Category Archives: Healthy Me

Natural Alternative Therapies For Neck Strain

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Neck strains usually develop quite gradually, and tend to come and go, and get progressively worse over time. In some instances, they can come on suddenly after an injury or whiplash, in which case neck pain can develop weeks or months after the initial injury. Faulty posture, stress and tension, working at a computer for long periods of time,  and repetitive motions are the number one cause for neck pain and muscle spasms and respond quite well to simple self – treatments.

How to prevent and treat necks strains and pains naturally

1. Using a heating pad – one that applies wet heat can help relieve pain and muscle spasms.

2. If your job requires repetitive motion, such as working at a computer for prolonged periods of time, make sure your keyboard and monitor are at a comfortable height to prevent neck strain.

3. Avoid sleeping uncomfortable firm pillows that hold the neck in an awkward flexed position.

4. Essential oils such as lavender oil, marjoram and eucalyptus are very helpful in releasing neck tension and easing minor neck aches. Homeopathic creams are quite helpful as well, depending on the severity of the neck strain. These can be massaged into the neck or they can be added to a hot relaxing bath with Epsom salts.

5. Massaging a painful neck with your fingers often provides quick relief. Simple stretching exercises, deep tissue massage therapy, Tuina massage and shiatsu may be very beneficial as well.

6. Relaxing therapies such as Meditation and Hatha Yoga, combined with deep breathing exercises may be very helpful in releasing neck tension.

7. Acupuncture has been shown to be extremely beneficial for neck strain and pain as well.

A very stiff neck that is very painful and difficult to move, accompanied by could be an indication of something else going on with the body. If you are experiencing this, it would be best to go the emergency right away.

By: Sushma Shah, Toronto Naturopathic Doctor at the Natures Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Natural Solutions For Hair Loss

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Thinning hair is often caused by an underlying problem – which could be hormonal- such as an under functioning thyroid gland, imbalance with female and male hormones, poor nutrient absorption and a lack of essential nutrients. If you are experiencing unusual amounts of hair loss or sustained hair loss, please consult with your naturopathic physician to get to the root of the problem (proper diagnosis) and natural treatment.

Listed below are a few natural solutions you can try for hair loss

1. FOOD FOR THE HAIR –  Remember your hair, skin and nails are the luxuries for the body, hence you have an abundance of all when you eat right and treat your body right. Sudden dieting with severe caloric restriction will cause significant weight loss but will also cause significant and severe hair loss. Skipping meals will do the same overtime especially breakfasts and lunches, which consist of the bulk of the food for the day. Its is very important to nourish the hair – with the right nutrients and proteins. HAVE A DIET THAT IS RICH IN GOOD SOURCES OF PROTEIN AND MINERALS. Good sources of vegetarian protein include fermented soy products, lentils, legumes and beans. Consider supplementing if you find it hard to have adequate sources of good minerals and proteins regularly.

2. MASSAGE YOUR SCALP FREQUENTLY – Various aromatherapy oils are available such as rosemary oil, which is great to improve circulation in the scalp and lavender oil, which is very relaxing for the scalp, when applied regularly will be beneficial for hair growth. Cedar wood oil is another one which is great for hair growth too. Other Ayurvedic oils such as brahmi, bhringraj and amla are great for cooling the scalp, decreasing hair loss and early graying and stimulating hair growth when applied regularly.

3. CONTROL STRESS – Stress can cause significant hair loss suddenly. Stress tightens you scalp muscles, which can inhibit blood circulation to your scalp. Relaxation, stress management, scalp massage and yoga along with meditation and deep breathing exercises are helpful. Its important however to get the root cause of the problem in order to resolve the hair loss issue completely.

4. GET MOVING – Aerobic exercise 30 – 40 minutes 3 – 4 times a week is a great way to relieve tension and improve blood circulation to the whole body, especially the extremities. A cold wet towel on the head for a minute after showering may also help to increase circulation to the scalp, just make sure you stay indoors until the scalp dries, as you do not want to catch a cold with the cold wet towel either.

5. HAIR GROWTH SHAMPOO – Essential oils in shampoos will help to stimulate hair growth as well. Rosemary, thyme and lavender are all excellent choices for this purpose. Keep the shampoo on for at least 3 minutes before rinsing it out.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Natural Help For Different Types Of PMS

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Did you know that there are 4 distinct types of PMS that 80% of women suffer from? PMS is defined as a recurrent, cyclical set of physical and behavioral symptoms that can come on 7 – 14 days before the actual menstrual cycle. PMS usually occurs in women aged 25 – 35, but is quite often seen in women younger or older depending on the hormonal status and diet of the individual.

