Meghan Walker, ND

Common is not the same as Normal

Meghan — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:44:52 +0000

What do menstrual cramps, hot flashes, one bowel movement every three days and heartburn have in common? They are all symptoms we would classify as common, but none of them are normal. We have grown up in a culture where we pop an anti-inflammatory to manage pain and an antacid to cope with post-consumptive heartburn. We do it over and over again, rarely stopping to ask, does this happen to everyone? I spend my days talking to people about their health. We examine the big things that brought them through the door, but we dedicate an equal amount of time to checking-in on the small stuff. Bowel habits, menstrual cramps, pain during intercourse, we discuss it all. Remarkable in this investigation is not that we have the opportunity to discuss these matters, it is the amazement on people’s faces when they realize that their weekly headaches, post-nasal drip or joint pain are a common, but not necessarily “normal” part of our physiological experience.

Acknowledging these common symptoms does not negate the notion that the range of normal for a population can be varied, or that it is in fact expected that we will oscillate in and out of a state “ideal” health. It is the chronic presence of “common” symptoms that I am attempting to honour. Appropriate medical evaluations will help to elucidate when, as clinicians, we are seeing a variation of normal or just de-prioritizing something that is common.

The danger in mistaking common for normal is not usually that there is something larger lurking below the surface (although this can be the case); it is the fact that someone is missing out on the opportunity to operate at his or her highest potential. I frequently create an association for my patients between the concept of an oil light and symptoms. When an oil light begins to flash on the dashboard of your car you are faced with several options. You can ignore it and drive a little further, cover it with tape, disconnect the cables all together or maybe you can try adding some oil at your next stop. It is rare that when an oil light comes on that you would assume that it is just a normal occurrence. Without the simplistic insight of a dashboard, the human body has different mechanism of communicating when it requires attention. Your symptoms become your oil light.

My story, like so many of my patient’s started with my own incapacity to differentiate common from normal. My symptoms were relatively innocuous. Gas, bloating, looser bowel movements – everyone had those. I was also plagued with unrelenting leg cramps. For years I would massage my legs to keep them from cramping up while I slept and sat through classes. These are normal symptoms I was told and thesn began to tell myself. It was not until someone challenged me to try a gluten-free diet that I realized that what I thought was normal for everyone, was really just common for me. Unsatisfied with simply the anecdotal removal of my favourite grains, I decided to follow through by seeing a gastroenterologist. Several tests and biopsies later there was a diagnosis, I had celiac disease. My common, seemingly normal symptoms were in fact my dashboard, politely trying to get me to pull over and seek assistance. The importance of my story was not that I had an odd presentation of celiac disease; it is in recognizing the value in acknowledging the common symptoms we all carry around. In hindsight, my mother was horrified to learn of my diagnosis. As a kid she used to feed me bread or pasta as comfort foods when I was particularly distressed, at night, because of those ‘common’, but pesky growing pains in my legs.

Taking control of one’s health means eating well, exercising and sleeping sufficiently, but it also means listening to what your body is whispering. Start to ask yourself, whether the common heartburn, cramping or headache are in fact your oil light, politely seeking attention.

5 common, but not necessarily normal symptoms:

Constipation: Despite what anyone tells you, 1-2 bowel movements per week is not normal. Aim for 1 per day, at most every other day. Lack of fiber, dehydration and food sensitivities are commonly implicated in chronic constipation.
Heartburn: We all have it on occasion, but it doesn’t mean it should be happening. Adjustments to diet including the amount of water you consume while eating can make a significant difference. Frequent reliance on antacids aren’t fixing the problem, they are simply placing tape on the oil light
Menstrual cramps: For many of us, menstrual cramps have become synonymous with womanhood. While they may be indicative of something deeper, pre-menstrual cramping is something frequently improved with simple lifestyle adjustments, for some, the removal of dairy is particularly effective.
Eczema in children: As clinicians, we see this all the time. Mild eczema in children can frequently be eliminated without the need for corticosteroids by adjusting your little person’s diet. Consider the eczema an early oil light signal.
Insomnia: Insomnia is frequently a symptom of something else, not necessarily an endpoint on it’s own. Speak to your clinician about possible causes, including your need to create an effective stress management plan.

