Archive by Author

Interesting Facts for March 2016

Sound smart, or at least interesting, at the next office party or meeting.

Where the Wild Things Are book cover

 

Where the Wild Things Are was originally titled Where the Wild Horses Are until Maurice Sendak realized he was really bad at drawing horses.

 

 

Jadav Payeng started planting trees on a barren Indian sandbar when he was 16 years old in 1979. Today he lives in the forest he planted which covers over 1,300 acres and is home to rhinos, tigers, deer, apes and elephants.

Words of Wisdom for March 2016

words of wisdomWords to make your day make a little more sense

A man in love is incomplete until he is married. Then he is finished. – Zsa Zsa Gabor

Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy. – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fashions are induced epidemics. – George Bernard Shaw

The quieter you become the more you can hear. – Richard Alpert

Please share your favorite words of wisdom in the comments below. We are always looking for new ways to become wiser.

Researching Chiropractic: Case Studies

drawing of spinal column and nervesChiropractic clinical case histories have been a regular feature of our patient newsletter since its inception. There seems to be no limit to the health problems that respond to chiropractic care. How many people suffering, on drugs, facing a life of limitation could be helped by chiropractic care?

Probably most of them.

Morton’s neuroma.

Morton’s neuroma is a nerve tumor in the foot. It is a painful condition that people describe as “walking on a marble.” It usually affects the ball of the foot, often between the 3rdand 4th toes and may cause a sharp, burning pain or numbness. The medical or podiatry approach is to give corticosteroid (cortisone) injections or surgically to cut out the tumor.

This is the case of a 63-year-old woman who suffered with Morton’s neuroma in her right foot for ten years. She sought chiropractic care for a variety of health complaints.

For one month her vertebral subluxations were addressed and reduced using specific chiropractic care. During this period her Morton’s neuroma symptoms completely disappeared and in addition she reported improvement in her digestion, sleep and ability to move without pain.

Source: Lanoue B, Treahy-Geofreda T, Russell D.Resolution of Morton’s Neuroma in an elderly patient receiving Activator Methods Chiropractic Technique to correct subluxation: a case study. Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research. January 4, 2016:1-5.

Failure To Thrive

Oral thrush and inconsolable crying in a 4-month-old. This is the case of a baby medically diagnosed with “failure to thrive” (FTT). FTT is determined when a baby’s weight or size is significantly below that of other children of similar age and same gender. The infant was reported to have had birth trauma from a nuchal cord – the umbilical cord was completely wrapped around the fetal neck (360 degrees).

The child was 4-months-old when she was brought to the chiropractor. She was suffering from inconsolable crying, oral thrush (an overgrowth of the fungus candida albicans in the mouth and throat), chronic diarrhea and was dangerously underweight.

Chiropractic examination detected vertebral subluxations at C1-C4 (upper neck) and T3-T4 (upper back).

She received chiropractic adjustments from the first visit and afterwards was checked for vertebral subluxations that were corrected when indicated for seven weeks. Her FTT symptoms began to resolve after the first visit and completely resolved by the seventh week of care. 

Source: Neally R, Alcantara J. Resolution of failure to thrive in a 4-month-old infant following adjustment of subluxation: case study & selective review of the literature. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2015;4:149-153. 

Hypothyroidism reduction under chiropractic care.

A 44-year-old woman presented herself to the chiropractor with complaints of upper shoulder and pain between the shoulder blades that occurred after a motor vehicle accident 23 years earlier!

In addition, she had been prescribed ArmourThyroid® in order to treat symptoms of low thyroid function (hypothyroidism).

Cervical or neck x-rays revealed that she had an 80.7% loss of normal neck curve (hypo-lordosis) in addition to vertebral subluxations.

The patient received spinal adjustments to reduce her vertebral subluxation complexes (VSC), and to improve her spinal and postural alignment over a seven-month period.

Thirty days into care the patient began exhibiting signs/symptoms of an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). Her chiropractor suggested that she have her thyroid function checked by her endocrinologist to see if her prescribed thyroid medication should be re-evaluated. After serum lab evaluation, the patient’s endocrinologist instructed the patient to significantly reduce her thyroid medication.

Source: Bak AD, Engelhardt PR. Improvement in cervical curve and hypothyroidism following reduction of subluxation utilizing chiropractic Biophysics: a case study & selective review of the literature. Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research. December 10, 2015:226-237

We’d like to hear about your experiences with chiropractic care.

