bc

We are SO excited to announce to all of our patients that we are moving at the end of this month!

We are moving down the hall to a much larger office, which has more rooms for us to expand.The new office is almost 3X the size of our current office. It offers a large room for us to run our Weight Loss Rehab program,offer more educational presentations and offer more services to our patients. 

Visit the blog and be sure to follow our newsletters to stay posted on our exciting changes. 

Oct 11-Nov 11th I embarked on a 30 Day Food Combining Challenge.  If you need a bit of a refresher as to what the challenge entailed, have a look back at the guidelines!  "30 Day Food Combining Challenge".

The 30 days actually flew by.  However, having said that, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking that I could eat this way forever and it didn't seem so hard.  But as soon as Nov 11th hit, my body innately stopped food combining, or made it really difficult to continue. So I will try to explain what I actually did.

I generally eat gluten free; the only dairy I consume is goat milk cheese and raw milk cheddar cheese; and sugar free.  I used to be anaphylactic to lentils, beans and peas, although I am no longer, I just generally still avoid all these.  When you grow up thinking a "pea" can kill you, it kind of the best way to stop any need or desire for that food, dead in its tracts.  Lets just say, me and pea's are not friends.

Anyhow, I will lay out a typical diet intake, and then below will indicate how I modified it:

B - 2 poached eggs with cheese and guacamole + 1/2 cup of granola  (protein+carb)

L - Beef and vegetable spaghetti sauce with 1 cup of brown rice pasta  (protein+carb)

S - 1/2 cup black berries+ 1.5 scoop Dream Chocolate Whey Protein+1 tbsp virgin coconut oil = Smoothie  (ok exception to combining rules)

D - Fish and vegetable thai coconut curry+  1/2 cup of buckwheat noodles  (protein+carb)

30 day food combining challenge modification:

B - 2 poached eggs with cheese and guacamole  (protein+veggies)

2 hours later snack - 1/2 cup of granola  (carbs)

Lunch - Beef and vegetable spaghetti sauce + spaghetti squash  (protein+veggies)

2 hours later snack - 1 cup brown rice spaghetti aioli - made with olive oil, garlic and green olives (carbs+veggies)

Snack - protein smoothie same as above

Dinner - Fish and vegetable coconut curry (protein+veggies, an fish is not combined with dairy)

Can you see how I did that?  Was not to difficult!  I basically split up my 4 meals to 6.  The extra carb only meals provided a bit of a challenge as it was a bit of extra cooking.  I can't just eat spaghetti on it's own, so I had to cook an extra sauce for that spaghetti in place of having it with the meat sauce.  The second thing I found most challenging was breakfast.  The timing of having the eggs separate from granola.  Was a bit hard to fit that in while working.  If I had gotten up 2 hours earlier, it may have been easier, however, I generally did not.  But I did manage to get everything in, and keep it separate.

How did I feel?  It was quite a neat experience.  I may not be the best to provide feedback, as I have changed and altered and played around with my diet so many times.  Earlier in my health history it was out of need, and later on it became moreso about tailoring to my own personal body chemistry.  So I didn't experience any cravings.  I did have a bit of a headache for one or two days, but it was very minor.  

I noticed a huge improvement in overall digestion.  I thought my digestion was great, but apparently it can get alot better, and so it did!

I noticed overall less puffyness in my entire body.  

I think with proper and complete digestion it eliminate the overall stress of the digestive tract and therefore, the entire body.  The majority of the nervous system is located in the gut.  So the theory of Ayurvedic medicine is to have strong digestive fire, and that will result the absence of disease and long term health.

Ayurveda encourages us to take responsibility for our health as much as possible by making appropriate changes in diet and lifestyle.  What we eat and how we live on a daily basis can be our strongest allies in changes in diet and lifestyle.  What we eat and how we live on a daily basis can be our strongest allies in restoring and maintaining health.  All other therapeutic measures will be strongly supported by this daily effort.  According to Ayurveda, there is no separation between body, mind and consciousness.  Healthy gut, equals clarity of mind and a sense of ease with daily life.   

I had a big A-ha moment while doing the 30 day challenge.  Is that there are so many diets out there to treat various conditions, to build muscle, to make a political stand for the environment, and everyone feels there way is the best way to eat.

You can be vegetarian, you can be vegan, you can be gluten free, you can have a paleo diet and consume all meat products and no carbohydrates, you can have no carbs at night only protein..etc..etc.  And the list can go on and on.

However, what is the common thread of all of the above diets?  At some element, if you partake in any of the above diets, you have to food combine.

