0:06
Zucchini Pesto Panzanella
Welcome! You’re At Isabelle’s—home to all things tasteful and tasty.
Growing up, my mom used to make something we called bread salad: golden olive oil croutons that would soak up a bright, lemony dressing, with tons of fresh herbs and garlic. It wasn’t until I left home for school that I realized this wasn’t exactly my mom’s invention, but more of a loose twist on panzanella.
While panzanella is typically loaded with tomatoes, bread salad will always feel green to me. This version meets somewhere in the middle: instead of tomatoes, I use big chunks of roasted zucchini, but I keep it lemony, herby, and fresh like my mom’s. Instead of her go-to parsley, I load it with basil and everything that makes pesto pesto: toasted pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and, of course, lots and lots of Parmesan.
0:40
One injection reversed osteoarthritis in weeks
The team ran a pre‑clinical, single‑injection study in rats with induced osteoarthritis. Within a few weeks the treated joints looked indistinguishable from healthy ones, suggesting the compound can actually regenerate damaged tissue rather than just dull the pain.
A second approach they tested used a scaffold that draws the animal’s own repair cells into the joint. In the same model it filled cartilage gaps and even rebuilt tiny bone defects, again without any external stem‑cell grafts.
Both findings are still limited to rodents, so we don’t know yet how they’ll translate to people. If future human trials confirm the effect, it could change how we think about joint disease, but for now it’s an exciting early proof‑of‑concept.
1:13
A surprising brain discovery is forcing scientists to rethink movement disorders
A surprising discovery is overturning a long-held assumption about how the brain’s movement center works. Researchers found that two key cerebellar cell types—thought to be tightly linked—often don’t behave in predictable ways, even though one directly influences the other. The finding suggests scientists may have been relying on the wrong signals when studying disorders such as dystonia, ataxia, and tremor.
1:35
Nearly half of kidney transplant patients never even get started
A massive national study found that nearly half of Americans with kidney failure who are referred for a transplant never even begin the evaluation process, and only 19% make it onto the transplant waitlist. Researchers discovered that factors such as where a person lives, whether they are married, their income level, language, age, and even which transplant center they use can dramatically affect their chances of moving forward.
1:56
Modern neuroscience is rediscovering an idea Freud had 130 years ago
What if Sigmund Freud was onto something that modern neuroscience is only now beginning to explain? A new paper argues that today's leading theory of the brain—as a prediction machine constantly anticipating the world—closely mirrors ideas psychoanalysis has explored for more than a century.
2:12
Melanoma's secret to cheating death has finally been revealed
Scientists have solved a long-standing mystery by discovering the missing genetic ingredient that helps melanoma cells become effectively immortal. The breakthrough could open the door to new treatments aimed at disrupting one of cancer's most important survival strategies.
2:28
Scientists discover a surprising link between vitamin C and brain health
Could something as simple as vitamin C help support a healthier aging brain? In a study of more than 2,000 older adults in Japan, researchers found that people with lower vitamin C levels in their blood also tended to have less gray matter and weaker connections in a key brain network involved in memory, attention, and other cognitive functions.
2:46
Scientists discover a completely different way to fight viruses
Researchers have uncovered an unexpected antiviral defense system in sea anemones that works very differently from the one humans use. The discovery suggests evolution developed multiple ways to combat viruses, challenging long-held ideas about how animal immune systems evolved.
3:02
12 Things I Loved in June
Hi friends. June was a lot!
If you follow me on Instagram, you already know what’s been going on, but I want to talk about it here too because I think it matters and because some of you may need this information one day.
Before I left for Hawaii for my wedding, we had three water leaks happen in our condo within the span of about a week. None of it was our fault: the leaks came from units above us. And either the people living there didn’t understand how serious water damage can become, or they just didn’t take it seriously enough to act quickly. Either way, it wasn’t addressed in time. I didn’t let myself stress about it because I was about to get married, though I did casually start browsing Zillow and Redfin just in case.
Then we went to Hawaii, and something interesting happened. Both my husband and I noticed that we were not waking up with the symptoms we had every single day at home: congestion for both of us, sometimes an upset stomach for him, and for me, exhaustion that I couldn’t shake no matter how much I slept. In Hawaii? I had more energy than I’ve had in months. I woke up feeling incredible every single morning. And then we came home to Los Angeles and the congestion was back immediately.
