It’s hot out there and everyone’s thirsty! We’re receiving more inquiries than usual about healthy filtered water, which is why we decided to offer the Santevia Water units for $165 instead of $180 for the month of August. (The cost online is $199!) This price includes the 3 water filters and a 1 year manufacturer warranty. For more information, please review the manufacturer website and see our article about different water sources and filtration systems, below.

~ Joel Ackerman, RMT

One of the most common questions I get, especially from new clients, is ‘What exactly does massage therapy do?” This excellent question is not easily answered. Relaxation, stress reduction, and relief from muscle tension are some well-known benefits of massage, but did you know that it can also benefit weight-loss and detoxification?

It’s easy to forget that all of our body tissues, including bones, muscles, and ligaments, are composed of cells that use nutrients and energy (called metabolism) to complete their job. The waste products from metabolism are collected by lymph and blood vessels in the body and ultimately eliminated by our liver or kidneys. Occasionally these wastes are not managed optimally, and this can be associated with fatigue, poor immune system function, difficulty losing weight, and muscle pain.

This is where massage therapy can play an important role. Massage is an excellent tool to release tense muscles and fascial restrictions that impede normal flow of these systems. Massage therapy detoxifies our tissues by improving blood and lymphatic flow to undernourished areas so that metabolism is healthier. Massage directly promotes the release of wastes and stagnant lymph so that they can be eliminated properly by our body. Moving this fluid back into the lymphatic and circulatory system results in increased tissue health, bolstered immunity, and promotes healthy weight loss! This process is exactly why so many clients report the need to urinate after a massage. This is also why we encourage clients to drink lots of water after a massage, as it helps to enhance this elimination process while replenishing the tissues’ water supply.

~ Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND

Few of us who grew up in Canada recall “tick checks” as children, where our parents would examine us for signs of tick bites after a day outdoors. Understanding tick-borne diseases is not usually on our summer priority list, but this has to change. Ticks infected with Lyme Disease-causing bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) are present in Kingston and pose a risk for contraction of serious chronic neurological illness. Diagnosing the illness is very challenging, so that Lyme disease is grossly under-reported.

Ticks are tiny insects, (even as tiny as a typed period on a written page), that live in wooded areas and on animals, possibly including outdoor pets. Infected ticks can transmit harmful bacteria to people through a bite though most people exposed to these bacteria never contract the corresponding disease. The very few who do contract Lyme disease often have a difficult time obtaining an accurate diagnosis.

Public health two-stage testing for Lyme disease will only catch the illness in approximately 65% of cases. More thorough testing is available by some laboratories in the United States with an MD or ND requisition (see www.igenex.com), but these can be quite costly and are still not 100% accurate. Much of the diagnosis for Lyme disease is clinical, meaning that other causes for the symptoms are ruled out, and symptoms are consistent with those of Lyme disease.

Many healthcare practitioners who screen for Lyme disease expect to see a characteristic non-itchy “bulls-eye” rash, though this occurs in less than 50% of the people with Lyme disease. Other symptoms of Lyme disease, including fatigue, joint pain, Bell’s Palsy, and foggy-thinking, mimic so many other illnesses that the disease commonly goes undiagnosed or even misdiagnosed as Fibromyalgia or Multiple Sclerosis, for example. The physiological stress and immune suppression caused by the chronic infection is associated with the development of other chronic illnesses, including depression, thyroid disease, and Crohn’s disease.

Early diagnosis is critical to successful recovery. If you suspect that you have Lyme disease, speak to a “Lyme-literate” health practitioner. Antibiotic treatment is often indicated, but not always required, and a holistic treatment approach that strengthens immune function, reduces inflammation, and heals damaged tissues and glands, may significantly reduce the chance of disease relapse, which is common with antibiotic treatment alone.

Prevention and quick diagnosis are critical! Here are some things to keep in mind this summer:

1. Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved clothing (with pants tucked into socks), when outdoors in tall grasses and wooded areas, so that ticks are more visible.

