The Semiahmoo Wellness Center has been using the ChiroThin weight loss program at our clinic for the past 5 years with great success. It is a doctor assisted program where we monitor you weekly to make sure you are losing fat and not muscle mass. You are not using shakes or powders but actual real food so that when you are finished the program you just keep eating real food. There are no injections with needles and no major exercise for the 6 weeks you are on the program. We have found that some people can lose weight with regular exercise and a very healthy diet, but others have a harder time losing those stubborn pounds. Our program is designed to look at how stress can impact your ability to lose weight and to help you lose weight the fastest and healthiest way possible. Give our office a call and book a complimentary 15 minute appointment to see if this program is for you.
At our clinic Semiahmoo Wellness Centre in South Surrey/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.
It wasn’t until I received an injury to my upper body playing hockey in 2017 that I really understood the role of fascia and how it could affect health and function in the body. Often when a person has an injury from a fall, from an impact playing a sport, or from a motor vehicle accident, the force of impact is absorbed by the dense tissues of the body (including fascia). The most dense material in the body is water. Water is so dense that it cannot be compressed. Fluid filled organs expand with impact, similar to a water balloon. These internal injuries are absorbed by the organs, as well as bone structures surrounding the pelvis, trunk and cranium, resulting in a variety of musculoskeletal and functional conditions.
The fascia is tissue that encompasses the entire body similar to your skin, such as a one piece pajama around your body, organs and muscles. Having an impact on one side of the body can create an expansion on the opposite side of the body. You may feel pain or restriction of function where the initial impact occurred, but the enlargement on the opposite side may be the cause of the pain and restricted mobility.
When bone encounters a forceful injury it enlarges. In 2005 a researcher at the University of California, Dr. Paul Hansma, verified this and found the molecular mechanism which causes the expansion. A common example is an enlarged head of a femur in the hip. The deformed bone does not fit or move properly in the joint, causing pain and degeneration.
Matrix Repatterning is a fascial therapy that helped me recover from my hockey injury. It was great at assessing where the impact had caused structural enlargement and fascia restrictions. Treatment helped to resolve my pain and restore mobility. I am excited to offer Matrix Repatterning at our clinic.
There are many different types of headaches. Although not all headaches are the same, they all share at least one thing in common — they cause pain. But many headaches also cause other unwanted symptoms, including nausea and vomiting. A person’s medical history and the frequency and severity of the headache is important in distinguishing an uncomfortable but safe headache from a more serious one.
There are many types of headaches such as tension headaches, migraines, cluster, sinus headaches, trigeminal neuralgia, intracranial related, meningitis, and toxic headaches. The majority of headaches, however painful, are short-lived and not a cause of concern. Headaches of intracranial origin and/or meningitis require immediate emergency attention. It is important to ensure that your headache is not due to a serious illness before considering the use of any complementary therapy.
At the Semiahmoo Wellness Center in White Rock most of the headaches seen by the Naturopathic Physicians are due to either structural misalignment of the cranium or neck as well as muscle tension, allergies, chemical toxicity, other digestive disturbances or EMF toxicity.
Tension headaches can be a result of hypoadrenia from stress. Low adrenal function from the effects of stress on the body can lead to low blood sugar headaches or can cause ligaments to be lax which can lead to instability in the neck leading to headaches. Providing support to the adrenal glands is paramount to resolution of these type of headaches as well as spinal and /or cranial manipulation.
If you suffer from migraine headaches your diet and digestion needs to be assessed along with investigation into food sensitivities and allergies.
If you are looking to get off the pain medications and don’t want to suffer through the pain give us a call at the Semiahmoo Wellness Centre.
Multiple Sclerosis is a debilitating autoimmune disease that destroys the insulation surrounding the nerves. It can lead to a number of health problems and ultimately can cripple a person’s ability to walk.
Some of the early symptoms of MS include: Numbness, tingling, burning, pins and needle sensations and coldness of the hands and feet; brain fog, poor memory, weak muscles, fatigue, loss of co-ordination, slurred speech and visual disturbances.
If you have these symptoms you could also have a gluten sensitivity. Gluten has been shown to trigger the production of antibodies that attack the nervous system and cause demyelination. Gluten has been shown to contribute to mineral and vitamin deficiencies. These same nutrient deficits can disrupt the nervous system leading to increase chronic inflammation and neuropathy. Celiac testing can have too many false negative test results. Genetic testing is best to identify Gluten sensitivity.
Dr. Bill and Dr.Justyna have just returned from Seattle from a conference on Methylation, Genetic Testing and Nutritional Protocols to assist in correcting these issues.
We live in a world where technology provides so many different ways to access information and save us time in our lives. As Naturopathic Physicians, one of our principles is to look for the cause of symptoms. Sometimes this cause can be very evident, other times it can be very elusive. I have encountered a handful of patients in the past 3 months that have been effected by the Wearable Technology which has become very popular and very trendy in our overloaded lifestyles. Everyone wants to see that they are getting enough steps in their day, see how their heart rates are, and see how well they are sleeping, but at what price. I most recently had a patient come in that had made some major improvements in her life. She was exercising more, eating better and taking better care of her health this past year. Even with making all these improvements she was experiencing a feeling of joint pain after exercising and constant fatigue. When we did a health scan on her she exhibited imbalances with most of her organ acupuncture systems. In our observation during that appointment we noticed she was wearing a smart watch. We removed the smart watch and retested her to find out there was an improvement in three quarters of her organ acupuncture points. This patient was surprised, but confirmed that she had been experiencing these symptoms since she received the smart watch as a Christmas gift from her husband. Most wearable technology is wireless. Although many people’s bodies may be able to adapt to the ill effects of wireless technology, in the past 3 months I have only found one person who’s health was not effected by wearable technology. We now test everyone with a smart watch.
