environment Archives - Kingston Integrated Healthcare Inc.

Lending Library Book Review: The Secret Life of Your Microbiome

Written by Clauden on March 31, 2025.

Have you ever considered that your health is deeply connected to the world around you? The Secret Life of Your Microbiome by Susan L. Prescott and Alan C. Logan explores this fascinating connection, showing how trillions of microbes living within us are influenced by everything from the food we eat to our environment and even our emotional well-being.

This book challenges the conventional view of health by emphasizing the importance of biodiversity–not just in nature, but inside our bodies too.

Microplastics Health Risks

Written by Clauden on February 20, 2025.

When we think of microplastics, images of plastic bottles on beaches or single-use restaurant containers come to mind. Most of us have heard about how ubiquitous microplastics are, but do we really know the long-term impacts they carry? After taking a deep dive into microplastics, I learned that there is still so much yet to be discovered, both for the health risks they carry and for addressing our use of microplastics.

Environmental Health Questionnaire

Written by Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND on May 22, 2023.

The purpose of this environmental health questionnaire is three-fold:

Current health and wellbeing: Your personal sensitivity to environmental contaminants is unique and reflects many known and unknown factors, including past exposures, genetics, epigenetics, and nutrient deficiencies. Use this questionnaire to explore how your personal sensitivity to environmental contaminants impacts your current health concerns.
Reduce your toxin burden: Use this questionnaire as a tool to identify unnecessary toxin exposures and eliminate them from your life.
Prevention: Environmental toxins work synergistically against our body’s natural repair mechanisms. Do not underestimate the cumulative impact of current and past exposures on your future health and quality of life.

For a broader discussion about Environmentally-Acquired Illness and the impact of environmental toxins on our health, please follow the embedded links and explore some of the additional resources listed below.

Best Water Filters

Written by Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND on April 3, 2022.

Many of us are already aware that even mild chronic dehydration contributes to fatigue, brain fog, headaches, constipation, insomnia, and many more health challenges! Quantity matters.

You may also be aware of the “extra organ” in your body called a microbiome that’s comprised of billions of bacteria, trillions of viruses, and which keeps you alive.[i] It exists predominantly in your digestive tract, and it eats and drinks what you eat and drink. Unsurprisingly then, the quality of our drinking water significantly influences the health of our microbiome, with profound implications for our overall health. (The chlorine in our city water is not selective for just “bad” bacteria.)

It’s not Lyme: It’s Mold Illness

Written by Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND on September 2, 2021.

Many of my patients think it’s their Lyme symptoms returning when in fact, it’s a developing mycotoxin or mold illness.

Fungus is a healthy part of our bodies and microbiome. However, some molds in our environment generate toxic chemicals (mycotoxins and volatile organic compounds) that trigger allergic reactions, toxic responses, and immune system dysfunction. It’s a somewhat common condition for people who are also susceptible to stealth infections and chronic fatigue.

Symptoms of mold illness can mimic many other illnesses. Use this questionnaire to help you decide whether further testing is warranted.

What is Ayurveda?

Written by Mona Warner, Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner on November 6, 2020.

Mona is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurvedic-Yoga Therapist, and author, located in Kingston, Ontario.

In its biggest sense, Ayurveda is a holistic science dating back many thousands of years. On a practical level and today in North America, Ayurveda is a science based in aligning ourselves with the rhythms of nature (currently known as “circadian medicine”). It recognizes that what is happening in nature is reflected in our body and mind.

Natural Toothpaste Recipes

Written by Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND on April 20, 2020.

My recent National Geographic issue suggests that 1 billion toothbrushes are discarded each year in the US. Because plastic takes so long to degrade, it means that every toothbrush discarded since the 1930s is still out there, somewhere. The same likely goes for plastic tubes of toothpaste. Given how harmful plastic is to our environment and our health, and with so many easy alternatives, there’s no reason for us to continue using these products. Here are some quick and easy natural toothpaste and mouthwash options for you to try!

COVID-19: What Are We Missing?

Written by Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND on April 20, 2020.

When I sit with a patient who has complex symptoms, especially if they’ve worked with other skilled practitioners with no obvious success, I ask myself: “What piece of the puzzle is still hiding?” “What am I unable to see clearly?” Answers often lie in exploring the illness from a completely different or old-world perspective, such as the more interconnected concept of yin and yang that contrasts with traditional Western linear approaches. We can apply the same concept of balance to this pandemic too, with eye-opening results that I hope we can all take comfort in.

Book Review: “To Speak for the Trees”

Written by Sarah Knight, PhD, RM on October 4, 2019.

Book Review: “To Speak for the Trees: My Life’s Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest” by Diana Beresford-Kroeger (Published by Penguin Random House, Hardcover, $32.00, ISBN 978-0-7352-7507-2)

If you are a tree fan, then Diana Beresford-Kroeger is likely not a name new to your bookshelf! Diana is a world-renowned medical biochemist and botanist. She is the author of six books and has been the feature of a very successful documentary on the subject of her expertise – trees – “The Call of the Forest”. I had the recent opportunity to review her latest book (release September 24^th, 2019) and then to interview her for my Possibility Podcast.*

Electromagnetic Frequencies and 5G in Kingston

Written by Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND on July 21, 2019.

You may have noticed a few lawn signs in Kingston advocating for “No Small Cell Antennas; No 5G”. Implementation of this “fifth generation” telecommunications technology is progressing rapidly worldwide, despite more than 20,000 scientific studies citing harmful effects of electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) from electric and wireless devices. Concerned physicians, scientists, and local action groups (including Kingstonians for Safe Technology) are advocating for proof of safety before installation is permitted in residential areas. It matters because, once installed, we’ll all be exposed to massive increases of EMF.

Tag: environment