Prevention

1.Wear protective clothing, tuck-in loose shirts and pant legs

2.Apply citronella to exposed skin

3.Apply undiluted tea tree oil to small areas of exposed skin, or diluted to larger areas of exposed skin. To dilute, use 7 drops mixed in 1 tbsp of a carrier oil (olive, almond)

4.Apply natural insect repellants such as:

• All Terrain Herbal Armor by All Terrain Company
• Buzz Away by Penn Herb Co.
• Gone by Aubrey Organics
• The Bug Disenchanter Outdoor Herbal Spray by IMHOTP
• Ledum Away but St. Francis Herb Farm Inc.

Treatment

• Use a cold compress on the affected area to decrease pain and swelling.
• Try some Vitamin C – it has natural anti-histamine effects and can help to decrease the redness adn swelling that is associated with bites.
• Topically, echinacea dropped on an insect bite (a mosquito bite for example) every 5-10minutes can help to reduce the itch and irriation.
• A little Tea Tree Oil (like 1 drop) on a bite can also help to numb and sterilize a wound. Just remember that it will STING initially.
• Homeopathics are great to help decrease symptoms. Apis is good for a bite that is red, hot, swollen and burning; while Ledum is good for bites and stings with deep puncture wounds where the part feels cold. There are also topical homeopatic gels and creams that you can apply to a bit.

Have a great bite free long weekend!

This is one of those funny conditions that can happen any time during a person’s life and the damage to the intestines does not necessarily correspond to the severity of the symptoms. Some people will have virtually no digestive complaints and will have severe intestinal damage and vice versa. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, steatorrhea (fatty, foul smelling, floating stools), decreased appetite and possible nausea and vomiting. Non-digestive symptoms can include easy bruising, depression or anxiety, fatigue, hair loss, itchy skin, muscle cramps, joint pain, and unexplained weight loss among others.

If you suffer from some of these different symptoms you can see your medical or naturopathic doctor for the required blood tests, typically anti-gliadin antibodies, anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies and anti-endomysium antibodies. For a definitive diagnosis an endoscopy is needed to show damage of the small intestinal villi, and you will need to see a specialist for that.

If you are diagnosed with Celiac disease you must follow a gluten-free diet and that is becoming much easier with more restaurants providing gluten free options and supermarkets with organic and gluten free sections. It is also important to remember that even if you are not diagnosed with Celiac disease, you might have a gluten intolerance and it is still important to follow a gluten-free diet.

There are some great websites and resources out there to help you make the transition:

• Gluten Free Ontario: www.glutenfreeontario.ca or http://blog.glutenfreeontario.ca

• Offers a list of some of the restaurants offering gluten free options

• Gluten Free Goddess: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

• Ask Meta Filter: http://ask.metafilter.com/177572/Share-Your-Grainless-Recipes

• 100 Gluten Free Recipes by Carol Fenster

In Health,

Dr. Joanne ND

The protocol involves a combination of  homeopathic and nutraceutical supplements focused on desentizing the allergy process as well as supporting the digestive system and adrenals which also play an important role in allergies.

Please contact the clinic at 905-475-0484 and ask for Dr. Joanne, ND to learn more or to set up an appointment.

Maintaining good oral health is really important to keeping the rest of the body healthy. If you have a lot of gingivitis or other inflammation in your mouth this might be an indication that you have inflammation in other parts of the body. The mouth is an easy place for bacteria to get in and circulate to the rest of the body, and people who have had previous inflammation of the heart will need to take antibiotics before any dental work because of the increased risk.

Tips to Optimize Oral Health;

• Brush those teeth twice a day – but be gentle! Your gums do not respond well to vigorous teeth brushing.

• Along with brushing your teeth, it is extremely important to floss! Flossing gets where the toothbrush wont and you cannot do a great job if you are not doing both of them.

• Try out toothpaste without fluoride. Fluoride is actually considered a toxin which has been shown to break down cartilage and disrupts the immune system.

o Check out your local health food store for a natural toothpaste

• Nutrients such as vitamin C and CoQ10 have been proven to help promote healthy gums as well.

As part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, I would highly recommend seeing your dentist for a regular checkup at least once a year. If you are interested in a holistic dentist email the clinic and they will forward it on to me. A holistic dentist looks not just at your oral health but the overall connection with the rest of your body. Some ways they differ from a regular dentist is with the removal of mercury amalgams, and tries to decrease the use of many chemicals that can have a negative effect on the body.

 Two 30 minute visits and a quick check in with Dr. Joanne.

