Monday, January 30, 2012

Stop Cleaning Your House!

During the winter months, we spend most of our time indoors. Therefore, it is of much importance to ensure that the home environment is conducive to good health. We know about the dangers of carbon monoxide, so we install CO monitors in our houses. We also know that keeping the house clean is important for warding off cold and flu. But few of us think about the toxicity of the cleaning products themselves. If we clean too vigorously, we just might be doing more harm than good.

Did you know that by using antibacterial soaps, detergents and wipes, you may be helping to breed “superbugs” in your house? The mechanism is similar to taking antibiotic medication too frequently. When we use antibiotic sprays and soaps, we kill most of the bacteria, leaving behind a few. The few bacteria that do survive did so because they have mutations that resist the antibacterial agent. When the survivors reproduce, they pass the resistance onto the new generation…

Granted, presently, more studies that confirm the severity of this theoretical risk are needed. However, correlation has been found between the usage of antibacterial soap and hand sanitizers and childhood allergies and asthma.

Resistant germs aside, when the antibacterial chemical in antibacterial products (usally Triclosan) mix with tap water, it undergoes chemical reactions with the chlorine in the water to form toxic by-products that are harmful to health. One category of these by-products are dioxins, which can also form upon exoposure to UV light (eg. when the sun shines on the kitchen countertop, after antibacterial wipe) Dioxins, at even small amounts can act as endocrine disruptors which can affect the human body in a very wide variety of different ways. Potential problems can be hormonal imbalance, increased cancer risk, ADD in children, fertility issues in adults, and even birth defects. Additionally, dioxins are chemically stable, meaning that they do not degrade very quickly, so if internalized, they can stay in the body for long periods of time. Prolonged exposure will cause it to accumulate in the body, increasing health risks even further.

That was just one example, what about the air freshener you use, the oven cleaner, the floor cleaning liquid, your bathroom sprays, glass cleaner? Do you take your clothes to the dry cleaner? We are, on a daily basis surrounded by thousands of chemicals (in our own houses!) Did you know that 18,000 new chemicals are produced each year? Worse yet, most of these have NEVER been tested on humans to assess for health risks? We don’t even know how harmful these substances are to our health in the long run!

It is important to clean your house, hygiene is certainly necessary for good health. However, we need to choose much safer substances to clean with. Some examples include:

1. Mixing 1 part of white vinegar and 1 part water to use as all purpose cleaning spray, and mirror cleaner

2. Pour 1 cup of white vinegar and 1/3 cup baking soda into the toilet bowl, scrub after letting it soak for 10 minutes.

3. Mix 10 drops of essential oil (lavender, for example) with a full spray bottle of water, shake to mix well. Use as air freshener.

Remember, a clean home is scent-free. If you prefer certain fragrances, you can use the natural air-freshener described above, or add a few drops of essential oil to your all purpose cleaning spray. You can also add pleasant fragrance to your home by baking cookies, or boiling a pot of water with cinnamon sticks in it, just to name a couple! Healthier options are numerous!

Enjoy cleaning in a more healthy manner!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

A Gentle Approach To Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia syndrome is a musculoskeletal condition characterized by diffuse body pain accompanied by fatigue. Other associated symptoms include headache, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, rheumatic disease, anxiety, and even irritable bowel syndrome. It is more frequently found in women, often under a great deal of stress. Fibromyalgia can be attributed to other underlying problems such as arthritis or chronic fatigue syndrome or it can be idiopathic (from unknown cause).

Diagnosis of fibromyalgia is symptom-based, and the prognosis of fibromyalgia is not malignant. A study published in Arthritis Care and Research followed fibromyalgia patients for three years, and found that symptoms decreased over time (regardless of treatment used). Regardless, it is a disorder that can significantly decrease quality of life in those suffering from it.

Treatment options from conventional medicine include: NSAIDs, anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medications, and cortisone injections. Various combinations of these can be effective; however, they are not without side effects. Numerous alternative treatment options are also available.

As with any health condition dealt with naturopathically, treatment would depend on the culprit (which is unique to each patient). While a healthy diet is the essential starting point, fibromyalgia patients benefit from nutritional supplementation along with herbal remedies to gently help ease the pain. In addition, patients also see a great deal of relieve with the usage of intravenous therapy, where high doses of nutrients (including vitamin C, B1, B2, B3, B5 B6, B12, magnesium & Calcium) are delivered into the blood stream. These vitamins and minerals help to decrease inflammation, relax tense muscles, and boost energy and mood as well. Patients have notice improvement after as few as just one treatment.

