Your Best Solution for Anxiety

woman using mindfulness meditation to relieve anxiety
Meditation is not just for hippies any more

The Benefits of Meditation For Anxiety in Difficult Times

Do you have tense muscles? Are your shoulders creeping up toward your ears? Do you obsess about the news? Do you have anxiety about your future? Difficulty sleeping? All of the above? You’re definitely not alone. There’s no doubt that we are all living with a lot of uncertainty right now.

So how can we cope when we don’t know if we’ll keep our job if we can pay our rent or mortgage, if we can keep putting food on the table, if we can save for our retirement or our children’s education?

How Doing Nothing Helps You Cope with Everything

The answer might be as simple as doing nothing, simply sitting still and purposefully clearing your thoughts through meditation. Studies show that it has an astounding number of benefits that are vital in situations just like this.

In fact, fostering an ongoing meditation practice actually changes the structure of your brain. That change provides benefits that continue even when you have finished meditating.

In short, meditation just may be one of the best things you can do for yourself in these troubled times. Will it put food on the table? No. But, it may get your brain out of the current “fight or flight” pattern that makes clear-headed decision making next to impossible. That way you can make a clear and decisive path forward.

Five Benefits Of Meditation

Here are just a few of the many positive things that happen when you meditate:

Lower Blood Pressure

As I mentioned, meditation decreases the “flight or fight” hormones in your body. As a result of this relaxation response, your blood vessels open up, which in turn improves your blood pressure if it tends to be high.

Less Stress-Induced Inflammation

Excess cortisol, one of your main stress hormones, increases blood sugar, which then increases insulin, which leads to inflammation in many parts of your body. A common example of this is in your gut. Digestive issues are common during times of high stress. Because meditation lowers the amount of cortisol you produce, inflammation is reduced.

Embracing Uncertainty

Despite all of the health benefits, the ultimate goal of meditation isn’t necessarily focused on physical results. It’s more a process of learning to embrace uncertainty. It’s not about eliminating or controlling the storm, it’s about learning to be still and calm despite the storm going on around you.

A More Optimistic Outlook

Who doesn’t need a more positive outlook right now? Meditation has been found to actually alter (in a good way) the parts of your brain responsible for positive thoughts. As well, by becoming more aware of your thoughts, you can fend off negativity. There are many health benefits to having a positive, optimistic attitude. In fact, studies show that higher optimism is a significant predictor of better survival, better cardiovascular outcomes, improved physiological markers (including immune function), better outcomes related to pregnancy, fewer physical symptoms, and reduced pain.

Reduced Anxiety And Rumination

It’s perfectly normal to be experiencing anxiety and worries about health and financial security when you are faced with something as stressful as a pandemic. However, when those thoughts spiral out of control they can negatively affect your family members as well as your own mental and physical health. High cortisol levels even lower your immune response, and we all need a strong immune system right now.

How Does Meditation Help With Negative Thoughts?

It may be difficult to imagine reining in the out-of-control, off-the-rails thought train when world events, and substantial changes to our daily lives, are so overwhelming.

However, meditation teaches us how to experience those thoughts without panicking or feeling the need to repress them. With a little practice, you should be able to just sit with your thoughts and feelings, without judgment or analysis, and start to process them without spiralling out of control. You can be present in the moment without projecting into the future or ruminating on the past.

And right now, faced with so many uncertainties, that’s particularly beneficial.

Why Start Meditating Now?

You might feel that now is not a good time to start meditation. After all, you’re likely stuck at home and perhaps feel antsy and confined. Who wants to sit still? However, meditation has proven to be an effective mental health treatment. Right now we need to be focusing not just on keeping a healthy body but also maintaining a healthy mind.

How To Meditate

Many people find the thought of taking up meditation a bit intimidating. After all, it has had a reputation of being “weird” and “fringe” throughout the ages. It’s important to know that you don’t have to “master” meditation. It’s OK to be imperfect. Your mind will probably wander, and you may feel uncomfortable at first. That’s perfectly normal.

Setting Up Your Practice

The good news is that it’s surprisingly simple to get started. In basic terms, you just need to:

  • Find a comfortable place. Ideally, somewhere that is quiet.
  • Sit in a natural, relaxed position.
  • Breathe normally.
  • Focus on your breath.

Try not to overthink this: just focus on each exhalation and inhalation. It’s not necessary to force anything.

  • If your mind wanders (and since you’re human, there’s a good chance that it will) try to sit back and “observe” your thoughts. Don’t analyze them. And don’t berate yourself for losing focus. It’s all part of the process. They are just passing through your brain.

How Long Should You Meditate For?

You may have heard of people going on week-long meditation retreats. That’s great – but it’s not really necessary. Just a few minutes a day is a good start. In fact, studies have found that just five minutes of meditation has significant benefits.

And who can’t fit 5 minutes of meditation into their day?

How Often Should You Meditate?

As with many things, consistency is a key component of a successful meditation practice. Try to carve out a few minutes per day to dedicate to your mental health. Some people find that it helps to make it the same time every day. Some find that doing 5 minutes in the morning as soon as they wake up and setting an intention for the day helps. Others will do 5 minutes as they are going to bed at night. And other people find it beneficial to do 5 minutes here and there throughout the day when they are feeling the most anxious. There is no hard and fast rule. Do what works for you.

Ok, full disclosure here, I have a hard time with meditating. I find it hard to just be still and “do nothing”. But here’s what I can do. After I have done my morning yoga, and I reach the end. I’m lying on my back in Shavasana or Corpse pose, then I can add 5 more minutes to just clear my mind and prepare for the rest of my day. That’s what works best for me with meditation.

Resources To Get Your Meditation Practice Started

There are quite a few wonderful resources available to help you get started with meditation should you need a little help – here are a few of our favourites:

Headspace

Calm

Wherever You Go, There You Are

Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics

There are many reasons to start meditation. Why not start now? Let us know how it works for you and remember that we are here to support your health and wellness.

Need more help?

Our clinic is still (virtually) open via telehealth (phone or video call) with our naturopaths, our chiropractor, our dietitian, and our psychotherapist. Chiropractor Dr. Darlene Buan-Basit is available for in-person essential care appointments. Simply send us an email at Maria@ForcesofNature.ca, leave a message 416-481-0222 or book online.

By Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), ND

Meditation Research

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25390009

https://www.npr.org/2008/08/21/93796200/to-lower-blood-pressure-open-up-and-say-om

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159112004758

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159112004758

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5946075_Relationships_between_mindfulness_practice_and_levels_of_mindfulness_medical_and_psychological_symptoms_and_well-being_in_a_mindfulness-based_stress_reduction_program

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306624X19856232

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Effects-of-Five-Minute-Mindfulness-Meditation-on-Lam-Sterling/7a7529a9e6401679016ab78f398eaaf4487aff84

https://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/Abstract/2003/07000/Alterations_in_Brain and_Immune_Function_Produced.14.aspx

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19711142

Chronic Stress Affects Your Immune System (and not in a good way)

chronic stress weakens your immune system
Chronic Stress Weakens Your Immune System

If you’re like most people, you’ve recently read a lot of tips on maintaining a healthy immune system. You likely already know the basics: Wash your hands often and well. Keep a safe distance from others. Stay home if you experience any symptoms. Avoid travel. Quarantine yourself if you have travelled. If symptoms are severe contact your local public health department or proceed to the nearest emergency department.

Staying Healthy Starts From Within

However, it’s also important to acknowledge that staying healthy starts from inside. Your built-in defence system that you need to take care of in these crazy times is your immune system.

But here’s the irony: When we are chronically stressed out, our immunity weakens. Right now, we’re all stressed about sickness, loved ones and finances among other things. Just when we all need a strong immune system, intense long-term stress has the potential to weaken our defenses. Recent studies show that, in contrast to chronic stress that suppresses or dysregulates immune function, acute stress can be immune-enhancing (1).

How Stress Affects Your Immune System

Short-term or acute stress actually appears to enhance your immunity, where chronic stress does the opposite. (1) Why does chronic stress lower immunity? The process makes perfect sense if you think of how we lived for most of human history.

In the not-so-distant past, if we perceived a threat, such as a sabre tooth tiger, we had to respond – and quickly! In that sense, our body is primed and ready to protect us from danger.

Fight Or Run

Let’s take a look at the “flight or fight” response and how stress changes us on a physiological level.

  • Blood pressure increases.
  • Heart rate goes up.
  • Serotonin and melatonin levels drop because you need to stay awake.
  • Insulin sensitivity is impaired to maintain glucose in the bloodstream for fuel.
  • Digestion slows down to preserve energy and redirect important resources elsewhere.
  • Cholesterol goes up.
  • Your body pumps stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream.

All of these changes are designed to make sure that you have enough energy in the right places – such as your running muscles and your fighting muscles in your arms and legs – to respond to stress quickly and appropriately. That is, you are ready for fight or flight.

Hoarding of Resources

Why do we hoard toilet paper at a time of danger? When fear and anxiety ramp up, the urge to provide for ourselves and our loved ones goes into overdrive. There’s a need to make sure there is enough. It gives us a sense of safety and security when there is fear and uncertainty. We can grab all kinds of commodities that we worry may become in short supply and hole up in our homes away from the danger. We can breathe a sigh of relief that we’ll have enough, for now. We took control of one thing that we could control.

Likewise, your body prioritizes certain needs over others. Your reproductive organs are a low priority when there is an imminent threat. That’s because your body wants to put all of its resources into the systems that will allow us to survive the immediate threat. This response is actually very helpful – if what you needed is to escape a predator. However, in today’s world, stress is typically more mental and emotional stress, rather than physical danger and, let’s face it, it is fairly unrelenting.

That’s where the problems start.

The Stress Response = Adaptive Physiology

Our body’s ability to respond to stress is called “adaptive physiology.” To understand this, it might help to think of your nervous system as actually two systems:

  • Your parasympathetic nervous system is behind the “Relax and Recharge”, aka “Rest and Digest” response you need in between periods of stress. Without this response, your body’s systems would stay in overdrive. This helps you calm down, sleep and digest your food.
  • Your sympathetic nervous system powers the Fight or Flight response that you need in the face of danger to combat the problem or run away from it.

Essentially, the way in which these two systems work together is not unlike the brakes and gas pedals in your car. One speeds you up, and the other slows you down. Which one is in charge at any given time depends on your body adapting to the current situation. The Relax and Recharge period is essential to restoring balance in mind and body.

Putting The Brakes On Stress

Right now, many of us feel like the “gas” is always on. This is a perfectly understandable response when you are faced with a global crisis that comes with a great deal of uncertainty.

However, that kind of constant stress leads to a long list of health problems if your sympathetic nervous system never turns off and you are in “fight or flight” all the time.

What happens to a car if you only step on the gas and never use the brakes? At some point, there’s a high likelihood of a crash.

Don’t Crash Your Immune System

Not surprisingly, your immune system suffers when you’re heading for a crash. All the things that happen during your fight or flight response alters your immune response. Research on students undergoing exam stress, shows that psychological distress persisting for weeks or more promotes pro-inflammatory immune dysregulation. This is a risk factor for a range of chronic diseases.(2) And that’s exactly what you don’t want to have happen right now.

6 Ways To Lower Stress and Induce a Parasympathetic State

So, what can you do? Isn’t stress inevitable at this moment in history? A good starting point is thinking of the two states of your nervous system and doing what you can to create a state of rest and restoration.

Actively seek connection.

In times of stress, you should be close to people who restore your sense of well-being. It’s important to feel connected and accepted because a feeling of connection and social support boosts your immunity.(3) However, how can you connect to others while also practicing physical distancing?

Fortunately, we’re lucky to live at a time with many options for a virtual connection. Set up video chat coffee dates and regular online or phone meetings to touch base with those people who make you feel connected and supported.

Change your mindset.

Your perception is your reality. How you perceive a stressful situation will affect your body’s response to it. Perhaps you’re social distancing and feeling trapped, isolated and restless inside your home. That’s stressful. However, consider the difference between feeling stuck at home and feeling safe at home. That simple mental shift helps your nervous system remain in a calm, restorative mode.

Not knowing how long this will last, makes the situation more stressful. Finding ways to be productive and helpful, even volunteering to help others keeps your mind occupied, prevents ruminating over the situation and makes the time pass more quickly. Before you know it, you’ll be able to resume some of your normal activities.

Don’t forget: You always have the opportunity to change your attitude.

Don’t over commit.

We’re all under a lot of pressure right now. Take a close look at your commitments and think of how you can eliminate any unnecessary demands. Remember that the goal is to rest and relax your nervous system.

What makes you feel refreshed and restored? Those are the activities to focus on. Maybe you have more time now to read a good book, take a relaxing bath, or do some tai chi or yoga.

Honour your body’s natural rhythms.

Many people are having trouble sleeping right now. However, it’s more important than ever to try to get seven to eight hours of good quality sleep per night. Even if your normal daytime routine is disrupted, try to stick to a regular sleep schedule. That means going to bed at the same time every night (yes, even on weekends). As well, don’t dismiss the restorative powers of a good nap. Despite the temptation to stay on your devices until bedtime, shutting down devices and getting off screens helps your brain make vital levels of melatonin that helps you sleep.

Eat to optimize your immune system.

Many studies backup the importance of essential nutrients in protecting your immunity. The ideal diet and supplements for you will depend on your unique health profile, but important nutrients include selenium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and D (4). In addition, don’t overlook the importance of maintaining a balance of “good bacteria” in your gut. More and more research points to the connection between a healthy gut and a healthy immune system.

In fact, up to 80 percent of your immune cells are found in your gut. The interaction between your gut microbes and your immune system protects you against foreign invaders.(5)

Move your body.

Exercise helps your body’s nervous system maintain equilibrium. It slows down the release of stress hormones and increases the number of disease-fighting white blood cells. (6) Also, movement helps to regulate the communication between your brain and your body.

However, it’s important to move in a safe way. Any irregularities in your body’s alignment affects this process. Focus on doing something you love and making exercise a part of your daily routine. Consistency is the key! If you’re not sure exactly how to work out with gym closures, check out the multitude of workouts you can find online.

Prioritize Self-Care

Even in stressful times, it’s possible to optimize your immune system. Focus on your body’s need to restore and repair itself and prioritize your self-care. Taking steps towards staying healthy helps you gain a sense of control in an uncertain world. That will ultimately strengthen your stress resilience.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, please reach out. We can work together to create a plan that fits your unique needs. Our wellness pros are offering many different virtual services at this time. Contact Maria at Maria@ForcesofNature.ca for more information about our virtual visits.

By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopathic Doctor

Chronic Stress and Your Immune System Research

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2869337/

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32242145
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150158/
  1. https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/107673
  2. https://neurohacker.com/how-the-gut-microbiota-influences-our-immune-system
  3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254618301005

Productivity Killers

woman dressed like a superhero thinking that multitasking improves her productivity
Is Multitasking Lowering Your Productivity?

Here’s a challenge for you: Can you read this entire article from start to finish without being distracted even once by your phone, an incoming email, a notification or some other distraction? How would those distractions affect your ultimate retention and understanding of the subject matter? The answers to those questions may surprise you.

In this digital day and age, we assume that distractions are a normal part of life. It’s worthwhile to challenge this assumption and consider the impact on your productivity and focus of these frequent interruptions. Why is this important? Like most of us, you have tons to accomplish every single day. You also have life goals that you want to reach. Maybe you want to work towards enjoying greater health and happiness or making a bigger impact with the work that you do or improving your relationships. Not sustaining a singular focus impacts your ability to get stuff done and to achieve those goals.

