The picture to the left is the view from the balcony of our room. The thin strip of blue above the palm trees is the Caribbean Sea. It may not be an ocean front view, but it was excellent nonetheless. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it including falling asleep each night to the sound of the waves crashing along the shore.

Our Own Personal Communications Tower

Despite this being a great trip, it started off with a bit of concern. As we were being driven to our room in one of the many golf carts that the staff use to zip throughout the grounds, I was surprised to see the giant communication tower shown to right fixated in the middle of the resort. I was thinking that it would be just our luck to have a room in the building that it’s attached to. Sure enough, not only was our room in this building, but it was the room right next to the tower, and the head of the bed was against the other side of the wall that the tower is attached to. Ironically, neither of us were able to get cell phone service in the room or anywhere else at the resort, but this was fine with me.

Although the risks of electromagnetic radiation are surrounded by a lot of controversy, and although a week of exposure to this tower might not do any harm, I certainly didn’t want to spend my vacation thinking about it. Fortunately, we only had to sleep there one night and we were able to switch to a different room without any issues.

Hesitations About All Inclusive Meals

Although we typically don’t eat out more than once or twice per week because of the lower quality of food and unhealthy ingredients often used by restaurants, it’s something that we enjoy doing. Based on this, the prospect of an all inclusive vacation was very enticing, but worrisome at the same time. Although I’m not too worried about ruining my health from a week of unhealthy eating, I definitely respect how easily and dramatically unhealthy food can alter one’s mood and energy, especially since I’ve been very susceptible to this effect in the past. Sure, vacation is a nice time to indulge, but I don’t want to risk wasting any of my precious vacation time being irritable, tired, and depressed.

In 2005, my wife and I got married during a two week vacation to Hawaii. It was clearly one of the best experiences of my life, but this was despite waking up tired and depressed each morning. At the time, I couldn’t understand what was going on and thought I might be out of my mind, but now I know what was causing it and the short lived thrill of indulging on certain types of food simply isn’t worth it for me.

Most of my problems with unhealthy foods are related to gluten sensitivity. This can create quite a challenge when looking to indulge in something tasty because gluten is in just about everything besides natural whole foods. In addition, based on my nutritional individuality, I need to eat a majority of protein and fat to feel my best. Eating too much carbohydrate and not enough protein and fat typically leaves me feeling anxious and constantly hungry. At a typical American restaurant, there’s not much left on a breakfast or lunch menu after eliminating the choices that contain gluten or are high in carbohydrates. This is why one of my typical vacation preferences is to have a room with a refrigerator and kitchen.

Unfortunately, most resorts don’t seem to include menus on their websites, especially for breakfast, and the resort we were planning to stay at was no different. Having read a number of complaints about the food at all inclusive resorts certainly didn’t help, but after being told that most places have breakfast and lunch buffets that include meat, I figured that it was at least worth a try.

A Delicious Surprise

As it turned out, the food was one of the highlights of the trip. The resort had a number of restaurants to choose from, and instead of the typical buffet, they each had a full menu to order from. In fact, the meals were equivalent to what I’d expect from an upscale restaurant. The only downside was that the serving sizes were small, but with the appetizers and desserts, it wasn’t an issue.

In addition to the luxury of having every meal at a restaurant, I was thrilled by the many menu selections that were based on whole foods. Throughout the week, some of the delicious meals I enjoyed included beef tenderloin, flank steak, pork loin, leg of lamb, and duck leg, and this was for lunch as well as dinner. The duck was so delicious that I plan to make it a more regular part of my diet. Even for breakfast, there was plenty of bacon and salmon to help me start the day with a satisfying meal. There were plenty of fruits and berries as well which led to the invention of a new treat that I’ll describe later.

Overall, it was great to spend an entire week enjoying food that was both delicious and relatively healthy. It was a great balance between the excitement of indulging and the satisfaction of eating well. Even having a dessert with lunch and dinner each day didn’t seem like a big deal because the servings were usually modest and most of the menu choices weren’t as processed or loaded with sugar as most typical American desserts. Most important of all, the food I ate helped me to maintain a great mood all week and get the most out of my trip.

