Diabetes is a common condition of the modern world, with rates of prevalence on the rise. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that in 2019, 463 million adults currently had diabetes, with a projection for this to increase to 700 million people in the next 25 years. For Canadian adults, diabetes is the number one cause of blindness, end-stage renal disease, and amputations unrelated to trauma.

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11. As of March 31, 2020, the coronavirus had rapidly spread to more than 850,000 people in 202 countries and caused ca. 42,000 deaths. Coronavirus new cases and death toll are increasing exponentially.

Have you met the people that tell you, quite proudly, they never, ever, ever get sick? Do you find yourself feeling just a wee bit jealous? Well, feel jealous no more! Exercising our immune system with a good fever may feel yucky, but it is great for all kinds of reasons.

Bone is our main structural support system. It allows us to protect our vital organs, facilitates movement, and creates a scaffold for blood vessels and nerves. In additional to the structural functions, bone has important metabolic and endocrine functions as well.

Although it has been fraught with debate, and even disdain on occasion, the use of airbrushing of photos emanating from the marketing world of skin care and beauty tells us one thing: our society has a desire for evenness in skin appearance.

How to grow neurons—yes, you read that right!
There is a protein produced and used in our nervous system that helps the neurons grow in our brain, and which helps our brains work better, faster, stronger. In this article, we talk about things we can do to help increase the levels of this protein, and the research behind it.

Itchy skin, dryness, redness, and cracking—uncomfortable signs of an eczema flare-up that can range from mild to having a significant impact on quality of life. Corticosteroid creams can do a fine job of targeting symptoms and inflammation associated with eczema, although below are some suggestions to get to the root cause and prevent future flare-ups.

The human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) alone contains 1014 microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. That’s approximately 100 times more microbial cells than human cells, which shows how much of an impact they can have on human health.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that is only present during the winter months. This differs from clinical depression, which has no seasonal pattern. SAD also tends to improve when the springtime occurs.

The viruses that cause colds and the flu can be spread easily by coughing and sneezing. While there is no way to guarantee you won’t get sick this winter, there are things you can do to reduce the severity of your sickness.

Botanical medicine, or the study and use of plants as medicine, is one of my favourite healing modalities as a naturopathic doctor. I especially love using plants that are widely available and that people are familiar with. I find that knowing and feeling connected with and excited about any medicine I am taking seems to make it that much more effective.

The link between sleep and mental health has been seen and studied for decades by doctors and researchers. People who don’t get their regular 7–9 hours of sleep per night are at 10× greater risk of depression and 17× greater risk of anxiety. To go one step further, the more frequently one wakes in the night due to insomnia, the higher the chances of developing depression.[1] Before considering pharmaceutical sleeping aids, it is important that we consider all aspects of health that can be contributing to a sleep disorder.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors that increase one’s chances of developing serious illnesses in the future. Metabolic syndrome doubles the chance of developing cardiovascular disease while increasing the risk of diabetes, fatty liver, and several types of cancers.[1][2]

Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) and postconcussion syndrome are becoming more of a public health concern. Although termed “mild,” the effects can certainly be debilitating and severe in some cases. The symptoms of postconcussion syndrome include headaches, memory and concentration difficulties, irritability, fatigue, nausea, visual disturbances, light and noise sensitivity, judgement problems, depression, and anxiety.

Endometriosis is one of the most common chronic gynecological conditions in women of reproductive age. Not only is it associated with severe, debilitating pain, but it can also have significant implications for a woman’s fertility.[1]