You Don’t Need a Referral

Here’s the situation. 

We are an aging population–and we are not aging well. Chronic disease is on the rise–and it’s intensive and expensive to treat. There are not enough people going into healthcare to fill the growing need.

You’ve heard the stories of people waiting in the ER for hours and patients lying in hallways. Loved ones waiting weeks for tests and imaging. It’s a perfect storm of rising need, rising costs, and fewer resources. 

It’s not for lack of caring. Our many colleagues in conventional medicine care deeply. They simply don’t have the resources to fight the perfect storm. As a result, healthcare is quickly becoming something you don’t want to need. 

But there is good news! Your need for healthcare as you age is something that you have more control over than you realize. Many chronic diseases are preventable or reversible. Better still, the best treatment tools for some of these diseases are within your control. 

You don’t need a referral to go for a walk.

You don’t have to wait in line to cook a healthy dinner at home.

You don’t have to pay out of pocket for time with a friend.

You don’t want to need health care–but you don’t have to wait to take charge.

The steps are simple. They are in your control. And you don’t need a referral.

  • Get blood work done and monitor those results. We can help–no referral required.
  • Quit smoking.
  • Move your body every day–for real.
  • Cook real food at home.
  • Get enough sleep.
  • Manage stress.
  • Engage with people every day.
  • Pursue purpose and be of use.

Study after study shows that these things prevent or reduce chronic disease. All of them decrease the risk of heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and cancer. More importantly, all of them increase life quality, health, and happiness! 

You don’t need a referral to feel better!

Have You Decided For Real?

How often have we heard our friends or family members say things like “I’m going to start eating better,” or “I’m going to start exercising more.” 

How often have you said those things? “I’m going to start saying yes more often to social events,” or “I’m going to turn off the TV and read more at night.”  

How often has none of it happened?

You’re not alone. It happens to all of us. We know something needs to change and we make a statement to that effect. 

Researchers call this the contemplative stage of change. I like to call these moments little-d decisions. They happen when want to change, but we haven’t started yet.

True change, however, happens when we take action–when we make what I like to think of as BIG-D Decisions. That’s when our good intentions come to life. 

How do you recognize a BIG-D Decision? They tend to share one or more of these characteristics:

  • They start now, as opposed to some time in the future.
  • They don’t leave wiggle room for excuses.
  • Involve commitment, such as scheduling, accountability, or costs.

Little-d deciding can feel good. And it is good. Change has to begin somewhere. But little-d decisions can also be deceiving, especially when it comes to health. They make us feel like we’re doing something. We think we’re already changing…we’re just waiting until after the next party, the next paycheck, or the next episode.

Big-D health decisions begin when we accept that something has to change–AND there will never be a right time to do it. Big-D Decisions happen when we start.

  • Want to be more active? If you’re waiting for the New Year, that’s little-d. BIG-D is taking a 15-minute walk today.
  • Dry January? That’s great. But why not dry today? After all, if you can’t do it now, what makes you think it’ll be easier in the coldest, darkest month of the year?

We all make little-d decisions, and that’s a good thing. We need them. But we need to follow them with BIG-D action. And when it comes to your health, sooner is always better.

With a new year upon us, what have you been little d deciding this year that needs to turn into a Big D?  Make the commitment, give yourself no wiggle room, and watch 2024 become your best year yet. 

The 4 Pillars of Longevity (What the Books Don’t Tell You)

I’ve been doing a deep dive into longevity. 

As I watch my friends, family, and colleagues age, it’s clear that some are doing it better than others. Part of my deep dive is understanding the difference so I can pass it on to our patients.

And let’s be honest: I’m 52. That looks and feels a lot different than 32. I might be looking for the “holy grail” of anti-aging for myself, too. 🙂 

I’ve read the books, watched the documentaries, and scanned the research. Inevitably, the same themes come up over and over. You could easily name most of them if I asked. 

What the books never seem to tell us, however, is what interventions do the most for increasing your life span (or, more importantly, health span). Is eating blueberries just as important as daily exercise? Which is more important, your relationships or your cholesterol meds?