Open Bar and My New Favorite Drink

Another nice aspect of an all inclusive resort, which is probably favored by most people more so than the food, is the unlimited access to alcohol. However, the last thing I wanted to do was waste any precious vacation time recovering from a hangover. I don’t like to drink often anyway, but being that this was vacation, I didn’t exactly restrain myself either. It was especially nice having the wait staff bring drinks to us on the beach!

There were pools everywhere throughout the resort and they each had a swim up bar. Why anyone would prefer to hang out at a pool instead of a beach with the gorgeous turquoise water of the Caribbean Sea is beyond me, especially since chlorinated pools are a source of toxic disinfection byproducts like trihalomethanes. However, we did make a point of having a drink at one of the swim up bars just to experience the novelty.

Say what you will, I like “girly” drinks. I can’t drink beer because it contains gluten, and aside from a few types of lager, I never really liked it much anyway. I typically drink vodka and cranberry because it’s simple and I like how it tastes, but my favorite is Kahlua, vodka, and cream. I love the taste and the fat and protein from the cream help to offset the rapid absorption of the sugar and alcohol, but dairy doesn’t always agree with me. At the resort, I discovered an even better tasting alternative that quickly became my go to choice for the week. It’s called a tropical coconut and is made with Kahlua, vodka, and coconut cream. I’ve been planning to try something similar at home with coconut milk, but never got around to it. Now I will for sure!

My New Dessert Invention

During our first breakfast, I piled a bunch of random food on my plate which happened to include berries, cream cheese, and hazelnut cream. For whatever reason, I decided to put a small piece of cream cheese on my fork, scoop up a bit of the hazelnut cream, and add a blueberry, a blackberry, and a piece of strawberry. As strange of a combination as it may sound, it was delicious and instantly became a breakfast tradition for the rest of the week. This will definitely become one of the desserts that I occasionally enjoy at home.

An Unfortunate Example of Why You Should Exercise

The resort offered a 45 minute bike tour, and based on overhearing someone say that it was grueling, I thought it would be an enjoyable way to get some good exercise. I’d been using the resort’s gym each day, but because I didn’t like being in there when I could be outside enjoying the great weather, I thought this would be a good alternative. I was ready for a good workout and even wore my heart rate monitor.

Before getting started, the tour guide asked if anyone had a heart condition. I took this as a confirmation that we were going to do some real exercise. I was wrong. My heart rate stayed below 100 most of the time with the exception of a small hill that briefly caused it to rise to about 120. Sure, it was still exercise, but probably even less intense than a brisk walk on the beach. Furthermore, probably less than 15 minutes of the tour actually involved pedaling a bike.

Less than half way through the tour, a middle aged man fainted while pedaling and proceeded to fall off his bike. Apparently, he has a heart condition and chose not to say anything when the tour guide specifically asked about this. Fortunately, he eventually got up on his own after a major ordeal that lasted about 20 minutes, but the outcome could have obviously been much worse. It’s well known that moderate exercise improves cardiovascular health and reduces the risk of heart problems, and it really doesn’t have to take up that much time or effort. There’s no excuse to be this out of shape, and in addition to putting your life at risk, it can greatly limit your physical capabilities, your enjoyment of life, and cause your family unnecessary burden and sorrow.

Adjusting to Island Time

The cultures of tropical locations are notorious for a slow pace of life that is commonly referred to as island time. This often causes busy Americans a lot of frustration, even when on vacation. Although Mexico isn’t an island, the country seems to have embraced the concept of island time. Mexicans have a reputation for being hard workers, but based on what I’ve seen, they don’t rush and work themselves into a frenzy like many Americans do. The El Dorado Royale has a very large staff and I was both amazed and inspired by how happy most of the workers seemed to be, even the groundskeepers and cleaning staff who weren’t required to interact with guests.

Granted, it’s probably a lot easier to have a relaxed attitude in a tropical environment, but this certainly isn’t a requirement for taking life a little more slowly. Although this laid back mentality facilitated an unpleasant ending to a great week and nearly caused us to miss our flight home, I still think it’s a valuable lesson to learn from and is a much happier and healthier way to live. In fact, this same type of mentality is what helped me not get too bent out of shape about our transportation to the airport being delayed, waiting on a long line at the Cancun airport, almost missing our flight, arriving in Philadelphia to learn that our connection flight was canceled, and not arriving at home until 1 AM instead of 8:30 PM.

All Inclusive is Great!