Dr. Megs

Photo credit: Alexander Ekman via Compfight

Join me for an Upcoming Small Group Intensive

Can we Prevent Cancer? (Small group seminar & dinner)

May 9^th, 6:30-8 I Verity, Sherbourne Room, 111 Queen Street East

$39 For Verity Members, $39 for current clients* $45 for non-Verity members/clients

Cancer. It is a disease nearly everyone approaches with fearful curiosity. If you have not experienced it directly, you most definitely know someone who has been touched by this devastating diagnosis. Nearly 171,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Canada in 2009 and cancer rates for young women between the ages of 20-39 are on the rise. Leading scientists and researchers have strong evidence to suggest that the environment, our sources of food and our characteristically North American lifestyle are contributing to the ever increasing number of new diagnoses. Join Dr. Walker in a dialogue that explores the evidence related to the environmental contributors of cancer and provides a variety of suggestions to minimize your chances of getting sick while optimizing your opportunities for a healthy future.

To register for either or both seminars: please email, meghan@meghanwalker.com

* Current clients may be eligible to claim this seminar through extended health benefits

It’s Earth Week

Meghan — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:46:24 +0000

In honour of Mother Earth I wanted to share some of my favourite, earth-friendly, eco-conscious, products, websites and crusaders. Get outside, enjoy the sunshine and commit to doing one thing each day this week to contribute to the health of our planet.

Eco-Crusaders

Adria Vasil
Adria Vasil is the Ecoholic columnist in NOW and the Author of Ecoholic, Ecoholic Home and Ecoholic Body. Her books, column and blog are immensely helpful to navigating our planet and our capacity to keeping it and ourselves healthy. I was delighted to share the stage with her at the Green Living Show 2 weeks ago – she is a wealth of knowledge.
http://www.ecoholic.ca/

Dr. Sandra Steingraber
My hero, fellow mother, environmentalist and scientist, Sandra Steingraber chronicles her life with cancer and her efforts to raise her children in the context of a polluted world. You MUST check out her site and watch the trailer for her documentary, Living Downstream.
http://steingraber.com/

David Suzuki & Foundation
Homegrown and top of his game, David Suzuki and his foundation should not be new to anyone reading this blog. Helpful tips, important news and actionable steps to keeping our planet green are all found on his site.
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/

Environmental Defense
Environmental Defense connects people to the environment by making environmental issues relevant to people’s daily lives. Their activism and information strikes just the right balance. Check out their Canadian-centric body-care guide as an example of their great work.
http://environmentaldefence.ca/

CAPE
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, also known as CAPE is an organization of physicians dedicated to promoting environmental protection and treating those affected by environmental influences. They do important work in an emerging field and deserve a great big green round of applause.
http://www.cape.ca/

Green Resources

Environmental Working Group
Environmental Working Group is an American site with oodles of important content for Canadians. It is a ‘go-to’ site for evidenced based, consumer accessible information about anything from organic foods to safe cosmetics. Bookmark this one for sure.
http://www.ewg.org/

The Green Guide
Practical tips on all things Green and Eco-friendly. Simple, straight-forward and easy to read.
http://www.thegreenguide.com/

Skin Deep
Skin Deep is a comprehensive database of personal care products that include information relevant to North Americans as a whole. Understand the chemicals in your body products and do something about it.
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

Just Beautiful Guide
Environmental Defense has produced a Canadian version of the EWG’s Skindeep guide. Check out their up to date information in a Canadian-centric tone.
http://environmentaldefence.ca/issues/just-beautiful

Earth-Friendly Products and Companies

Huraw
I love love love their raw lip balm. My 18-month old daughter loves (to eat) lip balm too. My rule of thumb is that if you aren’t willing to feed it to your kids, you shouldn’t be putting it on your body.
http://hurrawbalm.com/

