Improve fertility – Naturally!

A question heard by most couples after they get married is “When are you going to have a baby?”

For some, the answer can be clear but many couples who are looking to conceive find it easier said then done – and learning about fertility can be a daunting task.

It can be frustrating for those who want to conceive and cannot, especially when they try to watch their diets and lifestyles to stay healthy. Then there are others with poor habits (ie drinking, smoking and eating poorly) who get pregnant on the notorious “first try”. When couples get frustrated, they will often reach out to visit their doctor only to find a one-size-fits-all pill made from synthetic hormones. Not only does it often not answer their fertility issues, it can disrupt the natural rhythm of our bodies.

There are many things to consider when tackling fertility issues.

Dr. Chris Bjorndal believes that most conditions that relate to our menstrual cycles are hormone imbalances. These imbalances can be regulated by balancing and supporting our neuroendocrine system.

This consists of our hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal glands, thyroid gland and ovaries. Each of these glands produce hormones that affect the other. It is the intricate dance of balance between our “master glands” (ie pituitary and hypothalamus), adrenal hormones (cortisol and DHEA),  “female” hormones (FSH, LH, the estrogens and progesterone) and our thyroid gland that affect whether we will conceive or not.

The other key organs that need to be supported in order to be hormonally healthy are the primary organs of detoxification (ie liver, kidneys, colon, lungs and skin). This is especially important in recent years with the increase of chemical, emotional and physical stress bombarding our bodies. These influences are contributing to declining fertility rates and need to be addressed in couples.

A Naturopathic approach to fertility is based on the principle of bringing a couple’s health back in balance.

With naturopathic care, your entire health history is assessed. Dr. Chris Bjorndal  help my patients get in tune with their body and menstrual cycle. It is amazing how many patients aren’t sure if they ovulate and/or don’t even know the length of their menstrual cycle. In Naturopathic Medicine, the philosophy to treat the cause, to figure out what is going on, and correct any underlying hormonal imbalances.

From there the healing powers of nature is used to balance the body by optimizing nutrition, eliminating stressors in one’s lifestyle, learning about your cycle and treating underlying health conditions.

Some basic tips to enhance fertility are:

1. GET IN TUNE WITH YOUR BODY.

Find out when you are ovulating. Many women think this is on Day 14 (with Day 1 being the first day of flow); however, often it is not. Depending on the length of your cycle it could be much sooner or much later. Watch cervical flow to be like egg whites, this is when you are the most fertile. Check your body temperature for a slight elevation (a.k.a. basal body temperature), and pay attention to cramping.

2. HEALTHY DIET AND LIFESTYLE.

Eat a healthy diet consisting of 5 vegetable servings, 2-3 servings of fruit, nuts and seeds, and adequate protein for your weight. Avoid alcohol, sugar, fried food and junk food. Get lots of sleep and deal with stress. Practice healthy lifestyle techniques such as exercise, yoga, relaxation exercises, deep breathing etc.

3. USE PROFESSIONAL QUALITY SUPPLEMENTS.

It is important to be on a good quality prenatal vitamin with folic acid and essential fatty acids. It is best to seek a professional opinion, as there are many poor quality products on the market.

4. BE ASSESSED FOR A HORMONAL BALANCE.

I always run hormone testing on patients if they have been trying for over 3 months. Conventional blood work (estrogen and LH: FSH ratio on Day 3 and progesterone on Day 21) is combined with salivary hormone testing. If levels are low, I use diet, herbs, supplements, acupuncture and homeopathic remedies to balance the levels. It is also important to assess the basics in women’s health such as: folic acid, B12, thyroid function, and vitamin/ mineral status in iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, iodine and selenium.

For the “other half”: SPERM QUALITY & QUANTITY.

Sperm quality is essential – zinc, coenzyme Q10 and a good quality fish oil is key. Keep these guys cool, so avoid hot tubs and laptops on your lap!

Whether you have been “labeled” with endometriosis, PCOS, low sperm counts, hormonal imbalances, irregular menstrual cycles, and other unexplained fertility concerns, Naturopathic Medicine can help you.Patients who are preparing for IVF, IUI or other fertility treatments are encouraged to combine naturopathic support for increased success.

Trying to conceive can be an emotional roller coaster that takes its toll on a person psychologically and physically, and can be a huge burden financially. Consulting with a Naturopathic Doctor who is dedicated to helping individuals and couples improve their health and fertility can be the piece that solves the fertility puzzle.