Types Of PMS

1. PMS A –  ANXIETY – This is the type of PMS where one experiences quite a bit of nervous tension. The major symptoms of this type of PMS include irritability, anxiety and mood swings. This type of PMS is usually caused by an imbalance in estrogen and progesterone. Up to 70 % of the females are affected by this type of PMS.

2. PMS C – CARBOHYDRATE CRAVING – This type of PMS, as the name says it, is related to carbohydrate cravings where the individual may crave warm breads, pastas, chocolate and “sweet stuff”.  Part of this type of PMS may include additional symptoms such as increased appetite, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, fainting and palpations. This type of PMS may be related to a deficiency in nutrients and certain vitamins, especially calcium or magnesium, in the body.

3. PMS D – DEPRESSION -This type of PMS is related to feeling down or depressed before the menstrual cycle begins, and women can experience up to 2 weeks of this in some cases. Of course, daily stressors can exacerbate how one feels at this particularly vulnerable time of the month. Hormone imbalances – having too much or too little of estrogen along with Vitamin deficiencies are to blame for PMS – D – DEPRESSION.

4. PMS – H – HYDRATION – In this type of PMS significant water weight gain is experienced by the female, and could exceed up to 6 pounds in a week. Bloating is quite often experienced as well, along with significant swelling in the hands and feet and breast tenderness and fullness. Diet is big factor in this type of PMS – especially high salt diets, lots of caffeine and stress is also a big factor.

Quite often women experience more than one type of PMS subgroup. Naturopathic medicine is great at identifying what imbalance in the body is causing the symptoms using saliva hormone testing and blood tests to identify nutrient and vitamin deficiencies, and then treating them holistically using natural remedies, diet and quite often acupuncture which quite often helps eliminate all the PMS, and successfully makes them a thing in the past.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

What Is The Difference Between Food Intolerances And Allergies?

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Food allergies are those that are quite often immune mediated – meaning that they could be life threatening quite often if they are anaphylactic. Food intolerance / sensitivities usually produce a milder reaction such as fatigue, or loose stools, flatulence, skin rashes, congestion among other symptoms. Mild allergies may produce similar reactions too.

With food allergies, the body’s immune system produces a class of antibodies called the IgE immunoglobulins, where as with food sensitivities or intolerance, the immune system produces a class of antibodies called IgG immunoglobulins, both of which are accurately tested using blood. Severe food allergies such as those that can cause anaphylactic reactions and can be tested using scratch tests, however, these tests quite often produce false positive results due to other factors that the individual might be undergoing such as stress, prescriptions they might be using, among others, and this can be quite traumatic for a person who shows positive to everything under the sun!

Both of these reactions are immune mediated so in order to treat them or get relief, most people use antihistamines and other allergy relief medication. However, to get true relief, you must look at what caused the immune system to cause a hypersensitive reaction / or dysfunction in the first place and treating the root cause will quite often treat the mild allergies and intolerances, but not severe anaphylactic allergies.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Is Arthritis Effected By Foods I Consume?

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Arthritis is a condition which affects joints and bones, depending on the type other areas may be affected and quite often deformed by it. The – itis stands for inflammation in the area. There are various types of arthritis. The most common forms are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is one that affects your joints, can cause deformities of the joints and is significantly affected by the type of diet an individual has.

The vegetables in the night shade family particularly has a significant effect on the swelling and tenderness of the joints. The night shade family vegetables include tomatoes, potatoes, green peppers and eggplants. If you do suffer from arthritic type symptoms, and do have family members who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, you may experience some relief by avoiding the night shade family vegetables from your diet for a while. Another factor that may affect the amount of inflammation is how acidic your diet is. The more processed and meaty your diet is, the more acidic the body becomes, which can also impact how much inflammation your body produces.

A diet that is high in green leafy vegetables, good quality fruits and grains will quite often help reduce the inflammation in the body. In practice, I have quite often found food intolerances and mild allergies can also cause quite a bit of inflammation in the body due to histamine release in the blood stream. If you suffer from any type of arthritis, take a look at the following factors:

1. Diet – how is your diet – a weekly diet diary of what you ate and how your joints felt will help you narrow down possible triggers in food.