Coola Suncare
Finding a healthy sunscreen that doesn’t run rampant through your bloodstream is actually quite a challenge. This is especially difficult when most natural alternatives leave your pastier than a ghost. Coola was rated number 1 by EWG’s suncare guide and goes on like a glove. No messy residue, no streaky white lines. Finally.
http://www.coolasuncare.com/

DIY Cleaning Products
This is not exactly a Green Product, but rather, a comprehensive, do-it yourself cleaning product recipe book. I am always asked what green cleaning products I use around my house – well here you go. And don’t even think about writing in to tell me these don’t work, I ran a cleaning company for 4 years and have very high cleaning standards. These little tricks will cover you and your home for 95% of household disasters.
http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm

Mint & Berry
Online eco-shopping made easy. A full-service, personal care product, online SUPERmarket! Mint & Berry carry a variety of products with strict health and environmental standards. (P.S They will ship to Canada… yippee)
http://www.mintandberry.com/

Saving the planet, caring for your health, teaching your kids about health and environmental stewardship…. This is what Earth Day & Week are all about. Get outside, appreciate nature and start to change the world in some small way – I know you have it in you.

Dr. Megs

Want to learn more about how the environment influences our health? Join me for my last talk of the Spring season; Can we Prevent Cancer? Amazing whole food will be included. Check out more information here.

Wow. These are some of the first Millennium Kids’ Environmental Crusaders that I worked with here in Canada. We taught responsible, social engagement for young people. I haven’t kept track of all of them, but a few I know for sure will be graduating from medical and law school next year. Well done, you really are changing the world!

What’s in Your Personal Care Products

Meghan — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:32:32 +0000

Maybe, if we’re lucky, perhaps, sort of, with any luck, spring has arrived. With the impending glee of rousing gardens, warmer temperatures and longer days, everyone is feeling a little healthier. The warmer days of April will kick off a series of posts and information sharing related to detoxing and cleansing from the inside out. After an amazing weekend at the Green Living Show in Toronto, I thought this colourful ‘infogram’ was a great place to start. Changing your life begins with a single step. Let’s kick off spring with the concept of out with the old, in with the new when it comes to personal care products. Check out the image below and let me know in the comment section and on Facebook where you think you will start.

Created by: CosmetologySchool.org

Is ____________ really that bad for me?

Meghan — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:45:21 +0000

It doesn’t matter what you fill in the blank, the concept is the same. While there are foods that are certainly bad for you, the more significant issue is the lost opportunity for something better. None of us would invest our money in something where we asked “is this company really that bad for my portfolio?” Heck no, we would invest that hard earned cash in the opportunity that would provide the best return on our investment. Stop asking whether ‘something is really that bad for you’ and start to value your health like you would your other nest eggs. Easy-come easy-go applies just as readily to your health as it does to your portfolio. The more appropriate question as it pertains to your health is whether this is the best option available to me at this time.

Choose well.

Photo credit: Lori Greig via Compfight

How Full is Your Cup?

Meghan — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:55:08 +0000

How full is your cup? I prefer mine to be at least half empty. If I suspect that it is filling too quickly or that I don’t have enough wiggle room for almond milk at the top, I immediately hunker down to fix the problem. The last thing I want is for my cup to overflow.

When someone comes into my office detailing an ailment or condition, there is a natural inclination to describe the circumstances around which the symptom developed. With a gastrointestinal infection it is important to know whether you have recently been travelling or what you may have eaten over the last week. With other complaints, the connection is less obvious. People don’t often notice that the worsening of their headaches corresponds to the start of their new job, or that their joint pain came on after they recently renovated their home. The fact is, most people don’t notice their cup is filling at all.

A family friend called me recently following an insurance physical to say that he had been declined coverage due to his elevated blood pressure. He was dumbstruck that there was even a problem. After 65 years of avoiding vegetables, libating with frivolity and acquiring electrolytes through potato chips, he couldn’t comprehend the connection between the elevated blood pressure and his lifestyle. “It can’t be related to what I consume” he said, “I have always eaten this way without a problem. “It’s not a meteorite that breaks the camel’s back I replied, it’s a piece of straw.”

