Stress Part 4: Solutions

This is the final article of my series on stress. To read the previous article click here.

Over the past few blog posts, I’ve talked about different ways stress can affect your health. I think it’s about time we talk about some solutions!

Stress has become such an important health issue. There is now a fair amount of scientific research on ways to reduce it.

Science has found the following to be helpful when it comes to reducing stress:

- Spending time in nature

- Meditation

- Yoga

- Gratitude lists or other types of journaling

- Scheduling more face to face social time with people who uplift you

- Unplugging from technology

Most of you know about these things. The purpose of today’s article isn’t to go over these strategies – as essential as they are. Today I want to talk about an underused strategy for stress management. This especially goes out to all my fellow type-A people. The strategy I want to talk about is: doing nothing. That is, deliberately scheduling time in your life to be completely unproductive.

As humans, we’re wired to reach for success. Learning, growing, improving and evolving are central to being human. We apply this drive to every area of our lives. Hence when we do nothing it feels wrong. Guilt sets in. The script starts running in our heads saying that we’re lazy or we procrastinate too much. We tell ourselves we should be using this time to clear our to do list.

The reality is that the to do list will never get done. You have your whole life to fill up and empty that list over and over again. We're harming ourselves when we say that we’ll relax once we’ve cleared our list.

This is why I recommend scheduling “nothing time”. Time when you can be completely unproductive. No working on side projects, no organizing your closet, no planning. I mean a completely unproductive period, guilt free. The point is to remind yourself that even if you slow down your world will still keep spinning. If you’re a type-A person, this may feel uncomfortable. But push through it.

Now, you may be saying "but I already do nothing when I Netflix binge" or "I already waste too much time doing nothing on social media". Well then ask yourself, after doing those things do you feel rested and recharged? If your answer is yes than great you’ve learned how to build some healthy nothingness into your day. If you find that you don’t feel restored after doing those things than ask yourself what would be a more pleasurable way to spend your nothing time? Is it reading a fiction? Painting? Going out to the movies? A lot of the time we veg out and blast through a TV series just to do something. For some this is restful, for others it doesn’t do much for them. It’s all individual.

You need to find out for yourself how to maximize your nothing time to make it as enjoyable and restorative as possible. Make a list of activities that would fit the bill and schedule them into your day. You also need to figure out for yourself how much time you can allocate to these periods of rest. Whatever you do – don’t let stress management sit on the back-burner and don’t wait to start implementing some strategies.

There are many natural herbs, nutrients and acupuncture protocols that can help your body wind down and chill out when it’s stubbornly stuck in overdrive. If you’re feeling like you need help in this area book an appointment or free 15-minute consult.

Stress Part 3: Tummy Troubles

This is the third article of my series on stress. To read the previous article click here.

Today I’ll be talking about how stress can lead to an unhappy gut. Have you ever found that when you’re on vacation your tummy troubles improve? There you are eating all the things that normally upset your gut and yet you don’t have any issues. This is a common finding for people who have gut issues that are worsened by stress.

Scientists believe stress can alter the “brain-gut axis”. In other words, psychological stress can influence your gut in many ways. It can impact your gut bacteria, the way your gut moves, inflammation in the gut and more. Read on to learn about how stress can impact gut health.

 

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

Study after study shows a connection between stress and IBS. When treating IBS or SIBO it’s important to focus on food intolerances and gut bacteria. However, too often stress management is ignored. Patients who focus on reducing stress are able to improve their symptoms much faster.

 

Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Some studies suggest that stress can cause or worsen Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Not all studies show this link so more research is needed to confirm this theory. It's thought that stress can increase inflammation and oxidation in the gut. This can trigger these two inflammatory conditions.

 

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD – a.k.a. heartburn)

In a healthy gut, the connection between the esophagus and the stomach is held closed most of the time by a valve. This valve is called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). Stress may weaken the LES. This makes it easier for acid from the stomach to splash up into the esophagus. Once acid is in the esophagus you feel that heartburn sensation. Stress also makes you more sensitive to any acid splashing up into your esophagus. This makes the experience more uncomfortable.

 

Stomach Ulcers

It’s been long known that ulcers are most commonly caused by bacteria called H. Pylori. But that does not mean that the connection between stress and gut ulcers is a myth. Stress can reduce your body’s protection mechanisms against H. Pylori or other agents that harm the stomach lining. Stress may also make it harder for ulcers to heal.

