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Natural Awakenings Naples and Fort Myers

Letter from Publisher

I’ve been on a stricter nutritional plan than usual after noticing my blood pressure was running a little high last winter. However, now that I’ve arrived at my summer lake cottage in Michigan, I anticipate my discipline may be put to the test.

Beginning with the Fourth of July holiday, family and friends will start arriving bringing goodies I’m not supposed to eat. My new program calls for eliminating dairy, grains, processed foods and sugars. Basically, I’m always safe eating as many low-carb veggies as I want. It’s a far cry from the good old days, when my seven siblings and I left water play to feast on Wonder Bread bologna sandwiches, potato chips and Kool-Aid.

Childhood game nights munching on Mom’s special caramel corn and roasting marshmallows over the campfire are tough to replace. But it’s a fun challenge trying to find healthy alternatives.

When I was in my 20s and making healthier choices, the cottage became the site of a weeklong fast. I’d already learned that subsequent to summer’s traditionally more lenient food choices, I needed to regularly cleanse and detox my body.

I’m glad other family members began joining me on this path. For several years running, the new tradition became coming up with freshly juiced veggie concoctions and supporting each other in a group fast, so we actually looked forward to the adventure. By the end of the week, we’d feel so good that we hesitated to break our fast. We also learned that how we come off it is as important as the period of fasting.

These days, I prefer more gentle cleanses and detoxes like the ones described in this month’s two features on ways to naturally remove toxins from body, mind and spirit. “Natural Ways to Cleanse Body and Mind,” by Meredith Montgomery, and “Local Health Professionals Make Great Detox Partners,” by Linda Sechrist, cover a whole systems approach to detoxification. The aim is to remove limiting thoughts and beliefs, as well—all the barriers that impede the free flow of life energy throughout our being.

Speaking of fresh energy, check out the new Natural Awakenings logo on the cover. During our 23 years of publishing we’ve periodically updated our look, and feel this latest design is stronger and bolder, properly representing the leadership of our family of 85 magazines nationwide. As the first and flagship edition, Southwest Florida will be piloting other new design elements this year, as well, to see how readers respond. Let me know what you think at [email protected]. It’s all part of our commitment to accurately reflect the progressive, cutting-edge information you find in these pages each month.

Summer is a great time to look for new ways to renew your spirit. I intend to find them… and hope you do too. I double dare you!

Happy adventuring,

Sharon Publisher Signature

Sharon Bruckman, Publisher