Are Energy Drinks Safe?

cans of enefgy drinksDon’t use Energy Drinks to improve your performance

The energy drinks you see on store shelves – especially the tiny “shots” at the convenience store that promise to get rid of your “2:30 feeling” – are pumped full of synthetic caffeine. 

This “fake” caffeine does not come from any of Mother Nature’s sources. It comes from a chemistry lab. The fake stuff is potent and much cheaper than the real thing. But the synthetic chemicals are often a highly toxic brew you don’t want in your body including:

  • Trichloroethylene (TCE) – a chlorinated hydrocarbon commonly used as an industrial solvent. It’s so powerful, the Air Force uses it to clean jet engines. Banned in Europe as a known cancer-causing chemical, it is perfectly legal to use in the United States.
  • Sodium cyanide – a highly toxic, colorless salt used in gold mining to strip gold from rock.
  • Sulfuric acid – a strong mineral acid used in car batteries, ore processing, fertilizer manufacturing and oil refining.
  • Benzene – a known cancer-causing chemical used as an industrial solvent and in the production of drugs, plastics, synthetic rubber and dyes.

Please read labels. Be careful. Stick with natural substances as much as possible and come in for a chiropractic “tune up” for a real energy boost.

CHIROPRACTIC AND VALENTINE’S DAY –WHAT IS THE CONNECTION?

two hands holdingIn this month of love and romance the key word that connects Chiropractic and Valentines Day is CONNECTION.

People and relationships are what nourishes and keeps everyone alive. Connections, which may be keeping a plant growing, a goldfish, a child or a spouse. That’s why women live longer than men and married men with cancer live longer than single men with the same cancers. If you have connections, you keep going. (Bernie Siegel MD)

There are so many ways we can be disconnected from physical, mental and spiritual wholeness:

  • Unnatural childbirth
  • trauma
  • lack of bonding
  • poor nutrition
  • lack of love
  • comfort and security

Lack of stimulation will interfere with our optimal physical/emotional/spiritual development and growth. Our genes will partially sleep, our life will be clouded, our heart will be contracted, our vision will be limited. To the degree that our connection is interfered with –we are less alive. We have dis-ease, we are out of sync to our inner potential and cannot adapt as well to life’s stresses. 

When a chiropractor locates and corrects your subluxations that cause blockages, interference and imbalances… you are more connected and more alive.

Call us to make an appointment and get reconnected with yourself.

Get to Know Your Spinal Column

drawing of spinal column and nervesThe illustration might look like a strange collection of wires and body parts but it shows how your body communicates and connects so that all your parts work together to make you healthy and whole.

Your internal organs send messages to your brain and your brain sends messages back to your internal organs. This back and forth goes through a vast communications cable made up of hundreds of millions of nerves: your spinal cord. This is how your parts are connected.

The Information Highway: Your Spinal Column

This incredible “cable” of nerves or spinal cord goes down your back. You can’t see your spinal cord because it’s encased in a protective bony canal called the spinal column made up of 23 bones called vertebrae.

Your spinal column includes

  • 7 neck or cervical vertebrae
  • 12 mid-back or thoracic vertebrae
  • 5 low back or lumbar vertebrae

Under the lumbars is a fused triangular bone called the sacrum and below that is your tiny tail bone or coccyx.

Also let’s not forget that between your vertebrae are discs – little shock absorbers to prevent your bones from crashing into one another every time you walk.

Get Adjusted after any Accident

Watch out! Injuries, accidents and stress of all kinds can misalign your vertebrae so they won’t move properly. If that happens you might have nerve irritation that can interfere with the function of many nerves, glands, muscles and organs. The result is a subluxation causing lowered immunity and detoxification, pain, and less balance, strength and energy. With subluxations your body parts are less connected to each other.

Your chiropractor’s job is to make sure your vertebrae are in the right place and are moving properly so that there is no nerve stress.

Using various tools (and years of specialized training) doctors of chiropractic can locate spinal nerve stress or subluxations and, using their hands or various instruments, realign the vertebrae and reduce spinal nerve pressure. This is called an adjustment. The adjustment reconnects you to … you.

Reconnect with yourself

Millions of people are disconnected from themselves. They are carrying spinal nerve stress in their bodies and don’t even know it. Do you or your loved ones have this condition? Your chiropractor can find out with a simple analysis. It could make the difference between a life of health and vitality and one of dis-ease and weakness.