2. DEET is a proven tick repellant. Lemon eucalyptus extract may also be an effective tick repellant and safer for chemically sensitive individuals.

3. If you find a tick attached to your skin, gently remove it with a pair of tweezers (by the head, as close to the skin as possible) and seal it in a container. Apply antiseptic to the bite. Take the tick to public health for testing for Lyme disease and co-infections. Symptoms may appear anywhere from 3 days to several months later, but most commonly appear within 1 to 3 weeks. Contraction of the Lyme bacteria is unlikely if the tick was attached to the skin for less than 20 hours.

4. If you develop a rash and are uncertain, take a photo and have a healthcare practitioner look at it.

5. Keep your immune system up! Any chronic condition puts significant strain on your immune system so that battling acute infections such as Lyme is more challenging. Work with a health practitioner to understand where your immune imbalances exist, and how to support them.

6. If your spouse has ever been diagnosed with Lyme disease, and you have chronic symptoms that may be caused by Lyme disease, request a thorough evaluation by a healthcare practitioner. Some preliminary (and controversial) research suggests that the bacteria can be transmitted through body fluids, including during sexual intercourse. The research is convincing enough to warrant being taken seriously.

Education is key. For more information about Lyme disease, please visit the International Lyme and Associated Diseases website, www.ilads.org.

Allergy Scratch Testing: Scratch testing is available through Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND, for ragweed, weeds, grasses, trees, cats, and dust mite. The cost is $35.

Reduction or elimination of seasonal allergies is possible when the root cause of the allergy is addressed. Where mainstream medical philosophy perceives this root cause to be in the allergic response itself or in the pollen exposure, other medical philosophies acknowledge that the immune system is acting appropriately given signals it receives from somewhere deeper in the body. This is why over-the-counter anti-histamines tend to be most effective at managing your allergy symptoms, but incapable of initiating true healing and elimination of allergic symptoms. Eliminating allergic symptoms means addressing underlying imbalanced body systems.

Treating the root cause of allergic symptoms is greatly supported by diet and lifestyle choices that reduce total body inflammation. Below are some key ways to reduce inflammation and experience some relief from your allergy symptoms this season.

Quercetin is a flavonoid in food that functions as a natural anti-histamine, to be used in conjunction with or sometimes instead of pharmaceutical anti-histamines. Foods high in quercetin include apples, buckwheat, onion, and citrus fruits. Quercetin is also available in supplement form, and may be used effectively before exposure to the allergen.

Drink nettle (Urtica dioica) tea or use a high quality extract. Urtica dioica has a long history of use for allergic symptoms, and current research suggests it may alleviate symptoms by modulating how genes signal for the production of inflammatory chemicals.

Eat 6 to 8 servings of vegetables and berries daily. These contain high amounts of antioxidants and flavonoids, which are chemicals that combat the consequences of inflammation. You may also wish to add a high quality antioxidant supplement that includes vitamin C, to your daily regime.

Replace some of the red meat in your diet with wild-caught fish, or take a high-quality fish oil supplement (such as SuperEFA, NutraSea, or Nordic Naturals). Red meats are high in a fat called arachadonic acid, which your body uses to make inflammation. Over 8 to 12 weeks, the omega-3 “anti-inflammatory” fats in fish will start to replace the inflammatory fats.

Determine which foods you are specifically allergic to, and reduce or eliminate them from your diet. Food allergies do not necessarily cause digestive symptoms. Special allergy tests (see www.usbiotek.com), or a diet experiment called an “elimination diet” can help you identify these problematic foods.

Increase your daily intake of (filtered) water. The allergy response requires a lot of water and can lead to dehydration if a person is not consuming enough. Dehydration itself can cause histamine release, which is responsible for many allergic symptoms. Other symptoms of dehydration include dry eyes, fatigue, and dull headaches.

Replace foods made with sugar or flour, with whole grains. For example, replace cold breakfast cereal with steel-cut oatmeal or quinoa, sweetened with almond milk, berries, or apples. This will support your body’s efforts to reduce inflammation and heal.