Our thyroids are busy keeping our metabolism running, warming us up, and stimulating growth, development, and repair. Let’s talk about healthy thyroid function, a few key nutrients needed for optimal function, and signs to look for if you suspect an issue with your thyroid.

We have made it through a month of exploring flaxseeds and the role they can play in our health. From constipation to hormone regulation to blood pressure, these humble little seeds pack a lot of nourishing power!

Now that we know more about them, it’s time to find ways to bring them into our regular diet.

The easiest way to do this is to freshly grind your flaxseeds and stir them into what you’re eating. Smoothies, soups, oatmeal, salads, and salad dressings work well. You can also use flaxseeds in place of breadcrumbs in your recipes or make a breading with a base of flaxseeds for cooking fish, chicken, vegetables, or whatever you want to add breading to.

Have you heard about seed cycling yet?

Funnily enough, I haven’t seen very much about this powerful yet gentle way to balance your hormones on social media. I first heard about this nutritional therapy via one of my professors in medical school, Dr. Dickson Thom. Since then, I’ve used it successfully for myself and many patients. Those who use this method of balancing their hormones will enthusiastically defend it against nay-sayers and tell me about it afterwards. When you have struggled with irregular periods, low libido, PMS, and painful periods; anything that helps is very appreciated. Knowing what we do about flax seeds and fiber in general, we can see that seed cycling holds a whole host of benefits in addition to influencing our hormones. Let’s explore more shall we?

Pumpkin spice everything is everywhere.  You may not be a fan, but someone you love is - even if they won't confess to it out loud.

If you struggle with an autoimmune condition such as Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis like I do, all these sugar filled treats are not only tempting, but potentially triggering.  With colds and the flu on the prowl, changes in barometric pressure, and colder weather creeping in, my joints are already showing just how ready they are to act up.

What am I to do?  Miss out and feel down?  Indulge and feel down?  There's gotta be a better way!

Lucky I enjoy getting crafty in the kitchen.  I share with you my guilt-free pumpkin pie indulgence:

Nutrition focuses on what we put in our bodies. Nourishment expands this focus to our relationships with food, our cultural and personal traditions, how food can bring us pleasure, and how we feel about eating.