As the summer days begin to shorten, the anticipation of a new school year fills the air. Beyond just buying new supplies and picking out stylish outfits, it's essential to approach the upcoming school year with a focus on well-being. By starting with a healthy foundation, we can build upon that to have an amazing year.

Here are my top 10 tips for building that foundation for the year ahead:

In our fast-paced world, sleep often takes a backseat. The “sleep when I’m dead” mentality has become the backbone of America, keeping us reaching for another afternoon coffee to push through and get one more thing done.

Our constant connection with technology paired with the ever-growing demand of raising children and managing a household don’t allow us to rest. Over time, this takes a huge toll on our health.

Do you have a screen door that you like to use in the spring? It’s so nice to have the breeze come through and bring the fresh air, while the bugs and critters stay out. Well, our gut lining is a lot like a screen door. You see we have this barrier, our gut lining, that separates the food coming through our intestines and our bloodstream on the other side. This barrier allows for the nutrients from our food to easily come into our bloodstream and fuel us while keeping any bad things out.

If we develop holes in our screen door, now we’ve got a leaky gut and those unwanted things can sneak right in and create a reaction in our immune system. These unwanted guests could be undigested food, bacteria, parasites or toxins that promote inflammation and lead to an overactive immune response.

A.. a...achoo! God bless you! Spring is my favorite season, a time for renewal, growth, and new beginnings. I love the flowers and blooming trees – but if you struggle with seasonal allergies, this time of year can be horrible!

Seasonal allergies affect more than 50 million Americans, and usually occur most in the fall and spring. Although some people will struggle with allergies throughout the entire year.

Do you remember the story of the 3 little pigs? If we build our houses out of straw or sticks, they won’t stay standing when the big bad wolf comes around. But if we have a sturdy foundation, using bricks and mortar, then the big bad wolf doesn’t stand a chance at blowing our house down! I love to use this as an analogy for good health. The stronger our foundation - by focusing on plenty of sleep, managing our stress, good nutrition, and regular movement - the better we can handle some strong winds coming our way!

I remember the 80s and the low fat craze. I would buy Snackwells devil food cookies and eat them with a free pass because they were “fat free”! Entenmanns had a fat free coffee cake, and I could have all the Frosted Flakes I wanted because they were fat free too. Eating this way was supposed to help us lose weight and get healthy. But I weighed more at that time than at any other point in my life. And I felt like the crap that I was eating! 

Did you poop today? If not, you are not alone. Constipation is the most common Gl complaint in the US, leading to millions of doctors visits per year.

Constipation is so frustrating, painful, and can be connected to other health issues either as a cause or as a symptom. It can create bloating, irritability, lack of appetite, incontinence and even vomiting.

You might be wondering, “How often should I poop per week?” Well, that’s a great question!

Major depressive disorder affects approximately 17.3 million American adults, or about 7.1% of the U.S. population age 18 and older, in a given year. (National Institute of Mental Health “Major Depression”, 2017) , and even more will experience depressive moods, low energy and lack of motivation. Depression is extremely common, especially in climates where winters are long and dark (like Ohio!). The lack of vitamin d, limited time in nature, and social isolation plays a role. A life with depression can feel hopeless, and leave us with very little energy to work, take care of our families, or ourselves. I am going to show you that there is hope and much we can do to affect our moods in a positive way, so let’s get started!

December has come and gone quickly, with New Year’s Eve being the last major holiday where we typically indulge. Most of us tend to consume more sweets, alcohol, food, and take more time to rest and relax rather than staying active during the holidays. It’s such a wonderful time to slow down and connect with loved ones. Although this period of time usually brings us great joy, it can also be stressful, and leave us feeling worn out. Increased consumption of food and alcohol without our regular routines makes January 1st feel terrible.

Have you ever traveled across time zones and experienced jet lag? You know how you feel groggy, irritable, have an upset stomach and almost feel ill? Well that’s because you are out of sync with your circadian rhythm. That’s how powerful and important this rhythm is to our lives and our health. I’m going to walk you through what this rhythm is and how we can take full advantage of it to maximize our health and feel amazing!

When you hear the term osteoporosis, what do you think of? A little old lady hunched over and frail? It's not always so obvious as it is a silent disease - no symptoms until you break a bone! We are told to drink our milk for strong bones and take our calcium supplements. Well, those recommendations may not have been the best. Keep reading to learn the latest functional medicine approach to bone health.

