Summer - Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products

Winter Weight Gain: 5 Reasons Why It Happens

Vincent Stevens — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 09:25:00 +0000

December is the month when celebrations, vacations, and lots of eating take place. If you succumb to the power of hot chocolate, candy canes, and pumpkin spice lattes, then your caloric intake dramatically increases. Then New Year’s Eve rolls around and you treat yourself to appetizers and libations. January arrives and the weather is still cold, decreasing the likelihood that you’ll go out and get a gym membership like you said you would.

Even though you may not gain 15 pounds, winter weight gain is a real thing. Shorter days, longer nights, and colder weather trigger the human’s animalistic urge to survive. Winter weather also gives people the desire to enjoy more comfort food in an effort to stay warm. And people continue to enjoy these heavy meals long after the holidays are over. Finally, fat cells are also more sensitive to sunlight, which is something that lacks during the winter. All of these things make gaining weight during winter a lot easier than you could ever imagine.

You don’t have to let winter control your weight when you are aware of why weight gain happens. Even though the holidays are over, winter still has its ways of tempting you. Continue reading to learn about common ways people gain weight during the winter.

Changes In Sleep Habits

The lack of sunshine and colder temperatures can negatively affect your sleep habits. When you cannot maintain healthy sleep patterns, you are more prone to overeating and choosing less nutritious foods. According to registered dietitians, the darker days and cold can cause people to hit snooze on alarms more frequently. This can throw off eating times, and may even cause people to skip breakfast because of rushing to leave the house. Skipping breakfast can lead to drive-thru breakfast orders or overeating later in the day. It may even cause higher sugar cravings.

People Eat More Like Animals

Researchers suggest that humans tend to eat more like animals in colder climates. Colder temperatures activate the internal drive in the same way as it does in animals. This means that the body craves more calories to gain fat in order to promote internal insulation. When you’re cold, the body burns more calories to raise the core temperature, causing people to eat and refuel the tank. There’s nothing wrong with eating more, but choosing nutritious options over unhealthy foods is often the obstacle to overcome. Choose hearty stews with potatoes, legumes, and vegetables and bowls with whole grains and roasted vegetables to fill up with nutrients.

Dehydration

You’d think that summer is the most common season to experience dehydration, but hydration issues still occur during the colder months. When the temperature drops, people don sweaters, scarves, beanies, gloves, and more. These clothing items cause people to sweat, just as outdoor heat causes people to sweat during summer. When the body is in a state of dehydration, it’s common to reach for additional calories to consume. It’s understandable that you don’t always want to drink cold water, so consider drinking herbal, caffeine-free teas to help promote hydration during winter.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Shorter days and lack of sunshine can have a significant affect on your mood. Sometimes, it takes moving to a place that experiences more sunshine and warmer weather to realize that they help lift your spirits. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression caused by seasonal change. As is typical with mood disorders, SAD can cause poor diet quality that ultimately leads to weight gain. Although exercise can help boost mood and counteract weight gain, a dietary change is often necessary.

People Don’t Exercise As Much

Naturally, the winter cold doesn’t entice people to exercise outside, although there are some people who run no matter the conditions. Failure to spend time in the sun and outside can lead to the previously mentioned SAD. Lack of exercise also contributes to weight gain during the winter. Some people postpone exercise in December and vow to resume their workout regimen in the New Year. This doesn’t always come to fruition, and people remain in an exercise lull until warmer weather arrives. With so many exercise apps and online workout videos, it’s easier than ever to workout whenever and wherever. Don’t let the weather dictate when you work out!

The post Winter Weight Gain: 5 Reasons Why It Happens appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

What Plays A Bigger Role In Obesity: Diet Or Exercise?

Vincent Stevens — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 08:50:00 +0000

We’ve said, experts have said it, but we are not afraid to say it again and again: you cannot outrun a poor diet. A recent groundbreaking study lays out all the evidence, confirming what wellness experts already suspected.

