This is the inaugural issue of Mindful, the newsletter I launched as co-founder of Quest's mental health awareness employee resource group.

With flu season beginning, it's comforting to know that there are simple dietary additions that can assist us in staying strong and healthy. Multiple studies in recent years have proven what naturopathic doctors have known for centuries: green tea is a powerful immunostimulant capable of preventing the flu, easing its symptoms and shortening its duration

Each year, more of us fall prey to stress, a sedentary lifestyle and a food culture of highly processed, nutrient-poor quick fixes. Left overweight, undernourished and depleted of energy, we live each day desperate for change. A search for weight-loss solutions uncovers a vast sea of literature, including a myriad of fad diets promising remarkable results with little science.

Numerous studies have proven that green tea is a weight-loss powerhouse. The Chi Tea Weight Loss Program amplifies that power by the addition of Ener-Chi, a natural energy elixir filled with fatigue-blasting vitamins and herbal extracts, which also contains a metabolism-revving arsenal of ingredients proven to fight fat. When coupled with a wellness plan that includes nutritious foods and physical activity, The Chi Tea Weight Loss Program can assist you in reaching your optimum weight.

An extract of the Chinese herb kudzu root has been shown to help curb binge drinking, according to a study by Harvard Medical School. The research could prove useful in designing alcoholism rehabilitation programs, particularly for those seeking more natural, holistic treatment strategies. Binge drinking is defined as consuming at least 4 to 5 alcoholic beverages over a 2-hour period. Binge drinking might not seem like a big deal — after all, bars are packed every weekend with revelers consuming 4, 5 or more drinks over the course of a night out.

Naloxone is an antidote to a heroin or painkiller overdose. There is currently a debate as to whether naloxone, also known as its old brand name Narcon, should be available to the public without a prescription in order to prevent overdose deaths. During the last decade in the U.S., heroin overdose deaths nearly doubled, rising from 1,725 in 1999 to 3,278 in 2009. Lethal overdoses from opiate painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin almost quadrupled during the same period, from 4,030 to 15,597. In response to the alarming increase, the Food and Drug Administration recently unveiled a proposal to distribute naloxone to the public.

Want to lessen your environmental impact, reduce animal suffering and improve your health? You can do it one plant-based meal at a time! The ecolutionizing powers of a veggie diet are many: fewer methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gas emissions; reduced water depletion;  less deforestation for cattle grazing, resulting in less soil erosion and  fewer threatened plant and animal species; reduced air and water pollution; and immeasurably reduced animal suffering. Plus, you’ll gain the he