Social Media - Inspired, or Sick and Tired? Social media, a place to be inspired, or is the constant advice making you sick and tired?  Last month I had to close my computer in disgust, I couldn’t handle another post of the perfect mom, creating the perfect homeschool regime for her kids, including exercise and of course, fresh baked bread that they all made together while singing kumbaya, after meditating and doing their gratitude journals.   Or someone with minimal qualifications telling me how to relax and ; I didn’t want to relax and for crying out loud, I wanted to cry, scream, hide in a ball and [...]

by Dr. Debbie Smrz, BSc, ND Naturopathic Doctor Magnesium is known as the ultimate relaxation mineral, widely touted (and with good cause) to help with sleep, anxiety, muscle tension, blood pressure, fatigue, mood, headaches, energy production, digestion and even focus.  How can one mineral have so many effects?  Magnesium is the 6th most abundant mineral, and the 2nd most abundant cation in our bodies, and chances are – you are not getting enough, even if you eat a well-balanced diet. Although the RDA of magnesium is 280mg/day and 350mg/day for females and males respectively, the optimal daily intake is 600-800 mg/day.  Furthermore, if you’re [...]

Megan's Mindfulness - December 2016 by Megan Fearnley, MSc, RP Psychotherapist We all know that eating and sleeping poorly can make us more vulnerable to the cold and flu. But did you know that your thoughts can also affect your vulnerability to illness?  Consistently negative thoughts have been shown to stress and weaken the immune system, increasing our susceptibility to common colds and viruses as well as more serious conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. If you tend to be a "glass half empty” person, it's time to start changing those thoughts! Start by being mindful of your thoughts and emotions. Meditation and [...]

Getting Your Health Write! by Dr. Daniel Soubhi Sima’an BSc, ND Naturopathic Doctor Perhaps one of the most meaningful forms of introspection is journaling. From childhood diaries to historical records, putting the details of your life on paper can be an extremely important and meaningful experience. This can be a particularly helpful tool in terms of medical care as well. A couple of salient applications include monitoring weight, dietary changes as well as monitoring symptoms of a particular condition. In my personal and clinical experience I have found great success and fulfillment. In monitoring how much I eat, what I eat and also monitoring how [...]