Jennifer Aniston, Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow have all been photographed sporting the tell-tale marks of cupping therapy but what’s all the hype about?

Cupping therapy is a method of treatment often employed in Traditional Chinese Medicine. During cupping, small glass/plastic cups or bamboo jars are used to create suction and applied to the skin. Once skin contact has been established, the superficial layer of muscles is drawn into the cup to apply gentle pressure and the cups can be gently moved over the skin. Cups are often left stationary on areas of the body corresponding to acupuncture points or on areas of pain or muscle tension.

The suction created by cupping is used to relax tight muscles, increase circulation and blood flow, and calm the nervous system. It is also used to relieve back and neck pain, anxiety, migraines, abdominal cramps (especially those related to PMS) acute coughs and colds (to clear congestion), asthma, and high blood pressure. Cupping is a great tool to add to weight loss treatments as it can help to break down fat deposits and reduce the appearance of cellulite by improving lymphatic drainage and detoxification.

While cupping is not painful, the recipient commonly walks away with circular bruises on the areas where the cups were applied. Relief usually lasts for several days and chronic conditions typically require more frequent treatments to bring about lasting benefits.

Naturopathic Medicine is a beneficial addition to conventional fertility treatments  and in-vitro fertilization protocols. Support from a Naturopathic Doctor using strategies such as nutrition, supplements, acupuncture, guided meditation and botanical elixirs can improve the success rate of fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization.

Ideally, using complementary therapies, such as Naturopathic Medicine, should be about an integrated approach to becoming as healthy as possible so that your body can respond to medical treatment such as fertility treatments and IVF in the most optimal way, increasing both your chances of conception and your ability to support a healthy pregnancy to term.

Individualized Treatment Plans

During an initial visit, your individual case history, personal health goals and desired outcomes will be discussed in detail. With that information a complementary health plan will be created which incorporates diet, exercise, lifestyle factors and the most appropriate support therapies for your individual requirements such as acupuncture, supplements and herbs.

Diet and Exercise

Being within a healthy weight range and eating nutritious foods can increase your chances of conception. When you are pregnant, eating appropriately will help to ensure that you and the baby are both healthy and robust. Advice on appropriate levels and types of exercise will also be addressed.

Supplements and Botanical Medicine

There are a number of botanical medicines and supplements, which can increase fertility; however, it is important to be assessed and prescribed these on an individualized basis. It is important to seek professional and experienced advice if considering the use of herbal medicines or supplements in conjunction with IVF treatment as many herbal medicines and other supplements can interact with the drugs prescribed as part of your IVF treatment. For this reason it is important to consult with a Naturopath experienced in this area.

Acupuncture

The use of acupuncture in conjunction with IVF has been well researched, and it is now well accepted that acupuncture increases success rates with IVF treatment. Ideally patients will have a weekly visit for at least a month prior to the IVF transfer. This lead up treatment assists with stress levels, supports follicle and endometrial lining development, and allows the practitioner to correct any imbalances present. On the day of the IVF transfer two acupuncture treatments are conducted, one immediately prior to and one immediately after the transfer. I frequently go with patients to the fertility clinic to perform the acupuncture protocol. I also recommend a follow up visit 5 days after transfer to promote implantation. In cases where there is a history of miscarriage or unsuccessful IVF cycles acupuncture treatments in the weeks following may also be recommended. If you are about to begin your IVF cycle and haven’t left time for the lead up treatment, using acupuncture on the day of transfer will still improve your chances of a positive pregnancy outcome.

I am so excited to announce a new program created specifically for brides-to-be and their wedding party to achieve that healthy glow that reflects their happiness during this exciting time in their lives – The Blushing Bride Cleanse!

The Blushing Bride Cleanse

You want everything to be perfect on your big day, including how you look and feel. If you only recently got engaged or the big day is getting closer; the Blushing Bride Cleanse will get you radiant and glowing and help you fit beautifully into the dress of your dreams.

I know what you’re thinking; “I don’t have the time, money, or energy to put my body through a detox right now”.  That’s the exact reason why I developed this simple, supplement-free cleanse that anyone can do, whether this is your very first detox or even if you are a seasoned cleanser! As a licensed naturopathic doctor, I help many of my patients achieve their health goals, and cleansing is an important step in the process.

You will be the center of attention on your wedding day and during the events leading up to it; the Blushing Bride Cleanse will help you feel energized and look fantastic during this busy and exciting time.

