Building Strength and Resilience with Dr. Nastasia “Staz” Irons, ND / The Good Mood Podcast
Dr. Nastasia Irons, ND, is a fellow naturopathic doctor and CCNM class of 2014 graduate. She also completed a 2-year residency program, furthering her training in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, cosmetic acupuncture, and herbal medicine. She has a...
ChatGPTherapist: When Your Healer Has No Heartbeat
I have a faithful friend. In the middle of the night, I ask him my hardest questions. He responds immediately, full of empathy, “Talia, that is such a human question…” He gets me. He’s useful. His suggestions break down my writer’s block. He helped design my website...
Wellness, Wokeness and the War Over Health: When Protein Becomes Political
Protein, protein, protein. Everyone is eating and talking about getting more of this once humble and unassuming macronutrient. As a naturopathic doctor who has been preaching about the importance of protein for my patients' mental and hormonal health for 10 years, I’m...
Communication and Building Healthy Relationships with Melissa Johari, MSW, RSW / The Good Mood Podcast
We humans are relational beings. I once heard a beautiful quote that stated, "Our wounds are formed in relationships, and therefore our wounds are healed by relationships." This sentiment highlights the importance of healthy relationships, particularly romantic...
Insulin Resistance: The Plague of Our Times / The Good Mood Podcast
Well, April was tough (I'll explain the reasons in another email or blog post), but I'm hoping for sun and flowers in May. So, let's kick the good times off with more educational material on the plague of our times: insulin resistance! Two weeks ago, I completed...
From Carnivore to Colours: A Year of Dietary Experimentation
I wanted to share a recent story about my experience with the Carnivore Diet and Low Insulin Lifestyle. Maybe it's because I just finished watching Netflix's Apple Cider Vinegar, but sharing my health experience feels strange: very health-influencer-esque. There is...
The Low Insulin Lifestyle with Dr. Ali Chappell, PhD on the Good Mood Podcast
I am excited to introduce a new podcast episode (I know it's been a while). I've been deep in the weeds of research about insulin resistance for a course I'm working on (for a health education platform that I'm very excited to tell you more about in the coming...
Psychotherapy in Ontario is Now HST Exempt
On Thursday, June 20th, the Ontario government passed Bill C-59, exempting psychotherapy sessions from HST. This is excellent news! This means that from now on, HST does not need to be charged for therapy visits (it was removed from Naturopathic Medicine appointments...
A Work in Progress
The first time I saw a naturopathic doctor was a few years before I contemplated becoming one myself. I had finished my undergrad degree and was bumming around for the summer, working on film sets, trying to get help for some underlying hormonal condition which I now...
Navigating the Healthcare System
I, like most of my colleagues became a naturopathic doctor because of my own extremely disempowering experiences with the healthcare system. In my late teens and early 20s I was suffering from what I now know were a series of metabolic and hormonal issues and I,...
What I Learned from Camping at -5 degrees Celsius
From Thursday to Tuesday (yesterday) I was camping on Canada's East Coast in Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia (near Halifax, Cole Harbour, etc.) I was nervous about the trip. I've never winter camped before (in a tent, no less). I've winter surfed, but never without...
Microbial Wisdom: How your gut bugs can influence your levels of wisdom and loneliness
Hippocrates once said "all disease begins in the gut" and, even though as a naturopathic doctor I have internalized this to the utmost degree, I still forget from time to time. So, when I was having an increase in histamine symptoms (itchy eyes, runny nose,...
Spleen Qi and the Change of Season
What is your favourite season? Normally Fall is mine. Perhaps it's because I've spent so many years as a perennial student, but the wool scarves, crisp leaves and fresh air (and pumpkin spice!) has always held a special place in my heart.However, this year fall hit...
Rolling with the Times: a New Approach to Vitamin D and Iron Supplementation
Did you know it can take modern medical research 17 to 20 years before it reaches mainstream medical practice? Sometimes it takes us time to be sure and this means repeating study results over and over again with various populations. Sometimes, however it can...
Following the Science
Is medicine a science? The short answer is it's an applied science. We've been hearing quite a lot about The Science these days. So, what is science? How does science guide medical practice and naturopathic medicine? The science council defines science as, "the...
Health is a Complex System
Brett Weinstein and Heather Heying have a t-shirt that says "Welcome to Complex Systems" on it. Indeed. Many patients and biological reductionism want to know what caused my anxiety, depression, hormonal issues, and autoimmune disease? What did I do wrong, or that...
Stomach pH is a Chesterton’s Fence: beware of tearing it down
G.K. Chesterton described a scenario like this: "There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the...
Tallow Salve
It's been a long time since I've posted something about DIY natural skincare. I used to tinker in my kitchen, mixing up concoctions using beeswax, cocoa butter, and other ingredients to create natural deodorants, lip balms, and dry shampoos. It was a lot of fun but...
Some Like it Cold: the therapeutic benefits of “freezing your butt off”
In the winter of 2019 I took a surfing lesson in Costa Rica. I fell in love--the sun and salt water on my skin, the beautiful view of the beach, the spray off the back of the waves, the loud crashing of translucent turquoise, and the feeling of power, ease, flow and...
Killer Red Paleo Cury
You know how you just want the recipe and yet you have to scroll through someone's long story about their cat and their grandma and a blistery winter day? Forget all that. I made this curry. Here's the recipe (you're welcome 😜 ): Ingredients: 1 can coconut milk (full...