A New Blogging Schedule!

Now that I've finished up my formal classroom learning and am in the process of transitioning into my new role as a fourth-year intern at the Robert Shad Naturopathic Clinic (the teaching clinic within my school, CCNM), this blog is going to change a little bit. Here is what the future of the blog is going to look like: 

• Medical Mondays - I'll be talking about about things that are medical, science-y, and nerdy. 
• Treatment Tuesdays - I'll be discussing my experience as a clinician. These posts will hopefully be helpful for future interns! 
• Foodie Fridays - I'll be posting a recipe or something related to food. 
• Summary Saturdays - I'll be reviewing supplements, products, websites, documentaries, and more... all pertaining to health and wellness!

With this new schedule, I'll only be blogging four days a week and my posts will be more organized. This new blogging schedule will be launching on May 20th! See you then!

Examageddon

Eleven exams and a third year of naturopathic medical school are over!

Congrats, First and Second Years!

...to all the first and second year CCNM students who finished their exams today!

Enjoy your summer! 

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Please come and visit the class of 2014 in the clinic when you return to school in September. 

I promise we'll take good care of you!

Just Dance

Hello May! Why aren't you beautiful?

Took this picture near my school. Isn't it the most perfect daffodil?!

I don't know about the rest of Canada, but Toronto's weather has been a beaut these last couple of days. May flowers? Check! (See above). May sunshine? Check! (Today it was 22*C). May sunburn? Check! (Doh! That was my bad. I got caught up in today's glorious weather, spending too much time outside without protection or shade. Lesson learned).

Now that the weather is nice, the side-walks and parks have been bustling with people getting in some exercise. But apparently the exercise doesn't have to shop once the sun goes down. Now, according to this article, it has become trendy in New York City to party while exercising. That's right: rather than going to a bar on a Saturday night, you go to a "workout" club, complete with a DJ and fancy disco lights. You can read the article about this cool new workout option here.

While this idea sounds super fun, and is a great alternative to spending your Saturday night binge drinking, I must chime in with some of potential health concerns that may arise when following this trendy new workout regime:

First, what about sleep? After engaging in that much physical activity and excitement late into the night, it may be hard to "wind down" and fall asleep. Don't be alarmed if you can't get those catchy club beats out of your head! Exercising at night may throw of your circadian rhythm/normal sleep cycle.

Second, what about refueling? After physical activity, it is very important to refuel your muscles with protein and carbohydrates. Oh, and lots of water to replenish the fluid you lost through sweat. But these dancers may not want to have a meal at 1 AM. My suggestion would be to have a smoothie (the liquid will be easier to digest that meal or solid snack), complete with protein powder, berries, banana, and coconut water for ultimate replenishment and hydration.

Third, what about those who are still drinking after exercising? I wonder how many of these late-night exercisers will still go out and have a "night on the town" after their workout; a night full of alcohol and late-night pub food. An intense workout (which dehydrates) plus alcohol (also dehydrates) plus salty food (resulting in more dehydration) could equal one killer hangover the next day! These dancers should be careful when combining heavy exercising with heavy partying.

Flax Flat Bread

Easy peasy recipe for you today. This recipe contains two ingredients and takes 20 minutes flat to make. It is super versatile too: if you are looking for a simple, healthy, and quick flat bread, crust, chip, or cracker recipe, this is it. Oh, and it's gluten-free and grain-free! I've made this bread four times in the past month and it never ceases to amaze me! 

Flax Flat Bread

3/4 cup ground flaxseed* 

1 egg, whisked

Two individual pizza crusts made from flax! I flipped the top one to show you what the underside looks like. 

Combine two ingredients until a thick, sticky paste/dough forms. Spread using the back of a spoon, onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place until piece of parchment paper on top and using a rolling pin or your hands, flatten the dough out as much as you can (to about 2-3 millimeter in thickness). Carefully peel back the second piece of parchment paper and discard it. Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes. The more you cook it, the crispier the bread you'll get (so it will be more like a cracker or a crunchy crust). By baking it on the shorter side, it will be more pliable and chewier. Just make sure that it is no longer wet! You want that egg to be fully cooked. When done, slice the resulting bread into slices, pieces (if making crackers), or leave whole as a pizza crust. Or you could have separated the dough from the beginning to make two individual pizza crusts (which is what I did in the picture above). 

