Choline is a critical nutrient during pregnancy that has only recently begun to be more understood. While it is not technically a vitamin by definition, it is grouped into the B-vitamins because it is most similar to this group in its structure and function. During pregnancy, choline plays a very important role in optimizing health for both mom and baby. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently recognized choline as an important “brain-building nutrient”. If you are pregnant or are trying to conceive, you want to be sure you are getting enough choline. What is Choline? Choline is...

Do you have more “to dos” to complete than time available to get everything done right now? For many people with employee benefits like insurance, retirement, and legal plans, this time of year often is the re-enrollment period. Whether you are one of these employees, a business owner, or a retiree; no matter how busy you might be as the holiday season gets underway, take time to take care of yourself financially. Consider giving yourself the gift of a few minutes sometime soon to review your retirement account beneficiaries, decisions, and features. Review Your Beneficiaries When you die, retirement...

If you suffer from chronic sinusitis and have been through multiple courses of antibiotics then you know the ills of the antibiotic approach. The antibiotics leave you with intestinal problems and often yeast infections, while they only get rid of the sinus infection for 6 months or so. The next time it comes back, you have to try a different antibiotic and this one will cost more and make you feel worse. Why is this cycle escalating? Antibiotics Do More Harm Than Good Unfortunately, the antibiotic solution does more harm than good. It shifts the fauna and flora of...

According to the National Headache Foundation, approximately 60% of women suffering from migraines get menstrual migraines. Menstrual migraines can start two days before the period begins and up to three days after the period ends. Hormones can trigger menstrual migraines during ovulation, menses, perimenopause and menopause. Symptoms include: one-sided, throbbing, nausea inducing with or without vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine Triggers Migraine diaries are a great way to evaluate the cause of your migraines. Common triggers for migraines that are not hormone related include: poor sleep, alcohol, high tyramine foods, smoked or cured meat, banana, avocado, chocolate,...

Hi Dana: Is there anything I need to be paying attention to before the end of the year? (Other than holiday shopping, of course!) Thank you for your most timely question! Here are several year-end planning considerations to put on your radar: 1. Your Income in 2020. Now is the time to assess what your expected 2020 taxable income will be. Many jobs and income levels changed this year due to the economic shutdown, with income higher or lower for 2020 depending on the industry impacts. We may be looking at higher tax rates in future tax years. Depending...

The first thing I noticed personally when I used a far-infrared (FIR) heating pad was the tingle. It was a familiar tingle since I had just returned from a trip to Iceland with my family. While there, we spent a good deal of time at “The Fontana,” a small, out-of-the-way spa that was completely powered by geothermal heat. There, when you entered a sauna or hot tub, you felt a distinctly pleasant tingle permeate your body. Within minutes you felt like all your muscle tension had dissolved away leaving both body and mind profoundly relaxed and refreshed. As an...

During the past few years, the number of safe, serene spaces where we can pause to draw our “emotional breath” seems to have grown progressively smaller. Public health crises, ongoing police brutality, and the oppressive political climate have greatly diminished the places we can take cover from the chaos. Without sound support and dependable guidance, it’s no wonder so many people are in doubt, discontent, depressed, and in need of direction. In our attempts to navigate these global seismic shifts, we are all facing scenarios of “broken expectations,” situations in which we lack the emotional vigor to visualize what...

The Ayurvedic approach to stress is based on an imbalance in our energetic properties, the doshas (vata, pitta, kapha). Stress in Ayurveda is seen predominantly as a disturbance to our vata dosha, the energy of movement that is formed from the space and air elements. Vata dosha is intrinsically related to the nervous system. Over extended periods, vata can wreak havoc on the mind and body. This is the negative and undesired impact that we commonly know as stress. Balancing vata is the key to managing stress in the body and mind as well as supporting wellness and longevity....

When a client, an artist, came to me suffering from PTSD after a terrible car accident, his life was shattered. To make matters worse, the experience provoked earlier traumas to rise back to the surface to the extent that all the ordeals merged into one solid state of suffering. No amount of talking about it was going to reorder his world or help him forget what happened. No amount of relaxation technique would enable him to let it go. I knew from the start that I needed to help him engage the memory of the event from another perspective....