Included in the program:

• Three 30 minute group sessions and detox coaching with Dr. Jen Newell, ND to assess your progress throughout the cleanse and to provide support (1 session/week)
• The full 21 day Blushing Bride Cleanse program including meal plans, shopping lists and recipes.
• Information about why cleansing is beneficial, what it means to detox, what this cleanse entails and how to continue the lifestyle changes after the 21 days have passed.
• Emails every 3 days offering tips, support, and bonus recipes.
• Daily twitter coaching tips throughout the day (follow at #bridalcleanse)
• Email support throughout the full 21 days

Cost: $150 + GST ($300 value) – can be covered under your extended health care benefit plan! Bonus: if more than 5 people are part of the cleanse group everyone receives 15% off the price so encourage your bridal party to do this with you for support, encouragement and so you can all feel amazing!

To learn more about this cleanse program contact me or visit the following blogs to hear more about the experience:

StylEyes Makeup Artistry – Week 1

Glitter Geek – Week 1 Week 2

Toronto Beauty Reviews – Week 1 Week 2

Amaya Beauty – Week 1

This past weekend, I had an amazing opportunity to enjoy a raw vegan brunch prepared by the talented chef Doug McNish at Raw Aura Cuisine in Port Credit. Doug is a classically trained chef who transitioned to a vegan diet to improve his health and now proves that vegan food is both healthy and delicious.

It was really special to enjoy Doug’s 3 course brunch at Raw Aura; sitting on a sunny patio sipping freshly pressed juice and sparkling wine, enjoying the company of friends and resisting the temptation to lick my plate clean…I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning.

The Menu:

Drink

Fresh Orange Juice and Passion Fruit Mimosa with Sparkling Wine

Or

Fresh Pear Lemon and Ginger Kombucha Mocktail

First

Grape fruit and Goji Berry Timbale

Marinated Fig, Fermented Macadamia Gouda, Fresh Mint, Hemp Seeds, Baby Arugula, Coconut Water Date Jam, Sprouted Buckwheat Toast Points

Second

Both Came with a Side Caesar Salad Using Local Greens in a Creamy Sunflower Dressing

The BLT

Thick Cut Sundried Tomato Sesame Zucchini Bread, Creamy Hemp Aioli, Crisp Smoked Eggplant Strips, Heirloom Tomatoes, Dill Pickle Spears

Or

Herbed Broccoli Cashew Cheddar Quiche

Marinated Mushrooms, Eggplant Bacon, Baby Spinach, Roasted Red Pepper, Flax Almond Crust, Local Tomato Crisps, Basil Pesto

Third

Banana Cinnamon Crepes, Walnut Crumble, Local Berry Compote, Caramelized Peach, Young Thai Coconut Vanilla Whipped Cream, Chocolate Fondue

Doug recently published his first cookbook,  “Eat Raw, Eat Well”, which I will admit I have not yet purchased but fully intend to especially after the meal I thoroughly enjoyed on Sunday.

As we enter the warm patio season, its easy to kick back with friends and enjoy a few drinks but those drinks impact your health and may be contributing to the extra pounds you work so hard to keep off. Those extra cocktails, beers, fruit juices and Frappucinos stealthily add up in ways many people don’t account for.

Liquid calories do not activate the satiety mechanisms in our body that indicate that fullness (Tallmadge, 2004). Additionally, when drinking fluid calories, it does not elicit a compensatory dietary response so people end up eating more calories overall. If your beverage of choice on a warm summer day, is a beer or cocktail you are setting yourself up for even greater calorie consumption. Alcohol dehydrates the body leaving you with the illusion that you are hungry leading to that order of nachos or other foods you may have otherwise avoided.

Another culprit in the beverage world is popular sports recovery electrolyte drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade. The first ingredients in these beverages are: water, high fructose corn syrup and sucrose. High fructose corn syrup has been associated with the obesity epidemic and regular use of sports recovery drinks may be counterproductive to the goals of your exercise routine. They provide a quick burst of energy followed by a plummeting disaster, as your pancreas and other glands try their best to balance out your blood sugar. Dramatic increases in blood sugar promote the release of more insulin; your body is unable to burn fat if your insulin levels are high because insulin promotes fat storage. If you are using sports recovery drinks look for varieties sweetened with stevia or other natural low glycemic sugars and containing a variety of amino acids to help rebuild muscle tissue.

