Thank you and Goodnight

Hello,

I finally did it-I became an ND and am practicing in Western Canada!

This blog was a wonderful release from the challenging and often stress-filled years of training as an ND.  I thank you all for your support through reading and I want you to know that I would not have made it through without your well-wishes.

The end of this blog signifies the beginning of a lifetime of practice.

Thank you all again.  I really appreciate your support.

Yours in health,
Jasmine

This Could Be Why Menopause Is Solely a Western Phenomena

I discovered TedTalks back in 2010 and have been impressed with all the lectures I have encountered thus far.



I recently came across the following TedTalk that made me think.  As a practitioner, I use nutrient therapy to help people feel well and function optimally. We're taught in school that lifestyle and diet are the fundamentals of health, however, these are becoming increasingly more difficult to nurture due to the pace of modern life.



As an intern in Toronto, ON where the women are all incredibly driven, I saw case after case of amenorrhea (women not getting a period) or oligomenorrhea (frequent menstrual bleeding, more than once a month) in young women and debilitating menopause in middle-aged women.  These patient numbers, however, paled in comparison to the number of young women seeking help with fertility after trying for years with no results.



Dr. Libby Weaver's description of "Rushing Women Syndrome" is an eye opener to why women's health issues are at an all time crisis in North America.  As a practitioner, part of my job is to empower my patients to take control of their health and Dr. Weaver's talk will inspire many that it is possible.











I also came across an interesting article in The Atlantic written by a woman who left a high-profile job to be with her children after finding that she just couldn't do both.  You can find this article by clicking here.



This goes back to a huge belief of mine that women should consider a career or motherhood to spare their health and to have happy lives.  This may sound anti-feminist but my opinion is formed entirely as a practitioner who cares about my female patients and places their health optimization above anything.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion-so what is yours?



What do you think about this? Does it strike true with you?  Does it explain a few things?



Some food for thought....



Yours in health,

Jasmine

What Does Fibromyalgia Look Like?

Often one can recognize themselves in someone else's story.  Here is a case study from Dr. Louise McCrindle and Dr. Alison Bested's book that describes a patient with fibromyalgia.

"Claire was 54 years old and working full time as a grade 7 teacher when she was rear-ended in a car accident.  This was the third time she had been in a car accident.  The next day, Claire had a headache and felt pain in her neck and shoulders.  She went to see her family doctor, who prescribed anti-inflammatory medication and recommended massage therapy.  Over the next few months, her pain worsened.  She rated the pain a 6 to 8 on a scale of 10 (with 0 as no pain and 10 as the worst pain).  She was unable to sleep.  She went to bed exhausted and she woke up exhausted the next morning.  Her pain spread to the rest of her body.  At work, she spoke with her principal about her situation.  She finally had to leave work when she couldn't remember how to teach a lesson to her students-one that she had taught many times previously.  She is now on medical leave, struggling to go out grocery shopping for 20 minutes."

Does this sound familiar?

Unfortunately, even though an estimated 6% of Canadians are suffering with Fibromyalgia, many Canadians are not being properly diagnosed or treated for this disease.  When looking for a health-care professional, make sure they are willing to learn about new conditions in medicine.  Everyday there are new discoveries in treating and diagnosing Fibromyalgia.  Although we do not have all the answers yet, we have learned enough to help you control your symptoms and begin to improve your daily life with fibromyalgia.

A great resource to understand more about Fibromyalgia is the following book:

Dr. McCrindle practices in Toronto, ON and Dr. Alison Bested practices in Vancouver, BC.  Dr. McCrindle practices functional medicine and uses therapeutic diets, nutrient therapy, and botanical medicine as a base for treatment of her patients with Fibromyalgia.

To find a healthcare practitioner in the Calgary area, visit this link and this link

Yours in health,
Jasmine

Scientists sniffing out the Western allergy epidemic

I've posted an interesting article from the BBC here for you to enjoy:

One in three of us is allergic. From grass pollen to latex, peanuts to pets, allergies send 20,000 of people in England to hospital every year.

But generations before did not suffer from this epidemic, so what is it that's making us so allergic in our modern world?