10 Steps to Improve Your Mental Health with Naturopathic Medicine

For many, mental illness is fraught with many unanswerable questions. In my case, the question “Why me?” is one I have asked myself over and over. This question has become the central quest of my life’s work as a Naturopathic Doctor and as someone with lived experience with depression (suicide survivor), anxiety, bulimia and bipolar disorder type 1. There is a silent epidemic going on with rising rates of suicide. Mental illness affects all of us regardless of race, gender, societal status, wealth or age.

Why does mental illness happen?

Through decades of experience of working with my own struggles, as well as, with my patients, I have come to recognize the importance of addressing 10 key areas when pursuing mental wellness:

• Diet
• Sleep
• Exercise
• Stress management
• Thoughts
• Emotions
• Behaviours vs. Reactions
• Exposure to Environmental Toxins
• Spirituality
• Love and compassion for yourself and others

Based on these areas I have developed the 10 steps to improve your mental health and mental wellness.

1.) Diet

Conditions like depression and anxiety are commonly seen as a neurotransmitter deficiency. Yet, taking a drug doesn’t fix the root cause of why these chemicals are out of balance. Your body may not be supporting the pathway to make healthy amounts of neurotransmitters in the first place because it may be missing the building blocks or other key biochemical co-factors.

If your diet is poor (highly processed and full of caffeine and sugar) you simply cannot make enough serotonin or other neurotransmitters to feel balanced. Environmental toxins (heavy metals, pesticides and endocrine disruptors) also block nutrient absorption. Key pathways in the brain require proper amounts of essential nutrients. Nutrients such as, tryptophan, vitamin C, B6, B3, iron, magnesium, riboflavin, folate, and zinc.

While diet components are extremely important, so is the eating environment. Creating habits like cooking at home, eating with others, chewing thoroughly, and eating mindfully will make a big difference. Blood sugar levels also affect mood significantly. It is important to eat regularly. There is so much to say about diet that I have written a guide book on this subject: The Essential Diet: Eating for Mental Health.

2.) Sleep

A consistent and regular sleep routine is critical to our mental health. It allows us to rest, detoxify and process what happens to us during the day. Being deprived of sleep decreases energy, increases stress, cortisol, and emotional reactivity, suppresses the immune system, and promotes weight gain. More importantly, doctors now recognize lack of sleep as a direct contributory factor for many chronic and acute mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and episodes of psychosis.

It’s not just about quantity; it’s about quality.

Are you sleeping through the night or waking several times? Are you stressed and grinding your teeth or having terrible dreams? Stress increases cortisol in your body, which decreases your body’s ability to produce the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, making it harder to get a good nights sleep.

In the end, getting a good sleep is multi-factorial and requires you to work with your lifestyle, thoughts, eating and exercising habits, hormones, and coping mechanisms for stress. Supplements and medications can only take you so far; getting to the root cause of poor sleep is the goal.

3.) Exercise

I often say that exercise is the most under-prescribed antidepressant treatment available. A 2016 meta-analysis focusing on regular aerobic exercise as a treatment for depression shows it is statistically equal to antidepressants as treatment, without the adverse effects. It is also effective in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and OCD. It’s not just aerobic exercise that’s effective; studies have also shown the psychological benefit of other types of activity.

Having a regular routine of weight lifting, playing sports and/or doing yoga can improve mood and decrease anxiety and depression scores just as well as rigorous, high-intensity running can.

The psychological benefits of exercise are even greater when we do it with others, and especially beneficial when we exercise outdoors. Joining a community sports team that gets you outside and interacting with others regularly is a big step toward improving your mental health.

4.) Stress management

Stress is a psychological experience of feeling like your resources (internal or external) are almost exhausted (or are fully used up), and you are struggling to cope with demands of life.

No matter what the stressful event is, if the mind experiences psychological stress, the body experiences physiological stress. This physiological stress is an ancient survival mechanism built in to our bodies to help us flee harmful situations, but today’s world, it’s less helpful.

This“fight-or-flight” reactivity, suppresses the immune system, halts digestion, affects hormone production which affects our sleep and impacts adrenal energy stores. Long-term, this can lead to adrenal exhaustion, muscle tension, digestive complaints, depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

The first step in stress management is becoming aware of triggers.

With awareness, you can then work to reduce or eliminate them. If you can’t reduce stressors, you must learn to manage your reactivity given your current life situation. Working with psychotherapeutic techniques, such as the seven Rs of working with problematic thoughts (that I discuss in my book: Beyond the Label) or systematic relaxation tools you can manage your response to stress.

