MARGRET ALDRICH

Journalist | Author | Editor

Minneapolis, MN

Health. Wellness. Community. Culture.

MARGRET ALDRICH

Journalist | Author | Editor

Minneapolis, MN

Health. Wellness. Community. Culture.

Beating Addictions, Mindfully
A new clinical trial reveals that mindful meditation may help you kick your smoking habit — for good. The brain is an efficient machine, quickly learning survival techniques through rewards and positive reinforcement. But when it comes to addiction, the brain is almost too good at its job. Brewer believes that mindfulness can short-circuit these addiction pathways.
Experience Life
The Low-Tech Appeal of Little Free Libraries
The "take a book, return a book" boxes are catching in even on places where Kindles and brick-and-mortar books abound.
The Atlantic
Stressed? Helping Others May Make You Feel Better
Simple acts of kindness – like giving directions, buying someone’s coffee or helping with homework – can improve your mental health and make you feel less stressed out.
PresentNation
6 Scientific Reasons Reading Is Good for You
Could a chapter a day keep the doctor away? A growing body of research finds that reading books has a range of health benefits, from improved brain function to better coping skills.
PresentNation
Don't Taste the Rainbow: Ditching Artificial Colors
Your favorite sweet treat may be getting a makeover. This month, candy giant Mars, Inc. announced it will remove all artificial colors from its human food products over the next five years.
PresentNation
A Shower a Day Washes Good Bacteria Away
Before you lather up during your next shower, consider this: Just as good bacteria serve a purpose in the gut, they provide similar benefits on the skin. Bathe too often or too aggressively, and you literally wash your microbiome down the drain. “We really aren’t dirty most of the time,” says Robynne Chutkan, MD, founder and gastroenterologist at the Digestive Center for Women and author of Gutbliss.
Experience Life
Are We Having Fun Yet?
Weary of your workout? Dreading your dreary routine? Find your fitness bliss by putting the fun back in activity. When Darryl Edwards hit the gym to get fit, he went all in, progressing from self-described couch potato to physical powerhouse. He grew ever stronger, leaner, healthier. “I had a strong work ethic from my job in investment banking, which I transferred to my experience in the gym.
Experience Life
Climate Change Shrinks Access to Healthy Food
Climate change may kill more than 500,000 people by 2050, as populations around the world lose access to nutritious foods, finds a grim new study. The report, published in The Lancet, finds that global warming will not only reduce the overall food supply – it will also influence the composition of the human diet.
PresentNation
Building Community: Nine Ways to Connect and Transform
Building community is easier (and more fun) than you might think. Your ragtag neighborhood softball league shows that group activities foster meaningful relationships. National Night Out and neighborhood watches have measurable effects on neighborhood safety and unity. And the community garden you help tend is living proof that working together can yield healthy bodies and healthy blocks.
Experience Life
Home Sweet Tiny Home
The McMansion used to be all the rage: 3,000-plus square feet of cavernous space, lofty nine-foot ceilings, a sprawling master suite, spalike bathrooms, and a barn-sized garage. Once status symbols, these elements are now waning in popularity as homeowners embrace the less-is-more mantra. Today’s buyers want practical simplicity, not opulence, reports Tara Lohan in the Hartford Advocate (Dec. 30, 2010).
Utne Reader
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sweat
Discover the fun, fascinating, funky truth about all things sweaty. If you totaled up Christopher Bergland’s athletic achievements, they would be the equivalent of running around the world four times, biking to the moon and back, and swimming across the Atlantic and home again. Needless to say, Bergland knows a thing or two about sweat.
Experience Life
Natalia Allen: Conscientious Fashionista
More than 8,000 chemicals were used to make the clothes in your closet. Approximately 1,800 gallons of fresh water were used to manufacture the jeans you’re wearing right now. All-too-commonplace numbers like these make it clear that the fashion industry needs an eco-makeover. Natalia Allen is up for the challenge.
Utne Reader

About

MARGRET ALDRICH

Writing

Translating complex issues

Social media

Interviewing

Content management

Editing

Research

Community building

Freelance writer and editor on the hunt for happiness, community, and what makes humans thrive.

Margret has written about health, wellness, community, and culture for places like The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, Experience Life, Utne Reader, and others. She is also the author of The Little Free Library Book, the definitive guide to the global book-sharing movement.

Professional. Prompt. On the lookout for innovative ideas and compelling stories.

A founding member of Dose: Health Writers Collective, Margret lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two entertaining young boys.