It’s not easy to live with abdominal discomfort. If you feel like you need some help managing your tummy troubles and your stress levels book an appointment or free 15 minute consult.

Stress Part 2: Hormones

This is the second article of my series on stress. To read the previous article click here.

Last week I discussed how stress can affect the skin. Today I’ll be talking about some different ways stress can make hormones go haywire. Most women remember a time when their period went wonky during a stressful episode in life. This is just one example of how stress can impact hormones. Read on to find out how stress can play a role in hormonal conditions.

 

Irregular/ Absent Periods

Amenorhea is the term used for when you miss your period for multiple cycles. When this is caused by stress it’s known as hypothalamic amenorrhea. This fancy term is used because when you're stressed the part of the brain called the hypothalamus triggers a release of different stress hormones like cortisol. This can cause the brain to release less of the hormones important for your cycle (like LH and FSH). This ends up disturbing the ovulation process and the whole cycle. A similar process can lead to irregular periods.

 

Infertility

One of the most common pieces of advice given to women trying to get pregnant is to be less stressed. Like with hypothalamic amenorrhea, stress can lead to less consistent ovulation. This can make getting pregnant more complicated. Preliminary studies have found that stress can lead to something called reproductive aging. This involves decreased ability for the ovaries to produce a healthy egg.

 

Diabetes

There is some research suggesting that stress hormones like cortisol can make your body respond less to the hormone insulin. This makes it harder for your body to control blood sugar. Blood sugar may remain high for longer after meals when you’re stressed.

 

Thyroid Dysfunction

Improving stress levels has been shown to improve thyroid hormone levels. Cortisol can reduce thyroid hormone levels.

 

Men’s Health

Don’t think that stress only impacts women’s health! Hormones in men are also affected by stress. The effects are less understood though. There is research suggesting that stress may lower testosterone levels in men.

As you can see stress management is an important part of a plan to treat any of these conditions. If you need help with your hormones or your stress levels book an appointment or free 15 minute consult.

Stress Part 1: What it Does to the Skin

Stress affects everyone. You’d be surprised at all the bizarre ways stress can impact your body. If you’ve read my blog posts, you’ll know that working with mental health is a huge passion of mine. I’ve decided to write a series on stress to highlight how big of a role it plays in overall health. In the first few articles I’ll talk about different ways stress can impact the body. Then I’ll go over some ways you can lower stress on your own. This week, we’ll start at the surface and talk about how stress affects the skin. This is also known as the brain-skin connection. Read on to find out more!

Acne

Most of us can relate to having an inconvenient stress-breakout just before a big event. The stress-acne link has been studied for a long time. When the body is stressed, it releases all kinds of chemicals. Some of these stress chemicals act on the skin to increase sebum which clogs pores and leads to pimples. Some increase inflammation in and around skin cells which causes redness and pain. Stress may also weaken the immune system. This makes the skin more prone to infection by acne-causing bacteria.

Aging

There are a couple different theories on why the skin ages. One theory is that DNA damage, oxidation and inflammation age the skin. The stress hormones epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol have been found to increase DNA damage. They may also reduce skin cell regeneration. Stress can decrease the anti-oxidant functions in skin cells. These damages can lead to signs of aging like fine lines, dark spots and loss of elasticity.

Eczema and Psoriasis

Stress seems to alter the skin in eczema patients in ways that are not fully understood. These alterations impact skin inflammation, oxidation and repair. 

Psoriasis is a skin condition that involves itchy, scaly patches forming on the skin. It’s a condition driven by inflammation and immune reactions. In psoriasis patients, stress seems to increase the inflammation molecules in the body which aggravates the skin. The skin of psoriasis patients may also have higher levels of chemicals that respond to stress.

Hives

Stress has been shown to increase the activity of mast cells. Mast cells play a major roll in hive development and itchy skin.

Naturopathic medicine has a lot to offer when it comes to stress. Herbs, nutrition and acupuncture work wonders on stress levels. If you need help with your stress or your skin, book an appointment or free 15-minute consult.

Chemicals and Your Thyroid

In a previous article on a similar topic I discussed how household chemicals can impact hormones. In this article I go into more detail on how specifically the thyroid may be affected by self care products. I also list some of my favourite natural alternatives that I use for self care.

