Wavelength Wellness

Taking homeopathy seriously

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2011-02-02T12:55:37-05:00

The debate over homeopathy rages on! I just read this article in the Huffington Post in which Nobel Prize winner Luc Montagnier (the virologist who discovered the AIDS virus) explains why he supports homeopathy. The article cites a fair bit of research into homeopathy, which makes for a great read if you want to learn more. Thanks Theresa Jahn, ND for sending me the link!

The article makes some great points in favour of homeopathy that I wanted to highlight:

“Most clinical research conducted on homeopathic medicines that has been published in peer-review journals have shown positive clinical results,(3, 4) especially in the treatment of respiratory allergies (5, 6), influenza, (7) fibromyalgia, (8, 9) rheumatoid arthritis, (10) childhood diarrhea, (11) post-surgical abdominal surgery recovery, (12) attention deficit disorder, (13) and reduction in the side effects of conventional cancer treatments. (14).”
“In addition to clinical trials, several hundred basic science studies have confirmed the biological activity of homeopathic medicines. One type of basic science trials, called in vitro studies, found 67 experiments (1/3 of them replications) and nearly 3/4 of all replications were positive. (15, 16).”
Homeopathy “gained widespread popularity in the U.S. and Europe during the 19th century due to the impressive results people experienced in the treatment of epidemics that raged during that time, including cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, scarlet fever, and influenza.”

“High dilutions of something are not nothing. They are water structures which mimic the original molecules."

Reading through the comments on this article, I also found a link to this page on frequently asked questions about homeopathy. This is a really detailed Q&A on all the most-asked questions about homeopathy and is a great place to start if you want to learn about this wonderful modality. Enjoy!

Walnut butter

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2011-01-30T16:38:03-05:00

I’m doing an elimination diet right now and one of the things I’ve eliminated is my beloved chocolate! To successfully abstain, it was crucial that I plan out some great non-chocolate snacks. One great substitute for me has been walnut butter. It is really easy to make and tastes amazing! Plus, walnuts are full of healthy fats and are a diamond superfood on my SWAMI. You can also add other nuts to this mix. Today I added pecans too (another superfood).

Walnut Butter
(makes about 400-500g of nut butter - enough to fill a large Nuts to You jar!)

Ingredients:
Walnuts
Other nuts to your liking (pecans work well, I think almonds would be too hard, but haven’t tried them)
Sea salt
Oil of your choice (I used grapeseed oil because that is all I had, but using walnut oil makes a lot of sense or any other oil you prefer)

Directions:
1. Fill a chopper/grinder/food processor with nuts, like so:

2. Sprinkle in sea salt to taste. I have no idea how much I use, just a few shakes.
3. Chop the nuts until they are in tiny pieces, then switch to grinding until they are in even smaler pieces. They will look somewhat like this:

4. Add oil and keep grinding the mixture until it reaches the consistency you want. Again, I have no idea how much oil I use! Enough to make a thick, but not dry paste.
5. Empty walnut butter into a glass jar and store in the fridge. Enjoy on rice crackers, rice cakes, as a dip for veggies, or any other way you can think of.

What is the GenoType Diet?

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2011-01-28T08:15:52-05:00

I’ve been planning to write a blog called “GenoType diet primer” but then I saw this great article in the Huffington Post about the GenoType diet! The author explains the diet in a really simple and straightforward way and also how it has worked for him.

Key points that he makes that I would like to reiterate:

“Different bodies have different needs.” Dr. D’Adamo’s life work is all about individualization. You’ve probably heard of people who do great as a vegan or vegetarian, and others who do great on the Atkins diet. By now you would think more people would realize that one size does not fit all! The GenoType diet is all about emphasizing the foods that are right for YOU and nobody else.
“The list of good foods is long and yummy” and “The Genotype approach emphasizes what you CAN eat, not what you can’t. The focus is not on self denial, but self-knowledge.” As the saying goes, knowledge is power! The GenoType diet focuses on what the best fuel for your body is. Dr. D’Adamo and many other wise and successful natural health practitioners know that you cannot remove disease, you can only add health. This approach to diet (and lifestyle too!) is all about filling your life up with health, which leaves no room for disease.
Finally, this is not a diet about counting calories. Calories are not all created equal! Eating a box of crackers for dinner versus a well-balanced meal may amount to the same calories, but those foods will have radically different effects on your body via hormones, nutrients, metabolism, etc. This way of eating is about choosing foods that maximize your nutrition and work with your unique system. When your physiology is functioning optimally,

If you’re interested in learning more about The GenoType Diet, check out my page on personalized nutrition. I also have a page about SWAMI GenoType, a computer software program that takes The GenoType Diet to the next level by creating a diet plan that is customized to you.

Kate's walnutty chocolate

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2011-01-21T10:56:03-05:00

Yes, another post about chocolate! This is my other major chocolate “substitute.” Back in 2003, I decided to stop eating sugar entirely for one month as an experiment. This was actually a lot easier than I expected and completely changed the way I eat since. It made me realize how often I was eating sugar to sooth uncomfortable emotions and that I didn’t need to eat cookies, cake, and other desserts to have a good time or connect with people. However, the biggest thing I missed was chocolate! Not even really sweet chocolate, just that distinct taste! So I came up with this recipe for making my own fudge-type dessert using some healthier ingredients.

Kate’s Walnutty Chocolate
(makes about 36 small pieces)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I now use raw cacao powder)
1/2 cup butter or ghee (I make my own ghee using organic, cultured butter, see recipe here) - ghee is these softer/wetter than butter, so use a bit less
1/2 cup almond butter (you can also use tahini or any other nut butter you like)
1/4-1/2 cup vegetable glycerine (very sweet but does not spike blood sugar) or agave syrup - adjust according to desired sweetness
2-3 handfuls walnuts
1 handful cacao beans or nibs (optional)
1/2 cup ground flax
1/2-1 cup puffed rice or quinoa

Directions:
1. Melt cocoa powder, butter, and almond butter in a medium pot over low-medium heat.
2. While those are melting, chop the walnuts (and cacao beans or nibs if you are using these) using a chopper/grinder until they are a size you desire.
3. Once the cocoa mixture in the pot is melted and blended, remove from heat and add vegetable glycerine and combine.
4. Next, add the walnuts, cacao nibs, ground flax, and puffed rice and combine.
5. Press the mixture into a square pan lined with parchment paper.
6. Place in fridge or freezer to cool.

Healthy household cleaning

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2011-01-19T21:18:50-05:00

I am a true believer in living as non-toxic as possible and therefore I seek to make the best choices I can for those things that are within my control (which is a lot!). This includes the substances I put on my body, in my body, and what I bring into my home. Today I’ll share with you my household cleaning choices.

First, I think good cleaning tools can go a long way and reduce your need to buy products, which saves money, conserves water, and minimizes adding wastes to our environment. I use E-Cloths a lot and really love them. I have the Glass and Polishing cloth for windows and mirror which works with just water and I use the General Purpose cloth for everything else. For tougher jobs I use a regular cleaning brush that I’ve had for many years.

My #1 most useful and favourite cleaning product is Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap! This stuff is really magic and they claim there are 18 uses. I’m not sure what all 18 are, but you can use it for all-purpose cleaning, laundry, dish soap, body wash, shampoo, and even toothpaste to name a few. I use it all over the house to clean surfaces, scrub the tub and toilet, or mop. It comes in lots of great scents and is organic, fair-trade, biodegradable, vegetable based. Apparently this is the top selling brand of soaps in North America! Who knew?

Something I’ve recently come to love is Nature Clean Oxy Stain Remover powder. I use it in the laundry for whitening, brightening, and stain removal, but I have also recently started using it to clean, as it works really well in the shower/tub and the toilet. I mix it with the Dr. Bronner’s soap and scrub the surface, then let it sit for a while before rinsing. This gets things very shiny clean!

Most of the time, these two products are enough for everything, but sometimes I like to use a spray cleaner, especially in the kitchen and bathroom if I’ve been procrastinating and haven’t cleaned in a while... Right now I’m using Parsley Plus spray, which literally has 3 ingredients! I kind of like the odd, parsley-like scent to this product and it works really great!

You may notice I don’t use any sanitizing or specific germ-killing products... For day-to-day life, I think these things are overkill and in fact prevent natural and useful immune “education.” Our bodies are incredibly well-designed to protect us from everyday exposure to pathogens like bacteria, viruses, etc. In fact, regular exposure to these things is incredibly important for our immune systems to develop and function properly. This is especially true for children, who are programmed to get themselves as dirty and grimy as they can! Basic good hygiene (like hand-washing), reducing the unnecessary spread of germs (like sneezing/coughing into your sleeve instead of all over the person next to you), and supporting the immune system (by eating healthy, getting enough rest, and dealing appropriately with illness) works with our body’s natural balance to keep us healthy. Exposure to man-made toxins and pollutants is far more disruptive to health than exposure to normal environmental pathogens!

There are some people who get sick easily/frequently and for those individuals it is important to investigate the causes behind that increased susceptibility (whether it be dietary intolerances, immune imbalance, overwork, energetic imbalance, unusual exposure, etc) and address that in order to solve the problem. This is what naturopathic medicine is all about!

Homeopathy: cure or con?

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2011-01-14T12:02:28-05:00

Tonight CBC Marketplace will air a report called Cure or Con? on homeopathy. Even though the report has not aired yet, there are lots of comments! From what I can tell from their preview, I doubt that these journalists have actually investigated homeopathy in-depth and that their “research” is likely a waste of time and money. I look forward to watching it to see what they have done.

I use homeopathy as part of my practice with great results and have written blogs about it on this site. If you are interested in learning more about homeopathy, start with my blog Homeopathy primer. For information about research into homeopathy, check out Homeopathy literature review.

What most people consider research is often only the tip of the iceberg as far as information goes. True “evidence-based medicine” encompasses clinical experience as well! Check out my blog Is evidence-based medicine compatible with naturopathic principles for a more a discussion on this topic and my blog Mythology of science-based medicine for even more insight into medical research.

7 keys to achieving your resolutions

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2011-01-04T19:54:53-05:00

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? A lot of people I know don’t, but personally I love it! Of course I don’t always keep them, but I love that feeling of having a fresh start and I find I get more momentum to make changes at this time of year. Here are some rules I abide by when making resolutions:

1. Keep it simple
First, don’t try to change lots of things at once! Choose a few things that will make a positive difference in your life and focus on those. Also, don’t try to make drastic changes all at once. Figure out some small changes that will start you on a good path. For example, I once resolved to floss every day. This resolution was not that hard to keep and it was a small step that has created a long-lasting habit.

2. Write it down
People who write down their goals are far more likely to actually achieve them. Think about what you want in life and why your resolutions will help you get there. Write down your resolutions and the reasons for them. This will help keep you motivated! For example, if you are trying to quit smoking, write out all the reasons why you want to do this (prevent disease, feel healthier, breathe easier, smell better, etc). When you find yourself having trouble keeping your resolution, go back to this list to remind yourself!

3. Get excited!
This is kind of a no-brainer... Choose things you actually want and hopefully that will be enjoyable to do or achieve! If you find you are resistant to what you are trying to do, ask yourself why? Maybe that choice is not right for you or (more likely) there are strong subconscious forces within you that really WANT to hang on to your old behaviour. Addressing this is key to success. For example, nearly every patient I see wants to lose weight and most of them know things they need to change to do this AND are capable of doing it. So what holds them back? Most often I find that there are many other factors at work that prevent patients from truly being able to make a different choice. Homeopathy is one amazing naturopathic treatment modality to help shift this and open up new choices.

4. Change your brain
Did you know that you can actually change the way your brain works? There are so many ways to do this, but here I’ll mention visualization and meditation, which can work together. Visualization is a tried and true tool for achieving goals. If you can visualize something, you can make it happen. Meditation can encompass so many different things, but at the root it is a way to become more conscious of your mind’s activities and exercise control over them. Meditation is a skill that you build over time that pays off in so many ways, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. A great book to start with is Meditation as Medicine by Dharma Singh Khalsa.

And when you change your brain, you change what comes to you in life. The law of attraction is a powerful tool that you can use to achieve your goals. For more info on the law of attraction and the power of choice, check on my blog on this topic.

5. Plan, plan, plan!
Planning makes things happen. In addition to setting goals, you need to figure out HOW you will achieve them. Write this down too... For example, several years ago I wanted to reduce my stress levels and improve my mental focus, so I decided to learn meditation. If I had just made my New Year’s resolution “to meditate more” I would not have done much differently. Instead, I made the resolution “to meditate for 10 minutes every day” and I was successful in doing this the entire year! Having this specific plan in place helped me make time each day for this and it quickly became a new habit.