Our bodies – our cups, all start off as different shapes and sizes. Those with large cups can avoid vegetables and eat potato chips until they are 65 with relatively few health crises, while others have challenges from the beginning. I tend to find that most of us start out with a relatively empty cup, slowing filling it with poor food choices, a lack of sleep, environmental exposures and stress. Those with larger, more robust cups, take these challenges in stride. These are the people that despite their poor diet, coffee dependence and exercise avoidance, continue to maintain their weight, good temperament and radiant skin. Don’t be fooled however, a larger cup doesn’t mean you are healthier, it means you get sick less often. In contrast, healthy choices such as exercise and whole foods, keep the fluid level in your cup at a steady level, allowing the body to manage and maintain in the face of physiological stressors.

I use the analogy of a cup in my practice because I have found an inherent disconnect between the choices people make and the consequences on their health. When I ask about an auto-immune condition, diabetes or hypertension, people tell me the day or month they were diagnosed as if that was the moment the disease began. In each of these cases however, the groundwork for the condition or the disease itself started long before, one physiologically stressful encounter after another. We tend to judge our lifestyle choices based on whether or not they have enabled us to be ‘fine until now.’ The reality is, we are all fine until we aren’t. In a study published online on February 26th 2013 in the journal Cancer Research, the authors noted that increased body weight and decreased levels of physical activity were associated with an incremental risk for colorectal cancer in 54% of the cases studied. Colorectal cancer is a devastating disease, often detectable through routine colonoscopies and seemingly preventable in a significant number of cases. The researchers went on the point out that those who would benefit from the lifestyle and exercise investment had a genetic marker that would identify them to doctors early in life – before their cup became too full. Would the genetic knowledge change the behavior of most of these people? We have yet to find out.

Many appear to live oblivious to the size of our cup until we start to experience symptoms related to the overflow. Whether it is the state of the planet, our health or the national economy, we make our collective choices on credit until the bank calls or the camel breaks his back.

I don’t know conclusively whether you will live longer because you chose to exercise, eat well or manage your stress in an effective manner. I am certain of one thing however, healthy lifestyle choices are likely to leave your cup in a stronger position to handle the unexpected stressors and well-placed indulgences that we all tend to scoop up along the way.

10 Important Lifestyle Actions to Reduce the Burden of Daily Life on your Body

1. Exercise and move your body regularly and with intention
2. Avoid processed foods
3. Acknowledge your sources of stress and implement effective outlets
4. Make time to sleep
5. Don’t smoke
6. Limit your consumption of sugar
7. Eat a diversity of colourful vegetables
8. Wash your fruit and vegetables
9. Get outside for some fresh air
10. Take advantage of appropriate and preventative screening tests such as mammograms and colonoscopies

Photo credit: Vladimer Shioshvili via Compfight

March Break Chocolate Cake

Meghan — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:58:47 +0000

I would have taken a picture of my own cake, but I ate it before I could capture it’s beauty. I’ll make another one this week… just for the sake of adding a photo.

I have never really been a chocolate fanatic, until now. I never understood the hype, romantic fascination or will power that have come to be associated with good quality chocolate. All of that has changed in my 29th week of pregnancy. Chocolate is my new best friend. As I wrestle with the balance between unhelpful calories and strategic indulgence, I have modified a recipe that I think falls somewhere in the middle. It is a seriously simple, delicious, vegan, gluten-free chocolate cake. Sound scary? I triple chocolate, double dare you to give it a try.