Many theories have come and gone over the years, but now scientists think they may have discovered what's to blame - and BBC Two's Horizon has put this theory to the test.

Every one of us is covered head to toe with bacteria, and intriguingly scientists believe these microscopic bugs are the key to explaining why we are becoming more allergic.

Families under the microscope

The bacteria that cover our skin, line our mouths and fill our guts not only outnumber our own cells by about 10 to one but may play a vital role in training our immune systems. Changes to our lifestyles are influencing these microorganisms, and allergies are the consequence.

To see if this theory played out in the real world, Horizon put the lives of two allergic families under the microscope.

In one of the families, eight-year-old Joe suffers from severe asthma, hay fever, eczema, and nut, pet and dust mite allergies.

In the other, four-year-old Morgan's list of allergies is seemingly endless. Along with severe eczema and hay fever, he is allergic to dairy products, nuts, soya, kiwi fruit, avocado, banana, latex, cats, dogs and horses.

Both families gamely agreed to provide bacterial swabs of their skin, guts and even their homes in the hope they might offer clues about why they suffer from allergies.

The results were incredible. Like most of us in the Western world, the families had far fewer types of bacteria living in and on them when compared with people in traditional tribes in parts of the developing world. One hunter-gatherer community was found to not only have a higher diversity of bacteria, but only one in 1,500 suffered from an allergy - compared with one in three in the UK.

Life in the West appears to be changing our bacteria and susceptibility to allergy. But what is it about the Western lifestyle that is to blame?

There are likely to be many culprits, but a big factor could be how we are bringing up our children.

Today a quarter of babies in the UK are born by Caesarean section. That is a significant statistic in light of a Norwegian study that found Caesarean babies were 52% more likely to suffer from asthma than those born vaginally.

Threat from antibiotics

Scientists believe the bacteria that babies are exposed to in the birth canal somehow help protect them from allergies, and the rise in Caesarean births may be making children more allergic.

But the assault on their bacteria appears to continue as they grow up. Breast milk is now known to contain up to 900 species of bacteria, possibly explaining why exclusively breast-fed babies are less likely to suffer from allergies.

One of the greatest threats to allergy-protecting bacteria comes from antibiotics. These medicines, meant to protect us, often severely reduce our harmless friendly bacteria.

Researchers at King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with the University of Nottingham and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, found that the use of antibiotics in early life may increase the risk of developing eczema by 40%.

There is no doubt that children today are being exposed to fewer bacteria than they were in the past, and they are suffering more allergies.

But it is not just the way our children are born that impacts their bacteria. How they are brought up also makes a difference.

As Horizon tracked the movements of the two families over 24 hours, it discovered that they spent on average 91% of their days indoors - a pattern reflected across the UK. As our lives become increasingly sedentary we miss out on the vast array of bacteria that lurk in our gardens and waft through the air.

So, arguably, the easiest thing for all of us to do to reduce our chances of becoming allergic is to go outside. Whether it is walking the dog or strolling to school, the evidence suggests that being outside and taking a good deep breath of fresh air is good for you.

'Old friends'

One study has even found that if you have more plants and flowers around your house you are not only more likely to have a diverse array of bacteria on your skin, you are also less likely to be allergic.

Professor Graham Rook, of University College London, calls these bacteria our "old friends", and has no doubt of their importance to our health.

He says: "In a way, this realisation that humans are in fact ecosystems and that we depend so much on these microorganisms is probably the most important advance in medicine in the last hundred years."

The discovery that "friendly" bacteria shape our immune systems is revolutionary, and as Horizon explores the latest research in this field it will make you reconsider everything from what you eat to how your body works.

Yours in health,
Jasmine

The Paradoxes of Prescriptions

Adderall is a pharmaceutical that is prescribed for the management of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children.  

Side effects of Adderall include nervousness, restlessness, excitability, dizziness, headache, fear, anxiety, and tremor. Blood pressure and heart rate may increase, and patients may experience palpitations of the heart. Adderall is habit forming and chronic use may lead to dependence.

Interestingly enough, I also found this warning to nursing mothers who may be ingesting Adderall:

"Mothers taking Adderall should refrain from nursing because amphetamines are excreted in human milk and can have undesirable effects on the child." 

