Dr. Jill Cole

04/20/2026

My mom has been my rock. 12 years ago: This day was brutal - Easter Sunday & we were going to brunch with a group of people. I had just moved back to Arizona from California, my (now ex) husband was "taking care of himself" and bailed on the kids, and me. Everything was on my shoulders. I was "in survival mode", and overwhelmed.
I had a complete & massive nervous breakdown at my mom's before brunch.
I have no idea how she did it... she SOMEHOW made me wash my face. Get dressed. Put on makeup. Get in the car, and go to brunch with the kids and her. I remember sitting at brunch with everyone, feeling numb, dissociated and shellshocked when this picture was taken. I smiled for the photo.
Somewhere in my mind I knew I was grateful for my mom making me pull myself together, sit there with all those people and show up for my kids.
I seriously do not know what I would have done without my mother. I don't know how she did it, with love and care, but firmness, every time this memory comes up.
I owe her everything in my life.
❤️
April is Mental Health Awareness month, and Stress Awareness Month.
Stress almost broke me, and my mom (and also my dad!!!) picked me back up, over and over.
❤️

I thought I'd share if for nothing else to say Life can be unbelievably hard - and having or getting help is SO important, especially if you don't want it, or think you need it!!
If you feel like, "I'm not okay" - there are people who care about you, and will help you, and be there for you. There are SO many resources now, that are easily accessible virtually, or in person if you can.

Put one foot in front of the other. Do one small thing at a time. - Pick up the phone, reach out online.
We ALL know Life can be hard - and you matter.

Take care of yourselves!!! ❤️

(& I love you so much, mom & dad. ❤️)

04/01/2026

The Dirty Dozen is out. 💚

03/18/2026

💚 Celebrating my 100% Irish grandfather today. 🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
(Do you know your heritage??! ~ I'm 1/4 Irish, Swedish, French & Italian!)

🍀
May there always be work
for your hands to do.
May your purse always
holo a coin or two.
May the sun always shine
on your windowpane.
May a rainbow be certain
to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend
always be near you.
May God fill your heart
with gladness to cheer you. 💚🍀

03/04/2026

Here's a gift ~ for those with diabetes and insulin resistance. I just found out Dr. Bernstein passed away last April, at 90 years old.🙏His experience and wisdom has guided how I have helped and guided people to get healthier, learn & understand, and get off meds, and even the need for insulin (insulin dependent Type II), and need the LOWEST possible dose in people with Type I - avoiding complications and damage. He, and his story, are exceptional. He changed the lives of an unfathomable number of people, and really tried to change the medical system in helping people with this. (That's a soapbox for another day.) I'll never forget - through a combo of Dr. Bernstein's dietary guidance (and targeted, high-dose supplements) - getting a new patient OFF of FIFTY SIX UNITS of insulin every day, within 48 hours.
That is staggering.

I cannot stress how important nutrition is to your health and wellness. People are misinformed. Everyone online has an opinion, or is selling something. Conventional docs and endocrinologists are misinformed. The American Diabetes Association is misinformed. People are continually harmed, confused, and frustrated, by following those recommendations.

Since finding out about Dr. Bernstein's passing, I looked online to see what resources are available, through him. I've attached the link below. I have my hard copy of his book that I have referred to and loaned out many times over the past 20 years. I never looked online. Please ~ if you have any loved ones, including yourself, with insulin resistance or diabetes - take this as a gift. Follow it. Learn the "Yes" foods, and the "Avoid" foods. Stick with it. I promise, if you make no other changes, you will be healthier because of it.

Those of you who have worked with me in a wellness program of any sort - you know!! Share far and wide. Change lives.

I do not know of many diabetics who developed the illness around the time I did, in 1946, who are still alive. I know of none who do not suffer from active complications. The reality is, had I not taken charge of my diabetes, it’s very unlikely that I’d be alive and active today. Many […]

01/30/2026

Some days, even when you know all the tools, the nervous system still feels heavy.

Today is one of those days.

I share this not because anything is “wrong,” but because I know many of you quietly carry the same sense of overwhelm — holding families together, managing health, working or running businesses, caring for others, holding yourself up… often without much space to exhale.

Here are a few gentle reminders that help bring the body back toward peacefulness, when anxiety or overwhelm creeps in:

✨ Start with the body, not the mind.
ALWAYS start with your breath. 🙏 Slow your exhale. Longer exhales tell the nervous system it’s safe. Try 4 seconds in, hold it for 2-3 seconds (if you can), then exhale for 6–8 seconds for a few minutes. You can sigh (loud) as you exhale, if it helps.

✨ Lower external stimulation before trying to “fix” anything.
Turn down lights. Go outside in the fresh air (bundle up!!). Sit somewhere quiet. You don’t need answers right now — you need regulation.

✨ Name what’s happening - *without judgment*.
Simply saying, “I’m feeling overwhelmed right now” with deep breaths can reduce the intensity. ~ You’re not failing or "broken". Life Happens!!

✨ Let the body discharge stress.
Standing and gently bouncing or shaking the body for 30–60 seconds can help release stored tension and adrenaline. This is a natural nervous system response (you’ll see it in animals!) and can be incredibly calming afterward.

