Menopause hormone therapy prescribing is an essential skill in the care of women.  It is imperative that all prescribers have a science based approach to the benefits and risks of menopause hormone therapy (MHT).  In these now forty years of clinical practice as a licensed naturopathic physician and a clinical practice in women’s health, I think I’ve seen every perimenopause/menopause issue, every possible evidence based and historical use natural therapy, and likely every  hormone prescription that women have been given (although I still am occasionally surprised……. and alarmed ..read more

I’m sitting at my kitchen table on the first day of the new daylight savings time. I must admit, I like the “fall backward” time change, which is much more appealing on day 1, but I am looking forward to tomorrow’s after work increased daylight to exercise outdoors and work in the garden.  But today, I don’t like that feeling of an hour of lost time. It’s not just the impact on one’s daily activities to consider.  This time change can have some other impacts that can be harmful.  Let’s start with sleep, and I’m talking more than just cranky or tired the next day.  Sleep tro ..read more

I’m turning 72 in a few days.  Year of the Dragon.  I was born in 1952, year of the Water Dragon.  In 2024, it’s the year of the Wood Dragon.  From what I have superficially read, the Wood Dragon symbolizes a rebirth within.  Apparently, the Wood Dragon is very creative and curious, full of original ideas and explores lots of subjects in life.  Full of drive and motivation, confident, with a great sense of humor, perceptive in business affairs and can be very generous.  There is much more to learn about this Wood Dragon…but it’s sounding mighty good to me. Bu ..read more

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent psychiatric condition in the U.S. Biological factors, family history, stressful life experiences and/or trauma are all potential causes. We could likely say these days, the world we live in is a cause of anxiety even if the stressful circumstances aren’t an immediate experience we are having.  Being surrounded by those who are suffering from poverty and rascism and homelessnes, watching the degradation of civility in our society, knowing that the earth and it’s flora and fauna are suffering and becoming extinct due to climate change…. It’s all too ..read more

Depression is on the rise in the U.S. with the percentage of U.S. adults who report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lifetime reaching 29.0%.  As of a publication in May 2023, this is nearly 10 percentage points higher than in 2015.  The percentage of Americans who currently have or are being treated for depression has also risen, to 17.8%, which is up about seven points compared to 2015. Women and young adults have experienced the greatest increases and Black and Hispanic adults have risen about twice the rate of White Adults. We’ve also known for some ti ..read more

I recently did podcast for “Radiant Knowing” https://www.radiantknowing.com/, with a dietician and nutritionist, Carly Knowles and Carmen Shah.  We had a good Q and A and a discussion about many things related to perimenopause and menopause.  They started with a bang, asking me about hormonal balance/imbalance.  You might be surprised to hear my response.  I invite you to listen to this less than 60 minute podcast at https://www.radiantknowing.com/podcast/episode5 I hope you find it informative and useful in your perimenopause/menopause journey.  I think there might be ..read more

    TO KNOW THE DARK To go in the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight, and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings, and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings. –Wendell Berry ..read more

This blog is meant to highlight some key points about migraines in women, and give you the opportunity to watch a podcast on migraines that I recently produced with the National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP).  (https://nanp.org/) Migraine headaches in women that are associated with hormonal changes, affect about 12 million women in the U.S.  Of the headaches that affect women, 60% to 70% have headaches with some relationship to the menstrual cycle.  Of these women, 10% have true menstrual migraines, i.e. a migraine that occurs exclusively with menstruation.  ..read more

I live in the Pacific NW and while beautiful and full of natural landscapes to bask in, some find the winters difficult with gray and wet skies, especially in these months of shortened daylight hours.  Approximately 5% of folks struggle with the impacts of seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, and it is more frequent in women than in men.  Symptoms include sadness, changes in appetite and sleep, loss of energy, and difficulty concentrating.  Conventional treatments often include prescription antidepressants.  While that may be necessary for some, there are numerous natural m ..read more

One of the most pesky chronic health issues I see in my patients is hair thinning.  The first step in the evaluation of this is to try to determine the cause.  This includes starter testing for hypothyroid, iron deficiency anemia, iron deficiency, looking at the scalp to see if there is a skin condition like seborrheic dermatitis, assessing stress and diet (low protein or malnutrition in general) but other considerations will be hormonal changes (androgenic alopecia or female pattern hair loss), heredity, autoimmune disease (ex/alopecia areata), and inflammatory conditions of the sca ..read more