My Approach to Gluten

It’s a common cliché to think that naturopathic doctors put all their patients on a gluten free diet. The term gluten describes specific proteins in plants like wheat, rye and barley. Gluten gives foods made from these grains a unique texture that is hard to mimic. This is why gluten-free breads taste so different from the breads we’re used to.

I don’t believe everyone needs to be on a gluten free diet and I only recommend it when I think it’s necessary. I also don’t believe that only those with celiac disease need to consider reducing gluten intake. There is a growing body of research on non-celiac gluten sensitivity although this research is still controversial right now. Wheat and gluten sensitivities have been associated with skin conditions like eczema, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain and even mood disorders.  

I’ve seen a number of patients benefit from a trial of reducing gluten in their diet – even if they were already eating a healthy diet before. Personally, when I include gluten in my diet, I tend to get hives, seasonal allergies, my thyroid levels go out of whack, I get more fatigued, more “brain fog”, my mood suffers and I sometimes get mild joint pain. When I remove or even just reduce gluten, these symptoms all go away and I usually feel great.

It’s important to note that whenever I reduce my gluten, I try to avoid processed gluten free foods. A lot of these processed gluten free foods are not nutritionally valuable. I’ll have gluten free bread or gluten free treats here and there but for my staples, I prefer to stick to foods that are minimally processed and naturally gluten free like rice, sweet potato, quinoa, chickpeas, etc.

My latest gluten free stretch of time was 2017 - 2018. I was able to be almost gluten free for a big chunk of the year. I didn’t really miss it at all. However, towards the end of 2018, I started to feel deprived. As I mentioned in my article on intuitive eating, it’s really important to me that I eat healthy without feeling deprived. That’s why I decided to reintroduce gluten back into my life for now. I still try not to have it every day, but I am having it more than in 2017. The mild hives have returned, and I do feel a slight dip in my energy but I’m ok with temporarily paying this price so I can feel happy about my diet and less deprived. I know that in time I’ll be open to cutting gluten out again.

And that’s how it goes for me. I’m aware of my gluten intolerance and I fluctuate my level of gluten intake based on my motivation and sense of deprivation. My intolerance symptoms are mild enough that I can live with them when they come back. If they get more severe, then I might prefer to be more strict with my gluten avoidance.

The point is that the power is in my hands to use my awareness of my intolerance as I see fit. When I tell my patients that they may benefit from reducing certain foods in their diet, I will never sit there and judge them if they don’t follow my recommendations to a tee every single moment of their life. You have to know yourself and your relationship with food. You have to know what you’re willing to do and what you’re not ready for yet. I’ve had many patients tell me that they do want to change their diet but only to a certain extent. That’s ok. I will meet you where you’re at and we can change as much as you’re ready for and save the rest for another time.

My job is to arm you with the awareness of all the things that you can do to benefit your health. Your job is to communicate to me what you’re ready for and what you’re not ready for. Our job together is to use this information to build a plan that works for you on every level.

Treating Stress and Mental Health Can Reduce Pain

Someone once told me that pain is just a word until you experience it. If you’ve never experienced chronic pain, it’s hard to understand how much of a thorn in the side it can be. Chronic pain interferes with every aspect of your life. You sit and feel pain. You stand and feel pain. You move and feel pain. You sleep and feel pain. It’s incredibly frustrating to live with. It’s so much harder to stay present and positive during work and play time when there is a nagging pain in the background all the time.

The process of treating chronic pain can be equally frustrating because it’s often not managed well. Most people are just given the option of a pain killer or anti-inflammatory and sent on their way. This is usually not enough. Treating chronic pain should involve a well-rounded approach that includes treating the multiple causes of pain.

Believe it or not, one of those causes can be mental health and stress.

There is a lot or research showing that chronic pain can be worsened by stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions. When you’re experiencing something like stress or anxiety it can affect your nervous system in a way that makes your body more sensitive to pain. So if, for example, your arthritis is causing you pain because of the damage to your joint, that pain can be amplified when you’re stressed, anxious or depressed because of the changes that happen in your nervous system when you experience those emotions. This is why your pain is sometimes worse when you’re stressed.

But it’s not only the nervous system that is to blame for this pain-brain connection. The HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) is a system in the body that connects your brain and your adrenal glands (often called your “stress glands”) via hormones. This system can go haywire when you’re stressed or struggling with anxiety and depression and this dysfunction can worsen your pain through a series of complex changes in your body. It’s also interesting to note that mental health conditions like depression and chronic pain have both been associated with increased inflammation in the body.

Many chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia, arthritis, chronic pelvic pain and migraines are associated with depression, anxiety and stress. Treating the psychological component of these complex conditions can greatly improve quality of life and pain perception. Likewise, mental health conditions like depression are often accompanied by chronic pain. The relationship goes both ways.

