Muffins are exactly what I’ve been needing lately: soft, tender, sweet and loving, these pillow-y treats, with their oatmeal and chia seed content, are full of fibre and lemony-blueberry flavour. These babies are the perfect antidote to the long, dreary days spent in the library as my classmates and I head for the final stretch of the semester. Eat ’em up, we’re almost there!
The trail in Tairona National Park, from the entrance of the park to the campsite we stayed at, took 4 hours to hike. Burdened with heavy backpacks and cotton shirts sticking to our backs with humid sweat, we traipsed through the jungle. Straw hats scratching hairlines, shoulder straps pressing into flesh and legs shuddering with the extra weight we climbed, feeling the rain tickling our skin, diluting our sweat in the hot, sticky air. There was nowhere to go but onward.
So, in February of 2013 I will be packing up my medical equipment and heading to Panajachel, Guatemala to embark on my first ever medical brigade with Naturopaths Without Borders (NWB) and Naturopathic Medicine for Global Health (NMGH)!
Even when it reflects your passions, it’s not often you find yourself in a truly inspiring lecture while studying for a post-graduate degree; hey, it’s sad, but true. So, imagine my excitement at feeling completely touched by our third year Clinical Nutrition professor, Dr. P’s, incredible Thursday lecture.
First of all, let me thank Mark at Endless Love and Light for my 2nd Very Inspiring Blogger Award nomination. That makes 4 blog nominations! While I’m not exactly sure what these nominations really mean, I’m grateful for the recognition from the blogging community and appreciate the love that’s sent my way (every time someone hits “like” or leaves a comment, or even reads a post). It’s a wonderful feeling when someone shows that they’ve resonated with a post, picture or thought that you’ve shared and it serves as a great motivating factor to keep on blogging. So, thanks, Mark!
One of my favourite courses, since I began my studies to become a naturopathic doctor, has been Asian Medicine. I am fascinated by the fact that this holistic form of medicine treated billions of people for the past 3000 years, how it remains a viable form of medicine and how, only now, when we put it to the test of our Western research methods, we find that it does work, but we’re still not sure how.
Last Wednesday, November 14, a group of exceptionally socially-minded classmates and I held a Community Healthcare Panel. Despite the fact that it was held on a Wednesday night, the event proved to be nothing less than engaging and inspiring and, because of its success, I was asked by a number of students who couldn’t attend to offer up a synopsis of what was covered. So, here are my rough notes:
Every year the naturopathic student community holds a philosophical conference at one of the accredited naturopathic medical schools in North America. For three days, naturopathic medical students and “elders” – seasoned professionals in practice for about 20 years or more – gather together in an event called (fittingly) The Gathering to share philosophical insights about the art and practice of naturopathic medicine. I have personally attended twice: my first year, in 2011, it was held at our own Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) in Toronto, Canada, and this year, in 2012, it was held at the National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) in Chicago, Illinois. Both times it hasn’t failed to be less than inspirational. Here are some golden nuggets of naturopathic insight from three amazing naturopathic doctors:
As we often hear in our classes, one of the biggest risk factors for a variety of chronic, debilitating diseases, from diabetes to ADHD, is low socioeconomic status. Sadly, even in a country like Canada, in the year 2012, we see that socioeconomic status continues to be a vicious cycle that entraps its victims in a web of dis-empowerment when it comes to issues concerning health.