Stop by for a chiropractic connection adjustment. Make 2016 a more connected year.

Do you know how Vitamin D helps you?

sun through clouds

Sun

Traditional eating – soak up the sun

It may not be eaten with a knife and fork but it’s one of the most nutritious things your body needs – sunlight – and that’s especially true during these winter days of darkness.

The most powerful cancer fighter ever discovered is naturally occurring vitamin D.

Vitamin D lowers the risk of all cancers by 77%!

Vitamin D also fights inflammation and that can mean:

  • Enhanced mood
  • Stronger immune system
  • Prevention of bone and muscle weakness
  • Lower risk of heart disease and diabetes
  • Improved arthritis, pain and inflammation
  • Prevention of Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis

 

Mexican Tortilla Soup Created by White Lotus Chef Beatrix Rohlsen

 Serves 4-6

Served with avocado, crispy tortilla strips and a dollop sour cream, this recipe can serve several, or you can sit down and feast with a friend and save left-overs (even better) for a serious second round of indulgence.( I had this on retreat @ White Lotus & loved it.. Dr C)
Ingredients:
1-3 dried Ancho or Pasilla chilies
1 onion (chopped medium)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 celery stalks (thinly chopped)
1 bunch scallions (thinly chopped)
1 can (15oz) crushed tomatoes
1/2 can (15 oz) corn kernels
2-5 cloves garlic (minced)
4-5 cups soup stock
Water from the soaked chilies
1/2 bunch cilantro (chopped medium fine)
Salt (to taste)
Red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 small to medium avocado (sliced into strips or small chunks)
6-8 teaspoons sour cream
2-4 corn tortillas
1/2 lime (optional)

Rinse chilies under cold water. Place them in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Soak ½ hr. When soft, drain and reserve the water for the soup. Take out the membrane and the seeds using gloves so that you do not get chili oil, which has a strong heat, on your hands. These chilies have a fairly high rad rating (chili heat index) so you don’t want to over do it by using too many in the soup. Cut the chilies into small pieces and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a medium sized soup pot. Sauté chopped onions, celery, scallions and garlic for 5-10 minutes. Add 3 cups soup stock and the can of crushed tomatoes. Let simmer; do not boil. Add 1 -2 cups water from the soaked chilies, less if you do not want your soup have a lot of heat.. Use additional soup stock if needed. Add chilies and corn. Season with salt. For a more spicy heat, add some red pepper flakes. Turn soup off and cover. If you like, squeeze some lime juice into the soup.
Cut corn tortillas in half and then cut thin strips starting along the shorter side. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Let the tortilla strips cool while on the baking sheet so that they get crunchy, and then transfer to a bowl and set aside. Cut avocado into small chunks or strips and set aside.
When ready to serve, if necessary, re-warm soup for a moment but do not boil. Just before serving add finely chopped cilantro.
Serve each portion with tortilla strips, avocado and sour cream on top. Ole!

Spinal Column – January 2010

Lanjopoulos Family Chiropractic
309 E Saginaw Hwy, Grand Ledge. 627- 4547

We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. – Albert Einstein

Well, here we are more than 2 weeks into the New Year already. Amazing isn’t it?….Already we are making appointments for February and I am still wondering where January is heading. Of course, most people are ready to call it a day on the cold and snow, but I think that, at least once in a while, we should take a moment and just appreciate the beauty of nature and her incredible wisdom in being able to create such marvelous vistas.. sparkling and bright in the winter sun.

This will be a winter for our “snowbirds” in Florida to remember….what’s up when Miami is colder than we are…where is this thing they call global warming?

Just remember as you are shoveling that white stuff to be careful!!!

This year we are again involved with the local Doctors with Heart program. We offer all in need a chance to be checked, x-rayed, if need be, and adjusted for FREE on Feb 5th. Please tell your friends who are thinking about getting under care that a simple phone call will start the process for them and perhaps help them move towards a healthier New Year ( and maybe give them a chance to be a 10 in 2010?).

AND this January 29th we will have been in this “new space” for 3 Years!!!!! WOW!!..It was a challenge to move in that frosty weather of 3 years ago….but, you know, the move was the best thing we have done. We love our space!!!!!!

