The Major Men's Health Problem No One Talks About

I know why it gets ignored. It's hard to talk about. It's hard to write blog posts about. For some reason it seems like it's in another place. It's not a tangible like cardiovascular disease and cancer.  You don't know which of your friends' dad's have had it. Or at what age your uncle did. And because of this it can seem like it's not a big deal. But the truth is it's common, one in ten Canadian men get it over the course of their life, and it's deadly - disproportionately killing men, one every minute.

If you haven't guessed, I'm talking about depression. Yes one in ten men and if you are doing the math, you know someone even if you don't know who. For some reason we don't talk as much about "mental health" Something that is so confusing to me because from my perspective depression, well all mental health concerns really, aren't just about our minds. In fact, no disease or disorder is "just mental" or "just physical."

Mental Health is inseparable from our physical health. So why don't we talk about it? Sometimes I find men are afraid that identifying the problem means having to hash out all the gory details. LIke acknowledging that there is some shit going on in their life and that it's making everything else a whole lot less fun means having to talk about it in detail. But there are lots of ways to heal from depression and talking is only one component. Sometimes men need to be heard, but sometimes they need to run more, or learn about mindfulness, or spend some time having fun with friends.

This month, in honour of Movember and in support of men's mental health, I'm donating $40 from each men's initial naturopathic visit to The Movember Foundation. If you know of someone going through a hard time right now who might be helped by this article, please share it with them. If that person is you, and you want to talk more about naturopathic support for mental wellness, I'm happy to listen. 

On Feeling Overwhelmed: The #1 way to know what you need to feel at peace again

This morning I felt a little off. I didn't sleep well last night and as I prepared to go to work I felt sad and tired, like I'd rather have a day in bed than head into work. It's been a busy few weeks for me. We ran 2 workshops the past 2 Tuesday evenings, I traveled for work over the past weekend, and in general had just put in more hours than usual. This week is looking like more of the same with extra work things booked into hours I usually use to take care of myself and my home. 

I took a breath and checked in with myself; I found I was feeling overwhelmed. Knowing I had some time booked off soon,  I checked my calendar and discovered I just had to keep this up until... Easter. My face fell and I wanted to cry. I knew I needed some space before then and so I made up my mind - I would take a day off. As soon as the thought of this came into my mind I felt more peaceful. 

I arrived at work, checked my schedule and booked off the next available day. I felt a weight lift. To me this is the radical self love I encourage in my work, and work to practice for myself. When you love what you do, it's hard to remember you can't spend all your waking hours working on it. Your mindbody needs rest, and when I didn't schedule enough of it in, my mindbody let me know. 

These messages from our bodies are gifts. What is your body telling you? How can you honour its needs today?

Love, Dr. Katie

What You Missed @ The Tranquil Mind Seminar

Last night I had a wonderful time chatting with some great people about stress, anxiety and insomnia management. I know you all really wanted to come so I thought I'd share all the best bit for those of you who live too far away, or couldn't make a 7:30pm talk on a Tuesday!

One topic we spent a bunch of time on was nutrients you might be missing. Did you know that nutritional studies show half of American women were getting less than 75% of the recommended daily amount of magnesium. Magnesium, which is found in vegetables and whole grains, can relieve symptoms of anxiety and insomnia when they are caused by a magnesium deficiency. 

Another topic that came up frequently was different types of mindfulness practices. Many people shared their experiences from everything from walking in natures, to exercise, to meditation. We discussed how the practice of being present can ease anxiety and bring more enjoyment to life by allowing your consciousness to surrender to what's happening in the moment. 

Thank you to everyone who came out and shared last night!

Still feeling like you missed out? Book your calendars for Tuesday November 17th, 7:30pm @ Norfolk Chiropractic Wellness Centre in Guelph because I'm running this talk one more time this year! See you there!

Dr. Katie

Live: Spend Less Time Worrying and More Time Living Your Passions

If you are reading this blog than I'm away from my office right now. That's right, vacation, I'm in my first year being self employed and I'm away right now, catching up on beach time, book reading, playing with the neiphlings and probably sampling some county wine.  So why am I telling you this? Because planning to take vacation, and then actually taking the vacation is, how I want to live. 

Just liking guiding people through stressful life periods is a passion of mine, I'm also passionate about spending time with my family. By getting to know myself and connect with my higher self and what I want from life it lets me create almost like a mission statement. When you are connected with your passion you can live your life with purpose and design your life around living your dreams. 