2. Stress – how stressful is your life and what relaxation techniques are your using to help deal with day to day life and other stressors. REMEMBER – stress is not only work and family related, stress is anything that puts your body out of its normal state of being – this could include mental, emotional, psychological, physiological, environmental and dietary factors.

If you are having difficulty identifying what might be making your symptoms worse, talk to your naturopathic physician or your doctor about possibly looking into other causes that might be affecting you.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Protecting Your Pets In Summer

Healthy Me,

Being a pet owner myself, I felt this was an important reminder for me and for all of you out there who are pet owners and care for them dearly. As the summer months are approaching and most people will head out to cottages or getaways in the city for a few days. Here is one thing that you definitely want to be careful with especially if you are taking you pets with you.

1. Make sure the Air conditioning in the car is functioning well, and your pets are safe and out of the heat of the car. Having experienced this personally last summer, I can surely say I would not take pets in the car unless the AC is working well. Unlike us, pets are unable to maintain their homeostatic temperature as well as we do in the hot weather, which make them an easy target for dehydration and heat strokes. So please, if you see your pet hyperventilating with their tongue out, make sure to take them into a cooler and safe environment RIGHT AWAY!!!

2. If you are a smoker who tends to smoke outside the house, make sure you are not exposing your pet’s lungs to the second hand smoke. We usually think we are doing a god thing by not smoking in the house, however if you are smoking outdoors, while on your break or if you are taking your pet for a walk, please refrain from smoking if you have your pet around you.

3. Make sure you thoroughly wash your pets water and food dishes with mild soap and warm water before adding any cold water in. As the temperatures in the house get warmer, bacteria tend to divide and create more colonies because of the ideal warmth conditions on dishes etc. with left over food (wet food for pets) and water dishes.

Be caring pet owners. Pets love the outdoors, especially if they are outdoor animals or spend some time out doors generally. They tend to verbalize the desire to go out by either barking or meowing till they are heard, and for most people this can be very annoying. So the next time you get angry and do something rash trying to quiet the animal, just remember, this is the only way they can communicate with you about their needs, so please and act with a rational mind and go outdoors with your pet, it might do you some good to get some fresh air too!

Till next time, be safe and keep your pets safe too!

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Protecting Your Health

Protecting Your Health In The Summer

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Ah the patio furniture is out, the plants are starting to bloom and the smell of fresh cut grass and the birds are chirping. Sounds perfect doesn’t it? While it sounds idealistic, one of the things you must consider is the amount of sunlight you are getting and how much sun exposure you are getting. While its great to be outdoors in great weather, it important to have the right type of protection with your clothes and your sunscreen.

Here are some tips to stay safe in the summer while you are enjoying the outdoors:

1. Make sure you put on sunscreen. I generally prefer the natural ones with SPF over 50 especially for the face, as the sun’s rays are quite harsh on the delicate skin of the face and the body. Reapply ever 1/2 hour if you are doing intense physical activities outdoors.

2. Make sure you keep yourself hydrated, drink at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces for the day. Add a pinch of salt and some sugar, with lemon to balance your electrolytes as well.

3. Wear light colored cotton clothing – which is airy and does not absorb a lot of the heat. If you are in an area with lots of bugs, make sure you have good quality bug spray on you. There are wonderful natural products on the market that work wonderfully well to protect you from the bugs.

4. If you are feeling particularly hot, try to cool down by splashing lots of water on your head. You will notice a wonderful cooling sensation as the water evaporates.

5. Having lukewarm drinks will actually keep you cooler as it draws blood circulation away from the skin!

Please try and follow the tips above for a safe and fun summer! Enjoy!

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Dealing With Grief

Healthy Me,

Quite often you see people who have gone through terrible ordeals, and following that depending on how they have dealt with the issue, they tend to come up with new health issues or symptoms that they did not experience few months prior to going through a period of grief. Dealing with grief is one of the hardest things to do emotionally because we are quite often clueless of what to expect and how to go about accepting the process. Here are a few simple suggestions that may be helpful

1. Try to focus on the positive – I know this is really hard to do for someone who has dealing with grief, but it is possible.

2. Stay calm and productive – It helps to focus on other things – Time does heal most wounds and this is particularly true for dealing with grief.

