Dr. Cheryl’s Insights

Getting your health back on track

‘Tis the season for New Year’s Resolutions!  We just can’t help ourselves from wanting to start the year with the intention of being better at something.

80% of New Year’s resolutions have something to do with improving health. Let’s face it, we can all be healthier and eat better, exercise more, manage our stress more effectively… Better health is definitely a work in progress and something that requires continuous attention.  Unfortunately, most people will fail in their resolution to be healthier in the New Year.  The reason for this high rate of failure is that people often set unrealistic expectations for themselves and when they don’t meet their goals as they think they should, they get discouraged and give up.

The first thing that is important to realize is that your health didn’t get to where it is overnight and it’s not going to improve in just a few weeks. Getting healthier is a process of taking steps towards better health that are realistic and incremental. As I said, it’s a work in progress and requires continuous attention. It’s not something that you can just let slide once you get to the pinnacle of good health.  If that’s your approach, it’s a slippery slope!

Once you realize that it’s going to take time, the next important step is to address some of the fundamental issues that prevent us from getting healthier more quickly and easily. Here’s the top 5 road blocks to better health:

1.         Systemic Toxicity – We live in a toxic world and all have toxins in our bodies that prevent us from getting healthier or at least slow down the process.  The holidays certainly don’t help, as many people tend to overindulge.  I recommend that you do some kind of systemic cleanse 2-4 times a year.  There’s lots of different types of cleanses and it’s important to do one that is going to be effective and safe, so, before you go out and waste your time, get some advice from a qualified professional on how to do a cleanse safely and effectively.

2.         Poor Diet – At the risk of sounding cliché, you are definitely what you eat.  It’s all about biochemistry and how the nutrients you consume affect your overall health.  Of course, we all have very specific nutritional needs and certain foods that work well for us and others that don’t.  Everyone has certain foods that cause immune system reactions in their body that can lead to digestive issues, inflammation, blood sugar imbalances, depression, anxiety and a myriad of other health issues.

3.         Lifestyle – This includes exercise, work life balance, self-care, relationships,  job satisfaction, spirituality and all of the other factors that we choose in our life that affect us on a daily basis.

4.         Stress – We all have it and it can be detrimental to our overall health if it’s not managed properly.  It’s really a matter of how we handle it.  Supporting your body during times of stress is imperative.  There are lots of ways to help your body through stressful times including nutrients, botanical medicine, acupuncture, breathing, meditation, changing your lifestyle to eliminate the stress,and even shifting your perspective on the event that is causing you stress.

5.         Sleep – Most people need 7-8 hours of sleep consistently to be able to function optimally.  Not consistently getting a good night’s sleep is going to wear you down and make you susceptible to all kinds of health issues and dysfunctions.  A good night’s sleep is one of the most important aspects of getting and staying healthy.

Often when these fundamentals are addressed, the body realigns and you will have more energy.  The path to better health becomes much easier.  The hard part is figuring out where to start.  Getting a good plan in place will help you to meet your health goals and continue on a track to better health now, through the year and beyond.

Have a happy, healthy New Year!!

Resistance is futile

There’s a familiar quote by Saint Francis of Assisi that says:

“Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and
the wisdom to know the difference.”

There are only three things in life that are guaranteed: taxes, death, and change. There’s not much we can do about taxes and death, but the one thing we do have some control over is how we respond to change. Even though we know that change is inevitable, some people still resist change and get caught up in the difficulty and emotions that life’s challenges bring.

Every day in my practice I see people that are faced with change. Obviously, some life changes are more challenging than others. It’s normal and expected to experience some turmoil in the face of big life changes, good or bad. Still, even in the face of difficult challenges, some people seem to ride through the wave of changes as they happen, while others get caught in the storm.

It always seems as though change come in waves. I’m sure you’ve all been in a situation where it felt as though many things were all happening at once. This has certainly been my experience. Every time I am faced with a wave of change, I think that there’s a lesson to be learned or wisdom to be gained that will propel me forward in my life.

Those who are better at riding the wave of change usually embrace this way of thinking as well. Of course, it time and practice. I find that those who have experienced a lot of changes and challenges are often better at riding through it than those who haven’t, but it is never too late to learn.

I have personally been faced with many changes throughout my life. At times I sit back and wonder why my life seems to be so filled with change while other people lives are so “quiet”. I’m sure that part of the reason is because I invite change into my life. I see change as an opportunity to learn and grow and become a better person, partner, mother and naturopathic doctor.

Lately, I have been faced with more change than usual. The passing of my grandmother this winter, followed soon after by my father, put me into a state of deep reflection. I’ve been thinking a lot about how these two very important individuals have impacted me in my life. When I reflect back, I realize that while the influence wasn’t always positive, there were many lessons for me to learn from both my grandmother and my father.

Similar to the way our body deteriorates if we are stagnant, I believe that we are faced with change to keep our spirit from becoming stagnant. I also believe that change comes to us when we are ready to learn a lesson or move to a deeper understanding of ourselves—whether we feel ready or not.

Life is short. Change happens. There are many lessons to be learned and much wisdom to be gained in the face of change. Embrace change and look at it as an opportunity to grow and learn about yourself and those around you. Your spirit will thank you.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change.” ~ Charles Darwin

Some of my favourite books on embracing change are:

Mending the Mind, Minding the Body by Joan Boreschenko

The Sedona Method by Hale Dwoskin

Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn

It’s detox time!