If you think you are making a healthier choice by selecting beverages labeled as “sugar-free” and sweetened with artificial sugars like aspartame, sucralose, Splenda or saccharin, you may be unwittingly increasing your chances of weight gain. Researchers at Purdue University found that those who consume artificially sweetened foods later consumed more calories and gained more weight and body fat. Artificial sweeteners were found to inhibit normal metabolic processes leading to overeating and slower metabolism and put the consumer at greater risk for abdominal fat deposition, high blood pressure and insulin resistance (ie. type II diabetes) (Swithers, 2008).

Works Cited

Swithers, S. &. (2008). A Role for Sweet Taste: Calorie Predictive Relations in Energy Regulation by Rats. Behavioral Neuroscience , 122 (1).

Tallmadge, K. (2004, December 29). Those Liquid Calories. The Washington Post , p. F01.

Today was a busy day that started really early with a butt-kicking Booty Camp workout at 6 am. Around 3 this afternoon I started to crash a little and rather than reaching for coffee, I revved up my amazing Hurom juicer and made this refreshing, invigorating green lemonade.

Green Apple Lemonade

½ cucumber

1 Granny Smith apple

½ lemon with peel

1 inch piece of ginger root

2-3 kale leaves

1 cup water

Run all ingredients through the juicer and enjoy!

Turmeric, a spice frequently used in Indian cuisine, offers amazing health benefits. This bright yellow spice has long been used in Chinese and Indian traditional medicine and is a powerful anti-inflammatory. In fact, studies have shown it to be comparable to pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories, like hydrocortisone and ibuprofen (i.e. Motrin, Advil), without the negative side effects.

Turmeric has also been shown to be effective in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Turmeric protects the gastrointestinal tract lining. Its protective effect comes from both its antioxidant activities and its ability to inhibit inflammatory agents.

The powerful antioxidant properties of turmeric protect the cells from damage caused by free radicals. This is particularly useful in the treatment of arthritis where free radicals are often the cause of painful joint inflammation. Turmeric has been found to reduce the duration of morning stiffness, increase comfortable walking time and reduce joint swelling in those with arthritic pain.

Turmeric supports liver function by increasing liver detoxification efficiency. The combination of anti-oxidant action and enhanced liver detoxification mitigates the effects of several dietary carcinogens.

Turmeric is also an incredibly potent anti-cancer agent; its powerful antioxidant capacity protects cells from damage and genetic mutations that precede cancer. Curcumin, the active constituent of turmeric, also aids the body in the destruction of cancerous cells while sparing healthy cells. Turmeric is also beneficial in the prevention of metastasis, the spreading of cancer from one site to another, by regulating the genes involved in the growth and invasion of cancer cells.

Turmeric is available in many forms including the cooking spice, capsules and liquids but one of my favorite ways to enjoy it is in a spicy, warming latte. This latte has a number of other spices and health-promoting ingredients as well as a good dose of turmeric.

Turmeric Latte (inspired by Meghan Telpner’s Turmeric Tea)

½ cup almond milk or milk substitute of choice

2 tsp turmeric (or more if you want)

1 ½ tsp hemp hearts/seeds

½ tsp maca powder

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp cardamom

¼ tsp cloves

Sprinkle of nutmeg

½ tsp vanilla bean powder or vanilla extract

1 tsp local raw honey

1 tbsp vanilla Sunwarrior protein powder

1 tsp coconut oil

1 ½ – 2 cups hot water

• Put all ingredients into a vented blender. If you don’t have a vented blender add the hot water after you have mixed together all the other ingredients to avoid a kitchen disaster.
• If you don’t have a super high powered blender you may want to strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve to remove any particles left in it.
• Pour into favorite mug and enjoy!

These were supposed to be zucchini muffins but I realized that I forgot to buy a zucchini after I began mixing the dry ingredients together so I had to change my plan on the fly. This became a happy accident and I was really happy with the results after swapping carrot for the zucchini.

