Do you know what your body's largest organ is? Surprise, it's not the brain—it's your skin! That's right, your skin makes up about 16% of your body weight, and for most adults, that's a hefty 20 pounds or more. But what happens when your skin isn't at its best? Enter eczema.

Arthritis, a group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases causing joint inflammation, affects millions of people worldwide. For those suffering from arthritis, life can be a constant battle with pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. However, amidst this struggle, nature offers a ray of hope through certain herbs with potent anti-inflammatory properties. In this blog post, we'll explore the world of natural remedies, focusing on the healing potential of ginger root, Boswellia, and Avocado Soybean Unsaponifiables (ASU), and how these herbs can bring relief to arthritis sufferers.

The Ayurvedic science of Ritucharya (seasonal behavior) deals with how to conduct your life during the changing weather patterns of the seasons. The stresses of seasonal changes can bring about health challenges, but may be prevented by adopting seasonal regimens, prescribed by Ayurveda. 

Most of us love the summer, the beach, and…the sun. What we don’t like is sunburn. Not only is it painful, but sunburn causes serious long-term tissue damage. Enter Saint John’s Wort. You’ve heard of this peppy yellow flower for depression, but did you know it has potent burn healing properties? Long before this remedy became the natural medicine de jour for mood, Europeans were grabbing it as their main go-to for burns, including sunburn. Take my advice, and don’t get burned in the first place, but if you do, use a high quality St. John’s Wort  oil. Pharmacological research supports the topical preparations for the treatment of minor wounds and burns, sunburns, abrasions, bruises, contusions, ulcers and muscle pain. 

Who doesn’t have bad digestion these days? Water cooler talk will reveal that all your coworkers have funky guts. From heartburn and ulcer to constipation and gas, it seems like everyone’s ornery digestive tract is making an appearance. 

Kristin Henningsen, MS, RH (AHG), E-RYT, IYT,  is a clinical herbalist, yoga therapist, writer, & educator, who first fell in love with plants in the desert southwest.  There she was inspired to complete her graduate work, researching the Ethnobotany of the region.  In addition to studying Indigenous herbal medicine in the Southwest, she has worked in academia and for non-profit organizations in the field of botanical research all over the country.  

Brandy Cummings, MS, CN, NC, CKNS, BCHN, CGP

Brandy is a graduate of Bauman college, earned her MS in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, and is a current doctoral student studying Clinical Nutrition at the University of Western States. Additionally, she is Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition, a Certified Nutritionist in Washington state, a Certified AIP Coach, a Certified Gluten-free practitioner, a Certified Ketogenic Nutrition Specialist, and has passed her Certified Nutrition Specialist exam. 

Brandy specializes in epigenetics and  environment-rooted disorders and conditions such as mycotoxin and biotoxin illness, parasitic infections, lyme disease and coinfections, and how these can impact a person’s life from preconception to postpartum and beyond. She has coined this phase of one’s life as the Pan-natal® phase and clearly defines an up-to-date, effective, and life-changing health journey and roadmap so that people can not only impact their health and well being, but also their children, and future generations to come. 

Brandy’s mission in life is to improve the health of future generations and believes the ultimate in preventative medicine is to support the lives of parents before their children are born. Brandy is the owner of Pivotal Origins where she supports families 1:1 as well as teaches classes in her local community. Brandy is also the lead Nutritionist with The Self-Esteem Project which focuses on improving the health of communities through animated education nutrition content in K-6 schools. 

As our population ages, losing one's mental faculties can take first place on the list of concerns. Alzheimer's disease and other forms of senile dementia affect some 25 percent of all people over 80. Research, though, is revealing natural approaches in treating and preventing mental decline. Not only aging grabs our attention. Many of us deal with mood disorders, including depression and anxiety.