Based on the great time I had on this trip, I’m now a big fan of all inclusive vacations and definitely plan on doing another one. Although most of our vacations typically involve more activities, it’s also nice to spend a week at a resort basically doing nothing. It’s also nice having restaurants and bars within walking distance and being able to come and go as you please without having to worry about money. In addition, if you don’t add on too many expenses such as excursions or spa visits, it’s much easier to account for your expenses which can help to reduce stress and make the trip more enjoyable.

If you’re looking for a specific place to try, I highly recommend the El Dorado Royale. It’s apparently typical for it to be quite windy this time of year, which was the case for us, but it’s a small price to pay to enjoy sunny 85 degree weather in the middle of winter. It certainly beats the 8 degree weather that we returned home to!

Written by Vin Miller for NaturalBias.com.

My primary intention for this site is to open peoples’ minds about how they can improve their lives through a combination of excellent nutrition, quality rest and relaxation, focused exercise, and a positive perspective. Although each of these topics are unique and my writing may seem to jump around between them, I firmly believe that they’re all important factors in living a happy and rewarding life. I’m happy to see that the 11 most popular articles of 2009 represent this range fairly well.

In descending order, here are the most popular NaturalBias articles of 2009.

11. The Meaning of Life from a Holocaust Survivor

10. Why the P90X Exercise Program is Overrated

9. Beer vs. Soda: Which is Worse?

8. Busting the Cholesterol Myths

7. Metabolic Typing: The Last Diet You’ll Ever Need

6. How to Eliminate Sugar from Your Diet

5. How Sugar Can Ruin Your Life

4. Are You Being Fooled by Zero Calorie Sodas?

3. KFC Grilled Chicken: Unthink Your Health!

2. 13 Ridiculous Food Labels that Might Be Fooling You

1. 7 Ways We’ve Failed Miserably at Trying to Outsmart Nature

I’d like to thank all of you for your support and even your critical opinions. I’m appreciative for the inspiration you’ve provided and I’m looking forward to sharing more knowledge and ideas in 2010!

Written by Vin Miller for NaturalBias.com.

The following are some gift ideas based on items that have improved my life, and I still use many of them on a regular basis. I hope that they truly help the people you may choose to give them to, and I also hope that you thoroughly enjoy the satisfaction that results.

1. A Gift of Pain Relief and Healthy Muscle Function

Whether for work or for fun, it’s very common for people to engage in repetitive activities that promote muscle tightness and eventually lead to pain and injury. Although many people suffer from joint and muscle pain, few people realize that it’s often caused by muscle tightness or that it can be easily resolved through the use of simple self massage techniques. If you know someone who suffers from muscle or joint pain, a foam roller and The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook are great gifts that are likely to help them relieve their pain and prevent injuries. They’re also great gifts for athletes and people who exercise frequently.

If you like to joke with people, you can even have some fun with the confusion that might result from someone not knowing why you gave them a 3 foot foam cylinder. Don’t worry, once they experience how relaxed their muscles feel after using it and how effective it can be for pain relief, they’ll thoroughly appreciate you introducing them to the concept of self massage. You can even include a gift certificate for a deep tissue massage to reacquaint them with the benefits of massage and motivate them to take better care of their body by using the foam roller at home.

2. A Gift of Nourishment

So many people complain about the cost of pasture raised meat and how hard it is to find. Unfortunately, this is often a result of them simply not having made the commitment to invest some time and money into their health. If you know someone like this, help them get started with a gift certificate to U.S. Wellness Meats, or if you know what they like and you have freezer space to store it, you can order them a combo pack of grass fed steaks. Alternatively, if they enjoy fish more than meat, you can get them a gift certificate or combo pack of high quality seafood from Vital Choice Seafood and Organics. With this easy access to high quality food, perhaps you can help to change someone’s eating habits for the better!

3. A Gift of Healthy Indulgence

Nearly everyone loves dessert, especially ice cream, but most people either overindulge or let guilt prevent them from truly enjoying it. One of the most satisfying ways to resolve this problem is to make your own desserts. Doing so allows you to choose ingredients that are healthier but still delicious, and this helps to ease the guilt. For most people, it will also allow them to enjoy dessert a little more frequently. An ice cream maker is a great gift to help someone get started with making their own deserts, and the The Ice Dream Cookbook is an excellent companion that includes delicious and health conscious dessert recipes. The ice cream maker that I use and recommend is the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence.

