The ability to both focus for long periods of time and perform cognitive and memory-related tasks is important in everyday life and for many careers. Due to our busy lifestyles and high work demands, aspects like the standard North American diet, stress, physical inactivity, and endocrine imbalances can lower mental performance and cognition.

With spring come seasonally grown local foods and green leafy vegetables (GLV) become more desirable for quality, and especially for their overall health benefits. Examples of GLV include salads, kale, broccoli, collard greens, spinach, mustard greens, etc.

The body’s ability to detoxify uses several organs such as kidneys, the liver, the skin, bowels, and the lymphatic system. The liver involves phase 1 and phase 2 enzymes.

Anxiety is a very common mental-health disorder and can have implications on all aspects of one’s life. This may come from a variety of factors such as finances, relationships, health, and more. Anxiety lends itself well to natural treatments such as herbal medicine, supplements, and lifestyle modification

Peripheral neuropathy is a common type of neuralgia, with diabetic neuropathy and postherpetic neuralgia being the most common types.

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.

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.

There are various supports for headache management such as supplements, acupuncture/body work, and herbal medicine.
Headaches can be divided into different categories, determining treatment type.

According to Statistics Canada, 1 in 10 individuals between the ages of 12 and 44 experience chronic pain. Once traditional medicine has been helpful in the acute-pain stage (e.g. first aid, over-the-counter pain killers, heat/ice, etc.), modern medicine may leave individuals feeling lost when it comes to long-term management and reduction of chronic pain.

The warm weather does not only signal that summer is on its way, but that the pollen is out! Allergy sufferers worldwide understand this love-hate relationship with spring and summer. My personal experience with allergies as an adolescent drew me to naturopathic medicine. Through the use of nutrition, supplements, herbal medicine and other lifestyle strategies, I no longer rely on antihistamines like I once did.