Pain , pain go away. Now with fall slowly coming upon us the dampness that we start to feel with the weather changes can aggravate our joints and accentuate pain and stiffness in our joints. The pain in our joints can be so debilitating, effecting how we function throughout our day and while we are sleeping at night.
September is National Arthritis Month. We are wanting to shine a light on awareness of the therapies and strategies in assisting in the treatment of Arthritis. Conventional therapies focus on pharmaceuticals which serve to mask symptoms and often have adverse effects. Problems with arthritic medications such as Vioxx, documented in the New England Journal of Medicine, have led many sufferers to seek safer alternatives.
At the Semiahmoo Wellness Center the Naturopathic Physicians focus on uncovering the cause of conditions. With arthritis there can be many factors that can induce swelling, inflammation and pain of the joints. Such factors include: allergies and food intolerances, nutritional deficiencies, stress and emotional issues, and trauma. The immune system can be effected by any or all of the above leading to inflammatory responses.
Strategies that we incorporate at our office are nutritional evaluation, food intolerance testing, evaluation of stressors and the use of cold laser therapy. We have been using cold laser as a very effective modality to decrease swelling, decrease pain, and heal tissue in arthritis.
Spring is here and with it comes allergies and hay fever. Hallmark symptoms are uncontrollable sneezing, a runny or stuffy nose,and a maddening itchiness. Hay fever can cause headaches,an irritating cough, and can even interfere with your sleep.
Although, it is good to be able to identify what triggers your allergy or hay fever so you can minimize your exposure, it is more important to find what is causing your immune system to react the way it is.
Conventional treatments include the use of cortisone nasal sprays and anti-histamines which may help with controlling the symptoms. Why not investigate further to see what is causing your body to be out of balance or integration with the immune system. It could be a nutrient deficiency,an acupuncture meridian imbalance, a stressful or emotional issue, or a structural fault that is contributing to an immune system imbalance.
At the Semiahmoo Wellness Center we are able to assess what factors may be causing your seasonal allergy or hay fever condition. Give our office a call to make an appointment with one of our Naturopathic Physicians, either Dr. Bill or Dr. Justyna.
We are no longer only what we eat, we are also what we absorb. As we know, healthy eating and lifestyle are key in keeping our body balanced and well. However, increased nutritional demand, reduced absorption, lack of nutrition and can drastically reduce our body’s nutritional status and overall health. Increased nutritional demand can be associated with conditions such as chronic stress, insomnia, travel, pregnancy, athletic performance, viral and bacterial infections, and chronic illness. On the other hand, reduced absorption can result from a variety of common issues including acute or chronic stress, ulcers, allergies, diarrhea, constipation, inflammation (IBS, IBD, Crohn’s) and excess or deficient stomach acid.
Intravenous (IV) Vitamin & Mineral therapy is an excellent way to increase your nutritional status. IV Vitamin therapies, such as Myers’ Cocktails developed by Dr. John Myers, MD, use highly concentrated vitamin and mineral infusions that are administered intravenously. This ensures maximum absorption and delivery of nutrients at the cellular level, bypassing the digestive limitations discussed above.
Common vitamins and minerals used in Vitamin IV therapy include: Vitamin C, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, B complex, Magnesium and Calcium.
Intravenous (IV) Vitamin & Mineral therapy is an excellent way to increase your nutritional status. IV Vitamin therapies, such as Myers’ Cocktails developed by Dr. John Myers, MD, use highly concentrated vitamin and mineral infusions that are administered intravenously. This ensures maximum absorption and delivery of nutrients at the cellular level, bypassing the digestive limitations discussed above.
Common vitamins and minerals used in Vitamin IV therapy include: Vitamin C, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, B complex, Magnesium and Calcium.
IV therapy is especially useful in improving and treating conditions such as:
-colds and flus
-fatigue and high levels of stress
-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
-Fibromyalgia
-allergies and hayfever
-malabsorption and digestive problems
-migraine headaches
-cancer
-cardiovascular dis.
-athletic recovery and endurance
-anti-aging
There are many different types of headaches. Although not all headaches are the same, they all share at least one thing in common — they cause pain. But many headaches also cause other unwanted symptoms, including nausea and vomiting. A person’s medical history and the frequency and severity of the headache is important in distinguishing an uncomfortable but safe headache from a more serious one.
There are many types of headaches such as tension headaches, migraines, cluster, sinus headaches, trigeminal neuralgia, intracranial related, meningitis, and toxic headaches. The majority of headaches, however painful, are short-lived and not a cause of concern. Headaches of intracranial origin and/or meningitis require immediate emergency attention. It is important to ensure that your headache is not due to a serious illness before considering the use of any complementary therapy.
At the Semiahmoo Wellness Center most of the headaches seen by the Naturopathic Physicians are due to either structural misalignment of the cranium or neck as well as muscle tension, allergies, chemical toxicity, other digestive disturbances or EMF toxicity.
Tension headaches can be a result of hypoadrenia from stress. Low adrenal function from the effects of stress on the body can lead to low blood sugar headaches or can cause ligaments to be lax which can lead to instability in the neck leading to headaches. Providing support to the adrenal glands is paramount to resolution of these type of headaches as well as spinal and /or cranial manipulation.
If you suffer from migraine headaches your diet and digestion needs to assessed along with investigation into food sensitivities and allergies.
Certain supplements can also be beneficial to those affected by headaches. These include:
feverfew, which may prevent or alleviate some types of headaches, including migraines, when taken over several weeks or months;
riboflavin (a B vitamin) and a combined magnesium and calcium preparation, taken daily, may be effective for persistent migraines.
If you are looking to get off the pain medications and don’t want to suffer through the pain give us a call at the Semiahmoo Wellness Center.