If you, or someone you know suffers from fibromyalgia, naturopathic medicine is definitely the way to go for effective therapy with minimal side effects.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Vitamin D – Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Vitamin D has gotten a great deal of media attention in the past decade. It has been said to be beneficial for health concerns including osteoporosis, depression , and even cancer prevention. Should you be supplementing too? And how much should you take?

First, remember that there is a reason why vitamin D is often referred to as the sunshine vitamin. Our skin, after the exposure to UVB light has the ability to produce its own vitamin D. Studies have shown that the exposure of skin on our hands arms and face to natural sunlight for about 15 minutes, three times a week, would suffice. Why, then, would anyone need to take it orally?
Many people, especially those living in the northern hemisphere tend not to get enough sunlight (thanks to the long winters). Second, with age, our skin’s ability to produce vitamin D decreases. Lastly, among those people who do get adequate sun exposure, many are vitamin D deficient. The cause of the last category can be complex, as the synthesis of the active form of vitamin D need the help of the liver and the kidneys. If you have chronic liver or kidney related conditions, you are likely not getting enough vitamin D despite adequate sunlight exposure. Severe vitamin D deficiency leads to rickets, osteomalacia and muscle weakness. Although these are rare now that many food items we eat are fortified with vitamin D, less than optimal levels of vitamin D have been linked to fibromyalgia, depression and chronic fatigue syndrome.

If you are someone who does require vitamin D supplementation, it is important to note the following. First, the form of vitamin D that you take is important; to maximize the effect, the active form (vitamin D3) is preferred. However if you are on prescription vitamin D (which is the less potent form, Vitamin D2), and you are at risk of cardiovascular events, you should consult a health care provider before switching.

Second, the dosage of vitamin D is also crucial. Not everyone requires the same amount of vitamin D intake. Too much vitamin D has a variety of side effects. Most of these result from the mechanism that helps to prevent osteoporosis . Vitamin D helps the body deposit calcium from the blood stream out to body tissues. This deposition can be where we would like for it to be- bones, or places where it shouldn’t be, such as kidneys, arteries. Too much vitamin D will cause inappropriate amounts of calcium deposition, causing the latter scenario. Calcium deposition onto soft tissue can lead to kidney failure and even cardiovascular events.

The take home message is this; it would be ideal to get vitamin D from sunlight exposure. If this is not possible, vitamin D supplementation may be required. For those that are taking oral vitamin D, it would be best to consult a health care provider in order to achieve the greatest efficacy without compromising on safety.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Calcium, Osteoporosis & Heart Disease

On the news last night, some tidbits of information on nutritional supplementation were given. The emphasis was on calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C, magnesium, and vitamin E. I’d like to expand on the story from a naturopathic perspective beginning with calcium.

Calcium supplementation is typically used for women over the age of 50, for the purpose of osteoporosis prevention. At first glance this is a logical solution. However, osteoporosis is no longer has begun to be understood as a result of calcium loss, as opposed to deficiency. What this means, is that it isn’t so much that our diet does not supply sufficient calcium. Rather, the problem is that we lose much of the calcium that is ingested. How? Well, a diet high in refined carbohyrates including sugar, saturated fats, animal protein and low in mineral rich vegetables causes that calcium in the bones to be leached out to offset this imbalance in the blood stream.

Furthermore, too much calcium supplementation can actually increase one’s risk for cardiovascular disease. Surprised? A correlation between calcium supplementation and heart disease has been found by a study conducted by Dr. Ian Reid, a professor of medicine and endocrinology at University of Auckland; this study was published by the British Medical Journal in April of last year. For more details on the study, go to:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20110419/calcium-supplements-heart-110419/

The Take home message is that without a well-balanced diet, calcium supplementation would not provide the protection against osteoporosis as you may think it does. On the contrary, it can even predispose one to heart attacks. The best way to get adequate calcium into your bones is to get it though dietary sources, where the form of calcium is much more readily absorbed by the body, thereby reducing cardiovascular event risk compared to supplementing with calcium pills.
For information on Magnesium, vitamin C and vitamin E, please check back, I will be discussing those at a later date!