6. Get help
As part of your plan to achieve your goals, you might need some help from others. Support is a key factor in success, so write down what you might need to keep your resolutions. For example, if your resolution is to exercise more, your spouse can help you by taking care of the kids or cooking dinner so you have time to work out and a personal trainer can help you learn to make the most of the equipment available to you at the gym. If your resolution is to change your eating habits, your naturopathic doctor is a great support to teach you how to eat healthier and create a plan of action to help you accomplish this. One of the principles of naturopathic medicine is Docere - Doctor as Teacher.

7. Don’t give up!
Practice truly does make perfect! Nobody is ever good at something the first time they do it, so if you fall off the resolution wagon, climb back on and try again. The more you practice your new behaviour or habit, the better you will become and the easier it will be to continue! For example, getting to bed earlier so I can get more sleep has been a resolution of mine in a few different years. This one required (and still requires!) me to plan my time and get in the habit of doing my “going to bed” routine. And I’ve gotten better and better at this as years go by. Once you do something enough times, it is a lot easier to come back to, even if you stray.

Great quote #23

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2011-01-02T18:35:04-05:00

This quote is in honour of everyone making New Year’s resolutions at this time...

“There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. True nobility is being superior to your former self.” Unknown

More vitamin D commentary

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-12-26T14:01:16-05:00

More recent commentary on vitamin D as covered by Natural Medicine Journal:

Let the Science and Evidence Guide Clinical Decision-Making on Vitamin D for the Benefit of Patients, Alexander G. Schauss, PhD, FACN
This article discusses biochemical individuality, as well as evidence in favour of vitamin D as relates to frailty in elderly populations, genetic and racial variations, and immune support. Ultimately, he reiterates that we must “consider the individual,” which is what naturopathic medicine is all about!

Broad-Brush Recommendations Are a Disservice to the Public, Geovanni Espinosa, ND
This article summarizes conditions associated with vitamin D deficiency and provides some broad intake recommendations.

Media Coverage Further Confounds Recommendations, Susan W. Ryan, DO
This article highlights one major issue plaguing media coverage of health issues - inaccurate or incomplete reporting. Unfortunately, as a naturopathic doctor I find this to be all too common! What gets covered in major media is not necessarily representative of the information that exists on a topic, it is slanted more towards what is strange/interesting/controversial/trendy. This also includes such information available on the internet. There is a lot of great information to be found on the internet, but your best bet is to find out what is best for YOU from a trained health professional, such as your naturopathic doctor.

Eye like the BTD

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-12-22T13:26:29-05:00

Check out this blog by Suzanne Graham pondering whether improvements to eye health and vision may be due to the Blood Type Diet.

In fact, nutrition is very important for eye health! While in naturopathic school, opthalmologist Dr. Peter Shaw, who taught a unit on differential diagnosis for the eye, was a major believer in this! He also specifically mentioned the Blood Type Diet as something he recommended to his patients.

Since when did natural become the alternative?

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-12-20T10:25:09-05:00

Check out this blog by my colleague Ashley Mayer that asks the question “since when did natural become the alternative?”

I had to share this blog because it addresses a major shift in perception that has happened in society in a short period of time. Somehow in just a generation or two, most people have accepted advertising messages/manipulation that tells us that fake, altered, and lab-created foods are somehow equal to or even better than what nature has to offer. Although I have yet to read both of the Michael Pollan books I own, I know that one of his major messages is “eat food.” Even just sticking to this basic advice, meaning eat things in as close to their natural state as possible (unprocessed and free of preservatives, additives, flavours, colours, etc), would greatly benefit most people.

In this blog, Ashley addresses this question as well as the key points of: choose your sources of information carefully and employ your critical thinking skills to decide what is actually “healthy.”

Antioxidant brownies

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-12-16T10:29:15-05:00

I LOVE chocolate, but I try to avoid sugar because I feel so much better without it. When I stopped eating sugar in 2003, I was faced with the dilemma of how the heck I could still feed my chocolate cravings while avoiding sugar? Necessity is the mother of invention and the result was that I have come up with a few creative recipes to make chocolatey things without sugar. I also avoid gluten and dairy, so I have had to modify my recipes for those too.

One of the most popular recipes I’ve created has been for gluten-free, dairy-free (if you use ghee instead of butter), sugar-free (if you use vegetable glycerine instead of agave syrup) brownies. I recently had the idea to make them more nutritious by using raw cacao powder (instead of traditional cocoa) which is high in antioxidants!

Antioxidant Brownies
(makes about 36 small brownies)

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cacao powder
1/2 to 3/4 cup ghee (I make my own ghee using organic, cultured butter, see recipe here) or butter - ghee is wetter than butter, so adjust accordingly
1/2 to 3/4 cup vegetable glycerine (very sweet but does not spike blood sugar) or agave syrup - adjust according to how sweet you want the brownies to be
1 cup almond meal (you could also use hazelnut meal if you can find it)
4 eggs, separated

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Melt the ghee/butter and combine in a medium bowl with the cacao powder until smooth.
3. Add vegetable glycerine/agave, almond meal, and egg yolks and combine.
4. Beat the egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into other bowl with the chocolate mixture.
5. Gently combine until blended and pour into a square pan lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, then turn 1/4 turn and bake for another 10-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out nearly clean.
7. Let cool for about 15 minutes, then continue cooling in fridge.

Calcium and vitamin D

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-12-06T12:39:59-05:00

A recent article in the New York Times questioned the need for high levels of calcium and vitamin D supplementation that has become the new norm. I have already had patients ask me about this, so I will try to address it here.

I am always in favour of obtaining nutrients the way human beings were designed to get them, which is through food. Calcium and vitamin D are actually quite different types of nutrients, so I will discuss them separately. The main take-home point of this blog is that ultimately we are all unique and the beauty of naturopathic medicine is that as an ND I am able to work with you individually to assess your needs and make a recommendation that is personalized to you as an individual. So ultimately, to figure out how much calcium and vitamin D you should or should not take, talk to your naturopathic doctor!

Calcium
I am asked quite often how much calcium we need, what is the best source, etc... Osteoporosis is far too common in western society and yet we get lots of calcium here too! What’s going on? The short answer is that there is so much more to bone health than just calcium. There are three things to look at with regard to bone health.

First, the raw material needed to create bone. Calcium is just one of many building blocks necessary to make bone but it is definitely not the only one! Magnesium, phosphate, boron, and other minerals are all necessary.

Second, a pile of bricks does not make a house just as lots of materials (calcium and other minerals) do not automatically make bone. Bone has to be built and weight bearing exercise is a key factor to signal our bodies to take those materials and do something with them. When more stress is applied to bone, it becomes stronger. There are also other factors in building bone, such as proper blood flow (yes, bone is living tissue and needs blood!) and other signals like vitamin D (see below!) going on in the body.

Finally, we must prevent our bodies from breaking down bone to use those materials elsewhere. This is another complex area but in a nutshell, if your body needs some calcium to buffer your blood to keep it at the perfect pH level (which keeps you alive, by the way), it will draw this from bones. An acidic environment in our tissues increases the need to use bone to balance pH. And what causes an acidic environment? Stress, lack of sleep, caffeine/alcohol, sugar, dairy, and other acidifying foods...

While dairy groups and marketing boards have done an amazing job convincing people they need to eat a lot of servings of dairy products each day to get enough calcium, there are many other great sources of calcium that most people overlook. One great way is to make bone broth! You can also get calcium from leafy green veggies, nuts and seeds, and many other diverse food sources. For more info, check out the World’s Healthiest Foods site listing for calcium.

Vitamin D
In the case of vitamin D, our bodies use cholesterol (it’s not all bad!) to make vitamin D when our skin is exposed to the sun. For example, a caucasian person out in summer sun in just a bathing suit until his or her skin just begins to turn pink produces between 10,000 and 50,000IU of vitamin D. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and can therefore be stored by our bodies so that we can make it through winter off the supply we’ve built up in the summer. Lighter skinned people make more vitamin D from the sun so it’s no surprise that at higher latitudes you find blonder, paler people and near the equator (where there is more direct sun exposure and no long, dark winter) you find darker skinned people. Anyway, before there were ever vitamin D supplements, humans spent much of their time, particularly in the summer, outside and likely made enough vitamin D to last through each winter.

However, this is not the world we live in anymore! Unfortunately most people spend nearly all their time indoors during the day and therefore cannot make vitamin D from sun exposure. This alone is a powerful argument for supplementation, not to mention the greater issue of how our incredibly unnatural lifestyle impacts our health, but that is a topic for another day. In addition, there have been many studies on vitamin D in the past few decades demonstrating how vitamin D impacts so much more than bone health. Vitamin D is in fact a hormone, a key signalling system in the body that can impact all kinds of conditions. There are far too many studies for me to summarize here, but if you want to learn more, you can start with reading the response to the article linked above written by the Executive Director of the Vitamin D Council.

So how do you know what to do? Again, the best way to determine if supplementation is right for you and how much to supplement is to see a naturopathic doctor who can assess your unique situation. You can also ask your doctor to run a blood test for 25-hydroxy vitamin D. The province of Ontario has recently put more restrictions on this test because it became so popular but if you have a condition for which vitamin D is important or that puts you at greater risk for deficiency, such as osteoporosis, parathyroid disease, pregnancy, or kidney disease, speak to your doctor about testing your levels.

Bone broth

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-12-03T14:17:25-05:00

In honour of recent discussion about calcium and vitamin D supplementation, I’m sharing my easy, simple recipe for bone broth. This is a great way to get calcium and other minerals from the bones, as well as other nutrients from the meat and cartilage. Plus it feels great to truly use every beneficial part of your food before throwing it away.

I like to buy a roasted chicken (the ones from Whole Foods are amazing!), cut off the meat (which I store in the freezer and pull out for a quick meal), and use the leftover bones. Basically you can just get some bones, throw whatever else you like in there too, and boil it all. There is really no way to mess this up, except if you boil it too long, in which case it turns kind of gelatinous... Don’t worry, I’ll tell you how long from my own experience!

You can use the broth to cook rice or other grains, as a base for soups, or in any variety of ways to add taste and nutrition to other dishes.

Bone Broth
(makes about 2-3L of broth)

Ingredients:
Bones! You can use chicken or beef, whichever you prefer.
1 Tbsp vinegar (I like apple cider because it is less vinegary tasting)
Spices of your choice to taste (salt and pepper are great)
Veggies of your choice (I use chopped garlic and onions, sometimes some carrots and celery too)

Immune boosting option! Add ingredients for Change of Season Soup (I’ve bought packages of this from Herbie’s Herbs) along with your veggies! Change of Season soup is an Asian medicine recipe using four herbs (Astragalus, Codonopsis, Dioscorea, and Lycii) which helps your body adjust to the transition between seasons to prevent getting sick.

Directions:
1. Place bones and vinegar in a large stockpot and cover with filtered water.
2. Cover and bring to a boil.
3. Turn down the heat to between low and medium and let simmer for about 1.5 to 2 hours.
4. Add spices and veggies.
5. Turn heat up again to boil more vigourously, then turn it down to simmer again for another hour.
6. Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl.
7. Discard bones and other solids.
8. Place bowl in refrigerator overnight and in the morning skim off the top layer of fat.
9. Decant the liquid into airtight, leakproof, and ideally glass containers and store in the fridge or freezer.

Notes:

Simmering for more than 3-4 hours can result in a gelatinous broth!
Use refrigerated broth within 7 days
Use frozen broth within 6 months

Great quote #22

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-12-02T20:32:29-05:00

“Charm: the quality in others that makes us more satisfied with ourselves.” Henri-Frederic Amiel

Kew Beach Natural Health Clinic Open House!

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-11-29T17:21:20-05:00

We at Kew Beach Natural Health Clinic are pleased to invite you to our Annual Seasonal Open House, which will be held on Saturday, December 4th, 2010 from 2pm to 6pm.

Come join us for a glass of cheer and healthy snacks! There will be lots to eat and drink, such as:
Spiced apple cider
Wine (red and white)
Veggies galore!
Gluten-free desserts (shortbread, brownies, cookies)
Chips and salsa, crackers and cheese

There will also be door prizes!

Once again, we are supporting the Daily Bread Food Bank, so please bring a non-perishable food item as a donation. See you there!

Green tea face mask

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-12-13T14:05:43-05:00

I make myself a very basic face mask using green tea powder because green tea is high in polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that when applied topically can be anti-inflammatory, protect against skin cancer, and reduce or prevent signs of aging. It is a great healing treatment for all kinds of skin types and issues.

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp green tea powder (I use Do Matcha because that’s the only one I’ve found so far, but you can use any kind)

Water or carrier oil

For oiler skin, you can use water, in which case this mask dries on your face like a clay mask.
For dryer skin, use a carrier oil of your choice. I personally really like rosehip oil as it is anti-inflammatory and known for anti-aging. The type of oil can be varied based on what you prefer - check out more info on different carrier oils here.

