Author: KIHC

Qigong Classes: From Hibernation to Rejuvenation

with Carol Belanger, BA, RM, BHS
10am to 11:15am, at KIHC
$65 for the 6 week series

From Hibernation to Rejuvenation:
6 Mondays: March 25th to May 6th (no class Easter Monday), and/or
6 Fridays: April 5th to May 10th

The liver is a wedge shaped organ found in the upper right side of the abdominal cavity. It is essential for the digestion and metabolism of food, breakdown of toxins, drugs, production of blood clotting factors and storage of blood.

The health of our organs influences our emotional health and vice versa. When our bodies are functioning with good health, we feel more in balance, and a relaxed internal environment is created. When organs are in disharmony, our energy and circulation becomes sluggish, the balance of our health is tipped, body systems become compromised and emotional disturbances can also result. Depression and anger are two emotions specifically associated with the liver.

The liver’s functioning also influences the health of the other organs. For example, if the liver is not performing optimally, our digestive system is compromised, our kidneys must perform a greater detoxification role, and the work of the spleen is not smooth. Uncomfortable symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, belching, diarrhea, and others may be present, at which point a visit with a naturopath may be indicated to support regaining liver health.

To strengthen the health of your liver and other organs,

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Memory and Aging: A complex puzzle

By Megan Edgelow, BSc(OT), MSc(RHBS), OT Reg.(Ont.), Occupational Therapist

Memory and aging can be a source of worry for many people. Common questions include: What memory changes should I expect as I grow older? What is normal and when should I seek health expertise? If I sometimes forget, is something wrong with my brain? Can I improve my memory?

These are excellent questions to ask, and an interest in your memory shows that you are invested in your health and well-being as you age. The good news is, there are many things you can do to improve your memory and daily function. Difficulties with memory are not an inevitable outcome of aging.

When someone’s memory or daily function is obviously impaired, seeking medical assistance is a natural step; the healthcare system is equipped to manage conditions such as dementia. However, for people who notice their memory is changing with age, but don’t have a serious memory impairment, a gap is left. They are often too well to need typical medical treatment, but can be left concerned about their memory, and frustrated by changes they notice.

Typical age-related change:

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Mould: What does it mean for indoor air quality?

~ Dr. Christina Vlahopoulos, ND, MSc (cand.)

With spring just around the corner it means we will start opening windows to let the fresh air in. It is also a very damp time of year with a lot of rain – for those who suffer from mould allergies, it can be challenging. There is a lot of strong evidence suggesting that dampness outside can change indoor air quality. But how does moisture make us sick? Unfortunately it is not the water and rain that make us sick, but rather they create the perfect environment and conditions for mould to grow.

Mould spores can be found everywhere – from food to drywall to leaf litter and the soil on the ground. In fact, mould and the enzymes they secrete, are needed for the normal breakdown and decay of organic material. But the problem begins when there are higher concentrations of mould indoors than outdoors. The problem gets worse when the perfect conditions are met for it to grow. All mould needs is increased moisture or water accumulation and/or the indoor relative humidity level to be above 60% – the higher the moisture content, the faster the mould growth. The greater the mould growth, the higher the risk for poor indoor air quality and the greater the chance of breathing problems or other respiratory illnesses.

One type of mould called “black toxic mould”

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Q: How does Massage Therapy help treat depression?

Joel Ackerman, RMT

A: Nowadays someone who is dealing with depression has a growing number of treatment paths available to them. One option that research is showing to be more and more effective is Registered Massage Therapy. There is growing evidence that Massage is an effective part of a holistic approach to treating depression and other mood disorders. Massage Therapists are now educated about depression just like any other condition such as epilepsy or hypertension. Let’s examine the role that Massage Therapy can play as part of an integrated approach to dealing with depression.

The most well known benefits of Massage Therapy are stress reduction and relaxation. Stress arises from, and contributes to all illnesses. Massage Therapy helps combat stress by calming your nervous system and putting your body in a more relaxed state. In fact, Massage Therapy has been shown to reduce cortisol levels in your body by up to 40 percent after even a single massage!

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What Causes Depression

Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND

So you’ve been told that you have a deficiency of the “happy” brain chemical serotonin, and that a drug will help you feel better by increasing your body’s response to serotonin. But what caused that serotonin deficiency in the first place? And what will happen if you neglect to address this underlying cause by relying solely on the medication?

Research clearly demonstrates that chronic stress can cause serotonin deficiencies and depression. Many of us would agree that spiritual or emotional stress incurred during childhood or in our jobs and relationships, can lead to depression. But chronic ‘stress’ also applies to physiological (body) stress. Stress from chronic illness can stimulate biochemical processes (e.g. inflammation), in the body that “steal” nutrients otherwise used for serotonin production, thereby contributing to depression symptoms. This stress biochemistry is a survival strategy that our bodies have used theoretically since the caveman age, and we haven’t adapted yet to our fast-paced North American culture.

