COVID-19: Should we care about the environment in the midst of an economic crisis?

Our planet may be fittingly compared to the 1994 film, Speed: A bomb is planted on a bus and rigged to explode when the bus slows to less than 80 kilometres per hour. The bus barrels through Los Angeles, hitting obstacles and endangering the lives of passengers and pedestrians until a solution is found.

COVID-19: Crisis prayer and the crisis of our prayers

I was descending from Omu Peak, in the Bucegi Mountains, with a few dozen young people. It had not been an ideal hike, and we were behind schedule. The forest made the darkness even thicker as it began to cover the mountain, and slowly, our minds as well.

Does “natural” automatically mean healthy?

The term “natural” is not always regulated and does not guarantee that a product is healthy.

COVID-19: Forgiveness in isolation

When we are isolated with our family, problems that are sometimes easy to ignore become more acute, and the need to receive and offer forgiveness to those around us becomes increasingly evident.

Do you have a Vitamin D deficiency?

Studies have increasingly shown that vitamin D, also known as the sun vitamin, plays a vital role in protecting the body from a number of chronic illnesses. It is important to know both the symptoms of a deficiency in vitamin D, and the valuable sources that can provide us with a daily healthy dose.

How can the church support those affected by dementia?

According to experts and organisations that support this category of patients, people suffering from dementia and their caregivers need all the congregational support they can get.

Change resistant: Why don’t we eat enough fruits and vegetables?

Our attitude towards fruits and vegetables as well as other plant-based foods is almost paradoxical: they are probably the healthiest of foods, they are tasty (or can be prepared to be, with little skill), and they are relatively cheap. However, most people consume these super foods in smaller quantities than is necessary.

God’s providence in times of crisis

Regardless of the form they take, crises give rise to legitimate questions about God's providence: Where is God when we suffer? Has He forgotten us? Is He punishing us? Does He still have things under control?

An essential duo

Focusing on healthy eating while overlooking physical activity is not so much a myth as an uncomfortable truth that many of us prefer to ignore. Yet the rapid rise in sedentary lifestyles and metabolic diseases, with their harmful consequences for both individuals and society, is difficult to overlook.

Sweet killer

In 1980, the World Health Organization estimated that there were 108 million people with diabetes. By 2021, the International Diabetes Federation database reported 537 million people with diabetes between the ages of 20 and 70, with projections of 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045 (IDF Diabetes Atlas).

Vaping: a plague disguised as a revolution

In developed countries, where the public debate on tobacco consumption has been so widespread that even those who had no desire for it were educated on the negative effects of smoking, the prevalence of this toxic habit dropped so drastically that it caused trouble for cigarette manufacturers.

Remember to rest

Sunday afternoons were a sacrosanct time when I was growing up in Argentina. Everything seemed to quiet and slow down between 2:00 and 5:00 pm, during siesta. Even shops would shut. All you could hear was the sound of the cicadas as the whole neighbourhood took a nap. Young and old, rich and poor were unified by this wonderful tradition. At least, I...

Genetic inheritance cannot be altered. True or false?

Grandpa’s eyes, mother’s wide hips, aunt’s serene gaze, father’s ambition, great-grandmother’s rheumatism—all the little traits that define us seem to come from ancestral parents who, together, should have all the genes that anyone can have today, all the possible ingredients for the recipe from which we were made.

COVID-19: Could giving up ever be the key to success?

Pray! If not to God, then to a god. Admit that we are defeated, because this is the first step towards victory.

Sweet and good—but only in moderation

Honey has a highly complex chemical composition that varies depending on the botanical source from which bees collect nectar. Throughout history, it has been valued both as a food and as a medicine.