Now, I know Los Angeles air is genuinely terrible. I still remember during the COVID lockdowns when people stopped commuting and suddenly the air was the clearest it had been in decades. We could actually see the mountains. The clouds! It was stunning, and also a little heartbreaking because it showed us exactly what we were breathing every other day. So I considered that the air might be the culprit.
But then a few weeks after coming home, I returned to our condo one afternoon to find the entire hallway leading to our unit completely blocked off for mold remediation. Nobody told us this was happening. Nobody gave us any warning! Problematic? Yeah, I’d say so.
My body told me everything I needed to know. I had a full-body reaction: fluid-filled, pimple-like bumps broke out across my legs and all over my face. It was physically painful. And I won’t pretend it wasn’t emotionally painful too, because it was. Facing the world looking and feeling the way I did was really hard.
The short version of a long story: we are moving!! Out of Los Angeles, but close enough to drive in when we need to. I cannot wait to be a suburban girl. I cannot wait to start fresh in a space that actually feels clean and safe. And breaking news: I’ll have a backyard! With grass! This city girl is SO EXCITED and gratefuuuuul!
The silver lining is this: I have spent years researching exactly what to do in situations like this, and the protocols are working. I am healing, and I am healing faster than I expected to. I am going to put together a full guide for you, because mold exposure is more common than most people realize and the conventional medical system is not always equipped to help you navigate it. When that guide is ready, I will share it here and on Instagram. In the meantime, let’s get into June’s favorites, because there were genuinely some good ones.
If you missed last month’s 12 Things I Loved, you can check it out here:
1. Skin & Lymph Herbal Tea by Elham’s Liquid Gold
About five years ago, I was dealing with “moon face,” persistent acne, poor lymphatic flow, and kidneys that were not filtering the way they should have been. I was frustrated, I was struggling, and I started doing what I do: researching (because the drugs and topicals weren’t working and I was sick and tired of them). I ended up becoming a clinical herbalist and formulated an herbal tea blend for myself using organic herbs specifically chosen to support lymphatic drainage, kidney filtration, and skin clarity. I was not thinking about a business. I was not thinking about becoming a content creator. I was just trying to feel better.
Then people started noticing. My face was slimming down. The acne was clearing. My energy was shifting. They started asking questions, and eventually they started asking if I could offer the blend so they could try it too. That tea blend is what became Healing The Source. It is the reason I am here, writing to you right now.
The Skin & Lymph Tea is now available on Elham’s Liquid Gold’s website, and given what I have been going through with mold this month, it has been back in heavy rotation for me. If you are dealing with skin issues, sluggish lymph, puffiness, or kidneys that need support, I made this for you. I made it for me first, and then I made it for you.
2. Beef, Season 2 on Netflix
I absolutely loved Season 1 of Beef, and if you haven’t seen it, please go watch it. That said, you do not need to watch Season 1 to enjoy Season 2 because it is a completely different story with a completely different cast.
Season 2 is set at Monte Vista Point, an ultra-exclusive country club in the Montecito/Santa Barbara area of Southern California, and the setting alone is stunning.
6:20
7 Ways You’re Using Self-Awareness to Stay the Same
Let us be completely honest with each other.
You are not lacking insight or self awareness. You have likely done the therapy, read the books, and learned to identify your patterns. You have crafted a coherent story about your past and the origins of your pain.
And yet, despite all of this, you are still not living in the part of your complexity where it actually deepens and expands you. You stay around it, analyzing it, refining it, keeping it safe. But you do not live from it.
A quick note before we go further. If you are reading this in a season of genuine crisis, danger, or depletion, this essay is not asking you to leap into anything. Sometimes staying still is wisdom, not avoidance. What follows is for the version of you who has enough stability to choose, and is choosing paralysis instead.
If I stopped trying to protect your feelings and instead honored your immense potential, here is what I would tell you.
1. You call it perfectionism because it sounds better than admitting you are scared
You say you are still refining, still preparing, not quite ready yet. The truth is you are not refining anything. You are hiding.
Why this happens:
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