It’s common to feel like you’ve tried everything for your pain with no success. You might have already accepted that you’ll just have to live with your pain. If you haven’t tried working on your stress and mental health to improve your pain, I strongly encourage you to do so.   

If your chronic pain is not going away, don’t settle for a treatment plan that doesn’t serve you well. Elevate your quality of care and build your own integrative plan that involves multiple different healthcare providers. As a naturopathic doctor, my part in this more holistic plan is to incorporate herbal medicine, diet/ nutrition, lifestyle changes and acupuncture into your treatment plan to manage the physical and psychological aspects of your pain.  

Everyone suffering with chronic pain has a vision of what a pain-free life would look like. The things I hear most often are that patients want to keep up with kids better, enjoy work more, exercise more and be able to lose weight easier once they’re pain-free. These are such valuable goals to strive for. Take charge and build your health care dream-team to get you closer to fulfilling that vision.

A Great way to Manage Stubborn Pain

“I’ve tried everything!”

This is a statement I’ve heard many times from my patients suffering with chronic pain. If you have stubborn pain from conditions like arthritis, migraines or sciatica you’ve likely tried a lot to relieve it. Persistent pain can be frustrating.

Many who suffer from chronic pain try one type of treatment at a time to tackle the pain. You may start with weeks of acupuncture. After that you move on to one supplement, then you move on to another, then another. Then you try one type of physical therapy after another. On the one hand, trying one thing at a time makes sense. If you try everything at once how will you know what’s working? On the other hand, if your pain is not getting better this way it may be worth trying a different method.

I really like the concept of synergy. In health care, synergy means combining different treatments together at the same time to get better results. Sometimes you can get results that are bigger and better than trying those same treatments one at a time. The treatments work together on the same goal in different ways.

My patients who have a good team of different health care providers working together to reduce their pain often get positive results. Chiropractors, physiotherapists and massage therapists can all work together to tackle your pain from a different angle. Each one can use different strategies to treat the causes of your pain. Adding a naturopathic doctor to your team can target yet another angle. Naturopaths can treat your pain from the inside. We look at ways to reduce inflammation and muscle tension and improve nerve health using diet, herbs, nutrients and acupuncture. Each practitioner can even use acupuncture in different ways to reduce pain.

If you have your family doctor or specialists working on your case as well, the rest of your health care team will make sure there are no interactions between anything you're doing.

So do you feel like you’ve tried everything? I strongly suggest that you try building a well-rounded health care team. A team effort is a great way to manage stubborn pain.

Need to add a naturopathic doctor to your health care team? Book an appointment or free 15-minute consult today.

What does it mean to treat the “root cause”?

Treating the root cause is a phrase that many people in the holistic health community use. It can be used so much that we lose track of the meaning. Basically, treating the root cause means treating the cause of the symptoms. The opposite to this is just treating the symptoms. Even this explanation can seem like empty words that are hard to understand. I think the best way to explain this concept is through examples. Below I discuss three examples. I explain how you would treat the symptoms of a condition vs. how you would treat the root cause.

In the holistic health world, treating the root cause is praised highly. Treating symptoms is often frowned upon. A tree in a garden benefits from having both roots and branches tended too. Similarly, good health care should involve treating both root causes and symptoms. As a naturopath, my approach is to address both using gentle and natural remedies. 

Case 1: Acne

Treating the symptoms:

- Applying antibiotics or antimicrobial products to the skin

- Taking antibiotics or antimicrobial pills

- Medications like Accutane which alters the skin to reduce acne

Treating the root cause:

Addressing why the skin is vulnerable to being infected by acne causing bacteria.

- Balance hormones like androgens, estrogen, stress hormones etc.

- Improve gut health and detoxification

- Balance blood sugar

- Consider food sensitivities and dietary changes

- Reduce inflammation

Case 2: Arthritis

Treating the symptoms:

- Taking anti-inflammatory medications or supplements

- Applying anti-inflammatory medications or natural products to the painful area

Treating the root cause:

Treat what is causing the inflammation and poor joint health.

- Balancing the immune system

- Addressing diet for inflammation and joint health

- Improving joint health with minerals and other supplements

- Addressing structural issues through physiotherapy, chiropractic care, massage etc.

- Reducing toxic load

Case 3: Digestive Problems (Constipation, Diarrhea, Heartburn, Crohn’s etc.)

Treating the symptoms:

- Laxatives, drugs to stop diarrhea

- Drugs to reduce stomach acid

- Anti-inflammatory medications or supplements

Treating the root cause:

Treating what is causing the bowel issues.

- Considering food sensitivities and diet

- Healing the gut lining and improving gut health

- Addressing mental health

- Balancing the immune system

- Improving the way that the intestines and “valves” in the digestive tract open/ close/ move

Do you want to learn more about how naturopathic medicine can treat the root causes of your condition? Book an appointment or free 15-min consult. This also applies to you even if you’re taking conventional medications. Conventional and naturopathic medicine can work well together to treat “roots” and “branches”.