Paleo diet - all meat, no carbs = follows the laws of food combining

Vegetarian/vegan - all plant source carbs+grains and no animal protein = follows the laws of food combining

Gluten free - if you can't eat gluten, you have to do more meals with just the protein+veggies, or protein+plant based carb such as potato's. Innately when you go gluten free, there is far more meals of food combining included.  And less mixing of carbs+protein. = follows the laws of food combining

No carbs at night - even just that one meal allows you to sleep with completely digested food not resulting in any stress to the system = follows the laws of food combining, even for just one meal per day.

All of these diets are decreasing the stress of the digestive system, and therefore the entire nervous system.

That was my huge epiphany.  I think it is unlikely I can food combine for the rest of my 6 meals per day.  But I am committed to at least one meal per day.  And if I can include more, that is just a bonus!

We would love to hear your feedback if anyone tried the challenge along with me.  Please email us or comment on facebook.  

Until the next challenge.  In health, Neetu

Oct 11-Nov 11th I embarked on a 30 Day Food Combining Challenge.  If you need a bit of a refresher as to what the challenge entailed, have a look back at the guidelines!  "30 Day Food Combining Challenge".

The 30 days actually flew by.  However, having said that, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking that I could eat this way forever and it didn't seem so hard.  But as soon as Nov 11th hit, my body innately stopped food combining, or made it really difficult to continue. So I will try to explain what I actually did.

I generally eat gluten free; the only dairy I consume is goat milk cheese and raw milk cheddar cheese; and sugar free.  I used to be anaphylactic to lentils, beans and peas, although I am no longer, I just generally still avoid all these.  When you grow up thinking a "pea" can kill you, it kind of the best way to stop any need or desire for that food, dead in its tracts.  Lets just say, me and pea's are not friends.

Anyhow, I will lay out a typical diet intake, and then below will indicate how I modified it:

B - 2 poached eggs with cheese and guacamole + 1/2 cup of granola  (protein+carb)

L - Beef and vegetable spaghetti sauce with 1 cup of brown rice pasta  (protein+carb)

S - 1/2 cup black berries+ 1.5 scoop Dream Chocolate Whey Protein+1 tbsp virgin coconut oil = Smoothie  (ok exception to combining rules)

D - Fish and vegetable thai coconut curry+  1/2 cup of buckwheat noodles  (protein+carb)

30 day food combining challenge modification:

B - 2 poached eggs with cheese and guacamole  (protein+veggies)

2 hours later snack - 1/2 cup of granola  (carbs)

Lunch - Beef and vegetable spaghetti sauce + spaghetti squash  (protein+veggies)

2 hours later snack - 1 cup brown rice spaghetti aioli - made with olive oil, garlic and green olives (carbs+veggies)

Snack - protein smoothie same as above

Dinner - Fish and vegetable coconut curry (protein+veggies, an fish is not combined with dairy)

Can you see how I did that?  Was not to difficult!  I basically split up my 4 meals to 6.  The extra carb only meals provided a bit of a challenge as it was a bit of extra cooking.  I can't just eat spaghetti on it's own, so I had to cook an extra sauce for that spaghetti in place of having it with the meat sauce.  The second thing I found most challenging was breakfast.  The timing of having the eggs separate from granola.  Was a bit hard to fit that in while working.  If I had gotten up 2 hours earlier, it may have been easier, however, I generally did not.  But I did manage to get everything in, and keep it separate.

How did I feel?  It was quite a neat experience.  I may not be the best to provide feedback, as I have changed and altered and played around with my diet so many times.  Earlier in my health history it was out of need, and later on it became moreso about tailoring to my own personal body chemistry.  So I didn't experience any cravings.  I did have a bit of a headache for one or two days, but it was very minor.  

I noticed a huge improvement in overall digestion.  I thought my digestion was great, but apparently it can get alot better, and so it did!

I noticed overall less puffyness in my entire body.  

I think with proper and complete digestion it eliminate the overall stress of the digestive tract and therefore, the entire body.  The majority of the nervous system is located in the gut.  So the theory of Ayurvedic medicine is to have strong digestive fire, and that will result the absence of disease and long term health.

Ayurveda encourages us to take responsibility for our health as much as possible by making appropriate changes in diet and lifestyle.  What we eat and how we live on a daily basis can be our strongest allies in changes in diet and lifestyle.  What we eat and how we live on a daily basis can be our strongest allies in restoring and maintaining health.  All other therapeutic measures will be strongly supported by this daily effort.  According to Ayurveda, there is no separation between body, mind and consciousness.  Healthy gut, equals clarity of mind and a sense of ease with daily life.   

I had a big A-ha moment while doing the 30 day challenge.  Is that there are so many diets out there to treat various conditions, to build muscle, to make a political stand for the environment, and everyone feels there way is the best way to eat.

You can be vegetarian, you can be vegan, you can be gluten free, you can have a paleo diet and consume all meat products and no carbohydrates, you can have no carbs at night only protein..etc..etc.  And the list can go on and on.

