Many years ago I decided it would be really fun to have a yellow car.  I was going to be very particular about the color yellow because I didn’t want just any yellow color.  I was not used to seeing yellow as a common color for cars.  A very interesting thing began to happen, though.  I started seeing yellow cars EVERYWHERE!  Was there a sudden influx of yellow cars onto the roads since I made that decision?  No, that would be silly.  The only thing that changed was me.  Because I was thinking about yellow cars, I started noticing the ones that were out there.  There still were not a lot but much more than I had ever noticed before.

April 20-26, 2025 is National Infertility Awareness week.  This particular issue is near and dear to my heart.  It has hit closer to home than I ever imagined it would.  My husband and I have been trying to conceive for 10 years as of this writing.  It pains me to write that.  I know firsthand the strain that puts on a woman and a marriage.  When a couple decides that they are ready to grow their family it can be disheartening when it doesn’t happen as fast as they expected.  It can cause depression, shame, guilt, anger, and feelings of being a victim.

My how time flies…  It has been an interesting 5 years, hasn’t it?  Five years ago this month (at least in my region) COVID-19 struck.  There was so much fear of the unknown and fear around what it would do to us and our loved ones.  Fear of toilet paper shortages and how on earth we were supposed to keep ourselves safe.

The first year, 2020, was full of “social distancing” and masks and avoiding most general human contact.  Then in 2021 the vaccines were released.  That is when I noticed an interesting change.

Be careful with all the ‘diet’ foods on the grocery shelves.  Many are sweetened with chemicals—aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda), and saccharine to name the common ones.  They are toxic to the body and nerves, can cause headaches, prevent weight loss, and even mimic Multiple Sclerosis!  Stevia is a better option for no calories.  Honey is also a great sweetener to use with a lower glycemic index.

Many people make New Year’s Resolutions at this time.  To help prevent early discouragement, make one small change.  Once that has become a good habit, add another change.  Small steps add up.  No one said you have to make all those changes in one month!  Make 2025 your YEAR for change!

Did you know that sugar decreases your immune system response by 50% for 4-5 hours??!  One way to help you stay well this winter is by decreasing sugar consumption.  No, I am not expecting people to completely give up all sugar at Christmas.  BUT, try to make purposeful choices about what you do choose to eat when it comes to sugar.  The more whole foods you consume and less processed and sugar-laden, the stronger your immune system will be.

Welcome to Fall!  Weather is starting to cool, the trees are turning colors and dropping leaves, we get to think about ‘sweater weather’…but also with it can come attacks on our immune systems.  We are often told that this is “flu season”.  When I did a quick search online, I found that in the US flu season starts about October and goes through May.  Peak flu activity is December to March.  We are also often told that the “best” way to prevent flu is with the flu vaccine.

I’d like to challenge what you have been told.  I don’t think “Flu Season” is the correct term.  I think the flu is simply the effect and not the cause.  Sure, we don’t get enough sunshine and therefore vitamin D since it is colder weather and we stay inside more and that could decrease our immune systems.  I still don’t think that is the cause…  I’ve even heard people say that it’s because we are in closer contact with other people so it spreads more and faster….  Nope, still don’t think that is the main cause.

Hot weather has been here for a bit and we are still sweating!  Don’t be tempted to fall for the marketing hype for sports drinks…a better choice is whole fruit.  You’ll get the water and minerals you need to restore electrolytes.  Even better: try homemade lacto-fermented drinks.  You can find recipes online and in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

There are 3 levels of nutrition care/advice:

1. General one-size-fits-all recommendations — everyone needs fish oil, everyone needs a probiotic, etc.

2. Matching supplements to symptoms — thyroid issues need iodine, digestive complaint needs enzymes, etc.

3. Determining the cause of the symptom and providing targeted nutritional support — Nutrition Response Testing program determined specifically for YOU because YOU are different than everybody else!

I read a quote by Voltaire:  “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while Nature cures the disease.”  At first I thought it was funny, but true.  When I started thinking about it more I thought it would be a great topic to write on. People go to the doctor for “fill in the blank” problem.  A symptom has gotten bothersome enough and they want it fixed.  Often a medical doctor will then prescribe some sort of medication that will make the symptom go away. What most don’t realize is that this is simply ‘amusing the patient.’  The only problem is, that once the symptom “goes away”, the underlying problem is then never addressed.  This means that nature, as Voltaire puts it, never gets the chance to heal the disease.

Did you know that what you eat or don’t eat has a significant effect on your mental and emotional wellbeing?  The number of times that this comes as a surprise to patients actually surprises me!  We really ARE what we eat!  If we nourish our body well, we end up nourishing our BRAIN as well, which is of course part of our body.