4. A Gift of Sunrise and Pleasant Mornings

It’s bad enough that most of us wake up in a miserable panic each weekday morning to an obnoxious alarm. During the winter, it’s even worse because most of us get out of bed when it’s still dark outside. A much more peaceful way to start each day, especially on dark winter mornings, is with a sunrise alarm clock. This is a great gift for anyone who has trouble getting out of bed. I use the Soleil Sunrise Alarm Clock along with its 300 Watt Controller that allows the alarm clock to be used with a lamp. Another popular model that some people like more than the Soleil is the BioBrite Sunrise Alarm Clock.

5. A Gift of Better Sleep and Posture

Many of us spend much of the day sitting at a computer which encourages forward head posture, and in turn, can lead to rounded shoulders, a rounded back, a misaligned pelvis, and all sorts of pain and injury. In addition, the many hours spent sleeping each night with a regular pillow pushes the head forward in relation to the body and contributes to forward head posture. A pillow designed to support your neck while letting your head rest in proper alignment with your body can make a significant difference and even promote more restful sleep.

For many years, I had forward head posture that was very noticeable and had a lot of upper back tightness to go along with it. Although it was mostly corrective exercises and a better awareness of my overall posture that enabled me to correct it, I think my Tri Core Pillow has been a significant help as well. Perhaps someone you know who has poor posture, neck pain, or back pain might benefit as well.

6. A Gift of Health and Longevity

If you’re living a healthy lifestyle and have been enjoying the tremendous benefits, chances are that you’ve encountered some frustration trying to convince friends and family to pursue the same benefits. Unfortunately, most people won’t listen to the people close to them and need to be convinced by someone else.

Two books which I think have great potential to accomplish this are How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy by Paul Chek and The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. Both books are focused on promoting optimal health through a well rounded healthy lifestyle and include excellent information on diet, exercise, stress management and more. How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy is based more on a health practitioner’s perspective while The Primal Blueprint focuses on reacquainting ourselves with some of the basic and healthy evolutionary habits that we’ve lost along with the advent of modern technology. Either book is a great gift for a close friend or family member who you think could benefit from healthier habits and would be willing to read about them.

7. A Gift of Relaxation

Modern life can be frantic and most people are under excessive stress that’s compromising their health and mental wellness. Although there are many techniques for reducing and relieving stress, one of the easiest ways is to simply listen to soothing music. This makes an excellent gift for anyone who could use some relaxation but is unlikely to seek out this type of music themselves. In addition, this type of music can be used to help improve sleep which also makes it a great gift for anyone who has trouble falling asleep.

Although I normally prefer music that is upbeat and energetic, I often listen to relaxing music while driving to help keep me in a calm and relaxed mood. I’ve found it to be very effective, even if I’m not paying direct attention to it. Some of the relaxing music that I listen to includes Liquid Mind VII: Reflection and Relax: A Liquid Mind Experience by Liquid Mind, Yatra by David Parsons, and Kaleidoscope by William Edge.

8. A Gift of Fitness

Although some people want to prevent injury or improve their performance, health, or physical function, most people are motivated to exercise by the desire to lose weight. Most of these people don’t truly understand weight loss, and whether they realize it or not, they’re most likely looking to use exercise to compensate for poor eating habits and may end up sacrificing their health for appearance as a result. If you know someone who fits this description, you can help them realize that exercise is more about promoting optimal function and health than weight loss. The two books I mentioned earlier about healthy lifestyle habits, How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy and The Primal Blueprint, might also help them realize that a healthy diet is the most important and effective aspect of weight loss.

For someone who’s genuinely enthusiastic about fitness but needs some direction, I recommend Core Performance by Mark Verstegen. Although I disagree with some of what’s in this book, it’s a great resource for someone looking to learn the basics of a well rounded exercise program. I think it’s a much better choice than the overrated P90X program which in my opinion promotes the use of excessive exercise to get “ripped abs.” Unlike the P90X, Core Performance represents what fitness is really about, it’s much less expensive, and most importantly, it’s a learning resource as well as a workout program.