The Cost of Distraction

Interestingly, most people believe that they are more efficient when they are busy multi-tasking. In fact, researchers have found that we actually do work faster when we’re faced with a lot of distractions. That may be because we subconsciously feel that we have to overcompensate for the interruptions or that there is a perception that there is more to do.

Increased Anxiety

However, studies show that the cost of distractions affects something far more significant than your productivity, which is your mental well-being. That’s because distractions make you feel more anxious and stressed. Higher levels of anxiety affect every part of your body and your life.

Productivity Recovery Time

The negative impact of even short distractions like that is surprising. One study found that it takes an astonishing 23 minutes and 15 seconds to regain your focus after a single interruption. Let’s put that information into perspective for a moment. How often does your phone flash, ring or buzz while you’re in the midst of doing something else? If it takes over 20 minutes to recover every single time that happens, how much of your day is spent in “productivity recovery”? How does the loss of that time, multiple times per day, affect your long-term health and your productivity goals?

Lower Accuracy

As well, being distracted affects your accuracy. This makes sense: Your brain can only handle so much input at a time. Input overload means that the information coming in can become confused or details can be missed. What is really surprising is how little time it takes to derail your focus and affect your accuracy. In the time it takes to look at your phone when a notification beeps (as little as three seconds of this kind of distraction) adversely affects your focus and, in turn, your accuracy.

Altered Memory Function

Let’s consider what happens when you are looking things up while you watch a movie. Do you really follow the plot as carefully? Do you remember the details of the movie as well? Do you retain the information about what you looked up? Science suggests that you don’t. In fact, researchers have found that the way we remember things has changed since the advent of the Internet. Our memory functions have been altered. Sensory input alters the wiring in our brains. The type of input our brains have been getting has changed considerably since the internet came into being.

How To Maintain Your Focus and Prevent Distractions

If you would like to reduce the impact of distractions in your life, it’s important to recognize the distinction between a necessary and even productive break and a distraction. A break is a good time to recharge your battery and clear your mind. We’re generally more productive after we have stepped away from work for a bit. Planned breaks provide an incentive to work hard or complete a task leading up to the break. In contrast, a distraction is unexpected and unpredictable. It comes out of nowhere at random times including when we are in what is known as a “flow state”.

What is this flow state, you ask?

The origins of the terms “flow” or “flow state” come from the practices of Daoism or Buddhism, and in a more modern sense from positive psychology. Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi named this state of hyperfocus “flow” in 1975 after the flow of a river. It references being so totally immersed in something that you are swept away like the flow of the current.

The following are some of the factors that may be present when you experience a flow state:

  1. You have an intense and focused concentration on the present moment or task
  2. There is a merging of your action and your awareness
  3. You feel a sense of personal control over the situation or activity
  4. Your perception or experience of time is altered, as in the expression time flies when you are having fun
  5. Your experience of the activity is intrinsically rewarding, that is, it is likely to provide you with a hit of the reward neurotransmitter dopamine
  6. You feel the potential to succeed at the task
  7. You feel so engrossed in the experience, that other needs become negligible. For example, you forget to eat lunch.

How to Reduce Your Distractions and Increase Your Productivity

We tend to think of distractions as something that is imposed on us by someone else or out of our control, but there are steps that we can take to reduce them.

Turn Off Your Notifications

It might feel like an adjustment at first to do away with the little red dot that tells you how much has been happening on Facebook, Twitter or in the news, but you’ll soon realize that you don’t miss anything important. You simply gain more control over when and where you get information. (It might help to remember that the ultimate goal of the apps on your device isn’t to keep you informed – it’s to make money by grabbing your attention.)

Take Control Of Your Devices

Yes, we all rely on our phones every single day, but do we really need to be notified whenever something happens, particularly items that are of little significance in the grand scheme of things? This is your own personal preference. It depends on your specific situation of course, but it helps to customize your apps and your phone’s notifications. For example, many times parents are reluctant to turn their phones off in case their children need them. But, you can adjust your settings so that all of your contacts, except for the most important ones, are muted, particularly overnight.

It’s ok to let people know that, starting now, you may not respond immediately to email or text messages. If something is urgent, it is best that they call you. If you get a lot of work-related emails, a good habit is to set aside specific times for checking your email. For example, rather than interrupting what you are doing and frequently checking your inbox throughout the day, check emails once every two hours, between tasks or once in the morning and once at the end of the day. This reduces the amount of time spent on emails by batching them. It keeps your concentration and your train of thought on the one task for better efficiency and frees up time to keep your concentration on other things between assigned email time.

Train Your Brain To Re-Focus

Now that you understand how long it can take to regain your focus after each distraction, make a conscious effort to get back on task faster! Getting back on track is a skill that you can master just like many others. Just like with regular exercise, the more you exercise your ability to re-focus and discipline yourself to stay on a specific task, the easier it gets.

Schedule Breaks

It’s important to take a break when you are focused on a lengthy task. You’re less likely to be distracted and stay on task if you schedule a bit of time to relax – see it as a reward if that helps. Studies suggest that there are optimal work/break time frames for productivity. Some say it is best to work for 52 minutes and then take a 7-minute break. These studies show that regular breaks actually make you more productive! However, those breaks should mindful ones, not just filled up with more distracting things begging for your attention. So take a walk, meditate, do some jumping jacks or crunches or even have a quick nap. The important thing is to clear your mind and give it a chance to reset.

How Does Lifestyle Affect Focus and Productivity?

It’s also important to look at how aspects of your lifestyle affect your focus and ability to be productive. If you’re rested and healthy, distractions don’t impact you as much as they would if you are not.

Simple adjustments like introducing a 10-minute per day yoga practice, or going to bed 30 minutes earlier, will positively impact your ability to focus and improve your response to interruptions.

Health Issues that Affect Focus and Productivity

If you have tried all the tips and tricks we’ve just discussed and still find it difficult to stay on task it might be a good idea to check in on your overall health. Many health problems such as thyroid issues, hormonal imbalances, food sensitivities, and nutrient deficiencies lead to “foggy thinking” and slow response times. The good news is, we’ll help you to uncover these issues with a thorough health assessment that includes lab tests, where appropriate.

How are distractions affecting your health and your work performance? It’s something to think about. if you have been making efforts but still find it harder to focus than ever before or your experience brain fog, or forgetfulness, there could be more factors at play so give us a call at 416-481-0222 or book an appointment online now.

By Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), Naturopathic Doctor

Productivity Research

https://www.ics.uci.edu/~gmark/chi08-mark.pdf

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-downtime/

Our Best 10 Health Tips for 2020

health and wellness tips for 2020
How to Be Healthy

This year will be different. This year you will turn things around and realize your health and happiness goals. You’ve got this! How do we know? Because we’re going to work together on making sure that you know exactly what to do and how so that you can be your best self in 2020. Here’s our quick list of simple, proven tips and tactics that will make it easier to be healthier than ever this year.

It Takes Time

It’s important to start off with realistic expectations when you’re making changes like these. Remember that new habits take a while to “stick.” One study found that 66 days is the average time to establish a new habit, while other sources say it takes 3 weeks. There’s a wide variation so be patient with yourself. Don’t give up if you have little slips now and then. You’re only human, after all. Just keep regrouping. Tenacity is one of the most important success attributes.

Set Yourself Up For Success

Also, be sure to set yourself up for success by creating an environment that minimizes your distractions. For example, if you’re trying to cut back on alcohol, you might find it easier to meet up with friends on walks in a park or at a board game cafe instead of somewhere that exposes you to temptation, like at a pub. That’s an obvious example, but you can take that philosophy further by taking a good look at your routines, your companions, and your home to make sure that you’re supporting your goals. If your normal drive to or from work entails passing by a bakery that you just can’t resist, think about revamping your route. One of the best things that Starbucks ever did for me was to close the location closest to my home!

10 Health Tips For A Healthy, Happy 2020

Ready to start having the best year ever? Here’s how.

1. Keep your body hydrated

You’ve heard this many times. Despite all the urging to drink more water, did you know that many of us still walk around in a state of perpetual dehydration? It’s true. Did you also know that when we’re feeling tired or hungry, we often don’t realize that what we really need is just a big glass of water?

How much water should you drink? There’s no universal answer to this question. There’s never been research showing that we have to get 8 glasses per day. But, it doesn’t hurt to use that figure as a benchmark. Another good indicator is the color of your urine: It should be clear and the color of pale straw. Pay close attention to your thirst cues. Often by the time that we are aware that we’re thirsty, we’re already dehydrated. I find it helps people to get in the routine of drinking more water if they start their day with two cups of it first thing when they get up. It seems to prompt their thirst mechanism to cue them to drink more often throughout the day.

2. Take five minutes to meditate

If you find the concept of meditation too intimidating, focus on achieving just five minutes of stillness. Yes, just five minutes of mindful meditation makes a difference in your physical and mental health. Don’t believe me? Check out these studies:

  • Following 5-minute mindfulness, meditation participants experienced enhanced both mental state attribution and empathic concern
  • A brief mindfulness exercise, conducted in a routine office visit, produced a significant reduction in state anxiety for early psychosis patients, regardless of symptom burden
  • Even a 10-15 minute single training session induces sustained home meditation practice (of 5 minutes duration) that helped patients in recovery for opioid addiction and was associated with a lower risk of relapse.
  • A 3-minute mindfulness exercise, conducted in a routine office visit, produced a significant reduction in state anxiety for early psychosis patients, regardless of symptom burden.

Fit 5 minutes into your routine when you wake up in the morning or before you go to sleep at night. In the time it takes you to scroll through your Instagram feed, you could take an important step towards lowering your blood pressure, your risk of depression, your anxiety, and much more.

You can find many meditation apps and videos on the Internet, but here’s a short primer on how to meditate.

  1. Find a quiet spot where you are free from distractions or interruptions.
  2. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
  3. Close your eyes.
  4. Inhale through your nose and all the way into the bottom of your lungs.
  5. Ignore outside noises.
  6. Set your focus internally.
  7. Breathe all the way into your belly, use your diaphragm.
  8. Focus on rhythmically breathing.
  9. Focus your thoughts on inner tranquility. If you have difficulty not thinking about things, try repeating a meaningless word in your mind. An easy way to come up with such a word is to take a random word and spell it backward. Repeat this word over and over in your mind and bring your mind back to it if it starts to wander.

3. Focus on whole foods

Whole Foods. The world is full of complicated diet plans, but this one step is key. Eat foods as close to their natural state as possible. For example, instead of a piece of apple pie, have an apple.

Where to Shop. Think about your average grocery store trip. You want to buy as much food from the outside edge of the store as possible. This is where the grocery store places produce (fresh and frozen), meats, and fish. By shopping the perimeter of the store, you will buy more whole foods like produce and lean healthy protein, instead of processed food like crackers, chips, cookies and pop.

Buy Local. One thing that also makes this step a bit easier is to buy local as often as possible. Check out your local farmer’s market or farm store, for example. You’ll be eating produce that hasn’t traveled from who-knows-where, so it will be fresher. Fresh, local produce tastes better because it is picked closer to when it is ripe. Plus, you’re helping to reduce your carbon footprint and protect the environment.

4. Stretch!

It might feel like stretching at the end of your workout is a waste of time. After all, you’ve done the important stuff, like improve your cardio and build strength, right? However, stretching improves your flexibility and mobility, reduces your risk of injury, and reduces your stress levels. So take some time at the end of your workouts, or when you first wake up, to stretch out your muscles. Yoga is one of the best exercises because it incorporates strength, balance, and stretching for flexibility.

5. Unplug Yourself

What’s the first thing you do when your electronic device is experiencing problems? Unplug it. That’s also good advice for humans. When you’re stressed, overwhelmed, or just tired, consider putting your phone away for a while. You might be surprised by the results.

In fact, more and more research is pointing to the negative effects of screen time on our mental health, as well as our physical health. “Tech neck” is just one example. If you find device detox challenging, don’t hesitate to get help. This may be a bit ironic, but there are apps that can help you cut down on screen time. Personally, I have a timer on my Instagram. A pop-up flashes on my screen to tell me when I’ve hit my ten-minute limit.

6. Eat for gut health

Scientists are learning more about the importance of the gut-brain-axis connection. What does this mean? In simple terms, the bacteria in your gut influence your moods and vice versa. Did you know that you make more serotonin in your gut than you do in your brain?

When your gut microbiome is out of balance, you experience many health problems, including that annoying “brain fog” feeling. You also suffer from the effects of a weakened immune system.

Fortunately, the solution is simple and delicious. Eating fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, and natural yogourt like kefir restore the balance of bacteria in your gut. Eating foods high in fiber helps to fuel that bacteria. Prebiotic fiber like inulin cultivates good bacteria, particularly Bifidobacteria that keep your colon healthy. Inulin is found in foods like chicory root and asparagus. You can also take inulin as a supplement. Our naturopathic doctors are the experts on rehabilitating your gut.

7. Rethink the sweet treats

The harmful effects of sugar extend far beyond damaging your teeth and your waistline. Your skin, heart, moods, teeth, immune system and hormones are all hurt by this tasty poison.

However, what makes avoiding sugar particularly tricky is that it’s often hidden. You probably know to avoid cake, but sugar is also found in everyday items like salad dressing and spaghetti sauce. So when you’re trying to cut down on sugar, start by reading the labels on all processed foods. Or avoiding processed foods altogether. It’s super simple to make your own clean salad dressing by combining lemon juice, sea salt, and olive oil or balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

The other reason that it is so hard to cut down on sugar is that it is highly addictive. Food is not normally considered to be a substance of abuse. Based on the similarities between the effects of intermittent sugar access and drugs of abuse on behavior and brain chemistry, sugar meets the criteria for a substance of abuse and may be “addictive” for some individuals when consumed in a “binge-like” manner. The effects are similar, although smaller in magnitude, to cocaine or morphine.

So how do you quit sugar? Similarly to how you would break any addiction. Read our tips for quitting alcohol. You can apply those same tips in your efforts to quit sugar or smoking or any other habit you are looking to change.

Keep your blood sugar stable to keep sugar cravings at bay. Cravings are very hard to plow through, save yourself that challenge by having a little protein and a healthy dose of healthy fats with each of your meals.

8. Help others

Looking for a way to improve your physical health, boost your overall life satisfaction, and reduce your risk of depression? The solution may lie outside of yourself. In other words, if you place more attention on helping others, you could be the one who benefits. Studies show that volunteering benefits mental and physical health, life satisfaction, social well-being, and depression.

9. Take a walk outside

Just a short walk outside every day improves your:

  • Circulation
  • Vitamin D levels
  • Blood sugar
  • Immunity
  • Cortisol level
  • Mood
  • Muscle tone
  • Cardiovascular health

Just 30 minutes a day is enough to reap the benefits. Look for excuses to get outside in place of driving, or start the day with a nice stroll. Walk to work. Run errands on foot instead of by car. Having a dog makes a walk every morning a no-brainer for me.

10. Smile and have fun!

Sometimes it feels like the road to health is paved with hard work and sacrifice. However, simply choosing to view a healthy lifestyle with an attitude of gratitude makes it easier to carry out your plans. After all, things like eating well, resting, and getting some exercise add to your life. Focus on the fun aspects: try new recipes, walk with friends, find a volunteer job that lets you explore a long-buried interest. You’ll be happy that you did!

Are you ready to have a great year? We are definitely ready to help you take charge of your health for a fantastic, healthy 2020! When you are assembling your healthcare team, consider adding an osteopath, psychotherapist, acupuncturist, dietitian, naturopathic doctor or chiropractor to your health experts. We can help with ANY health issue, no matter how big or small.

By Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), Naturopathic Doctor


Health Tips Research:

https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2013/06/03/dc13-0084

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19306107

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28693551

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5504679/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25329321

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31825240

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31758665

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.695.830&rep=rep1&type=pdf

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7a75/29a9e6401679016ab78f398eaaf4487aff84.pdf

Boost Your Metabolism Over The Holidays

this is a picture of a woman and a man doing planks to stay fit and boost their metabolism
Health and Metabolism Boosting 2020

Do you have big plans to boost your health and metabolism in January? Many of our patients say that they would like to take control of their wellness in 2020. These aspirations often include losing some of the extra weight that they’ve picked up over the holidays.

However, we know that it’s important not to get too caught up in the numbers on the scale. Instead, a good alternative goal is to focus on lowering your body fat, if that would help your overall health. Or, aim to raise your energy levels. In other words, your goal should always be to improve your quality of life, not to chase after an elusive number on a scale or a clothing size.

No matter why you want to lose weight, it’s important to approach your New Year’s resolution with a strategy. Having a concrete plan increases your odds of success. Here’s a sobering fact: About 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned by February.

The Metabolism Run-Up to the New Year

Think about it. We often coast through December, eating, drinking, and neglecting our usual fitness routine. Then January arrives and we expect our body to adjust to an austere new regimen. It’s no wonder that many people either give up altogether or wind up injured.

Believe it or not, it is possible to prime your body and mind in preparation for January’s resolutions while still enjoying your holidays. That includes revving up your metabolism so that it’s ready to deal with the anticipated holiday dietary indiscretions. It’s even possible to get started on this during the busy month of December. Here are some steps that will help.

7 Ways to Avoid Packing On Extra Pounds This Holiday Season

Watch What You Eat

This is not just about how much or how many calories you eat. The macro and micronutrient choices that you make when selecting your food change how efficiently your body metabolizes fat. In particular, include a source of protein with every meal. One reason for this is that it helps your body to maintain its muscle tone. A second reason for doing so is to stabilize your blood sugar. A stable blood sugar means keeping cravings at bay. If you aren’t taking in enough calories, your body will turn to the protein in your muscle tissue for fuel. This means that you will lose muscle mass when you lose weight. Losing muscle mass slows your metabolism.

Sip on Herbal Teas

While you’re celebrating the holidays, consider switching some of that eggnog and champagne for herbal tea. Not only is it lower in calories, but you will be consuming more water. Staying hydrated is a great catalyst for weight loss. Warm water is soothing to your digestive system which also improves your metabolism. Some appropriate teas for the holiday season are:

  • Peppermint tea is particularly good for digestion. It will help a stomach that is complaining about the extra burden of rich or heavy food
  • Chamomile tea calms your nervous system and sets you up for a good night’s sleep
  • Rooibos tea is full of antioxidants as well as being a natural energy booster without caffeine.

Eat Probiotic-Rich Foods

Before you even start ramping up your healthy eating routine, get your gut in shape from the inside! Healthy gut bacteria help with weight control. In fact, the makeup of the gut bacteria or microbiome of overweight or obese people is typically different than that of people of a healthy weight. Your gut bacteria benefit from all of the same things that you do overall – good sleep, healthy whole foods, plant-based diet, exercise, and reduced stress.

In addition to consuming fermented foods like kimchi or yogurt, taking a high-quality probiotic supplement in December boosts your gut bacteria levels. Not only can probiotics pave the way for better digestion in January, but they also boost your immune system which makes for a healthier social season.

Sleep Well

Since we’re not technically moving during our sleeping hours, it doesn’t seem like that time would impact your base metabolism. However, researchers have found that getting enough sleep, which for most people is around eight hours, is essential to an efficient metabolism.

Get Enough Vitamin D

During the winter, and especially before you make any dietary changes, it’s a good idea to check your Vitamin D levels. In addition to its many other health benefits, new studies have found that vitamin D helps with weight loss. In one study, women with adequate amounts of vitamin D in their bloodstream lost more weight than women who were deficient in vitamin D.

Note that it is difficult, if not impossible, to get enough vitamin D through diet alone. At this time of the year with cloudy days and long nights, we often don’t get enough sun exposure to generate our own vitamin D. Supplementation is key this time of year.

Did you know that if your blood test shows that you are vitamin D deficient, you actually may be magnesium deficient? It’s true. There are many occasions where

Top Up Your Magnesium

Magnesium helps with many processes in your body. There is so much demand for magnesium that a deficiency of this mineral is quite common. Stress depletes your magnesium level. Our soil is also lacking magnesium, so plant foods that should supply you with magnesium, don’t.

Although it may not directly impact weight loss, having adequate levels of magnesium helps you sleep more deeply, regulates your moods, and controls your blood sugar. Those are all important elements to maintaining a healthy metabolism and sticking to healthy habits.

Good sources of magnesium include leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, and dark chocolate. For most people, particularly anyone with high stress, magnesium glycinate supplements are essential.

Keep Active to Boost Your Metabolism

Yes, it’s hard when you’re busy. However, continuing to stay active makes it easier to hit the gym when you’re ready to ramp back up to your usual routine in January. Not only will your muscles stay limber, but you’ll also be taking steps to prevent your mind from slipping into a winter funk. We have a tendency to get derailed in our fitness efforts when the holidays hit. The festivities mess with your usual schedule. Throwing off your routine lowers your self-discipline and motivation. This is unfortunate timing because the lack of exercise in January and February contributes to February blahs.

The good news is that it doesn’t take too much to maintain your base fitness levels. Think mini-workouts. Remember: It’s better to do even a little bit, every day than to be a weekend warrior. So, fit in some 10 to 20-minute workouts. Try a short YouTube cardio video. Meet up with some friends at yoga or even walk around the mall! Your metabolism will be grateful that you did come January.

If you’re focusing on sustaining your metabolism so that you can crush those New Year’s resolutions in 2020, make sure that you include strength training. Simply put, the more muscle you have, the more super-charged your metabolism will be. Even when you’re just sitting still or sleeping, you’ll burn more calories.

If you’re not sure how to begin with all these tips, the best plan is to speak with an expert! We’d be happy to help you create a unique plan that suits you.

Yes, improving your metabolism feels like a daunting task this time of the year. There are so many temptations and the instinct to hibernate kicks in. However, taking a few simple steps now helps you get ready to meet your New Year’s resolutions head-on! Call us at 416-481-0222.

Authored by Naturopath Dr. Pamela Frank


Health Research

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25926512

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25926512

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16840650

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23343670

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19043404/

Beating Burnout

pic showing rocks balancing with words is your body out of balance
How to Balance Your Life

How to Restore Balance to Your Life

Are you feeling burnt out and overwhelmed? You’re not alone. Let’s face it: We’re all busy, dealing with endless to-do lists and struggling to balance it all. The result is often a day-to-day life that feels too hectic. We feel pulled away from the things that really matter most. We may have even forgotten what those things are!

Many people find their way to our wellness clinic at a point in their lives where they feel compelled to take charge of their well-being before it gets even further out of control. Sometimes they’re experiencing health problems that they just can’t shake. Some have symptoms but no one can figure out what is wrong with them. Others are ready to take their health to the next level because they know that their health is their greatest asset. By seeking the kind of holistic help all of our wellness experts provide, they’re claiming ownership of their current and future health.

A Fork In The Road

The inescapable truth is that good health is vital to living a rich and meaningful life. Fortunately, our bodies let us know when we’re jeopardizing our present and future health by giving us warning signs in the form of unpleasant symptoms. However, many of us don’t listen to those signs or we try to cover them up with band-aid solutions and carry on. This propels our health even further down a slippery slope.

Here’s a key fact: Disease doesn’t develop overnight. It often begins when we’re out of balance and burnt out. We need to pay attention to the warning signs before they escalate into something much worse.

Five Signs That Your Body Is Out Of Balance

You Feel Incredibly Stressed

We all feel stressed from time to time. Some stress is actually beneficial to motivate us to get things done. However, chronic stress leads to many health issues, including muscle pain, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, cardiovascular and digestive issues, hormonal imbalance, depression, anxiety, and low immune system function.

From a survival standpoint, the “fight or flight” response produced by stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline makes sense. By putting your body into overdrive, those hormones help you physically if you are in danger. For example, when our ancestors were under attack by a predator, the fight or flight hormones helped them fight back or escape. However, in today’s world, stress tends to be more mental or emotional than physical, and more chronic than acute. As a result, your hormone levels end up way out of balance.

Irritability and Mood Swings are Signs of Burnout

Are you ready to fly off the handle at any moment? Do the things that used to make you laugh now irritate you? You could have an imbalance in the neurotransmitters that affect your moods, such as serotonin or GABA. Changes in estrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels and thyroid hormone imbalances also lead to irritability.

You are Experiencing Sleep Disturbances: Difficulty Falling or Staying Asleep

Sleep problems can become a vicious cycle. We need sleep to refresh our minds and restore balance, but when our bodies are out of balance, it is difficult to sleep well. If you toss and turn for hours, or wake up in the night with your mind racing, it may be time to listen to your body and start practicing better sleep hygiene.

Following these steps to improve sleep resolves most issues:

  1. Maintain a regular bedtime, try to go to bed by 10 p.m.
  2. Shut down electronic devices by 8 p.m. and keep them out of your bedroom
  3. Keep your bedroom cool, quiet and dark. Invest in blackout curtains.
  4. Avoid eating for at least 2 hours before bed
  5. Avoid sugar and alcohol in the evening. These destabilize your blood sugar at night. The resultant dips in blood sugar wake you up in the night or keep you in a light, restless sleep.
  6. Do something that relaxes you in the evening. Read a book. Have a bath. Knit.
  7. Have a little protein (eggs, fish, nuts/nut butter) before bed. These help to stabilize your blood sugar to help you get to sleep, get into a deeper sleep and stay asleep longer.
  8. Balance your hormones. Hormone balance is crucial to good quality sleep.

Your Body is Changing and you Can’t Figure Out Why

Many patients experience mysterious symptoms that can’t be explained by conventional medicine. These symptoms may include rapid, unexplained weight gain, debilitating fatigue, and skin problems. Weight gain is a common symptom of imbalance. If you find you’ve gained weight without any change to your lifestyle, your body might be telling you that it’s out of balance. Similarly, unexplained fatigue or sudden acne (long past the teen years) are symptoms you shouldn’t just ignore.

There is an explanation for symptoms like these. If you’re being told it’s “just stress“, our naturopaths will dig deeper to get to the root cause of your problem.

You Rely on External Substances to “Manage” Life

If you feel like you can’t make it through the day without your morning coffee, mid-morning macchiato, and afternoon pumpkin spice latte and muffin, ask yourself what purpose those caffeinated drinks and sugar are serving. Relying on a substance, be it sugar, caffeine, or even alcohol, marijuana or cigarettes is not a sustainable way of coping with life’s difficulties. The short-term boost they provide soon gives way to imbalance and disease. It’s important to seek help to nip these habits in the bud.

Does anything on that list sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone! Feeling overwhelmed is often the result of our natural instinct to try to do everything or please everyone. The good news is that there’s a better way.

Recovering From Burnout: How To Bring Your Health Back Into Balance

How can you start the process of restoring balance? When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it may seem like a daunting task. But, it’s simpler than you might think.

Step One. Prioritize What’s Really Important.

What matters most to you? Chances are that it’s not the housework, what’s happening on Instagram, your emails, buying a nicer couch, or any of the other things that take up space on your to-do list. Ultimately, for most of us, the important things are more intangible: our health, relationships, and family. In order to prioritize the things that matter, we need to put self-care at the top of our to-do list. Simply put, we can’t devote energy to the truly important things or people if we’re not looking after ourselves.

Interestingly, many people find that when they adjust their priorities, the other things cease to feel like such a struggle. It may seem like a bit of a paradox, but when we look after ourselves, everything else in life just falls into place.

If you want to reconnect with your priorities and figure out what really matters, mindfulness meditation helps. You can also try journaling. Writing down your thoughts is a great way to sort them out. In fact, writing down your emotions can be the outlet you need to ease the harmful physical effects of stress. Remember to include what you are thankful for in your journal. Take time for expressing gratitude daily. Studies show that higher levels of gratitude are associated with higher levels of subjective well-being.

Three vital self-care tips

  1. Take time to make healthy meals. Then take the time to sit down together with friends and family to enjoy them. Meal prep on Sundays with a meal prep menu so that making a healthy dinner isn’t rushed at the end of a long work-day.
  2. Schedule time with your wellness team and explore all of your health options. Why not try someone new? Have you ever seen an osteopath? A psychotherapist? An acupuncturist? A chiropractor? A naturopath? Why not have all hands on deck to optimize your health?
  3. Fit exercise into your busy schedule. Get up earlier to workout, take stairs, walk, take transit instead of taking the car. Taking the TTC builds exercise into your day by walking more and taking stairs and helps our environment too.

Step 2: Prioritize Down-time

Despite having busy lives, our bodies need a certain amount of downtime every day. If you are working all day, doing chores in the evening, answering email until you go to bed, your body doesn’t get the time it needs to recover. Disconnect from your devices and make a point of relaxing from 8 p.m. until you go to bed, every night. Get a full 8 hours of good quality sleep every night.

Step 3: Get the Right Nutrition

When you are constantly on the go and under pressure, your body’s demand for certain vitamins and minerals increases. Coping with stress necessitates adequate stores of vitamin C, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, magnesium and zinc. Good food sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, kiwi, berries, peppers, and melons. Foods rich in vitamin B5 include mushrooms, eggs, salmon, beef, chicken, turkey, sunflower seeds, pork, sweet potato, and avocados. Vitamin B6 is found in foods like salmon, chicken, beef, pork, avocados, sweet potato, and pistachios. Magnesium-rich foods include dark, green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, Swiss chard, and beet greens, as well as seeds, beans, nuts, fish and chocolate. Zinc is abundant in egg yolks, beef, shellfish, and pumpkin seeds.

The amount of these vitamins and minerals that you need under stress may be more than you can provide through diet alone, however. In that case, supplementation with good quality vitamins and minerals becomes vital.

Step 4: Recognize Where you Need Help and Ask For It

This step can be hard for many people. After all, as adults, we’re supposed to be self-sufficient, right? However, consider this: Many highly successful people have help. Athletes have health and fitness coaches; musicians have teachers; many business owners have mentors. And they often credit their success to that support and guidance.

The real strength is in identifying the areas of your life that feel out of control or could be better, and admitting that you could do with a helping hand. Then finding the right person to guide you in that area.

A good first step is to book a thorough review of your health and wellness status with your Naturopathic Doctor. We’re here to help you better understand where these feelings of overwhelm and troublesome symptoms are coming from. We’ll give you the tools that you need to find balance again. We can also direct you to the other healthcare practitioners that would be most beneficial for you.

Functional testing is available to remove the guesswork. Tests identify any possible underlying physical issues, such as hormonal imbalances. This holistic approach allows us to support you with an effective plan of action for your health and well-being that’s tailored specifically to you.

If you are ready to dive deeper into your health and rebalance your life, give us a call at 416-481-0222!

Authored By Dr. Pamela Frank


References

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120402162546.htm

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/raising-happiness/201609/9-ways-ease-overwhelm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3341916/

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Edo_De_Kloet/publication/7849122_De_Kloet_ER_Joels_M_Holsboer_F_Stress_and_the_brain_from_adaptation_to_disease_Nat_Rev_Neurosci_6_463-475/links/53f477e80cf2888a7490fcf9/De-Kloet-ER-Joels-M-Holsboer-F-Stress-and-the-brain-from-adaptation-to-disease-Nat-Rev-Neurosci-6-463-475.pdf

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-psychiatric-treatment/article/emotional-and-physical-health-benefits-of-expressive-writing/ED2976A61F5DE56B46F07A1CE9EA9F9F

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31105762

Diet vs Exercise for Weight Loss

picture showing food and running shoes with the text what is more important nutrition/diet or exercise for weight loss
What Is More Important, Diet or Exercise?

