We spend a lot of time at home and a third of our day in the bedroom. Optimizing the air we are breathing is one way of reducing stress on the whole body and help keep the sinuses happy, fending off viral infections. First: Replace furnace and air conditioning filters regularly. If allergies/asthma is also [...]
Of the tens of thousands of chemicals found commonly in the environment 168 of them are Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals or EDC's. What the heck does that mean? They disrupt or interrupt the normal functioning of your hormonal regulators. Not just impacting your sexual health and menstrual cycle but calorie burning, wound healing and more. Of [...]
Is high cholesterol just an important symptom of Vitamin D deficiency? Are we looking at the wrong end of the equation? As an ND I have been trained to see and respect the inherent body wisdom that 40,000 generations have created as we interacted with our environment. How could humans both utterly rely on cholesterol [...]
After "What is a naturopathic doctor?" the next most common question I get from new acquaintances is "What is the ideal diet?", no one likes the answer. It starts with a basis of Michael Pollan's Food Rules: Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants. It's only in the details things get less simple but [...]
What is "Baby Led Weaning"? This comes up so often in my practice and I am so happy it is catching on with new parents. I first learned of the method for introducing solids from the book Baby-Led Weaning by Gil Rapley and Tracey Murkett. It involves self-feeding for your child, you skip purées and make [...]
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects near 20% of Canadians, and it wrecks havoc with a person's quality of life. It is a label affixed to a cluster of symptoms with no identifiable pathological cause. A pathological cause is one where tissues are altered/damaged and able to be visualized with laboratory testing. IBS instead points to a disfunction [...]
As I was waiting at the airport recently I noticed a woman talking at length to a customer service person and emerging with a cup of hot water, 2 plastic knives and a handful of napkins. The knives were placed in the cup and she dipped napkins in the scalding water to wipe down [...]
In Nova Scotia, 15% of Blacklegged Deer ticks (minimum estimate*) are infected with the Lyme Disease-causing bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi). Up to 50% of Wood ticks or American Dog Ticks may be infected with the bacteria, Bartonella spp☆. Which can cause Cat Scratch Fever and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Prevention is key to avoiding tick-bourne illnesses. [...]
Sounds like a new diet and exercise book doesn't it? A fad-filled, science-light, "Eat This, Not That" way of duping you into spending another hard-earned twenty dollars on the latest craze. But wait! It's science! McMaster University researchers have found that a single minute (total) of very intense exercise (SIT) produces health benefits similar to [...]
Sulfur dioxide and other so-called sulfiting agents in foods and drugs may cause severe allergic reactions in susceptible individuals, especially asthmatics. “Sulphites” is a generic term for a group of compounds including sulfur dioxide, sodium sulfite, sodium and potassium bisulfite, and sodium and potassium metabisulfite. You may be sulphite-sensitive and not even know it! Individuals [...]
