Many of us feel our energy and mood take a nose dive during the winter months. Yes, it’s cold outside and Nature is all but asleep, and perhaps we should take her cue to light our internal fires with cozy blankets, warm socks, and afternoon naps. But when winter brings suffering, we can rise above the darkness by supplementing with vitamin D–the nutrient of light.
Optimal vitamin D levels in…
Turmeric is one of the world’s powerhouse foods, used extensively as a spice, condiment, and medicine for thousands of years in Chinese and Indian traditions, and showing up more recently in the cuisine and healing practices of the western world. Knowing all that we do about the inflammation basis of most age-related health conditions, turmeric, one of the most anti-inflammatory foods on the…
I’m a food girl, first and foremost, however, there are important reasons for using supplements to augment the nutrition we receive from our food. In Functional Medicine, food and nutritional supplements are foundational tools for optimizing health and reversing troublesome health problems. Food is our foundation. Supplements are just that–they supplement what we eat.
You’ve gotten the word that fats are good now, right? How did we get so far off track with this vital aspect of our nutrition for so many years? I avoided fat for decades (eek!), thinking it would make me fat and clog my arteries. I’m convinced my behavior contributed to my own major health melt down, thankfully resolved with excellent nutrition, including lots of health fat.
So many rules, my goodness! For food, for behavior, for life!
So, let’s start this little lesson with a few deep breaths. It’s all okay. We don’t need to be perfect. But it’s good to be smart. The scientific literature has a few things to teach us about the amount of protein we need to consume in our diets to support robust health and what I have…
There is almost always a loaf of this great seed and egg bread in my fridge. It’s perfect for those of us on nutrient-dense, low carb food plans. There are no grains, no added sugar and it has a very low carbohydrate content. It is quite nice toasted and spread with nut butter or avocado or topped with a poached egg.
This bread does contain eggs and seeds, so those who are sensitive or…
The Gut-Immune Restoration-Intensive Nutrition (GRIN) food plan is designed to help those with chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions take their healing to a deeper level. Some do well with the basic Liftoff Foundational Food Plan. Others need to go further to heal and repair tissues.
The…
In addition to these basic tenets…
I am fascinated by the science of nutritional ketosis and the potential for what a ketogenic diet can do for our health. We all know that sugar is bad, but recent scientific evidence is suggesting that a diet that restricts all carbohydrates to less than 5% of total calories is really good for us. It makes us more energy efficient, protects our brains, and has been shown to…
As my son said to me, “none of the Paleolithic people made it, mom!” Of course he was trying to be funny, but his point is well taken. Our Paleolithic ancestors were not always so well off and today’s indigenous cultures face tremendous stresses. Attempting to model our behavior after what we think our ancestors did makes no sense when their…
Few modes of healing have the power to transform us as quickly and profoundly as eating the right foods for our bodies. I have literally thousands of stories to tell, including my own, to substantiate this claim. And, hey, who can refute the fact that the molecules we put into our mouths become—quite literally—who we are. That’s just simple, plain, hard…