The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the summer of 2025. Researchers examined energy use across lifestyles, from hunter-gatherers to industrialized urbanites. It is not the lack of movement that is driving weight gain; rather, it is the food that people are putting on their plates. Let’s explore what science found out.

Study: Diet vs. Exercise In Obesity

Is weight gain more about sedentary lifestyles, or eating too much? Most people are of the mind that if they exercise more, they can balance the effects of poor eating. This recent study is changing that narrative in a big way. The study looked at data from 4,213 adults across 34 global populations, including hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, farmers and modern city dwellers. Using the gold-standard doubly labeled water method, researchers measured energy expenditure to track real calorie burn (total, basal, and activity-related). Researchers then compared those results against body fat percentage and body mass index (BMI).

This was the largest study of its kind, using the doubly labeled water method to track actual amount of calories burned per day. Basically, the method involves participants drinking water that contains stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen. That allows scientists to accurately measure carbon dioxide production and total energy use over time. But researchers didn’t just look exercise; rather, they broke energy expenditure into three components:

Basal energy expenditure (BEE): the calories burned at rest to maintain basic bodily functions
Activity energy expenditure (AEE): the calories burned via movement and physical activity
Total energy expenditure (TEE): overall amount of daily calories burned combining both BEE and AEE

What Did Researchers Find?

Researchers gathered numbers from BEE, AEE, and TEE and compared these measurements to participants’ BMI, body fat percentage, and dietary intake. The researchers noted the following:

TEE generally increased with economic development, but that was because people were physically bigger (more lean mass and less fat).
After adjusting for body size, researchers found that BEE and TEE dropped roughly 6 to 11% in more developed populations. AEE did not vary that much in this group.
What was surprising was that energy expenditure only explained about 10% of the increase in body fat and BMI observed in wealthier populations.
As expected, bigger bodies burn more energy. Individuals in wealthier countries had higher TEE, but that was because they were bigger (more lean mass and body size), not because they were more active.
Activity levels were not super different, and AEE was pretty consistent across various populations. That means that hunter-gatherers did not burn a lot more calories than office workers.
The food people eat, especially ultra-processed foods, was linked to higher body fat percentages in populations in which dietary data was available.
Energy expenditure revealed very little about obesity. In fact, differences in energy expenditure only accounted for 10% of the increased BMI and body fat percentages in developed countries.
Diet quality, however, explained a lot more. Researchers noted that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was strongly linked to increased body fat. Populations relying on traditional diets (fresh produce, whole grains, and lean proteins) displayed lower obesity rates, despite varying activity levels.

After researchers analyzed data across dozens of populations, they concluded that diet, especially the rise in ultra-processed foods, is the primary driver of obesity. Although exercise remains beneficial for overall health, it matters less than diet when it comes to preventing or reversing obesity.

How To Help Prevent Obesity

This study reframes the way we think about weight management. For years, public health messages have focused on exercise. While movement is essential for optimal cardiovascular health, mood, longevity, and muscle strength, this study confirms that exercise alone is not a reliable tool to prevent obesity.

Researchers suggest people limit their consumption of ultra-processed foods, which are rich in refined sugars, unhealthy fats, and additives. What’s worse is that they are low in fiber. These foods are fueling obesity rates, even in populations that remain active. If you want to maintain a healthy weight, diet is the key to success.

The post What Plays A Bigger Role In Obesity: Diet Or Exercise? appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

5 Health Benefits Of Acorn Squash

Vincent Stevens — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 09:30:00 +0000

It is not hard to recognize an acorn squash because, well, it is the exact shape of an acorn. It has a ribbed green exterior with bright orange flesh and belongs to the Cucurbitaceae gourd family. Although acorn squash belongs to the same summer species as summer squash like zucchini and crookneck, its season is during late fall and winter. Many people enjoy it because it exhibits a sweet and nutty flavor and tender texture when cooked.