It’s not yet clear how exactly chemicals hurt the thyroid. Most of the chemicals studied decrease thyroid function. Some over-stimulate the thyroid. This is a very difficult area to make conclusions about. Chemical effects happen so gradually over time so it’s hard to detect in a study. Much of the research is in its early stages but it's gaining attention.

Not all the chemicals that may hurt the thyroid are in self care products, but some are. Until more is known on this subject it may be worthwhile to play it safe.

What About Antibodies

When you have an auto-immune thyroid condition, your body produces antibodies that lead to an attack on your thyroid. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Graves’ disease both fall into this category. Hashimoto’s is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. Graves’ is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. 

There is emerging research showing that certain chemicals can increase thyroid antibodies. 

Often people with auto-immune thyroid conditions are genetically predisposed to them. It’s believed that a trigger may be the final straw that “activates” the condition in such people. Possible triggers include infections, mental or physical stress, nutrition levels and chemicals.

Product Inventory

Here are some potential products to keep your eye on with some alternatives that I love:

- Soap with triclosan: choose soaps without this antibacterial ingredient or more natural soaps like castile soaps

- Fragranced perfumes, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, creams: either get more natural versions from a health food store or at least fragrance-free versions

- Perfume: switch to essential oils (many places sell great blends)

- Body, hand, face creams: switch to oils and keep them in a glass jar (yes, it’s long been established that even oily skin benefits from certain plant oils) 

o Face: right now, I blend jojoba and olive oil, I’ve also done grapeseed or almond oil

o Body: in the summer I prefer coconut which is often not hydrating enough for winter, in the winter I prefer olive or grapeseed oil

o If you’re attached to creams use cocoa or shea butter. These have to be melted. You can also use a blender to combine them with other oils so they stay soft.

- Nail polish: I can’t think of a good alternative so I just limit my use!

- Hair spray: same idea as nail polish 

- Exfoliant: just use sugar, coffee or salt blended with some olive or almond oil

- Masks: stick with masks that are just clay combined with some plant oils/ herbs

- Lip balm: use 100% shea in a little glass jar, it warms up as you rub it with your finger

- Spot treatment: tea tree oil or castor oil

- Face cleanser: I don’t wear full makeup often so when I do I will use a makeup remover even if it’s not 100% natural. Otherwise, when I just wear eye makeup I remove my eye makeup with olive oil and wash my face with honey

Try using this list to do a little inventory of your self care products. Pick and chose what you want to swap out.

If you want to learn more about how naturopathic medicine can help your thyroid, book and appointment or free-15 minute consult.

My Thoughts About Cleanses

I’m skeptical of many cleanses. Typical detoxes or cleanses involve some kind of restrictive diet. Usually, for X amount of days you consume special juices, or restrict your diet to only a few specific foods. Often the claims are that you will lose weight and feel amazing after these cleanses. What ends up happening is that you don’t notice any long-term change in the way you feel. Any weight you lose often comes back as soon as you stop the cleanse.

I recently promoted a 3-week cleanse. However, my version of a "cleanse" is very different from what I described above. Below, I’ll explain why.

What are Toxins?

In the natural health world, the term “toxin” is a word used for many things. For me, it’s simply a term used to describe unwanted things in the body. A good cleanse should focus on helping the body reduce such things as much as it can. For example, clearing out estrogen if you're estrogen dominant. Another example is reducing inflammation if you have a lot of it.  A good cleanse should also focus on getting important foundations of health in place. This includes digestive health, liver health and nutrition. Perhaps a better term for a program like this would be a “reset” as opposed to a “cleanse”. Maybe this will be the new term for my cleanse program next time!

Does the Body Even Need Cleansing?

Our bodies have their own built-in detox systems. The liver, kidneys, lungs, gut, skin and more all work together to trap and eliminate toxins. Sometimes these organs could use a little help though. Sometimes your gut could use some help to do its job of eliminating waste better. Similarly, there are many natural treatments to help the liver better process toxins. Sometimes a helping hand can make a big difference.

My Version

My 3-week cleanse isn’t designed to be a quick fix – because that doesn’t exist. I like to think of it more like a great kick-starter for a healthier life. I pack a lot of important steps into 3 weeks, focusing on a different topic each week. The goal is to set the wheels in motion. It can have you feeling more energetic, less bloated, more mentally clear and excited about your health. It’s based on good logic rather than flashy fad ideas. I also like to focus most on diet and lifestyle and only use supplements where necessary. Here’s the breakdown:

1. First week: we go over some of the ways that liver health can be aided with foods, herbs or nutrients. I do this because the liver is an important organ that metabolizes hormones, sugars and unwanted compounds.