3. Join a grief counseling group – Sharing your ordeal with others who have been through a similar experience will help lighten what you feel and will also help you get through things.

4. Talk to those who care for you, support you and love you. Do not shut them out. They are all part of your support group, and are a shoulder for you to cry on so go on and give them that opportunity. If the tables were turned, you would be there for them too.

5. A small vacation might help with the pain and grief initially. Plan some time for you if you need but make sure your friends and family are a phone call away if need be.  Also prayer is something that can have a tremendous impact on what you are feeling and will help with coping/ dealing with grief.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Why Seek A Naturopathic Doctor?

Healthy Me,

Having seen my share of skeptics in practice, and having read various blogs about so called ” New Age” practitioners and healers, I thought i would write my two cents worth on what sets apart naturopaths from other ” healers”.

NATUROPATHIC DOCTORS are trained not only in pre-med sciences, but also healing therapies such as homeopathy, acupuncture, clinical nutrition, herbal or botanical medicine, among others. They also spend time studying pharmacology, about as much time as medical doctors spend in studying nutrition and herbal medicine. Naturopaths usually have an undergrad degree of some sort from a recognized university – be it science, art or computers, business and then usually go on to study another 4 years to practice Naturopathic Medicine.

Lot of other “healers” may or not have rigorous specialized training that naturopathic doctors go through or for that matter, most other healing modalities such as nutrition counseling do not require an undergraduate degree.

Naturopathic training does include extensive pathology and laboratory diagnosis to correctly and accurately diagnose the root of the problem using scientifically accurate and sensitive methods, which are quite often superior to what regular medical labs provide. Hence quite often preventing or catching health issues before they even start to manifest in the body as symptoms.

People quite often seek out naturopathic medicine when they have been failed by the medical system or are not getting the answers they are looking for, in regards to their health, or as a last resort. Naturopathic medicine is a way of life and healing – something that needs to be put in place as a way of thinking when it comes to healing. People need to understand that naturopathic medicine is a way of healing that allows your body to heal naturally, naturopaths may enhance healing using various natural therapies, to bring the body back to balance.

Its is very disappointing to read skeptic or quack blogs – trashing naturopathic doctors or healers, when people do not understand a simple concept – we are not “miracle healers” making ridiculous claims, we are here to help you with your healing and health by providing healthy alternatives, quite often working hand in hand with medical doctors to bring back you back to balance, and treating your health, unlike others. We, as naturopaths, actually take time out to listen to your health issues and try our best to help you heal using the healing power of nature.  So I really think before people say or write ridiculous things about naturopaths, maybe they visit one and see how their health might actually benefit, may be this will open their eyes and mind, and stop writing rubbish and influencing people away from the one thing that might actually help them.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Emotional Stress And Weight Gain Or Loss

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Weight loss is a tricky subject for most who have tried to yo-yo diet and follow starvation diets, with crazy workouts lasting hours on end.

Here are some things to think about when choosing a weight loss program that will benefit you holistically rather than just dropping the pounds. What caused the weight gain in the first place? What is the first factor that comes to mind – was it overeating? Was it a stressful event or turn of events that caused the weight gain, which also was compounded by other stress symptoms such as loss of sleep and fatigue? What was the stressor? Stressors could include anything that puts the body out of its normal state of being such as environment, diet change / modification, medications and emotional stress of varying degrees.

If in fact it was emotional stress related, here a few simple things that you can do that will significantly help improve your success at loosing the additional weight.

  1. Identify the emotional stress factor that caused this spiral with the weight and write it down.
  2. Rather than being stuck in past, come up with realistic strategies that are going to help motivate you to change your attitude towards certain things. Cognitive behavioral therapy would be great for this.
  3. Put your action plan to use. This might include a healthier diet change which will nourish your body with the nutrients that the body has a high demand for in times of stress. An exercise schedule might help, however, if there is a lack of motivation to start exercising because you have no energy, try to identify what you is causing the fatigue ( which could very well be hormone related if there was a prolonged period of stress), and talk to your Naturopathic Doctor about what tests need to be done to identify the root cause of the fatigue and weight gain.

Once this is established, and you start having more energy, you can get on an exercise plan, which will help with energy and stress management. Quite often however, its not so simple. The human mind is much more complex and we often need to change our mental behaviors in order to achieve some physical successes such as weight loss and break unhelpful and disruptive patterns that caused the problem in the first place and may cause a repetition in the future.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.