Dear Summertime,

Your sunshiny personality is precisely the thing we need right now, since as you may have heard, we had a falling out with your usually gracious sibling, Spring. We know things are going to be different with you too, but still, Summertime, we're so happy to see you!

Essential oils have been used for hundreds of years around the world as therapy for mind and body. These are oils derived from aromatic plants that have qualities ranging from anti-inflammatory and antiseptic to relaxing and stimulating. One of the most well-loved and versatile essential oils is lavender.

Wellbeing. Family. Gratitude. These have always been our defining values, and now they shine with the clarity that only a crisis imparts. They illuminate our family’s focus this May—to care for the wellbeing of our community and Crew, and to cultivate gratitude in the spaces where uncertainty and fear like to linger.

Stress comes in a multitude of forms, sometimes caused by external events and sometimes entirely self-inflicted. It chips away at our wellbeing, wears us down, and depletes our nutritional reserves. During stressful times important nutrients are quickly depleted. And if we’re eating a less-than-stellar diet, we have fewer reserves to begin with.

Much of the research conducted on nutrients and cognitive function focuses on older populations who may already be experiencing cognitive decline, but a new study investigated the effect lutein, and its partners, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin, had on cognition in young adults in their cognitive prime. The results are exciting.

Your body’s immune system defends against all manner of infections. And like every other cell in your body, its individual constituents, from lymphocytes to natural killer cells, depend on nutrition for optimal functioning. The best plan of action is to take steps early on to enhance your immunity.

Organic farming and an organic diet can safeguard and improve the health of the environment and the health of your family, with ground breaking studies continuing to yield proof of those benefits. Research from The Organic Center, proving that organic is always the best choice—for the health of you and your family, with groundbreaking studies continuing to yield proof of those benefits.

Stress can wreak havoc on the immune system, impairing the body’s ability to fight off infection, especially the common cold and other respiratory infections. This is partly because stress impairs the body’s ability to produce nitric oxide.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that each year more than nine million Americans get sick from foodborne illnesses, leading to around 56,000 hospitalizations and 1,350 deaths.¹ Fresh fruits and vegetables are often the culprits, but the pathogens most often are traced back to animal sources, specifically to their manure.

In October 2018, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report sounding the alarm about the real e­ffects of climate change to the planet. This team, made up of 91 scientists from more than 40 countries, scoured nearly every research paper ever written on climate change and came back with a battle cry: We need to act now.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.

– Dr. Seuss, ­ The Lorax

This April, we’re taking climate action in our own yards and in our neighborhood playgrounds and parks. We’re turning Ladybug Love into a movement to transform our public spaces into better for our health and environment, synthetic pesticide-free zones.