Which is More Important Diet or Exercise?

Eat less, exercise more. You’ve probably heard that this is the secret to weight loss. So, it makes sense that if you want to lose weight quickly, or if you’ve hit a weight-loss plateau, you need to really ramp up the exercise, right?

Unfortunately, despite the fact that it makes sense, many people experience frustration with this approach. Why aren’t they successful? Research suggests that weight loss is more complex than a simple “calories in vs calories burned” formula. In fact, our hormones play a bigger role in regulating our metabolism than many people realize. As a result, maintaining a diet that reduces insulin levels and encourages hormonal balance is more effective than hours of exercise.

Why Exercise Can’t Make Up for a Bad Diet

Consider a woman training for a 10-K race. She runs from half an hour to an hour every day. With all of that exercise, she figures she should be losing weight and should be able to treat herself every now and then. However, she’s plagued by some remaining pounds that she just can’t shake.

What’s happening? Let’s take a look at the math. As a 140-pound woman, she burns about 300 calories in a 30-minute run. That’s fantastic! In addition to the calorie burn, she experiences better cardiovascular health, improved mood, a sense of accomplishment and countless other benefits from her runs.

However, those 300 calories are a lot easier to consume than they are to burn. Simply put, she can easily take in an extra 300 calories by eating a small bagel or sipping on a sweet coffee drink.

In fact, studies have shown that exercising often leads to an increase in food consumption. Some of this effect is due to the impact that our hormones have on our appetite. Some of it simply is because we tell ourselves, consciously or subconsciously, that we deserve a treat after a workout.

The Science Of Diet vs Exercise

Interestingly, one study found that about 30 minutes per day of exercise is more effective for losing body fat than longer periods of working out. One reason for this is that our everyday movement (the things we do on a normal day that are not “formal” exercise) may decrease if we’re tired from a long workout. As well, the hormones that stimulate our appetite increase when our bodies are over-stressed. But, research has also shown that our appetite-increasing hormone (ghrelin) goes down when we exercise. So the trick is to exercise, but not to the point where it is perceived as additional stress by your body.

What does this mean for your weight-loss efforts? All told, scientists conclude that diet is more effective than exercise for weight loss. However, the best approach is still to combine the two. That’s because it is important not to dismiss exercise’s role. Working out improves your metabolism, particularly if you add strength training to your routine. Strength training builds muscle mass. Muscle tissue is more metabolically active. That means that it burns more calories, even while you are sleeping. And, of course, exercise offers countless other benefits. These range from better skin and immune function to improved digestion to deeper sleep. It’s an important part of a healthy, balanced life.

A 2009 review of randomized controlled trials comparing diet-plus-exercise vs. diet-only for weight loss among obese or overweight adults found that diet-plus-exercise interventions provided significantly greater weight loss than diet-only interventions.

Another study from 2014 determined that weight loss programs that are based on physical activity alone are less effective than programs that included combined behavioral weight management strategies in both the short and long term.

The Most Effective Formula of Diet vs Exercise For Weight Loss

So, what is the ideal weight loss formula? The best approach is one that reflects your unique health profile. Your age, gender, overall health, and lifestyle all impact your metabolism. That’s why it’s important to work with your naturopathic doctor to develop a strategy that works for you. We want to make sure that there isn’t something else going on that’s sabotaging your ability to reach your weight loss goals.

Why Can’t You Lose Weight?

The kind of impediments to weight loss that our Naturopathic Doctors will help you seek out include:

  1. Hypothyroidism. This is a common cause of symptoms like weight gain, fatigue, hair loss, and mental lethargy. Our naturopaths offer more extensive testing for your thyroid than anyone else.
  2. Hormone imbalances. Certain hormones increase your metabolism (like testosterone and progesterone) while others contribute to weight gain (like estrogen). Our naturopaths also offer more extensive hormone testing than anyone else and have many tools to fix hormone imbalances.
  3. High stress and high cortisol. Stress jacks up your cortisol production to help you handle the stress. However, we all know that cortisol causes your body to deposit fat right around your mid-section. That pesky belly fat won’t budge unless you can moderate the effect that stress has on your body. Our naturopaths check cortisol levels and assess your adrenal glands. We use adaptogenic herbs to moderate cortisol production and help you handle stress more easily.

Weight Loss Plateau – Tips for Moving the Needle

A few simple changes help you make the most of the “diet” part of the equation so that you experience the weight-loss benefits of both diet and exercise

Intermittent Fasting: What is the Best Way to do it?

Intermittent fasting means integrating scheduled periods of abstaining from food into your life. There are many different approaches you could try. To name a few popular examples, some people eat regular meals five days a week and fast for the other two. Many people follow an “8-16” schedule, in which they have an 8-hour eating window each day. For example, they only eat between 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day, then they fast for 16 hours from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. During the fasting window, they consume only water.

Studies show that the effectiveness of these periods of fasting goes beyond the missed calories. In addition, intermittent fasting has a positive effect on your hormones. For example, periods of not eating keep your insulin levels in check. When your food is digested in your gut, the carbs in it are converted to sugar and then used for energy. But, excess sugar that you don’t burn is stored as fat, with the help of insulin. If your insulin levels drop, your fat cells release this stored sugar. In addition, fasting increases your levels of human growth hormone (HGH) which leads to healthier testosterone levels, muscle growth, and fat loss.

What time of day should you do Intermittent Fasting?

Some say that it doesn’t matter. I think it does matter. Research suggests that it is beneficial to consume your calories earlier in the day. This gives you time to burn off those calories. Studies also show that you produce less insulin when you take in your calories earlier in the day, rather than later. I recommend that my patients aim to set a fasting window from 5 or 6 p.m. to 9 to 10 a.m. and eat from 9 to 5 or 10 to 6.

Keep a food diary

One strategy that is effective for weight loss is to carefully monitor what you’re eating in a food diary. Making this a habit helps to prevent the tendency many of us have to overcompensate for an exercise session or grab a quick snack without realizing the extra caloric intake.

If you prefer to use technology for this, apps like FitBit and Samsung Health will monitor your caloric intake and activity level to make sure that you aren’t underestimating how much you eat and overestimating how active you are.

Focus on natural, nutrient-dense whole foods.

When you want to get the most nutritional value from the foods you eat, “clean” eating is the best approach. Often when people hit plateaus in their weight-loss efforts, hormone imbalances are to blame. That means that no amount of extra exercise will help break the plateau. Nutrient-dense foods are full of vitamins and minerals that restore hormonal balance. So try cutting out processed foods, refined sugar, and alcohol in favor of whole foods like vegetables and fruit.

Whole foods also supply prebiotic fiber. Research on this type of fiber indicates that it helps to reduce a hormone in your blood called ghrelin. Ghrelin is responsible for increasing your appetite. Prebiotic fiber also reduces an inflammatory marker called CRP or C-Reactive Protein. Reducing CRP means reducing inflammation. Reducing inflammation helps you lose weight by improving energy and exercise tolerance but also by improving insulin sensitivity. Foods that are high in prebiotic fiber include asparagus, burdock, chicory, dandelion root, Jerusalem artichoke, leeks, and onions.

Understanding how your unique body is working involves testing, not just guessing. This holds true for weight loss. Maybe it’s a hormonal imbalance, thyroid dysfunction or food sensitivities that are impacting your body’s ability to metabolize food properly and stay slim.

As always, a personalized approach will be the most effective. If you have hit a weight-loss plateau, or if you’re wondering how to achieve the right balance between diet and exercise, give our clinic a call at 416-481-0222 or book online here.

Medically Reviewed by Dr. Pamela Frank, updated Jan. 9, 2020


Diet vs Exercise for Weight Loss Resources

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413118302535

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25323965

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4227972/

https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/93/2/427/4597724

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3771367/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21832897?dopt=Abstract

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3268700/

https://physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00141.2012

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC329619/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19175510

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25257365

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31504857

Digital Detox: Taking Back Control of Your Screen Time

teens with social media addiction
Social Media Addiction?

Conquering Your Social Media Addiction

Do you ever felt anxious when you don’t have your phone? Do you know how many hours per day you spend on your digital devices? Do you feel that your online activities have a positive or a negative impact on your overall well-being?

These are all important questions. And another to consider: Does doing a digital detox feel like a good idea for your health? Or does it simply sound impossible?

What is a Digital Detox?

A digital detox is taking a break from all technology for a set period of time. You may decide to take one day per week away from your digital devices or you may choose to avoid all technology for the duration of your vacation. This digital break is however long you choose to make it. If you are trying to break or change a habit, it can take 3 weeks of a consistent change in behavior to make that happen. Taking a break demonstrates a certain level of self-control over technology, rather than having it control you.

A More Conscious Approach To Technology

The truth is that we could all benefit from a more mindful approach to our digital lives. For many of us, a short “detox” period helps us to maintain our perspective where technology is concerned.

The Why: The Benefits Of Reducing Screen time

If you’re wondering about why you should reduce your screen time, check out these potential benefits.

Less Comparison

Do you ever feel like your life isn’t quite measuring up after logging into your social media accounts? Many of us end up wondering why everyone else takes such fabulous vacations, looks so amazing, and has such perfect, high-achieving children.

The old adage “don’t compare your insides to everyone else’s outsides” applies perfectly to social media. The cumulative effect of “comparison-itis” takes a significant toll on our mental health. Many studies confirm a link between internet use and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

Better Mental Health

Of course, this relationship may work both ways. For example, have you ever looked down at your cell phone to avoid social interactions? Sometimes we see our phones as “security blankets.” Unfortunately, however, these kinds of habits only reinforce anxiety and isolation. In other words, in addition to triggering anxiety and depression, we are more likely to escape to the online world when we’re anxious or depressed.

Excessive time on digital devices also leads to habits that harm our mental and physical health. One study found that people who spend a great deal of time on their phones are less likely to eat regular meals, follow a healthy diet, and get a good night’s sleep. That all adds up to an increased risk of depression, obesity and a host of other health issues.

Taking a break from your devices helps you feel happier, and physically and mentally healthier.

Improved Brain Function

Even more alarming is the physical effect of screen time on our brain. It’s true! Screen time actually has the potential to change the structure of our brain. The negative effects of chronic exposure to digital media on our brains include:

  1. Impaired processing
  2. Reduced ability to focus, and
  3. “Dopamine loops” in which we become addicted to the hit from the feel-good chemical dopamine. When you have a positive social interaction on social media, your brain releases the reward neurotransmitter dopamine. Who doesn’t get a small thrill of satisfaction when someone likes their Instagram post? That kind of instant gratification is often missing from our offline lives. In fact, researchers have found that the dopamine cycle connected to Internet use and video games is similar to that experienced with drug addiction.

Conversely, breaking your addiction to screens helps your brain recover its ability to focus, and process information.

How to Increase Dopamine Naturally

If you are needing more dopamine, there are much healthier ways to get it:

  • Eat protein regularly. The building blocks of protein are called amino acids. One particular amino acid, tyrosine, is needed to help your brain make dopamine.
  • Sleep well. Quantity, quality, and sleep-timing are all important factors in the production of dopamine. Aim for 7-9 hours per night of deep sleep and aim to sleep by 10-11 p.m. and wake up by 6-7 a.m.
  • Reduce your saturated fat intake. Saturated fat impairs dopamine signaling.
  • Eat probiotic-rich foods. Certain good bacteria in your gut make dopamine.
  • Exercise regularly. Exercise also provides a hit of the reward neurotransmitter dopamine.
  • Meditate. Meditation has mental and physical benefits that may be due to the release of dopamine. If it’s not really your thing, aim for even 5 minutes per day when you first wake up or when you are going to bed.
  • Get outside. Sun exposure increases dopamine levels.
  • Improve your diet. In order to make dopamine, your brain needs to have tyrosine from protein, and iron, niacin, folate, magnesium and vitamin B6. Green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, Swiss chard, and romaine provide these vitamins and minerals.

More Restful Sleep

The blue light from our digital devices adversely affects our melatonin production. The result? Difficulty falling and staying asleep. Even more troubling are the possible links between blue light exposure at night, reduced melatonin and an increased risk for diabetes, cancer, and depression.

Better Posture

You may have experienced a “tech neck” or a sore thumb after spending a long time on your phone. As well, researchers note that the slumping posture that develops while using digital devices also affects your breathing. One study found that 83 percent of people with neck pain have altered breathing patterns. Musculoskeletal aches and pains like this are best handled by a chiropractor.

Recent sensational headlines claimed that our device use is causing “horns” or phone bone. This interpretation of anthropological research was at best overblown and at worst, completely false. Of potentially greater concern, is that your intervertebral discs may get damaged from having your neck perpetually bent looking at your phone. See a chiropractor for help with your intervertebral discs. There is also an increased risk for neck osteoarthritis from this prolonged and unusual neck position.

Better Hormonal and Cell Health

One researcher found that people tend to hold their breath when checking their devices. This habit triggers the “fight or flight “response, in which your body goes into survival mode. That process served us well in the past when this response helped us escape our predators. Nowadays if all you’re doing is checking a social media status and holding your breath, you just wind up with a lot of unnecessary glucose, adrenaline, and cortisol in your system.

As well, our increased reliance on technology has led to high levels of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation in our bodies. Although the long-term effects need to be studied further, some evidence links this exposure to an increased risk of neurological disease.

Are you ready for a digital detox?

So, how exactly does a digital detox look? Ultimately, it’s up to you. If you’re inspired by the list of possible benefits above, you may be ready to implement your own detox from technology. However, as with many behavior modifications, a slow and realistic approach is often more successful. Your long-term goal could be a weekend (or even a week) without any devices.

Digital Detox Retreats

Digital-detox retreats are a growing trend in the travel business and provide opportunities to be pampered in spa-like conditions or to pursue recreation adventures, all without a digital device. There are alternative free options too, of course, such as implementing your own retreat! Examples include planning a weekend hike in a local area and connecting with nature or spending time indoors playing with your kids, reading a book or writing your journal. Be creative!

If you’re reading this blog post the day it was first published, I’ll be doing my own digital-detox at Arrowhead Provincial Park near Huntsville. Forest bathing, downtime, reconnecting with family and nature, great food, campfires, and digital-detox all rolled into one wonderful week.

Creating Healthy Digital Habits

Before starting a cold-turkey detox, it’s a good idea to simply be more mindful of your device use. Pay attention to when and why you pick up your phone. As with unhealthy eating habits, it is a good idea to journal your internet/device use. It helps you identify unhealthy patterns of use. Do you pick it up when you’re bored? In an awkward social situation? In the bathroom? First thing when you wake up? In the middle of the night if you wake up? Make it a habit to put your phone away if you don’t need it. Commit to unplugging from any digital devices at least an hour before bedtime.

Fighting FOMO

As you adjust to having reduced online time in your life, try going an entire day without checking a device. This might be uncomfortable at first. Recognize your FOMO (fear of missing out) feelings and acknowledge that if something really urgent happened, you would hear about it. Remind yourself that you don’t actually need to know every detail of your friends’ lives or every piece of the celebrity or political gossip in real-time. In other words, the sense of urgency that the internet creates is imagined, not real.

Top Tips For Your Digital Detox

Here are some tips that can help you set up your own digital detox retreat, on a level that works for you.