However, what is the common thread of all of the above diets?  At some element, if you partake in any of the above diets, you have to food combine.

Paleo diet - all meat, no carbs = follows the laws of food combining

Vegetarian/vegan - all plant source carbs+grains and no animal protein = follows the laws of food combining

Gluten free - if you can't eat gluten, you have to do more meals with just the protein+veggies, or protein+plant based carb such as potato's. Innately when you go gluten free, there is far more meals of food combining included.  And less mixing of carbs+protein. = follows the laws of food combining

No carbs at night - even just that one meal allows you to sleep with completely digested food not resulting in any stress to the system = follows the laws of food combining, even for just one meal per day.

All of these diets are decreasing the stress of the digestive system, and therefore the entire nervous system.

That was my huge epiphany.  I think it is unlikely I can food combine for the rest of my 6 meals per day.  But I am committed to at least one meal per day.  And if I can include more, that is just a bonus!

We would love to hear your feedback if anyone tried the challenge along with me.  Please email us or comment on facebook.  

Until the next challenge.  In health, Neetu

Diabetes in your family? High blood pressure?  Waist circumference greater than 31.5 inches? East or South Asian ethnicity?

An estimated 9 million Canadians live with diabetes or prediabetes. Of these, 1 million Canadians live with diabetes without knowing it. The difficulty is we can have prediabetes and undiagnosed diabetes without obvious signs and symptoms so often diagnosis (and care) is delayed. The key, however, is to be able to identify our risk of diabetes so we can make effective changes right away. Why right away? Insulin production is 35% of normal by the time of diagnosis! That’s less than half the production of this critical hormone by the time many of us are made aware of a problem.

Using information such as age, body mass index, waist circumference and family history, the simple Canadian Diabetes Risk Questionnaire (CANRISK) calculates a risk score to let you know if you’re at low, moderate or high risk of developing diabetes. It takes only 3 minutes to do and you may be surprised by some of the risk factors!

CANRISK questionnaire

High risk (scores greater than 33): have a 2 in 5 chance of already having or developing type 2 diabetes

Moderate risk (scores between 21 and 33): have a 1 in 7 chance of having or developing type 2 diabetes.

For the above groups, Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing may be indicated. This blood test can diagnose or rule out diabetes while also giving us an idea of your blood glucose control over the past 3 months.

Whether you want to reduce the risk of developing diabetes or you are already taking medication for diabetes, we can provide effective therapies to improve blood sugar control at every stage. We provide thorough but targeted multisystem physical exams, in-office HbA1c testing (results in 5 minutes!), clinically researched nutrients and specific, individualized nutritional and physical activity recommendations based on your risk factors and overall health. For the month of December, Dr. Carin is providing complimentary HbA1c testing with an initial naturopathic consultation – only while tests are available!

Back-to-school season has arrived! Put on those thinking caps, because it's time to plan and pack snacks  to delight your little ones and keep them energized throughout the day.

Some snack ideas that are easy to pack and prepare:

~ Wild salmon burger- this has lots of protein to keep them full!

~ Home made lentil soup/chili/chicken noodle soup-(they are great to make in big batches and freeze in meal size portions) pack the child's meal in a thermos to-go!

~ Green Smoothie-prepare in a magic bullet or blender and pack for a refreshment later in the day!

~ Veggie wrap- take a whole wheat tortilla, or brown rice torilla for a gluten free alternative, apply hummus or tzatziki dip to the tortilla. Cut up some veggies length wise, try cucumber, celery, and place them in a row down the middle of the tortilla, wrap it up. Cut it into bite size pices and enjoy!

~ Unsalted umpkin seeds (come in a variety of flavours)  and celery sticks

~ Soft boiled free range organic egg + snap peas – put the egg in cold water, bring to a boil, turn off heat and let sit for 4 minutes.  Run the egg under cold water for several minutes. With this timing the yolk will not be overcooked, providing optimal nutrients

~ ½ green apple and 2 slices of organic ‘raw cheese’ – ‘raw cheese’ can be found in the organic refrigerator section of the local grocery store.  Look for the brand ‘L’ancetre’. 

~ Home made chicken tenders-cut chicken breast into pieces, dredge in an egg wash, lightly beaten. Coat with corn meal and bake in oven.

~ Ryvita crackers or rice crackers with dip-try tomato bruschetta or hummus

Come join Dr.Jeffrey Lee and Nathan as they present on common upper body injuries. 

Learn how Low-Level Laser Therapy helps heal these stubborn injuries and learn what you can do at home to prevent them! 

When: Wednesday August 22nd, 2012

Time: 6:30-7:30 pm

Location: Brio Clinic (604-271-9355)

RSVP: Limited seating, call to reserve your spot.