This recipe has been adapted from the glorious curators at the Moosewood Restaurant and Kitchen

Prep Time: 6 minutes of mixing, 30 minutes of baking

Pre-heat that oven to 375F

Cake Ingredients:

1.5 cups Gluten free all-purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill available at most grocery stores)
1/3 cup Cocoa powder
1 cup Coconut sugar (a lower glycemic alternative to white sugar) White sugar = bad. Coconut sugar = still sugar, but a much better choice
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Grapeseed oil (Olive oil will work in a pinch, but grapeseed oil is more stable at high temperatures. Canola, and vegetable oils are MUCH less desirable choices, aka, stop using them.)
1 cup Cold water
2 tsp Vanilla extract (use the real thing)
2 tbsp White vinegar

Glaze Ingredients:

1/2 Puck of Vanilla ChocoSol chocolate (Other dark chocolate or dark, milk-free chocolate chips can be substituted). All ChocoSol ingredients are organic, fair-trade, vegan and gluten-free – SWEET!
1/4 – 1/3 cup Almond milk

Cake Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375F

In your spring-loaded cake pan (any cake pan will work, but I have found that spring pans work the best) add your dry ingredients; G-free flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt. Mix well with a fork or whisk.

In a separate container or measuring cup, mix the water, oil and vanilla (NOT THE VINEGAR)

Add the oil, water and vanilla to the dry ingredients in the spring-loaded pan. Mix until the batter is uniform, 1 min or less.

Add the vinegar. White swirls will form as the vinegar and baking soda interact (remember the volcanos of grade 4 science?). Stir only until the vinegar is evenly distributed.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool before applying the glaze.

Glaze Directions (Optional):

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a small pot placed in a water bath.

Add the almond milk until you achieve the desired consistency for your glaze. Covering the cake as if the glaze were an icing will require more chocolate and milk. 1/4 cup of almond milk and 1/2 puck of chocolate will provide enough glaze to create a chocolate design on top without going overboard. (FYI: Overboard usually means a little less healthy)

So yummy, moist and chocolaty enjoy.

Photo Credit: www.thecomfortofcooking.com

Kids these days have iPads & Hypertension

Meghan — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 18:33:20 +0000

As published earlier this week in the Huffington Post

While scavenging the refrigerator on Family-Day for a healthy lunch for our 18 month-old daughter, my husband and I began to lament the good old days of our culinary upbringing. We longed for the ease of our parent’s food-prep epoch that innocently pulled together long-weekend lunches comprised of Chef Boyardee or SpagettiOs with a well-deserved side of fruit-roll-up. It was easy, economical and did I mention easy. We digressed into a serious analysis of whether the organic, gluten-free, kale-laden yuppie meals we prepared with such diligence were worth the effort. Would our daughter live longer, be healthier or become a more productive adult? As most parents know, convincing a 2, 4 or 10 year old kid that their kale chips and sugar-free cookies are as cool as Lunchables is a tougher sell than RIM shares in the summer of 2012.

As it pertains to the long-term perspective, when adults see me in my private practice, they are not coming because they want to live longer, they are investing their time and money because they are fed up with chronic headaches, menstrual cramps, ADD, digestive difficulties or fertility challenges. In each of these circumstances, without fail, we begin our clinical journey by addressing diet – most of the time, reducing or eliminating the problem with lifestyle attention alone.

Although the management of menstrual cramps seems like a long way away for our 18 month-old, there is a more pressing concern lurking in corridors of real-time pediatric medicine. The one-time silent killer of adults, seemingly older adults, is stalking our offspring with the diligence of a vulture chasing an injured zebra. Early in the fall of 2012 an alarming headline hit the top rung of the medical literature: “Hypertension Rockets in US Kids.” Naturally I suspected this would be the most cutting edge news story to hit the US airwaves in months. A serial killer was on the loose and it was no longer targeting adults, it was now after our children. You can only imagine my compounded horror as I flipped to cnn.com to review the most popular newsfeeds for the day, if it were not a breaking news headline, this was sure to be something people would be talking about. Alas, the Octa-mom’s new boyfriend and Jenny McCarthy’s 7^th playboy spread had trumped kids with heart disease.

For those of you not fully understanding the impact of this finding and other’s like it, allow me to reiterate, this is a BIG DEAL. Heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension were historically reserved for de-conditioned adults with genetic predispositions, chomping away on a standard North American Diets (SAD diet). In the published findings of the June 18th 2012 edition of Hypertension, the authors cited that nation-wide, pediatric hypertension-related hospitalizations had nearly doubled, from 1997 to 2006. Charges for inpatient care for hypertensive children increased by 50%, to an estimated $3.1 billion over the 10 years.