For anyone who would like to exercise at home, Powerblocks adjustable dumbbells makes an excellent gift that will make it possible to perform a wide variety of strength training exercises practically anywhere. A stability ball is another great gift idea for exercising at home which is less expensive and is great for stretching and body weight strength training exercises.

9. A Gift of Healthy Feet

Although commonly neglected, our feet are one of the most anatomically complicated structures of the body. Despite this, we spend most of our lives wearing shoes that limit foot function, and in turn, can cause joint and muscle issues elsewhere in the body that most people would consider to be unrelated. A simple solution is to spend more time barefoot and wear shoes that promote natural foot function. This is an especially good gift idea for athletes, runners, and people who frequently incur foot or ankle injuries.

The Nike Free line is a great choice for people who’d prefer a normal looking sneaker, and Vibram Five Fingers are the best choice for those who are less concerned with looks and want to promote as much natural foot function as possible. I have both and wear the Nikes as casual shoes and the Vibram Five Fingers for exercising.

Happy Holidays!

I hope you’ve found these gift ideas helpful and I especially hope that they’ll inspire someone you care about to have more appreciation for the potential that healthy living can provide.

With the anticipation of the holidays and the additional opportunities to spend time with friends and family, December has the makings of a great month. I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season and hope that you thoroughly enjoy every moment of it!

Written by Vin Miller for NaturalBias.com.

Chemicals and Your Health

As most people know, chemical toxins are a problematic aspect of modern life that we’re forced to deal with on a daily basis. While small levels of occasional exposure may not cause much harm, decades of such exposure will cause these toxins to accumulate in your body and this is one of the most notorious causes of cancer and many other unpleasant health problems.

Are You Your Own Worst Enemy?

While we can’t avoid all of the chemicals we’re exposed to each day, we can certainly do our best to avoid as many of them as possible.

Do you know that a significant amount of your exposure to toxic chemicals is likely to be a result of your own doing? Many of the personal care products that you use every day such as toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, soap, shampoo, conditioner, skin moisturizer, and cosmetics are commonly loaded with toxic chemicals which are readily absorbed by your skin. Once absorbed, they quickly enter the blood stream and have the potential to cause problems anywhere in the body, including vital organs and glands.

It doesn’t take much to protect your health by using natural personal care products that are free of toxic chemicals. To help you get started, I’ll be giving away a $100 gift certificate for the Miessence line of organic and natural products.

To take advantage of this opportunity right now, visit the Miessence contest page.

Written by Vin Miller for NaturalBias.com.

Without further delay, here are 7 things about me that I hope you find interesting and informative.

1. I’m a Perfectionist

I usually don’t quit until I’m completely satisfied with something, and given the sometimes excessively high standards I set for myself, this can often be stressful and counterproductive. For example, I’m fairly talented at drawing but killed my interest for it a long time ago by being too picky about the finished product. Even with this website, I often spend many hours researching, writing and editing to make sure each article is just right.

The obvious advice here is to not obsess over details to the point of it interfering with the purpose of what you’re doing. Knowing how detrimental stress is to health, I do my best to moderate my perfectionist tendencies. While it’s always good to aim for quality, sometimes you have to be willing to settle for something that’s just good enough. Otherwise, you’re likely to eventually wear yourself down and kill your passion. Without health and without passion, there’s not much left!

2. I Hate Cold Weather

Although many people dislike the cold, this is ironic because I was a ski racer for many of my younger years and was quite serious about it. In other words, I lived for the cold! Even though I miss the sport, I now consider snow and cold weather to be nothing but an uncomfortable nuisance.

Your surroundings can have a significant impact on your happiness and your health, and where you choose to live determines if this impact is positive or negative. Take a few moments to imagine yourself sitting under a few palm trees on a bright sunny day, enjoying the warm feeling of the sun on your skin, and looking out at a soothing and beautiful aqua blue ocean. If this is appealing to you, imagine the effect it could have on your life if you were able to enjoy it as often as you’d like!

One of the best things you can do for your happiness and health is to identify your ideal environment, and if you’re not already there, move to a place that resembles it as closely as possible. While I’m still stuck with cold winters for now, I’m looking forward to moving somewhere warm and sunny in the future.

3. I Have Too Much Determination for My Own Good

Most people refer to this as a driven or Type A personality. Basically, I push myself to the limit until I achieve what I’m after. Not only have I done this with projects, but also with sports and fitness. Just one of these is enough to destroy your health and I did it for a long time with both! As was the case for me, this type of drive often leads to adrenal fatigue and initiates a downward spiral of declining health.

