Naturopathic Doctor

“As you contemplate eating that second helping at the next holiday party, consider this: A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine looked at a group of 1.46 million white, nonsmokers between the ages of 19 and 84 over a 10 year period. They found a disturbing correlation between Body Mass Index (weight in kilograms divided by height—in meters—squared) and likelihood of death. People with a BMI between 20 and 24.9 were the least likely to have died within the 10 year period.”

This Good Health article reminds us yet again how important it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  To determine your BMI, use this online calculator.

With the holiday season here, it can be very easy to pack on an extra 5 or 10 pounds over the month. Remember, it’s not the one or two times of overeating that makes a difference to your health, but what you do consistently over a period of time (for example, the month of December).

Two easy techniques you can use to keep the majority of your eating balanced:

• Use smaller plates. (Trust me it is well researched and it works!)
• Stop when you are 80% full.   Tune-in to your body…that first fullness signal you get is the one to follow.  Allow yourself to go back to the food in 20 min if you’re hungry then.

Happy eating!

As a Naturopathic Doctor I guide people in their nutrition.  One of the best foods to eat is oily fish (salmon, mackeral, herring, sardines), mainly because of their high omega 3 content.  Remember that omega 3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory, can reduce atherosclerosis and hypertension, boost the immune system,  decrease depression, support brain health, and the list goes on.

But when it comes to eating fish, unfortunately there are no easy answers to choosing the best option.  Here are the key issues with eating fish:

• Farmed fish are not fed the same nutrients and algae they eat in the wild, therefore reducing their omega 3 content and overall health benefits.
• Many fish farms use antibiotics and use dyes to give fish a “healthy” colour.
• Farmed fish cause a significantly negative impact to the environment.  For example, ocean fish pens allow fish lice, feces and contaminants to flow back into the ocean and are widely accepted to be one of the main causes of destroying wild fish stocks.
• Wild fish stocks are depleted.
• Ocean fishing causes a significantly negative impact to the environment.
• Wild fish is contaminated with heavy metals.

Continue Reading »

Wondering what you can do to prevent that dreaded cold or flu?

1.  You’ve heard it before but it can’t be emphasized enough.  Studies show the best prevention is hand washing and proper hygiene.  So wash your hands and your children’s hands on arriving home and after coughing or sneezing.  Occasionally wiping off door handles, light switches, steering wheels, keyboards and commonly handled items will also go along way in preventing germ transfer.

2.  Get enough sleep.  Sleep is when the body heals and people who don’t get enough sleep are at a higher risk of catching a cold.   How to tell if you get enough sleep? If you don’t feel rested in the morning, you aren’t getting enough sleep.

3.  Go outside.  Your body needs a minimum of 20 minutes of daylight per day to make the correct hormones that govern much of your health, including your immune system.

4.  Exercise in moderation.  Research shows that exercising 30-60 min 5 days per week increases immune function and reduces your chances of picking up that cold that everyone else seems to have.

5.  Consider a homeopathic flu shot.  Homeopathic flu shots enhance the body’s natural defences and healing processes.  They are extremely diluted so the risk of falling ill due to the flu shot is nonexistent.  Some brands include echinacea in the flu shot to help give the immune system an added boost.

6.  Use hydrotherapy.  Hot and cold showers cause a change in temperature which then triggers the immune system.  At the end of your regular shower, try 3 minutes of hot and 30 seconds of cold; repeat this hot/cold process two times.  Always end with cold water.

7.  And if you need more…..I can provide you with additional immune support options:

• Laboratory testing for vitamin D levels
• Flu vaccination alternatives
• Nutrient level assessments, along with individualized dietary recommendations for boosting the immune system
• Flu treatments to keep at home
• Treatments for cold and flu recovery

The Immune Booster Program can be done throughout the influenza season for both prevention, and for speeding up recovery from common colds and flus.  Supporting your immune system may also help with Swine Flu.  As with most natural medicinal treatments, it is the combination of the treatments that creates the healing effects, rather than one therapy on it’s own.

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Quick Facts

• HINI influenza pandemic = swine flu = new strain of Influenza A virus
• Transmitted from person to person in the same way as common flu viruses.
• The Spanish Flu of 1918 was also an H1N1 virus (possibly of avian origin), and targeted young people with healthy immune systems. Similarly, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic flu occurs primarily in younger, healthy people.
• The main theory about why the virus targets younger and healthier people, is because the immune system of young people overreacts to the virus (called a “cytokine storm”), and causes more damage than the virus itself.  This may happen because the younger person has had less exposures with similar viruses, and so this may allow the virus to modify itself and become stronger.

Prevention

The common sense approach: H1N1 flu prevention starts with the same prevention basics you would use for avoiding any flu: Continue Reading »

Healthy Sugar Alternatives

This page is a collection of the health tips and health trivia I post weekly on the website…..

• After pregnancy you can still get pregnant even though your periods have not yet returned. This is because a woman ovulates (releases an egg) about two weeks before she has her period.
• Serotonin is a biological chemical that plays a big part in our emotions, yet 95% of serotonin is found in the bowel.
• Uncooked olive oil eaten with food, reduces levels of harmful LDL cholesterol.
• You can significantly influence the hormones estrogen and testosterone through your diet.