2. Second week: we go over how to optimize digestion because good digestion is so important for eliminating waste and feeling well.

3. Third week: we go over your diet in more detail and look for gaps in your nutrition that we can fill.

If you want to find out more about my cleanse book a free 15-minute consult or jump right in and book your first appointment!

The Missing Part of Most Weight Loss Programs

Holiday season is upon us and the new year is right around the corner. You know what that means – weight loss advertisements! You’ll soon be hearing those familiar phrases. Phrases about shedding holiday pounds and starting the new year off right. Ads will centre around gym memberships, diet programs and a few supplements.

Now, I have nothing against many weight loss programs. Many are based on sound principles for weight loss – a good diet and workout plan. I just wish more programs addressed one key thing that stands in the way of weight loss for so many people: the mind.

Most of my patients know what they should be eating to lose weight. Most know how much they should be exercising. It's often something deeper than a simple lack of willpower or time that stands in their way. For many, it’s hard to do the things they know they should do because their mind is not in a good place. 

The reality is that it’s hard to get up and make yourself a healthy meal when you don’t even feel like getting out of bed to face the day. It’s hard to spend thirty minutes at the gym when your mind is scolding you about other worries you "should" be focusing on instead. Food - especially junk food - can be a major comfort when you're feeling down.  Feeling down, stressed or anxious is a major barrier to getting in shape.

You can tell yourself that you HAVE to cut the sweets after work no matter what, but the mind is a powerful thing. If it's not happy it doesn't make the best choices. When it comes time to make that healthy choice it can easily overpower your “have-to’s”.

Then there’s the other dilemma. You’ve had some success with weight loss, but it didn’t last long. You were on a roll, then eventually your mind got in a funk and you started comfort eating to soothe your worries. Or you started not feeling in the mood to go to the gym. The weight went back up.

This is why it is so important to get your mind in the right place before or while starting any weight loss mission. Treat your low mood. Treat your anxiety. Treat your chronic stress. Don’t ignore these things and only focus on the body. Treating these issues is what will enhance your weight loss efforts. Treating them will make the results last.

I treat these issues of the mind with herbs, nutrients, lifestyle changes and acupuncture. I watch my patients transform with this care. They begin to feel more excited about their lives and about taking care of themselves. It becomes easier to make those choices to follow that healthy diet and exercise plan. The weight begins to come off, but they also feel like they are thriving in other areas of their life too.

So, this time around when you’re making weight loss or healthy lifestyle resolutions don’t only think about your body. Give your mind some love as well.

How can naturopathic medicine help me if I’m already on medication?

Are you taking medication? Are you wondering how natural medicine can fit into your health care? Maybe you feel that you have to choose between the non-natural way or the natural way. It does not have to be so black and white. I work with many patients who are taking medications. Below I’ll talk about the different ways I can help you even if you’re on medication.

Treating Side Effects of Medications

Sometimes medications lead to side effects. Instead of taking another medication to treat those side effects, you might want to try a natural alternative instead. For example, your medications may be causing dry mouth, migraines, nausea or bloating. Side effects like these could be treated with naturopathic medicine. Often medications deplete nutrients. This may lead to a whole range of symptoms from fatigue to mood swings. Nutrient depletion is definitely something I would take into consideration for your case.

Enhance the Good Effects of Medications

Are you experiencing some improvement with your medications but not complete relief? You may want to speak to me about natural options that can work alongside your medications to improve results. For example, I do this with patients on thyroid, blood pressure, anxiety and depression medications. I’m always careful to ensure that there are no harmful interactions with any medications.

Gradually Replace Medications (with the help of the prescribing doctor)

This option can only be done with the help of the doctor who prescribed the medication. I’ve had patients tell their family doctor that they want to wean off their medication. If their doctor feels that this is a wise choice they will work with them to gradually reduce their dose at a safe rate. I work with these patients to make the transition off medications easier. I aim to increase the chances that you'll stay healthy as you transition off.

In my mind, naturopathic medicine and conventional medicine are perfect partners. I don’t believe you have to choose one or the other. There is a place for everything. Both systems of medicine can work together to help you reach your health goals. If you have more questions about naturopathic medicine book a free 15-minute consult today.