 Visit 1:

 Fill out a detoxification questionnaire

 Check body measurements (height, weight, waist to hip circumference)

 Receive the full detoxification plan with general meal ideas as well as accompanying recipes.

 Receive a list of good shopping tips, natural cleaning products and tips to decrease your exposure to environmental toxins.

Visit 2:

 A brief drop in visit to re-check weight and other measurements.

Visit 3:

 This includes a final follow-up and weigh-in

 Re-fill out the detoxification questionnaire to help show improvements.

 Some suggestions to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

You will also receive:

• A medical food that will help to supplement your protein intake and includes specific components to support the detoxification process.

 The Price of the program is $175.90 plus HST and includes all your visits and the medical food supplement. **This program offers a savings of over $70 on Naturopathic Visits.

Feel free to enquire at 905-475-0484 if you have any further questions, and Dr. Joanne will get back to you as soon as possible.

As well as taking medications to help control the seizures there are also some additional precautions or lifestyle changes which can also be tried:

• Maintaining a schedule when it comes to eating and sleeping – basically ensuring you are eating around the same times everyday and getting enough good quality sleep. A lack of sleep can increase the risk of seizures.

• Staying away from recreational drugs and alcohol which can lower the seizure threshold.

• Always wearing a helmet during necessary activities – skiing, skating, skateboarding, hockey etc.

• There is some popularity in a ketogenic diet – low carbohydrate, high fat, moderate protein diet, which has been used mainly in children where medication did not help. The ketogenic diet is extremely hard to follow and does require monitoring by a certified health care practitioner. While everyone needs to find the right balance for them, there are some general dietary guidelines that everyone can benefit from:

1. When it comes to carbohydrates, choose more whole grain, legume, fruit and vegetable options. Avoiding refined carbohydrates, white flour, rice, pasta, sugar (ie most baked goods), which increases inflammation in the body. Grains are also avoided on the ketogenic diet.

2. Coconut oil is a good fat that can be used in cooking and baking.

3. Focus on full-fat organic yoghurt or kefir when it comes to diary products.

4. Avoid processed and refined foods as well as artificial sweeteners and MSG.

Just remember you never want to self-prescribe any supplements or herbs, just because they are natural does not mean they cannot have any side effects and there are some herbs that can decrease the seizure threshold.

• EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL has been shown to decrease blood pressure in hypertensive individuals and decrease total and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) in individuals with elevated cholesterol levels. It also has the added benefit of normalizing blood glucose levels in diabetics.

• Increase your consumption of high quality organic wild FATTY FISH such as salmon, mackerel, sardines which decreases the risk of heart attack and cholesterol levels.

• Fresh raw GARLIC and aged garlic extracts decrease bad cholesterol, lower blood pressure and decrease platelet sticking together that harden and cause atherosclerotic plaques leading to high blood pressure and increased heart attack risk.

• GET MOVING – regular exercise has been proven time and again to help decrease blood pressure, assist in weight loss and benefit the heart.

STOP:

• Smoking which contributes to the build-up of plaque in the arteries, increases the risk of blood clots, reduces oxygen in the blood, increases your blood pressure and makes your heart work harder.

• Eating fried and processed foods which are high in saturated and trans fats both of which increase the risk of heart disease.

Some of the risk factors associated with this disease include aging, a family history with Alzheimer’s, having certain genes, being female, having high blood pressure of a prolonged period of time and a history of head trauma. As there is yet no cure for this disease the medications developed are primarily to slow down the progression and manage the symptoms.

So what are some natural measures that can be taken to decrease your risk:

• Keep your blood pressure in a healthy range

• Stay mentally active throughout your life – take up a new hobby, try some crosswords, scrabble, or soduko!

• Make sure your diet contains cold-water fish high in omega-3 fatty acids. These include wild salmon, mackerel, sardines and anchovies. Fish not a big part of your diet, then try supplementing with a high quality fish oil.

o One study showed that low DHA (fish oil component) in the blood represented a statistically significant risk for the development of Alzheimer’s in a subsequent 10yr period.

• Increase your intake of antioxidants, by eating lots of colourful fruits and vegetables. Try to eat something blue/purple, red, green, yellow and orange everyday.

• Decrease the amount of vegetable oils in the diet (omega-6s and they compete with your omega-3s for absorption), and don’t overdo it with the saturated fats.

• Get your vitamin B12 levels checked to make sure they are in the proper range because a deficiency has been shown to lead to neurological deficits and damage.

• While there is still some controversy on the relationship between aluminum and Alzheimer’s, we all know that aluminum in the body is not a good thing. Magnesium supplementation can lower aluminum levels by blocking the absorption.

These are just a few tips, for further information please consult Dr. Joanne, ND