No one seems eager to say. Everyone is happy to tell you their seven things or five principles but will stop short of telling you which ones matter most and by how much.

In their defense, we aren’t entirely sure. Research is murky, and longevity is perhaps the murkiest. After all, it takes a lifetime to discover how long someone will live. Longevity research takes the longest of all.

But we know enough to make excellent guesses about what matters most.

In order of importance, the following four things are what you must do to age with as much overall health and wellness as possible. This list is in order. From most important to least. They all matter, but they’re not all equal. 

Here are the four pillars of longevity:

  1. MOVE your body. Every single day. This means daily ambient movement. It means weekly weight-bearing exercise. It means flexibility and mobility. It means getting off your butt every day, whether you want to or not. Whether it hurts or not. Whether you have the energy or not. You must move
  2. CONNECT to people and purpose. This means making relationships important and doing something of value. Continue to work. If you don’t want to work, then volunteer.  Don’t want to volunteer? Help out the younger generations of your family. Stay involved with people in a purposeful way. You need a reason to live longer.
  3. EAT whole food. You all know what I mean by this. It’s not rocket science. The simplest way to express this is to cook. Use fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, meat, and whole grains to prepare your own food as much as humanly possible. Eat real food that you cook at home.
  4. TAKE your supplements & medications. There is plenty of good research supporting the value of what scientists call “exogenous compounds”. Talk to your ND to see if any are right for you. Help your body do its job.

Remember, these four things are in order of importance. 

Ask yourself:

  • Am I doing it backward? Many people have their focus flipped. They want the pill that grants long life, or the superfood that melts the weight away, but they are sedentary and unfulfilled. You can’t out-supplement your couch or your unhappiness. Work from the top down. If you’re not moving your body, don’t expect your vitamins to save you.
  • Am I focused on just one thing? There is no single compound, food, or 10-minute wall pilates routine that can undo aging for a sedentary, lonely human who lacks purpose and eats the standard North American diet. You need all four things, not just one of the things.

We’ve all heard the stories of the 99-year-old who drinks, smokes, and eats fries every day. What I can tell you after over 20 years in practice is that I have never met this person in real life. The oldsters I know who have amazing healthspans do ALL four things every day. And they started as early as they could. 

Four simple things. One long life. 

2 Surprising Things About Your Testosterone

An increasing number of men show up at StoneTree each year with a common complaint:  I feel like my testosterone might be low

What they mean is that their drive—their physical, mental, sexual, and emotional motivation—has been declining. 

Those are indeed signs of low testosterone, and many men want to get their T measured. The interesting part, however, is that FEELING “low T” may not mean what you think it does.

Here’s why.

1. You Can Have Lots of T, but Still FEEL Low-T

It’s entirely possible to have lots of testosterone, but the testosterone isn’t able to do its job. 

There are a number of ways in which this can happen, but a lead culprit here is blood sugar problems. When your body stops responding normally to the insulin produced by your pancreas, it’s referred to as insulin resistance. As your insulin resistance grows, proteins in your blood “trap” your testosterone, so it can’t actually do anything. 

There are other possibilities, too—stress, inflammation, toxins, and mental health challenges, to name a few. But the lesson is this:

You don’t necessarily have low T. You just FEEL like you do.

2. You Need to Measure More Than Your TOTAL Testosterone

Our first job is to actually measure testosterone. But here’s where it gets more interesting still. 

Traditional testing approaches to testosterone measure your total testosterone. That’s a measure of all the T floating around in your blood. But, per above, a lot of that testosterone can be “bound” up by proteins, which means it’s just not available. It’s like the money used to buy your house or an investment—you know the cash is there, but you can’t really use it.

To deal with this, we:

  • Test your total AND your available testosterone to help us understand whether you ARE low or you just FEEL low; and
  • Test other markers like your insulin resistance and SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) to help us find the functional problems that are causing your testosterone to be trapped in limbo. 

Once we understand what’s really happening, we can help fix it!

