vitamin D

December has a reputation for cheer, and many of us spend the preceding months anxiously awaiting all the winter festivities. But not everyone feels the joy this time of year. Six percent of the U.S.

Join Basmati.com every week for a Q&A session with one of Basmati’s practitioners, Melissa Hill (FDN-P)! We know that there is a lot of confusing information out there, which can make applying health advice overwhelming.  Sometimes, it’s best to ask a practitioner directly, so each week we’ll cover a common health question!

Bone is living tissue, meaning that how we treat it is how it will respond (in most cases). Osteoporosis—a condition in which bones become brittle and easily broken—and osteopenia—the thinning of bones—are life-changing conditions that can result in a number of problems, including fractures and joint pain.

I eat a lot of foods that most Americans find odd.

Great medicine awaits in your grocery store’s produce section!  As you can gather from the title, I’m talking about mushrooms: rich in protein, essential amino acids, fiber, B vitamins and vitamin D.

Millet is a prehistoric grain native to western Asia. By approximately 3000 B.C.E. the grain had found its way to China where it became one of the five sacred grains. Of the many varieties of the genus the common millet arrived in Europe about 200 B.C.E. where it got its name, which meant “cereal” in Old English.

Do you remember taking those little fruity Flintstones multivitamins? Well, as a child, I ate them because they were pretty darn close to being plain ol’ candy. Now, as an adult, I don’t have to buy any daily vitamins because I’m already buying foods that are great sources of necessary vitamins and minerals. Plus, the best part about adulting is that it gives you the freedom to buy actual candy, if candy is what you crave (don’t we all from time to time?).

While others curse its arrival in spring, I applaud it. The spunky little dandelion is a first flower for nectar-hunting honeybees. It pains me to see homeowners yank it from their yards, not only because they are eradicating an important food source for pollinating insects, but because the little plants can offer so much before their fluffy seeds are scattered to the wind!

Also known as sun-eating, the practice of staring into the sun at sunrise and sunset is an age-old technique for stimulating the pineal gland, fostering health and reaching beyond current states of limited thinking and the way one experiences life.

As far as raw foods are concerned, wheatgrass, or Triticum aestivum, is a potent ingredient that promises you a host of abundant health benefits. The young shoots of wheat are harvested before the stalks form a head with grain and contain no wheat gluten, but are considered by many health professionals and scientists to be naturally healing.