Detox Safely & Effectively
Please view the online version of our October newsletter, here. You can also view past issues of our email newsletter, Integrated Roots, on our facebook page.
Author: KIHC
“Good bacteria” critical for Digestive Health
~ Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND
Many of us would like to believe that our bodies are clean and sterile, but the truth is that we are made up of 10 times more bacteria than body cells. These bacteria manage our immune system, digest our food, and keep the ‘bad’ guys in-check. These friendly bacteria are not only crucial for our quality of life, but they keep us alive. When we change our balanced digestive environment, such as with acute use of antibiotics or chronic use of acid blocking medication like Nexium and Prevacid, susceptibility to damaging species like C. difficile and H. pylori increases, our risk for mineral deficiencies and associated diseases like osteoporosis increases, and our immune system function declines.
The Energy of Digestion
Carol Belanger, BA, RM, BHS
Tension, worry, mental fatigue, stress and physical ailments are all taxing on the digestive system. These depleting circumstances use the energy stores in our body, leaving less energy for digestion. Digestion requires a fair amount of energy to process food. Vegetables and fruit have digestive enzymes in them and require less energy to digest. Processed food and cooked food has fewer or no enzymes and require the most amount of energy to digest.
We have a finite amount of energy to use each day if we are not actively replenishing it. That means that in addition to digestion, any of the jobs performed by our body are using energy and are limited in effectiveness if our energy level is low – whether we are healing a chronic or acute pain or ailment, detoxifying, using brainpower, etc.
However, we don’t actually have a finite amount of energy to use each day. If that sounds contradictory,
Folic Acid Supplementation – Are you taking the right one?
Please view our entire June e-newsletter, Kids and Teens and their unique health needs, here.
Dr. Christina Vlahopoulos, ND
Many women who are trying to become pregnant know the importance of folic acid supplementation in the prevention of Neural Tube Defects (NTD). Government agencies have mandated that certain foods be fortified with this essential vitamin to further protect against this condition. Furthermore, it is advised by the Public Health Agency of Canada that all women planning on becoming pregnant should take 0.4mg of Folic Acid daily 3 months pre-pregnancy and for the first three months of pregnancy.
However, recent research is demonstrating that some people cannot fully use or metabolize folic acid. Even if a woman is supplementing with folic acid she may only be utilizing part of the supplement and not folic acid to its fullest extent.
Non-toxic Sunscreen for Kids
Please view our entire June e-newsletter, Kids and Teens and their unique health needs, here.
Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND
For years we’ve been taught that sunburns cause skin cancer and that sunscreens are protective. Did you know though that many agencies are now arguing that there is actually very little scientific evidence to prove that sunscreen prevents skin cancer, and that many ingredients in these products are quite harmful themselves? Though this may be very true, it’s most important to consider that a lack of evidence doesn’t prove ineffectiveness so that, simply put, it appears we simply lack the evidence to make an easy informed decision one way or the other. So what’s a parent to do?
Pediatric Naturopathic Medicine
Please view our entire June e-newsletter on Kids and Teens, here.
Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND
Children are not born as the “clean slate” we once thought of them as. Our environment is over-burdened with toxic chemicals and babies are exposed to many of these while still in mom’s tummy. Even breast milk, which is the healthiest food for a newborn child, can be laden with fat-soluble toxins from mom’s body. The good news is that children are generally quite resilient and they often respond very well to healthcare approaches that promote healthy functioning of the entire body. This differs from some approaches that address uncomfortable symptoms by suppressing normal body processes, sometimes until a child “grows out of” their particular concern.
Many complementary and integrative medicines, such as Naturopathic Medicine, Osteopathy, and advanced forms of Reiki, treat conditions by identifying and treating where or how the body is having difficulty fixing itself. By gently supporting the body’s natural ability to heal, much of the guesswork in medicine is removed and optimal health, (rather than simply the absence of disease), is possible.