Now, use the resulting product like you would crackers, top with nut butter like toast, spread with marinara and other pizza toppings and use as pizza crust, or cut into triangles and use as corn chips/tortilla chips for guacamole and salsa!

*I ground 1/2 cup whole (golden) flax in my coffee grinder, though you can purchase pre-ground flax at the grocery store or bulk food store. Be sure to store pre-ground flax in the fridge. 

Enjoy!

Differentiating Some Causes of Chronic Pain in Women

My grandmother and I were chatting about different chronic pain disorders that exist in women. Here is a very brief overview of three common conditions, highlighting their differences and unique symptoms. All present with muscle pain and more often in women. 

Fibromyalgia 

- often presents in younger women (less than 40)

- point tenderness over affected muscles 

- tender points in various locations on the body (11-18 tender points total)

- anxiety and stress exacerbate the pain 

- often associated with depression and chronic fatigue syndrome

- often normal laboratory values

- may be due to mitochondrial dysfunction, though many hypotheses exist

Polymyositis
- often presents in women aged 40-60 

- weakness, stiffness, and inflammation of proximal muscles 

- severe pain and stiffness felt in pectoral and pelvic girdles 

- may have difficulty swallowing, lung disease, and thickening of skin

- elevated ESR and CPK laboratory test values 

- anti-jo antibodies found

Polymyalgia Rheumatica

 - often presents in women older than age 50 

- severe pain and stiffness felt in hip, neck, pelvis, shoulder

- inflammation seen in many muscles

- temporal arteritis can also present

- "gelling phenomenon" experienced (stiffness after inactivity) 

- elevated ESR and CRP laboratory test values

Lullaby Lavender

What's your favorite flower? Tulips are mine favorite appearance-wise, though in terms of health and therapeutic benefit, lavender is my healing flower of choice. 

Tulips surrounded by blue flowers that look a lot like lavender

Lavender (Lavandula stoechas) is a versatile plant: you can eat it, smell it, and apply it topically. It is antiinflammatory (can be applied topically to acne when diluted with rosewater), a nervine (soothes the nerves; great to sniff when stressed), is anxiolytic (meaning it helps decrease anxiety), and assists with sleep (sleep with some dried lavender under your pillow (keep the buds contained in a sachet; I bought my sachet of dried lavender in the South of France, a place where lavender grows like weeds!) or spray some lavender essential oil (that has been mixed with water) into the bedroom before hitting the sack). 

Lavender infused foods (here is a raw lavender tart recipe) and drinks, like lemonade and tea are quite tasty too. When cooking with lavender, just make sure you buy food grade buds. I've got some lavender to use up, so you can expect a lavender baked good recipe on the blog soon.  

Baby Poo

Today is my Maternal and Newborn Care Exam. 

In celebration of finishing this course, let's chat about baby poo and digestion:

A baby's first stool (aka poo) is thick and black. It is known as meconium. This stool has been collecting in the baby's bowels since the 16th week of the pregnancy (crazy!). Meconium is made of bile fatty acids, mucous, and sloughed off epithelial cells.

Moving on, if a baby is breastfed, his or her stool will be liquidy, mustard-colored, and odorless. Babies who are fed formula will have harder, darker, and much smellier stools! The iron contained in formula can be constipating for babies, contributing to development of these hard, dark, and smelly stools.

The newborn baby's stomach can only hold 15 to 30 mL. That's only a tablespoon or two! Amazing. This is why newborns need to be feed all.the.time! And while we adults have gastric emptying and bowel movements every 8 to 24 hours, babies empty their bowels every 2 to 3 hours, which means there is a lot of poo. The glycogen stores of babies are also very small (note: we store fuel for between meals and sleep through glycogen), also contributing to their constant need for food.

