In this issue: My travels in Greece (in search of the elusive Mediterranean diet); the truth about soy; the wonderful world of ginger; and this week's Vegetarian Organic Recipe of the Week: Attica Lentil Soup! Read it here. Subscribe free here.

I'm a big advocate of walking for exercise, stress release, mental stimulation, feeling invigorated and generally healing what ails you. I've talked and written extensively about how practicing a healthy and active lifestyle is key to health and happiness. Now, a major and large-scale 25-year study of 77,782 women by the Harvard School of Public Health shows that leading a healthy lifestyle, including keeping your waistline in check, exercising, avoiding smoking and eating healthy food do, in fact, keep you from dying prematurely. Essentially, doing what we've been designed to do instead of living an artificial life full of artificial ingredients, junk foods and remaining out of touch with the world of physical activity what causes chronic illnesses and early death. According to researchers, "Even modest lifestyle changes such as 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity (e.g., brisk walking) per day significantly reduced risk of premature death."

Native to South America, pineapple guavas (also know as feijoa sellowiana and guavasteen) are newly in season. I picked some up at my local Farmer's Market yesterday. These egg-shaped fruits are green in color and feel firm to the touch, so it's hard to tell that they're ripe and ready to eat. The farmer I bought them from waits for the fruit to drop on its own from the tree as that means they're ripe. She was giving samples and I liked the tangy flavor. She told me that most people scoop out the pulp, but that it's good also to eat the skin. I tried that, and found it chewy and kind of gritty but with good flavor. If you can get your hands on pineapple guavas, give them a try -- and give your palate a chance to become acquainted with new exotic flavors.

It's amazing how many people suffer from cardiovascular problems these days. I know of people in their 20's and 30's who are already experiencing high blood pressure or hypertension as the direct result of bad food and poor lifestyle choices. Recently, a dear friend of mine who suffers from hypertension asked me about what to do to improve her condition without relying on the prescription hypertension drugs she has been relying on, and suffering the side effects of.

What's interesting is that she happens to be an amazing cook and very knowledgeable about healthy food. She prepares all her own healthy organic meals and exercises regularly.

I asked her to tell me what she eats. She said salads, vegetables, fruit, nuts, fish, lean meats, chicken and eggs. I made some simple recommendations (she's not a client, just a friend), such as to stop eating eggs or eat egg whites only, eat more dark leafy greens, only eat wild fish, such as wild Alaskan salmon, eat three tablespoons of ground flax seeds mixed with meals or beverages daily and replace most animal protien with plant protein, including beans and grains such as quinoa, wild rice or millet.

After about a month after making these small adjustments to her diet, and increasing her cardiovascular exercise, my friend's blood pressure is already much lower.

I see these kinds of results with my health counseling clients all the time. But the reason I'm mentioning my friend's case is that so many people believe that they they're already doing all they can. Although my friend already ate a healthy diet, there was still room for improvement. There is always room for improvement.

The amazing part is that very minor diet modifications and a little more exercise did more to lower her blood pressure than all the medications she was taking.

If something is ailing you, there's a very good chance that food and lifestyle changes, rather than drugs that often come with unpleasant side effects, can either cure you, or improve your ailment naturally. Even if you know a lot about food and are already eating a healthy diet.