I'm delighted to have local chef and traditional foods expert Tressa Yellig on the show today. Tressa was an ambitious, young chef when she became very ill with a septic mersa infection. While awaiting surgery, she thankfully got more involved in the fermented food scene, which turned her condition around.  

It's easy to get caught in our 'critter brain' when we are trying to conceive.  Patients and practitioners alike can be so busy chasing symptoms and the latest trends, that the fundamental needs of whole health are ignored.

Today acupuncturist, health coach and holistic fertility expert Angela Tisci teaches us about:

• The three brains, and how our desire for safety sabotages our ability to change
• The four pillars of health, including financial health and how this plays into the fertility path
• How the right career and a clean house can support your fertility!

The MTHFR gene mutation has gotten a lot of press lately.  But it can be confusing to understand, and even more confusing to know what to do next.

Our guest today, Dr. Samantha LeVine of Docere Naturopathic Wellness, breaks it down simply and practically in this short episode.  

Learn what a defect in methylfolate reductase gene production can effect:

If you have Hashimoto's but haven't gone into remission (it's possible!), then I recommend you tune into this show.  If you have a thyroid disorder, but haven't been checked for anti-thyroid antibodies, tune in as well.  

If you have unexplained fatigue or an inability to lose weight, then listen in to learn if your thyroid may be involved.  Lastly, if you'd like to avoid autoimmune diseases in your future, come and learn more about how these diseases progress, so you can make the best choices now.

Do you feel like you burn calories too slowly, or too quickly?  Do you struggle to lose weight, even though you think you eat healthy foods?

Our guest today, Dietitian Cassie of Healthy, Simple Life, demystifies metabolism in this helpful episode!

Bone broth, or meat stock, is an ancient food that is regaining popularity today.  If you are curious about broth - how to make it and what the value is - then tune in to today’s guest, Dr. Kaayla Daniel.

When people want to lose weight or be healthier, they often start eating salad.  That’s great, but even an innocent salad can be less healthy than you’d think.  Here’s how to optimize it.

This dish is a family favorite. I can buy the lamb at my farmers market and it's a good price for high quality meat.

Pair with a Greek salad, some sautéed vegetables, a chunk of hot sweet potato. It's an easy, tasty, gourmet dinner!

Before we hit a state of blood sugar pathology (diabetes, metabolic syndrome, or latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood for examples), we most likely spend some time, perhaps decades, in a state of functional blood sugar imbalance.

These functional imbalances probably begin due to diet and lifestyle, and the good news is that they can usually be corrected with diet, lifestyle, and natural supplementation, under the care of a trained functional medicine practitioner.

The bladder is a hollow, muscular organ with an inner layer called a urinary epithelium.  Two ureters carry urine from the kidney to the bladder.  At the lowest point is a urethra, a narrow tube from which urine empties when it’s sphincter muscle releases.

Stones, or calculi, can develop in the bladder when minerals that should be in solution in the urine congeal.  The condition is more common in men, and is more commonly found in low-protein diets.

Infection of the bladder (cystitis) is more common in women, with the suspected reason of our shorter urethra providing less of a barrier against bacteria.  

There have been some HOT topics on the podcast this month!  I love the powerful, brillant ladies I've been honored to meet.  I'll recap below:

1.  First we had Nicole Jardim, women's health coach, talking about the reasons and solutions behind ammenorhea (no period for 3 months or more.)  

Ammenorhea can be caused by post-birth control use, overtraining, under-eating, extreme diets and stress.  There is a good chance you'll experience a bout of ammenorhea in your lifetime. 

I'm happy to share with you today a great video on an important topic, making bone broth.  Bone broth is easy to make once you get the hang of it, and it's super nutritious.  It can heal a leaky gut, regenerate your joints, help you sleep, and help your hormonal system tick along nicely.   Just click on the image above to view.  It's about 10 minutes long, and well worth it!..

Got high blood pressure? Monitor your blood pressure with your primary care physician, and know there are also solutions with a functional medicine practitioner like myself to get this condition under control.

Here are some things to consider:

Check your blood sugar (fasting glucose and HA1C) as insulin resistance increases blood pressure.

Here in Oregon we've got a vote coming up on labeling GMO foods.  I think most people don't have a grasp on which foods these are and how they may effect our health.  So I spent some time today digging deep into the topic.

I was also curious about the battle over GMO labeling.  This initiative already lost in California, and I was shocked to hear it.  Now that the vote is approaching in Oregon, I can see why.  There is a lot of money being invested into this legislation not passing by companies with deep pockets like Monsanto and Pepsico.

I'm pretty darn excited about the upcoming Digestion Sessions, part 2 of the Second Opinion Series hosted by Underground Wellness.

All the event videos are shot in person with beautiful, high-quality production.  It's so cool to see our 'alternative' health leaders looking like true media leaders on the big screen!

In Part 1 of this two part article, we talked about how to make decisions from your heart.

Great!  So you've made a bold decision.  You want to lose 40 pounds so you can have more energy for your kids and yourself.  Or you want to start dating again.  Or you want to cook healthy meals.

Perhaps you've made this goal before, and have gotten all excited for about one week.  But then you got frustrated or scared.  Or you felt too busy.  Or you didn't believe in yourself.

How can you avoid getting back into this quagmire?

One of the wonderful things about my job is that I get to continually learn more. Two supplements I've recently studied I wanted to share with you.

They are IGG Colostrum powder and its cousin, Immunolox, by Nutrasumma.

Colostrum is the 'first milking' of mammals, but it's not exactly milk. It's a fatty,

If you are stuck in elevator, between floors, it's a great time to use your wits to figure out how to get the heck out of there.  And, thankfully, in our culture today, we are encouraged to follow our hearts when choosing a mate.

But what about all the decisions in between these two extremes, when we are deciding what to eat, or when to exercise?  How about deciding our career, or what we are going to say next? 

The Hashimoto's Institute free online educational event begins.  Sign Up Here.

This very cool event is organized by Andrea Nakayama, Dr. Izabella Wentz, and Dr. Alan Christianson.  It features a step by step approach to Hashimoto's over 8 days.  Check it out