As a naturopathic doctor, I believe that food is medicine and that it has many healing properties. However, I do not believe that obsessively focusing on nutritional content and micro-managing biochemical attributes of each ingredient is mentally or physically healthy. The therapeutic properties of eating are much broader than calories and phytonutrients. There are...
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The Dangers of Body Stigmatization and Food Shaming & How to Make Peace with Food and Focus on Health Without Obsessing on the Scale
Diet culture is powerful, pervasive, and addictive. It is easy to get bamboozled with the glitz and glimmer of weight loss, the promise of body shrinkage, and the rewards it seems it entail from a society that worships thinness as a status and power symbol. However, these lies of obtaining a better life through...
Why Diet Culture Has No Place in Health Care and Naturopathic Medicine
As a naturopathic doctor, I believe that food can be a form of medicine. In fact, I have previously focused on personalized diets and how certain nutrients can impact mental, emotional, and physical health. I also have discussed how genetic variations in individuals can impact metabolism of certain foods and that taking this into account...
The Top 10 Naturopathic Medicine & Essential Oils Blogs of 2020: Part II
Last week, I began counting down my top ten posts of 2020. Due to the challenging year, the topics highlighted were mood, anxiety, essential oils, and naturopathic medicine. Now, I continue with the final five. These also include posts on how essential oils soothe stress, support mood, and balance hormones. There are also articles...
The Top 10 Naturopathic Medicine & Essential Oils Blogs of 2020: Part I
As we close this year and enter into the new one, most are pausing to reflect on the past twelve months. With the current global condition, it has been a tumultuous year for many. In my latest post I review my top five posts from 2020 based on social media response, SEO hits, and...
Naturopathic and Wellness Resources for the 2020 Holidays & A Holiday Essential Oils Webinar: Gold, Frankincense, & Myrrh-The Science Behind the Three Precious Presents
This year, the holidays will be a lot different and much more poignant for many. Due to current world events, most gatherings will be limited, and many will find themselves alone, grieving, and missing loved ones. This means that along with the typical holiday triggers, many will be struggling with the idea of being...
Stress vs. Anxiety – How Do you Know?
Recently, I have been advocating for the importance of being mindful of mental health. Due to these tumultuous times, I feel it is important to have accessible, integrative articles and resources to support well-being. As a naturopathic doctor, it is my desire to provide some of these holistic tools to mitigate the physical and...
Essential Oils For Supporting Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone, Thyroid, and Oxytocin Hormone Balance
In my series on the connection between hormones and mood, I discussed, in excruciating detail, how estrogen, progesterone, thyroid, testosterone, and oxytocin hormones impact brain health and emotions. To summarize, hormones have profound effects on behavior and state of mind through various mechanisms, including their reciprocal relationship with brain neurotransmitters. An imbalance in either...
A Summary on How Essential Oils Support Mood and An Essential Oil “Olfactory Boost” of Gratitude
2020 has been a trying year. As we approach the holiday season, many are feeling more isolation, grief, and emotional distress than ever before. Thanksgiving is a few days away, and, rather than feeling blessed, the majority are feeling even more separated. For this reason, I feel it is important to offer tools to...
How Thyroid, Testosterone, and Oxytocin Hormones Influence Mood
My recent series on the topic of how hormones influence mood has highlighted how specific hormones impact brain signaling and mental health disorders. In part one, the introduction, I explored: the connection between stress and hormone production the factors and influencers on hormonal regulation and their effects on the body how sex hormones interact...