All economics aside, kids are suffering unnecessarily. This is the first generation predicted to have shorter, more diease-ladened life spans than their parents. While we may view our personal food choices as our right, our children deserve more respect. What will it take for us, the adults, to step up to the plate and demand better? Something better means education around food consumption, something better means less availability to processed foods, something better means we teach kids to value their bodies, not simply pop a pill or supplement to make the symptom; the eczema, the headache or the hypertension go away.

Step up my adult and parental colleagues, challenge yourself to squeeze a few more minutes out of your day to prepare some real food, play with your kids outdoors and talk to the little people in your life about their most valuable asset on their road to success, their health.

Photo Credit: Rolands Lakis

Make V-Day about your Heart, your Real Heart

Meghan — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:53:59 +0000

The essence of Valentine’s Day is not about cards, candy and flowers. It is about getting in touch with the people that we love and value. As with most of our ‘holidays’ we have a tendency to validate V-day with great expense, purchases and the need to live up to other’s standards of romance. This year I have decided to forgo an expectation of pre-packaged romance (not that this was ever part of my expectation) and get to the essence of value and love. Many would agree that caring for our partners or kids is the ultimate manifestation of our love for those around us. For me, the idea of care does not denote sweets or wine, but healthful, nourishing and delicious treats that tantalize not only the taste buds but nourish the heart and health of those I love.

In keeping with this theme, this week will be filled with yummy, heart-healthy food ideas to get you well on your way to a romantic and healthy Valentine’s dinner with those you love.

Enjoy this beautiful, easy and heart-healthy appetizer brought to you by the one and only Meghan Pearson of MAPWellness. Check out her recipes and never ending supply of great ideas @MAPWellness

Easy-”Cheezy”-Pumpkin-Seedy Kale Chips

1 bunch kale

2 T olive oil

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 T lemon zest

2 T pumpkin hulled seeds

2 T nutritional yeast*

1/2 t sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil (You may need two!)

2. Thoroughly wash kale and dry well. Remove thick stem parts and chop leaves into chip size pieces.

3. In a large bowl, combine kale, oil, pumpkin seeds, lemon juice and zest. Massage dressing into the leaves, to coat.

4. Spread kale evenly onto lined baking sheet(s), and sprinkle with nutritional yeast and salt.

5. Bake for about 30 minutes, and then take a peek to check crispness. Separate any leaves that are clinging together.

6. Continue baking for an additional 30 minutes to an hour, checking often until chips are dried and crunchy.

7. Enjoy – guilt free!

* Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast sold commercially as a food product. It is yellow in color and has a flakey texture and a nutty cheese-like flavor, making it a great flavour enhancer and favourite among vegans. It can also be a great vegan source of vitamin B12 – a vitamin that can be hard find when following a plant-based diet.

Prepare for the Second Wave. Flu Prevention 101

Meghan — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:38:43 +0000

Here is where we left off last week. The reverence we place upon the flu vaccine as a public health maven is adding to its social stigma and deep capacity for cultural and conversational polarization. So what can we do take back control with respect to protecting ourselves from the pestilence of influenza and other circulating microbes?

Lack of exercise, poor nutritional status, inadequate intake of vitamin D, chronic stress and sugar consumption have all been shown to contribute to an under-functioning of our immune defense. Gaining control over the vulnerable 50% is within reach. Several studies examining the efficacy of supplemental probiotics found that when combined with the flu vaccine, flu protection increased significantly over those having received the flu vaccine alone. Researchers in Wisconsin, publishing their results in the Annals of Family Medicine, found that while virus levels were similar across all populations in the study, those participating in regular meditation or aerobic exercise programs experienced fewer cases of upper respiratory tract infections and missed fewer days of work compared to those simply vaccinated against the flu. In short, the exercise and meditation equipped their bodies with a greater capacity to fight infection.