While rebuilding my health, I’ve learned to moderate my overall stress load, and that includes both mental and physical activities. In fact, I absolutely love to exercise and play tennis, but had to limit these activities for well over a year to give my body a chance to recover. Whether physical or mental, and even if it’s enjoyable, stimulating activity is a burden to the body. Too much of it will do terrible things to your health, and as such, it’s important to learn how to moderate your stress and make adequate time each day for rest and relaxation.

4. I Was Once 30 Pounds Overweight

I’ve enjoyed weightlifting on and off for over a decade now. When I first started, I immediately conformed to the conventional approach of eating everything in sight to maximize muscle gain. Even with a high amount of protein, I was eating far more carbohydrates than anyone should eat and gained more than 30 pounds over the coarse of several years. Like most people, I let myself believe that the extra weight was mostly muscle. Although I never really appeared to be overweight, comparing a picture from back then to how I look today immediately shows how much of a difference 30 pounds can make.

Although we each have unique nutritional needs, the typical modern diet is far too high in carbohydrates for anyone, particularly in refined forms such as bread and pasta. Unfortunately, most people slave away on exercise machines to compensate for their weight gain instead of properly addressing their poor diet. By doing so, they put unnecessary wear on their body to offset the effects of poor eating habits. A much more healthy and effective approach would be to eliminate sugar and refined carbohydrates while keeping exercise limited to a reasonable amount.

5. I Hate Cooking and Preparing Meals

I know, this doesn’t sound right coming from someone who promotes whole foods that typically require additional preparation. However, just because I see the tremendous value in these foods doesn’t mean I have to enjoy preparing them! Luckily, I have a very supportive wife that does it for me. Thank you Kim! If I had to, as I have in the past, I’d definitely prepare my own meals rather than destroy my health for the convenience of processed food.

If you’re too busy or disinterested to cook and prepare your own meals, don’t let it get in the way of your health. If you have no choice but to do it yourself, consider preparing your meals in advance. By doing so, you can reduce your preparation time to once or twice per week. However, if you cook only once per week, you’ll have to freeze your meals, and based on my experience, this will affect the taste of your food. If money isn’t an issue, another option is to hire a personal chef. If you do, be sure to provide your own food because it’s highly unlikely that a chef will go through the trouble of finding and buying organic food.

6. It Took Me a While to Fully Realize My Passion for Natural Health

Although the combination of learning about natural health and sharing my knowledge through this blog is one of my strongest passions, it took me a long time to realize it. Starting off in a much different direction, I graduated from college with a Mechanical Engineering degree and have spent 11 years as a Software Engineer. While some people are lucky enough to know at a young age exactly what fulfills them, most of us have to take an unconventional route to get there, and even worse, some of us never get there at all.

It’s never too late to turn your passion into a career and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do with this blog. If you haven’t already identified a fulfilling purpose for yourself, it would be a good idea to start thinking about it more deeply. People who are driven by purpose and passion tend to wake up each morning full of excitement and enthusiasm. This is one of the most satisfying ways to experience life, but most people miss out on it entirely and wake up each morning dreading the workday that lies ahead. You only have one life to live. Why spend most of it doing something you don’t enjoy?

7. I Love to Learn, Research and Discover Truth

This is one of my most defining characteristics and I value it highly.

Expanding my knowledge and applying it to life is very exciting to me. Without this type of engagement, I become bored and develop a feeling of emptiness. The passion I have for learning is the driving force behind the knowledge and experience that I share through this blog and it has also been a major factor in my ability to rebuild my health.

With the amount of misinformation that exists today, the willingness to learn is essentially important to your health. If you don’t make an effort to learn what good health is truly about, and instead choose to continue living according to mainstream standards, then you’re likely to become a statistic to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or one of the many other mainstream diseases that have become so prevalent. In addition to your health, knowledge is a significant part of your ability to identify and achieve the goals that will create fulfillment in your life. Even if you don’t enjoy it, learning is often a necessary part of achieving happiness.

7 of My Favorite Blogs Related to Health and Happiness

To keep this theme going, I’ve chosen 7 blogs to tag that I think you’ll find informative and enjoyable.