Some men truly have low T, and that requires a specific approach. But if you’re in the large group of people who just FEEL low, we use a different treatment plan. That often involves lifestyle change, and our Performance IV treatment to help free up that trapped testosterone so you can feel that drive again!

If you’d like to learn more about your testosterone levels and understand why you might be feeling a lack of drive, you can book a complimentary meet-the-doctor visit here.

Will Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) Work for You?

Your thyroid gland is a big deal. It acts on almost every cell in your body. And when it isn’t working properly, you tend to notice.

Just look at the symptoms of low thyroid:

  • Exhaustion, weakness, and fatigue
  • Sensitivity to cold and reduced sweating
  • Shortness of breath when exercising
  • Slight to moderate weight gain
  • Problems with concentration or memory, slow thoughts or speech
  • Hair thinning and falling out
  • Crappy nails
  • Dry skin

No one wants those!

Dealing with an underactive thyroid, however, is complicated by two things:

  1. Testing thyroid function accurately might mean doing thyroid tests your medical doctor hasn’t told you about
  2. Conventional thyroid medications don’t work well for everyone

Our answer to the first challenge is to test more robustly–you can read about those tests here.

The solution to the second challenge for some people is to use natural desiccated thyroid (NDT).

One of the advantages of this thyroid treatment is that it contains both T3 and T4 hormones, which are naturally produced by the thyroid gland. Conventional thyroid therapy typically only contains T4, so NDT can provide a more balanced hormone profile.

Some studies have suggested that desiccated thyroid treatment may be more effective than synthetic hormones for improving symptoms, particularly in individuals who have difficulty converting T4 to T3.

Note that desiccated thyroid treatment isn’t appropriate for everyone! Proper testing and monitoring by a naturopathic doctor with prescribing authority can determine whether it’s a good choice for you. 

Sources:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34185829/

Seasonal Allergies and Your Indoor Air Quality

When your immune system sees ordinarily harmless things like pollen and mold as harmful invaders, things can get a bit crazy. 

First, your immune system produces antibodies in response to the perceived threat. That process causes immune cells in your body to produce histamine, an inflammatory chemical that helps eliminate the invader.  

Unfortunately, the “help” doesn’t feel that helpful!

The histamine is what causes all your pesky allergy symptoms. All that itching, swelling, nasal congestion, sneezing, and sore throat is an inflammatory overload of your mucous membranes! It’s also why you might take an antihistamine to help relieve those symptoms.

But Why ME?

At this point, you may be wondering, “But why me? My friend doesn’t have seasonal allergies!”

Right you are. Some people are indeed more susceptible than others. And if you are one of those lucky people (hmmm), our approach is always to try to prevent allergies if we can. That means we want to find and address the cause of the immune overreaction while we’re helping with the symptoms

The Indoor Air Quality Connection

In addition to working on your digestive health and using one of our favourite allergy tools, IV Vitamin C, you might be surprised to know that your indoor air quality can also have a significant impact on seasonal allergy symptoms.  

Not only can pollens and mold spores make their way indoors, but indoor pollutants can make matters worse–things like dust, pet dander, particulate matter, and chemicals.  

  • Regular cleaning with a HEPA filter vacuum 
  • Using a HEPA air filter, particularly in your sleeping space
  • Using fragrance-free products. (Many fragrances contain volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. These chemicals are irritating to the mucous membranes in our respiratory systems, causing irritation or inflammation. That just adds fuel to the fire!)

If you want to go fragrance-free and help the planet, we love The Keep Refillery in Creemore, Meaford, and Toronto. They have unscented cleaning and personal care products, and you can refill your existing containers. 

And if you really love scented things? Try adding essential oils to your unscented products. You may still be aggravated by essential oil scents, but generally, they are very well tolerated. Some, like lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, and lemon, may even help!

5 Health Imbalances that Might Be Disrupting Your Sleep

It’s World Sleep Day! (And St. Patrick’s Day. Green Sleep Day?)

If you woke up feeling less rested than you would have liked today, here are a few of the biological factors that might be playing a role.