Make your bedroom a cellphone-free zone

Bedrooms are for sleeping, and shouldn’t be associated with cellphone use. If you don’t have a landline you may worry that your loved ones won’t be able to contact you in an emergency. For example, if you have teenage kids who work or stay out late at night and they are trying to call you. The solution is to simply put your cellphone on the other side of the room, with the volume turned up high enough so that you can hear it. Also, put it face down so that other screen activity or notifications won’t disturb your sleep.

Choose your activities wisely

Even in today’s wired world, you can find places where cell phones can’t be used. If you’re swimming, hiking, practicing yoga, or watching a movie, you can’t check your Facebook updates. As an added bonus, you will end up having more fun.

Go “old school”

We think of our phones as indispensable, but for centuries, people survived without them just fine. Fortunately, many “real-life” tools exist that can do the tasks we rely on our phones for. If you’re worried about losing the functions on your phone, consider a few old-fashioned alternatives:

  • A paper calendar or day planner to book appointments
  • An alarm clock to wake up
  • Books – read them in yellow or natural light
  • Letters or cards sent through the post office. Who doesn’t love receiving an old-fashioned, hand-written letter?
  • A classic watch
  • A camera
  • A landline phone. We tend to think of the landline as unnecessary, but just over 40 percent of households still have one, and they provide a reliable back-up for getting in touch.

Reschedule your email habits

Many busy executives try to put aside specific times of the day for checking email. That means that they’re not looking for new messages every 30 seconds, or reading every notification. If this makes you feel anxious, remind yourself that in most instances, emails don’t need an immediate response. For more prolonged absences, use an out-of-office autoresponder to let people know how to contact you in an emergency.

Use technology

Yes, the idea that technology can help to reduce your tech use is ironic. However, many apps and programs can measure the time you spend on your phone. They will also measure time “wasted” online. You can free up an hour or two per day in the real world for more beneficial pursuits by reducing the time that you are wasting online. If you don’t do this already, try monitoring it for a few days to get a baseline of your usage.

Get your friends and family on board

If you have contacts who expect an immediate response to every text, let them know you’re dialing back on your screen time.

Similarly, if you’re out at a restaurant for dinner, challenge everyone to put their phones away. The first one to check their device pays!

Listen to your body

How do you feel after a few hours without technology? Get in touch with any anxiety you feel that needs to be addressed. It’s also important to note the positives. Do you take in more of the world around you? Do you feel more relaxed? Were you able to get a lot more crossed off of your “to-do” list?

Get help if you need it

If you’re worried about your digital media use or if you’re wondering if you’re addicted to technology, help is available! Give our office a call if you’d like to talk about behavior modification or switching to a more health-conscious natural path with one of our naturopaths.

Call us at 416-481-0222 or book online here

Authored by Dr Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), Naturopath


Sources:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/new-study-links-phone-use-and-mental-health-issues-in-teens/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5970452/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215303332

https://www.ejradiology.com/article/S0720-048X%2809%2900589-0/abstract

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/brain-wise/201209/why-were-all-addicted-texts-twitter-and-google

https://www.statista.com/chart/2072/landline-phones-in-the-united-states/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/just-breathe-building-the_b_85651

Hidden Toxins in Your Home are Harming Your Health

pic showing natural cleaning products

Here’s Why and What to Do About Toxic Chemicals

How is your home affecting your health? Cigarette smoke is an obvious toxin in the air. Assuming you don’t smoke, you may feel fairly confident that your home is not toxic. If you clean your home regularly, you might even be slightly offended by the suggestion that your home may be toxic! However, indoor air pollutants are much more common than most people realize. The sources of many pollutants are everyday objects and products that we don’t consider harmful.

What is an Environmental Toxin?

Toxins are chemicals that are harmful to human beings. Environmental toxins are those that are found in the environment around us, our food, water, air, and surfaces that we are in contact with.

We read and hear about outdoor air pollution regularly and it’s also a valid health concern. However, indoor air pollution is worth worrying about too. We need to pay attention to it because we spend about 90 percent of our time inside. According to emerging research, including a landmark United Nations study, many commonly used chemicals within our homes act as endocrine disruptors when we’re exposed to them.

What’s An Endocrine Disruptor?

Simply put, your endocrine system controls various functions in your body. It does so by releasing hormones. These chemicals control most of what your body does. Your hormone-producing system regulates how much of each hormone is released through intricate feedback loops. This means that when a hormone drops low, your brain delivers a stimulatory message to your endocrine system to tell it to make more. When a hormone is too high, your brain lowers the stimulatory messages to your endocrine system and so it creates less of that hormone. Certain environmental pollutants have been found to disrupt this process.

The result? Signs and symptoms of hormonal imbalances. When taken to the extreme, these imbalances can put us on the road to diseases such as breast, thyroid and prostate cancer, endometriosis, PCOS, infertility and developmental conditions like ADHD.

Common Environmental Pollutants In Your Home

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to recognize an environmental pollutant. In fact, some products we identify as “healthy” can actually be harmful.

Take a look at this list of common environmental toxins in your home:

Cleaning products

Keeping a clean home has long been recognized as an important step in maintaining good health. However, many common cleaning products contain carcinogens such as methylene chloride. This chemical is linked to increased breast cancer rates.

One thing to keep in mind with cleaning products is that these compounds linger in the air long after the smell has disappeared. For example, molecules in aerosol sprays get absorbed by dust. Breathing in this dust then leads to respiratory irritation.

In addition, these chemicals react with other compounds in the air, such as ozone. This chemical reaction creates “secondary emissions” that are even more harmful.

Nonstick cookware

The same chemicals that make nonstick cookware so convenient also harm your health. Man-made compounds like polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are found in materials such as Teflon. It prevents food from sticking to the pan. Unfortunately, this toxin also contributes to certain cancers and even high cholesterol.

Air fresheners

A quick spray of air freshener makes our homes smell fresh and clean. However, the effects on our bodies undermine the pretty scents. When it comes to scented products, it’s often difficult to obtain a complete list of all of the chemicals they contain. But, many air fresheners do contain phthalates, which have been linked to hormonal problems, particularly in males. In addition, often the compounds that produce the smell contain benzene and phenolic rings. These are known carcinogens.

Toxins in antibacterial products

Using antibacterial products might seem like a good step towards a healthier home.

But, studies show that many commonly used substances in antibacterial products, such as triclosan, impact our reproductive hormones. As well, overuse has been linked to an increase in allergies in children.

In addition, overuse of antibacterial products is leading to an increase in drug-resistant bacteria. For the most part, these chemicals are unnecessary. They are only mildly effective and it does your immune system good to be exposed to germs in small amounts. It helps to train your immune system, which in turn leaves it stronger.

Water

Government regulations are supposed to keep our drinking water safe from contaminants. However, growing evidence shows that our water supplies contain small amounts of hormones, particularly estrogen. These hormones are the result of birth control and HRT use. Even these small amounts of estrogen disrupt our natural hormonal balance over long periods.

Plastics

Plastic containers and water bottles might make life more convenient, but in the long run, they’re not the best choices. Many containers and cans contain a chemical called BPA, or other chemicals that act like estrogen. In fact, even those items marked as “BPA free” contain toxic compounds which may be just as harmful.

Xenoestrogens are endocrine disruptors which specifically mimic the effects of estrogen. Overexposure leads to weight gain, mood swings, and other symptoms of estrogen excess or estrogen dominance.

Scented bathing and personal care products.

Did you know that the chemicals that give scented products their distinct smells aren’t regulated? And that 95 percent of those scents originate from petroleum byproducts?

Symptoms of Toxins in Your Home

What signs or symptoms might you have that you are exposed to environmental toxins or that your body doesn’t detoxify well? Here are some common signs of chemical toxicity:

  1. Vague symptoms like headache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, congestion, itching, sneezing, sore throat, chest pain, breathing problems, muscle pain or stiffness, skin rash, diarrhea, bloating, gas, confusion, trouble concentrating, memory problems, and mood changes.
  2. Cancers. Several toxins are known carcinogens. These are chemicals that are linked to cancer. A few that you may commonly encounter in the home include acetaldehyde in alcohol, asbestos, talc, ethanol in alcohol, cigarette smoke and benzene used to make glues, plastics, resins, syntheticfibers, rubber lubricants, dyes, detergents, drugs, varnish and pesticides.
  3. Endometriosis. An environmental chemical known as PCBs has been linked to the development of endometriosis. PCB production and use is now banned, but this chemical lingers in the environment for a long time. Xenoestrogens like BPA from plastic also contribute to this condition by over-stimulating estrogen receptors.
  4. PCOS and diabetes. Exposure to environmental toxins and their subsequent contribution to the development of PCOS is supported by extensive data from diverse scientific studies.

You may need to take action if you are experiencing any of these toxic exposure symptoms or toxic build-up symptoms.

Environmental Toxins List

Some common toxins found in household cleaning products include:

  1. Phthalates. These are often found in cosmetics and anything that has a fragrance including soaps, scented detergents and other cleaners. They are known endocrine disruptors and negatively impact fertility.
  2. PERC or Perchloroethylene. This is common in dry cleaning solutions and carpet and upholstery cleaners. PERC is a neurotoxin and possible endocrine disruptor.
  3. Triclosan. Found in antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers. Triclosan is a probable carcinogen and possible endocrine disruptor.
  4. QUATS or Quaternary Ammonium Compounds. These are in fabric softeners and antibacterial cleaners. These irritate the skin and respiratory tract. Along with triclosan, they may contribute to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
  5. 2-Butoxyethanol. This is found in window and kitchen cleaners and may not be listed on the label. Inhaling it as you are cleaning can irritate your throat. High doses harm your lungs, liver and kidneys.
  6. Ammonia. Found in glass cleaner and metal polishes. It is a powerful irritant of the respiratory tract and chronic exposure is linked to asthma. Mixing this with bleach will create a poisonous gas.
  7. Chlorine. Chlorine is found in bleach, and many household cleaners and mold/mildew removers. It is also a powerful irritant of the respiratory tract. It may cause thyroid problems as it can displace iodine that is essential for normal thyroid function.
  8. Sodium hydroxide. This is in oven cleaners and clogged drain cleaners. Inhaling it is very irritating to the respiratory tract. Contact with skin or eyes causes severe burns.

It’s easy to feel a bit concerned when you read a list like the one above! After all, we want a clean home and to use the most convenient products possible. Fortunately, we have 6 healthy home tips to get rid of chemicals in your home.

How To Make Your Home Healthier

How can we have a clean environment without risking the health of ourselves or our children? Here’s how to reduce your chemical exposure and make your home more environmentally friendly:

1. Don’t try to “mask” unpleasant scents.

Instead of spraying air freshener, try removing the source of the bad odor – wash the dirty clothes (without scented fabric softener, of course), change the kitty litter, take the garbage out etc. If you need extra ammunition against odors, baking soda is a natural air freshener. Open your windows and let some fresh air in. A HEPA air filter also cleans air odors right at the source.

For a lovely, safe, natural scent, try boiling cinnamon sticks or vanilla pods on your stovetop or grow some lavender indoors. Or do some baking.

2. Choose cleaning products carefully.

Be aware of “greenwashing” which is the practice of making products appear more eco-friendly than they actually are. The Environmental Working Group has a searchable database of more than 2,500 products.

As well, vinegar, baking soda, elbow grease and plain hot water can be surprisingly effective cleaners. Doing a bit of research on the best natural cleaners that are both less expensive, and safer really pays off.

3. Avoid aerosols.

Using natural air fresheners like essential oils, or even simmering some lemon slices and a few cloves in a pan, will do the trick just as well and without the nasty side effects.

4. Think about the long-term effects of your purchases.

A plastic container might be the cheapest option to store your leftovers, but pause and take a minute to consider the possible impact on your health and the environment, for that matter. Sometimes investing a bit more money is the best choice in the long run. Plus, a stainless steel water bottle, or a glass or ceramic food container should last you much longer. I have glass casserole dishes that I’ve had for 30 years. No harm to me, no harm to the environment, inert and safe to put in the microwave, oven and dishwasher.

5. Be careful with plastics.

If you have to use a plastic container, don’t heat it in the microwave. The heat causes more xenoestrogens to be released into your food. Storing acidic foods like tomato sauce in plastic may also cause leaching of chemicals into your food.

6. Consider your water source.

If you want to avoid tap water, consider using a filtration system. It’s best to avoid bottled water, which is often no better than tap water and has the added risk of contamination from plastic bottles. Not to mention that plastic water bottles are a nightmare for our planet. However, the water industry is filled with false claims, and prices can be steep. We can review your options in the office to make sure you make the best choices for your needs.

Of course, everyone is different and we all have unique health concerns and personal goals. If you’d like to learn more about environmental toxins, and how to reduce toxins in your body give our office a call. Additionally, if you are suffering from health issues you can’t seem to figure out the cause of, it could be related to toxins.

Our naturopaths will help determine the cause of the issue and the best way to clean your body of toxins if that is what is necessary. Call us at 416-481-0222 or book online here.

Authored by Dr Pamela Frank, Bsc(Hons), ND

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30953899

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20976153

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110824091537.htm

http://www.immuneweb.org/articles/perfume.html

https://www.epa.gov/pfas/basic-information-pfas

https://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2011/09/your-best-air-freshener-isnt-air-freshener

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4243727/

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-12/documents/lenehan-hormones_in_water_using_spe_and_lc-ms.pdf

https://news.un.org/en/story/2013/02/432272-un-report-examines-link-between-hormone-disrupting-chemicals-and-health

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18942551

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27559705

Biohacking Secrets

Top Biohacking Tips that Everyone Should Know

pic of smartwatch with the word biohacking
Biohacking: What is it and how can it help you?

If you read about health topics, you’ve probably come across the term “biohacking”. The word sounds intimidating, but the concepts behind biohacking are actually quite simple: The goal is to “hack” your body’s natural processes to optimize your health.

Taken to extremes, biohacking’s “using yourself as a guinea pig” approach can lead to unsupervised self-experimentation. Extreme biohackers pursue activities such as trying to alter their DNA or implanting cybernetic devices into their own bodies. That is not a safe or recommended approach!

How Do You Do Biohacking?

Fortunately, thanks to our “biohacking best practices” research, you don’t have to track every nanosecond of your day or spend a small fortune to reap the rewards. Biohacking your health can be as easy as applying the latest scientific discoveries to your own life. If you follow us on Facebook or follow our blog, we’ll keep you updated and you can adjust as you go. It’s always a good approach to well-being to stay current with the ever-evolving research.

One of the central tenets of biohacking is that the things you put into your body (what you eat, the air you breathe, and supplements you take) shape your body’s output (your energy, productivity and moods). Your mitochondria are at the heart of this process.

What Are Mitochondria?

Mitochondria are the “batteries” that give energy to every cell in your body. These tiny powerhouses are easily influenced by their environment. In other words, they are impacted by everything your body is exposed to. When you improve their environment, you can improve the energy produced by them. The results? Far-reaching improvements in your overall health and energy levels.

What does this process look like in everyday life?

Well, because we’re all different, what works for one person might not work for someone else. As you make changes to your lifestyle, you should carefully monitor your progress as you go. Biohackers draw on the data they create to come up with solutions that make them feel their best. They avoid “one size fits all” formulas.

That means paying close attention to how you feel. The results are definitely worth it. By improving cellular function, biohacking your basic daily activities can have noticeable benefits. And it can be fun. After all, who doesn’t want to use science to feel better every day? Check out some easy ways to biohack your own health. The results might surprise you!