Conclusion: 

Mental illness is a multi-faceted condition and everyone’s experience of suffering is unique. I firmly believe that there is no quick-fix or single solution to such multi-factorial conditions. To truly heal, you must address each area: diet, sleep, exercise, stress management, environmental detoxification, thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and spirituality, compassion, love and acceptance. Doing so addresses the root causes of mental illness and will restore your mental health. Recovering your mental health is possible and you can do it. A first step you can take today is to let me guide you through the process in the Moving beyond webinar series. Start by taking the first step and register today!

References:

1. Bjorndal, C. (2017). Beyond the Label: 10 Steps to Improve your Mental Health with Naturopathic Medicine. Natural Terrain Inc.
2. Kvam, S., Kleppe, C. L., Nordhus, I. H., & Hovland, A. (2016). Exercise as a treatment for depression: A meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders,202, 67-86.
3. Mead, G. E., Morley, W., Campbell, P., Greig, C. A., McMurdo, M., & Lawlor, D. A. (2009). Exercise for depression. The Cochrane Library.

Anxiety & Nervousness in Children

Dr. McCarthy shares her insights into child anxiety and nervousness

Back-to-school time is a charged time of year for many kids and families. Children feel a sense of excitement about the potential of a new year: learning about their teacher, discovering which friends will be in their class, sharing their summer experiences with friends and using brand new school supplies.

For some children, this excitement can be coupled with feelings of nervousness and anxiety.  Starting at a new school, entering kindergarten or beginning full day grade one classes can cause some big feelings to emerge for small children. This transition is different for each child but sometimes, the feelings of anxiety last beyond the first days of school.  

This was the case for our youngest child.  The nervousness began at night before bed, emerged again as he was getting ready for school and escalated on the way to the building.  Tears streamed down his face during the good-byes.  Sensing his stress was emotional for us as parents also.  At one point, in the midst of a tearful goodbye, our son was told that six-year old behavior was expected from him now that he was in grade one.

This was a very curious statement to me.

For one thing, equating the emotion of sadness or anxiety with behavior didn’t make sense.  Secondly, I thought about all the adults I know who, at one time or another, suffer from anxious feelings. They are not told to act their adult age.  In fact, there is more acceptance for the complexities of mental health conditions than ever before for adults.  

Educators have our children’s best interest at heart. That has always been our experience. Teachers want children to learn and grow in a space where they are happy and at ease. However, to me, it is hard to imagine that my son (or any child) could be convinced to quickly detach from his favorite people at the beginning of each day by the motivation of acting properly. Mostly, my concern is that this subtle and unintentional shaming of emotion at an early age will cement into a child’s subconscious.

This could set individuals up for future feelings of insecurity when facing the inevitable tough emotions of teenage years and in adulthood.

Anxiety and nervousness are very common in children. It is very likely that your own child will experience these feelings to some degree at some point: separating from parents, starting a new school year, meeting new peers at school or activities, performance anxiety, fears of the dark or other things.  Some children have more sensitive nervous systems and are more prone to these feelings than others.

Sometimes, the anxiety is hard to recognize; children don’t always communicate with tears and sadness when they are nervous. Some keep their feelings guarded inside themselves. Others act out with anger, aggressiveness, distractibility, obstinance and more.

Let’s acknowledge all strong feelings in children.  

Help normalize them, strive to accept them, encourage the tears to flow, help kids name the feeling and help them move through them.  This will serve them in years to come.

There are many little things that can be done in situations of anxiety, such as:

• Teach children abdominal breathing.
• Have them memorize a little mantra.
• Have your child carry something small of yours in their pocket while away from you.
• Stick a picture of your family in his/her lunchbox.
• Make sure your child knows when and where you’ll see them again.
• Have a routine for each difficult good-bye so they know what to expect.
• Spend quality one-on-one time with them after being apart.

It all helps.

The number one action we can do is to simply be with them, to love, to empathize, to be patient, to understand and to come alongside them and see the experience through their eyes.  They are just beginning on their path and are in the early stages of learning resilience, managing stress and moving into independence.

For more detailed information and tips for separation anxiety (and other child development topics), refer to the respected Canadian-based developmental psychologist, Gordon Neufeld.

http://neufeldinstitute.org/separation-anxiety-when-saying-good-bye-is-hard/

http://neufeldinstitute.org/playing-matchmaker/

In addition, naturopathic medicine can play a role.

Certain remedies can help calm the nervous system. As well, other remedies can provide some calm at heightened times of panic or anxiety.  Diet modifications can help contribute to a healthy mind.  There are many naturopathic treatment options to help with sleep, if that is an issue.

