According to CDC data, the number of officially diagnosed cases of autism in 2022 was 1 in 44 children. When compared with 1 in 150 in 2000 this is a 241% increase in eleven years. This does not even take into account many cases that go undiagnosed. With numbers like this, I am sure that most if not all of my readers have been touched by autism in some way. Perhaps it is your child, or someone in your family, a friend’s child, a classmate or a student. I personally continue to be astounded by the growing number of people within my small circle of work, family and church who have children on th ..read more

The skin is our largest organ, and an extremely important one. It holds our body together and keeps internal organs neatly tucked in place. If it gets broken or torn our body is exposed to predators from the outside and its appearance has a huge effect on beauty and self-confidence.  Unfortunately, most of us don’t pay much attention to it until it ceases to be attractive. And then, our focus is often external, rather than on the deeper internal issues that skin problems indicate. Skin problems like eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, hives and even acne are signs of detoxification issues.  ..read more

Ingredients 1 whole egg from a healthy, pastured chicken 1 cup avocado oil (Olive oil also works here. I prefer avocado because it has a lighter flavor.) 1 tbs fresh lemon juice (or white vinegar) Salt and pepper to taste   Equipment Blender or immersion blender Instructions Blend the egg, lemon juice, salt and pepper together in the blender for a few seconds. With the blender on, add the oil very slowly in a small stream. This should take at least 1 minute. When the mixture starts to thicken and the sound of the blender deepens it is done.  It is best if consumed within one or two ..read more

No one likes to talk about their digestion. In fact, typically when new clients start with me, it is for adifferent reason, like losing weight, balancing hormones or controlling blood pressure. However, as we start to unpack everything that is going on with their health, digestion inevitably comes up. Many have been struggling for years with heartburn, nausea, diarrhea, bloating, intestinal pain, constipation or food intolerances. This is not surprising as According to the “National GI Study” which surveyed 71,000 people, two thirds of American’s have some degree of GI symptoms. The paper goes ..read more

Most people are probably familiar with this famous saying of Hippocrates: “All disease begins in the gut.” But few of us have probably stopped to think about what this means for us and our particular health struggle. If Hipporactes was correct, the ramifications are truly astounding and have a real impact on people who struggle with inflammation based complaints. While it is impossible to address all inflammatory issues in one article, it is possible to give an overview of how inflammation begins, how it is intricately connected with gut health and simple strategies that anyone can implement t ..read more

If the Moroccan tagine is not in your food vocabulary it should be! The tagine is a traditional slow cooked dish using an incredible combination of sweet and savory flavors. However, since most of us don’t have the time to prepare a true tagine for a week night dinner, here’s a quick, simplified version of this amazing dish. Ingredients About 500 g (or 1 pound) stew meat (I used turkey, but this would also taste great with chicken or lamb). Juice of 1 lemon Cumin to taste Salt to taste White pepper to taste 1 Tart apple 3 Carrots A handful of dates or raisins  Instructions Trim excess fat ..read more

If you’re like me, you’ve probably tried to make your own fermented foods, only to have them flop dismally. They taste off, get mold or don’t brine. While it is true that you can avoid this by buying fermented veggies and dairy in supermarkets, this can get quite expensive very quickly, plus, once you start to read the labels, your realize that many of those products are not true ferments but contain a lot of other added ingredients and chemicals. (Note: if you do decide to buy something like sauerkraut, for example, the only ingredients should be the vegetable, salt and water.) I had given up ..read more

Liver and organ meats in general used to be an important part of our diets (just ask your grandparents!) but due to modern food production methods they have sadly fallen out of fashion. Most people don't like to eat liver. I honestly didn't either the first time I tried it. But the reasons to eat it are so many, I kept trying it until I acquired a taste for it and now I try to incorporate it my diet weekly. When I did this, my hair (which was falling out) and my nails started to grow long and strong. This is because liver is an absolute powerhouse of nutrition and is THE best source of most ..read more

Are you gluten free? If you’re not, you may feel like you’re in the minority. Eliminating gluten has become somewhat of a fad in recent years, with more and more people jumping on the bandwagon. The reasons for this are various, ranging from a recommendation from a GI, diagnosis of celiac disease or curiosity to see if removing gluten brings health benefits. The GFCF diet has also been heavily promoted as way to heal autism. As a result of this growing trend, pretty much every food package you pick up nowadays will advertise if it is “gluten free.” This only stands to reason as according to th ..read more

by Ruth Verbree It seems that so many people are talking about mindfulness, but how does this relate to food and overeating? How can we be mindful in our everyday life when we can’t even seem to focus for 10 minutes without being distracted, reaching for our phones, our devices, our ear tuned to the television or the media, all the devastation on the news, and it’s all calling for our attention.  Mindfulness in the Oxford dictionary says that it means the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. Or another definition is that mindfulness is a mental state achieved by fo ..read more