Jump Start Your Brain

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The nervous system and brain are getting a lot of attention recently especially since the baby boomer population is aging. I am going to blog a few articles over the next month on how to jump start your Brain, improve your I. Q., and improve memory and focus. This will be helpful for everyone especially the aging population and students.

Water is very critical, drinking 17 oz.of water can increase your metabolism by 30% and this includes improving brain function. Never skip meals – attention span shortens and performance decreases. Carry a bag of nuts or low carb protein bar for situations when you feel you don’t have time for breakfast or lunch. Do not use energy bars as they are overloaded with sugar. Do not eat sugar before long study periods or taking exams. Thirty to forty minutes after eating a dose of sugar or starch the body creates a low blood sugar level which will reduce energy and brain function. As Dr. Barry Sears stated, “Food is the most powerful drug in the world. The door swings both ways.Food can be the magic elixir to anti-aging or it can be what causes your worst nightmare with your health”. Chose wisely.

Allergies and GMO Foods.

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I have been testing and treating allergies and food intolerances for many years now. I am seeing an interesting pattern emerging in our office. That is the emergence of sensitivities to GMO grains, yet not testing positive for organic grains. Patients will come in and test negative for a grain like wheat (organic) and will come in the next appointment and say they are still reactive to that grain. We will then test them for the GMO related grain and they will test positive to it. Research is now emerging that rats fed GMO grains end up growing tumors. This is independant research that has not been supported by the GMO giants like Monsanto. Eight countries in Europe have now banned GMO food and yet North America has been so resistant or the pro GMO lobbyists have done a great job of gaining government support. It is time for us to stand up and be visable by buying organic and refusing to ingest GMO food products. We also owe it to our families.

How much does Stress effect your Weight ?

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There is a lot of frustration out there with both men and women who exercise regularly and feel they are eating healthily and still can’t lose weight.    It has long been stated that if you expend more calories while exercising than the calories you are intaking through your diet you should naturally lose weight. Unfortunately we are now understanding that other factors come into play regarding fat and weight loss.  One major factor that tends to be overlooked is the effect that stress plays in impeding your bodies ability to burn fat. The adrenal glands are stress glands that sit on top of your kidneys and secrete hormones to help in adaptation to stressors that you encounter. Our ancestors didn’t experience the long amounts of stress that we are exposed to present day. One of the adrenals hormone called cortisol, is secreted in response to “fight or flight” situations which boded well for our ancestors to fight the wild animal they encountered or to flee from the enemy. Present day I find  most individuals and families rarely take time out and are on a round the clock schedule leading to cortisol regularly being secreted and flooding your blood stream which leads to an increase in glucose in the blood. When we see high glucose in the blood there is an increased need for the “storage ” hormone , insulin, to be secreted to store glucose in your cells for energy. As long as cortisol is secreted throughout your day then insulin is always trying to store glucose that is mobilized by cortisol secretion. If the body is always in storage mode with insulin, the body finds it very difficult to burn fat. We are now monitoring all our patients that are wanting to slim down, lose weight, or can’t seem to drop weight or fat for cortisol imbalances.

Welcome Dr. Justyna to the Semiahmoo Wellness Center

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We are excited to have a new Naturopathic Physician joining the South Surrey, Semiahmoo Wellness Center. It is Dr. Justyna Swiatczak who is a passionate doc specializing in Children and Women’s Health issues like infertilty, menopause and PCOS. Here is our first interview with her. She is now accepting new patients.

 

Alzheimers now considered ” Type 3 Diabetes “

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Well, I just got back from a seminar in Phoenix on “INFLAMMATION”. One of the keynote speakers “Dr. Dan Murphy ” stated that a new theory of Alzheimer”s Disease was that it was a similar mechanism of type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is caused by a problem in the way your body makes or uses insulin. Insulin is needed to move blood sugar (glucose) into cells, where it is stored and later used for energy.

When you have type 2 diabetes, your fat, liver, and muscle cells do not respond correctly to insulin. This is called insulin resistance. As a result, blood sugar does not get into these cells to be stored for energy.

When sugar cannot enter cells, high levels of sugar build up in the blood. This is called hyperglycemia.

Type 2 diabetes usually occurs slowly over time.

