Nina Radcliff, MD

A fall favorite, the meat of the pumpkin is low in calories and provides your body with essential dietary fibers, calcium, potassium, vitamins B and K, and more than 200% of the recommended daily vitamin A. Its radiant orange color results from high amounts of beta-carotene, an essential nutrient that helps maintain eye and skin health as well as neurological function. And studies show that the seeds may help decrease prostate gland enlargement and risk for kidney stones and depression. There are lots of great, easy recipes available with ways to prepare them.

• Cinnamon boasts fun-filled flavor, antibacterial and antifungal protection, and antioxidants (helps protect the body from harmful waste products). • Ginger is commonly used to soothe upset stomachs and reduce nausea. It is also linked to brain function, possibly protecting against Alzheimer’s Disease. Ginger contains a component called gingerol that can help keep infections at bay. • Nutmeg may reduce feelings of pain associated with strains, injuries and even arthritis. It also has impressive fiber content that can help promote healthy digestion. • Cloves, similar to cinnamon, are rich in antioxidants, including vitamin C, which can neutralize dangerous waste products. Also, cloves contain antimicrobial properties that can help keep bacteria at bay and promote oral health. Additionally, it also helps support healthy blood sugar levels and liver and bone health. • Allspice, with anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant properties, can help boost the immune system. It also boasts significant copper and iron levels that are essential to red blood cells. • Herbs such as sage, rosemary, turmeric, cilantro, cumin, thyme, paprika all offer incredible health benefits along with great flavors to favorite fall dishes while enriching lives with great fragrances.

This fruit is an antioxidant powerhouse, known to help disarm or neutralize harmful waste products that would otherwise cause inflammation, atherosclerosis, dementia, and DNA mutations that may lead to cancerous growth. It’s no wonder they say “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away!”

Most wild, edible mushrooms only appear in the fall. They offer numerous health benefits: high in protein; low carbohydrate content; and rich in fiber, iron, calcium and other compounds that are believed to help fend off cancer.

Known for being high in fiber, pears provide a sense of satiety (feeling full), translating to fewer calories consumed to quell hunger. They are also a sensible snack for pre-diabetics and diabetics because fiber decreases absorption of the pear’s carbohydrates, preventing a spike in blood sugar levels.

They’re rich in beta carotene, vitamin B6 (can lower risk for heart attacks), vitamin C (helps your immune system) and iron (assists with red blood cell production).

Oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes to grapefruit and more — are a good source of Vitamin C. Citrus also contains antioxidants from the flavonoid group. Respected studies show a diet rich in flavonoids can decrease chances of dying from heart disease by 40%. How? It’s believed that flavonoids improve blood flow through coronary arteries and decrease blood clot formation and “bad” cholesterol levels.

Rich in nutrients, antioxidants and fiber, while low in calories, butternut squash is also at the head of its class when it comes to Vitamin A. Just 100 grams of butternut squash contains 354% of the recommended daily allowance!

Kale is often called a superfood because it contains such high amounts of Vitamins A, C and K as well as calcium. Cabbage and broccoli also contain plenty of nutrition that can promote heart, brain and skin health, and help to fend off cancer (containing sulforaphane, a characteristic of cruciferous veggies that has been shown to block an enzyme that plays a role in the growth of cancer cells). Enjoy, and you’ll not only up the yummy flavors of your fall, but you’ll also get a boost of powerful health benefits!