1-2 drops (no more than this!) essential oil (optional)

You can choose oils that address specific skin issues - check out more info here.

Directions:
1. Place green tea powder in very small bowl and mix to a paste with either water or oil.
2. Add essential oils if desired.
3. Apply to clean, dry skin after washing and exfoliating.
4. Leave on for 10-15 minutes, then gently rinse off.

Cholesterol talk November 17th

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-11-16T15:39:45-05:00

JD Kato and I will be giving at free talk on cholesterol on November 17th, 7pm at the Deer Park Library (40 St. Clair Avenue East, Toronto). Call 416-926-0084 to RSVP!

Topics will include:

What is cholesterol?
Where does it come from?
Types of cholesterol and other fats
Why elevated levels are detrimental
How to monitor levels
Treatment options

Breast health and cancer prevention: nutrition

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-11-11T08:01:57-05:00

In October (breast cancer month) JD Kato and I did a presentation at a local library about breast health and cancer prevention. Here is a summary of some of the more interesting information we shared. Naturopathic medicine has an important role to play in cancer prevention and treatment. One of the most often used naturopathic treatments is dietary change because diet is the most powerful factor in health. You literally are what you eat! So here is an overview of WHY diet is so important to cancer and some examples of dietary choices that will help treat and prevent cancer.

Immune system:
Your immune system is your best defence against cancer. Every day, all day, your body is making potentially cancerous cells and it is your immune system that stands between this potential and uncontrollable cancer growth. A healthy diet provides nutrients that support immune function, while poor dietary choices impair immune function.

Antioxidant-rich foods support the immune system in killing abnormal cells, preventing and treating cancer. Sugar, on the other hand, impairs the activity of your white blood cells, which target and kill cancer cells and coordinate the functioning of your overall immune response.

Inflammation:
As discussed in part 1, chronic inflammation in the body leads to increased cell division, which increases the likelihood of the creation of cancer cells and accelarates cancer growth. Chronic inflammation also increases the body’s production of cortisol, which is an immune suppressing hormone.

What type of fat you consume is often more important than the amount because the fats in your diet directly impact many bodily functions. The compounds EPA and DHA derived from or found in omega 3 fatty acids, particularly fish oil, are powerful anti-inflammatory agents in the body. But saturated fats increase inflammation and trans fats alter cell membranes to encourage inflammation.

Hormonal balance:
The endocrine system, which produces and controls hormones throughout the body has a huge impact on physiological function. Hormones can encourage cancer growth as well as influence immune function and regulate inflammation. With regard to breast cancer, we know that some types of breast cancer are estrogen dependent, but many other hormones throughout the body also relate to breast cancer, such as thyroid hormones, insulin, and cortisol.

Green leafy vegetables contain nutrients that support endocrine organs. A minimum of 5-6 servings per day is recommended. Cruciferous vegetables in particular contain compounds called calcium-D-glucarate and indole-3-carbinol which aid in metabolism and detoxification of hormones. Pesticides used on non-organic produce can contain compounds that mimic estrogen in the body and can increase the risk of many types of cancer as well as overwhelm your detoxification system.

You can download the Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides, which specifies which produce is best to buy organic, at this web address: www.foodnews.org

Insulin resistance:
Insulin is a hormone that allows sugar to enter cells. Over time, high sugar intake leads to excess insulin production and eventually cells become insensitive to insulin. Cancer cells use sugar as fuel and have more insulin receptors than normal cells, so while other cells are insulin resistant, cancer cells can gain more access to sugar.

Complex carbs include vegetables and whole grains and can help balance blood sugar levels and control weight, both of which prevent and reduce insulin resistance. Complex carbs are high in fibre, which binds to and eliminates toxins and hormones from your body. Try to eat foods as close to their natural state as possible rather than processed foods, which contain more simple carbs, which are easily reduced to sugar and therefore promote insulin resistance.

Digestion and elimination:
Digestion influences all other bodily functions as it is key to absorbing essential nutrients and eliminating waste products and toxins from the body.

Alcohol is an example of a substance that places an additional load on the liver, which can lead to increased toxic load in the body. Over time, this can damage cells and encourage cancer formation. Adequate water intake is necessary for optimal digestion and elimination as your body uses water to carry out many processes essential for life. A simple guideline for water intake is at least 1/2 ounce of water per pound of body weight. So a 128-pound woman should drink about 64 ounces of water daily, which is about 2 litres. Caffeine and alcohol do not count toward this intake and in fact dehydrate the body!

Beyond diet:
So far we’ve covered a lot with regard to diet, but there is so much more! As a naturopathic doctor, I work with patients to address their unique nutritional needs with a plan tailored to them. Beyond diet, I also work to create a personalized plan that may include supplements, herbs, lifestyle counselling, stress reduction, and mental/emotional work to address each patient’s unique needs and the root causes behind their health specific concerns.

With regards to cancer, naturopathic medicine is a powerful tool to both prevent and treat cancer, either alone or in conjunction with conventional cancer treatment.

Breast health and cancer prevention: risk factors

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-11-09T17:39:55-05:00

In October (breast cancer month) JD Kato and I did a presentation at a local library about breast health and cancer prevention. Here is a summary of some of the more interesting information we shared. This first part will cover risk factors, which JD discussed. There are several non-modifiable risk factors that most people are aware of, such as age, gender, family history, etc. Let’s focus on risk factors you CAN modify…

Radiation exposure:
Ionizing radiation such as x-rays can damage the DNA of cells promoting mistakes that could lead to development of cancer. The amount of radiation of a mammogram is considered small, but yes mammograms use radiation. Other sources of radiation may be from occupational accidents and radiation treatment.

Smoking:
Smoking raises your risk for many types of cancer: lung, esophageal, bladder, stomach, and others including breast cancer.

Alcohol:
Postmenopausal women who drank alcohol had a 22% higher relative risk of breast cancer than those who do not drink alcohol. It is estimated that every additional 10g of ethanol consumed per day (approximately one drink) was associated with a 10% increase in relative risk.
Recommendation for alcohol intake for women: 0-2 drinks per day, maximum 9 drinks per week

Estrogen:
Estrogen exposure can be a contributing factor to many breast cancers. Therefore, both exogenous (outside the body) and endogenous (inside the body) sources estrogen can increase risk.

Hormone replacement and birth control pills are exogenous sources that contribute to estrogen exposure that can be avoided.

Estrogen production within the body is also important. At puberty the brain (the pituitary) tells the ovaries to start to produce estrogen and because there are receptors in the breast tissue they are signalled to grow and develop. Although they grow in number, the cells of the breast tissue do not fully mature. With each monthly cycle there are fluctuating levels of estrogen, which can contribute to the cells that could possibly develop into cancerous cells. A first full-term pregnancy after the age of 30-35 contributes a slightly higher risk.

While a woman is pregnant, there are even high levels of estrogen and so the breasts enlarge to prepare for breast feeding – again putting a woman at higher risk. When a pregnancy reaches full-term and a woman breast-feeds, then the cells finish their maturation, which then helps protect against them developing into cancer. Breast-feeding for one year is protective against breast cancer. It does not matter if this period of breast-feeding is for one child, or combined over more than one birth.

Body fat and exercise:
After menopause a woman’s ovaries do not produce estrogen as before, so most of the estrogen come from fat tissue. Estrogen comes from testosterone and in fat tissue there is the enzyme called aromatase that converts testosterone to estrogen. So having excessive body fat means you have more of these enzymes to produce estrogen which can stimulate cell reproduction in breast tissue and thus increasing the chance of tumour formation.

Excess body fat, especially around the midsection, promotes inflammation in the body, which is a risk factor for many cancers. Chronic inflammation disrupts normal cell growth and development, which can promote.

Excess body weight and low physical activity together may account for one quarter to one third of all breast cancer cases! Contrast that to 3-5% of breast cancer caused by heredity…

Recommendations for exercise: 30 min 3-5 days per week (initially), then 30-60 min 5-7 days per week

A tastier flu "shot"

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-11-24T15:51:19-05:00

One of my favourite immune supporting tips is using berries to prevent colds and flu! Not only do they taste great, but they are also effective in strengthening immunity during the winter season.

Blueberries and other dark-coloured berries contain anthocyanidins, which can enter the cell wall of bacteria and slow growth and reproduction. They are also a good source of vitamin C and and are high in antioxidants, which support the immune system against both bacteria and viruses. Add berries to your smoothie (see my favourite recipe here) or into oatmeal as part of your breakfast.

Elderberry is particularly effective against influenza and other viral infections, such as the common cold. A quick search on PubMed reveals that elderberry extract offers an efficient, safe and cost-effective treatment for influenza and elderberry extract has been found to inhibit H1N1 infection in vitro.

There are a lot of liquid elderberry extracts on the market these days (including Sambucol and Sambu Guard) but make sure to read the ingredients because some contain added sugar, which actually impairs white blood cells and reduces your immune response! This is kind of counter-productive, don’t you think? Plus, elderberry and other berries taste great on their own, there is no reason to add extra sugar. Make sure you read labels! My personal favourite is Proberry liquid, which is a mixture of elderberry, blueberry, cherry, raspberry, and pear juice concentrates. Many of the elderberry concentrates come in capsule form too, which helps avoid the additives and can be more convenient to carry with you, so check these out too.

Root cause beyond the physical

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-11-08T09:32:03-05:00

One of the principles of naturopathic medicine is “identify and treat the cause” of illness. I think that every health care professional believes this, but we may differ in what we identify as the cause! This blog at Crazy Sexy Life focuses on stress and emotional pain as two important, but often overlooked, causes of illness.

This is why I love to work with a combination of modalities that work physiologically (such as nutrition, botanical medicine, lifestyle) and energetically (such as homeopathy, Asian medicine). Energy medicine can go far deeper into balancing stress, changing mental patterns, and healing emotional pain. In fact, all of these modalities have some impact on both body and soul. However, while you can achieve incredible results through dietary changes, supplementation, herbs, and lifestyle habits, addressing the deeper levels of mind, emotions, and spirit can lead to major shifts in susceptibility and vitality that can help a patient achieve wellness, which is beyond just physical health.

Look for more blogs on this topic soon!

Varicose veins article

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-11-05T21:24:10-04:00

This week I’m quoted in a Now Magazine column about varicose veins. Check it out!

Homemade ghee

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-11-20T07:52:13-05:00

by Kate Whimster, ND

Those who know me know that I love ghee! Ghee is “clarified butter” meaning that it is butter minus water and dairy solids. Bhavaprakash, a major Ayurvedic text, states that “Ghee is … good for the eyes, stimulant for digestion, supports glow and beauty, enhances memory and stamina, promotes longevity, and protects the body from various diseases.” (1)

Ghee production increases levels of butyric acid, which is believed to improve digestion and nourish tissues (2). Ghee also contains elevated levels of the unsaturated fatty acid conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), “a chemical that may have anticarcinogenic properties” (1), compared to milk and butter. “Milk fats … from cow or buffalo milk contained 0.6 and 0.5% CLAs, respectively … microbial fermentation during curd formation increases the CLA content of milk fats to 1.0% … Heating of milk fats … as in ghee making, is known to increase CLA content. There is a further increase of CLA content (2.5-2.8%) in ghee samples when butter is clarified at higher temperatures (120˚C) than at the 110˚C (1.1-1.3%) traditionally used in villages to make ghee.” (3)

In my opinion, ghee tastes better than butter and is a great substitute in baking if you want to avoid dairy. It is possible to find ghee in some stores, but I have found that making my own is easier and tastes better! So, here is my recipe for homemade ghee, complete with photos!

Homemade Ghee
(makes about 1.5 cups of ghee)

Ingredients:
One pound of organic, cultured, unsalted butter

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a saucepan at medium heat.
2. Once the butter is melted, turn the heat down to between low and medium. Leave it at this heat uncovered and undisturbed. It is fine if the butter boils!
3. About 10 minutes after the butter boiling, you will notice steam rising off the butter, foam forming on top, and gurgling, crackling, or squeaking noises. At this point the butter will smell somewhat rancid. Don’t worry! You’re getting there... Your butter should look something like this:

And then, as the foam thickens, like this:

4. About 25-30 minutes after the butter boiling, the foam will dissipate, the noises have quieted, and the ghee smells like hot popcorn. The milk solids at the bottom will be golden coloured and the ghee will be clear. These are all signs that the ghee is done! It will look something like this:

5. Remove the ghee from heat and skim off the remaining foam using a spoon.

6. Filter the ghee into a clean glass jar through cheesecloth. I fold the cheesecloth so there are 4 layers.

This is what the hot ghee looks like:

7. Let the ghee cool, then cover and store in the fridge, where it will become solid. This is what it looks like once it cools and hardens:

References:
1. Sharma, H., & Clark, C. (1998). Contemporary Ayurveda. Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone.
2. Lad, V. D. (1998). The complete book of Ayurvedic home remedies. New York:
Three Rivers Press.
3. Aneja, R. P., & Murthi, T. N. (1991). Beneficial effects of ghee. Nature, 350, 280.

