Tag Archives: south surrey

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.

 

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.

Are you Vitamin D Deficient?

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More and more research is coming in showing the many benefits of Vitamin D with everything from helping to prevent the cold and flu to decreasing your risk to developing cancer. The ideal way to get your Vitamin D is by exposing your skin to the appropriate amount of sunshine. Unfortunately, our climate and our daily work environments don’t allow us to expose ourselves to the sunshine long enough for our bodies to manufacture the amount of Vitamin D we need.Sun exsposure (without sunscreen) for 10 -15 minutes per day with at least 40 percent of our bodies skin exposed is the general guide of what is required except if your skin is darker and you will need longer exposure. Reseacher’s have shown that by increasing levels of Vitamin D3 we can decrease many chronic diseases of nearly one million people in the world and cut the incidence of cancer by 40%. New recommendations for Vitamin D3 is 5000 i.u. per day. The best way to test for Vit D3 is via ablood test. We are testing our patients for Vitamin D3 and find that 3000 i.u. is the average dose people need in this area of the country.

The Wonderful World of Cold Laser Therapy

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I just got back from a seminar in sunny Phoenix, Arizona with Dr. John Brimahall. Dr. John is retired from private practice but spends a lot of his time doing research with Cold Lasers and their applications with assisting the body with healing. He is now using low intensity lasers for brain integration. Here is a link to see our Bioflex Laser.

Anti-Aging, Vitamin C and the Brain

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As our population is aging, fast food becoming mainstream, and a concern over eye and neurological health, we are seeing a demand for more natural therapies to counter our rising costs of healthcare. More information is coming out these days on the many benefits of Vitamin C. Research has indicated that Vitamin C is important for eye health and the prevention of cataracts. Now it is showing the anti-aging effect it has on the brain. According to the findings published in the Journal of Neuroscience, Vitamin C is needed for the correct functioning of retinal cells in the eyes. Because the retina is an important part of the central nervous system it is suggested that Vitamin C likely plays an important role in the brain that was not noticed before. The Semiahmoo Wellness Center in South Surrey has been using Vitamin C therapy since 1989.