1. Sex hormones. As we discussed earlier in this month, menopause and its related hormone imbalances can really get in the way of a good night’s sleep. Think night sweats and anxiety wake-ups. Hormone and non-hormone treatment options can often help.  

2. Melatonin issues. Melatonin is your sleep hormone, and it tends to wane as we age.  But shift work, travel, and screen use in the evening can have an impact, too. Chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and cancer can also interrupt melatonin. Good sleep hygiene  and melatonin supplementation can be helpful. 

3. Cortisol issues. Cortisol is a stress hormone that helps us be alert to deal with the world around us. Needless to say, alert and sleep aren’t necessarily good bedmates. Cortisol should be lowest in your bloodstream at night as you get ready to drift off—if you feel “tired but wired,” you may have an imbalance here. Testing cortisol levels throughout the day can help find out. Many natural herbs and supplements can help, ashwagandha being one of them. Not all of them should be taken for long periods.Best to get professional advice.

4. Chronic inflammation. Poor diet, food intolerances, toxic exposures, and chronic infections can lead to conditions like sleep apnea and chronic body pain, which affect our ability to sleep.  Testing inflammatory markers and food intolerances can help us find the best diet and lifestyle changes for your sleep.  

5. Nutrient deficiencies. Another shout-out to our friend, vitamin D! People with vitamin D deficiency have been shown to have sleep issues. A shame, given that it is easy to test and easy to supplement. 

Great sleep comes from a recipe—one made up of lifestyle factors, good sleep hygiene, and underlying functional health. If you need help feeling rested, contact us anytime!

Sources:

Menopause: Suffer No More!

Last month, the New York Times published an article titled, “Women Have Been Misled about Menopause”. 

You’ll likely find the article behind a paywall, but this great little video by Dr. Mary Claire Haver, MD, offers up a good summary:

  • Women are suffering needlessly
  • Healthcare providers are misdiagnosing and/or mistreating menopausal symptoms
  • One of the best tools to deal with this suffering is really not that risky

The CBC and many major news outlets picked up the issue and we applaud them for it! It’s time for women to know there is something that can be done about the symptoms they are suffering from.  

7 Menopause Questions We Have Answers For (And One Bonus Question)

  1. What is going on with my cycle? You might be bleeding too much, too little, or without any clear pattern. This is often one of the first signs that things are changing.  
  2. Why do I want to kill everyone (especially my husband)? A “prickliness” or irritability is a common complaint from friends and family of those of us entering this time of life. Anxiety that didn’t exist before is also common. Some women experience low moods.  
  3. What happened to my memory? The brain fog is reminiscent of “baby brain” for women who have had kids. But it feels more significant because you are closer to the age where memory loss feels scarier.  
  4. Why do I keep needing to pee? I can’t seem to laugh, cough, or jump without peeing myself!  
  5. What is happening to my body? Saggier skin, drier and thinner hair, and what is happening with this weight around the middle?
  6. Why is it so hot in here? Hot flashes and night sweats interrupt daily activity and nightly sleep. (And also make the crabbiness even worse.)
  7. What happened to my sex drive? Some women report that they are less interested in sex or have difficulty becoming aroused throughout menopause.  

The Bonus Question: What Can I Do About It??!!

Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is a real option to deal with many of these symptoms. But is it safe?  

In 2002 the Women’s Health Initiative study found an increased risk of breast cancer in women who were using hormone replacement therapy. But what did the numbers actually say? 

  • Yes, there was an increased risk, but specifically, the study found that among women aged 50 to 59, there were six additional breast cancers in 10,000 women. That is a pretty small increased risk.
  • More recent research suggests that HRT is highly beneficial and that it is underused to this day.
  • The Women’s Health Initiative was also based on using conventional hormone replacement therapy, which uses synthetic estrogen.
  • Another option is bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), which uses compounded hormones that more closely resemble what is naturally in our bodies. 