I'll share another secret with you today. I'm not writing this post from the beach. In fact, I wrote it 2 weeks ago from my office. Why? So I could be in the moment right now when I'm away from work. For my life, work/life harmony means being where I am and practice being present in what I'm doing. This mindfulness practice increases productivity and lets you focus on where you are while breaking the worry cycle of thinking about places you aren't and things you can't deal with in the moment. 

So what's with all the honesty today? Why share so much? Because expressing what's going on for me, acknowledging emotions, brings me piece of mind. Being able to speak your truth, wether literally through tea with a friend or written into a journal, or figuratively by creating or appreciating art or music, sets those emotions free.

Follow your passion. Live in the moment. Speak your Truth. 

Love, Dr. Katie 

Nourish: What Your Body Needs to Feel Calm and Focused

We've all heard the saying "you are what you eat" but it is so true, especially when it comes to mental health and whole body wellness. If your body isn't getting what it needs, it freaks out, leaving you tired stressed and more emotional than is really you.

So what can be done? Here are my top 3 ways you can nourish your body to help you feel calm.

1. Balance Your Blood Sugar. Not just for diabetics, blood sugar regulation is important for everyone! Think of the last time you saw a bunch of kids at a birthday party with cake. They have all this energy and then crash! Meltdowns! Moods all over the map! The same things happen to us as adults! When you eat crap your blood sugar goes on a roller-coaster ride and takes your emotions along for fun! So what can you do? In general, most people feel less anxious eating less carbohydrates and sugars and increasing their fruits, vegetables, fats and proteins. It doesn't mean you can never eat cake (although you might want to check out this recipe). It's about shifting the balance away from things that wire you up towards things that keep you calm.

2. Replenish Nutrients. A standard north american diet can be deficient in many nutrients. Minerals are removed from our foods through the refining process and that leaves many people deficient in minerals. One to watch for is magnesium, which deficiency of manifests as anxiety  in some people. Omega-3 fatty acids is another nutrient in which the modern diet does not have enough in. Try switching from meat to fish or seafood 2 nights a week.  The last "nutrient" is a bit outside the usual definition but we traditionally got it from our foods, probiotics. Due to the wonders of refrigeration we eat way less fermented foods than our traditional diets and with the advent of processed foods we are eating less fibre (food for our good microbes) and more preservatives (things that kill microbes). The relationship between our microflora and our mood is emerging and restoring these beneficial bacteria can be the key to wellness in all kinds of disorders, including anxiety.

3. Movement. We all know exercise is good for us but so many of us don't spend enough time moving. I know when I'm stressed I need to move even more, but that's often when I feel like it least. A friend recently said to me "when I don't feel like going to the gym, that's when I know I have to go."  What they have discovered, along with may other people who use exercise as their medicine of choice for mental health maintenance, is how powerfully uplifting is to be moving in your body. 

When we feel stressed and anxious, when we are tired because we didn't' sleep, it's easy to go with the "treat" mentality. I deserve this chocolate bar. I need this coffee. I'm too tired to go to yoga, I'll watch TV instead. I know I've said each of those things at some point or another. But in those moments when we are tired/stressed/anxious what we need most is to nourish ourselves. So go for a walk, make yourself a salad for dinner and throw a piece of fish on it. Your brain will thank you.

Love, Dr. Katie

Relieve: How Natural Therapies Can Help Manage Stress In the Moment and Over Time

I can't tell you the number of times someone has come into my office with a concern and asked me "is this all in my head" "do you think I'm making this up" or exclaimed "maybe I have a chemical imbalance" or "I think this is my hormones" A lot of the time there seems to be this either/or mentality. Either this is all in my head, or my head is fine it's my body that's got a problem with it.  I tell everyone the same thing. It's not either/or, it's both.

Our thoughts and emotions exist in our bodies as molecules. They create and shape or physiology just as our physiology creates and shapes our thoughts and emotions. 

That's all well and good Dr. Katie but what do I DO about this? 

Naturopathic Support for stress and anxiety looks at both the mind and the body together and supports you both in the moment and over time. Therapies are combinations of things you do (like breathing, exercise, changing how you eat and self care) and things that you take (such as teas, nutritional and botanical supplements and homeopathic remedies.) 

Want to get started now? Check out my tree meditation and feel calmer in 3 minutes.

Love,

Dr. Katie

New Program for Stress, Anxiety and Insomnia

It's here! You may or may not know but behind the scenes I've been working hard to curate the best resources in naturopathic stress and anxiety management. What's it's become is an exciting clinical program that puts you in the drivers seat of your own mental health and wellbeing. Tranquil Minds is about getting to know yourself on a deeper level. It's about finding a sense of purpose in life. It's about taking care of your self mentally and physically. It's about providing you with the information you need to make yourself feel better.

