We’re focusing on gut health this month starting on page 22, which includes several experts who may have varying advice on the best options for you. Everyone is different, and no two guts are alike. As with every facet of our health care, it is important to do our own additional research and compare varying viewpoints and diets. Luckily, our local Tucson experts are here to help.

   

While we think about the best foods to eat for gut health (and overall health), a major topic of discussion is that of meat. What are the best kinds of meat, what amounts—and should we be eating it at all? I found this month’s feature article, “Beyond Factory Farming”, to be a great addition to this ongoing conversation. Learn about the dangers of factory farming, but also hear from experts on why the answer for our health and the planet is not necessarily to stop eating meat altogether. A healthy middle ground could be the best fit for us and the animals.

   

Natural Awakenings is always focused on introducing you to more of the people that make this community shine. In this month’s Community Spotlight (page 14), we meet Dr. Jasmine May of Healing Spirit, who focuses on the power of water combined with medicinal herbs to heal what ails us. And in our Artist Spotlight (page 28), we meet Betina Fink, a Tucson artist who finds inspiration in the landscapes of Tucson, but puts her own spin on them, creating paintings that are “somewhere between realism and abstraction”.

   

These past few months have brought massive shifts for us all, and have required us to learn and grow in ways many of us didn’t know we needed. In these pages, I was happy to learn more about how everything starts in the gut and the health of people and the planet depends on us relying less on “Big Meat”. The more we read and learn about new topics and perspectives in this beautiful world, the better we’ll all be. One of my advertisers used this in her email and I really like it: “It’s an incredible world we live in. Notice something amazing today!”

   

Stay safe, stay healthy and never stop learning.

Holly