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

What happens when you avoid consuming “bad news” for just 48 hours? 📰 This journalist’s weekend “news” detox started with anxiety, but ended with quality questions and improved wellbeing.

☀️ SUNSHINE CALENDAR: Look at the latitude of where you live on THIS GLOBAL MAP, and see which months of the year are best for producing Vitamin D with sunlight. In Montana, we experience low angles of UVB light by mid-October, so we always begin supplementing, since D is essential for mood, muscle function, immune health, and more.

♻️ PLASTIC REDUCTION: What happens when California’s new single-use plastic law relies on industry-reported data to set reduction targets? How much plastic pollution will actually be reduced by the 2032 goal? See how California’s setting the example for other states, and why it’s important here.

🐘 ROOM TO ROAM: Laos still has 24 separate populations of Asian elephants, but protecting isolated pockets isn't enough. A new study calls for reconnecting their habitats and reducing conflicts with nearby communities. Here's what could help these remaining herds recover.

🫙 KOMBUCHA & MOOD: Researchers found that mice given kombucha for seven weeks showed changes in gut bacteria and fewer anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. The findings offer another clue about the gut-brain connection, though they don't establish the same benefits in people.

👟 BEYOND STEP COUNT: How you walk may offer clues about your health, too. A study following 4,067 older adults found that a faster walking pace and higher steps per minute were associated with lower mortality risk. Here's what researchers measured, without proving that simply speeding up extends life.

♻️ BOTTLES TO BEACHES: Could old glass bottles help rebuild Louisiana's coastline? Recent reporting highlights tests of recycled glass sand that found no significant survival differences among five estuary species compared with other sediments. Explore the experiments behind this restoration idea, with longer-term effects still being studied.

I’m picky about scented candles. So many of the ones that fill a room use synthetic fragrance, and I’ve tried plenty of natural ones you can barely smell unless you’re standing right over them.

Bee Lucia makes the cleanest candles I’ve found, and the scent actually fills the room. Their peppermint and fir needle blend is the one I’d wrap up for the holidays.

I’ve toured their small, family-owned operation in Portland. Three generations of women hand-pour the candles there. They’re particular about what they source, from food-grade beeswax and organic coconut oil to the pure essential oils they blend themselves.

The owner puts a lot of love into nonprofit work helping feed people who might otherwise go without a meal. That’s the kind of person I feel good supporting, especially this time of year.

CLICK HERE to pick out a holiday candle and use code ROB40 (huge 40% reduction)

What’s your biggest challenge with eating well during the holidays?

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🍰 Finding better versions of favorite treats (21.7%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🍽️ Navigating parties and family meals (33.7%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ⏰ Making time to cook (10.9%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🌿 I’m happy with my holiday food routine (33.7%)

To a healing future,

— Rob