January 2010 is
Work towards being a 10 in 2010
Family fitness month
Celebrating our “new” office
Nat’l compliment day 1/24
Fun at work day 30th

A message for the New Year
We’ve all made mistakes – may we learn and grow from them.
We’ve all been scarred and hurt in our lives – may we learn and grow from them.
We all have enemies – may we all learn and grow from them. May we be so strong that we can forgive and move on.
May we have compassion on those we made fun of, or belittled, or even hurt – we most likely did it because they reminded us of something we disliked or hated in ourselves.

May we fight the good fight, but not lose ourselves in battle.
May we be able to lose ourselves in deep satisfying sleep and awaken refreshed to a new world – every day

Words of Wisdom
“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.” – Albert Einstein.

Stretch of the week for Jan 2010

Dog / ½ dog
Dog…on hands and knees with hands on floor under shoulders and knees under hips.
Tuck toes under and lift tail high up into air (think inverted V)…breath 3 breaths or more.
½ Dog…Hands on counter or pressing into wall. Walk tail and feet back until heels are under hips and press back out through tail

Bent knee lunge
On Hands and knees: Walk right foot between hands close to right hand. Bring upper body up, place hands on right knee (or keep them on the floor) and work left hip forward and down. Hold and breathe 3 to 5 breaths and switch. (blanket under knees is optional)

Modified shoulder stretch at the wall.
Sit well back in chair facing wall with knees apart and knees touching wall. Place hands on wall above shoulders. Keeping belly button pulled in, walk arms up wall. Hold and breathe 3-5 breaths

Legs up the wall/sideways stretch at the wall
Lie on side with knees to chest and butt against wall. Roll onto back and lift legs up wall. Hold and breathe 3-5 breaths. (If hamstrings are tight, move butt a little away from wall) Sideways stretch at the wall: with body against wall from back of head to heels, pull belly button into spine and slowly drop one arm down the side of the body without losing body contact. Hold and breathe 3-5 breaths and repeat to other side.

Muscle spasm, trigger points, fibromyalgia and chiropractic
Since over 60% of your body is nerve, muscle and bone, it should come as no surprise that chronic pain, strain, spasm, irritation, inflammation, trigger points and other neuromusculoskeletal (nerve-muscle-bone) conditions are so common. In fact, many of the millions of people who visit their doctors of chiropractic do so because of these problems.

Trigger Points
Trigger points are tender, sensitive areas that when pressed, stuck, heated or cooled can be exquisitely painful. You may first discover trigger points when you are surprised by someone pressing a seemingly pain-free area. Trigger point pain may also be referred to other areas of the body. Trigger points are common in chronic muscle spasm, myalgia, myositis, fibrositis, strain and sprain, and other muscle and joint problems.

The Cause
The cause of this mystery illness may, at least in part, be spinal trauma. It’s not unusual for adults who have had neck injuries to report back, neck, muscle and joint pain and fibromyalgia within one year of their injury.

The Chiropractic Approach
Those suffering from muscle spasm, trigger points, neuro-muscular pain and problems, fibromyalgia and similar symptoms are seeing chiropractors in record numbers. Why? Because they are getting results. For example, in one study 5 men and 18 women, aged 11 to 76 with chronic fatigue syndrome, trigger point pain and fibromyalgia, who had been suffering from 2 to 35 years, began chiropractic care. Every patient was able to resume normal activities including full time work and maintained their improvements one year later at follow up. The authors of the study write: “Improvement in symptoms of 92-100% was achieved in both these syndromes.”

What Do Doctors Of Chiropractic Do?
Chiropractors locate and correct subluxations, a condition that damages nerves, muscles, fascia, meninges and other tissues. Subluxations cause joints to “freeze” or lose normal movement, causing damage to the involved area.

Conclusion
Under chiropractic care your head is more balanced, your hips and shoulders are more level and stress is taken off the joints and muscles throughout your body. Because less of your energy goes into supporting an unbalanced spine and skeleton, you may immediately discover more energy, greater ease in movement and improved relaxation.

A healthy spine and structural system can make the difference between a life of pain, suffering and disability and one of ease, happiness and freedom.

Dee & Warren report: “Less pain, better outlook,more energy and no colds or flu since getting under care”

Humor
Excerpts from a Dog’s Daily Diary…
8:00 am – Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am – A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am – A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am – Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm – Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm – Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm – Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm – Milk Bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm – Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm – Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm – Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat’s Daily Diary…. Day 983 of my captivity… My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a ‘good little hunter’ I am. Bastards. There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of ‘allergies.’ I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage. Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow – but at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released – and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now …

More giggles…giggles….giggles…oh stop!