Acorn Squash Nutrition

Similar to other winter squash varieties, acorn squash provides a diverse mix of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. One cup of cubed, cooked acorn squash provides:

Calories: 115
Carbohydrates: 29.9 grams (g)
Fiber: 9 g
Protein: 2.3 g
Vitamin C: 22.1 milligrams (mg)
Folate: 39 micrograms (mcg)
Iron: 1.91 mg
Vitamin B6: 0.39 mg
Magnesium: 88.2 mg
Manganese: 0.49 mg
Potassium: 896 mg

May Help Reduce Inflammation

There are numerous chronic diseases fueled by systemic inflammation. For this reason, dietitians encourage everyone to consume more antioxidant-rich foods, such as acorn squash. Antioxidants work to reduce inflammation by cleaning cells of harmful waste. Acorn squash contains vitamins A & C and manganese, all of which have antioxidant properties. It is particularly rich in carotenoids, like zeaxanthin, which are plant pigments that may help protect against cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, some cancers, and type 2 diabetes.

Boosts Digestive Health

With nine grams of fiber per cup, acorn squash is a great food to help you meet your recommended daily intake (RDI) of fiber. A diet rich in fiber can help contribute to digestive health, since the gut microbiome requires fiber to create a healthy habitat for beneficial bacteria. Additionally, more fiber in the diet can help prevent constipation. Acorn squash also has magnesium, which is known for its laxative and stool-softening properties.

May Support Healthy Vision

As we mentioned earlier, acorn squash is rich in carotenoids and vitamin A, both of which support eyesight. It also contains lutein, which has been linked to sharper vision. The most sensitive part of the retina in the eye is the macula, which has the highest concentration of photoreceptors. It is the portion of the retina where your sharpest vision is produced. Lutein and zeaxanthin help form the pigment in the macula that protects millions of photoreceptor cells located in the small area of the central retina.

Supports Immune Function

Although acorn squash doesn’t offer the same amount of vitamin C as a kiwi, guava, bell pepper, or orange does, it does provide about one-quarter of the RDI. Research shows that getting sufficient vitamin C every day can help prevent and treat respiratory and systemic infections. According to scientific studies, it is better to get your vitamin C through your food, as opposed to a supplement. The reason for this is because it may increase the bioavailability, due to the fact that food also contains other nutrients that impact how the body absorbs vitamin C.

May Help Reduce Blood Pressure

Researchers note that increasing your intake of potassium has a powerful effect on lowering blood pressure, especially when coupled with a low-sodium diet. Adding magnesium to the equation has an even more pronounced effect for blood pressure reduction. Acorn squash is a great source of potassium and magnesium and while the squash itself is not linked to lower blood pressure, the nutrients it provides may aid your efforts.

The post 5 Health Benefits Of Acorn Squash appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

How To Have A Raw Vegan Labor Day Celebration

Vincent Stevens — Sun, 31 Aug 2025 09:10:00 +0000

You can count on Labor Day being one thing: hot. If you live on the west coast of the U.S., you know that the heat is real, and spending time outside is difficult. Naturally, many people want to escape the congested city life and embrace nature before fall starts. People seek higher elevation in places like Big Bear, Mammoth, Sequoia National Forest, Lake Tahoe, and more to relish in cooler temperatures.

When you escape the city, you don’t have to abandon healthy eating habits as well. Your diet isn’t the hot weather that you are trying to escape! This is especially true if you are still cleansing. There are plenty of recipes in our cleanse-approved recipe section (click here) that are wonderfully refreshing and tasty. You can make snacks, dips, spreads, entrees, desserts, drinks, and more, and all of them are raw vegan!

Since the primary dishes during Labor Day celebrations tend to be appetizers, beverages, and snacks, we thought we’d focus on those for you. The great thing about the following recipes is that you don’t have to be cleansing in order to enjoy them. Surprise the taste buds of people at your gathering with a few raw vegan dishes. They might find them so delicious that they ask you where you got the recipes and what your journey is. There’s only one way to find out!

Kiwi Salsa

Your taste buds aren’t going to know what hit them! This kiwi salsa has incredible depth of flavor and is bright, savory, and refreshing.