Are there ever times, perhaps specifically in times of high stress, where it felt like you “weren’t there?” As if your mind and body had gone into autopilot, and you were just going through the motions. Some people even describe months or years of their life like this – completely removed from the present moment or “zoned out.” When we have personal responsibilities, obligations, and chronic stress, it’s difficult to slow down and remind ourselves of the present. If you add the responsibility of others, like children, a spouse, or parent, feeling distracted, unfocused or cluttered may be the norm.

Loneliness and social isolation – which have been on the rise the past few years – pose a great risk to our health. It’s difficult to gauge the true impact of social isolation, but there have been several studies in the past few years that indicate its importance.

Loneliness is the feeling of being alone, whereas social isolation is the lack of social connection. One can feel lonely with or without social isolation, but typically it involves some lack of quality relationships or connection. Whether someone has social connections and they aren’t easily accessible, or if they lack connection altogether, isolation significantly increases a person’s risk of premature death from all causes.

Have you ever waited a little too long to eat? You probably get shaky, hangry, lightheaded and lose concentration. These symptoms are indications that your blood sugar is plummeting, and it usually feels horrible. Ever wonder why you are so exhausted after your pasta lunch and just can’t keep your eyes open? That’s because your blood sugar has gone too high and the carb load is taking its toll on your energy production.

Blood sugar dysregulation is one of the foundational problems I see causing all sorts of chronic symptoms. Although blood sugar is just a piece of the puzzle, figuring out how to regulate it throughout the day is essential for balanced energy and overall well being.

What is the number one most common condition I see in my practice? Hypothyroidism. The thyroid is a common source of many people’s health problems – 1 out of every 8 women will experience thyroid issues in their lifetime. Most thyroid problems are autoimmune, with the most common being Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. This creates low thyroid function and a myriad of symptoms, including fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance, constipation, dry skin and muscle aches and pains to name a few. How miserable!

I am sure it comes as no surprise to hear that eating sugar filled foods is one of the worst things you can do for your health and your weight. It leads to Type II Diabetes, Heart Disease, Cancer, it disrupts the balance of good bacteria in our gut, and causes many other chronic health problems. While sugar occurs naturally in foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, these are ok because our body slowly digests them and they supply a steady state of energy to our cells. Where we get in trouble is when we start to consume a lot of refined or “added sugar.”

Sugar is very addicting and removing or decreasing it can be a very difficult habit to break. I thought it might be helpful to share “8 Tips To Help You Decrease Sugar Intake.”

April is Stress Awareness Month, and I am incredibly passionate about this subject. Stress touches all of our lives, especially in the past 2 years and I want to bring awareness to the important role it plays in our health issues. Did you know that hating your job could be tied to your chronic gut issues? Or that the constant pace of busyness in your day could be causing or worsening your autoimmunity? It’s estimated that 75–90% of doctor’s visits are for stress related ailments.

Something I’ve been thinking about is taking the essence of spring cleaning, and applying it to other areas of your life. We’ve all cleaned out the closet, but what about addressing the emotions you’ve been ignoring? What if you decided to reduce the “junk” food in your diet? There are so many ways we can fall into poor habits during the winter, and so many ways we can work to clean them up! Personally, I find myself getting outside and spending time in nature less during the cold months. And those comfort foods are just so comforting!

This month, I’m going to focus on cleaning up my habits. If you’d like to join me, I’ve made a list of the different ways you can “spring clean” your mind and body. 

“Dementia is reversible” is probably not a phrase you have heard, or expect to hear in a conversation about dementia or Alzheimer’s. But using the principles of functional medicine, it is. And yes – there is hope!

A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is terrifying to patients and their loved ones alike. It often means an uncontrollable and inevitable memory loss, loss of independence, and declining quality of life. And the prospect of living in a nursing home is something I think we would all like to avoid. There are 55 million people worldwide affected by dementia and the number is growing rapidly.

Did you know…

That the average American Adult carries over 700 chemicals in their body?

That there are an average of 200 chemicals and pollutants in the umbilical cord blood at the time of a baby’s birth?

That there are more than 80,000 chemicals registered for use today, few of which have been tested for safety?

And that there are about 2,000 more chemicals introduced EACH year?