Wellness Makes Cents with Mary

09/08/2026

Back-to-school season changes more than the school schedule.

It changes routines.
More people in shared spaces.
Different sleep schedules.
Busier mornings.
More activities.
Less downtime.

That doesn't mean we need to become anxious about every interaction your kids or your grandkids have.

It simply gives us a reason to think proactively about the basics that support healthy immune function for them.

Instead of waiting for the first sign that something feels off, this can be a good time to ask:

Are their everyday routines supporting their bodies well?

Because immune health isn't just a September conversation.

But September can be a good reminder to pay attention to it.

09/07/2026

We tend to think about immune health reactively.

Someone gets sick.
The weather changes.
Everyone around us starts coughing.

And suddenly we think:
“What should I be doing for my immune system?”

But what if we changed the question?

Instead of:
“What do I need right now?”

Ask:
“What am I doing consistently?”

That's a very different approach.

It puts the focus back on the things we can influence every day—nutrition, sleep, movement, hydration, recovery, and the nutrients that support normal immune function.

No panic.
No perfection.

Just a routine that supports the body before we need to ask it to do more.

That's proactive wellness.

09/04/2026

Summer may be winding down, but what’s happening inside your body doesn’t change with the calendar. 🍂

Over the last few weeks, we’ve talked about NAD+, NMN, VO₂ max, recovery, and cellular energy.

And there’s a reason these conversations belong together.

Your cells are constantly working behind the scenes—using nutrients, producing energy, responding to activity, and supporting the countless processes your body depends on every day.

That’s why cellular health isn’t just a fitness conversation or an aging conversation.

It’s part of the bigger picture of how we support our bodies throughout life.

This September, we’re going a little deeper into that picture—and connecting what happens inside our cells with how the whole body functions.

💬 What part of cellular health are you most curious about?

09/03/2026

We often talk about NAD+ as though it’s something associated only with aging.

But there’s a much bigger story.

NAD+ is already part of what your cells are doing every day. ⚡

It’s a coenzyme involved in cellular metabolism and plays an important role in processes connected to how cells produce and use energy.

Think about everything your body asks of your cells during an ordinary day.

Walking. Thinking. Digesting. Exercising. Recovering. Repairing.

There’s an enormous amount happening behind the scenes.

That’s one reason NAD+ has become such an interesting area of research: scientists are continuing to investigate its role in cellular function and how NAD+ biology changes across the lifespan.

So instead of thinking:
“Why should I care about NAD+ as I get older?”

Maybe the more interesting question is:
“What is NAD+ already doing inside my cells right now?” 🔬

And that’s where this conversation gets really interesting.

09/03/2026

Do you need help replacing your fire alarm batteries?
Do you Need a fire alarm?
Our Fire Territory can help!

***UPDATE***
We have 10 spots left for smoke alarms! Sign up soon, as supplies are limited!!!

Requirements:
✅Must be in Brownsburg Fire Territory's response area
✅Must own your home (we cannot do rentals)
✅Must be a single family residence
✅We can only provide a limited number of alarms due to demand

Brownsburg Fire Territory is partnering with the Hendricks County Health Department, Hendricks County Emergency Management Agency, and Red Cross of Indiana for a "Smoke Alarm Blitz" on Saturday, September 19th. We will be installing and/or replacing smoke alarms in BFT's response area. Have a smoke alarm, but need the battery replaced? We can do that too! Hendricks EMA will be giving out free weather radios as well!

Sign up early! Supplies are limited!!!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0449A4AB28A4FFCE9-65055834-smoke #/

09/03/2026

Thinking Halloween! My work while watching/listening to tv:
(The “blue” is actually a deep purple..)

09/02/2026

We've talked about what happens inside the cell.

Now let's zoom out. 🫁

Your cells also need oxygen to support aerobic energy production.

Getting that oxygen where it needs to go requires several systems to work together.

Your lungs bring oxygen into the body.
Your heart and blood vessels help transport it.
Your muscles extract and use oxygen during activity.

And this is where VO₂ max enters the conversation.

VO₂ max reflects the maximum rate at which your body can take in, transport, and use oxygen during intense exercise.

So while NAD+ and VO₂ max measure or describe very different things, they help us look at wellness from two fascinating perspectives:

🔬 What's happening at the cellular level
🫁 How effectively the whole body performs as a system

Healthy aging isn't about one number.

It's about understanding how all of these systems work together.

09/01/2026

If NAD+ is important to our cells, the next question is pretty natural:

Where does it come from? 🔬

Your body has several pathways it can use to make and recycle NAD+.

And one molecule researchers have been especially interested in is NMN — nicotinamide mononucleotide.

NMN is known as an NAD+ precursor, meaning it can be used along the pathway the body uses to produce NAD+.

That's what makes the NMN conversation so interesting.

Researchers aren't simply studying another nutrient in isolation.

They're studying a molecule connected to a much larger system involving NAD+ metabolism, cellular energy, and aging biology.

There are still important questions being studied, especially when it comes to what changes in NAD+ biology mean for human health over time.

But understanding the pathway gives us a much better foundation for understanding why NMN has received so much attention.

NMN → NAD+ → cellular processes

Sometimes understanding the pathway makes the whole conversation a lot easier to follow. 🧬

09/01/2026

Another Heat Wave again!
What are you doing for hydration?

I sweat easily. Even in the house doing housework, and I am not slaving away for sure! But I know sweat means I'm losing hydration, so I rely on our hydration drink: HYDRATE+.

Developed for NASA! (I mean if it is good for astronauts, it MUST be GOOD for me!

Electrolyte blend that hydrates better than water! Imagine!!
But it saved astronauts!

Performance® Endurance Electrolyte Drink delivers the instant and sustained energy you need to take on today. Powered by our proprietary Opti-Lyte® blend of six electrolytes plus our unique mix of carbohydrates, it also keeps you fully hydrated.

I like lemon lime and it mixes well with Lemonade! So mix yourself a pitcher, put it in the refrigerator: Ready to quench your thirst! Ready to hydrate you on these miserably HOT days!

08/31/2026

The more we learn about the human body, the harder it becomes to look at wellness as one isolated thing. 🔄

NAD+ helps us explore what's happening at the cellular level.

NMN helps us understand one pathway the body can use to make NAD+.

VO₂ max gives us a completely different view—how effectively the body can deliver and use oxygen during intense exercise.

Then there are all the everyday things surrounding those systems.
Movement. 🚶
Nutrition. 🥗
Sleep. 🌙
Recovery. 💪
Hydration. 💧

None of them tells the whole story by itself.

And maybe that's one of the most useful lessons in healthy aging:
There isn't one number, molecule, supplement, or habit that defines how well we're aging.

The body is a collection of systems constantly working together.

The more we understand those connections, the better questions we can start asking about our own wellness.

💬 If your body had a dashboard, what would you want to understand better: cellular energy, oxygen efficiency, strength, sleep/recovery, or hydration?