Doctors may be more receptive to talking about alternative therapies than patients often think. The following suggestions may be used as a guideline to help you prepare to discuss your health with your doctor. Keep in mind, your doctor is there to help and guide you, but ultimately you have responsibility for your own health.

The unmistakable smell of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, mingled together in just the right combination. The sound of grandmother’s humming as a spoon gently clanks against the bowl. The feeling of warmth that wafts over my face as I open the oven to check on a batch of gingerbread. Little fingers covered with batter, tested while no one is looking.

Food allergies and sensitivities and special diets can make cooking tricky, especially when it comes to replacing off-limit ingredients with safe ones. Below you’ll find several suggestions for how to modify your favorite recipes with allergen-free alternatives that actually taste great.

Stress is the body’s mental, emotional, and physiological response to any situation that is new, threatening, frightening, or exciting. Stress should not be avoided entirely. A certain amount of stress is necessary for optimum health, performance, and well-being. However, your mind and body work most efficiently and effectively when you are relaxed.

Better nutrition, enhanced digestion, less allergic potential – WOW, who could refuse sprouted foods? Sprouting, or germinating, goes far beyond the long-stemmed sprouts we often see in the produce section.

Although many packaged foods now tout the health benefits of soy, for some time now, this so- called wonder bean has been under scrutiny. Most concerns with soy arise from overconsumption of the processed and isolated forms, such as soy protein isolate and isoflavone extracts.

Soybeans are small, round, brown or black beans with a unique nutrition profile. This bean contains health promoting protein and constituents, such as isoflavones, saponins, and phytosterols.

This October, when autumn colors are nearly eclipsed by the signature pink of Breast Cancer Awareness month, many women will be reminded to assess their breast health and address ways to keep them healthy. For decades, mammograms have been a gal’s go- to breast test, but recent research is pointing to another test that may not only be more important, but also safer: a vitamin D test.

A recent literature review on vitamin D and mood written by Alan Gaby, MD, starts out with this sentence:

One investigator (John Denver) reported anecdotally that sunshine on his shoulder made him happy. A recent study adds scientific support to that observation and suggests that the mood-elevating effect of sunshine is mediated by vitamin D.

The hallmark clue to vitamin D deficiency disease is an associated seasonal and latitudinal variability in incidence and morbidity. Multiple sclerosis, almost absent close to the equator, increases in frequency the further from the equator one lives. Heart disease is worse in the dark, winter months, with blood pressure increasing as vitamin D stores in the body decrease.

On March 16^th 2015, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a meta-analysis of human trials on vitamin D and blood pressure. Their finding: vitamin D does not lower blood pressure ¹.

Vitamins K and D may not be the most glamorous of supplements, but they are two of the most important when it comes to supporting overall health, particularly bone and cardiovascular health. They share a unique (and significant) partnership and are a must in everyone’s daily supplement routine.