Does BHRT work as well? Our experience is yes. Do they confer less risk than synthetic hormones? We don’t know for sure, but there are studies that suggest yes

It’s International Women’s Day! Take charge of your health. Your hormones matter—they can be rebalanced, and you can feel better!

Naturopathic Doctors are well-trained in understanding, diagnosing, and treating perimenopause and menopause with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and other non-hormonal options. For help, support, solutions, and answers to all your questions, reach out anytime.

Stress, Chronic Inflammation, and Long COVID

A recent study in JAMA Psychiatry suggests that there’s a link between psychological distress—things like depression, anxiety, and loneliness—and long COVID. 

From a naturopathic perspective, there’s a pretty solid argument for why this makes sense (and why long COVID isn’t “all in your head”).

The reasoning looks like this:

  • Depression, anxiety, worry, and loneliness create stress
  • Prolonged stress can cause imbalances in your stress hormones—what we call adrenal dysregulation
  • This imbalance can lead to chronic immune dysregulation
  • This, in turn, can lead to chronic inflammation
  • Chronic inflammation is a risk factor for long COVID

This matters because it changes how we might prevent long-COVID. We can focus on stress, inflammation, and hormones, which is something NDs understand very well.

 Adrenal dysregulation and chronic inflammation are at the root of many symptoms we see in our patients.  It’s no surprise that this could be a root cause of long COVID as well.  

What can you do? Reduce your inflammation in the best ways we know of:

  • Eat right. Plenty of high-quality whole foods, like fiber, protein, fruits, and veggies.  These foods are anti-inflammatory in nature and help balance blood sugar, which is very good for our stress response.   
  • Exercise daily, especially outside in nature. Connection to nature is an instant stress reliever. Couple that with moving the body and the blood, and you have a panacea for the immune system and hormones 
  • Connect to others. Humans are pack animals. We do better when we are meaningfully connected to others.  Grab a green smoothie and go for a walk with a friend, and you’ve got a trifecta of movement, whole food, and connection!
  • Rest. No, for real, rest. Turn off the screens, put down the phone, go to bed early. Almost all of us need more sleep than we get—sleep helps recharge the hormones and resolve inflammation.

Long COVID may be relatively new, but inflammation isn’t. And after 20 years and more than 10,000 patients, we know inflammation! Connect with your ND to find out if your stress hormones and/or inflammatory markers are out of balance—we have tools that work.  

Our Top 5 Ways to Manage the February Blues

It’s the last week of February. The weather is cooperating, and March is in your sights! Still, while you can glimpse the end of winter, this can also be the toughest part of the marathon, especially if you are more susceptible to seasonal mood challenges. 

Here are our best tips for cultivating a good mood in the late winter.

Get outside and move your body
This is a two-for-one deal! Countless research papers have shown how much exercise can positively impact mood.

Coupling exercise with time outside brings the added benefit of exposure to sunlight, which helps combat symptoms of SAD (seasonal affective disorder). 

To get even more for your effort, do your outdoor movement with others. People and nature are great mood enhancers!

Laugh
Use the power of the internet for good. Watch a cat video that always makes you laugh, get a book of jokes, talk to a funny friend. Watch a silly movie. Make sure you laugh at least once a day.

Do something nice for someone else
This is easier than it sounds. Small acts of generosity can pay big dividends. Offer a compliment to a stranger, make a tea for your roommate, hold a door open for someone, or send a quick text of affection or appreciation.  

Practice daily gratitude
This can be done by writing in a gratitude journal or simply by saying aloud three things you are grateful for. You can do it in the shower, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or while driving to work. 

Another way to practice daily gratitude is by saying a genuine thank you to someone you interact with during your day. A real thank you to the grocery clerk. A real thank you to a co-worker who helped you with something. A real thank you to your spouse for shovelling the driveway. These little words of thanks are cultivating positive thoughts in two ways. Practicing being grateful AND doing something nice for someone 

Take an Omega 3 supplement
There is some decent research on the effect of omega 3’s and mood. You’ll find a good meta-analysis here

Omega 3’s give you added benefit of managing cardiovascular risk factors and increasing skin health!