August 2024: Sandals and Your Feet, Sugar Addiction, and Why Gardening Boosts Mood

Are Sandals Bad for Your Feet?

The short answer: it depends on the sandal and how long you're wearing them.

Most flat sandals and jandals provide minimal arch support and no heel cushioning. For occasional wear — an hour at the beach, a short walk — this is generally fine for people with healthy feet. The issue is extended daily use, particularly over summer when many people wear sandals almost exclusively.

Problems that can develop with prolonged unsupportive footwear:

• Plantar fasciitis — inflammation of the thick band of tissue along the bottom of the foot, often felt as heel pain
• Overpronation — the foot rolling inward without support to correct it, which can affect the ankle, knee, and hip alignment further up the chain
• Metatarsal pain — soreness across the ball of the foot from lack of cushioning
• Achilles tendon strain — flat shoes with no heel lift can overstretch the tendon in some people

What to look for in a summer sandal: some arch contouring, a slight heel cup, and a sole with meaningful cushioning. Brands like Birkenstock and Teva offer this in sandal form. Custom orthotics can also be fitted to some sandal styles.

If you're experiencing foot pain that you've been attributing to "just my feet," it might be worth getting assessed.

5 Ways to Kick Your Sugar Addiction

Sugar is technically not classified as an addictive substance — but the craving patterns it creates can feel very much like addiction. Refined sugar triggers dopamine release, and when the effect wears off, the brain starts looking for the next hit.

Practical strategies that work:

1. Don't try to quit cold turkey. Gradual reduction is more sustainable than elimination. Replace one high-sugar item per week rather than overhauling everything at once.

2. Read labels. Sugar hides under many names: dextrose, maltose, corn syrup, cane juice, fruit juice concentrate. Knowing what you're looking for changes your shopping behaviour.

3. Increase protein and healthy fats. These blunt sugar cravings by keeping blood glucose stable. A high-sugar craving is often a blood sugar crash in disguise.

4. Identify your triggers. For most people, sugar cravings are tied to specific emotional states or times of day — mid-afternoon slump, stress, boredom. When you know the trigger, you can address the underlying need differently.

5. Give it two weeks. The intensity of sugar cravings typically diminishes significantly after 10–14 days of reduced intake. The first fortnight is the hardest.

Why Gardening Boosts Your Mood

The mental health benefits of gardening are well-documented and genuinely surprising in their breadth.

Physical activity. Digging, planting, weeding, and carrying are all real exercise — often without feeling like it. Physical activity is one of the most evidence-backed interventions for depression and anxiety.

Mycobacterium vaccae. This bacteria found in soil appears to stimulate serotonin production when you're exposed to it. Handling soil — without gloves — may literally make you feel better through a biochemical pathway.

Focused attention. Gardening requires enough concentration to quiet mental chatter without being cognitively exhausting. This is a state researchers call "soft fascination," and it's associated with stress recovery.

Sense of efficacy. Growing something — watching it respond to your care and effort — produces a very specific kind of satisfaction. It connects effort to visible, tangible outcome.

Even a small balcony container garden captures most of these benefits. You don't need a large outdoor space.