As more people eschew meat for a plant-based diet, the market for meat alternatives has exploded, with an ever-expanding number of offerings that proclaim to taste like meat and even “bleed” like meat.

The holiday season brings with it a welcome of out-of-town family, friends near and far, and food adorned with holiday flair. What’s not-so-welcome is the dreaded indigestion or heartburn (or both) that comes with our tendency to overeat, or eat foods that we normally wouldn’t.

Dear Almost Winter,

If black seed oil were a cartoon superhero, it would save the world with its signature super phytonutrient constituent, thymoquinone.

The last time I visited the dermatologist for my annual skin-cancer check, she started the checkup with a surprise recommendation: Sensible sun exposure—without sunscreen—to support vitamin D production (FYI, a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 reduces the production of vitamin D in the skin by 99%).¹ The surprise wasn’t that I should get some unprotected sun exposure to optimize vitamin D

Mashed, roasted, au gratin—potatoes are the perfect complement to a crisp October evening, and a very good thing indeed, when you know how to choose them, and the healthiest ways to use them.

Welcome to October! We’re glad you’re here because we’d love to chat about what’s on our minds this month—a family tradition that’s been going strong at Natural Grocers since 1989. It’s the one about turkey, and also Tofurky. 

Feel a cold coming on? Think zinc. Dealing with bouts of acne? Think zinc. Perhaps you’re struggling with male infertility. Or depression. Again, it's zinc to the rescue! But don't we get enough of this important nutrient just by eating healthy? Probably not.

The mountains, streams, valleys, oceans, deserts, and all things are related to our thoughts and actions. All things are in relationship with each other. 

–Nancy Jasmine Wallace, Cherokee Medicine Woman

The health benefits of vitamin D are well documented, but many Americans still have insufficient levels of this important nutrient. A new study published in the journal Nutrients shows that blood levels of vitamin D of at least 30 ng/mL are necessary for optimal cardiometabolic health.