Designed by Evan Woolfery

This program is my passion and I LOVE to talk about it. So if you're in the Guelph area and you want to find out if this is the right fit for you call me @ 519 827-0902 or email info@norfolkwellness.com to book a free 15 minute chat about whether Tranquil Minds is a good fit for you.  

Tree Meditation: Feel Calmer in 3 minutes

Feeling overwhelmed? I know I get that way sometimes, which is why I wanted to share my favourite grounding meditation with you. I call it the "Tree Meditation" because it uses the metaphor of a tree to help you connect with the earth and feel grounded and stable. Let me know if you like it! 

Top 5 Natural First Aid Kit Must Haves

Summer is a busy time. Many of us use the warm weather to spend more time outdoors having fun and being active. But sometimes we fall and scrape our knees in the pursuit of fun. Or get a bit of a sunburn because we were having way to much fun to think about reapplying our sunscreen. Or withstand the odd mosquito bite to enjoy a glass of iced tea on the deck/dock/patio. So here is a list of what you can throw together to treat most minor injuries whether your on your deck or visiting a cottage!

1. Calendula Salve. Summers are filled with skinned knees and BBQ burns. Calendula can help heal any minor skin injury. It's important to only use calendula topically and not on deep cuts or open wounds. 
2. Homeopathic Arnica. Arnica is your magic bullet for minor bumps, bruises, and falls.  Anything that is going to bruise could use a quick dose (2 pellets) or homeopathic arnica under the tongue. Anyone claiming "I'm OK" or "Don't touch me!" after a fall is a great candidate for homeopathic arnica. 
3. Electrolyte Replacement. So you spent a little to long in the sun (and maybe had a drink or two while you were out there)? No problem, electrolytes are your friend. Grab a glass of water and mix in some emergen-C/Ester-C/other similar nutrient drink package. Feeling up for a challenge - make an electrolyte replacement drink from scratch! 
4. Tea Tree Essential Oil. This antimicrobial essential oil is great for skin rashes. It can help relieve bug bites and used in a carrier oil or mixed with water, and witch hazel, can be used as a mild bug spray. Remember Tea Tree oil is strong and can be quite drying on skin. 
5. Coconut Oil. The myths are mostly true, coconut oil does a lot of things for your body. It's moisturizing capabilities help soothe sunburns and other wounds. It has mild antimicrobial properties that combat rashes and its even mildly sun protective (not enough to go without sunscreen though).

So there you go! 5 things to get your first aid kit ready this summer! Want more natural first aid tips? Come out to my Free Natural First Aid Seminar this Tuesday June 9th @ Norfolk Chiropractic Wellness Centre @ 7pm. Spots are limited so reserve yours today by calling 519-827-0040 or emailing info@norfolkwellness.com

Carrot Cake

Yes, naturopaths eat cake! We are also believe that whether you are celebrating a birthday, graduation, new baby, or anything else, food intolerances shouldn't prevent anyone from eating delicious cake. This recipe is gluten and dairy free without compromising taste or moisture. It is also made with with nuts, which lowers the glycemic index (how fast your blood sugar rises) compared to cakes made with flour. It even has vegetables in it! We hope you invite it to your next celebration!

Photograph by John Cartrand

Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup oat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup nuts
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 lb organic carrots 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9” x 13” cake pan. In a blender or food processor, grind the cup of almonds into flour. Watch carefully to avoid making almond butter! Wash, peel and grate your carrots. In a large bowl whisk together the almond flour, oat flour, leaveners, and spices. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs together with maple syrup and coconut oil. Chop the cup of nuts. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together and then mix in the carrots, nuts, and raisins. Pour into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

Hot Tip: Craving some frosting for your cake? Whip 2 parts “Blossom" cream cheese with 1 part honey and 1 part coconut cream and chill until spreadable for a tasty frosting.

Broiled Lemon Trout

Cooking fish in the oven can be fast and easy. This light-tasting trout recipe is a great way to incorporate more fish & healthy fish oils into your diet. Fish is an essential part of the Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to decrease cardiovascular mortality and cancer risk. 