We can be thankful for many things, but it is personal relationships and direct human interactions that can provide the vast richness of our wellbeing. Such as a mentor, a family member or a friend. Personally, I am thankful for my mother who taught me life skills of always looking your best even if you are going to the grocery store, always having a plan to provide food for your family, making my bed every day and money management (although that is debatable). I am thankful for my sisters who taught me how to curl my hair in the 80s and use hairspray like I was putting paint on a wall, making sure I got out of bed every day when my twins were born and making sure that no matter what I am doing to always put on my lipstick. I am thankful for my mother in law who gave me the gift of her son as my husband and taking care of our twins when I returned to school full time and work out of the house. I am thankful for my daughter who has made me whole and continues to wake up each day with a positive attitude and lives her life to the fullest. She is smart, independent, not to mention hilarious and driven. I am thankful for each and every one of my dear friends who have inspired me from grade school, high school, college, graduate school and all the way up through work and our mommy and me classes to my neighbors who complete “my village.” Through each decade of my life all of these incredible people have left their imprint of their lives within me which have been valuable contribution to all of my successes. We have engaged in relationships in which we have endured the best of times and the “test” of times. We have celebrated births, cried over the loss of loved ones together and we are now at an age where we are navigating unpredictable illnesses. They have taught me that if there is a problem there is also a solution we can work through together.

In my profession as a mental health practitioner, I work with individuals and encourage them to write out a list of at least one thing each day that they are “grateful” for in their lives. Such as, I am grateful for the way my dog greets me when I come home from work when he jumps up and down and wages his tail and smiles at me with his three front teeth. But at our core how can we express our gratitude to so many who have shaped who we have become? Gratitude can be expressed in small ways that make a big impact. Something I attempted during our lock down life was to send a text message to three people each day to let them know I was thinking of them. To remind them that they were not alone and we were together experiencing this unpredictable tumultuous moment in history. It is difficult to feel grateful when our lives may be compromised both mentally and physically. A moment when we are experiencing an unanticipated diagnosis and illness as we are staring down into the “belly of the beast” whether it be a product of COVID, anxiety, depression or even cancer. What we can focus on is

being grateful to have our “sisters” as our support systems to be there when we need them the most. We can be grateful to be included in one’s journey through difficult times knowing that sometimes we need to just listen without judgement. I read an excerpt recently that was written by Miley Cyrus about Dolly Parton and how Miley Cyrus identified Dolly Parton as her “hero” and how it has been said that you are not supposed to meet your hero. I disagree, as I have had the pleasure to encounter many heroes in my life. Women that have worked the front lines in the medical fields, women who have overcome breast cancer to women who have had to endure navigating a terminal illness and fighting the biggest fight of their lives. Yet, they continue on each day with amazing grace, dignity and strength so incredible it is astounding. I am grateful to call these women not only my friends and family but, real life heroes. If these women did not exist not only in my life by in the lives of others, our own existence would be cheated of the love, laughter and membership of a society that truly makes the world a better place. Each of our sisters have nurtured us in ways we do not always understand or quite understand how at the point in time. I encourage you look within yourself with gratitude for having the ability to be part of what it takes to be a sister, a mother, a wife, a friend and a coworker and the knowledge gained from those women who have been an inspiration throughout your journey. Lastly, although we may not practice the same religious beliefs, I have observed that people believe in a “higher power or being.” That being said, when things are going well for us we consider ourselves “blessed.” Sometimes a blessing comes out of navigating through a difficult time in our lives such as illness, grief, aging parents, COVID-19 and for some, children leaving for college. The outcome of a blessing is the presentation of resilience. The ability to overcome challenges and continue to persevere through the darkest of times. So one might say, to be blessed is to be a part of something greater than we planned or bargained for and how we choose to embrace the experience. As we approach the close of another historical year albeit with bumps and bruises, the scars left behind are mere markers that represent simple reminders of a life fully lived for good or for bad. I end with my favorite quote and that is, “refuse to sink” because every woman that has been a part of our lives holds a piece of our “anchor” that which keeps us grounded and those women remind us every day to be thankful, grateful and blessed! Rita King, LCSW is a mental health clinician providing psychotherapy services to adults and children. Rita has worked with individuals with mental illness in the community mental health setting, criminal justice system and private practice setting. Rita is a “De-escalation for Individuals with Special Needs” training facilitator and has trained approximately 1,200 law enforcement professionals to date. Rita is also a CIT trained mental health professional. Rita has a strong passion for women’s history and in her free time she continues to raise awareness of the importance of women’s history through lectures and community speaking engagements.