Food Sensitivities - What You Need to Know

It’s amazing how fast-paced and busy our day-to-day lives are. From the moment we wake, our adrenaline skyrockets as we compile our heavy list of to-dos.

Often times when we hear the word “infertility”, our mind immediately goes to a woman wanting to bear a child. Less often, perhaps, does one immediately think about the potential that a male reproductive issue could be the reason a couple is having problems conceiving.

One in four adults in Canada, which is equivalent to 6.3 million people were diagnosed with obesity by the end of 2012. This is a 17.5% increase from 2003. With obesity comes fatigue, malnutrition, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and can lead to the diagnosis of other serious chronic illnesses.

Parkinson’s disease affects between 1–2% of the population over the age of 65 and is becoming a growing concern as the baby boomers advance in age. The condition is characterized by gait abnormalities, tremor, muscle rigidity, and slowing down of movement typically seen as difficulty walking or getting up out of a chair.

Probiotics are a popular intervention used by naturopathic doctors in the treatment of these atopic conditions, such as eczema, allergies, and asthma, as well as digestive disorders; in fact, epidemiological evidence has shown children with atopic diseases have different intestinal (probiotic) flora compared to healthy children.

The thyroid gland is an endocrine organ responsible for metabolism in the body, regulating functions such as energy use, body temperature and heart rate. The thyroid gland first produces and secretes the hormone thyroxine (T4), generally an inactive hormone, which is then converted to its active form, triiodothyronine (T3).

There are many controversies in health-care regarding the proper amount of dietary protein needed for optimal health. Previous concerns of high-protein diets included increased risk of renal (kidney) diseases, and decreases in bone mineral density from leaching of calcium and nutrients from bone.

Thinking of conceiving? You may have heard about the “100 days”—the time it takes for an egg to mature. For men, it takes about 80 days for sperm to mature. During this time of development and maturation, a woman’s follicles and a man’s sperm are extremely vulnerable to DNA damage from exposure to toxins, systemic or chronic inflammation, and nutrient deficiencies. This means that for many who are ready to or are thinking of conceiving in the not-so-far future, the health of their eggs and sperm can be greatly impacted before they are even released, either during ovulation or ejaculation. This is the window that we need to take advantage of, to increase the health of our eggs and sperm to increase the odds of a viable and healthy egg, and fertilization.

We hear so often “Coffee is bad! Coffee is bad!” Coffee is one of the most highly consumed beverages in North America. It’s no wonder there is literally a coffee shop on every street corner—and if it’s not classified as a coffee shop, you can bet it serves coffee! Much of the speculation for why coffee is considered harmful is typically around the side effects of caffeine. The average amount of caffeine in one cup of joe is about 95 mg. Health Canada recommends a daily consumption of caffeine to be no more than 2.5 mg/kg body weight,

Our adrenals are also known as our “stress glands.” They are tiny powerhouses, each the size of a walnut, that perch atop each kidney and, at a basic level, work to manufacture cortisol and adrenaline.

You may have felt it already: the runny nose, the sore throat, that embarrassing cough. Or perhaps you’ve taken the day off work because you’ve spiked a fever, felt achy all over, and are so tired you don’t want to get out of bed. Cold and flu season is in full swing. While your local drugstore is full of conventional and natural treatment options aimed at reducing the symptoms of colds and flu, this article summarizes research that supports going back to basics in terms of nutrition and proper hygiene to help....

This is a continuation of the first article on ways to limit toxin accumulation in everyday exposure.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the result of a series of intricate changes within the body that ultimately lead to rapid decline physically, cognitively, and, of course, emotionally. Let’s look at the stats.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neuromuscular disease that is characterized by progressive nerve cell death leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and severe physical dysfunction. Approximately 2,500-3,000 Canadians currently live with this fatal disease.

Diabetes will be one of the most challenging health problems in the 21st century. Currently, 8.8% of Canadians live with diabetes and six million Canadians have prediabetes. One in three Canadians is living with diabetes or prediabetes. Since 2000, the rate has increased by an average of 3.3% per year. Estimates suggest that, unless we intervene, one in three children born in 2000 will eventually develop diabetes.

Fasting is a voluntary abstinence from food or any calorie-containing drinks for a specific period. In plain terms, fasting is the act of not eating, as simple as that, but let’s not be misguided by the simplicity of fasting, because health benefits that you’ll get from simply restraining from food are numerous and amazing.

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a long-term disorder of the bladder. The exact cause of IC is unknown. The function of the bladder is to store urine that it receives from the kidneys. You can think of the bladder as acting like a balloon made of muscle. It expands to hold large amounts of urine, and contracts to squeeze it out.

Obesity is a global health concern that affects the health, well-being, and longevity of individuals, and is considered an epidemic of our modern times according to 2014 statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO).