Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Mustard Plasters

It is unbelievable how many people with colds and flus have come in to the clinic this week. I've been trying to bleach everything (chair handles and tables) as often as I can to make sure it's a clean environment!!!

So it was only a matter of time until I started to get the sniffles. I'm fighting it though!!! I started taking my melange of things that are my go-to if there is even a hint of illness on the way. Echinacea Combo by St. Francis - dropperful every hour, vitamin C, zinc, and this time I'm adding Cu-Au-Ag trace elements to the mix as I'm in a constant effort to try new things on myself. Seems to be working!!!

I've had quite a few kids with chest congestion and one of the easiest things to do to help is a mustard plaster: 1 tbsp dry mustard, 1 tbsp cornstarch, mix with water to make a paste, put oil on chest and then mustard paste on top, tea towel to cover for maximum 15 minutes. Mustard has a rubifacient quality - it increases the circulation - so it's great at pulling out some of the congestion.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

CFL Breakage

Go figure!

In February's newsletter as well as a recent post I wrote about compact fluorescent lightbulbs and how they have mercury in them and how they have to be disposed of carefully if they break.

Chris and I have been changing all the old lightbulbs for these energy-efficient CFL's in the house. One of the bulbs didn't work so we needed to return it. It's been sitting on the counter and more recently on the dining room table for the last couple of weeks... so an accident was bound to happen....

I'm glad I did some research so when the lightbulb fell off the table and broke we knew exactly how to clean up the mess. We have opened the windows to thoroughly vent out the house and are washing our socks and threw out the broom Chris used to clean up.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

A Fish Oil That Tastes Good?

Just tried Nutrasea's new omega-3 with vitamin D - it has 1500 mg of omega-3 with a 3:2 ratio of EPA to DHA and 1000 IU of vitamin D3. It's actually very tasty. There is an apple flavour that actually reminds me of drinking apple juice as a child... (not that I would recommend juice now!!!!)

It's a great option for those who don't like the original nutrasea that is lemon flavoured and it has the added health benefits of vitamin D. Benefits like bone mineralization, immune function, and mood balancing!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Mark Bittman

Last week one of my patients gave me a few recipes to try that she had heard on a morning show. They were done by Mark Bittman, a New York Times columnist and successful cookbook author.

Yesterday I happened to be in Book City in the Annex and randomly picked up a book called "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian". I don't have a good basics book in my library that outlines techniques and basics. Everything I've learned in the kitchen I've learned from my mom and the food network and of course endless experimentation as a child, teen, and now as an adult on my husband Chris.

This book looked like a wonderful resource and much to my surprise Mark Bittman was the author. Clearly this weeks dinner menu will be filled with some new recipes... Off to the market for some ingredients!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Vaccine Court

Now that the US primaries are finished, the election is long gone, and the inauguration of Barack Obama is over, I thought that my CNN addiction would dissipate. For some reason I'm still drawn to Campbell Brown's No Bias, No Bull show and continually watch it every night at 8 pm. Maybe it was my Today Show addiction when growing up.... (my cross country coach Ron always had it on at the gym in the mornings while I was running on the treadmill!)

Last night Campbell was fired up about the vaccine court ruling that 3 children's developmental delay/autism were not linked to the MMR vaccine. She said to finally let this possible connection die and everyone should vaccinate their kids and blah blah blah.

I think there is still much research to be done into the different theories of autism and vaccines in general. Why have the number of cases escalated? Are combination vaccinations the best way? Is the current schedule too much too soon for those little bodies to handle?

A great resource that I read over the xmas holidays was a book called Childhood Vaccinations, written by Katia Bailetti. She gives a great overview of the different vaccines and the pros and cons and alternate schedules. It's worth a read and it is always best to make an informed decision.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Edmonton Visit!

YAY! I'm back in Edmonton visiting my sister Angela and her wonderful Moksha yoga studio. It's great to be back and see how the studio is growing day by day. It's also been great to do a little yoga bootcamp, working on my tight hip flexors and hamstrings! I also had a chance to catch up with my friends, and colleagues, Andrea and Arnel and their 2 beautiful kids, who drove up from Calgary.

Although it's technically a little vacation away from the clinic I have been busy putting my sister's nutrition back on track. As a true older sister, I have been reminding (read lecturing) her how important it is to eat properly and how easy it is to cook even when you are crazy busy. Healthy eating is all about being prepared and organized. Yes it takes work to eat well but it is necessary to feel good and more importantly to perform well mentally and physically. Although it can be really easy to eat out and grab things on the fly, it's expensive and never as nutritious as homemade food.

So we've been meal planning and writing down a few easy meals to have at Ang's fingertips.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

HPRAC Recommendations

Two years ago we were awarded the Naturopathy Act which puts us under the same regulation act as medical doctors (RHPA). There were a few things that were omitted and HPRAC, was put together to assess other parts of the profession. This week they came out with the recommendations to put forth to the Ontario government. Their recommendations were very positive for the profession.

HPRAC recommended that NDs should be awarded the controlled act of prescribing, dispensing, selling and compounding drugs in order to ensure that NDs can maintain access to restricted natural substances, and play a larger role in primary care.

HPRAC recognizes that NDs have the competencies required to prescribe and that this will improve access to care for Ontarians who chose NDs for their primary care.
This is key as we could potentially lift a bit of the burden off the healthcare system .... ER wait times or walk-in wait times...

HPRAC has recommended that NDs be able to prescribe specified classes of restricted substances. One class will be comprised of all restricted natural substances that are integral to naturopathic medicine, including amino acids like L-carnitine, restricted dosages of vitamins, and hormones. NDs would have access to all substances within this class, subject to the rules of the profession. HPRAC is also recommending classes of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, CNS agents and dermatological agents. It is proposed that a drug list will be established to determine which specific pharmaceuticals within these classes NDs will be able to prescribe.

Let's see how the face of healthcare could change with naturopathic doctors being an integral part! It's a very exciting time for the profession and for healthcare in general. A preventative and wellness approach is much needed in our society with the increase in chronic lifestyle related diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Cold Sore

I am so mad at myself.

Yes I am prone to cold sores. I usually can tell know when I'm going to get one - when I've been super busy at work and not so good at the 'work-life' balance thing or if I'm out in the sun for a while at the beginning of the season.

So I wasn't really expecting one as I was on the detox for the last 2 weeks and was sleeping pretty well and doing my yoga.....

Friday night I decided to make rice paper salad rolls for dinner. I can totally make them detox friendly but decided I felt like some protein so added in some shrimp (shellfish are not allowed on the cleanse!) and some peanuts. Oh and I made the dipping sauce with peanut butter instead of the usual almond butter that I do.

Saturday morning I felt fine EXCEPT for the fact that I got a cold sore! I didn't understand until I started thinkinig about the peanuts - they are sooo high in arginine, the opposite amino acid to lysine. Lysine is wonderful for slowing down the replication of the cold sore virus and that is why it is used in combination with other things for the treatment of cold sores!

That must have been it! So anytime I get one I try different products to test their efficacy. This time I'm trying a new Chinese herbal formula called yin-care and R30 ointment by Dr. Reckeweg. So far so good - I think I like this combination.