Kate's favourite smoothie

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-10-31T16:42:53-04:00

For at least 7 years, I have started my day with a smoothie and I love it! Smoothies are a great way to widen the variety of foods you eat and to add what are called “functional foods” or nutrients to your diet. Plus they taste great and are easy and quick to make! Get creative about adding foods with high nutritional content to start your day right. Also a great way to sneak more nutritious foods to kids!

Over time, the ingredients have evolved to what is currently my “go-to” recipe. I follow my personalized SWAMI GenoType plan based on the work of Peter D’Adamo, which categorizes foods as superfood (including a subset of “diamond” superfoods), neutral, or avoid for you based on what is the best fuel for your body. All the ingredients in my smoothie are neutrals, superfoods, or diamond superfoods for me.

Kate’s Favourite Smoothie (for now - subject to change!)
(Made in a 2 cup container)

Ingredients:
1 banana
1 heaping Tbsp ground flax (yay for extra fibre!)
1 heaping Tbsp lecithin (emulsifier, supports healthy cell membranes, and lots of other healthy functions)
1/2 large leaf of swiss chard (diamond superfood and a great way to add more veggies to your diet - drink them!)
1/2 avocado (healthy fats)
1/4 cup each of frozen mango, blueberries, and raspberries (beta carotene and antioxidants)
1 tsp Harmonia Deluxe sprouted greens powder (even more fruits and veggies)
1 tsp spirulina powder (diamond superfood for me)
1 tsp glutamine powder (supports gut health)
A few splashes of juice - could be black cherry, pineapple, mango, goji berry, pomegranate
Fill the rest of the cup with filtered water

I let this all sit for about 10-15 minutes to soften up while I get dressed and then I blend it up using a hand blender. I drink 1 cup in the morning as part of my breakfast (which includes lots of other food since breakfast is the most important meal of the day) and the other cup before dinner.

Great quote #21

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-11-14T15:21:19-05:00

“Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own.” H. Jackson Brown

Great quote #20

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-10-24T11:14:01-04:00

“Anxiety is nothing but re-experiencing failure in advance.” Seth Godin

Surviving cancer with true wellness

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-11-02T21:52:04-04:00

On the first page of this website I explain that true wellness is so much more than simply being free of illness. It is a state of balance of all aspects of your being, and this requires a holistic approach. Wellness is not quite the same thing as being “healthy”. One can have a disease or poor physical health and still be “well” because wellness is feeling your best no matter what ups and downs life hands to you and doing your best to support your mind, body, and spirit. Wellness has more to do with intention and balance; it is something that anyone can achieve.

This blog from Crazy Sexy Life written by a man who is a six time cancer survivor does a great job of explaining this point! Plus he’s Canadian (from New Brunswick)!

Breast health talk October 20th

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-10-14T08:11:30-04:00

JD Kato and I will be giving at free talk on breast health on October 20th, 7pm at the Deer Park Library (40 St. Clair Avenue East, Toronto). Call 416-926-0084 to RSVP!

Topics will include:
Breast cancer risk factors
Cancer prevention and treatment strategies:
• Exercise
• Weight loss
• Diet
Breast self-exam
Diagnostics:
• Ultrasound
• Mammography
• Thermography
How naturopathic medicine can help prevent and treat breast cancer

Homeopathic flu prevention

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-10-20T21:45:49-04:00

Once again, Kew Beach Natural Health Clinic is running our hugely popular homeopathic flu prevention program!

People who participate in this program have very few flu incidents over the winter, even though family members and co-workers may become very ill. Flu symptoms may be much milder and last for a shorter duration than other non-homeopathically protected people. Many participants no longer experience the flu at all. Each year the program grows in popularity due to overwhelmingly positive word of mouth!

How does it work?
The Homeopathic Flu Prevention Program is an ongoing research study conducted by Helena Ovens, ND. Your participation is voluntary and appreciated. Here’s how to participate:

1. To participate you must currently be in good health and you must not have had a flu shot since April 15, 2010.
2. Call Kew Beach Natural Health Clinic at 416-690-6168 to arrange at time to come by to fill out an intake form. You will be given a 6-month supply of homeopathic pellets, an instruction sheet, and a form to record any “flu-like” symptoms. There is a $5.00 administrative fee per adult (children are free) to cover the costs of materials and remedies.
3. Take 1 pellet of the remedy once per month on the same day to prevent the flu. If you have any “flu-like” symptoms, record them on the form.
4. Return your form by the end of April 2011 by fax, email, in-person, or by mail. It is very important that you return your form (whether you experienced “flu-like” symptoms or not) so that we can track the success of the program.

We look forward to helping you have a healthy, flu-free season!

Seeing patients!

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-10-12T17:45:16-04:00

I am seeing patients as of Monday, October 18th at two locations! Intake forms are available for download here!

Ch ch ch changes!

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-10-02T16:49:25-04:00

I have lots of news to share!

Now accepting patients at two practice locations
I am excited to announce that I am accepting patients at Rosedale Natural Health Clinic at Yonge and St. Clair and Kew Beach Natural Health Clinic on Queen Street East. Check out the Appointments link on the left for more information and to book an appointment.

Website updates
I’ve made some changes to the information available on this website by adding my practice information and more about my own practice philosophy, interests, and modalities. There will also be new blogs coming up soon!

Have a question? Great idea for a blog topic? As always, I appreciate any feedback and ideas you can provide! Please contact me at kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com.

Social networking
Do you tweet? So do I!

Like me?

Great quote #19

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-09-27T15:30:52-04:00

“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get.” H. Jackson Brown

Top 10 things to know before you're 30

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-07-30T14:19:40-04:00

Check out this blog over on Crazy Sexy Life. Great advice for anyone before or after 30!

The Story of Cosmetics

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-08-17T22:49:14-04:00

A few weeks ago I shared The Story of Stuff and now there is a new video called The Story of Cosmetics. The makers of these videos have even more at their website, like The Story of Bottled Water and The Story of Electronics (coming soon).

A lot of people wonder why it matters so much what we put on our bodies or what chemicals are in the things we use everyday... My take on it is, why expose myself to harmful stuff if I don’t have to? There are lots of options for cleaning products, cosmetics, personal care, water bottles, food containers, fragrances, etc that are non-toxic and work great, so why not avoid what toxins you can? And why support companies that aren’t looking out for your health? There is so much in life we can’t control, I think we should do the best with what we can.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database is a great resource!

Great quote #18

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-08-14T18:28:53-04:00

“Personal integrity is one of the most important guardians of mental health. Put simply, integrity is the absence of contradiction between what we know, what we profess and what we do.” Nathaniel Branden

Great quote #17

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-07-22T21:43:48-04:00

“Cease trying to work everything out with your minds, it will get you nowhere. Live by intuition and inspiration and let your whole life be a Revelation.” Eileen Caddy

The Story of Stuff

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-07-13T18:30:15-04:00

This video has been around since 2007 and is still relevant! Every time I watch it I am still disgusted with how disposable our “stuff” has become. It is hard to change the quality/disposability of the things we buy (cell phones, iPods, computers, appliances) but we can definitely disconnect from the “newer is better” mindset and make use of these things longer and recycle as much as possible.

Alternative medicine debate on the Michael Coren show

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-07-07T22:14:03-04:00

Check out this debate on the Michael Coren show about “Alternative Medicine.” Incidentally, I prefer the term natural medicine (versus conventional medicine), since for many people, there is nothing “alternative” about it...

A few of my thoughts (in chronological order with the video):
- What do NDs do that MDs don’t? A lot! See my blog Top ten reasons you need a naturopathic doctor.
- For a comparison of the training of an MD versus and ND, see my blog Curriculum comparison.
- There is research on homeopathy and evidence to support its efficacy as a healing modality. Just because most people are ignorant of this does not mean it doesn’t exist! For more about that, see my blog Homeopathy literature review.
- Many conventional medical interventions actually lack research evidence. I wrote about this in my blog Mythology of science-based medicine.
- I’m not a chiropractor and cannot speak to much in this area, however one example of when a chiropractor may require an x-ray is not to diagnose, but to screen for/rule out any conditions that are contraindications for chiropractic treatment. This is a basic safety procedure which is prudent and responsible. Another example may be to confirm a diagnosis before proceeding with treatment, which is another valid and reasonable use of such technology.
- One of the major problems in conventional medicine is the idea of “standard of care” which denies individuals care that targets the cause of illness, which may be different for the same “disease.” The “standard of care” in conventional medicine is often inferior to even the most basic common sense... For example, if high cholesterol is caused by poor dietary habits and lack of physical activity, how does the “standard of care” prescription of statin drugs solve these issues?
- Michael Coren makes a great point that many of the cases against alternative medicine are “hysteria.” In any profession, there are practitioners who are not ethical or safe. Naturopathic medicine is a regulated health profession in most provinces and therefore naturopathic doctors are held to a professional standard of safety and ethics. For more info on naturopathic medicine, read more on my Naturopathic Medicine and FAQ pages. This marks a major difference between NDs and many other “alternative” practitioners.
- Why aren’t naturopathic doctors MDs? Because there is a fundamental philosophical difference. This is not to say that we can’t work together and that patients cannot take advantage of both, but the training and approach to treatment are vastly different. Specialization leads to greater and deeper expertise in all kinds of professions which provides value to the consumer.

The secrets of sleep

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-06-28T11:23:23-04:00

Fascinating National Geographic article about sleep. Also, check out my previous blog on Sleep and Metabolic Syndrome.

Great quote #16

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-06-15T09:24:16-04:00

“Efficiency is intelligent laziness.” Unknown

Exams! (aka what I’m doing for the next 2 months)

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-06-09T16:15:41-04:00

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a blog, mostly because I’ve been very busy finishing up my clinical year, celebrating my birthday, and graduating! It’s so exciting to finally reach this point in my four-year journey! I’m looking forward to starting practice in the fall, but first I must get licensed, which is no small feat. I bet there are a lot of people who don’t really know how a weary naturopathic graduate actually passes muster to be allowed to practice on real people, so I thought I would write a blog about it.

NPLEX
NPLEX stands for Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations. NPLEX is administered by NABNE which stands for the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners. As you might have gathered, NPLEX examinations are the licensing exams that graduates from accredited naturopathic colleges across North America must write to be licensed. They occur each year in February and August.

There are actually two sets of NPLEX exams. NPLEX I tests biomedical sciences: anatomy, physiology, biochemistry & genetics, microbiology & immunology, and pathology. Theses exams are usually written after two years of naturopathic medical education and fill a full day.

The second set of NPLEX exams cover clinical sciences: diagnosis (physical, clinical, and lab), diagnostic imaging, botanical medicine, nutrition, physical medicine, homeopathy, counseling, behavioral medicine, health psychology, emergency medicine, medical procedures, public health, pharmacology, and research. These exams are written after passing NPLEX I and graduating from an accredited school. There are also two elective examinations: minor surgery and acupuncture and whether you take these depends on the scope of practice in your jurisdiction. These exams take three days to complete and are entirely written (multiple choice).

Ontario Board Examinations
In provinces and states that regulate naturopathic medicine, graduates must also pass local licensing exams to obtain a license for their specific jurisdiction because different provinces and states allow different scopes of practice for naturopathic doctors.

Living in Ontario, I must pass the Ontario Board exams, administrated by the BDDT-N, which stands for Board of Directors of Drugless Therapies – Naturopathy. These exams cover Ontario Jurisprudence and three practical exams in Acupuncture, Instrumentation/Physical Exam and Naturopathic Manipulation over one day.

How do you do it???
Preparing for these examinations is a major commitment! I did a lot of work in advance to plan out my study time and resources and am now working through a nine week study schedule using study guides, flashcards, course notes, textbooks, practice (for the practical exams), pictures, rhymes, mnemonic devices, colour coding, highlighters, group study, and so on and so forth to get myself ready. In addition to studying, it is also important to take care of my overall health and well-being through these months, so I also have plans for diet (overall lots of protein, fruits, veggies, water, and green tea), exercise (lots as stress relief and to counter all the sitting I’m doing), supplements, sleep, meditation, and fun (very important)!