Underground Wellness by Sean Croxton: If you want excellent health, nutrition and fitness information in video or audio format, then Sean is your man! Be sure to check out his videos and his live radio show.

Stay Healthy and Well by Melissa Wood, ND: Melissa is a Naturapathic physician who shares her knowledge on natural health and disease prevention. She’s also an excellent resource for information on aromatherapy and essential oils.

East West Healing by Josh Rubin: Josh is a faculty member of the CHEK Institute which is quite a distinction in the world of natural health and fitness. He’s also one of the smartest guys I know in these areas and I learn something new every time I visit his site.

Healthy Urban Kitchen by Antonio Valladares: Another great source for truthful health and nutrition information. Antonio is very direct in his pursuit of sharing the truth and you can rely on him to tell you exactly how it is. Check out his Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook.

Wellness Tips by Vreni Gurd: This is another excellent source of nutrition and health information that is very thorough and is also an excellent resource for discovering good books and other websites.

Embrace Living by Celes Chua: This is a personal development blog that provides great inspiration for identifying and pursuing your passions and leading a fulfilling life. I particularly like Celes’ article about sleepwalking your life away.

Zen Habits by Leo Babauta: Leo is the author of The Power of Less and is a great resource for improving your life in a wide variety of ways.

Written by Vin Miller for NaturalBias.com.

You can read the interview here. After you read it, please take a moment to give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down at the top of the page.

I hope you enjoy the interview and I look forward to hearing your feedback!

Written by Vin Miller for NaturalBias.com.

Because it’s not always possible to deal with specific and individual situations in articles, I’d like to provide the opportunity for you to ask more questions. We all have different challenges that get in the way of our health, fitness, and happiness and I’d like to help you get through them. To submit your question, click on the “Ask Vin” link on the main menu or simply click here.

Each week, I’ll choose one question that I’ll respond to in detail and post here on Natural Bias. I’ll also do my best to respond to all other questions through email.

I’m looking forward to answering your questions and helping you achieve better health, better fitness, and increased happiness!

Written by Vin Miller for NaturalBias.com.

With 4 words and 19 letters, the domain name healthfitnessandfun.com is not easy to remember and could limit the number of people I’m able to reach. As such, it made good sense to come up with a new name.

The Bias

Anyone who’s tried to name a website knows how hard it can be to come up with a domain name that’s descriptive, easy to remember, and most importantly, available. After considering hundreds of names, Natural Bias is what I decided on and I’m quite pleased with it. Hopefully you’ll remember it easily, and when you tell your friends about it, hopefully they will too!

If you’ve been reading my articles, you’ve probably recognized my strong bias towards things that are natural, correlate well with our evolution, and of course, make good sense. If not, reading my article about nature and science should show you. Based on this, I think Natural Bias is the perfect name. What do you think?

New RSS Feed

After this post, I will be changing the address of my RSS feed to the following:

http://feeds2.feedburner.com/NaturalBias.

If you use a reader to keep up with new content, please remember to subscribe to the new feed. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, now’s a great time to learn how easy a reader makes it to keep up with your favorite websites. To do so, you can read my article about using a RSS reader.

If you’re currently receiving new posts through email, you don’t have to do a thing. New posts will continue to be sent. If you’re not receiving new posts through email and would like to, you can sign up through the form in the top right hand corner of the site labeled “Receive new posts by email.”

Written by Vin Miller for NaturalBias.com.

If you think you’re feeling fine and don’t need any health improvements, don’t leave just yet. First of all, most people are not nearly as healthy as they think they are. And second, there’s always room for improvement. Why would you pass up the opportunity to feel even better? Even if you’re already enjoying a healthy lifestyle, I still hope this will become a great place for you to learn and share new information.

Aside from having entirely rebuilt my health, I am also an athlete and love anything related to fitness. So beyond discussing lifestyle and exercise solely for the benefit of health and happiness, I’d also like to discuss these factors as they relate to athletic performance. In many respects, I view health and athleticism as one package and I’d like to expand on this concept.

That’s it for now! Feel free to communicate with me by commenting on my posts or by sending me a message through this Contact link. If there’s anything in particular you’d be interested in me writing about, I’d love to know what it is. I hope I have your interest and I look forward to many our interesting discussions.

Written by Vin Miller for NaturalBias.com.