✨ Nourish blood sugar & minerals.
Low blood sugar, low magnesium, dehydration, or excessive caffeine can ramp up anxiety. Hydrate. Try to eat something grounding, and easy to digest (cooked, or basic bone broth protein powder + water).

✨ Contain the moment.
You don’t have to solve your whole life today. Ask yourself: What is the most self-loving, and supportive thing for the next 10 minutes?

✨ Rest is productive.
Nervous system regulation is not laziness. It’s foundational medicine. 🫶

If today feels like a lot, that's okay and you’re not alone. Sometimes the most healing thing we can do is pause, soften (yes, men - that includes you!), and let the body catch up to everything we’ve been carrying.

There's a lot happening in life, in the country, and the world.

Find your Peaceful Place.
Breathe.
Be gentle with yourself today. 🤍

01/26/2026

Sharing again, because + . 💚

Every day, & every winter. Thank you, Farmers, and all who work on the land! 🙏

01/25/2026

I hope everybody is staying warm! ❄️ ~ Today happens to be the "refill moms supplements + meds" day ~ so I thought I would share the plan I have her on. She takes a ton of supplements per day. THIS is why I take lifestyle + nutrition so incredibly seriously. God love her, she just could not listen to me for decades about her nutrition, and here we are. I have seriously managed her meds (took her off a bunch, and also time the others carefully to protect her blood vessels + kidneys) and I do not know what people do, who do not have this knowledge or oversight. Her cardiologist was stunned at her last visit that all her labs were actually better this year - even though she is not managing blood sugar (her diet) --- which in and of itself would *protect kidneys, arteries & brain*. 😢
So I am exceedingly grateful that I can do this for her, and keep her as energetic, happy & as healthy as possible, given complex disease from diabetes.

Eating well is no joke, everyone. ❤️ Please, if you have any insulin resistance starting, or blood sugar dysregulation -- PLEASE take your diet seriously! Avoid sugar, don't eat dessert, skip the starchy carbs.
Focus on tons of vegetables, healthy animal protein & fats, berries, nuts and seeds (limit), hydrate!!
Supplement where needed. 💚
We can turn a lot around, and it requires commitment to yourself, and investment (her supplements aren't cheap!), but she is still with us, going on adventures, and FAR better than anyone in her position with the complications from diabetes. 🙏 She also doesn't get sick, when everyone around her gets sick.
Good quality supplements, properly prescribed, save lives.
Hugs, stay safe, stay warm ~ & hug the ones you love!! 🥰

Mom's current plan: **Do NOT give these to yourself, or at these doses, without consultation with a licensed ND.**

- Vasculosirt - 4 (or 5), twice per day (you read that right!)
- Renafood - 3, twice per day
- Renatrophin PMG - 2, twice per day
- Biomega DHA - 1/day
- CoQ-zyme 100 - 1/day
- Selenium 200 mcg - 1/day
- Zinc balance - 1/day
- Potassium 99 mg - 1 on diuretic days
- MedCaps IS - 1, twice per day
- Curcuplex-95 - 1, twice per day
- Glucogel - 1, twice per day (should do more but won't fit... lol)
- ADK - 3x/wk
- TherBiotic Complete - 1/day
Sometimes:
- MK-7 - 1/day
-Acetyl-L carnitine 500 - 1, twice per day
- Li-zyme - 1 per day

*Shared with her permission. Those of you who used to see my health and wellness lectures have heard the story about my beautiful mom! 🥲❤️

01/01/2026

✨ Welcome to 2026!! ✨

I think 2025 was pretty rough for all of us! Say Goodbye to hurts & Hello to an invitation to feel better in your body and mind this year - starting now. ~ There is beauty in the challenges ("Life is Beautiful"!), and this year - No pressure. Start now with gentle resets you can do every day.
Prioritize your well being, ESPECIALLY if life gets challenging!!

Here are a few of my favorite (and science-backed - YAY!) things I come back to again and again — personally, and clinically:

🌿 Be present.
Mindfulness doesn’t have to be complicated. 🧘‍♀️ Try actually being fully present while brushing your teeth, drinking your warm drink, or protein shake, or eating dinner. Slow down. “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.” — Eckhart Tolle “Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now.”
If you want to deepen this practice and awareness, and I highly recommend it, "The Power of Now" would be a great gift to yourself or someone you love. (It also really helps with stress...)

🤸 Stand up. Stretch. MOVE your body.
Right now. Seriously! ☺️ Deep breath!! Stand, move something!! ~ A little walk, lifting weights (even 5-10 reps between calls!), stretching between meetings for 10-20 seconds, DANCE for part of a song you love! — movement rapidly changes brain chemistry and improves mood! Your body is built to MOVE. Use it!!

🥬 Eat real meals.
Eat 3 solid meals per day. Prioritize protein, healthy fats, and lots of vegetables! (But no white potatoes.)
Start your morning with water, & splashes of lemon juice, ACVinegar & unsweetened cranberry juice before eating. 🙌
Many people feel calmer, more focused, and more emotionally stable - and less pain - when they cut back on refined carbs and stabilize blood sugar.