Babies and Energetic Touch
Please view our entire June e-newsletter on Kids and Teens, here.
Carol Belanger, BA, RM, BHS
Babies appreciate contact to a great degree. From time of conception, they exist in a comforting world of contact. They are both stimulated and soothed by their growing sense of touch and by their other senses as well. From my experience with babies in utero, they respond wonderfully to energy work through enhanced energetic touch. This continues after they are born too.
It can be sensory overload for a newborn or young infant in our busy, stimulating, steady-paced world. This presents an environment of a lot of input for them. Resting helps restore their sensory calm and soothing, but infants may need this calming and soothing even before a rest happens.
Seeking Health Care Professional
Kingston Integrated Healthcare is interviewing now for a full-time health professional (private practice) who is eager to work in a busy multidisciplinary integrative health clinic. This could be a Nurse Practitioner, Occupational Therapist, Podiatrist, Acupuncturist, Naturopathic Doctor, Psychologist, Chiropractor, or other professional. Our candidate will be motivated, team-oriented, and eager to build their practice. In return, KIHC will endeavour to provide a refreshingly supportive and friendly environment with like-minded individuals who are a joy to work with.
Kingston Integrated Healthcare provides exceptional professional natural healthcare services and remains one of the most comprehensive integrative natural healthcare facilities in Kingston. Our multi-disciplinary team of 8 practitioners includes Naturopathic Doctors, Registered Massage Therapists, Osteopathic Manual Practitioners, a Reiki practitioner, and Psychotherapist. We also have an on-site medical laboratory, IV therapy room, acupuncture room, health dispensary, and workshop space for meditation, Qi gong classes, and health-specific education classes.
Other benefits for the candidate include easier compliance with the legal concerns of running a practice (e.g. privacy policy and informed consent), marketing opportunities (e.g. access to our workshop space, high-traffic website, monthly e-newsletter, and social media), and inter-professional referrals for truly comprehensive patient care and optimal patient outcomes.
Exceptional full-time administrative support is offered at KIHC to benefit both practitioners and patients.
Please contact Dr. Sonya Nobbe, at drSonya@kihc.ca if you are interested in joining our vibrant and growing clinic. Please view www.KIHC.ca for more information.
Naturopathic Medicine and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A new study shows benefit!
View our entire May e-newsletter, Reversing Heart Disease, here.
An exciting new study just released in April 2013 in Canada’s top medical journal, the CMAJ, demonstrated how naturopathic medicine can help prevent cardiovascular disease. It was a milestone achievement for the naturopathic community, as the study was conducted by the naturopathic doctors from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, and was one of the first to compare naturopathic medicine as a system of medicine to that of our standard medical system.
The study followed 207 Canada Post workers, aged 25-65, over the course of one year. Each participant was evaluated for cardiovascular risk before and after the study, including body weight, waist circumference, cholesterol levels, fasting blood sugar and blood pressure. All participants received standard conventional care from their family physician throughout the study period. The control group only received conventional care while the naturopathic intervention group included 7 visits over the course of the year. Naturopathic interventions were limited to individualized dietary and lifestyle counseling, stress management, exercise and a select list of dietary supplements with proven cardiovascular benefit. These included fish oil, plant sterols, cinnamon, ALA and CoQ10.
The results showed that the naturopathic intervention group had a 17% decreased rate of metabolic syndrome over the control group! Metabolic syndrome is a condition that is a precursor to many diseases,
IV Nutrient Therapy and Cardiovascular Disease: Did you know?
Intravenous magnesium:
was found to be as effective as oral anti-hypertensive medication in one study
can inhibit blood clot formation by about 35%
dilates blood vessels in the brain and is currently being researched as a treatment after a stroke
is one of the few safe treatments for hypertension in pregnancy
is used as a treatment for some types of arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat)
is likely to be even more effective than oral magnesium in its ability to improve heart cell function, cardiac output and vascular tone!
Intravenous vitamin C:
