Happy Friday {{first name | my friend}},

Need some holistic help for back-to-school prep? From handwashing to the importance of the same bedtime every night, here’s 6 quick tips! 🍎✏️

ECL TRIVIA: What do you call animals that are most active at dawn and dusk? (Answer below)

🍌 REPURPOSED WASTE: The fibrous “farm waste” byproducts of bananas have the potential to grow the economy in Bangladesh by more than $94M in export earnings. “Fiber from the [banana] stems, is used to produce handicrafts, sarees, curtains, mats, and bags, among other products,” this article reports.

🐳 DEEP DIVING SONGS: This fascinating new research reveals the complexity “of a humpback whale’s iconic song is directly tied to how deep it dives,” leading scientists to new ideas about ocean conservation, awareness of ocean noise pollution, and our understanding of these majestic creatures.

🐯 TIGER COMEBACK: Nepal's wild tigers surged from just 121 tigers in 2009 to over 400 today. Education, protection, ranger patrols, and local and Indigenous communities can bring a species back from the brink. Learn more HERE about how and where tigers are rebounding!

🦠 SYNTHETIC VIRUSES: The first viruses have been created by AI, and spoiler alert: they’ve not been found in nature. Time-sensitive alarm bells are going off in the scientific community: “The ability to compose viral genomes using generative AI now exists; the governance to safely steer it does not.” If you’re curious to learn more about this topic, click here.

🌿 1K DAYS OF LOW SUGAR: Babies and toddlers fed a diet without added sugar for their first 1K days of life showed “lower risks of developing Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, depression and anxiety” later in life. Read MORE.

💤 REVERSE ALARM CLOCKS: Peloton instructor Ally Love is sharing her 4 top wellness “reset” tips in this quick video, including an awesome tip to help with evening “wind down,” examples of “connect cards,” and what nutrition can look like in your freezer.

Your immune system depends on nutrients you eat—and it turns out, on the trillion microorganisms living in your gut. A new documentary series, Healing Kitchen: Let Food Be Thy Medicine, explores how to use food as medicine to support both. Each episode includes recipes, ancient remedies, and strategies to fortify your immune and gut health through what you're already putting on your plate.

You'll learn how to build plant-based healing recipes targeted to specific conditions, how herbs like garlic and ginger support your body's barrier functions, and why that ancient Indian spice shows up in both traditional and modern wellness work for its anti-inflammatory impact. There's a fire cider recipe used by herbalists to stop colds in their tracks, a Thai soup that combines immune-boosting mushrooms with anti-inflammatory spices, and dietary guidelines to support your microbiome as a living ecosystem rather than just fueling one body.

The series dives into why your immunity is so tightly woven with your microbiome that the two are almost inseparable—and how the foods you choose directly shape both.

You can access the full series here at no cost.

What do you call animals that are most active at dawn and dusk?

Answer: Crepuscular. Many creatures use these twilight hours to avoid midday heat and reduce predator risk.