help with symptoms of depression and schizophrenia, improve the social skills of children with autism, and even aid folks with dementia? Welcome to another installment in my “What is EcoMedicine?” series, [...]
You may have heard of care farms before, especially if you read last year’s popular blog on care farms. It’s a fantastically innovative idea bridging health and nature that I think we’ll see a lot more of in the coming years. But when a farm environment is also offering [...]