12 Aspects for Biohacking

  1. Genetics
  2. Oxygen
  3. Attention
  4. Memory
  5. Sleep
  6. Environment
  7. Audio
  8. Light
  9. Nutrition
  10. Movement
  11. Stress
  12. Electricity/Magnetism

These 12 are key areas that affect how your body works. They are also areas that you can influence. You may currently be influencing them in a negative way, or in other words doing the wrong thing. What “everyone else is doing” may not be right for your particular body. This is why “biohacking” entails a certain amount of trial and error to see what works best with your particular constitution.

5 Best Biohacking Tips

  1. Make the most of your genetics
  2. Breathing 101
  3. Hacking your attention and memory
  4. Improve your sleep
  5. Enhance your environment
  6. Listen well
  7. Light up your life
  8. Monitor your diet
  9. Focus on natural products
  10. Adapt to stress
  11. Hormones control it all

Making the most of your genetics

Having or not having a particular gene, doesn’t necessarily mean you are doomed to a particular fate. Genes can be turned on and off. They can be up or down-regulated depending on what you do.

For example, let’s say your father and grandfather both had diabetes. Maybe you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Obviously, a gene for diabetes is being passed down through your father’s family. However, you decide to eat a clean diet and exercise daily. Lo and behold, you lose weight and reverse your pre-diabetes. In ways like this, we can biohack our genetics. Gene expression can be turned off and on based on signals from your environment and from other cells. Ensuring a healthy environment externally and internally leads to healthier gene expression.

Breathing 101

Under the influence of stress, we tend to breathe more rapidly and less deeply. Deep breaths supply oxygen to your entire body, stimulates your vagus nerve and calms your nervous system. We know that a stressed out nervous system isn’t good for our overall health. Undoing the effects of stress can be as simple as conscious breathing. At least twice per day, take 5 deep breaths into your belly. Breathe in for the count of 4, hold for the count of 7, release for the count of 8 each time. See how that makes you feel.

Hacking your attention and memory

Chronic deficiencies in zinc, iron, magnesium, iodine and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are linked to attention problems. Clearly, diet plays a role in maintaining healthy cognitive function. Dark, leafy greens contain zinc, iron and magnesium, shellfish, seaweed and iodized sea salt contain iodine, and fish is the optimal food for PUFAs. Low glycemic index foods also benefit attention.

In addition to foods, lifestyle can also influence attention. Meditation, deep breathing, exercise, self-discipline, and self-regulation all benefit focus, attention and cognitive function.

Hormone balance is the third factor that can influence memory, focus and concentration.

Improve your sleep

By adjusting our night routines, we can improve the quality of our sleep. Biohackers look beyond the standard advice on improving sleep to carefully consider what we surround ourselves with at bedtime. For example, you may have great results by reducing the amount of blue light you’re exposed to at night. Blue light comes from electronic devices. What can be a helpful practice is staying off your devices for 3 hours before bed or switching your devices to “night mode.” Reducing the temperature in your room and minimizing exposure to electromagnetic fields can also lead to world-class sleep.

Keep in mind that our mitochondria want to rest when it’s dark and ramp-up when it’s light. Make it easier for them by creating a sleep environment that’s as dark as possible. If needed, invest in some blackout curtains or a sleep mask. You can also create a sleep-friendly internal environment by avoiding caffeine at least eight hours before you go to sleep.

Enhance your environment

Environmental factors like cold, heat, light, electricity, and air quality influence your body’s functioning. How do you feel when it’s too hot? Too cold? Do you prefer natural light or artificial lighting?

One of the most significant influences on overall well-being can be the quality of the air you breathe. If your home is older or has sustained water damage, mold can grow. Mold spores infiltrate the air you breathe and set off an inflammatory cascade in your body that can have an incredibly detrimental effect on your health. This is a serious enough situation that if there is mold in your home, you should move or do significant repairs to remediate the mold. For detailed information about the extremely harmful impact of mold, read Surviving Mold by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker.

Listen well

The sounds you hear alter how your body works. When music enters your brain, it releases neurotransmitters called dopamine and oxytocin. These make you feel happy. Listening to music also improves your immune function. The style of music that provides these benefits isn’t that important. It’s more about what kind of music you like and relate to, whether that is jazz, country or hard rock. You may want to alter your music based on what you are doing for optimal function. While you are working or studying, classical may help with dopamine secretion, learning and memory. Pop and rock can be distracting. But, they enhance endurance and physical performance. So be sure to queue them up on your iPod when you are working out. In the evening, while you are relaxing, jazz can soothe your body and help you wind down.

Learning to play music enhances brain abilities like learning and memory.

Light up your life, or not

The timing of light entering your eyes is important and should mimic natural day and night time light patterns. Your body runs on a clock that is regulated by daylight and dark. Functions like sleeping and waking, hormone secretion, cellular function and gene expression are all influenced by the normal rhythm of day and night. Mood and immune function are impaired when this rhythm gets disrupted. As a general rule, when it gets dark outside, keep interior lighting dim and keep your bedroom as dark as possible. Avoid looking at a screen past 8 p.m. And install an app on devices to downgrade blue light and upgrade red and orange tons at sunset. Over the winter, light therapy can help alleviate Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Monitor your diet

Adjusting your nutritional intake is an easy way to start biohacking. It’s a simple concept: Any change to your diet that results in noticeable improvements in how you feel is a biohack. It goes like this: eat this, feel great, eat that, feel lousy, eliminate that, feel great.

You also want to keep in mind that what you eat influences your gut bacteria. In turn, it then affects every aspect of your health. By choosing natural, high-fiber foods, you can reduce inflammation. Too much inflammation affects mitochondria. This leads to mitochondrial malfunction, which can impact your entire body.

Biohackers are more concerned with the nutritional quality of their foods, not the calorie count. Many biohackers follow a gluten-free diet with plenty of healthy fats. Some have good results with intermittent fasting. But ultimately, the key is to pay attention to how your diet makes you look and feel and make adjustments based on that.

Focus on natural products

Even if we’re careful about what we eat, our bodies are still exposed to harmful elements as we go through the day. The water we drink, the substances we clean with, and the beauty and grooming products we use can all contain harmful toxins. These toxins impact our cellular health in ways we may not even realize. Consciously seeking out natural beauty products and non-toxic cleaning solutions helps you reduce the impact of toxic ingredients on your body.

Adapt to stress

Some biohackers use complex biofeedback systems to monitor the effect of stress on their bodies. But, controlling stress can be as simple as paying attention to your breathing. (One biohack technique is “block breathing,” which means exhaling while counting to five, then repeating the count on the inhale. Do this several times and note how you feel after.) Classic stress reduction techniques such as yoga, meditation, and “forest bathing” (walking in the wilderness) can all contribute to lower stress levels.

It may seem like a bit of a paradox, but some biohackers recommend high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for improving a body’s ability to handle stress. That’s because HIIT emphasizes taxing a body to its maximum capacity, then allowing it to recover. As a result, we teach our bodies to be more resilient. Talk to a healthcare provider if you haven’t tried HIIT training before.

Hormones control it all

The hormonal balance in your system plays a huge role in pretty much everything. Having a balanced hormonal state is key to maintaining not just good health, but this balance also allows for all of the above-mentioned tips to actually work for you. When our hormones are out of alignment, it affects so many of our daily activities. Trying to even get through the day can be a challenge, let alone trying to take your health to another level. Achieving optimal hormone balance is doable with guidance from our ND’s.

Electricity/Magnetism

Some people are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation, while others aren’t. If you think that EMR affects you, read this post for more information about what you can do about it.

As you can see, biohacking doesn’t have to be complicated. Ultimately, you’re the best scientist when it comes to your own well-being. Why not make a few simple changes to your lifestyle to see how you feel?

If you’d like to look deeper into your current status of health, find out if your hormones are causing issues in your body or learn how you can take your health to the next level, come into the office and let’s talk. We are experts in looking at the individual as a whole and creating a unique plan to get your body functioning its best.

Call us at 416-481-0222 or book an appointment online at https://forcesofnature.janeapp.com.

Authored by Dr Pamela Frank, BSc, ND

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22496061

http://www.jbc.org/content/280/22/21061.full

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170307155214.htm

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/nov/18/biohackers-strange-world-diy-biology

Sedentary is the New Smoking

picture of legs moving to prevent sedentary lifestyle

The Hazards of a Sedentary Lifestyle

On average, how many hours per day do you spend being sedentary, just sitting, uninterrupted? One hour? Two hours? Three…or more?

Our ancient ancestors spent much of their time on the move, hunting and gathering to serve their basic needs for food, clothing and shelter and to avoid predators. The balance between movement and being sedentary has shifted dramatically over time, most notably since the technological revolution.

Unlike our ancestors, we no longer need to hunt for food and search for water. Instead, we are now on a quest for time, as hours fly by while we’re hunched over a keyboard. In an average day, most of us are likely sitting more than we are moving and consuming more calories than we are burning. Many of us regularly put in eight-hour workdays seated at a desk – sometimes even ten and twelve hour days. We then go home and unwind on the couch, binge-watching our favourite shows. The hours of not moving begin to add up.

Maybe we make a little time to fit in some exercise two or three times per week; however, with more conveniences at our fingertips, less movement is required in a day and we can do a lot more while moving a lot less. The longer we sit, the more our bodies begin to feel tight, tired and sore and the more cardiovascular fitness we lose. It’s clear that too much sitting isn’t good for us. But did you know that it can also lead to significantly reduced mortality, similar to the effects of smoking?

Sitting and Premature Death

That’s right; too much sitting can kill you! In fact, some are saying that “sitting is the new smoking” because its impact is so significant. According to recent research from the Journal of the American Heart Association, prolonged sitting increases your risk of similar diseases as smoking, such as heart disease, lung cancer, and diabetes. It also increases premature death by about 50 per cent! Even more surprising, too much sitting increases your risk for an early death regardless of your fitness level or other lifestyle habits. So even if you do make it to the gym a few times per week and make healthy dietary choices, a sedentary lifestyle or excessive sitting at work still predisposes you do die younger.

But sitting isn’t just bad for your heart or metabolism; it is also bad for your brain! Researchers at the University of California have discovered a connection between sedentary behaviour and thinning regions in the brain that are critical to new memory formation.

So, what if your job requires you to be at a desk, all day, every day? Are you supposed to quit? Well, of course, that’s not practical. However, there are a few simple things you can do to ensure that you keep your body regularly moving for a longer, healthier life.

Tips to be Less Sedentary & Live Longer

1. Squeeze in Exercise Whenever Possible

Bottom line, the more frequently you work out, the more you reduce your risk of premature death. Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. While exercising 10 minutes or more at a time is ideal, shorter but frequent micro-bursts of exercise, like taking the stairs, can also be an excellent way to keep active.

2. Opt for Less Convenience

We live in a world of many technological conveniences, we deem them necessary and in some cases to our detriment. Turn back time and reverse your biological clock by opting for “less convenient” choices in your day. Walk over and have a conversation with your colleague instead of sending an email or making a phone call. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Bike to work instead of driving. Changing your daily activities can make a significant impact!

3. Make a Point of Moving Every 30 Minutes

Research shows that people who sit for less than 30 minutes at a time have the lowest risk of early death. Meetings and deadlines don’t always offer the freedom to move, but ideally, you don’t want to be sitting for any longer than three hours at a stretch. Setting a timer on your phone can be a helpful reminder to take regular movement breaks. Do a few stretches next to your desk, do some jumping jacks, knees-up or push-ups. You’ll be more productive for taking that short break and get more circulation and nutrients to your brain.

4. Use a Fitness Tracker

Fitness trackers are an effective way to ensure you’re getting enough activity in your day. As health and fitness wearables grow in popularity, there is an increasing number of options available for every budget and lifestyle. Personally, I love my Fitbit. There are also a wide variety of exercise apps out there to track your progress and monitor your success with motivational milestones to keep you moving. MyFitnessPal is my favourite app to track exercise and calorie intake. I don’t obsess over it, but I do find it helpful to keep me honest with what I’m eating and how much I’m moving.

5. Try a Stand-up Desk

As awareness grows about the health concerns associated with chronic and prolonged sitting, more companies have already begun re-examining ways they can improve employee wellness. In some environments, adjustable desks are offered to provide workers with opportunities to stand instead of sitting if they so choose. There are even treadmill desks so you can walk while you work. If a standing desk is not an option for you, try moving your laptop to a tall counter or table as a means to squeeze in more standing.

6. Move Before, During and After Work

Get up a little earlier to squeeze in some exercise, even if it’s only 15 minutes, before work. Take a walk on your break or at lunch. Go for a swim, bike ride, run or walk in the evening. Spreading exercise throughout your day helps break up the long bouts of sedentary behaviour.

7. Turn off the TV, Get Off your Tablet or PC and Put Down Your Phone

All of these devices are intended to be addictive. Imposing a time limit and sticking to it can help you avoid being sucked into wasting hours on these devices that could be spent moving.

8. Do Some Housework, Yard Work or Gardening

All of these activities involve movement and are far more productive than binge-watching the latest show.

Do you spend excessive amounts of time sitting? Do you experience any health problems that you think could be related to a sedentary lifestyle such as weight gain, back pain, insomnia or high blood pressure? Let’s chat and get to the root of your health issues. Book an appointment with us and together we will find ways to improve your overall health and well-being so that you can live your life to its fullest and longest.

Call or email us at 416-481-0222 or Maria@ForcesofNature.ca or book online here.

To your best health!

The Team at Forces of Nature Wellness Clinic

References

http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/7/6/e007678
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180412141014.htm
http://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/2653704/patterns-sedentary-behavior-mortality-u-s-middle-aged-older-adults

Inflammation: The Root Cause of Pain

picture of hands with inflammation

How to Treat Inflammation Naturally

What are Signs of Inflammation?

When you sustain an injury you may notice that the area is swollen, painful, red and feels hot to the touch. These are all common signs of inflammation that you may experience on a superficial level. Chronic inflammation can also occur in our bodies and can present itself in other ways. When inflammation triggers sensory nerve endings, it can result in pain. Symptoms such as fatigue, rashes, digestion problems, allergies, asthma, and chest, abdominal and joint pain can also be signs of inflammation.

What is Inflammation?

Inflammation is a natural immune system function. It’s a reaction to infection or injury that triggers a slew of chemical messages to your immune system to prompt healing and repair. It’s a word most of us associate with pain, discomfort and poor health — yet its ultimate purpose is actually to help us get better. Without inflammation, injuries wouldn’t heal and infections could become deadly.

When the body is injured, the swelling and pain of inflammation is a signal to your immune system to send white blood cells so the healing process may begin. Unfortunately, when inflammation becomes chronic, it can trigger numerous other health problems in your body including cancers, depression, asthma and heart disease. In fact, some say inflammation is the “new cholesterol” due to its direct link to heart disease.

In some cases, inflammation occurs when the immune system revolts against us and attacks our own bodies as in autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, IBD, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis among dozens of others. There are over 80 different autoimmune diseases.

Top Tips to Reduce Inflammation

Which Foods Cause Inflammation?

First, let’s take a quick look at inflammatory foods that you want to limit or avoid. You probably already know all the usual suspects.

  1. Sugar and artificial sweeteners – A 2018 study in children found that a 46% decrease in sugar intake, significantly reduced proinflammatory markers and increased the levels of anti-inflammatory markers.
  2. Fried foods – A 2016 study on deep-fried oil consumption, revealed that intake of deep-fried canola oil could impair metabolism of triglycerides, destroy the gut wall structure and unbalance healthy gut bacteria. All of which could contribute to inflammation.
  3. Grains – Wheat and other cereal grains contain anti-nutrients like gluten that may contribute to inflammation by increasing intestinal permeability and initiating a pro-inflammatory immune response.
  4. Dairy – Proteins in milk and dairy products can trigger an immune reaction that contributes to inflammation. Research on milk containing a protein known as A1 beta-casein significantly increases gastrointestinal transit time, production of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and the inflammatory marker myeloperoxidase compared with milk containing A2 beta-casein. Cows here in Canada tend to produce more of the A1 beta-casein protein, therefore dairy products here tend to be more pro-inflammatory.
  5. Alcohol – A 2015 study showed that alcohol-induced changes to the gastrointestinal tract microbiome and metabolic function may contribute to the well-established link between alcohol-induced oxidative stress, intestinal hyperpermeability (leaky gut), and the subsequent development of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), as well as other diseases.