Mothers know that they need to burp their babies after a meal and that "spit-up" is a common occurrence  Babies often get this regurgitation as their cardiac sphincter of their stomach is still weak and doesn't properly seal off the stomach, allowing some milk to come back up.

Source unknown; not my picture. 

In terms of newborn food, you've probably heard that "breast is best". However, we were taught that the terminology to use when promoting breast feedings is now "formula has risks". The problem with the former phrase was that moms thought that "sure breast is best, but formula is pretty good too!". This new caption is aimed at educating moms that there are risks involved with feeding a child formula!

10 (Everyday) SuperFoods

These days, "superfoods" are all the rage. In every health food store, you'll see all kinds of fancy (and often very expensive) superfoods that are supposed to restore health, vitality, and have you living to 105 years old (they don't actually make those specific claims, but claims pretty close to these). Some recent and popular superfoods to hit the market include chia seeds, irish moss, goji berries, acai berries/powder, spirulina, maca... plus many, many more.

But what about everyday "superfoods"? Can I eat like a superhuman without breaking the bank? Why, yes, yes you can! Here are some of my top "everyday" superfoods (in no particular order):

Superfood loving: let's see, we have some sweet potatoes, onions, and broccoli! Three everyday all-stars. 

1. Oats - known for their soluble fiber, which keeps you full, your blood sugar regulated, and lower cholesterol by binding to excess cholesterol. I also love their versatility in cooking and baking. Gluten-free too, if you buy certified g-free oats. 
2. Spinach (and other greens) - greens are important for fiber (roughage), tons of vitamins, and loads of minerals. The healthiest vegetables are the greens. 
3. Grapefruits - we all love citrus for the vitamin C, but grapefruit is said to boost metabolism. 
4. Blueberries (and other berries) - high in antioxidants like vitamin C, fiber, and generally a "dark" fruit. Similar to the greens, the darker the fruit or vegetable, the more concentrated the nutrition. 
5. Almonds (and other nuts) - healthy fats and protein. An easy snack to have on hand. Almonds in particular are a source of calcium. 
6. Salmon - good old healthy fatty acids are found in salmon. These essential fats are good for our brain, skin, and mood. 
7. Seeds - flax, sesame, pumpkin, and sunflower are all awesome. Phytoestrogens are found in seeds, which help regulate our hormones and help our body deal with the synthetic hormones lingering due to all the plastics that are abundant in our modern world. 
8. Onions - anti-microbial (awesome to eat when sick), lower blood pressure, and have anti-cancer proprieties. 
9. Sweet Potatoes - lots of vitamin A. You can even eat the (cleaned) skin for extra fiber. A good source of complex carbohydrates. 
10. Broccoli (and other cruciferous vegetables) - high in calcium, vitamin C, and anti-cancer. Aside from greens, I'd say the cruciferous veggies are the best for your overall well-being. 

Year 3, Semester 2: Favorite Classes

Now that year 3, semester 2, is over, it's time for a recap! 

Urinalysis dipsticks!

This term, it was all about the little ones. There was a class in Pediatrics and one in Maternal and Newborn Care (two separate classes). I found both of these classes to be super interesting, probably because I know little about pregnancy, new babies, and wee children. I also loved focusing on treatments that were suitable and safe for children and babes. Sure I know the therapeutic dosage of vitamin D for adults, but how do I adjust this dosage for kids, new mothers, and infants?

My third favorite class (if you can consider it a class?) was Clinic 3. This "class" had us in the clinic, working with a fourth-year student, seeing patients, practicing charting, doing physical exams, and working on the treatment plan. It was a great introduction to what will be life come May when I enter the school's clinic full-time. Loved having this "sneak peek".

An honourable mention goes to In Office Procedures. In this class (though it wasn't really a class, more of a tutorial) we learned to draw blood (phlebotomies), inject vitamin B12, test blood glucose levels, and perform skin scrapings, Strep throat swabs, urinalysis, and more. It wan hands-on time to get us comfortable with the in-office procedures that we'll be performing next year and throughout our careers as naturopathic doctors.