You probably have a friend who stopped eating gluten, and they experienced a big change in their overall health. I see it all the time in the clinic as well – everything from digestive disorders, fatigue, skin complaints, brain fog, and more have been dramatically improved with these dietary changes. So, what about fertility then? Would avoiding these foods make a difference?   What is Gluten? Gluten is a protein found in some grains – wheat, rye, barley and spelt. Commercial breads, pastas and pastries all have gluten. Gluten is also found in a lot of sauces and dressing, most commonly ..read more

What can I eat to help support my fertility? Should I eat low carb? High fat? I get asked these questions A LOT. Let me break it down for you with the best research we have available. Depending on your fertility diagnosis, these recommendations might be modified for you, but this is a really good starting off point for anyone looking to conceive or even if you are deeper into your fertility journey and want to make sure your diet is working well for you. Let’s start with the basics – macronutrients. All food contains carbohydrates, protein and/or fats. I think it makes sense to start here befo ..read more

The most important aspect of your cycle if you’re trying to get pregnant is to identify when you are ovulating. This will help determine your “fertile window”, or the days when fertilization is most likely to occur. Because sperm can survive for 5 days, and the egg can be fertilized for 24 hours after it has been released, this window is typically 6 days long, with your most fertile day typically being 2 days before ovulation.   Your follicular phase of your menstrual cycle starts with day 1 of your period. At the beginning of the follicular phase, your brain releases a hormone called F ..read more

Women have about 450 menstrual cycles in their lifetime, but many women don’t know much about their cycle. This series will help you understand more about your period, and specifically how your period can give us insight into your fertility. As with all things fertility, it is never this simple. Some women have the “perfect” cycle and have trouble conceiving, and other women have very erratic cycles and fall pregnant easily. This is just one aspect of fertility that is worth exploring. ..So what is considered the most fertile menstrual cycle? Length: Between 27-32 days There have been several ..read more

The newest food craze hitting your newsfeed is called Intermittent Fasting. You may have heard about it, had friends that have tried it, or given it a go for yourself. As with many things in the nutrition world, it is throwing what we thought we knew upside-down.  Is breakfast still the most important meal of the day? Should I still try to eat 5 small meals throughout the day? The Run Down on Intermittent Fasting (IF) The idea behind intermittent fasting is that you give your body a break from ingesting calories for a period of time. The traditional fasting time is 16 hours, typically fro ..read more

Even though we know that New Years Resolutions are almost always ignored by the end of January, we still start the New Year with the hope that "this year will be the year where I finally... (lose 30 pounds, eat healthier, exercise more, insert other lifelong health goal here).  The problem with these "resolutions" is that they are lofty goals without a realistic plan in place, and rely heavily on motivation, which easily wanes by mid-January. And then when we don't stick with our resolution, we feel like we have failed so we beat ourselves up, and lose self esteem.  Instead ..read more

Lab results may not flag a problem, however the numbers can reveal a lot about your health, and can mean the difference between feeling fine, and feeling optimally healthy. Whenever I see a new patient, I always recommend they bring in a copy of their most updated bloodwork, or, if it has been a while, I might suggest they get new bloodwork done. Why do I insist on actually seeing a copy, instead of accepting “My Doctor tested everything, and it was all fine”? Well, 2 main reasons. Often “testing everything” doesn’t mean quite that. There might be something useful that was missed, or a resul ..read more

In addition to a healthy diet and a balanced lifestyle, many people are curious about which supplements they should be taking, and whether there is a benefit to taking any supplements at all! Personally, I think supplements can be very beneficial, but I always emphasize that they must “supplement” a good nutrition plan and lifestyle. For example, a multi-vitamin is not something I would typically recommend, because the dosages are so small, that you should be able to obtain them from diet (the one exception is for pre-natal vitamins, or women trying to conceive). As a Naturopathic Doctor, I pr ..read more

1 in 4 Canadians will suffer from some form of anxiety disorder in their lifetime. Feeling anxiety, or fear, is a normal part of our physiology but it becomes a problem when anxiety interferes with relationships, the ability to go to work or school, and other aspects of daily life. Symptoms of Anxiety The symptoms of anxiety are diverse, and can sometimes be difficult to recognize. Mental symptoms include excessive worry, insomnia, recurrent thoughts, nervousness and a sense of doom. There are also a myriad of physical symptoms – changes in body temperature, changes in digestion, frequent urin ..read more

We have all been there – a stressful day at work, a bad breakup or a frustrating argument with a friend. All of a sudden it seems we want to indulge in all the foods we try our best to avoid – ice cream, chocolate, pizza. The craving for sugar and fats seems to be one of the many responses to elevated levels of cortisol in our body.   Cortisol is also known as our “stress” hormone. It follows a natural cycle throughout the course of the day, high in the mornings and low before bed. Cortisol will also spike throughout the day – during a stressful meeting, being in a traffic jam or even whi ..read more