How are you? No, but for real. Uncovering anxiety and depression.

How many times have you asked that question yet are not quite ready to hear the full answer? Are you asking to be polite or out of habit or are you truly there to listen. Of course no one is being rude when they ask that question out of habit. Sometimes this question can open up a can of worms and in my opinion, this is where the good comes. This question, "How are you?", if you have more than a second to listen, or more importantly to answer, is a time to get real, to allow those feelings and emotions to come boiling up instead of being suppressed, which can eventually cause physical or mental health issues.

There was a recent study that showed the connection between Alzheimers and stress. This proves, yet again, the connection between the mind and the body. We also hear heart-wrenching stories of those taking their life due to depression, when no one around them knew they were suffering.  I see this mind-body connection every week, both personally and professionally. 

Professionally I ask the question “How are you?", usually hoping for more detail, to figure out if there is an emotional connection to the root of my patients concern. Time and time again there is! Because I understand the mind body connection I ask these questions first before doing any extra testing or giving supplements. I love taking the time to listen. Most people aren’t given that time or space and it can be very therapeutic. 

Personally, building a practice and understanding how to structure it to best suit my needs is hard. I have learned this since I started and still struggle to find the right balance. I can suffer health wise myself because of stress and worry. No job is perfect but being the perfectionist that I am I can’t seem to settle for anything else. I want to help you, I want you to heal, I want to give you that space and be open to truly listening to your answer when I ask how you are. In order to do that I need to find time to answer that question myself, to breath, to meditate, to talk. Practice what I preach. 

Are you feeling overwhelmed, anxious or depressed? Don’t hide it. Find people that can support you. That could be family and friends or it could be someone with an unbiased approach or simply a sounding board; a counsellor, a therapist or me, an ND. We are all happy to listen and to help. It’s time to talk.  

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen

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Food Friday: Best Brunch Frittata

https://drhyman.com/blog/2016/05/03/broccoli-sausage-frittata/

Do you have leftovers vegetables or meat in your fridge? Are you looking for a breakfast option that is packed with protein and veggies? Are you on a paleo diet or limiting grains and lost for what to eat for breakfast? This is your dish!

I was not able to eat eggs for awhile as they were a sensitivity for me, I also never liked them as a kid, so cooking an egg (in its many ways) was a mystery to me. Luckily that has changed, so over the years (years meaning about 1!), I am exploring different egg dishes and perfecting my cooking methods. This still is a struggle…I constantly overcook my fried egg!

Good quality protein to start my day is very important to me. It helps me focus for the day and prevents a crash of energy in the afternoon. If I am not doing an intermittent fast day, something I weave in and out of, I always make sure to have some sort of protein, and eggs are a great option. What makes this frittata so awesome is that it is very easy to make and you can make it on the weekend with leftover veggies you have, and then eat it for breakfast the next few days. You could even make this in little muffin tins and have an easy on the go breakfast. Feel free to switch up the vegetables and protein to your liking (eg. red pepper, broccoli, tomato, grated sweet potato). Anything goes really!

Ingredients:

• 6-8 eggs

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 uncooked sausage, skin removed and broken into pieces

• 1 leek, diced

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1/2-1 cup mushrooms, diced

• 1 cup greens, chopped (swiss chard or baby spinach)

• 1 tsp coconut or almond milk

• 1/2 tsp Herbamare or sea salt

• freshly ground pepper, to taste

• optional - feta cheese, cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375F.

• Heat the oil in an oven-safe skillet, such as a cast-iron pan, over medium heat.

• Add sausage, leek and garlic and saute for 5-7 minutes or until sausage is cooked through. Spread vegetables and sausage evenly around skillet.

• Beat the eggs with the coconut/almond milk, add salt and pepper, then pour into the skillet and cook for 2 minutes.

• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 12-20 minutes, until egg is no longer runny and slightly golden.

• Serve in pie slices and garnish with avocado, chives and parsley if you like.

Enjoy!

Do you have a favourite combination for a frittata?