 Again, Adderall is being prescribed everyday by Medical Doctors to children to manage ADHD despite these terrifying side effects.

Luckily, there is a better way to manage this disease.  There are quite a number of positive studies that investigate the use of nutritional supplements in the treatment of children with ADHD.  These have included a combination of dietary modifications (such as an elimination diet, where gluten and dairy are excluded from the diet) in conjunction with supplementation (usually a combination of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids).

If you are in the Calgary area and are interested in effective nutritional interventions in the treatment of children's metal health, the Canadian Society for Orthomolecular Medicine is presenting a course on Integrative Medicine for Children's Mental Health at Mount Royal University on September 27, 2014.  To register, visit www.csom.org and click on the icon on the left.


Yours in health,
Jasmine

CME Seminar in Children's Mental Health

My dream is that healthcare in Canada will be more Integrative and that safe and effective treatments will be utilized by all healthcare professionals first, so that the patient experiences better health outcomes and a better quality of life.

Children suffering from Austism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are sometimes given pharmaceuticals like Risperidone, that can cause any number of the following:

• Aggressive behavior
• agitation
• anxiety
• changes in vision, including blurred vision
• difficulty concentrating
• difficulty speaking or swallowing
• inability to move the eyes
• increase in amount of urine
• loss of balance control
• mask-like face
• memory problems
• muscle spasms of the face, neck, and back
• problems with urination
• restlessness or need to keep moving (severe)
• shuffling walk
• skin rash or itching
• stiffness or weakness of the arms or legs
• tic-like or twitching movements
• trembling and shaking of the fingers and hands
• trouble sleeping
• twisting body movements

Some of these side effects are often irreversible, even when the medication is discontinued.  Sadly, these treatments offer far too little benefit for the amount of risk. 

Luckily, there is a MD in Markham, ON that treats children with ASD solely with nutrition and nutrient therapy.  And the amazing thing? These treatments alone are enough to reverse the symptoms associated with ASD in many of these children.

Dr. Gannage MD, CCFP is now teaching physicians across Canada his techniques and treatment protocols so that Canadian children with ASD can lead a better quality of life-including the ability to interact with their world.

If you are a Physician (ND, MD etc.) in Calgary, AB on September 27, 2014 you should register for the Integrative Medicine for Children's Mental Health Continuing Medical Education Seminar by visiting the website www.csom.ca and registering online.

  Yours in health,
Jasmine

Getting an X-ray? You need Vitamin C

I was recently at the dentist and given the option of having my teeth radiographed.  Although I visit the dentist annually, I do not always get my teeth radiographed for the simple fact that x-rays and gamma rays are known human carcinogens (cancer-causing agents).  You have the option of asking your dentist to X-ray your teeth every other year or perhaps as little as every 5 years.  Luckily, my dentist is very understanding when it comes to my concerns and, since I have never had a cavity under his care, is happy to space out my X-rays.

So, do X-rays cause cancer?  The American Cancer Society (at www.cancer.org) quotes on their website:

Yes. X-rays and gamma rays are known human carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). The evidence for this comes from many different sources, including studies of atomic bomb survivors in Japan, people exposed during the Chernobyl nuclear accident, people treated with high doses of radiation for cancer and other conditions, and people exposed to high levels of radiation at work, such as uranium miners.

 ....

Still, most scientists and regulatory agencies agree that even small doses of gamma and x-radiation increase cancer risk, although by a very small amount. In general, the risk of cancer from radiation exposure increases as the dose of radiation increases. Likewise, the lower the exposure is, the smaller the increase in risk. But there is no threshold below which this kind of radiation is thought to be totally safe.

What can we do to protect ourselves?  Other than spacing out voluntary exposure to X-rays, we can take vitamin C everyday.  A study from the Journal of Research Comminications in Molecular Pathology and Pharmacology [PMID:9029674] showed that mice, when given a diet high in vitamin C, were able to mitigate any free radical damage caused by the X-ray both in the initial stages of radical scavenging but also in the cellular redox processes.  This means that having high levels of vitamin C in the body can help protect you against both acute X-ray assault as well as long lasting oxidative stress.