Our bodies are built to manage short bouts of high stress, such as what you might feel if suddenly attacked by a wild animal. Our bodies are not biochemically equipped to manage any amount of chronic stress, no matter how low grade, and no matter whether emotional, environmental, or physical. When “healthy” biochemical processes are put on hold in favour of those that support our stress response, nutrients are depleted, normal wear and tear on our bodies is not repaired, our bodies switch to inefficient energy production processes (i.e. we feel tired and ‘old’), and chronic disease progresses.

What common health conditions can cause this shift in our body’s biochemistry and drop in serotonin?

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Low Back & Other Pains

Carol Belanger, BA, RM, BHS

There are many contributing factors of low back pain. Among them, lifting, bending, turning or in combination, seem to be the most common causes of low back pain. I want to discuss a factor that not many would consider. Yet, it is a factor that can affect us all. I want to describe for you, the influence of low energy levels on back pain.

How many of us say things like, “Ah, I have no energy today.” Or, “I’m spent.” Or, “I’m pooped.”? Yes, we can recognize when our energy levels get low.

But have you stopped to consider your energy level, where it comes from and where it goes? Those are easy questions on the surface to answer when we do start to consider them, and some of the answers are pretty common too.

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Direct Relating, Conscious Helping

Introduction to increasing & applying conscious presence when relating with clients.

Hosted by KIHC
Created and facilitated by Lise Gillis

Self-awareness is the starting point for emotional and social intelligence. The Mindful Therapist, Daniel J. Seigel

Comfort and awareness of one’s own inner landscape are powerful attributes that contribute to compassion and effectiveness as a helping professional. This introductory workshop will immerse you in a powerful relating process designed to support each other as colleagues, and significantly improve your ability to:

• Listen more deeply and be more present with others/clients
• Decrease mental chatter while listening
• Gain clarity and broader understanding of underlying life/client issues
• Be more alert, focused, accepting, non- judgemental and non-reactionary

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Overweight? It’s Not Your Fault

~ Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND

Dr. Natasha Turner, a well known Naturopathic Doctor in Toronto, wrote a series of books about weight-loss, including “The Hormone Diet”, in which she describes how to address hormone imbalances to lose weight. She recently appeared on the Dr. Oz show to discuss how to melt fat fast by re-setting your fat-burning hormones. You can view the show here.

This weight-loss science may seem new, but it is in fact a well known facet of nearly every holistic health philosophy, which is that all body systems work together to achieve health. If one hormone is out of whack, other hormones and indeed other systems such as the immune system and even emotional health are affected, and this impacts many health parameters, including weight. In her book, Dr. Turner says: “So many of us believe that we can get healthy by losing weight; the truth is, we must be healthy to lose weight.”

When exploring where your system is out of balance and how this is connected to difficulty losing weight, Naturopathic Doctors explore not only hormone balance, but also physical traumas that disrupt optimal body function, environmental toxins that disrupt hormone balance, emotional health including serotonin deficiencies, and food intolerances. We look at the big picture and refer you to the correct specialists for thorough healthcare.

If weight-loss is one of your goals this new year, I encourage you to move beyond the old counting calories approach and work to improve your body’s entire health, so that weight-loss comes naturally.

For more information about healthy weight and medical weight-loss, please see our educational brochure on our website, here.

Adapting to the Season of Winter – with Restoration!

~ Carol Belanger, BA, RM, BHS

Many among us complain about the winter – not just about the weather conditions affecting us, but also about the short days and long nights. Fact is, we need the restoration winter brings to us. Like Mother Nature we all need a season of rest. However, we’ve forgotten about natural cycles.

In our fast-paced, multi-tasking, spur-of-the-moment, sound-bite lives, we are seriously out of sync with a long, slow, relaxing break. We don’t associate long, slow and relaxing with hardly any activities. Even yoga classes are more often about endurance, strength and power than they are about relaxation.

Like Winter and Mother Nature, there are instinctive and natural factors influencing us, and if we use them to our restorative advantage, we will find increasing harmony and balance with our shorter days and longer nights. Before long, they’ll be thru and we’ll find ourselves busier than ever come Spring.

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Insomnia suggestions

By Jocelyne Leyton, D.O.M.P.

As part of the team at KIHC, I volunteered to be one of the contributors for the December Newsletter on Insomnia. Little did I know that I would suffer from insomnia in the last two weeks. In my life I have had little difficulty in sleeping with the exception of emotional stress.

In my work as an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner I hear complaints from many patients about insomnia as well as from children. Most of us commonly experience sleep disturbance due to stress and environmental changes but when it becomes chronic this becomes a health burden. For some people, pharmaceutical intervention is sought and for others non-prescription supplements, mind-body relaxation techniques and sometimes alcohol.

One dictionary definition says insomnia is a chronic inability to fall asleep or to enjoy uninterrupted sleep. Our sleep/wake cycle is influenced by our biological clock called the circadian rhythm. This circadian rhythm affects our physiological process. Our circadian rhythm tends to be synchronized with cycles of light and dark as well as

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We respectfully acknowledge that Kingston Integrated Healthcare is situated on ancestral Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory. Since time immemorial they have cared for these lands and waters, and we are grateful. We recognize that a healthy environment is essential to the wellbeing of all people and all life.


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