Ingredients:
3 cups almond oat flour (I made this by grinding raw almonds and gluten-free certified oats in my blender)
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
½ cup maple syrup (vegan) or local raw honey
4 carrots, grated (I am betting that doing ½ the carrots and some chopped pineapple would be amazing too)
3 chia eggs (3 chia eggs = 3 tbsp ground chia mixed with 1 cup hot water and allowed to sit until gel forms)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Mix almond-oat flour, coconut oil, honey and carrot
• Add chia eggs, cinnamon, baking soda and sea salt
• Mix well
• Bake in muffin tin lined with unbleached muffin/cupcake liners for
about 20 minutes

The unusually mild winter we experienced this year has paved the way for a pretty bad spring for seasonal allergy sufferers. Allergy sufferers are noticing the telltale sniffling, sneezing, runny nose, and itchy, watery eyes earlier this year as the balmy spring temperatures cause an explosion of plant pollens in the air. Preventative natural treatment can ease these symptoms and reduce the need to reach for the Claritin. Here are 3 natural strategies to reduce seasonal allergies:

Quercetin: The Anti-Allergy Bioflavanoid

Quercetin is a naturally occurring bioflavanoid found in high concentrations in leeks, which conveniently sprout up right before spring allergy season. Quercetin prevents the development of allergy symptoms by reducing inflammation and controlling the release of histamine.

Stinging Nettles (Urtica Dioica)

Nettles are a fantastic remedy for inflammatory and mucus forming conditions such as asthma and seasonal allergies.

Neti Pot

Neti pots and other forms of nasal irrigation are useful in preventing symptoms of seasonal allergies because they flush out allergens and excess mucus within the nasal cavity.

In addition to the above strategies, ask a Naturopathic Doctor about whether acupuncture, other herbal treatments or supplements, homeopathy or dietary modifications may help relieve your seasonal allergies.

Many people are concerned about visiting a Naturopath because they are scared that they will be instructed to give up the foods that they love: wheat, dairy and eggs (pretty much the staples of North American grocery lists).  While I regularly encourage patient’s to give up potentially offending foods after assessing their health concerns and their regular diet, I also find it important to educate them about why I believe food may be contributing to their concerns.  One of the more challenging foods to convince people to give up, even temporarily to determine if it is aggravating their health concerns, is dairy.

The media and Canada’s Food Guide have created a belief that milk is necessary for health and that it “does a body good”. Celebrities are used to endorse milk; Taylor Swift, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Rihanna and Heidi Klum have all donned the milk moustache. Even gyms are promoting the “health” benefits of chocolate milk as the perfect post-workout recovery tool.  We are led to believe that dairy is nature’s perfect food with the ideal complement of fat, protein and essential nutrients but there is a great deal of research documenting the ill-effects of dairy.

Milk does not build stronger bones:

Contrary to popular belief, research does not support the claim that milk reduces the risk of bone fracture by building stronger bones(Feskanich D, 1997). Also, epidemiological studies have found that the cultures and regions with the lowest milk consumption, like Africa and Asia, also have the lowest rates of osteoporosis. The reason that milk does not build stronger bones is due to its acidity. Milk is acid forming within the body so in order for the body to neutralize the acid, minerals are needed and these minerals (calcium and magnesium) come from bones.

Dairy is mucus forming:

Milk consumption has been associated with increased production of mucus in the respiratory tract, thus promoting symptoms of asthma, other respiratory tract infections and allergies(Bartley J, 2010).  Casein, a protein found in milk, irritates the immune system and thickens mucus secretions. For this reason, I encourage any patients suffering from allergies, post-nasal drip, bronchitis, asthma and autoimmune conditions to eliminate dairy completely for a trial period. I also encourage parents of children with ear infections to eliminate milk from their child’s diet because dairy sensitivity and the excessive mucus production is often a contributing factor in chronic ear infections.

Dairy has been associated with acne:

The national Nurses Health Study II conducted by Harvard University, reported that dairy products, particularly skim milk, may play a role in acne breakouts (Adebamowo CA, 2005)(Adebamowo C, 2008).  Not only do I recommend that individuals suffering from acne avoid cow’s milk, I encourage those with other dermatological concerns such as eczema and psoriasis to also temporarily eliminate diary from their diet while monitoring their symptoms.

Bibliography

Adebamowo C, S. D. (2008). Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys. J Am Acad Dermatol , 787–793.

Adebamowo CA, S. D. (2005). High school dietary intake and teenage acne. J Am Acad Dermatol , 207–211.

Bartley J, M. S. (2010, April). Does milk increase mucus production? Med Hypotheses , 732-4.

Feskanich D, W. W. (1997, June). Milk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12-year prospective study. Am J Public Health , 992-7.