Photograph by John Chartrand

Ingredients

• 1 sustainably sourced trout fillet
• 1 lemon
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

Place your trout fillet skin side down onto a baking sheet and season it with a pinch of salt and pepper. Slice your lemon and lay the slices on top of the trout. Place your fish on the upper rack of you oven and broil on high for 10-12 minutes (depending on the size of your fish) until the fish becomes flaky and the dark pink flesh lightens all the way through. Enjoy! Hot Tip: Although this recipe is really great with trout, you can broil whichever fish you are into right now using the same method, just adjust the cooking time for the size of the fish fillet. 

Mushroom Rice

Move over canned soup! This rice recipe cuts calories while amping up flavor compared to a traditional mushroom soup rice casserole. You’ll put in some extra time for the brown rice - but the nutritional bang for your buck is worth it. Brown rice has nine times more magnesium than white rice, a mineral that more than half of us don’t eat enough of! If you think you don’t like brown rice, you seriously need to try it with mushrooms! Try it for your next pot luck - It’s still great at room temperature and you’ll be a hit!

Photograph by John Chartrand

Ingredients:

• 1lb Sourdough Organic Mushrooms
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 4Tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup brown rice. Reduce pot to simmer and cover for 40 minutes. While the rice is cooking start on your mushroom mix. Finely chop the onion. Thinly slice the mushrooms. Crush one clove of garlic. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Saute the onions until translucent and then remove them from pan. Add the additional olive oil to the pan with the mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms start to brown. Set mushrooms aside. When rice is cooked drain. Mix in mushrooms and onions. Enjoy!

Spicy Roast Turnips

Turnips are a sometimes forgotten root vegetable. Missing out on the staple status we give carrots and potatoes, causing confusion with rutabagas everywhere, boiled and mashed into tastelessness for family gathering by grandmothers (including my own). So here is a recipe that gives turnips all the love they deserve. Adding a bit of heat increases the blood flow to your digestive system and helps you absorb the nutrients you need. Next time try these instead of roasted potatoes - we promise you won’t miss the potatoes. 

Photo by John Chartrand

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch organic turnips
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• small bunch fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Wash and peel your turnips and remove the tops. Place turnips in ovenproof dish. Cover with olive oil, chili flakes, and thyme and mix to coat. Roast for 1hr stirring occasionally. 

Hot Tip: Cooking on a weeknight? Cube the turnips (rather than leaving them whole) and cut your cooking time in half. You're Welcome. 

Recipe Update!

Exciting News! I’ve partnered up with Sourdough Ontario, an organic food home delivery service here in Guelph, on a new recipe project. Each week we are going to have a new healthy and delicious recipe featuring local, sustainable, and seasonal ingredients. I’ll let the photos give the sneak peak as to what’s to come in the weeks ahead!

Photograph by John Chartrand

Don’t want to miss a post? Subscribe below to get all the yummy recipes, plus health tips and current events in health, delivered to your inbox. 

Poached Egg on Apple & Dandelion Salad

Breakfast foods are my favourites. Often, when I'm cooking for myself, I make some version of the recipe below. It's breakfasty, but I like eggs any time of day. This particular egg recipe is packed with local super-foods.  Read more about why I choose these ingredients here. 

Ingredients

• 1 apple
• 1 bunch dandelion greens
• 1 bunch spinach
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tsp liquid honey 

Instructions
Cut the flesh off the apple off the core in 4-5 slices. Lay the apple pieces cut side down and cut into matchstick sized pieces. Wash and dry your greens. In your salad bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar and honey. Poach or soft boil 2 eggs. While your eggs are cooking, toss the salad greens with the dressing and a pinch salt. Add most your apples to the salad and mix in. Then plate your salad and add the rest of the apple pieces scattered on top of the salad. Place your perfect eggs on top of your salad and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Enjoy with a 100% cranberry juice spritzer (1 part cranberry juice to 2 parts sparkling water) for a decadent super powered brunch!

Safety, Evidence, and Natural Health Product Regulations

Do you watch CBC marketplace? I don’t. But enough of my social media is wrapped up health and wellness that I saw a lot about last Friday's episode on the natural health product regulations. Although the episode sensationalized their results (It’s television, what were you expecting) as a whole, it raised a single important question; how much evidence do we need for a natural health product to be available on our pharmacy and health food store shelves? 

In Canada, natural health products (NHPs) have their own set of regulations under our Food and Drug Act. If you are a policy nerd like me, you might like to read the full text of the regulations here http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2003-196/page-1.html. The regulations outline what information is needed to receive a license for a natural health care product. It’s a fairly straightforward list with things like the product’s name, ingredients, conditions used for, as well as “information that supports the safety and efficacy of the natural health product when it is used in accordance with the recommended conditions of use.” 