Great quote #15

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-05-07T00:05:15-04:00

“It’s easy to enjoy each other while on a vacation in Maui. The key is to find someone you can have fun with during the six-hour flight over there.” Tom Arnold

Great quote #14

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-04-28T12:07:06-04:00

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” George Orwell

Success

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-04-12T19:12:32-04:00

21 Suggestions for Success
By H. Jackson Brown

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2. Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous.
7. Have a grateful heart.
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to quality.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
14. Be loyal.
15. Be honest.
16. Be a self-starter.
17. Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.

Suggestion box

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-03-11T18:27:06-05:00

As I will be graduating from CCNM in May, I am thinking a lot about what my own practice will be like. So, I’d like to pose a few questions here:

What have you liked/disliked about your experiences with natural medicine, allopathic medicine, or health care in general?
What do you look for in a health care provider, or, more specifically, a naturopathic doctor?
What topics would you like to see explored in this blog? Or on this website?

Email me your ideas, suggestions, and experiences at kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com with the subject “Suggestion Box”.

Great quote #13

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-03-01T20:31:35-05:00

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive.” Anaïs Nin

Great quote #12

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-02-13T09:16:53-05:00

“Vegetables are like sex, if you can't remember the last time you had any, you're not having enough.” Unknown

Homeopathy literature review

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-02-18T09:37:21-05:00

Homeopathy is often criticized for having little research evidence available. This blog is a compilation of what I have learned in examining research evidence for homeopathy published in conventional medical journals. For more info on homeopathy, please see a previous blog entitled “Homeopathy primer.”

One of the major reasons that the results of most mainstream research on homeopathy are often inconclusive because the methods used usually do not honour the principles of homeopathy and therefore the research does not actually evaluate the practice of homeopathy. Aphorism 104 in the Organon explains how a practitioner can take and treat a case homeopathically:

“Once the totality of symptoms that principally determine and distinguish the disease case … has been exactly recorded, the most difficult work is done … He can then select … a well-aimed, similar, artificial disease potence, in the form of a homeopathically chosen medicinal means, to oppose the total disease image (1).”

Unfortunately, remedies are often not prescribed individually and are instead selected based on typical clinical presentation of pathology.

A meta-analysis published by Shang et al. in the Lancet in 2005 compared placebo-controlled homeopathy trials to conventional medicine trials matched by disorder and type and determined that “the clinical effects of homoeopathy, but not those of conventional medicine, are unspeciﬁc placebo or context effects (2).” The homeopathy trials were categorized classical, clinical, or complex homoeopathy (or as isopathy). Specifically,

“Classical homoeopathy was deﬁned as comprehensive homoeopathic history-taking, followed by the prescription of a single individualised remedy, possibly with subsequent change of remedy in response to changing symptoms. If no comprehensive homoeopathic history was taken and all patients received a single, identical remedy, interventions were classiﬁed as clinical homoeopathy (2).”

Only “classical” homeopathy trials actually reflect the use of remedies according to homeopathic principles as set out in the Organon. “Clinical” homeopathy is the substitution of homeopathic remedies for conventional medicine and therefore not the practice of homeopathy. Of 110 homeopathy trials analyzed, only 18 were categorized as “classical” while 48 “clinical” homeopathy trials were analyzed. The selection of trials for this analysis therefore precluded results that would accurately evaluate the effects of homeopathic treatment.

Rutten and Stolper analyzed post-publication data from the Shang paper and concluded that:

“Re-analysis of Shang's post-publication data did not support the conclusion that homeopathy is a placebo effect. The conclusion that homeopathy is and that conventional is not a placebo effect was not based on comparative analysis and not justified because of heterogeneity and lack of sensitivity analysis. If we confine ourselves to the predefined hypotheses and the part of the analysis that is indeed comparative, the conclusion should be that quality of homeopathic trials is better than of conventional trials, for all trials (p=0.03) as well as for smaller trials (p=0.003) (3).”

A review by Lüdtke and Rutten also came to this conclusion. Their meta-analysis determined that “homeopathy had a significant effect beyond placebo (OR=0.76; 95% CI: 0.59-0.99; p=0.039) (4).” and that, “Shang's negative results were mainly influenced by one single trial (4).” They concluded: “Shang's results and conclusions are less definite than had been presented (4).”

Linde et al. published a review of randomized controlled trials of individualized homeopathy in the Lancet in 1998. In this review, the team clarified that, “in individualized homeopathy the choice of the remedy for treatment is not based on a conventional diagnosis but on the match of the patient’s particular symptoms with the ‘remedy picture (5)’” and also conceded that, “no attempt was made to assess the ‘homeopathic’ quality of the trials. The reviewer’s knowledge and experience homeopathy are insufficient for such judgments (5).” While recognizing their limited comprehension of homeopathy, Linde et al. reviewed 32 studies, providing detailed information about each study’s methodology, including whether remedies were indeed prescribed homeopathically:

“In 20 trials, the choice of the remedy seemed to be unrestricted (approach 1), in 2 trials patients were included only if they matched the remedy picture of one of a preset range of remedies (approach 2), in 7 studies patients were included (without taking into account "homeopathic" aspects) and then the best fitting remedy had to be chosen from a range of predefined remedies was prescribed (approach 3), and in 3 trials only one remedy was applied and patients were entered only if they matched the remedy picture (approach 4) (5).”

Only 19 trials provided “sufficient data for meta-analysis (5),” although not all of these trials were of high methodological quality nor did all of them use individualized therapy. Of 12 trials categorized as “likely to have good methodological quality” or “unlikely to have major flaws,” all except two favoured homeopathy over placebo (5). Of these 12 highest quality trials, seven were individualized, and all except one favoured homeopathy. This review relied on the data from the 19 trials (both individualized and otherwise) and concluded: “while overall the results indicate that individualized homeopathy is superior to placebo, the methodologically better trials have less positive results and confirmatory independent replications are lacking. The evidence from these trials that individualized is clearly more efficacious than placebo is, therefore, not fully convincing (5).”

This review, which recognized individualization of treatment in homeopathy, is a step in the right direction. Conducting useful research on homeopathy within the conventional medical paradigm requires a greater understanding of the system of medicine being investigated in order to truly evaluate the use of homeopathy as a treatment modality.

Finally, a long-term observational study by Witt et al. assessed perceived change in complaint severity and quality of life at baseline, and after 2 and 8 years in 3,709 patients treated with homeopathy. In this study, physicians were free to choose treatment which “usually included the prescription of homeopathic medicines according to homeopathic principles, but also could include the onset, change, or withdrawal of a conventional medicine, referrals to specialists, or admission to a hospital (6).” At eight years, 32.9% of patients were still receiving homeopathic treatment, 29.2% of patients stopped treatment due to perceived major improvements in health, 26.0% stopped treatment because they did not feel homeopathy helped enough, 7.1% of patients stopped treatment for reasons unrelated to efficacy of therapy, and 3.6% stopped treatment without reason (6). The researchers concluded that, “patients who seek homeopathic treatment are likely to improve considerably, although this effect must not be attributed to homeopathic treatment alone. These effects persisted for 8 years (6).”

1. Hahnemann S. Organon of the Medical Art. Palo Alto: Birdcage Books; 1996, p. 141.
2. Shang A, Huwiler-Müntener K, Nartey L, Jüni P, Dörig S, Sterne JA, Pewsner D, Egger M. Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy. Lancet. 2005 Aug 27-Sep 2;366(9487):726-32.
3. Rutten AL, Stolper CF. The 2005 meta-analysis of homeopathy: the importance of post-publication data. Homeopathy. 2008 Oct;97(4):169-77.
4. Lüdtke R, Rutten AL. The conclusions on the effectiveness of homeopathy highly depend on the set of analyzed trials. J Clin Epidemiol. 2008 Dec;61(12):1197-204. Epub 2008 Oct 1. Review.
5. Linde K, Melchart D. Randomized controlled trials of individualized homeopathy: a state-of-the-art review. J Altern Complement Med. 1998 Winter;4(4):371-88. Review.
6. Witt CM, Lüdtke R, Mengler N, Willich SN. How healthy are chronically ill patients after eight years of homeopathic treatment?--Results from a long term observational study. BMC Public Health. 2008 Dec 17;8:413.

Is evidence-based medicine compatible with naturopathic principles?

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-02-08T17:50:43-05:00

One of the most common criticisms of natural medicine is that it lacks supportive evidence. This is simply not true! In many cases, there is as much or more research evidence for natural medicine as conventional medicine. However, there are also areas in which the research evidence is sparse or incomplete. The purpose of this blog is to clarify the true meaning of evidence-based medicine (EBM) and explore its role in contributing to natural medicine.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is defined as the “conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about care of individual patients (1).” Furthermore:

“The practice of evidence based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research. By individual clinical expertise we mean the proficiency and judgment that individual clinicians acquire through clinical experience and clinical practice (1).”

This definition of evidence-based medicine does not conflict with the principles of naturopathic medicine. Naturopathic medicine is based on a large body of evidence gathered through systematic research and knowledge gained through clinical experience. Its principles support the application of this information to devise the most effective treatment for our patients.

However, the colloquial understanding of EBM supports randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled studies as gold standard of knowledge and leaves little room for other forms of research or for clinical experience.

Conventionally understood EBM is limited in encouraging health care that adheres to naturopathic principles. First, EBM does not recognize holistic treatment of individuals, and in fact seeks to boil down complex information to a simple conclusion recognizing only how the majority of subjects respond to a single intervention. Not only does this ignore the knowledge that could be gained through examining all the subjects in a study and why they each responded in the way that they did, but also is not necessarily applicable to real life health care since patients are nearly never under controlled conditions and subject to only one intervention. Naturopathic doctors are interested in treating real patients in the real world and therefore in gathering knowledge in any area that will serve this purpose. In many cases, this knowledge includes clinical observation and experience with real patients.

Second, funding committed to research is not allocated based on what areas of knowledge are the most interesting, warrant the most investigation, or even may be the most beneficial to the public. Most research is conducted by pharmaceutical companies on products they hope to bring to market in order to earn profits for shareholders. Unfortunately, this capitalist drive behind health knowledge is not conducive to researching how low-cost treatments such as diet and lifestyle changes can be far more effective than any drug. It is also not conducive to gaining knowledge through “failed” experiments, such as when pharmaceutical research does not yield results favourable to the drug being researched. Currently, pharmaceutical companies are not required to publish such research, although there is a movement to change this, thankfully. Naturopathic doctors are interested in achieving results, even if there is no particular product to sell.

Finally, naturopathic doctors also act as teachers, seeking to empower patients with information so that they can care for themselves. EBM places power in a faceless research environment, removing it from clinicians with decades of experience, and therefore also removing it from individual patients who may know their unique needs best.

Therefore, while the official definition of EBM does fit with naturopathic principles, the applied definition, in terms of how the health care system actually operates, does not.

For more information and more of my thoughts on conventional medical research, please see my previous blog Mythology of science-based medicine.

1. Sackett DL, Rosenberg WM, Gray JA, Haynes RB, Richardson WS. Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. BMJ. 1996;312 (7023):71–2.

Great quote #11

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-01-23T08:43:41-05:00

“Love just doesn't sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread, re-made all the time, made new.” Ursula Le Guin

Top 10 reasons you need a naturopathic doctor

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-01-13T13:36:01-05:00

1. A naturopathic doctor will explain the likely causes of your concerns, the connection between them, what treatment they advise and WHY, and what you can do to prevent future illness so that you actually understand what is going on with your own health. What a novel idea…

2. Your naturopathic doctor can answer your curious health questions, such as “what is this thing on my foot?”, “what is adrenal fatigue?”, or “does soy cause man boobs?”

3. Your naturopathic doctor will spend more than 15 minutes with you and get to know you as an individual, resulting in a personalized treatment plan addressing your unique combination of concerns.

4. Your naturopathic doctor can help you figure out which supplements are right for you so you take only what is useful and save a lot of money! And they can even help you figure out how much you need to take to see results, so you save even more money!

5. Your naturopathic doctor will seek to understand the cause of your symptoms, leading to treatment that is effective, gentle, and produces long-lasting results. No more trial and error, confusion, frustration, and hopelessness.

6. Your naturopathic doctor has the most training and experience using natural medicine (and how natural medicine interacts with conventional medicine). More than your medical doctor, Oprah, Dr. Oz, your uncle Ernie, your hairdresser, and anyone else you can find. Take advantage and get the right answers the first time.

7. Your naturopathic doctor is trained as a primary health care provider, meaning she can diagnose conditions, perform physical exams, order lab tests, and generally care for you as a family doctor. And she won’t make you wait for hours in a crowded waiting room for a 15-minute appointment.

8. Your naturopathic doctor can perform acupuncture, prescribe homeopathic remedies, interpret lab results, and much more. Don’t try this at home!

