From the Editor: How Getting Back to Nature Heals the Body, Mind and Spirit

From nurturing foods to holistic remedies, the latest issue of 302Health strives to keep Delaware healthy the natural way.

Photo by Ashley Shuey

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My introduction to “organic” was around the same time I grew teeth. In elementary school, while my friends unwrapped bologna sandwiches and whatever Little Debbie their parents had surprised them with that day, I already knew what to expect inside my brown paper bag: unsalted peanut butter or tuna on whole-grain bread with “bumps,” and a Fuji or Granny Smith apple.

My mom tried to educate me early on about the dangers of sugar and artificial this and that, and at times when she couldn’t find organic grapes (“Make sure you wash them twice,” she’d say), I’d slurp the pesticides right off their skins in an act of rebellion.

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Fortunately, I escaped harm (I didn’t “peel the skins from those conventional apples,” either), but what was the bane of my childhood existence also planted the seeds for a healthier lifestyle as an adult—and habits I hope to pass along to my own daughter, Lake.

A Delaware native, I’ve lived most of my adult life in Southern California, where farmers’ markets and Whole Foods (pre-Amazon era), healthy restaurants, and yoga studios and holistic spas exist at every turn. Not to mention the expanse of Pacific coastline at my front door, and steep canyons beckoning daily hikes at the back. Californians get a rap for being [in Jeff Spicoli voice] “far out there,” but there’s something to building a profound connection with nature, consuming what grew from the earth, drinking kombucha, singing, dancing, self-love, doing all those downward dogs and yes, even going barefoot (read more about this in the next issue).

As a writer for national and regional health magazines, I’ve discovered that medical experts, too, are making that same connection Hippocrates made millennia ago: Food is thy medicine, and getting back to nature—mind, body and spirit—can be deeply healing.

In this Fall/Winter issue, we dish on foods that heal, help you detox your beauty bag and examine which nontraditional modalities conventional health practitioners are turning to. We also get into the weeds on cannabidiol (CBD), step outdoors with local athletes and more. We hope you enjoy this premiere issue of the rebranded 302Health, and we welcome your feedback as we strive to keep Delaware healthy.

Is there something you’d like to see in 302Health? Write us at abreeding@delawaretoday.com—and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @302healthmagazine!

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—Ashley Breeding, Editor

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