Some dietary sources of vitamin C (in order of highest content to lowest)

• Red bell peppers
• Guavas (note: you may want to avoid this if you have Type 2 Diabetes due to its high sugar content)
• Kale
• Kiwi
• Broccoli
• Strawberries
• Oranges
• Tomatoes (cooked)
• Papaya (note: you may want to avoid this if you have Type 2 Diabetes due to its high sugar content)

What about taking a Vitamin C supplement?

Due to modern day farming practices and longer food storage times, the vitamin C content was a lot higher in an orange picked in the 1950s compared to an orange picked in 2014.  With this being said, many people find it necessary to supplement their diets with vitamins and minerals.  When it comes to vitamin C, I'm happy to report that any brand will do.  The reason behind this is that ascorbic acid (the molecular name for vitamin C) is incredibly easy to compound, thus making it inexpensive for many companies to make.  Therefore, it's ok to buy this brand from any supplement company, not just a professional brand.  The only time I would look into buying vitamin C from a professional brand is if you have many food allergies or sensitivities, as generally only the professional brands ensure they make their products gluten, dairy, soy, corn and egg free.

If you are unsure about dosing, ask your Naturopathic Doctor or an Integrative Medical Doctor.  Click here to find a list of practitioners of Integrative MDs and NDs in Canada.

Yours in health,
Jasmine

Reversing Diabetes: How You Can Protect Yourself

I've finally finished my clinical component on the journey to becoming an ND and am preparing to write a very large, 3 day examination called NPLEX that will allow me to practice as an ND in North America (also known as, the "final step").

As I study, I also listen to informative podcasts and would like to share a recent find: The Reversing Diabetes Summit 2014, which can be accessed by typing the following into your search bar: http://thediabetessummit.com/

Although this conference talks about all interventions that pertain to Diabetes Mellitus, all the experts agree that the best prevention includes dietary and lifestyle changes.  Some simple dietary approaches that NDs use are diets that follow a low glycemic load and maximize foods that are high in fiber and rich in micronutrients (think vegetables, vegetables, vegetables).

Some of my favourite things to do on a daily basis to prevent diabetes and optimize health?

• sprinkle 2 tbsp of ground flaxseed on your salad or in your Magical Morning Smoothie
• eat 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen berries 
• eat 1 square of 70% or above dark chocolate
• eat at least 1 serving of fermented food (organic kefir, organic goats milk yogurt, unpasteurized sauerkraut, miso soup, kimchi, sugar-free kombucha tea) 
• add garlic and fresh ginger to your cooking
• aim for 5 servings of vegetables (a serving is the size of your fist)

In terms of nutraceutical and herbal interventions, there are a number of vitamins and herbs that are extremely helpful to reverse and prevent diabetes and working with a Naturopathic Doctor or an Integrative Medical Doctor to assess your individual nutritional needs is best.  Click here to find a list of practitioners of Integrative MDs and NDs in Canada. 

Best Advice Ever

Have a healthy day!
Jasmine

Resources for Fibromyalgia and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Fibromyalgia effects 6% of the total Canadian population.  Since Heart Disease only effects 3%, you can appreciate how many people that actually is.  It's estimated that people know at least one person that suffers from the disease characterized by chronic pain and, unfortunately, that number is steadily increasing.

As an intern on the Fibromyalgia and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis shift at the Robert Schad Naturopathic Clinic that is supervised by Louise McCrindle, ND, I am fortunate enough to learn effective techniques to deal with this painful and debilitating condition.  Louise McCrindle worked with Dr. Alison Bested, an expert in the field, and they wrote an incredible book that is bringing relief to thousands of suffering individuals across North America.  Not surprisingly, diet seems to have an enormous impact on the presentation of symptoms associated with this illness and they have included recipes that are easy to prepare but still manage to be tasty.

If you know someone with either of these conditions, send them the name of this book so they can start living a better quality of life.

 Have a wonderful, pain-free day!

Invite Gratitude Into Your Life

This is a great video to watch every morning before you start your day because living in gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

Enjoy

Happy Love Day!

I'm kind of a romantic.  So is F. Scott Fitzgerald.  We both wish you a Happy Valentine.

A day dedicated to reminding your family and friends about how much you love them is kind of awesome, so take full advantage of it!