9. Your naturopathic doctor will work cooperatively with any other health care practitioners you are seeing to ensure that their treatment will be effective and everyone is on the same page.

10. Your naturopathic doctor will work to restore and support your own inherent healing abilities so that you heal YOURSELF. Never knew you were so powerful, did you?

Mythology of science-based medicine

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2010-01-12T16:30:05-05:00

This blog emerged after reading several different articles about the state of conventional medical care and some of the misperceptions surrounding efficacy of conventional medical treatments.

First, an article titled The Mythology of Science-Based Medicine provides examples of conventional medical interventions considered to be safe, valid, or effective when in fact they lack scientific basis or have been proven ineffective. This article provides links to sources and some responses from the authors and other medical experts in the comments. Here is an addendum to that article further addressing comments.

Second, an article titled How Common Are Medical Mistakes? which delves into the startling fact that the third leading cause of death of Americans is iatrogenic causes, meaning caused by doctors, medical treatment, or diagnostic procedures.

Finally, a few of my thoughts on this topic:

The “gold-standard” of medical research is the double-blind randomized controlled trial, which attempts to isolate the effect of a single intervention and control all other factors (including many features of patients such as pre-existing conditions, medications, lifestyle, diet, etc.) This makes sense in a research context but has little bearing on reality, in which medical interventions are used in conjunction with other treatments in a wide variety of patients. It is important to understand that a clinical trial is only the first step in evaluating treatment. It provides information on how something works and verifies safety in the short-term but is most definitely not a verdict on the effectiveness in the real world. This can only truly be gauged in the context of an uncontrolled patient population over time.

Something important to note about bypass surgery and angioplasty is that while they do not extend life (which is the case for many common medical treatments), this is not the only important measure to consider! Quality of life is also incredibly important and these procedures can make a major difference here. Patients with cardiovascular disease who in the past would not have these options would be severely limited by the inability to engage in even the most basic everyday activities but would also not be ill enough that they would pass away. These procedures have allowed many patients to return to a more normal level of activity and participation in life which is invaluable, even if their lifespan remains the same.

Regarding antidepressants, it should not be surprising that they are not very effective except in cases of severe depression. In most cases, antidepressants are the sole treatment prescribed despite mountains of evidence that combining them with other treatments (most notably psychotherapy) is far more effective. For many patients with depression, there are valid reasons to feel depressed, such as grief, declining health, emotional stressors, post-partum changes, etc. Depression is a natural human response to life’s ups and downs. Unfortunately most of us are just not equipped to accept and work through life’s challenges on our own. Psychotherapy can be enormously helpful in arming patients with coping and self-care skills. There are also many patients for whom antidepressants are very useful in boosting them up enough so that they can actively seek other treatments to address the underlying causes of depression, but the key here is that the cause must be addressed and corrected. Otherwise antidepressants either just don’t cut it or simply mask a problem that will re-emerge once the patient discontinues the medication. This is common considering the many uncomfortable and intolerable side-effects of these medications. There are so many proven and safe treatments for depression (such as nutrition, exercise, supplements, lifestyle changes, homeopathy, therapy) that can be used in place of or in conjunction with antidepressants to achieve much better outcomes.

Great quote #10

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-12-21T23:11:23-05:00

“What do sad people have in common? It seems they have all built a shrine to the past and often go there and do a strange wail and worship. What is the beginning of happiness? It is to stop being so religious like that.” Hafiz

The power of natural medicine

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-12-15T17:05:29-05:00

Great article on the power of natural medicine. Written by two naturopathic doctors in response to an unfounded and fanatical criticism of natural medicine, it clearly presents the facts about naturopathic medical education and the role that naturopathic medicine can play in modern health care.

Great quote #9

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-12-06T08:25:40-05:00

“Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.” Eckhart Tolle

Sleep and metabolic syndrome

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-11-24T10:56:31-05:00

I wrote a research paper looking the relationship between sleep duration and metabolic syndrome and this blog is a summary of what I learned. References are listed at the end and can be found on PubMed.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of metabolic risk factors used to identify individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease (1). A correlation between sleep duration and the development of metabolic syndrome has been observed.

The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III diagnosis of metabolic syndrome requires the presence of three or more of the following features (1):
1. Waist circumference:
- Men: Greater than or equal to 102cm (40in)
- Women: Greater than or equal to 88cm (35in)
2. Triglycerides: Greater than or equal to 1.7mmol/L (150 mg/dL)
3. HDL cholesterol:
- Men: Less than 1.0mmol/L (40mg/dL)
- Women: Less than 1.3mmol/L (50mg/dL)
4. Blood pressure: Greater than or equal to 130/85 mmHg or medicated for hypertension
5. Fasting blood glucose: Greater than or equal to 5.6mmol/L (100mg/dL) or medicated for hyperglycemia

First-line treatment focuses on lifestyle factors such as dietary modification and increased physical activity (1). However, given that “‘normal’ average sleep duration has decreased from about 9 h per night in 1910 to about 7.5 h currently, (2)” and mounting evidence that sleep deprivation causes physiological changes that lead to metabolic syndrome, sleep deprivation is another important lifestyle factor to consider.

Short sleep duration (less than 6 hours per night) is associated with the highest risk for metabolic syndrome, but long sleep duration (more than 8 or 9 hours per night) is also associated with increased risk. The lowest risk was seen in subjects sleeping 7-8 hours per night (3,4).

With regards to abdominal obesity, “very short and short sleepers were at least 1.6 times more likely to meet criteria for abdominal obesity … compared with individuals who slept 7 to 8 hours per night (4).”

There is also a correlation between insulin resistance and sleep duration, both short and long: “with the reference group, the odds of meeting the glucose criterion were at least 1.7 times greater in the very short (< 6 hours) and long (> 8 hours) sleeper groups (4).” It is also likely that insulin resistance due to altered metabolism resulting from inadequate sleep develops gradually over years. One study restricted sleep in healthy young men to four hours per night for six nights and found that sleep debt led to impaired carbohydrate tolerance. Decreased morning insulin sensitivity was observed after 6 days of sleep restriction compared to when subjects were fully rested (6). “These results suggest that insulin sensitivity was lower on the 6th than on the 5th day of sleep restriction and thus that insulin resistance may develop progressively with increasing exposure to partial sleep loss (5).”

The Sleep Heart Health Study found that sleep duration was associated with risk of hypertension, with those sleeping less than 6 and 6-7 hours and those sleeping 8-9 and 9 or more hours demonstrating increased risk (6). A longitudinal analyses of the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey demonstrated that sleep durations of “< or =5 hours per night were associated with a significantly increased risk of hypertension … in subjects between the ages of 32 and 59 years (7).”

The studies discussed above have also found a relationship between increased sleep and metabolic syndrome. When examined more closely in one study, relationships between long sleep duration and metabolic syndrome and elevated glucose “were no longer significant with adjustment for use of antihypertensive medication, which has been shown to impact fasting blood glucose levels (4).” There is also a relationship between long sleep duration and sleep apnea, suggesting that “long sleep duration is a proxy for sleep disordered breathing and that sleep apnea drives the relationship between long sleep duration and health outcomes (4).”

Sleep quality is also an important factor to consider. An observational, cross-sectional study demonstrated that “poor global sleep-quality scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were related significantly to the presence of the metabolic syndrome (8).”

Studies relating sleep duration to metabolic changes are often confounded by pre-existing conditions (such as diabetes or hypertension), lifestyle habits (such as smoking, diet, alcohol intake, and caffeine intake), and other factors affecting sleep (such as sleep apnea). It is therefore important that studies of sleep duration take these factors into account and control for them as much as possible in order to establish a clear relationship between sleep and health outcomes. One researcher has challenged the above conclusions by offering three criticisms. First, “few obese adults/children are short sleepers, and few short sleeping adults/children are obese or suffer obesity-related disorders (9).” Second, the clinical risk only emerges from very short or long sleep duration and develops over many years, so while acute sleep restriction does lead to leads to glucose intolerance and metabolic syndrome “this is too little sleep and cannot be sustained beyond a few days (9).” Finally, he offers an alternative explanation for the relationship between sleep and metabolism: “habitually insufficient sleep could contribute towards obesity, metabolic syndrome, etc., via sleepiness-related inactivity and excess energy intake (9).”

It seems obvious that sleep is an important factor in health, but it is often overlooked by both conventional and naturopathic practitioners. Based on the studies discussed, the optimal sleep duration is between 7-8 hours per night. Many patients fail to prioritize sleep or have trouble falling asleep easily, both issues that can be greatly aided by naturopathic interventions. Sleep quality is also an important consideration and naturopathic doctors are also well equipped to make recommendations in this area.

1. MD Consult. Metabolic Syndrome. Accessed 18 Nov 2008. Available at: http://www.mdconsult.com.
2. Spiegel K, Leproult R, Van Cauter E. Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function. Lancet. 1999 Oct 23;354(9188):1435-9.
3. Choi KM, Lee JS, Park HS, Baik SH, Choi DS, Kim SM. Relationship between sleep duration and the metabolic syndrome: Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey 2001. Int J Obes (Lond). 2008 Jul;32(7):1091-7. Epub 2008 May 13.
4. Hall MH, Muldoon MF, Jennings JR, Buysse DJ, Flory JD, Manuck SB. Self-reported sleep duration is associated with the metabolic syndrome in midlife adults. Sleep. 2008 May 1;31(5):635-43.
5. Knutson KL, Spiegel K, Penev P, Van Cauter E. The metabolic consequences of sleep deprivation. Sleep Med Rev. 2007 Jun;11(3):163-78. Epub 2007 Apr 17. Review.
6. Gottlieb DJ, Redline S, Nieto FJ, Baldwin CM, Newman AB, Resnick HE, Punjabi NM. Association of usual sleep duration with hypertension: the Sleep Heart Health Study. Sleep. 2006 Aug 1;29(8):1009-14.
7. Gangwisch JE, Heymsfield SB, Boden-Albala B, Buijs RM, Kreier F, Pickering TG, Rundle AG, Zammit GK, Malaspina D. Short sleep duration as a risk factor for hypertension: analyses of the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Hypertension. 2006 May;47(5):833-9. Epub 2006 Apr 3.
8. Jennings JR, Muldoon MF, Hall M, Buysse DJ, Manuck SB. Self-reported sleep quality is associated with the metabolic syndrome. Sleep. 2007 Feb 1;30(2):219-23.
9. Horne JA. Short sleep is a questionable risk factor for obesity and related disorders: statistical versus clinical signiﬁcance. Biol Psychol 2008;77:266-76.

Great quote #8

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-11-07T22:53:06-05:00

"Well behaved women rarely make history." Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Great quote #7

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-10-29T22:26:24-04:00

“If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." Unknown

Curriculum comparison

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-09-18T12:21:05-04:00

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between naturopathic medical education and conventional medical education? Check out this comparison of accredited naturopathic schools, conventional medical schools, and non-accredited “ND” programs.

In sciences, naturopathic and conventional medical schools are on par. Naturopathic doctors must complete required science courses and pass licensing exams in basic sciences in order to become licensed to practice in North America. These exams are administered by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE).

A very interesting area is nutritional education. Given that food is literally the material that fuels all the processes in our bodies and from which all our cells and bodily structures are constructed, one would expect (not unreasonably) that any professional in the health care field would be educated in the use of nutrition as medical therapy (which includes therapeutic use of vitamins and minerals in addition to diet). Nutrition is most certainly a first line therapy and is repeatedly confirmed to produce dramatic clinical improvements in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease.

Another interesting area is botanical medicine, which is included under naturopathic therapeutics. Most pharmaceuticals are inspired by or made directly from plant constituents, which is why naturopathic medical students are required to complete courses in both pharmacology and botanical medicine and also pass licensing exams in both these subjects. There is a movement now to treat botanicals as drugs since many of them have powerful actions and carry risks if used improperly. Again, one would expect that any medical professional be trained in both these areas.

The last key point here is the vast difference in education between accredited and non-accredited ND programs. The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME) accredits naturopathic medical programs. NDs from accredited schools have a minimum of 7 years of post-secondary education. This includes at least three years of university and prerequisites in chemistry, biology, and psychology. Naturopathic medicine is a four year program offered by six schools in North America. Upon completion of the program, naturopathic doctors are qualified to work as primary care physicians.

Naturopathic medicine is a regulated profession in five Canadian provinces (BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia) and many states in the US. For more information on naturopathic medicine, check out the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (CAND) and the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors (OAND).

Great quote #6

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-09-06T16:36:08-04:00

“What you do all day instead of your real job is your real job.” Unknown

Great quote #5

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-08-28T15:27:38-04:00

“Anger at lies lasts forever. Anger at truth can’t last.” Greg Evans

Alumni Career Spotlight: Peter J. D'Adamo

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-08-02T08:40:39-04:00

Great interview with Peter J. D’Adamo, ND. Covers his career, individualized nutrition, food as medicine, and philosophy of naturopathic medicine.