Most people are happy with the fact that there are regulations in place that govern what health products can be sold in Canada. I know I find it reassuring. So what’s all the fuss? CBC marketplace, and others critical of natural health product regulation in Canada, feel that the standards are not high enough. On CBC marketplace, their made-up homeopathic fever remedy is backed only by photocopied pages from a Materia Medica, a type homeopathic textbook that summarizes homeopathic evidence. The episode claims that this is insufficient; they even interview a medical doctor who explains that natural health product regulations fall short of what we expect for prescription medications. 

But is that a surprise? Getting a new pharmaceutical approved is a big production. Is the CBC truly positing that consumers need the same level of evidence for chamomile tea that is required for Dulcolax? Chamomile has been used medicinally since the 1st century AD (http://traditionalroots.org/backyard-medicine-chamomile/). Dolcolax’s active ingredient, Bisacodyl, was synthesized in 1953 (http://gut.bmj.com/content/5/3/271.full.pdf). I point this out not to mock pharmaceutical development, or the rigorous process that puts new, safe and effective pharmaceuticals on our shelves, but from a place of opening up our conversation about evidence. A two thousand year history of safe and effective use is nothing to ignore, whether or not the remedy has been able to scare up some funding for randomized controlled trial. 

Our natural health products, and their regulations, don’t look a lot like our pharmaceutical regulations, and there is a reason for that. As I mentioned above, NHPs are regulated under the Food and Drug Act. They are treated differently than pharmaceuticals because they are different, with a different history. NHPs live in the grey area between food and drugs, and are regulated appropriately. Are these regulations perfect? No, I don’t think any regulations are. But to say that a Materia Medica is not a good source of information on homeopathy is simply not true. To say that natural products require pharmaceutical level evidence to be proven safe and effective ignores the base of our (recently developed) evidence pyramid. 

In the case of natural health products, or any products for that matter, I think we can agree that more evidence is better. In our drive to use the best possible evidence, lets not ignore the information we already have on our traditional medicines. Let’s strive to be open-minded in our conversations about evidence. Let’s look at the body of evidence as a whole and avoid skimming off the top. Ask yourself again; how much evidence do we need for a natural health product to be available on our pharmacy and health food store shelves? 

I Worked with the Lunar Cycle for 2 Months: this is what I learned

I’m always intrigued at anything that claims it will help increase your productivity by working with your body. As an accidental entrepreneur I’d rather spend my time working with patients than working on the business side of my business. So when a friend passed on this info graphic on working with the lunar cycle I was intrigued. I added the lunar calendar to my google cal and did my best to schedule myself with the cycle in mind. Here’s what I learned.

1. I had the most energy around the full moon. The full moon filled me with the type of energy that made me feel like getting anything done was possible. Going to bed seemed like a nuisance because once there I hardly slept. My head was full of thoughts and I just wanted to do something about them.

2. I needed the most sleep at the new moon. The lack of sleep didn’t bother me at the full moon but come new moon I switched to full restoration mode. After 8 hours in bed I still wanted to sleep. I also found myself retreating to my room for some rest and quite. 
3. Clutter and mess became unbearable before the new moon. Things that could exist outside my awareness for weeks, suddenly became irritating sources of distraction and interrupting my peace. I hate housekeeping, but suddenly laundry got put away, floors were being swept twice as often, a stacks of paper got filed out of sight.
4. My introvert and extrovert tendencies changed. I’ve always suspected I was more in between being an introvert or an extrovert. I love being with friends, I hate eating alone, but I’d also rather do something on my own than hang out with a group at times. What I didn’t realize is that, for me, these tendencies changed in predictable ways. With all my full moon energy, I wanted nothing more than to go out with friends and be social. Come the new moon I craved more alone time and deeper connections.
5. My patient flow changed during the lunar cycle. Although I wasn’t shocked to find that my behaviour changed with the moon I wasn’t expecting to find a noticeable difference in the behaviours of others. I had more new bookings around the full moon, it was as if people in general were feeling more motivated. During the new moon, my practice was quieter and had more cancellations than at other times of the lunar cycle. 

The most helpful part of this exercise for me was the turning in; I had to look inside myself and identify my feelings, energy, and the projects I could be most productive with. I also wondered about how hormone changes through the menstrual cycle, which for many women is the same length as the lunar cycle, may also contribute to the changes in mood and energy I experienced. Working with the lunar cycle was a positive experience, and something I will probably keep in mind in the future. Overall it was a success, I only wish I had found when the best time to do bookkeeping is! If anybody has figured out that one, let me know!