What are Anti-inflammatory Foods?

Wondering what those anti-inflammatory foods are? The good news is they are delicious and come with multiple health benefits.

Raw, Organic Fruits & Veggies

Organic foods are a great place to start when looking to adhere to a more anti-inflammatory diet. Grown in mineral-dense soil, organic foods tend have a higher vitamin and mineral content.

In order to keep those vitamin and mineral levels high, it’s also helpful to eat raw or lightly cooked fruits and veggies. Cooking can deplete minerals, which is why it’s important to take every opportunity you can to get eat fresh and raw so you get to enjoy the full nutritional benefits. For example, Vitamin K is found in dark leafy greens like kale and spinach and is excellent for reducing inflammation.

Add in lots of Alkaline Foods

In addition to fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes are also alkaline foods that can help balance your pH and reduce acidity. While being mindful of your body’s pH, you might be wonder about the impact of acidic foods, like tomatoes or citrus, and how they affect inflammation. Surprisingly these foods don’t create acidity in the body. Although they are acidic in nature, that acidity is quickly neutralized by buffers in the small intestine when they exit the stomach. Therefore, they may actually help to restore your pH balance. Even apple cider vinegar is alkaline-forming (however, other vinegars are not).

Fish & Plant Proteins

Believe it or not, most high protein animal foods, like meat, can actually be acid forming. In this case, plant proteins, such as nuts and beans, are great alternatives to reduce acidity and inflammation.

Need your meat? Then eat more fish. Fish oils, as well as other foods rich in healthy fats like omega 3, are proven to have a variety of health benefits, including significant anti-inflammatory effects.

Fish is also a great source of Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with a wide range of inflammatory conditions.

Antioxidant-Rich Foods: Natural Anti-inflammatories

Those susceptible to chronic inflammation may also benefit from supplementing their diets with food sources that contain bioactive molecules. For example, curcumin is a compound found in turmeric root. It is a powerful antioxidant. Curcumin’s ability to reduce brain inflammation has been shown to be beneficial in both Alzheimer’s disease and major depression. Curcumin has been shown to not only prevent memory problems from worsening, but also to improve them.

Complement your curry with a little watercress salad on the side, including pears, dill weed, onion and chives – all sources of the antioxidant known as isorhamnetin.

Add a little red wine and some berries for dessert, which are rich in resveratrol, and you’ve got yourself an anti-inflammatory party. Resveratrol is an antioxidant produced by certain plants in response to injury or when under attack by bacteria or fungi. This is what makes dark-coloured grapes and berries such excellent health boosters for your body.

And of course, you can’t forget the dark chocolate! The flavonoids found in cacao are extremely potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, which are great for your brain and your heart. New research also shows that consuming dark chocolate with a high concentration of cacao (minimum 70% with 30% organic cane sugar) has a positive effect on stress levels and inflammation, while also improving your memory, immunity and mood. You read that right – chocolate really is good for you (but make sure its good quality and that you are not over doing it).

How to Reduce Inflammation: Going Beyond Diet

While diet definitely plays a role, stress is also a major contributor to inflammation in the body. Stress can be triggered by lack of sleep, lifestyle changes, or any other number of factors. Getting a good night’s rest and making time to meditate or practice other stress-reducing activities, like yoga or Tai chi, are also very effective ways to promote good health and reduce inflammation. Psychotherapy can help you formulate a plan to reduce stress, improve your lifestyle and your relationships.

All it takes is a few conscious decisions about your diet and lifestyle and you are on your way to a healthier you.

Herbs for Inflammation

  1. Curcumin – Research has shown curcumin to be a molecule that is capable of interacting with numerous targets that are involved in inflammation. Clinical trials indicate that curcumin may have potential as a therapeutic agent in diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, arthritis, and chronic anterior uveitis, as well as certain types of cancer.
  2. Boswellia -Boswellia is also known as Frankinsence. It is an important traditional medicine plant that possesses several pharmacological properties. It has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antitumour effects.
  3. Pedalium murex – This Ayurvedic herb, native to South India, Mexico and parts of Africa, is used as an anti-inflammatory, and helps treat many diseases including asthma, gastric ulcer, heart disease and urinary tract disorders.

Chiropractic and Inflammation

In a 2010 study on the effects of chiropractic on markers of inflammation in sufferers of chronic low back pain, 9 chiropractic lower back manipulations caused the mediators of inflammation to present a normalization response in individuals suffering from chronic low back pain.

Massage Therapy and Inflammation

In a 2018 review article, the most powerful techniques for reducing inflammation after exertion were massage and cold exposure. Massage therapy also proved to be the most effective method for reducing delayed onset muscle soreness after exercise and perceived fatigue.

Acupuncture and Inflammation

A 2018 study on rats showed that acupuncture reduced inflammation by down-regulating the levels of the inflammatory markers IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-8, and in regulating cerebral SIRT1/NF-κB signaling. Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of acupuncture for reducing pain in inflammatory conditions like arthritis and back pain.

Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy and Inflammation

Fibroblasts are the main fascial cells that respond to different types of strain by secreting anti-inflammatory chemicals and growth factors, thus improving wound healing and muscle repair processes. Osteopathic manual practitioners, use myofascial release therapy and other osteopathic manipulative therapies to stimulate fibroblasts to reduce inflammation and improve wound healing, muscle repair and regeneration.

Are you dealing with chronic health issues triggered by inflammation? Do you still have more questions about how you can make greater changes towards a pain-free life? Do you want a customized approach to managing inflammation and preventing disease? Please feel free to contact us and we can find your best solutions together. Call or email us at 416-481-0222 or Maria@ForcesofNature.ca

To your best health!

The Team at Forces of Nature Wellness Clinic – Chiropractor, Naturopathic Doctors, Acupuncturist/TCM, Psychotherapist, Registered Dietitian, Massage Therapist/RMT, Craniosacral Therapist, Osteopath

References:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120223103920.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060404085719.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180424133628.htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4836295/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3715939/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12148098

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4036413/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1064748117305110?via%3Dihub#bib0015

Sawani A, Farhangi M, N CA, Maul TM, Parthasarathy S, Smallwood J, Wei JL. Limiting Dietary Sugar Improves Pediatric Sinonasal Symptoms and Reduces Inflammation. J Med Food. 2018 May 31. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2017.0126. [Epub ahead of print] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29851540

Zhou Z, Wang Y, Jiang Y, Diao Y, Strappe P, Prenzler P, Ayton J, Blanchard C. Deep-fried oil consumption in rats impairs glycerolipid metabolism, gut histology and microbiota structure. Lipids Health Dis. 2016 Apr 28;15:86. doi: 10.1186/s12944-016-0252-1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27121709

de Punder K, Pruimboom L. The dietary intake of wheat and other cereal grains and their role in inflammation. Nutrients. 2013 Mar 12;5(3):771-87. doi: 10.3390/nu5030771. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23482055

Pal S, Woodford K, Kukuljan S, Ho S. Milk Intolerance, Beta-Casein and Lactose. Nutrients. 2015 Aug 31;7(9):7285-97. doi: 10.3390/nu7095339. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3476926/

Engen PA, Green SJ, Voigt RM, Forsyth CB, Keshavarzian A. The Gastrointestinal Microbiome: Alcohol Effects on the Composition of Intestinal Microbiota. Alcohol Res. 2015;37(2):223-36. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26695747

Schwalfenberg GK. The alkaline diet: is there evidence that an alkaline pH diet benefits health? J Environ Public Health. 2012;2012:727630. doi: 10.1155/2012/727630. Epub 2011 Oct 12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22013455

Devanesan AA, Zipora T, G Smilin BA, Deviram G, Thilagar S. Phytochemical and pharmacological status of indigenous medicinal plant Pedalium murex L.-A review. Biomed Pharmacother. 2018 Jul;103:1456-1463. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.04.177. Epub 2018 May 7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29864930

Jurenka JS. Anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin, a major constituent of Curcuma longa: a review of preclinical and clinical research. Altern Med Rev. 2009 Jun;14(2):141-53. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19594223

Beghelli D, Isani G, Roncada P, Andreani G, Bistoni O, Bertocchi M, Lupidi G, Alunno A. Antioxidant and Ex Vivo Immune System Regulatory Properties of Boswellia serrata Extracts. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017;2017:7468064. doi: 10.1155/2017/7468064. Epub 2017 Mar 13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28386311

Roy RA, Boucher JP, Comtois AS. Inflammatory response following a short-term course of chiropractic treatment in subjects with and without chronic low back pain. J Chiropr Med. 2010 Sep;9(3):107-14. doi: 10.1016/j.jcm.2010.06.002. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22027032

Dupuy O, Douzi W, Theurot D, Bosquet L, Dugué B. An Evidence-Based Approach for Choosing Post-exercise Recovery Techniques to Reduce Markers of Muscle Damage, Soreness, Fatigue, and Inflammation: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Front Physiol. 2018 Apr 26;9:403. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00403. ECollection 2018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29755363

Rosenkranz MA, Davidson RJ, Maccoon DG, Sheridan JF, Kalin NH, Lutz A. A comparison of mindfulness-based stress reduction and an active control in modulation of neurogenic inflammation. Brain Behav Immun. 2013 Jan;27(1):174-84. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.10.013. Epub 2012 Oct 22. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23092711

No More Resolutions

picture saying no more resolutions

Resolutions are all wrong! Set yourself up for success instead!

Every New Year the “R” word kicks into full force. RESOLUTIONS. We evaluate the past year, how we ‘performed’, what we ‘lacked’, and what we are committed to doing 100% the next year. The trouble is that only about 8% of people actually keep their resolutions. For the rest of us, resolutions serve to remind us of what we didn’t follow through on, what we might have ‘failed at’ again, or what we fell short of achieving. In the end, resolutions create a measuring stick that sets most of us up for failure.

So this year, what if you let go of the “R” word and focus on intentions instead?

There’s a difference between these words, though we tend to use them interchangeably. A ‘resolution’ is similar to a ‘SMART goal’: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely, except that when it comes to making personal resolutions, the most common ones usually miss out on the measurable and realistic parts. Unfortunately, those are the two aspects of resolution-making that make most of us give up or fall short!

These were the top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for 2017:

1 Lose Weight / Healthier Eating 21.4%
2 Life / Self Improvements 12.3%
3 Better Financial Decisions 8.5%
4 Quit Smoking 7.1%
5 Do more exciting things 6.3%
6 Spend More Time with Family / Close Friends 6.2%
7 Work out more often 5.5%
8 Learn something new on my own 5.3%
9 Do more good deeds for others 5.2%
10 Find the love of my life 4.3

When you read these themes, I bet you can imagine how they’re translated into ‘resolutions’ like: “lose X lbs by Y date” or “save X amount of money by Y date”. Can you see how much pressure and expectation there is on finding one acceptable and final outcome for these resolutions – and how discouraging it would be to not meet them? Just reading them makes my heart sink with the expectation of it all! Why do this to ourselves – and at the start of a brand new year, too? 

This is where intentions can be more useful, more positive, and more sustainable.

In his book, The Power of Intention, Wayne Dyer defines intention as “a strong purpose or aim, accompanied by a determination to produce the desired result.” Rather than focusing on a problem to be solved, intentions focus energy on a gradual shifting towards change, a continual checking in with one’s Self to remember and activate inner motivation to live with the intention set.

This New Year, try the following:

  1. Write a “Letter of Intention” to yourself. Consider a maximum of FOUR intentions you want to live with and guide your life by over the next year and beyond. The idea is to choose four things that will become themes to live by, that you can cultivate rather than a goal to be ticked off a list.
  2. When you select your four intentions choose one based on the physical body, one on the emotions, one on the mind, and one on the spirit. Allow these four intentions to be broader than a specific end-goal, and more of a theme or quality to which you can tend.
  3. Re-read your letter and sit with it for a while. Come back to it and distil the content into four intention statements beginning with “I want…” Hang onto that full letter though!
  4. Use these four statements as a daily personal mantra when you arise in the morning, and let them be the way you begin each day – excited and content in the intentions you’re planting. You can even write them on cue cards, or print them on a poster to keep where you’ll be able to read them each morning.

Need some ideas for themes? Here are a few to start you off, “I WANT…

A LIMBER, COMFORTABLE BODY (body theme)

A NOURISHED BODY (body theme)

A CALM HEART (emotions)

SOFTNESS (emotions)

EQUANIMITY, MENTAL COMPOSURE (mind)

OPTIMISM (mind)

GRACE IN BE-ING (spirit)

LIGHTNESS (spirit)

Intentions are done in partnership with the Self, with personal creativity, and inner motivation. When you design them, you do so from a place of desiring improvement – not a measurement or pass/fail – which allows you the freedom to grow, shift, and evolve as your intentions take on practical meaning in your life. There is an embedded mindfulness to this kind of intention-setting that is neither demanding nor outside or particularly foreign to how most of us move through our days, making it simple to incorporate into your morning routine.

Over time, with this practice, you’ll nurture your intentions to become a part of your daily actions – and in that way, you’ll see them develop and grow into the way you now live!

Periodically throughout the year, revisit your Letter of Intention and see how much more able you are to notice your success in bringing those themes into your world – and how much prouder you are than when trying to live up to those impossible resolutions of the past. Then, give yourself a pat on the back, because you’re doing great!

We want to be a part of your personal care team. No question or curiosity is too small for us to address together. So don’t be shy to give us a call!  Our door is always open and your road to optimal health is just a phone call away – 416-481-0222.

From all of us at Forces of Nature Wellness Clinic:

We wish you success, happiness, and good health for 2018!

Authored by Dr Pamela Frank, BSc, ND

References:

https://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics

Don’t Have Time to Exercise? Try This!

woman with no time for exercise

I Don’t Have Time to Exercise!

Given that exercise reduces stress, allows for better mental focus, productivity, and energy, you probably don’t have time not to exercise. Most people equate exercise with 1-2 hours at the gym 3-5 days per week. It’s great if you have time for that, but if you are a working parent or have a particularly demanding job (and whose isn’t these days?) you probably don’t.  Frankly, the idea that we need to do a one to two-hour workout is so old school. We need to reframe our concept of what constitutes exercise, particularly beneficial exercise for our metabolism. Many studies are now proving that High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) does as much, if not more, than endurance exercise in a much shorter period of time. (Dr. Oz even said so on his radio health tips, so it must be true).

What is SIT exercise or HIIT?

Sprint interval training (SIT) is a low volume (that means short!) and high-intensity form of interval training. Energy for SIT is produced via both the aerobic (oxygen burning) and anaerobic (non-oxygen burning) metabolic pathways.   SIT is an efficient and effective means to improve aerobic fitness along with many other parameters related to healthy metabolism. A typical SIT or HIIT workout might involve running or cycling sprints, followed by periods of continued movement at a much slower pace.  For example, you might do a running sprint for 20 seconds, followed by a 1 minute light jog, then another 20-second sprint, 1-minute walk, and repeat this pattern for 20 minutes in total.

