The human body is a beautifully complex thing. It constantly directs every system in your body to maintain optimal health. Whether in response to stress, inflammation, or foreign invaders a series of checks and balances keeps your body operating smoothly. One significant piece of health maintenance is your immune system. When it is working correctly you can fight off infections, recover from illness more quickly, and have limited or no allergic responses to your food and environment. However, when your immune system is not working properly, the potential for autoimmune diseases is a real threat…

Most likely in your journey of staying healthy and fit you count, or have counted, calories. Whether in the pursuit of some number on the scale or an improvement in health markers, counting calories seems like a smart way to stay on target with your goals. You may even use a fancy gadget to tell you how many steps you’ve taken, how many calories you’ve burned and how you’ve slept. These gadgets can be very useful to motivate you to move more or go to bed earlier, but they won’t necessarily help you reach your health goals by counting calories alone. That is because the number of calories your body actually consumes and burns is mostly a guessing game…