Staying Healthy This Holiday Season

The holiday season is filled with togetherness, celebration, and festive foods — but it can also bring late nights, stress, sugar overload, and an increase in seasonal illnesses. I am frequently asked by my patients how they can stay healthy during this time of year. Focusing on keeping your body balanced and resilient so you can feel your best while still enjoying the season.  Here’s a simple, easy-to-follow guide for staying healthy, energized, and grounded during the holidays and beyond. 

The Importance of Therapy All Year Round

The end of the year often brings reflection, comparison, and pressure to change, making the need for support feel urgent. While therapy is frequently promoted during difficult seasons, it is most effective when approached as an ongoing, intentional relationship—not a last-resort solution. A strong therapeutic fit fosters self-understanding, emotional awareness, and healthier relationships, helping individuals process pain, heal relational wounds, and reconnect with their needs and values. Therapy offers a compassionate space to explore who we are and what change can feel like in the body. Choosing aligned, thoughtful support empowers meaningful healing and reminds us that we already carry the answers within ourselves.

The Benefits of Eating Seasonally

As winter approaches, seasonal eating shifts from summer berries to squashes, root vegetables, apples, and pears. Choosing in-season produce offers better flavor, improved quality, and lower cost—especially when sourced locally. Seasonal foods inspire simple, nourishing meals and add natural variety to the diet, from fresh summer salads to warming winter soups and stews. Eating with the seasons also supports local farmers and regional food systems. Preserving seasonal foods through freezing or canning allows you to enjoy their nutritional benefits year-round. Embracing seasonal ingredients supports health, community, and delicious, satisfying meals throughout the colder months.

The Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy for Women and Men: Restoring Balance and Long-Term Wellness

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) supports individuals experiencing symptoms related to hormone imbalance caused by aging, stress, or metabolic changes. Hormones influence energy, mood, sleep, cognition, metabolism, and sexual health, and gradual shifts may go unnoticed for years. BHRT uses hormones structurally identical to those produced by the body, allowing for a more physiologic response. In women, balancing estrogen and progesterone during perimenopause and menopause may improve sleep, mood, cognition, and overall well-being. In men, optimizing testosterone levels can support energy, strength, metabolic health, and mental focus. At the Stram Center, BHRT is personalized, carefully monitored, and integrated with whole-body health considerations.

Stram Center Attendance at the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Association Conference | San Antonio, TX 2025

In October, our team had the privilege of joining our colleagues for the annual International Lyme and Associated Diseases Association (ILADS) conference in San Antonio, Texas. A significant topic discussed at the conference was neuropsychiatric manifestations of vector-borne infections. 

How to Support Estrogen Detoxification Naturally

Following the article on Estrogen Detoxification: Importance on Health ,learn more about how to support estrogen detoxification, naturally.

Estrogen Detoxification: Importance on Health

Estrogen is an important hormone for women and men, playing a key role in reproductive health, bone density, mood regulation, and overall well-being. However, an imbalance—especially excess estrogen—can lead to issues such as weight gain, PMS, fibroids, endometriosis, and even an increased risk of hormone-related cancers. This is where estrogen detoxification becomes important.

Women’s Health Care Screening Recommendations

As we bloom into spring, it is imperative to think about the importance of screenings. Screenings are meant to improve one’s health, reduce relative risks and treat conditions early if present. It may feel that life is too busy and there is no time for self-care, or maybe you are just not sure where to start. 

The following are some main areas of consideration and their corresponding recommendations. Risk assessments are changing regularly as we move throughout our lives and at the Stram Center we value your health and want you to feel your best. Below are a few recommendations for women’s health screening...

How We Can Expand our Options for Female Pattern Hair Loss in the Integrative & Functional Medicine setting

 Hair loss is a common condition seen in healthcare today and subsequently, there are multiple different disorders related to hair loss. Today, we will be discussing the most common type of nonscarring hair loss in females, female pattern hair loss (FPHL), also known as androgenic alopecia. We will be discussing how Integrative & Functional Medicine can expand our options for successful treatment outcomes including the use of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP).

Supporting Hormonal Health Through Food

Women’s bodies transition through many different phases throughout the lifecycle. Because of this, their nutritional needs vary greatly as well. There are several dietary approaches that can help to support the female body during these different stages of life. Here are some nutrition approaches to consider....