The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:

1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-Nilly, adj. Impotent.
6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

HELPING OTHERS LIVE BETTER LIVES IS WHAT WE DO

Asked what difference Chiropractic had made in her life… Pam W says:” No pain! After 5 years, 3 surgeries and a trip to Mayo Clinic, I have pain-free wrists due to Chiropractic Care. I was told I’d have to live with this pain and prescribed pain meds. But in 3 months I’m a “new person” Thank you!”

Pam originally consulted with us about her wrist and neck pain. I picked this up off Yahoo recently and I feel it is important for us all to do some serious thinking about what we are doing to our food and by extension to ourselves..Dr. C

FRANKENSTEIN, Mo. – The mystery started the day farmer Russ Kremer got between a jealous boar and a sow in heat. The boar gored Kremer in the knee with a razor-sharp tusk. The burly pig farmer shrugged it off, figuring: “You pour the blood out of your boot and go on.” But Kremer’s red-hot leg ballooned to double its size. A strep infection spread, threatening his life and baffling doctors. Two months of multiple antibiotics did virtually nothing. The answer was flowing in the veins of the boar. The animal had been fed low doses of penicillin, spawning a strain of strep that was resistant to other antibiotics. That drug-resistant germ passed to Kremer. Like Kremer, more and more Americans — many of them living far from barns and pastures — are at risk from the widespread practice of feeding livestock antibiotics. These animals grow faster, but they can also develop drug-resistant infections that are passed on to people. The issue is now gaining attention because of interest from a new White House administration and a flurry of new research tying antibiotic use in animals to drug resistance in people. Researchers say the overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals has led to a plague of drug-resistant infections that killed more than 65,000 people in the U.S. last year — more than prostate and breast cancer combined. And in a nation that used about 35 million pounds of antibiotics last year, 70 percent of the drugs went to pigs, chickens and cows. Worldwide, it’s 50 percent. “This is a living breathing problem, it’s the big bad wolf and it’s knocking at our door,” said Dr. Vance Fowler, an infectious disease specialist at Duke University. “It’s here. It’s arrived.” The rise in the use of antibiotics is part of a growing problem of soaring drug resistance worldwide, The Associated Press found in a six-month look at the issue. As a result, killer diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and staph are resurging in new and more deadly forms. In response, the pressure against the use of antibiotics in agriculture is rising. The World Health Organization concluded this year that surging antibiotic resistance is one of the leading threats to human health, and the White House last month said the problem is “urgent.” “If we’re not careful with antibiotics and the programs to administer them, we’re going to be in a post antibiotic era,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, who was tapped to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this year. Also this year, the three federal agencies tasked with protecting public health — the Food and Drug Administration, CDC and U.S. Department of Agriculture — declared drug-resistant diseases stemming from antibiotic use in animals a “serious emerging concern.” And FDA deputy commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein told Congress this summer that farmers need to stop feeding antibiotics to healthy farm animals. Farm groups and pharmaceutical companies argue that drugs keep animals healthy and meat costs low, and have defeated a series of proposed limits on their use.

Recipes
Mexican Tortilla Soup Created by White Lotus Chef Beatrix Rohlsen

Cranberry-Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 8 slices
This cake is festive and luscious, but with a minimum of fat and a plethora of fresh fruit (and a vegetable!) in the batter, not the least bit guilt-inducing.

8 to 10 ounces fresh cranberries
1/3 cup natural granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry or spelt flour
2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds, optional
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons light oil
2 tablespoons rice milk or other nondairy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup grated carrot
Maple-Cream Cheese frosting (see following recipe)
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the cranberries in a food processor fitted with the blade and pulse on and off until evenly and finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Add the sugar, stir well, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, optional flaxseeds, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon. Stir to combine thoroughly.

Make a well in the center and add the applesauce, syrup, safflower oil and vanilla. Stir until the wet and dry ingredients are completely combined, but don’t over mix.

Stir the cranberries and carrots into the batter. Pour into a lightly oiled 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center tests clean.

If using the walnuts, toast them in a small dry skillet over medium heat until they brown lightly. Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, release from the pan if you’ve used a springform or other easy-to-release pan and spread the frosting over the top evenly, allowing it to drip fetchingly over the sides. Otherwise, leave the cake in the pan and simply frost the top. Sprinkle evenly with the optional walnuts, then cut into wedges to serve.