If you haven’t already done your spring detox, it’s time. Now that Easter is over and the weather is improving, it’s a perfect time to get rid of the winter sludge and shed a few of those extra winter pounds.

I am in the midst of doing mine right now.  I’m starting to feel great now that I’m through the first few days, which are always a bit tough. This is the 11th year that I have done detoxification in the spring and in the fall. Each time I do one I always feel better.

For the most part, I eat well.  However, like most people these days, life is busy and sometimes we slip into some bad habits. Every time I do a detox it brings me back on track with my health. I try new foods and new recipes, enhancing my repertoire of healthy foods. Some of the other benefits include:  I sleep better, I have more energy, my digestion improves, I feel more clear headed, and my body has fewer aches and pains. I’ve even got my husband detoxifying with me, and, much to his chagrin, he feels better too!

I encourage many of my patients to detox soon after our first visit. The reason for this is that, time and time again, I see my patients do a detox and feel much better. Many of their symptoms will disappear after they do a detox. The reason for this is that our bodies become overburdened with the toxins we are exposed to in our environment. Even though our bodies are designed to eliminate toxins naturally, our liver, kidneys and colon can’t handle the number and types of toxins in our food and in our environment. As a result, our body stores the toxins in the liver, colon and fat tissue and tries its best to keep it from causing damage (aka oxidative stress).

There are many ways to detox. For my patients who are more sensitive, are on medications or have been through multiple health challenges, I will recommend a homeopathic detox. Homeopathic detoxes are easy to do and very gently help to support the elimination of toxins from the body. For my more hardy patients I will recommend a detox that uses either herbal supplements or smoothies a couple of times a day to support the organs that are primarily responsible for detoxificiation. Some detox programs come with a diet plan included and some of them do not. I provide some extra guidelines to give my patients some information of what to expect from the detox experience and to help them complete the program successfully.  I always try to incorporate dietary changes into the detox program; such changes make the program more successful and help us to realize how much our diet affects our overall health.

Detoxes can last for anywhere from a day to 30 days or even longer under special circumstances.

Some of my patients like to do 1 day a week of detoxing once they have done an initial detox to help to maintain lower levels of toxins in their system. This approach is most effective if you’ve already done a good cleanse first. The detoxes I recommend are usually 10, 12 or 28 days; which one depends on the patient and their overall health. Longer detoxes are usually recommended because of other issues such as candida (yeast overgrowth) or heavy metals (most commonly mercury) in the system that take more time to be eliminated.

Here are some quick and easy ways to help your body to detoxify on a daily basis:

A glass of lemon water in the morning kick starts your digestion and supports ongoing liver detoxification.

Dry skin brushing gets rid of dry skin, stimulates your immune system and promotes circulation.

Drinking tea with herbs like nettle and dandelion support the detoxification pathways of the liver and kidneys.

Taking warm epsom salts baths opens up your pores and make you sweat.

Infrared sauna penetrates deep into the body.

Exercise that makes you sweat helps remove toxins from your body.

Eating a diet that is pH balanced – 80% alkaline and 20% acidic – helps to balance your biochemistry and keep everything working better.

Breathe deeply from your diaphragm.

Happy detox!

Cheryl

A New Era in Medicine

Welcome to our new website. As this launches, we are emerging into a new era of medicine.  When I started Vitallife Integrative Medicine 4.5 years ago, integrative medicine was a model of medicine that was new and very cutting edge. Over the past few years, more and more integrative medical centres have emerged on the medical scene, especially in the US, where health reform is at the forefront of the political scene. I was in California at a conference 2 years ago and when people found out what I was doing here in Canada, they became very excited about the idea of integrative medicine. Now many of the leading medical centres and universities around the world are promoting an integrative model of medicine. The reason for this is simple: it works.

People are beginning to recognize that by working together, health care providers can help our patients to become healthier more quickly and the results will be more profound and long lasting. A perfect example of this integration is the hormone balancing clinics I offer at Vitallife once a month. I have the great fortune of having a medical doctor, Dr. Edward Ragan, working here with me to consult with my patients on health issues related to hormones. The opportunity for patients to see both a medical doctor and a naturopathic doctor together is rare. We work together to look at the patients concerns from many different angles and to collaborate on how to address the patients concerns using an integrative approach. We have the utmost respect for each other and are learning from each other on an ongoing basis. The end result of this partnership is that the majority of our patients, provided that they are willing to follow our guidance, feel much better.

I also have the great fortune of having an amazing team of people working within Vitallife. With the addition of our newest team member, certified consulting hypnotist, Anthony Hallett, we now have a team of 6 excellent practitioners to assist people in their quest for better health. We have Katrina Ostafichuk, another naturopathic doctor, Erin Whyte, registered massage therapist, Heather Resvick, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Irma Boyle, Homeopathic Doctor and we are hoping for the addition of a therapist/counselor in the near future. Our team is committed to working together to help our patients become the healthiest they can be.

As this new era in medicine emerges, I am excited to bring new insights to better health to you on a weekly basis and to answer your questions about health. Please submit your questions or topic suggestions to me by going to CONTACT US. I will do my best to address all submissions in a timely manner.

Yours in Health,

Cheryl