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From the Executive Director – Winter 2022-23
Dear Members and Friends,
Of the many things that uplift us as we gather to celebrate the holidays and ring in the New Year, there is one health factor whose importance rivals the quality of food on the table: social connection. According to the UK-based Mental Health Foundation, “People who are more socially connected to family, friends, or their community are happier, physically healthier, and live longer, with fewer mental health problems than people who are less well connected.”
Recently, in Hidden Brain, a podcast hosted by Shankar Vedantam, the significance of casual connections and how they bring joy to our lives and to those of others was explored with psychologist Gillian Sandstrom, PhD. In the episode “Relationships 2.0: The Power of Tiny Interactions,” Dr. Sandstrom informs us that interactions with acquaintances – what she refers to as “weak ties” – can reduce loneliness in the face of social isolation. Her work reminds us that gestures of connection bring joy and health to the giver and receiver; this is a practice that I hope we all adopt, during the holidays and every day.
I casually met Sally K. Norton, MPH, whose “Toxins in the Kitchen” interview is featured in this issue of the Journal, at the 2021 Ancestral Health Symposium. She was heading home from the symposium by plane via LAX, which was along my route back to San Diego, and I offered her a ride. From this small gesture, a friendship and deep respect for Sally’s research into the risks of oxalate toxicity have emerged. For a vital understanding of plants that we identify as superfoods and their role in our diet, please read this interview.
Also featured in this issue is “Alice Waters Through the Years,” an interview with (and recipes from) the renowned founder of the famed restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA, and the Edible Schoolyard Project (a nonprofit establishing organic gardens and kitchen classrooms in middle schools). Alice unexpectedly joined a Price-Pottenger hosted dinner with ancestral health leaders last summer at Lulu, a restaurant conceived by her and led by David Tanis at the Hammer Museum at UCLA. Shared interests connected us and inspired her contribution to this Journal, for which I am very grateful.
The inevitability of life and connection is that they also come with loss. With the recent passing of David Getoff, we say goodbye to a dear friend, a stalwart advocate of natural health practices, and the vice president of Price-Pottenger. On pages 27-35, we reflect on David’s many contributions and have reprinted one of his illuminating articles as a small measure to carry on his legacy of teaching.
This holiday season, my wish is that you pause the news, embrace life’s gifts, and reconnect with family, friends, and acquaintances. And, as you fill your table with a bounty of health-giving foods, remember to envelop your community with gratitude and love.
Wishing you good health and much joy,
Steven J. Schindler
Executive Director
[email protected]
Published in the Journal of Health and Healing™
Winter 2022 – 23 | Volume 46, Number 4
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