Thyroid, iodine, and breast health

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-07-03T10:53:35-04:00

This blog was originally published on December 2, 2008 here.

I wrote a research paper looking the relationships between thyroid function, breast pathologies, and the role of iodine supplementation. This blog is a summary of what I learned. References are listed at the end and can be found on PubMed.

First, thyroid. There is an observed correlation between thyroid dysfunction and breast cancer (1,2,3), particularly hypothyroidism (3,4). Decreased function of the thyroid gland and rising TSH are also associated with a doubling in the risk of development of fibrocystic breast disease (5).

Next, iodine and breasts. Both breast tissue and thyroid tissue concentrate iodine (6) and deficiency of iodine causes “atypical tissue and physiologic changes in both” (7). One researcher noted that “geographic differences in the rates of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer appear to be inversely correlated with dietary iodine intake” (8). For example, in Japan seaweed (high in both iodine and selenium) is a major part of the diet and may play a role in the low incidence of both benign and malignant breast disease in that country (9).

A study on rats demonstrated a reduction in breast cancer incidence with iodine treatment (10). With regard to fibrocystic breast disease, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trials (the gold-standard of conventional medicine!) have demonstrated that supplementation with iodide/iodine significantly reduced breast pain, tenderness, and nodularity (11,12).

So how does this work? One theory is that iodine deficiency leads to a state of excess estrogen (13), increasing the risk of a whole host of cancers. Iodine is also believed to suppress tumour growth (14), induce tumour cell death (15), and regulate genes that influence hormone metabolism, cell cycle, growth, and differentiation (16).

Why is this useful information? Everything in the body is connected, particularly the endocrine system. So, when something is going wrong in one area, like thyroid function, there are likely also going to be issues either immediately or down the road with another area, particularly reproductive organs. The causal mechanisms are not clear yet, but it is prudent to assess breast health when patients present with thyroid dysfunction and vice versa. There is evidence to suggest that iodine is effective nutritional treatment for fibrocystic breast disease and it may also be useful in reproductive cancers. Molecular iodine, rather than iodide, was found to be most effective and have the least adverse effects on the thyroid (12).

There is lots of other interesting information that I was not able to get to, such as a deeper look at the interaction of sex hormones with thyroid function and other influences on hormonal balance, such as sleep. Maybe one day I’ll have time to do more research and I’ll post an update!

References:
1. Turken O, NarIn Y, DemIrbas S, Onde ME, Sayan O, KandemIr EG, YaylacI M, Ozturk A. Breast cancer in association with thyroid disorders. Breast Cancer Res. 2003;5(5):R110-3. Epub 2003 Jun 5. PMID: 12927040
2. Saraiva PP, Figueiredo NB, Padovani CR, Brentani MM, Nogueira CR. Profile of thyroid hormones in breast cancer patients. Braz J Med Biol Res. 2005 May;38(5):761-5. Epub 2005 May 25. PMID: 15917958
3. Giani C, Fierabracci P, Bonacci R, Gigliotti A, Campani D, De Negri F, Cecchetti D, Martino E, Pinchera A. Relationship between breast cancer and thyroid disease: relevance of autoimmune thyroid disorders in breast malignancy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1996 Mar;81(3):990-4.
4. Kuijpens JL, Nyklíctek I, Louwman MW, Weetman TA, Pop VJ, Coebergh JW. Hypothyroidism might be related to breast cancer in post-menopausal women. Thyroid. 2005 Nov;15(11):1253-9. PMID: 16356089
5. Mardaleishvili KG, Nemsadze GG, Metreveli DS, Roinishvili TL. [About correlation of dysfunction of the thyroid gland with fibrocystic diseases in women] Georgian Med News. 2006 Nov;(140):30-2. Russian.
6. Patrick L. Iodine: deficiency and therapeutic considerations. Altern Med Rev. 2008 Jun;13(2):116-27. Review. PMID: 18590348
7. Eskin BA, Grotkowski CE, Connolly CP, Ghent WR. Different tissue responses for iodine and iodide in rat thyroid and mammary glands. Biol Trace Elem Res. 1995 Jul;49(1):9-19. PMID: 7577324
8. Stadel BV. Dietary iodine and risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer. Lancet. 1976 Apr 24;1(7965):890-1. PMID: 58152
9. Cann SA, van Netten JP, van Netten C. Hypothesis: iodine, selenium and the development of breast cancer. Cancer Causes Control. 2000 Feb;11(2):121-7. Review. PMID: 10710195
10. García-Solís P, Alfaro Y, Anguiano B, Delgado G, Guzman RC, Nandi S, Díaz-Muñoz M, Vázquez-Martínez O, Aceves C. Inhibition of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary carcinogenesis by molecular iodine (I2) but not by iodide (I-) treatment Evidence that I2 prevents cancer promotion. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2005 May 31;236(1-2):49-57. Epub 2005 Apr 13. PMID: 15922087
11. Kessler JH. The effect of supraphysiologic levels of iodine on patients with cyclic mastalgia. Breast J. 2004 Jul-Aug;10(4):328-36. PMID: 15239792
12. Ghent WR, Eskin BA, Low DA, Hill LP. Iodine replacement in fibrocystic disease of the breast. Can J Surg. 1993 Oct;36(5):453-60. PMID: 8221402
13. Stadel BV. Dietary iodine and risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer. Lancet. 1976 Apr 24;1(7965):890-1. PMID: 58152
14. Funahashi H, Imai T, Tanaka Y, Tobinaga J, Wada M, Morita T, Yamada F, Tsukamura K, Oiwa M, Kikumori T, Narita T, Takagi H. Suppressive effect of iodine on DMBA-induced breast tumor growth in the rat. J Surg Oncol. 1996 Mar;61(3):209-13. PMID: 8637209
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Lessons from India

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-07-11T11:48:18-04:00

This blog was originally published on August 27, 2007 here.

The four major lessons I learned from travelling to India.

1. Be proud of yourself
I was the only naturopathic student in my month-long program. Every other person there was a student in medical school at mainstream colleges, mostly in the US. I was also one of the oldest people, having worked for years before returning to school for naturopathic medicine - most of these students had entered medical school right after university undergraduate programs. For all these reasons, I felt like the odd one out a lot of the time and this was hard for me since I was also dealing with culture shock in a new place. My interests, outlook, life experience, and attitude were so very different, even more so than I expected. What I am passionate about was either uninteresting or completely unknown to my companions. During this experience I realized how important it is to remain true to oneself and that it isn’t always necessary to prove yourself to other people.

2. Be patient (already!)
Having patience in India is key. Or else you will go insane. Things do not happen at the pace that you expect - some things are too fast (traffic!), but most things are very, very slow! For example, the distance from Delhi (where I arrived) to Dehradun is 235km. In Canada, driving this distance would take about 2.5 hours. This trip took about 8 hours by bus in India (including a stop for lunch). On my way back from Dehradun to Delhi, the trip took about 5 hours by train. So, it seems that due to poor road conditions, road closures/checkpoints, and traffic, travel by car takes about 3 times longer in India than Canada. Even travel by train (which is much nicer, except for the restrooms) takes about twice as long.

The distance from Dehradun (where I was for 2 of the 4 weeks) to Agra (where the Taj Mahal is) is 381km. In Canada, it would take about 4 hours to cover that distance. The weekend I did it, we travelled for 12 hours overnight by car. The trip went like this: left at 8pm from Dehradun and drove on bumpy, winding, congested, and LOUD roads until about 1am. Stopped for tea. At this tea stop some of us got out of the car to walk around and were instantly surrounded by random men asking us all kinds of personal questions! I got back in the car and stayed there. I managed to sleep for about 2 hours total by listening to my iPod, creating a pillow from a raincoat, putting on an eye mask, and wrapping my head in a scarf (I wish I had a photo of this!). We then continued travelling for a few more hours until we stopped at a closed gas station for a restroom break. We reached our hotel in Agra at about 8am. Quick change and breakfast, then spent the day sightseeing. Stayed in Agra that night, then left the next morning at around 7am. Our drivers tried to take a shorter route back, but it ended up being on worse roads, which ate up more time. We stopped a few times for tea and lunch, and got pretty near Dehradun by about 7pm. Then we got stuck in traffic due to either roadwork or partial flooding of the road. Our driver drove on the shoulder AROUND the traffic to another route and then on dark, winding, guard-railless mountain roads (nearly flying off a few times!) until we reached our destination by about 10pm. In total, 12 hours to Agra, 24 hours in Agra, then 15 hours back to Dehradun.

Another memorable story: I budgeted a certain amount of money for my trip, but that did not end up being enough, so I tried to use my bank card at a few Indian ATMs with no luck. So I tried talking to the banks - again no luck. Then I tried using my credit cards to get cash, but couldn't because I didn't have a PIN set up... So, I started to get a bit panicky - here I am in a foreign country running out of money! I would exchange traveller's cheques or US cash at a particular foreign exchange place and I heard that they could also do a credit card advance without a PIN, so I headed there. Usually I was served by the man who seemed like the owner or his wife, both of whom were professional, efficient, and friendly. However, this one day I rushed over there during a short break in my day (through deadly traffic amid dust and noise and chaos) desperate to get some cash before I left town for the weekend and was served by a different guy who was quite possibly the slowest human being I have ever encountered! He clearly had little idea how to do this transaction and I was so nervous that he couldn't do it, or the phone line would be down, or my credit card wouldn't go through, or whatever that I must have been shaking! I realized in this moment that this was a HUGE test of my patience! And that there was nothing I could do to make anything go faster or work better... And then I chose to stop worrying. Not an easy thing to do, for sure, but still possible! Everything worked out OK in the end and I managed to make it to my next destination on time, so worrying and being impatient would have been an unnecessary stress. I am so thankful for this and other experiences because they have given me much needed practice at being PATIENT, a skill I can definitely use in my life.

3. Remain calm/I am capable/go with the flow/be resourceful/have faith
During most of my month in India I had a cell phone provided by the program. However, on my last day in Dehradun before heading to Delhi to fly back to Canada, I no longer had my cell phone because we had to turn them in the previous day. Some other students, two coordinators, and I headed downtown to run various errands. I needed more cash (again!) while the others headed to an internet cafe and a cell phone store. I agreed to go get my cash then head to the internet cafe to meet back up with some of the others. Seems simple, right? Well, there are literally internet cafes one on top of another in this city and the one I THOUGHT I was supposed to go to was essentially empty. So where were my people? I couldn't exactly go searching for them, since I barely knew where I was or where to begin. At home if this happened to me, it wouldn't be such a big deal, but try to imagine being alone and kind of lost in a noisy, busy, chaotic, and crowded place where you can barely recognize places you know and most writing is in a language you can't read... Without my dear cell phone! Again, I realized in this moment that this was a test of my ability to fend for myself and figure myself out of my problem on my own (remain calm!). First I realized that if I could not find anyone, I could still go do the other things I needed to and head back to my house on my own (I am capable, so go with the flow!). I found and used a public phone for the first time to call one of the coordinators, whose phone number I thankfully had in my wallet (be resourceful!). Turns out the number I had was for a different coordinator (remain calm!), but he gave me the right number (have faith!). I went to a sweet shop to wait for him, but time passed and nobody showed... Was I at the wrong place? Totally possible given that businesses in India often have nearly identical names on the same street - they copycat each other frequently... By coincidence, the other coordinator I had been with earlier showed up at this shop and then a couple others did too (have faith!). Of course everything worked out fine...

4. Be prepared and keep learning
Prior to going to India, I did some research. Reading novels, how to get around, cautions, tips, packing lists, maps, history, culture, food, language, etc. While there, I REALLY wanted to learn more, so I asked my host family A LOT of questions at every opportunity. Politics, pop culture, clothing, food, arranged marriage, India perspectives on other countries, tips, language lessons, whatever. You name it, I asked it! I also decided that I would truly try to LIVE in India, instead of living as a Canadian in India. This means thinking in rupees (not dollars!): evaluating prices based on the market (and not how much cheaper things were than at home) and bargaining fairly (rather than throwing money around because I was a "rich” Westerner). This also meant learning and understanding customs in India and living by them - tipping, photos, attire, table manners, language, bargaining, attitudes, behaviour... I know that I did not manage to blend in too well, but I made an effort to be observant and adjust myself to my surroundings.