Ultimately, our goal should be to have children understand that it’s okay to feel anxiety. It is our duty to also have the right strategies and techniques to move through the emotions.  Only when a child is calm, can they then learn.

Related resources:

1. “The Essential Diet; Eating for Mental Health” (Available at on-line retailers (Chapters, Amazon) and at the Natural Terrain Naturopathic Clinic)
2. https://naturalterrain.com/children-mental-health-edmonton/
3. https://www.anxietybc.com/parenting/coping-back-school-anxiety

This surge is what causes the “fight or flight” condition we know in acute stress. It increases blood delivery to the muscles, increases your heart rate and breathing, and it slows processes that are less necessary when under acute stress, such as digestion, immunity, higher brain function, and creating sex hormones.

What’s interesting is that stress can be either physical (running from a tiger) or psychological (being fired form work), but it will produce the same effect on the body. And, in today’s modern world, we are subjected to prolonged periods of psychological stress, with all the downstream effects that that brings.

Picture this: Imagine you have a pair of soaked sponges, spilling over with excess water.

These are your healthy adrenal glands that are full with with energy-producing hormones such as cortisol. With stress, you start to squeeze the sponges little by little.

If you don’t take time to rest, nourish yourself, and refill your sponges, they will slowly start to dry out.

Eventually, you wring out the last few drops of cortisol and reach adrenal fatigue. Your body is no longer able to function properly or handle stress. This is why after someone finishes a big project, completes final exams in university, or no longer needs to care for a sick loved one they find themselves sick shortly thereafter.

When we are caring for a dying parent, we end up holding our breath, putting everything on hold, and doing all that we can in the moments in between – essentially giving all that we have – that our tanks run empty.

For a time, we run on fumes. And when that person departs this place, we can exhale. We let down our guard. We often collapse in exhaustion. And frequently, illness will set in, such as a chronic cough or constant cold that won’t go away.

One of the solutions is to not allow for yourself to get depleted in the first place.

I am not saying to not love your loved ones, but I am saying you need to take of yourself in the process of taking care of everyone else. Physicians are also at a great risk of burn out because they are also busy caring for their patients, running their clinics and burning the candle at both ends. We all need to take of ourselves in the process of caring for others.

Is there someone you can hire to do the cleaning, make meals, run errands, pick up the kids while you are at the hospital. If you have teenage kids, what a perfect time to get them to start prepping meals and doing laundry.

Can you ask your employer for a leave or to work one less day per week so you have time to tend to your loved one?

Employers need to recognize what the sources of stress are on a family and play a role in finding solutions. In the long run, this can prevent an employee from going on a disability leave. Ask your employer and other supports for what you need during a time of stress and make sure your sponges don’t run dry.

Naturopathic medicine is about prevention. We can support you so that you are able to support your family and loved ones in a way that doesn’t leave you depleted.

2017 was a great year for Vitamin D

The research shows all the ways this Vitamin supports health

This article is adapted from the article written by Orthomolecular Medicine News Service. Subscribe to their newsletter and read the full article here.

While the importance of vitamin D for calcium absorption, metabolism and bone health was recognized about a century ago-  its importance for non-skeletal effects has only been generally recognized and appreciated in this century.

The year 2017 saw some great progress in this research. Click on the link here to read more. 

• Vitamin D reduces the risk of acute lung infections
• Vitamin D reduces risk for cancer
• Vitamin D reduces behavioural abnormalities of the autistic children
• Vitamin D reverses hypertension
• Vitamin D reduces arterial stiffness in African Americans
• Vitamin D lowers risk of preterm birth
• Serum vitamin D is correlated with lower heart disease, cancer, and mortality
• Vitamin D status predicted by patient questionnaire
• Sales of high-dose vitamin D supplements rising rapidly in the U.S.

Conclusion

Overall, 2017 was a good year for vitamin D research. It appears that there is now a widespread understanding of how vitamin D clinical trials should be conducted. Unfortunately, several major vitamin D clinical trials will be completed and report results in the next year or two that were not so carefully designed and conducted.

For further information on vitamin D, the interested reader is urged to search for papers at pubmed.gov and scholar.google.com as well as visit the websites of the major vitamin D advocacy organizations:

http://vitamindsociety.org/
http://www.sunarc.org/
https://grassrootshealth.net/
https://purenorth.ca/vitamin-d-your-health/
https://www.facebook.com/Evidas-902724609761886/
https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
https://www.vitamindwiki.com/VitaminDWiki