Occidental Nutrition

06/06/2026

Summer Salads, Healthy Aging & Upcoming Events

By Mary Sheila Gonnella NC, BCHN I hope this finds you well and enjoying the long days of spring. Perhaps you even have a graduate or two in the mix. It's always fun to celebrate the different stages of life. Just Thursday, I attended my grandson's 6th-grade promotion. Hearing the principal declare the students "officially 7th graders" and ready to head off into the world was pretty darn cute....

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05/30/2026

What a 4-Hour Class Taught Me

By Mary Sheila Gonnella NC, BCHN Later today, I’ll be going live with my virtual Nourish Your Bones Virtual Workshop at 9:00 AM Pacific. Over the past week, I’ve been immersed in slides, handouts, research, and coordinating with the two wonderful guest speakers who will be joining me. This also comes on the heels of two weekends of teaching at the Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium....

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05/15/2026

What a week, and what a lovely assistant I have!

05/09/2026

The final piece of the bone puzzle

By Mary Sheila Gonnella NC, BCHN This final video brings us to the parathyroid hormone. While it’s not as commonly discussed, it plays a central role in regulating calcium in the body. It helps determine: how much calcium is absorbed, how much is stored in bone, and how much circulates in the blood This is one of the reasons why simply taking more calcium doesn’t always equal stronger bones....

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05/02/2026

Your thyroid, the overlooked bone connection

By Mary Sheila Gonnella NC, BCHN This week we’re looking at the thyroid. Your thyroid helps regulate metabolism, how quickly your body turns things over, including bone. When thyroid activity is too high, bone can break down more quickly than it’s rebuilt. When it’s too low, other systems that support bone health can slow down. It’s all about balance....

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04/25/2026

The metabolic connection to strong bones

By Mary Sheila Gonnella NC, BCHN This week’s focus is insulin. A hormone we often associate with blood sugar, but it also plays a meaningful role in bone health. When blood sugar is consistently elevated, it can: increase inflammation impact mineral balance affect bone turnover On the flip side, stable blood sugar supports: steady energy, hormonal balance, and long-term tissue health, including bones…...

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04/18/2026

Stress and bone loss (the missing link)

By Mary Sheila Gonnella NC, BCHN This week we’re talking about cortisol. Often called the “stress hormone,” cortisol is essential for survival, but when it stays elevated over time, it can begin to shift the body in ways that are not supportive for long-term health and aging. This includes the impact it can have on bone health. Chronically elevated cortisol can:...

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04/11/2026

The hormone your bones miss most

By Mary Sheila Gonnella NC, BCHN As many of us move through midlife, perimenopause, and menopause, while there’s several hormones that affect our bones, there’s one hormone that plays a major role in bone health: Estrogen. As estrogen begins to decline, the body shifts. Bone breakdown can outpace bone rebuilding. This isn’t meant to alarm you, but to empower you....

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04/04/2026

Bone health is more than calcium

By Mary Sheila Gonnella NC, BCHN As some of you may know, bone health has been a passion of mine over the years … maybe that’s why you’re here reading this now. I’m not exactly sure what first captured my attention, but I do remember a few key moments. Early on in my practice, clients would come in with a shopping bag full of supplements....

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03/28/2026

Longer days, later dinners … here’s a solution

By Mary Sheila Gonnella NC, BCHN I just wrapped up my Blood Sugar Reset Bootcamp, and I’m feeling so grateful. There’s something really special about watching people create community around their health, connect the dots in their body, understanding how what they eat, when they eat, and how they live all come together. And so rewarding to have people come back to join Blood Sugar Reset year after year!...

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