As I wrote in a previous blog, you cannot be certain that what you think is polite/rude is viewed the same way in foreign countries. This is what it means to be a conscientious traveller, I think. And I think this is where "rude Americans" (and other Westerners, although most foreigners will assume we are also American) get into trouble. I think most people are trying to be courteous and are unknowingly interpreted as rude because sometimes social norms are so different. It is important to make an effort to be polite, but on whose terms? What I think is much more difficult, but quite an important lesson, is to actually LEARN about the culture you visit and play by its rules rather than impose your own. This means avoiding value judgements ("India is so backwards") and instead making observations ("India is so different from my country"). Through observation, you can see HOW something is different. Through researching history and gaining experience, you can actually start to understand WHY. If cultures are like people, the NATURE influences are the attributes randomly granted to it (location, climate, geography, natural resources, etc). And not all countries start out with the same stuff (just as not all people do). And, just like with people, understanding NURTURE (history, interactions with neighbours, etc.) is a major puzzle piece too.

The power of choice

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-06-28T08:46:27-04:00

This blog is slightly modified from its original posting on April 27, 2007 here.

The Secret is both a book and a movie that explains the law of attraction. This law states that we attract what we think about and/or feel. Two lines from the movie are: “thoughts become things” and “feeling creates the future”. Assuming that reality is influenced by our thoughts and feelings, it is important to identify, request, and visualize what we want to happen, rather than dwell on fears, worries, and what we don’t want. To put the law of attraction into practice, we must “ask, believe, and receive”. The Secret works in every arena: financial, intellectual, relational, spiritual, and physical. The Secret and the law of attraction are all about choice; we choose what we want through our feelings. When we clarify what we want we focus our energy on moving towards it. Choice is the most powerful tool in existence because it is the one power that everyone possesses and that can never be taken away from anyone.

During first year of naturopathic college, I read Power vs. Force by David Hawkins, which focuses on the idea that everything (and everyone) is connected to and therefore a vast collective knowledge is accessible to everyone. The book provides a guide to tapping into it via kinesiologic testing. However, there is also much discussion in this book about the difference between power and force, which I found fascinating. Force is an attempt to control what cannot be controlled. Power actually arises from within and is not applied to people or things, but instead attracts them or creates them. There are abundant examples of both force and power in the news and our lives every day. For instance, the current issue of whether torture or human rights violations are valid tools of interrogation. In this case, interrogators use force to gain valuable information that belongs to prisoners. The problem with this is that the prisoners, despite having all other rights and powers removed, still retain the power of choice. In this situation, the prisoners actually possess immense power, the power to share information or not, illuminated by the lengths to which interrogators will go to trying to overcome it.

Around the same time I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. The major theme of this book is also choice. The prime movers of the world respond to the exploitation of their creative and productive power by choosing to remove themselves from mainstream society. Despite attempts to force them into cooperation, the power of choice cannot be taken away from them and it cannot be overcome.

Healing is intimately connected with the power of choice. Despite economic status, state of health, available resources, or intelligence, the law of attraction is a tool accessible to everyone, all the time. We must determine our own destiny, rather than rely on others (doctors, medications, family, friends, job, etc.) for happiness and health. This is not as easy as it sounds. The law of attraction is common sense, really, but actually becoming skilled in its use takes awareness, practice, and consistency. Apart from our outlook, attitude, or self-image, thoughts and feelings also manifest in vocabulary, speech, posture, daydreams, worry, fear, choices, and every other area of life. In order to change these manifestations, we must also become more self aware and practice a new way of being.

The corollary of the power of choice is the power of acceptance. While we have unlimited choice to control ourselves, there are many forces in the world that cannot be controlled. In the realm of health, this is especially important because perfect physical health may not be possible in all cases. To achieve true wellness (which may occur even in the presence of physical ailments), we must accept what it. The Serenity Prayer, most associated with Alcoholics Anonymous is just one example of how acceptance is used for healing: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Great quote #4

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-06-22T10:20:52-04:00

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” Eleanor Roosevelt

Health is key to success

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-06-24T09:45:30-04:00

What do you think is the most important quality of a successful entrepreneur?

Confidence?

Creativity?

Risk taking?

Would you believe that the most important trait is good health?

Not only must entrepreneurs work hard, often for long hours, but also they are usually self-employed, so they do not have an employer subsidized health insurance plan. Plus, every moment they are off work literally costs them income. So it actually makes a lot of sense that good health is key to success! These people can’t afford to take a sick day, much less develop chronic disease! This idea holds true for many other professions too, such as contract employees, performers, and other self-employed workers.

Naturopathic medicine can be a cost effective way for self-employed people to optimize their health today and stay healthy through prevention. In the short-term, it is far better to avoid coming down with every cold or flu going around, and in the long-term it is imperative to stay healthy and vital until retirement. Health is one of the most valuable assets we have and successful entrepreneurs recognize the value of investing in health rather than only treating disease.

Check out this list of common traits of successful entrepreneurs, based on research done by Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business for more details.

Homeopathy primer

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-05-12T22:15:47-04:00

This blog is slightly modified from its original posting on October 30, 2006 here.

Homeopathy literally means “similar suffering”. It is based on the principle that “like cures like” – that a similar, but stronger, energetic force can displace a weaker one. It was created/discovered by Samuel Hahnemann who observed the relationship between the curative effects and poisoning symptoms of Cinchona (used to treat malaria). His observations were not new; however, he was the first to form these theories into a workable philosophy of medicine.

Homeopathy is energetic, rather than physical. Disease is defined as a mistunement or energetic imbalance of the life force which can be acute (self-limiting) or chronic (ingrained). Most remedies (those at 12C and higher) contain no actual molecules of the remedy substance, but instead carry the energy signature transferred to the solvent (usually alcohol) by the substance as it was sucussed (mixed) and diluted.

The mechanism is cure is this: a similar (but not same) and stronger “artificial” disease (the remedy), which has a signature vibration, is introduced to the life force, which has its own vibration (the disease). The vibration of the remedy is similar to the vibration of the life force, but stronger, so it alters the life force’s vibration (interference). The life force now responds to the artificial disease and in the process is able to throw off the natural disease. The artificial disease is removed when the remedy is completed and the life force returns to a healthy state.

Homeopathy treats people, not problems. No two people have the same disease, they only have some (perhaps many) symptoms in common. They may both be diagnosed with MS (for example), but the symptoms of MS are not the whole story because these people are not even close to being identical. It is their differences which form the unique signature of their mistunement. Therefore, the skilled homeopath must examine the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual symptoms to determine correct remedy. And because these will differ, these two MS patients will not receive the same curative remedy.

Homeopathy is difficult and time-consuming because the practitioner must thoroughly understand his or her patient and form a complete picture of the correct remedy. However, a skilled homeopath can also achieve seemingly miraculous results in so-called hopeless cases. However, it comes the closest (in my opinion) to addressing the true cause of disease and treating the whole individual and as such is a very rewarding modality to practice.

Personally, I didn’t believe in homeopathy until I learned about it and proved its efficacy on myself. I don’t believe that it is the answer to all medical woes, but I think it can be a powerful tool in the hands of people who are skilled in its use. I would like to be one of these people.

"This is broken"

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-04-21T15:13:55-04:00

Seth Godin at Gel 2006 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

Great quote #3

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-04-12T10:37:46-04:00

“That we are not much sicker and much madder than we are is due exclusively to that most blessed and blessing of all natural graces, sleep.” Aldous Huxley

Failure and imagination

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-04-01T19:46:27-04:00

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Body Image

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-03-30T12:45:22-04:00

This blog was originally published on August 13, 2006 here.

I used to judge the way I look and the way other people look somewhat harshly. Maybe that is part of being a teenager or being female or reading demented fashion magazines… But I no longer look at people and think about whether they are “good looking” or not. The people that I love are gorgeous to me; the people I dislike can be repulsive. But most people are neutral because I don’t know them. Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.

I work in a health food store and I attend naturopathic school. So, as one might expect, I am surrounded by people who are in better physical shape and healthier looking than the average population. Yet, these people still fall victim to the body image problems that are far too common in society. Within my class alone, it seems like everyone wants to lose weight, even if it is “just 5 pounds”. At work it is even worse – our customers (mostly women) are always looking for that next “magic” weight loss supplement, but most of them are not overweight! Maybe it’s because I am a triple Taurus (Sun, moon, mercury) and have many other planets in earth signs (more on astrology in another blog!), but I just think that most people aren’t patient enough with themselves, particularly when it comes to health.

I have found (after 4+ years of following the Blood Type Diet) that I have not lost much weight (didn’t need to), but I have gained more muscle (which is why I weigh nearly the same, but look slimmer) and that the distribution of weight on my body has changed dramatically. I used to hate my legs and think my arms were too skinny, but now I am content with how I look. I feel light, strong, and energetic. There are limits to how much you can change your body shape, but I do believe (and I think I am walking proof) that you CAN change it quite a lot. But, it takes years of consistently eating right, exercising well, getting enough sleep, and dealing with stress healthily. In the short-term, your cells are the same cells you made when you were unhealthy. Or they are cells that don’t regenerate at all, so their health depends on your lifetime of health choices.

Red blood cells have a life cycle of 120 days, while bone (on the other end of the spectrum) takes 7 years to regenerate. Other cells (skin, liver, pancreas, muscle, etc) are in between. Some cells regenerate nicely (epidermis, mucus membranes, liver, fibrous connective tissues, bone), some don’t (kidney, skeletal muscle, cardiac tissue, nervous tissue).

Red blood cells carry oxygen to tissues and remove carbon dioxide. If you start exercising, you may notice improvement quickly, but imagine the results you might achieve after replacing ALL your red blood cells (120 days). Imagine how long you have to wait to see improvement in muscle function as muscle cells receive oxygen more efficiently and can therefore produce energy more efficiently. Imagine how long you have to wait to see improvement once all the cells of your body receive more oxygen more efficiently and regenerate themselves. And that is just from improved oxygenation. Imagine the changes possible for digestion and immune function once intestinal lining cells are healthier and you can break down and absorb everything you eat or drink better…

I’ve heard that 60% of how you look depends on your diet and that 40% depends on physical activity. Well, we already know that’s not quite right because there are other factors, such as sleep, stress, environmental toxins, etc that affect this. But even so, I think diet is much more important than 60%. We literally ARE what we EAT. Our bodies, all of the cells, are made from the materials that we ingest. For me, the best results did not appear even within the first YEAR of lifestyle change (much less overnight). I truly believe it takes years of consistently embracing a healthy lifestyle (rather than spurts of extreme compliance) to work “miracles”.

Great quote #2

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-03-24T10:11:00-04:00

“Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.” Unknown

"I just don't have the time..."

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-03-22T13:47:35-04:00

This blog was originally published on June 29, 2006 here.

A few weeks ago, a woman came into the health food store that I work at to ask advice from the owner. Her daughter (not sure of age) has severe asthma that is sometimes so bad that it keeps her up all night and out of school frequently. She said that they had been to several doctors starting with their family doctor and moving on to various specialists, who of course prescribed all kinds of scary drugs and steroids with serious side effects. Anyway, she came to the owner of the store to find out what her daughter could take that was “natural”.

So many people come into the store and ask for detailed health advice from the owner, although it is actually illegal for him to dispense health advice. Many of these people already see an ND or some other natural medicine practitioner, but some do not. For those who do not see a professional, we recommend that they do and usually can provide several names in various parts of the city.

In the case of the woman with the asthmatic daughter, we most certainly would ask if she has seen an ND, due to the complexity of her issues. So, when the owner asked this very question, she said: “No, I don’t have time for that.” So he started to explain that asthma is a complex problem which could be rooted in several causes, so an ND could deal better with that complexity. To this she responded: “I just don’t have the time, I just need to get her through school. I need you to tell me what to give her that will help.”

I had to write this blog because, I still can’t get this scene out of my mind! I wanted to say to her, “So you have time to be up at night nursing your daughter, you have time for her to be off from school, you have time to deal with all the repercussions of her suffering, but you don’t have time to actually improve your daughter’s health and quality of life dramatically?” I am glad that I was not helping this woman, because I just don’t know how I could have avoided reacting to her that way. This poor girl is probably miserable enough due to her asthma, and because of her mother’s attitude she will be affected physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for the rest of her life.

Time is the one thing that everyone gets the same amount of (at least to start!), unlike money. How each of us uses our time is entirely a personal choice, but it does reflect what we value most. How do you use the time you have been given?

Great quote #1

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-03-19T16:10:10-04:00

“Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death.” James F. Byrnes

I have collected a lot of great quotes that I will share here periodically. Today is the first of many!

Blood Type Dieter Blog

kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com — 2009-03-14T20:17:22-04:00

I have been blogging since 2006 at the Eat Right For Your Type website about my experiences with the Blood Type Diet. I have also discussed food, fitness, health, natural medicine, philosophy, politics, and even recipes!

I will soon start a blog here too, but for now you can check me out over there.