Proof that Interval Exercise Training Works

One study had overweight/obese participants perform 6 sessions over two weeks consisting of 4 intervals of 30-second anaerobic sprints on a cycle ergometer, the equivalent of a stationary bike.  That is, they cycled full out for 30 seconds with a 4.5-minute recovery between each sprint. So that’s sprint cycling full out for 30 seconds, keep cycling at a slow steady pace for 4.5 minutes and repeat 4 times, three times per week for two weeks.  The outcome was a significant reduction in waist and hip measurements, and blood pressure and significant improvement in insulin sensitivity.  All very positive outcomes for three 20-minute workouts per week for 2 weeks.

Other Tips for Those Short on Time to Exercise

  1. Squeeze it into your day whenever you can.  Park farther away from work or the store and walk the extra distance.  Sprint up a flight of stairs rather than walk. Run to the bus stop. Anything that sets your heart racing.
  2. Get up early in the morning.  This works with your body’s internal clock and means you are less likely to get sidetracked by other commitments.
  3. Get exercise CD’s or download exercise videos.  Having the option to workout in your own living room makes exercise much more convenient, removes the commute time to the gym and also you can squeeze it in on your own schedule.

Need more lifestyle advice?  See one of our naturopathic doctors, Dr. Rachel Vong or Dr. Pamela Frank or our psychotherapist, Ichih Wang.  Need help with exercise recovery?  See one of our massage therapists, our acupuncturist or our chiropractor.

Exercise Research

Short duration SIT is an effective and efficient form of improving aerobic fitness in untrained individuals. Source: Br J Sports Med 2011;45:A8

2 weeks of this SIT substantially improved a number of metabolic and vascular risk factors in overweight/obese sedentary men, highlighting the potential for this to provide an alternative exercise model for the improvement of vascular and metabolic health in this population.
Source: Metabolism Volume 59, Issue 10, October 2010, Pages 1421–1428

Why Do I Wake Tired?

picture of a woman who will wake tired

Wondering Why You Wake Tired? Here’s how to Lose the Snooze Button

An overwhelming majority of my patients report that they wake tired in the morning when they have to get up. I’m always a little pleasantly surprised when I ask and a patient says yes, they feel refreshed. If you wake tired, there are a number of possible explanations, read on to learn more.

Not Enough Sleep

Studies show that the optimal amount is 7-7.5 hours of restful sleep. With hectic lifestyles, never enough time, trying to have a little down or “me” time, we often sacrifice time spent sleeping.  Also, if you are waking frequently in the night or up to go to the washroom, then you only get broken sleep. Broken sleep is not as refreshing as 7 hours of continuous sleep.

3 Action Steps for Better Sleep:

  1. Set an earlier bedtime, ideally by 10 p.m. and stick to it.  If you want some quiet time, get up early in the morning to be more aligned with your body clock. Aim for 8 hours of sleep per night, that way if you fall short, you’ll still get 7-7.5.
  2. Unplug by 8 p.m.  Looking at a screen tricks your brain into thinking it’s still daytime and decreases melatonin production that should enhance your sleep.  Melatonin has a multitude of additional benefits: it’s a powerful antioxidant, it repairs the esophagus, it can help fertility and it helps stimulate growth hormone production.
  3. If you find you are waking in the night, have a bite or two of protein containing food before bed.  A couple of bites of egg, fish, a tablespoon of almond butter etc, helps stabilize blood sugar to help you get to sleep & stay asleep better.

Low Iron

Ferritin is a blood test that we do to check for stored iron. Iron deficiencies can lead to exhaustion. An optimal ferritin level is above 60 mcg/L.  Some labs consider anything above 11 mcg/L to be normal.  As a result, your doctor may have told you your iron (ferritin) was normal when it was a fair bit below ideal. Ferritin below 40 mcg/L can definitely lead to problems with low energy and cause you to wake tired, as well as contributing to hair loss and shortness of breath.

2 Action Steps for Low Iron

  1. Ask your doctor to check ferritin and then ask for a copy of the blood work. Check that your ferritin is greater than 60 mcg/L.
  2. If your ferritin is below 60 mcg/L, it’s important to determine the cause of the low iron.  Simply taking iron supplements is not the best approach.  If you experience heavy periods that may explain the low iron, but in that case, it’s best to address the hormone imbalance that is causing the heavy periods.  If you absorb iron poorly or don’t take in enough from your diet, it’s best to address that.

Low Thyroid

Your thyroid regulates energy, body temperature, and metabolism.  Think of it as the gas pedal for your body.  If it’s not supplying enough gas, that means that having a sluggish thyroid can have a huge impact on energy. Blood work for thyroid is usually limited to testing TSH, a hormone that should stimulate the thyroid to work harder if it is underactive. So, a lower TSH means that the thyroid is working well, a higher TSH means the thyroid is sluggish.

The normal range for TSH is 0.35-5.00 mU/L.  If we converted this to whole numbers it is like saying that 35 to 500 is normal. The range is far too broad and once TSH gets above 3.00 there can be indications of an underactive thyroid. Some endocrinologists and fertility specialists will medicate the thyroid if the TSH is above 2.50 as thyroid problems can contribute to infertility. As with ferritin, you may have been told that your thyroid is “normal”. I will treat a patient’s thyroid if the TSH exceeds 3.00 to try to restore normal thyroid function.

2 Action Steps for Low Thyroid

  1. Ask your doctor to check your thyroid and then ask for a copy of the blood work. Check that TSH is between 0.8 and 3.00 mU/L.
  2. Additionally, it would be helpful to have the following measurements relating to thyroid: free T3, free T4, anti-TPO and anti-thyroglobulin.  A TSH measurement alone is not adequate to determine that your thyroid is working perfectly.

Allergies

Allergies can often leave people feeling exhausted a good deal of the time as their immune system is working double time, all the time.  Many people will have low-grade food allergies or food sensitivities that they are either unaware of or they are unable to pinpoint the culprit foods.  Dairy and gluten are common, but you can have a food sensitivity to literally anything you are eating.  Journaling what you eat and rating your energy both later that day & the following day may help you unearth patterns between foods & energy.  If not, food sensitivity blood testing is the most efficient way to determine exactly what your immune system is fighting.  For environmental allergies, we aim to limit exposure if possible, but you can’t necessarily avoid pollen and dust.

4 Action Steps for Allergies

  1. Support your adrenals – the adrenal glands help your body keep inflammation in check, read more on them below.  You can also test your adrenal gland function to determine if it is a problem.
  2. Detoxify the liver – phase I and phase II liver detoxification are the steps that your liver takes to remove toxins, body waste, pollution and even hormones from your body.  There are certain vitamins and minerals that are essential for these processes to work optimally including vitamin B6, B12, 5-MTHF, magnesium, glucarate and indole-3-carbinol.  Supporting efficient liver detox can help remove chemicals that may be adversely affecting your immune system.
  3. Cleanse your gut and restore good bacteria to the digestive tract – Healthy gut flora keeps the immune system regulated and working normally.
  4. Remove existing food sensitivities to settle allergies down – Food sensitivities create inflamed, hypersensitive tissue in your respiratory tract (nose, throat, lungs, bronchi, sinuses).  Calming down this tissue by removing food allergies can help make them less sensitive to environmental pollutants.

Underactive Adrenal Glands

If all else above has been ruled out, the reason you wake tired is likely due to underactive adrenal glands. These are your stress glands.  They sit on top of your kidneys and regulate a wide range of functions.  Their jobs include regulating your blood pressure, blood sugar, nervous system, libido, energy, drive, motivation, stress response, inflammation, hormone balance etc. Signs of low adrenal function include:

  1. waking up tired after at least 7 hours of sleep
  2. hypoglycemia
  3. PMS
  4. anxiety
  5. depression
  6. feeling dizzy or light-headed on standing up quickly
  7. low libido
  8. inflammatory conditions like allergies, asthma, eczema, arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease etc.

3 Action Steps for the Adrenal Glands

  1. Lower your stress.  The adrenal glands were meant to help you deal with short term stress, like running away from danger.  Chronic stress is hard on them and depletes vital vitamins and minerals for them to function normally.  Stress reduction techniques like yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, exercise, and getting good sleep can help.
  2. Support the adrenals with lots of vitamin C, B5, B6, zinc, magnesium and potassium-rich foods like avocadoes, citrus and leafy greens.
  3. Measure.  You can do blood work to determine how well the adrenal glands are working.  Your adrenals produce all of your DHEAs, much of your testosterone and a stress hormone called cortisol.  These can all be measured in your blood.  Lab ranges are not particularly ideal for these tests either.  So it’s best to obtain a copy of your results and consult with a naturopathic doctor to see if blood work is showing a problem with your adrenal glands.

Our naturopathic doctors are the masters at troubleshooting fatigue and why you might wake tired.  Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture with Joy Walraven may help you have more energy. If pain is keeping you up at night, address the cause with massage therapy and chiropractic. If stress is keeping you up, combine massage therapy with psychotherapy.    Book an appointment now. 

Authored by Dr Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), ND for the team at Forces of Nature Wellness Clinic

The Trouble with Stress


woman with stress

Why is Stress a Problem?

We often underestimate the power of stress. We like to see it as natural, and even helpful, in being productive in our day-to-day lives. But the positive effects of stress, like goal orientation, motivation, and even intensified memory or cognitive responses are most beneficial in small doses.

Many of us have built up tolerances to living with constant, heightened stress levels, and the temptation to see this as a positive or heroic trait has reduced our natural desire to respond to it. Instead of recognizing and reacting to the core ‘fight or flight’ survival response that it provides, many of us function with long durations of heightened stress without realizing that living under continued high levels can have dire health consequences.

How Stress works:

You’ve probably heard this before, and you’ve certainly felt it: the pounding heart, the rushing sounds in your ears, and an acute and intense desire for action when something has caught you completely off guard.

When your brain perceives some kind of stress, be it your move in a basketball game, a heated argument, or stepping off a busy street, it starts producing an influx of epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol hormones. This flood of chemicals produces a variety of reactions: increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and an acute focus on taking whatever action is necessary to stay safe.

Stress can be brought on by a variety of internal and external factors, and it can be a very healthy reaction and necessary to maintain our survival. It’s when you remain in a heightened state for prolonged periods of time, that the effects of stress on your system can become a real medical problem.

How much stress is too much?

Life events, changes in lifestyle, work, family, or even shifting responsibilities such as child or parent care, relationships, and work can directly affect feelings of overwhelm. When the amount on our plate reaches a place of critical mass, we experience overwhelm. That experience can present itself in many ways. Emotional stressors like these, that remain for a period of weeks, months, or even years, can become detrimental to your immune system, and your overall health. Being able to recognize our own stress signals is the first step to finding ways to cope with and dissipate it, to return to a healthy state that will enable you to work through the demands placed on you.

Recognizing Stress Responses:

There are many ways that stress expresses itself. While some might be more familiar to you than others, a person can experience some or all of these at different times. But, multiplied sources of ongoing stress can lead to larger health issues. If chronic stress is not dealt with effectively, it can become debilitating, leading to an inability of what we want to do most: thrive at work, and in life with our family and friends.

Being able to recognize the sensations of stress is the first step to being able to discuss them with your family doctor and your personal health team. Then, they can help you find ways to cope more effectively.

Stress can feel like:

  • Frenetic energy or restlessness
  • Fatigue, or trouble sleeping or staying awake
  • Digestive issues, changes in appetite, over or under eating
  • Change in use of addictive substances like alcohol, tobacco, or drugs
  • Inability to concentrate or complete tasks
  • Increased frequency of colds or other illnesses like autoimmune disease flares
  • Heightened anger or impatience
  • Headaches, migraines, body aches
  • Increased irritability, anger, or anxiety
  • Lack of motivation, depression, sadness
  • Inability to catch your breath, panic attacks
  • Change in sex drive, social withdrawal
  • Feelings of being ‘burnt out’

That’s me! What should I do?

First, know that everyone experiences high stress at one time or another. You are not alone.

Second, understand that it is manageable and that there are many tools that Dr. Pamela Frank, ND  Dr. Rachel Vong, ND and Ichih Wang, therapist in training, have at their disposal to help hone in on treatments and and actions that will support you in managing yours. If stress is creating muscle tension, back pain or neck pain, see one of our massage therapists, our acupuncturist/TCMP Joy Walraven or one of our chiropractors.

There’s no need to wait until stress is overwhelming to start practicing some simple management techniques. In fact, the Mayo Clinic recommends including a few key practices to help manage everyday stress, so that if a major issue should arise, you’ll have a few great tools already in your tool box.

Some people find great benefit in:

  • Effective, gentle breathing and stretching techniques
  • Tai Chi or gentle yoga (such as Hatha, Yin, or Restorative not Vinyasa, Ashtanga, or Power)
  • Exercising regularly, choosing gentle forms of movement and temporarily reducing or eliminating cardio intensive exercise (which increases the cortisol response)
  • Allotting quiet time for yourself, to think, journal, meditate, or engage in a creative activity that you enjoy
  • Implement a restful sleep routine that makes a conscious effort towards reducing screen-time and stimulants before bed, and gives you the opportunity to regulate the amount and timing of your sleep hours – the mind and body heal when at rest

Let the mind and body work together:

Remember that stress starts in the brain, and then exhibits in the body. It is not a form of weakness; rather, it is a normal psychological and physical response to situations that require our attention. The way that we can best manage stress is by paying attention and caring for the mind as well as the body, holistically. Some potential stress diagnostic and stress management tools your practitioner could suggest include:

  • Hormone testing and re-balancing
  • Methods of identifying and eliminating stressors
  • Natural, non-addictive, sleep training
  • Building inroads to create family support
  • Natural nutritional supplements such as:
    • Magnesium glycinate
    • B vitamins
    • Adrenal support and adaptogenic supplements (like ashwaganda, Korean ginseng, licorice root, or schisandra)
  • Properly administered essential oil blends, such as:
    • Chamomile
    • Frankincense
    • Lavender
    • Lemon balm
    • Rose
    • Vanilla
    • Valerian

It’s never too early to start learning how to identify and copy better with stress. After all, life is full of surprises. Have you tried any of these tools? Which ones have worked best for you? Which new ones will you try?

Your Forces of Nature Wellness Team is here to help you. If you find that your stress management toolkit isn’t providing what you need, please call us. We would love to support you to finding your best health.

How To Survive a Hectic Lifestyle

how to survive a hectic lifestyle

6 Ways to Survive a Hectic Lifestyle

By Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), ND

Schedule “Me” Time

Take a certain amount of time every day just for you. Read a book, enjoy a cup of tea, take a walk, have a bath, get a pedi, have a massage, or do a craft (colouring for adults is hot right now!).

Exercise Every Day

Exercise is an investment in your short and long term health. It is the best stress reducer and it helps prevent every chronic illness. Walk, jog, bike, run, swim, dance, do a class, take karate, do some yoga,, whatever, just make it a priority like you would brushing your teeth or having a shower.

Take Vacations

Don’t be a martyr and forgo vacations in favour of work. Vacations will help you recharge and you’ll come back more productive afterwards.

Re-evaluate Priorities

Should work really be the most important thing in your life? Why?

Bolster Your Adrenal Glands

The fast pace depletes the necessary ingredients for your adrenal glands to perform their job, then you can’t deal with the hectic pace as easiliy. Take B5, B6, C, Magnesium and Zinc along with adaptogens like ashwagandha, rhodiola, schisandra and eleuthrococcus.

Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night

It doesn’t have to be 8 hours per night, but it should be at least 7 to allow your body to recover and recharge. Staying up to work on a project will hinder your performance the next day.

Book an appointment with one of our naturopathic doctors now for more advice about how to lead your healthiest, happiest life possible.