Valentine's Day

I have this one friend who is hilarious.  A few years ago, she was working as a server for Valentine's Day and she had the following conversation with her boyfriend.

Her: "And all night they were playing that sappy love trumpet."

Him: "You mean the saxophone?" 

Happy (early) Valentine's Day to you all!  Hug a stranger and spread the love.

My Favorite Place In The World

There is a Canadian comedy show called "The Royal Canadian Air Farce" that featured a returning character who was dressed in red plaid (think lumberjack) and who was kind of slow and was named Mike from Canmore.

If you do end up venturing out to Canmore, Alberta you will (sadly?) not run into Mike but you will run into this:

 Main Street

 "Just another day" of wild Elk running through town

The 3 Sisters-a mountain peak that sits right beside the town of Canmore

This is where I was fortunate enough to spend my holiday and ring in the New Year.  The mountain air did me a world of good and I'm already looking forward to my next visit home.

"In art and dream may you proceed with abandon.  In life, may you proceed with balance and stealth"

Have a glorious day!

Happiness Prescription

With the forthcoming New Year close at hand, this is often a time for reflection and change, commonly referred to as resolutions.  Interestingly, this is the first year that I do not have any resolutions.

No, I did not become magically perfect over night; I am happy to report that I am still human and still learning from my mistakes daily.  This year is different, however, because since May 2012 I have been following a particular prescription for happiness that is working so well that for the first time in my life, resolutions do not seem necessary.  I'm still being carried forward by the momentum of change that I successfully implemented those 8 short months ago.

Now I've got you all hooked, haven't I?  Who wouldn't want to break out of the habit of forming resolutions that will inevitably dissolve within a matter of months (sometimes weeks) and leave you feeling like a failure? Well,  I'm happy to tell you that it's quite easy to change a habit-you only have to do a new task for 21 days in a row before it naturally becomes part of your routine.  I guess the hardest part is simply making the commitment to start, so lets not delay and begin now!

The Happiness Prescription is actually a small list of more than 1 habit to change, so for the sake of ease, I will be introducing 1 thing every 21 days.  New things can be overwhelming in their simplest form, so lets start slow and take it one day at a time.

Happiness Task #1
What: At the end of each day, you will write down 3 things you are grateful for that occurred in the past 24 hours.  Everyday they must be new things and there must always be exactly 3; no more and no less.
Why: By training your brain to pick out 3 positives over the course of a day, after 21 days it will become a habit for you to automatically look for the positives in life as opposed to the negatives.  This is huge, since we live in a very negative-focused society.  Think about it, when was the last time you heard a positive story on the evening news?
How: I have a special journal I have decorated and deemed my "Gratitude Journal".  It lives on my night table and every evening at the same time, right before bed, I write down the 3 things I am grateful for from that day.  Having an official book and time period in which to perform this task makes it more likely that you will complete it.  Remember, it's only for 21 days! Anyone can do almost any task for only 21 days....

Good luck and have a grateful day!

Mad Calgary Love

I am continually amazed at how charmed my life is.  Last night, I had the incredible blessing of spending an evening with very dear, old friends of the family at their house on the lake.  They love to throw an annual Christmas party which is always a huge hit.  Not only was I surrounded by those I loved but I was also able to make new friends with some very interesting people (one of which had climbed Mount Everest!).  Taking full advantage of the very frozen lake, I brought my skates (and ear muffs, toque, scarf and wooly sweater) and *attempted* to play a game of hockey with the other party guests.  A winter evening full of laughter, fun and love is exactly what I needed after months of being homesick for my hometown.

My sister couldn't stop laughing at how ridiculously happy and bundled up I was

After the skating party, we warmed up in front of the roaring fire while a particularly talented party guest serenaded us on the grande piano.  'Hey Jude' never sounded so wonderful.

Have a toasty day!

Bitten by the Holiday Fever

Agaricus is the homeopathic remedy that treats frostbite.  Unfortunately, I do not have any on hand, which wasn't the wisest decision I've ever made since I am back at home for Christmas and the average daily temperature is -25*C.  Brrrrrrrrrr......

