The Art & Practice Blog
Taming the Tiger of Anxiety: That Naturopathic Podcast
I talk with Dr. Kara and Dr. Dave of That Naturopathic Podcast, rated in the top 6 Canadian Medicine podcasts, about taming the tiger of anxiety. Click to learn about your HPA Axis, the stress response and how we can "tame the tiger" by providing our body and mind...
Surfing in the Time of Corona: The Weird Waves Podcast
I talk to Taylor Morozova of the Weird Waves Podcast about how I became a naturopathic doctor, surfing, immunity, vitamin D, and how to stay safe in the age of Corona. Listen on Spotify.
The Mood Diet
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Books
The Mood Diet a 39-page resource on how to eat for your mental and emotional health. How can we eat to reduce inflammation, optimize the microbiome and support neurotransmitter synthesis to boost energy and support optimal mood? The Mood Diet offers 12 science-backed...
Should I Take Anti-Depressant Medication?
In September of 2019, Jakobsen, Gluud and Kirsch published a review in the British Medical Journal: Evidence-Based Medicine entitled “Should antidepressants be used for major depressive disorder?” (1) Their conclusion was this: “Antidepressants should not be...
The Anxiety Revolution Podcast with Hannah Hepworth
Hannah Hepworth, of the Anxiety Revolution Podcast, and I team up to discuss a natural and functional approach to managing anxiety. In our talk, featured in her 2019 Anxiety Revolution Summit, a series of talks with integrative mental health practitioners and experts,...
Mental Health on the Rebel Talk Podcast with Dr. Michelle Peris, ND
I appeared on the Rebel Talk Podcast with Dr. Michelle Peris, ND. Dr. Michelle writes, "Not a week goes by that I do not discuss mental health with patients in my office. Rates of depression and anxiety are on the rise. So I really wanted to unpack this important...
Micro-Dosing for Depression: Research on Psychedelics for Mental Health
This article is for informational purposes only. My friend Nelson (not his real name) was depressed. Depression frequently came in and out of Nelson’s life, but this last bout was the worst. Severe job stress compounded by issues with his relationship sent Nelson into...
5 Key Nutrients for Depression
When it comes to improving mood, most of us will do anything, including taking boatloads of pills. One of the challenges I face as a naturopathic doctor is choosing which supplements to prescribe my patients; in the realm of natural medicine we have what seems like an...
Maintaining Perfect Equanimity: My 10-Day Vipassana Retreat
In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus wrote that weariness awakens consciousness, that “Everything begins with consciousness. Nothing is worth anything except through it." In the last few months, I'd been weary—sleeping, eating, exercising, commuting, working, preparing for...
Here Comes the Sun: How Circadian Rhythms Can Heal Our Mental Health and Hormones
Gorf is a man of his age, which, in his case, happens to be the Stone Age. Yes, Gorf is a caveman. And, perplexingly, Gorf suffers from insomnia. Gorf wakes up sluggish, long after the sun has risen, wishing he had a snooze button to smash. He struggles through the...
Some Like it Hot: Using Heat to Heal Depression
I will die in here today, I thought to myself, as I sat hunched and cramped in an oven-hot temazcal, or sweat lodge, somewhere on the Mexican pacific. The straw flap covering the opening of our sweaty mud hut was thrown off momentarily by someone outside, flooding our...
21-Day Blood Sugar Reset
Introducing a 21-Day Blood Sugar Reset The Low Carb, High Fat or "Ketogenic" Diet has been touted as a health solution for weight loss, mental health, hormonal health, as well as a treatment for insulin resistance, diabetes, childhood seizures, migraines, and...
Self-Compassion Break
Self-compassion is the act of treating yourself as you would any other loved one: treating yourself with kindness vs. Self-Judgment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxIO7bjiSJs&t=10s Self compassion is a modality that is being researched for treatments for mental...
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Your Hormones (But Were Afraid to Ask)
In order to make sense of the world, people create stories. It is our greatest gift and most fragile weakness. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, they encounter difficulties that they eventually overcome. It brings them closer. They live happily ever after—the classic...
The 3-Minute Responsive Breathing Space
This is one of my favourite exercises from Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, or MBCT, and just one exercise in an 8-week course directed at those who suffer from depression and anxiety. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5q8hLe5gDM This exercise helps us practice...
My Year of Living Ketogenically
I review my adventurous year of living on the Low Carb High Fat Ketogenic Diet. I've always had a sweet tooth. I remember binging on Halloween candy as a kid, stuffing one tiny chocolate bar after another into my mouth, as fast as my little fingers could unwrap them,...
Reflections on Being a Patient
I will never get annoyed at a patient's "lack of compliance" again. Health care is scary, even when you know what you're doing. When it's your own health, putting yourself in the hands of a professional is not easy. Yesterday I had an initial consult for myself with a...
What to Do About Your Mirena IUD (And Other Hormonal Issues)
Since publising the original article about the Mirena IUD on this blog, thousands of women have come out of the woodwork writing to me asking for help. When I originally wrote the article, I was spurned on by my observations of the women in my practice who had...
A Letter to Myself at 32
I often encourage my patients to write a letter to themselves on their birthdays for the following year using a website called FutureMe.org, where you can post-date emails to yourself to any date in the future. This exercise is great to do on any day, really. Tomorrow...