These examples are not about bashing the flu vaccine, rather they are about increasing your capacity for protection and providing you with greater infection control. If you are looking to cushion your remaining 40-50% vulnerability against winter infection, here are my top recommendations:

Cough into your sleeve and wash your hands. This is a basic public health intervention. It is tried, true and frequently forgotten.

Start on a broad-spectrum probiotic (many types of healthy bacteria in one product). Yogurt or Kefir are a good place to start, but enhanced protection will come from loading your system with a greater quantity of healthy bacteria than aren’t available from food alone.

Ensure adequate consumption of basic nutrients. Be honest with yourself, do you eat 5-10 servings of various fruits and vegetables everyday? No? Consider a multi-vitamin.

Supplement vitamin D. Vitamin D is a wonder nutrient responsible for many important physiological functions, including immune support. No Canadian can escape a potential deficiency in the winter. From the time the leaves fall from the trees in October, until the appear again in the spring, add 1000i.u of vitamin D3 to your daily routine.

Exercise and/or meditate. The evidence is unequivocal, your health and immunity will benefit from these practices in so many ways.

Avoid sugar and processed foods. Sugar and food additives have a detrimental impact on your immune health both acutely and in the long-term.

I don’t expect scientists to be able to predict the precise compliment of influenza viruses from year to year, nor do I believe that we can fight the flu across our population with complimentary therapies alone. I do however feel strongly that a multi-factorial problem requires an equally dynamic approach. Until we start having that conversation, the believers and non-believers will just have to fend for themselves.

Photo Credit: Mehrad.HM via Compfight

If Condoms Were Like Flu Shots

Meghan — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:54:42 +0000

If condoms were like flu shots they would never sell. In fact, we likely wouldn’t even make them – there would be no market. If condoms conferred only 50-60% protection, we would look somewhere else, and in fact we have. Despite a condom’s 98% efficacy in preventing pregnancy, the market for oral contraceptives is booming. I am not naïve enough to negate that there is a significant disparity between the lifelong consequences of acquiring the flu and parenting a child at the wrong place or time, but the reverence we place upon the flu vaccine as a public health maven is adding to its social stigma and deep capacity for cultural and conversational polarization.

Across the spectrum of casual conversation and through dialogue in my personal practice, the flu vaccine is akin to a religion is that people either ‘believe’ in it or they don’t. I don’t generally espouse my vaccination beliefs in practice, preferring to simply know whether someone has had the shot or not and how they have faired throughout the season. When someone asks where the flu shot can be acquired I direct them to public flu clinics, their GP or a local pharmacy. It is not within my scope to provide the flu vaccine and if someone feels they are in need, I am happy to direct them accordingly. Regardless of someone’s beliefs around the flu shot, the fact remains that its protective capacity leaves a major vacancy in someone’s vulnerability to acquiring the flu. 50 or even 60% efficacy means that there is still a 40-50% chance you will acquire the flu despite what you thought were your best chances at protection. For many of the believers, there is a sense of microbial invincibility that renders them vulnerable to the very real possibility of acquiring any number of other viruses from our environment.

My focus, regardless of whether a flu vaccine has been provided, is to emphasize those things we can be doing to not only avoid the germs themselves but additionally arm our immune systems against vulnerabilities. Lack of exercise, poor nutritional status, inadequate intake of vitamin D, chronic stress and sugar consumption have all been shown to contribute to an under-functioning of our immune system. If employers really want to be improving the health of their staff, it is not necessarily a public health nurse they need to be bringing into the office, it is a change in culture that discourages the office off-loading of cookies, cakes and chocolates. In the very least, cookies should be moved up a flight of stairs so there is some exercise involved in their retrieval.

I don’t expect scientists to be able to predict the precise compliment of influenza viruses from year to year, nor do I believe that we can fight the flu with complimentary therapies alone. I do however feel strongly that a multi-factorial problem requires an equally dynamic approach. Until we start having that conversation, the believers and non-believers will just have to fend for themselves.

Coming Up: Protecting yourself against the flues second seasonal wave.

Photo credit: Blake Patterson via Compfight