Yes, I left the drizzling, mild Toronto weather on Christmas Eve to arrive in a freezing cold winter wonderland that is Calgary.  Here are some pictures from my (rather short) annual Christmas walk in Fish Creek Park, Alberta juxtaposed with pictures of my walk in High Park, Ontario that occurred just days prior.  My Christmas morning walk was magical; not a soul was to be seen and the snowflakes were drifting down ever so softly and lazily to cover the glittering world below.  

 A beautiful fall-like day in High Park, Toronto

 More High Park gorgeousness

A new friend I made in the park. I named him Cornelius.  

 And now, to Calgary and the vastness of the prairies.  

 "The quickest way to the universe is through a forest wilderness"

 The beautiful river, all sparkling with snow and ice

A stunning sunrise over the woods

Have a glorious day!

My Breakup with Veganism

If you are a particularly observant blog reader, you may have noticed that I have made a few animal product-infused posts of late.  Be assured that you are not hallucinating and that although my blog is still titled "vegangreenie", I have indeed called it quits with veganism.  Of course it was difficult to let go (we had, after all, been together for 5 whole years) but it was necessary since, although a vegan lifestyle is great for some people, it did not work for me. Allow me to explain.

Back when I was 20 years old, I got really enthusiastic about health.  I was newly discovering holistic living and I happened to be researching a diet fit for Type 2 Diabetics for a friend when I stumbled upon a website devoted to the joys of veganism.  As I read about how great an animal-free diet was for your body, the environment, your wallet and your conscience I began to want to change my habits into ones that were more animal-friendly.  After all, I grew up with animals and the idea of living in harmony with nature like the Zen Buddhist monks I admired really appealed to me.  Never one to leave off for tomorrow that which can be done today, that day I bought a ton of vegan cookbooks and began to navigate my way in veganhood while living in the seemingly meat-obsessed province of Alberta.

It was hard at first, considering I had never cooked before and I had to teach myself to cook all my meals since vegan fare in Calgary was hard to come by, but I was dedicated and I made it through.  I even backpacked around Australia and New Zealand completely vegan and I must say those first 3 years were great! I felt healthy, full of energy and so clean and light.  The first few years on a vegan diet are like a really nice detox for all your cells and I would definitely recommend anyone to give up animal products for a few months to a year to reap the benefits.  However, I should have known that sooner or later the honeymoon would be over.

It sort of started when I got accepted to CCNM.  Although vegan products were easier to come by in the enormous and progressive city of Toronto, the demands of the intense program and the added stress meant that I ended up dedicating less and less attention to my diet and it began to get quite unbalanced. What made matters worse is that not matter how many iron supplements I took, my anemia was growing worse and worse.  Although my ND was gently suggesting that I add some meat into my diet since my iron levels were verging on dangerously low, the seriousness of the situation only hit me when I held my stethoscope to my own chest and heard the unmistakable arrhythmia that was induced by my long standing anemia.  It suddenly occurred to me that in order to spare many animals, I was harming myself so from that day onwards I began eating meat.

Now, although I do eat meat now, I did not return to the Standard North American Diet filled with artificial and preserved foods.  I do not eat flour or sugar, since my body doesn't process either very well.  I realize the importance of balance and whole fresh food, so I follow these simple rules:
1. Buy organic meat and animal products as much as possible (it's cleaner for your body and it just tastes better).
2. Eat mostly fruits and vegetables, with meat being simply a meal accompaniment as opposed to the main star (you only need about 4 ounces).
3. Prepare everything as close to its natural state as possible.  This means real cheese and yogurt (ie no 'modified milk ingredients') and minimal sauces, spices etc.  I'm a huge fan of baking/roasting my food so that their true flavors are enhanced and you don't need heavy sauces etc.
4. The perfect salad dressing is real olive oil and vinegar-it's that simple.

My final notes on veganism is that it is a great temporary cleanse for your body but many people may find the diet unsustainable in the long run.  From experience, the people who are able to do well on a vegan diet for a long time are men (this is probably due to the fact that they are not losing iron stores every month like women are) and it's great to combat cardiovascular disease in this particular population.

Have a balanced, nurturing day!

The Secret to Success

This World Is Magical

Just to remind you, in case you forgot:

*Have a magical day*