Gratitude Journal Part 2
I'm grateful for endings that merge into new beginnings, karmic cycles and their painful lessons and excruciating yearly rituals that often end in transformations. I'm grateful for long late-night horizontal conversations tiny loving gestures unity and the...
Destroying Myths About Naturopathic Medicine
My family waste no time making illusions about their lack of acceptance of my form of medicine. If left unchecked, dinner table conversation can quickly lead to arguments about the efficacy of the flu shot, why Cold FX is unnecessary and whether "eating in moderation"...
2014: A Year in Review
2014 has been a year of beginnings and endings. I ended two major relationships: one with the school I went to for 4 years and another with a long-term boyfriend, and began two new ones: I embarked on my own career as a naturopathic doctor and started a new...
More Naturopathic Gift Ideas
It has been two years since I wrote this popular post. While we're still strapped for cash, I decided to create an updated version of gift ideas for naturopathic students, doctors and people alike. These gifts are designed to fit the tastes and lifestyle of a...
Eggplant Masala
Finding the time and energy to cook during the winter can be tough. However, one of the best things you can do for your health (and wallet) is cook meals at home. Knowing a few slow cooker recipes is essential for getting through a cold, dry winter. Soups, stews and...
Spiced Apples Recipe
Perfect for fall, this simple, easily-adapted recipe nourishes a tired digestive system. When the weather gets cold and dry, it serves us well to compensate with foods that are warm in both temperature and constitution. Eating naturally sweetened foods and healthy...
12 Things You Should Know About Vitamin B12
One of my favourite vitamins, after B6, is vitamin B12! (Magnesium is my fav mineral). I have recently bought 1000 mcg and 5000 mcg bottles of injectable methylcobalamin for my clinic. The vitamin contains no preservatives or additives. $15 gets you a quick burst of...
SNP! Crackle! Pop!: Adventures in Genetic Testing
"Do you find yourself easily able to bounce back from emotionally-charged situations?" Dr. Emily Fitzgerald, ND, asked while sitting across from me at her white desk. "The fact that this part of the gene is present and not deleted means that you are the 'cool and...
Listening to My Body (and why my pants are too tight)
I am in my grade 12 photography class. I am 17 years old. I have my head on the desk in abject despair, as I succumb to the intense stress that was my last year of high school, where every academic move I made would dictate my future. I remember catching sight of my...
What is a Naturopathic Doctor Worth?
I am afraid of money, especially when combined with health and medicine. Coming from a nation like Canada, it has been ingrained in the fibre of my being that healthcare should be completely accessible, read: free. As I embark on opening up a private practice as a...
How to Avoid Diarrhea While Traveling in India
"So, I hovered, I shat and I cried." Recalled my friend S as she told me about her Christmas Eve on a Chinese train. You hover because there are only holes in the floor for toilets on Chinese trains. Ditto for Indian trains - although in second class they...
Naturopathy Infographic
Do you love and believe in naturopathic medicine but feel at a loss to describe it to your family and friends? Despair no more. Those at the YinOva Center in New York have created a cool infographic about naturopathic medicine, which "Alex" was kind enough to share...
Having a Healthy Birth Control Pill Experience
There are many reasons to start using the birth control pill. Some of them are not-so-great: dealing with painful menstruation, acne, irregular periods or ovarian cysts - there are other, natural ways to manage these health concerns with fewer side effects and health...
Simplify Your Life in 7 Easy Ways
Deadlines, electronic medical records, parking tickets, paper grading and the cost of rent in Toronto. What do these seemingly varied delights all have in common? They all contribute to complicating our lives and do nothing more than turn the drip-rate up on our...
Some Reflections on Not Being Able To Eat Things
I have been gluten-free since the Spring of 2012 when I moved out of my Italian grandmother (Nonna)'s house and stopped being confronted by a daily arsenal of pasta and bread. Being gluten-free is not hard; it's only when you combine it with a dairy-free existence...
“Poof! All Better!”: The Allure of the Panacea
"Once Henry discovered that the autoimmune disease was a manifestation of his own self-criticism, his symptoms slowly began to subside." "I told the couple to stop spending so much time together. They were then able to rekindle their desire and found that their sex...
A Meditation on Appearances
From the Art & Practice draft archives. Things aren't always what they seem. So goes the old adage. The smiling mother chasing her kids in the park may be battling an ugly divorce or struggling with the guilt of a turbid affair. The white picket fence may not...
Yes, I Drink Coffee
I've had two coffees today and I'm not ashamed. Sometimes I even have three. Today was a good day. The caffeine flowing through my veins powers my legs down Yonge Street as my calves tighten - good thing I'm on magnesium - and my spine bends in response to the weight...
10 Tips for A Vibrant NPLEXperience!
1) Stimulate your Liver Qi. Embarrass yourself at grad formal. Have them reprint your award with the same word misspelled. Create an online dating profile. Get a day job and surround yourself by a species of human that is still trying to figure out what gluten is....
7 Reasons For MDs to Collaborate with NDs
Dear Medical Doctor, I am a naturopathic physician. On a Facebook page hosted by some peers in my profession, a young naturopathic doctor expressed distress at having her attempt to forge ties with one of her patients' medical doctor thwarted. Needing her patient to...