I recently lost my brother, who was also my best friend, to pancreatic cancer. This year was the absolute saddest time of my life.

When I first found out I told my husband that I didn’t think I would be able to live through losing him. The three months before he died was a deeply sad but incredibly inspirational time….

I think we can all agree that we could all use a miracle in 2020, so I want to share something with you that can make a significant difference in your life. In fact, this has literally helped millions of people transform their lives by simply changing how they start their day. It’s my good friend Hal Elrod's new movie, The Miracle Morning, based on his book that has sold more than 2 million copies. What makes this movie literally life-changing is that it actually gives you a simple, proven method to take control of your life, one morning at a time.

This week’s post is going to be short and sweet because the real take away will come by listening to the podcast below. Dr. Cabral, who I introduced you to last week (Naturopath, Ayurvedic, and Functional Medicine Practitioner) will be talking about the single most important vitamin you need to be taking now. It’s something you have definitely heard of before, but have likely never learned how essential it is for pretty much every function in your body.

More than half of all Americans take one or more dietary supplements, which includes vitamins, minerals, and herbal products. While it’s possible and recommended to get all of your nutrients from a variety of healthy foods, supplements can be a very useful way to fill in the gaps. In addition, they can assist in better digestion, detox, metabolism, and hormonal balance.

Did you know that the biggest predictor of longevity is psychological resiliency, being able to roll with the punches life throws at us? There is a dramatic and powerful connection between our mind and body, shaped by our attitudes, social network, community, and spiritual beliefs. Studies have shown that 95% of all illnesses are caused or worsened by stress, so it’s easy to see that the best pharmacy in the world is right between your ears! Unfortunately in Western medicine, we are not trained to address the stressful psychic loads that are the burden of the 21st century. And they are killing us.

Are you tired and worn out? Do you feel burned out and have sore muscles, fatigue and brain fog? You might have metabolic burnout. Inside our bodies are trillions of tiny energy powerhouses called Mitochondria. They use over ninety percent of the oxygen we breathe, and they take up forty percent of the space inside the heart cells. Unfortunately they are very sensitive to damage, most often caused by stress from toxic insults, infections, allergens, stress and just eating too much poor quality food.

When you hear the word “detox” you might think drug detox or alcohol detox or wheatgrass enemas. That’s not what we’re talking about today. Detoxification refers to the science of how our bodies get rid of waste. The elimination of toxins is extremely important for improved immune function. If waste builds up, we get sick. Figuring out how to enhance our body’s natural detoxification while minimizing exposure to toxins, is the key to wellness. And why is this so important? Because any of many diseases that are prevalent in society today are actually related to toxicity.

Did you know that you have a second brain? That’s right! Your gut can literally be described as a second brain. In fact, it has it’s own nervous system and more neurotransmitters than the brain in your head. It’s no wonder more and more attention has been given to healing the gut. From gastrointestinal issues and yeast infections, to eczema and depression, your gut plays a role in many health and wellness problems, far beyond the obvious stomachache.

You’re sleeping poorly. You feel tired but wired. You crave sugar. You live on coffee in the morning and a glass of wine at night. You wonder why you always have a low sex drive. Does any of this sound familiar? I’m almost certain it does because these are the symptoms that so many of my clients share, and how most Americans today feel.The reason for this is due to hormones and neurotransmitters - two critical areas of the human body that we depend on to keep us in balance, but instead are running haywire.

The term inflammation is used often in the wellness world, and while most of us understand that inflammation is a necessary response to say, a sore throat, a rash, or a sprained ankle, few people know that hidden inflammation is at the root of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, depression, obesity, cancer, diabetes, dementia, and autism. Understanding and minimizing inflammation is therefore incredibly important to a healthy immune system and overall wellness.

For the first segment in our series 7 Keys of Wellness from a Functional Medicine Approach, we’re going to be exploring Environmental Inputs. While you can’t change your genes, you can change which genes get turned on or off and how that affects your body by changing your personal environment. Your personal environment consists of what you are eating, your stress levels, trauma you may have experienced, toxins you are exposed to, and the water you drink.

Over the next 7 weeks I’ll be delving into the following areas that are considered the 7 Keys of Wellness from a Functional Medicine Approach. These areas will explain in depth the connections between our body, our mind, and our environment, and how we can better address underlying problems for optimal health and wellness. I hope you’ll join me!

Did you know that many chronic diseases can be prevented, significantly improved, or even completely reversed simply by making positive diet and lifestyle changes? This sounds very simple, but in reality, lasting behavior change can be incredibly difficult.

Rather than just suppressing symptoms and looking for quick fixes, Functional Health is a systems-based approach to addressing the root causes of chronic disease and obstacles to wellness. Using the Functional Health approach, we can understand and explore the relationships between people’s behavior and their health outcomes, between body’s systems, and between people and their environments.