There continues to be an ever-growing incidence of anxiety and depression in the United States. One in ten individuals suffer from depression and 2-4% of the population suffer from anxiety. Depression accounts for over $23 billion in lost workdays and the diagnosis of depression has risen 47% for younger millennials and early generation Z, with less than 30% receiving treatment. The current pandemic only further exacerbates symptoms and increases the overwhelm many are feeling. Lifestyle and coping mechanisms are key during the pandemic. Unhealthy eating and alcohol consumption have increased significantly. Stress and overwhelm further deplete immune function and...

We wear masks to protect others from our exhaled droplets. These droplets may contain virus. It is a considerate gesture and quite helpful. But when the moisture of the droplet evaporates (relatively soon after being exhaled) the viral particles remain suspended in the air that we breathe and they are MUCH smaller than the holes in our masks. Some virus will get through as the masks are not sufficient protection for the wearer. What can we do to protect ourselves? Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine found that the Covid-19 virus first attaches to the...

You have breast cancer,” were words I never thought I would hear. That was almost fourteen years ago. I was a healthy, conscious, decades long pescatarian who was a wholistic practitioner with a long-standing Rolfing® practice. There was no history of breast cancer in my family so it just wasn’t on my radar. Was I going to die? Would I have to endure disfiguring surgery? Would I need to go through chemotherapy? Radiation? Who would be with me? My four-year relationship had just broken up two months before. He moved out, I was alone. It started with my yearly...

With another cold and flu season upon us, many people are focused on ways to improve their health, specifically the immune system. There are some simple things to do to help make your body strong and able to withstand any illness that may come your way. Many of you are focusing on lifestyle factors, supplements, and reducing exposure to illnesses. However, there is another tool we can implement that can deliver some key nutrients for the immune system. This is intravenous (IV) therapy. It delivers nutrients straight to the bloodstream to be used immediately. This is used because you...

As I was growing up I often assisted my aging grandmother and through that experience I somehow knew I would ultimately choose a career in science that would allow me to continue helping people. Still, I longed for a life that also incorporated the arts and always found artistic discipline to be a vehicle of self-expression, empowering us to reveal our hidden truths to ourselves and the world. Creative Connections While pursuing a career as a family nurse practitioner, I continued to create deeply personal art and I aspired to show others the power that art has in healing....

Have you been suffering from a chronic health problem, but have found little relief from prescription medications or multiple natural remedies? If so, you may want to explore CBD (Cannabidiol) as a potential legal, safe remedy. While conferring with a practitioner experienced in its administration is recommended when using CBD, this basic primer is meant to provide sufficient information to help you determine whether trying this remedy may be right for you. What Is CBD? – Legality & Safety The endocannabinoid system (ECS) of the human body, discovered in the 1990s, is the biological basis for mind-body medicine. It...

I will never forget that morning in the spring of 2016. It was around 5:30am and the sun was just beginning to cast bright beautiful rays through my window. As I got out of bed, I happened to glance at my pillow and noticed more than just a few stray strands of hair on my pillow. “That’s weird,” I thought. While I was used to my hair shedding in different seasons, there was more hair than I would have expected on my pillowcase. A short while later, as I rinsed out the conditioner at the end of my shower,...

“Dana, I’ve recently lost a spouse. On top of an overall feeling of mourning and loss, I find myself overwhelmed with the estate and financial matters and don’t know where to begin. Please help!” First and foremost, let me acknowledge that the loss of a spouse is one of the most difficult life events and transitions that can occur during our lifetimes. Assisting with estates and transitions has been a service I’ve provided for many years. If and when anyone you know experiences a loss like this, please take the extra time to be kind, compassionate, and express that...

Emerging evidence supports the use of a new diet therapy plan, the Crohn’s Disease Exclusion Diet (CDED), as a primary treatment of mild to moderate Crohn’s disease. In the last twenty years, research in diet and Crohn’s disease has increasingly implicated the Westernized diet or Standard American Diet (SAD) as a factor in the development of Crohn’s Disease (CD). Research on the role diet therapy has after diagnosis has been underwhelming. Diet is acknowledged as an adjunct therapy in the management of CD in adults and has mainly focused on eliminating foods to minimize symptoms during active disease flares....