Antibiotics are an all-too-common part of our everyday lives. It’s too easy to ask for a prescription when you feel a sniffle coming on, instead of waiting to see if you can kick it on your own or undergoing a test to see if you really need the drug (i.e. because it’s bacterial and not viral).

It’s not often that we have a repeat interviewee at WellBe, but sometimes someone is just such a wealth of knowledge that we have to go back. In our first interview with Dr. Bill Rawls, he shared his story of healing chronic Lyme and discovering the power of herbal medicine along the way. But now, on the heels of the release of his new book, The Cellular Wellness Solution, Dr. Rawls is back to discuss cellular health. Read on to learn why you should care about cellular health; the relationship between cellular wellness, stress, and aging; how microbes in the cells contribute to chronic disease; how herbs can combat cellular stress, and much more. 

In lieu of our normal Q4 wellness and health news wrap-up, we’re ending the year with a different sort of news roundup. In the spirit of end-of-year reflection, we’ve put together a list of the most important stories related to health and wellness from all of 2022, rather than just the last three months. Some of these stories are brand new, some were highlighted in past wrap-ups — and all of them have implications for the health of you and your loved ones.

We get it, alcohol isn’t the healthiest thing ever for our bodies. But we also know that it’s been part of the human experience since...well, forever. We already investigated the healthiest wine options but then we decided to dig into the rest. Is there a big difference between how beer and various spirits affect your health? And how do they stack up against wine?

A lot of people think of tuna as a health food, and in some ways it is: it’s packed with protein, naturally sugar-free, and has a ton of important nutrients, like omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12. But despite all these benefits, it’s not something that you should eat all that often (or if you’re pregnant or have high mercury levels in your blood, perhaps not at all). Why? Because of its mercury content. Most of us have a general idea that too much mercury is bad, but what exactly does it do to your body, and how much is too much? Read on to learn the signs of mercury poisoning, the primary sources of mercury (including what fish is high in mercury besides tuna), options for mercury poisoning treatment, and more. 

For years, Maria Marlowe struggled with acne. She tried every product and prescription she could find to clear up her skin, but nothing works. It was only when she began learning about nutrition that she understood the role that diet plays in skin health — and after changing what she ate, her skin cleared up in months. Today, Marlowe is a holistic nutritionist, author, and host of The Glow Life podcast, and helps others clear their skin through food. Watch the interview or read on to learn the link between hormones and acne, how gut health and acne relate, the best diet for acne, and more. 

When Dr. Kasey Holland was in naturopathic medical school, she was experiencing a cluster of mysterious and sometimes debilitating symptoms, and didn’t know what they were, despite the fact that the answer was staring her right in the face (Literally! She was busy diagnosing patients with the very thing she had! ). When she eventually figured out that she had reactivated EBV, and then healed herself, she decided to make this complex virus her specialty. Read on to learn Dr. Holland’s insights on EBV reactivation symptoms, the best EBV treatment, how EBV might explain what triggers autoimmune disease, and much more.

In July 2017, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published their database of pollutants found in American tap water. By entering your zip code, you can research what contaminants have been found in public water systems. So now what? We looked through the EWG’s water filter guide to find some products that are certified to filter out contaminants found in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.  

In this guide to different kinds of contraception, we weigh the pros and cons of the most popular birth control options out there. Check it out to find the best birth control with the least side effects for your health.