😴 Take sleep seriously.
Sleep is foundational for mood, hormones, immunity, and mental clarity, and it's the only time the brain detoxes itself!! And I know how much thinking you do...
Protect your sleep and your sleep routine like you'd protect a loved one. Dim the lights, put away electronics, take care of yourself and go to sleep no later than 10:30. (So basically - treat yourself like you are someone you love. ❤️)

🤍 Connect with people.
Humans need humans. Try to hug someone every day. Have human contact. Go to the store, or a shop, and chat with someone. A conversation, a hug, laughing with someone — this literally regulates your nervous system!

⏸ Pause more often. Breathe.
Step away from screens. Put the phone down. Walk away... Let yourself breathe!! Take slow deep breaths. When in doubt, focus on your breathing. (This ties into Be Present.) You’ll be more productive and calmer.

🌲 Go outside.
Get some sunshine. Even if it's cold - bundle up, go outside, get sunshine in your eyes. Take deep breaths. Put your feet on the ground (if it's not frozen - unless you can tolerate it! It can be invigorating!) Go for a hike!! Go for a walk in nature. Nature lowers stress hormones and brings you back into your body almost instantly.

✨ Try something new.
A new recipe, dancing, making or building something, a new way of moving like pilates, chair yoga, join a choir, find like minded people on MeetUp.com for new adventures— novelty is great medicine for the brain.

Last & DEFINITELY not least ~
🙏 Practice Gratitude.
Even if things are REALLY HARD - TRAIN your brain to notice what’s working, and be grateful for it. Consciously look for things to be grateful for - no matter how small. Commit to writing down one or two things a day you’re grateful for; it can shift mood, hormones, and of course, perspective. 🌟 It can enhance and bring more JOY into your life, too.

PRACTICE small shifts, choose one out two to implement today. Which ones speak to you? If you want to overhaul your life in 2026, you can! But start small. Build habits. Be gentle with yourself, & enjoy your life.
Very small changes, practiced intentionally, will reshape your health, your well-being and your life.

Make 2026 Great!! I hope you have a happy, grounded, healthy and nourishing year ahead!
💛 One moment, one day at a time. ✨

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas ~ Happy (early) Kwanza ~ Happy (very belated!!) Hanukkah and any other celebrations and holy days for all of you!!

🎁 A very *Happy Birthday* to all you DECEMBER babies!! 😉

12/24/2025

I can't stress enough how bad sugar, and sweeteners, are for your body and your brain.
I only listened to a few seconds of this, and wanted to share right away. ❤️
Dementia and Alzheimer's are cruel diseases.
I will continue to employ you to make healthy choices, and stay away from poison as much as possible.
Treat your body like it's someone you love ~ that's the only place you have to live. ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DY7YreLm9/?mibextid=wwXIfr

12/24/2025

My quick 5 things:
Ultraprocessed food.
Mineral-depleted soil.
Insane chemicals that should be banned.
Unhealthy (& scared) animals (feedlots, drugs)
Hybridized food (gluten!)

What are your quick thoughts/reasons?

In the past half-century, nutrition scientists have blamed health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease on many features of the American diet, including sugary beverages and saturated fat. These factors surely contribute to Americans’ uniquely poor health. But Kevin Hall, an investigator at National Institutes of Health, is researching a possible culprit that wasn’t named until the 21st century: ultra-processed food.

The problem, Hall believes, might have less to do with high levels of sodium or cholesterol than with industrial techniques and chemical modifications. From this perspective, homemade jam on fresh bread would be fine; Smucker’s on Wonder Bread would not, even if it contained less sugar and fat. “The thesis is that we’ve been focussing too strongly on the individual nutritional components of food,” Hall told Dhruv Khullar. “We’re starting to learn that processing really matters.”

In recent years, studies have linked ultra-processed fare to health problems that one might not expect: cancer, anxiety, dementia, early death. Read Khullar’s report, one of our most-read pieces of 2025, on why the American diet is so deadly: https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/NBNJDC

12/22/2025

Winter Solstice marks the longest night of the year. It has been a ritual marker of turning inward — a time to slow down, quiet the mind, slow the body down, and gently set intentions as the light begins to return.

Traditionally, the 13 days following the solstice were honored as a time of reflection, intention-setting, and gentle recalibration.

✨ Gentle rituals for this evening:
• Light a single candle and sit quietly for a few minutes, acknowledging what this past year has asked of you.
• Write down what you’re ready to release—habits, patterns, or expectations that no longer serve you.
• Choose one word or feeling you want to carry into the next season.

🌙 Simple practices for the next 13 days:
• Each morning or evening, spend 2–5 minutes in stillness or slow breathing.
• Journal one small intention or quality you want to invite (clarity, steadiness, warmth, trust).
• Go to bed a little earlier, honoring rest as medicine.
• Drink warm teas, eat grounding foods, and allow your nervous system to soften.

In nature, nothing rushes right now. Roots lay dormant then strengthen in the dark.
Healing happens quietly.

May this solstice be a gentle reset—one that honors where you’ve been and where you’re slowly heading.

Wishing you warmth, stillness, and a peaceful turning toward the light 🤍