That inflated sense of self, she notes, also translates into a lot of other characteristics, especially feeling better than everyone else. “They feel they’re the smartest person in the room, they know best, and their reality is the reality—their experience is the experience,” she says. Ultimately, these people tend to take arrogance to the extreme, believing they can do whatever they want with little to no regard for others—and that they’re justified in doing so....

From a physiological perspective, neuroscientist and author of The Source Tara Swart, M.D., Ph.D., says, “Your gut feelings are a combination of your gut bacteria communicating directly to your brain via chemical messengers in the blood (cytokine transmission1) and the gut neurons connection to the limbic (emotional and intuitive) part of the brain.” And from a more spiritual view, clairvoyant intuitive and author of A Little Bit of Intuition Catharine Allan tells mbg that “people usually get an overall sensation of knowing” but how that knowing presents itself will be different for everyone, which brings us to our next point....

“It also contains vitamin B6 and folate, which have both shown importance in brain function and preventing Alzheimer’s disease1,” registered dietitian Brenna Wallace, M.S., RDN, LDN, tells mbg. The potassium in honeydew can help manage blood pressure2, while vitamin C benefits the immune system and skin health. “Vitamin C is needed for collagen to form,” Wallace explains, “ensuring that your skin tissue remains unbroken and repairs properly when needed.” Beta-carotene is a carotenoid that gives carrots, sweet potatoes, and cantaloupe their orange hues....

While minimalism’s origins began in art, the movement grew to include lifestyle choices as well. One of the goals of those seeking this way of living is to intentionally reduce possessions and only keep those things that bring value and happiness. By surrounding ourselves with items that serve a purpose, the idea is that we’ll have more time and energy to devote to other areas of our lives, like spending time with loved ones....

Why you, ask? These dietary changes are important for enhancing the likelihood of a healthy baby and may also have an impact on the health of the child throughout his or her lifetime. And in the future, we might have to add gluten to the list of foods to avoid during pregnancy. In 2016, she published a study on diabetic mice that typically produce diabetic offspring. She noted that if, during pregnancy, these mice ate a gluten-containing diet, about 62 percent of their offspring would be diabetic....

I’d recently come off a yearlong odyssey healing my Hashimoto’s one lifestyle change at a time, and as part of it had learned the do’s and don’ts of living with my microbiome in mind. I was eating plenty of fiber, dousing my grain bowls in kefir green goddess dressing and kimchi, and washing it all down with homemade kombucha. Small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth is exactly what it sounds like: a type of dysbiosis1, which simply means an imbalance in the trillions of bacteria that take up residence in your gut....

Today, I wake up and my life just feels right. It was a process, and a journey to get from there to here, but the crucial factors in precipitating this shift were having the realization that I didn’t know who I was, and making the commitment to find out. Trying to please people might land you with vague acceptance from others, but it’s only the deep and vulnerable truth of you that can provoke deep, genuine attachment and love....