Celiac disease vs. Gluten intolerance
What’s the difference between celiac disease and a gluten intolerance? You might have heard of the gluten-free diet, gluten-free menus, or even gluten-free products. Suddenly “gluten-free” seems to be everywhere! In the past couple of years, a lot of people can’t seem to eat or tolerate foods that contain gluten. There are various reasons for this, and we must be [...]
Go with Your Gut! How Mental Health and Gut Health Go Hand-in-Hand
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. While seeking therapy, opening up to loved ones and creating healthy self-care and stress management habits are often the go-to recommendations for treating anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders, there is a very physical and scientific connection between the mind and gut that isn’t often explained in depth. Since these two systems are [...]
Do I Have SIBO?
Are you suffering from bouts of bloating, diarrhea or constipation? Have you had abdominal surgery and now have a shortened bowel? How about narrowing or strictures in your bowel? Or intestinal adhesions from a previous surgery? If you’ve been ruled out for other digestive diseases and still have unexplained and unresolved symptoms, you may be suffering from small intestinal bacterial [...]
Living with IBD: Your Initial Diagnosis
You’ve been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease. That initial diagnosis of a chronic condition can be overwhelming. It’s scary. It’s confusing. Most of all, it’s lonely and can leave you feeling alienated from your old life and your loved ones. The impact of IBD goes beyond the physical symptoms and, for most, it impacts their entire life, relationships, work or [...]
Complementary Ways to Manage Your Digestive Health
Let's face it, we’ve all had digestive issues at some point in our lives and it is not pleasant! I and other Integrative medicine practitioners believe that the mind, body, and spirit are inseparable when it comes to health and are all essential components of your wellbeing. We keep all these complementary aspects of health in mind while we design [...]
What is Lifestyle Medicine?
Every year on New Year’s Day, gyms are flooded with new, eager members who have resolved to make healthy changes in their lives during the upcoming year. As the weeks pass, those gyms begin to clear out again once those new members slowly lose motivation and focus. While most people have good intentions when making healthy lifestyle changes, they often [...]
What Is Integrative Medicine, and Why Do You Need It?
Traditional healthcare is good at one thing: making you feel better when you’re sick. There is no denying that modern medicine is excellent at treating disease; doctors are well trained to make most acute problems go away, at least in the short term. The Integrative approach to medicine is different. Both you and your doctor work as a team to [...]
The Causes of Bloating, and 10 Ways to Beat it
Bloating and distention of the abdomen are two of the most commonly recorded gastrointestinal symptoms. They affect anywhere between 16-19% of the general population. Significant bloating tends to be more prevalent in women than men, and can be caused by a wide variety of underlying issues. For many, the severity of the condition often worsens throughout the day, and can [...]
9 Ways to Improve Your GERD
If you have persistent heartburn, acid reflux, and difficulty swallowing, you may be experiencing symptoms of GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease. GERD is a chronic condition that counts for approximately 20% of digestive disorders that are diagnosed in the United States. GERD can be caused by a variety of mechanisms ranging from internal to structural, resulting in the breakdown of [...]
Constipation, and How to Beat It!
If you frequently experience painful or uncomfortable bowel movements, or find that you pass less than 3 stools per week, you may be dealing with chronic constipation. Although constipation can affect people of all ages and genders, it seems to be more prevalent in women, and tends to increase in severity as we age. Although constipation is a common ailment, [...]
Everything You Need To Know About IBS
Have you suffered from bloating, abdominal pain, and diarrhea or constipation? You may have even been evaluated by a gastroenterologist and had other conditions ruled out. If so, you were likely told that you had IBS. Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, is an incredibly common disorder, with the condition impacting 15% of the world’s population, and up to 45 million [...]
Avoiding Sedentarism: Moving To Stay Healthy
This past year has caused me and my family to be more sedentary than ever. This global pandemic had us all panicked and frozen in place for over a year. Coupled with working from home and being limited in the amount of activities and places we could go significantly changed our day of life. I don’t know about you, but [...]
How Air Quality and Drinking Water Affect our Gut Health
In recent years, the impact we are having on the environment has become one of the most significant concerns in the world today. We all know the effects that pollution is having on our planet, but is the quality of the air in our homes or our drinking water affecting our gut health too? Over the last decade, research [...]
Fiber and the Gut Microbiome: Pre, Pro, and Postbiotics
Eating a diet that is packed with fiber is essential to a healthy lifestyle, gut health, and our immune system; out gut microbiome thrives on this fiber! Yet across the western world, our dietary fiber intake is decreasing. Research now shows that for the majority of people, the level of fiber they consume falls significantly below the recommended daily intake [...]
Helping your Child to Build a Strong Gut Microbiome
Our gut is one of the most important parts of the human body, and the microbes found inside are an essential in keeping us physically and mentally healthy. Helping your child to build a strong gut microbiome is critical to their development, mental and physical resilience and in decreasing their risk of digestive and other health issues. What is [...]
The Risks of Colon Cancer and the Protective Measures You Can Take
Cancer is a frightening word and an incredibly common disease, with estimates suggesting that, by 2040, new total cases will rise to nearly 30 million per year. The disease can attack almost anywhere in the body, and excluding skin cancer, colon cancer is the second most common form of the disease in America when men and women are combined. Estimates [...]
Can Plant-Based Diets Help Protect Against Heart Disease?
In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in the number of people following a plant-based diet. In 2020, the number of people who follow a meat-free diet in America surpassed 9.7 million – a rise of 9.4 million compared to 15 years ago! There is a wide range of reasons why veganism and plant-based diets are on the [...]
Estilo de Vida, Microbioma y El Síndrome de Ovario Poliquístico
El síndrome de ovario poliquístico (SOP) es uno de los trastornos endocrinológicos y metabólicos más comunes entre las mujeres. El SOP ocurre cuando se alteran los perfiles hormonales de una mujer; hay un aumento de testosterona y otras hormonas masculinas, se suprime la ovulación y en muchos casos, se desarrolla resistencia a la insulina. Se desconoce la causa exacta [...]
Lifestyle, The Microbiome and PCOS
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most prevalent endocrine-metabolic disorders in women. PCOS occurs when a woman’s hormonal profiles are altered; there is a rise in testosterone and other male hormones, ovulation is suppressed and, in many cases, insulin resistance develops. The exact cause of PCOS and it’s associated hormonal imbalances is unknown. Women with PCOS can [...]
COVID-19 and the Gut Microbiome
There’s a lot of emphasis on the immediate and long term pulmonary manifestations of COVID-19; from pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome to sepsis and lung scarring, COVID is no joke. But it is important not to forget that this virus can leave its mark on the entire body, not least of which is the gut! Not surprisingly, [...]