Happy Canada Day! Wherever and however you’re celebrating today, I’m sure it includes food. It’s not often we consider Canadian cuisine here in Canada, but I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight some traditional indigenous recipes, alongside some Canadian classics and some fun red and white treats.
Read MoreIce- Cream, potato chips, lemonade, cherry pie, soft drinks. The list could go on and on. Summer is full of delicious treats that could derail your family’s goal of cutting down sugar. While Summer is certainly the season to throw the schedule out the window and adopt a more free-spirited way of living, it doesn’t have to undo all of your sugar-free efforts. Whether you choose to stay totally sugar-free or prefer a more balanced approach, you don’t have to skip any of the Summer fun with these tips in mind
Read MoreWith Father’s Day just around the corner, I thought I’d take this annual opportunity to talk specifically about men’s health. If you are a dad, Happy Father’s Day! If you aren’t a dad, or just have a dad you’d like to continue making happy memories with, I invite you to share this with him this Father’s Day. After all, it is health that allows a dad to keep on doing all of the things we love the most about them. From heart health, mental health, and hormonal health, we’ve got the leading angles covered.
Read MoreToday, June 10, is World Anxiety Day, a day created to shed light on anxiety and those suffering with it, many of whom do so behind the scenes. It’s estimated around 25% of Canadians suffer from anxiety, which is data we have seen increase over the pandemic. The rates are particularly high among young people, with a 2018 report survey 41% of young adults aged 18-29 being diagnosed with anxiety. This is followed closely by 36% of 30-44 year olds and 31% of 45-59 year olds. Those over 60 report the lowest percentage at 16%. As my contribution to this conversation, I wanted to share some of my favourite natural anxiety easing tips.
Read MoreIt’s almost blueberry season! With blueberries starting to be ready in late June here on Vancouver island, I thought it was prime time to pick them for our Superfood Spotlight of the month, so that you could be ready to pounce the moment they’re ripe!
Read MoreNothing quite puts a bummer on Spring and Summer like seasonal allergies. Dealing with sneezing, congestion, itchiness, runny nose, and all of the joys that come along with pollen sensitivity can leave you feeling like you’re missing out on the joy and ease of the season. Thankfully, I’ve got you covered with some natural tips for preventing and minimising seasonal allergy symptoms.
As we shake off the hibernation of the Winter season, the rebirth of Spring or the promise of Summer may be giving you a bit more inspiration to get up and get moving, Movement is a crucial part of maintaining good physical and mental health, and yet only about 16% of Canadian adults are meeting the recommended 150 mins of physical activity per week. Sedentary lifestyles increase risks of health complications such as obesity, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain cancers.
Our superfood for the month of May comes from the sea… Seaweed. No, don’t eat the stuff you find washed up on the beach, I’ve included some delicious and sometimes surprising ways to incorporate more seaweed into your diet as well as the benefits of doing so.
One of the best ways we can reduce our carbon footprint, and drive growth within our communities is to support local food producers. Thankfully, on Vancouver island we have a ton of beautiful produce, meats, and more available to us fairly consistently through the year. Summer is of course the time of plenty, and so I wanted to put together a guide of my favourite places to get local fare around the Victoria area.
April’s Superfood Spotlight is… drumroll… The Avocado. This fatty fruit gets a lot of love, and for good reason. Almost good enough to rebrand to “An avocado a day keeps the doctor away.”
For 1 in 5 women, fertility is not an easy journey and can be tumultuous and heart breaking as they try to start a family. April 24-30 is Infertility awareness week, where women are called to share their stories with infertility to end the isolation of this struggle. I wanted to take this time to talk about the leading causes of infertility, why we have seen a dramatic rise in infertility rates over the last 40 years, and dive into some ways to boost and support fertility naturally.
Ready to celebrate Easter without all of the chemicals in commercial treats? Me too! Many of our favourite Easter treats are full of refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup and other additives we’d do well to hop quickly away from. I've put together a list of some healthier Easter treats that are cute and delicious enough to please the whole family.
Smile! How do you take care of your teeth? Most people will answer that with brushing, flossing and trips to the dentist, but did you know that there are actually supplements that you can take to help further support your teeth and gums? As April is Oral Health Month, what better time to talk about keeping healthy smiles.
What a beautiful gift that we are alive in a time where we can figure out what nutrients we need more of and have access to an incredible array of supplements to help fuel our health goals. But let’s not forget that the foods we eat have the potential to be just as if not more effective in supplying our bodies much needed nutrient values.
Our superfood spotlight for this month is ginger! This spicy root is not only a fabulous flavour, but has been used medicinally for over 5000 years in Chinese and Indian Medicine. Let’s have a look at some of the benefits of ginger as well as some yummy gingery recipes.
The lymphatic system is an often overlooked network of vessels throughout the body that work to help the body fight infection, drain away cellular waste, and help the body maintain fluid levels. Unfortunately, this highly important system is often not functioning optimally in many people due to modern lifestyle and nutrition habits. Let’s have a look at some of the signs of an under-functioning lymph system and how to support lymphatic health like a pro.
I often search the list of ‘National Day of..’ to find inspiration for blog recipe themes and this month when I saw this past week was ‘National Peanut Butter Lovers Day’ I knew I had to come up with a list of the BEST peanut buttery recipes because who doesn’t love nut butter?! Besides being protein packed, peanut butter is also a good source of healthy fats and Vitamin E, B3, B6 and Magnesium.
Don’t let the fear of garlic breath stop you from including this powerful superfood in your diet. Whether you’re a garlic lover or not, you’ll want to get in on these amazing bulb benefits. I’ve also included some scrumptious garlicky recipes to make with this superfood.
Read MoreSometimes it takes more than flowers and chocolate to set the mood. A low libido can sometimes be a sign of a deeper health issue such as hormone imbalance, but sometimes it's just in need of a good old fashioned rev up. With love still lingering in the air from Valentine’s day, I thought it was a great time to provide some tips for boosting your sex drive to create even more love this year.
Read MoreWhat is your definition of ‘healthy food’? This is something that I see has been so wildly misconstrued in today’s supermarket culture. I see time and time again when my patients visit me that there isn’t a very strong understanding of what makes a food healthy or not healthy. This has particularly become an issue as more and more people move to a vegan or plant-based diet. How CAN you tell if the food you’re eating is truly healthy for you?
