The Art & Practice Blog
You Know You’re in Colombia When…
I have been on hiatus from this blog because I went back to Colombia for vacation. Colombia is a country in which I've spent a lot of time in in the past few years, since living there from 2008-2010, and disconnected completely from technology. My smartphone (poor...
High Intensity Interval Training
When I was at Queen's University, studying for my BSc degree, I would go to the gym daily to sweat out the stress and sluggishness of classroom and library time. I would go to the gym for as long as 2 hours, which didn't seem much at the time, when you factored in the...
Supporting the Spleen
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Spleen organ can be more closely equated with the pancreas, rather than the western spleen, whose main function is simply to store blood. The TCM Spleen is responsible for digesting food and converting it into energy, much in the...
Charting Basal Body Temperature
Imagine no longer being surprised by a menstrual period while on vacation, knowing the best time to have intercourse for those trying to conceive, and being aware of high-risk times for those trying to avoid unwanted pregnancy. For women with concerns about fertility,...
The Art of Ayurvedic Self-Massage
I await my first real patient: a referral from a friend. I know this new patient suffers from chronic migraines, related to stress, and I am excited; I already have some ideas about what to prescribe. It's been 9 long years since I decided that I wanted to enter into...
Tapping into the Mind-Body Connection
Are some physical ailments "all in our heads?" The mind is a powerful organ, capable of creating reality for us. In the world of health, the mind can be a powerful healing tool, or a powerful hindrance to true cure. As a Buddhist tenet suggests, all suffering is...
10 Natural Uses for Coconut Oil
The only beauty product you need, really, is a jar of coconut oil and a few ingredients from your kitchen. This delicious-tasting oil is great for cooking because of its high melting point, allowing it to be used in stir-frys or other foods cooked and baked at higher...
What Can a Naturopathic Doctor Do For You?
A few years ago I was experiencing digestive issues. Not to get too graphic, but I was having bloating and that impending feeling that things weren't 100% "alright" down there. I didn't seek help from a holistic practitioner at first, however. The reason for this was...
Kale and Goat Cheese Mini Frittata
Welcome back to school, everyone! Thankfully, being a 4th year intern, my days of sitting in lecture are over with for now. For the rest of you tireless scholars, I find that long days in class are made more bearable when I have something yummy and nutritious to nosh...
Colombian Farmers Unite in Nationwide Strike
Globalization has selected its next victim. In July, 2012, Colombia signed a free trade agreement with the United States. Fuelled by the desire to "develop" economically, i.e.: have access to the amenities and material goods of the first world, the initial reaction...
The Therapeutic Order
Contrary to common belief naturopathic doctors are not just doctors who prescribe natural remedies to patients. (This means you can not avoid visiting a naturopathic doctor by going to a local health-food store and prescribing yourself a bunch of vitamins and...
Body Blitz and the Vitamin D Shake
It had been a while since I'd truly taken a vacation. After handing in 4 case management forms (CMFs) and writing 1 exam, and endless weeks of seeing patients in clinic, putting the health of others above and beyond my own, I decided that I would hang back from my rat...
Scrap that “Thigh Gap” Crap, Please
I approach the summit of the mountain that we're slowly scaling, 1 vertical kilometre of it, the air cold despite the heavy gaze of the South American sun. My thighs burn but carry me steadily, my breath laboured but sustained, having fallen into a natural,...
Acupuncture FAQ
Naturopathic doctors employ a variety of healing modalities or, as we like to say, "tools in our toolbox", to help the body heal itself. One of my favourite healing modalities is acupuncture. While I used to cringe at the thought of spending another 2 hours being...
A Botanical Remedy for Sunburned and Bug-Bitten Skin
When the summer sun begins to shine its light on the Great White North, Canadians shed their winter layers and soak up some much-needed vitamin D. However, as many of us learned from a young age, along with more skin exposure comes a risk of sunburns, rashes from...
Matcha Green Tea Face Mask
Green tea, from the tea plant Camellia sinensis, with it's metabolism-boosting, antioxidant and anticancer powers is now expanding its talents, entering into the world of skin care, especially acne treatments, and experiencing great success. A study by Yoon et al,...
Canada’s Food Guide to the Dairy Lobby?
As far as Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating is concerned, naturopathic doctors differ in their views. In terms of a general guideline, I believe that it does a pretty good job of promoting a healthy diet: focusing on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and...
The Anti-Itch Shake
There are many types of immune cells in our bodies and various groups that they belong to: leukocytes, lymphocytes, macrophages, natural killer cells, etc. Some of the major contenders, and the ones that are involved in autoimmune disease and allergic conditions, are...
The Benefits of Ginkgo
When I was very small, the tree at my parent's house became sick and was cut down. I don't exactly remember the great pine tree, but I remember it's large, rotting stump, which was left as evidence of its towering existence on the lawn of our front yard. As a...
Homemade Coconut Milk Ice Cream
I never thought I'd enjoy ice cream again. During the 4 months I spent volunteering in Costa Rica, I became obsessed with ice cream. It wasn't my fault; it seemed that the whole population was obsessed. At the end of a long work day, one could spot businessmen nursing...