Now the brain is a glucose hog. It runs on glucose and needs glucose also to produce energy or ATP. When glucose can’t get into your cells in other parts of your body, it also can’t get into your brain cells. If the neurons of the brain can’t get the energy they need they will begin to die off. Dr. Murphy claimed that patients with Alzheimers who went on a low glycemic diet and used other strategies for regulating glucose metabolism had favourable responses.

See the following article: http://www.naturalnews.com/036708_Alzheimers_type-3_diabetes_brain_disease.html.

The Semiahmoo Wellness Center in South Surrey has put together blood tests and strategies to evaluate individuals who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Food as our Pharmacy

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As we transition from fall into winter we lose our sunlight and Vitamin D. We also see more children`s immune system`s becoming compromised at our office at the Semiahmoo Wellness Center. Whether it is because they are staying up late doing homework, have several sport practices per week, or like my grade 12 daughter trying to cramp everything she can in her final year at high school. Parent`s rather than waiting until they start exhibiting the flu or a cold why not be proactive with boosting their immune systems now. Their are many strategies that you may find helpful. Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Astragalus. Zinc, and Echinacea are all products that can help improve your immune system to assist in preventing the common cold or flu. Honey, garlic, and ginger are staples of cold treatment in Ayurvedic medicine along with black pepper, cinnamon and turmeric. Turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory.Ginger has been used for over 4000 years in Asia and research shows it to relieve inflammation, fever and muscle and joint pain.Grated ginger root with hot water and honey is great to warm up the insides from the chills that accompany the flu. Food has for centuries been used as our Pharmacy by many cultures. So simple yet very effective. These can be purchased at most grocery stores, health food stores and at your naturopathic doctors`office.

Are your fruits and vegetables are safe?

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At our clinic in White Rock I am always recommending to my patients that when they are making healthy choices for themselves and their families to purchase organic, non genetically modified fruits and vegetables.Studies show not only does organically raised food taste better but many studies have shown that organic has a greater quantity of nutritional value. The next question patients ask is how can you tell if it is organic. Most stores don’t label if a food has been genetically modified and of course you are not going to be told what pesticides or herbicides were used in the farming practice of raising that produce. One way to tell how it is raised is by looking at the sticker. The code will give you valuable information. If the label has 4 digits, beginning with 4 then it is conventionally grown and may be sprayed with synthetic pesticides, not genetically modified. If is a 5 digit code beginning with a 9, this equals organic, not genetically modified. If it is a 5 digit, beginning with an 8 it is genetically modified produce. Even if we are eating healthy we may not be absorbing all the nutrients that are in our food. Naturopathic doctors are good at assessing what you may be lacking from your diet.

Laser Therapy for Fat Loss

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I have been using cold laser therapy in our clinic for over 7 years for assisting in healing athletic injuries and soft tissue problems. In the past few years we have been introduced to a new non-invasive, non-toxic way to melt fat away naturally using cold laser therapy. It has been show cased on Dr. Oz, The Doctor’s Show and The Rachel Ray Show. Dr. Oz  says ” The Zerona Laser is a Fat Fighting Miracle”. Research has shown that six- 40 minute laser sessions over 2 weeks will result in an average of 3 1/2 inches of fat loss. It has also shown that it can reduce cholesterol which is a big concern of overweight individuals. For those with a higher BMI and are more than 30 pounds overweight additional sessions will be needed. Zerona is not only for women as excellent results are achieved with men. LaserBodysculpting in White Rock and North Vancouver was one of the first physician run clinics in Canada. This is not a substitute for a good diet and exercise.

 

Beam Me Up Scottie!

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I can’t believe that the technology that Star Trek that I was watching on TV 35 years ago is now a reality in my office. Lasers are becoming 21st century medicine. I was at a seminar in Phoenix, Arizona 2 months ago where Dr. John Brimhall was demonstrating the use of cold laser therapy applied to lobes of the brain to help up regulate or re-integrate areas of the brain and have a therapeutic effect on the nervous system. We are now using the procedure in our office and the results have been very eye opening. Using photon energy from a laser and seeing instantaneous change in anxiety in 20 minutes. Behaviour in an autistic child shift from disruptive to calm in 1 minutes using light therapy. This is non-invasive and non-toxic. What a nice addition to our clinic in South Surrey/ White Rock using Naturopathic Medicine.