We have seen a dramatic increase in mental issues over the last several decades.  So much so that now some of them are being seen as normal variants.  I DISAGREE!  I do not believe that these are personality disorders or any kind of normal.  These issues are your body and brain crying out for help and real nourishment! 

There are so many amazing benefits that can come from eating gelatin, including improvements in digestive, skin, and mental health. Plus, gelatin can be used to make a yummy, all-natural dessert that’s actually good for us.

So why aren’t we eating more of it?

Traditional diets are typically much higher in gelatin than our modern diets, because these cultures wisely practiced nose-to-tail eating and consumed parts of the animal that are high in gelatin, such as skin, tendons, and other gelatinous cuts of meat.

We’ve lost the practice of whole-animal eating, and vegetarians typically don’t eat many (or any!) animal products. This means that we’re eating a lot less gelatin than our ancestors, if any at all. The following five reasons will explain why nearly everyone – even vegetarians – should be eating gelatin on a regular basis!

Whether you eat meat or not, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting some gelatin in your diet. Here’s why!

If you are over 65 and are new to the idea of “exercise” then I always recommend starting with the basics.  This even goes for those who are younger and realizing they need to exercise.  These basics include working muscles and systems in your body to allow you to continue functioning well.  As we age, there are a few things that determine how independent you will be.  The more you work on these things, the more self-sufficient you will be.  These exercises will improve your balance and ensure that you can get up out of a chair (and off the toilet!).  Both of these are VITAL to your independence.

In the early 1960s, a new kind of beverage took the stage. It wasn't a new shape, or color, or flavor. No, this was diet soda. And It. Was. Awesome.

With zero calories and no added sugar, diet soda promised to be a healthier alternative to regular soda. But like most promises in life that sound too good to be true, it probably is.

Can you tell the difference between a glass of regular and diet soda? Turns out, neither can your body. And that's where the trouble starts.

The general public has been told only about half the story when it comes to acid reflux. 

Your body actually requires acid in your stomach to digest your food.  Your body actually produces hydrochloric acid to digest your food.  When the system is working properly, your food is quickly digested by this acid in the stomach and then the food moves on within about 20 minutes to 2 hours into the small intestines.  Meats require more time to digest than fruit and veggies.

When your stomach acid is too low, your food sits in your stomach longer than it should and it actually begins to ferment.  This fermentation process actually forms another acid.  This is the culprit acid in most cases of acid reflux.  Your food and the acid continue to sit in your stomach and then are more likely to come back up, or reflux.

You may have seen a little information lately on PEMF therapy.  I wanted to explain what it is and how it works and how it might benefit you or a loved one.

PEMF stands for Pulsed Electromagnetic Field.  Basically, it is a good energy that helps to cancel out all the negative EMF that we are exposed to on a daily basis.  If you have heard of “Grounding” or “Earthing” (just different names for the same thing) it does very similar things but much faster.  I like to say PEMF is like grounding on steroids.

Below are some notes from the presentation that was given on PEMF.

Here’s a good tip I heard from a patient.  When she goes into her medical doctor and they ask what supplements she takes, she simply writes “multi-vitamin”.  This allows for honesty as well as simplicity for you (the supplements I use are whole food supplements and homeopathics).  As many nutritional programs change, you don’t need to remember everything that changes.  It also allows them to know that you are taking something and if they need more detail they will ask.

We know that exercise isn’t just to help us lose weight.  It is essential to our overall health.  It benefits our heart, lungs, cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, muscle and bone strength, and even our sense of well-being to name just a few.  One area most people don’t think about is your nervous system!  Did you know that by doing a few simple exercises you can strengthen your Dorsal Columns?  Let me explain.

You may have heard that chiropractors work on backs and necks.  While this is true, we are not limited to just backs and necks.  Any competent builder will tell you that a firm, level foundation is the top priority when constructing a building or other structure.  If the foundation is not firm and level, nothing else that is built above it will be straight.  Look at the Pisa Tower in Italy.  The ground that the tower was built on was soft on one side and began to settle as it was being constructed.  The builders tried to compensate for the lean by constructing the remaining floors at an angle. Just like the Pisa Tower, you have a physical foundation.

I’d like to talk about “little ears” this month.  If you have children and have brought them in to see me, you may hear me talk about not saying some of what I’m checking out loud.  I’ll refer to them as ‘parenthesis’ questions and will ask these questions quietly (I’ll sometimes do this same thing for adults for the exact same reasons below).  The reason for this is that those “little ears” may hear what is said and ‘own’ that issue.  I don’t want them to own these negative issues and have it affect them later in life.  As humans, we can be very impressionable and this can be both good and bad.  As adults, we need to recognize that words can be very powerful and do our best to protect those “little ears.”