Food Friday: Cauliflower and Butternut Thai Curry

Photo courtesy of OhSheGlows.com - mine disappeared too quickly!

I have been needing some quick and easy meals to prep lately that are still full of flavour and for those reasons this one is a hit! I love curries that have a bit of a kick to them as well as hearty stews like this that pack a punch of nutrients in one bowl. This is a great meal to cook on the weekend for your week day lunches, especially with the winter weather we are having lately, or a quick meal to make in the evening after work for the family. Angela from OhSheGlows never disappoints! This dish is vegan but so delicious, so for those carnivores out there, I challenge you to give this a try (hint hint to my guy!).

I used swiss chard for this dish, which is very high is essential minerals such as magnesium, iron and potassium. It is also very high in vitamin K, A and C. Two thumbs up! Butternut squash (and other winter squash) is higher in carbohydrates than other veggies since it is a starchy vegetable, however “despite its high-carb nature, winter squash has recently been shown to help steady the release of sugar inside of our digestive tract after being eaten, and to lessen our overall glycemic response to meals.”(1) Another two thumbs up!

Without further ado, the recipe:

Ingredients:

Curry:

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 14 oz (398 mL) can coconut milk

• 1 14 oz (398 mL) can diced tomatoes, with juices*

• 2 cups chopped cauliflower florets, bite sized

• 2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash, bite sized

• 1/2 cup uncooked red lentils

• 2 tbsp red curry paste

• 1 tsp dried flaked onion (or 1/2 diced onion cooked first)

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• Lots of freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 2 cups packed stemmed and finely chopped swiss chard (or kale)

Other:

• Cooked basmati or jasmine rice (or no grains)

• Fresh chopped cilantro leaves

• Fresh lime juice

Directions:

• Add all of the curry ingredients except the swiss chard to a large pot, stir, and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 25 to 35 minutes, adding the swiss chard during the last 10 minutes.

• Cook until the veggies and lentils are tender. Stir the curry every 5 minutes while cooking, and reduce the heat if necessary to prevent it sticking to the pot. Adjust seasoning if needed.

• Serve over rice, if desired, and garnish with cilantro and a little lime juice (not necessary if you don’t have it).

• Enjoy!

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen

(1) http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=63

Vitamin D: Are You Deficient?

Clinic lab test available to you!

This vitamin, or hormone to be exact, is known as the sunshine vitamin. But are you actually getting enough sun exposure to to produce optimal levels of vitamin D?

Vitamin D plays many vital roles in our body. Virtually every cell in the body has a vitamin D receptor, which, when bound to vitamin D, can influence the expression of more than 200 genes. It maintains normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, to support proper bone development, it modulates cell growth, support the immune system, reduces inflammation and much more!

Vitamin D Levels:

The optimal level of 25-OH D is 75-100 umol/L (recent research has shown a possible optimal range at 120-150 umol/L), however the current Canadian average of D3 levels is 67.7 nmol/L. This means more than 70% of Canadians are deficient. I have seen patients which much lower numbers than this. Even down to 23 nmol/L! (Higher is not always better though for this fat soluble vitamin. However, most cases of toxicity symptoms are at 25000-60000 IU/day for 1-4 months. This is much higher than the ND recommended dose.)

Where do we get vitamin D?

We synthesize most of our vitamin D from sunlight exposure. It is estimated that 20 minutes, with face and arms exposed, provides 200 IU for people with light coloured skin. A moderate sunburn can produce 10000IU per day. However, sunscreen and sunblocks over SPF 8 prevents formation of D3, and most of us are indoors often throughout the summer and get minimal exposure to sunlight on these darker days of fall and winter. We source some vitamin D from food, with seafood being the most significant source, sardines to be exact! Mushrooms and egg yolk also have small amounts.

This is why it is recommended that most Canadians supplement with vitamin D.

What does Vitamin D effect?

To display the vast effects vitamin D has on the body here is a list of conditions that have been linked to vitamin D levels:

• Fractures and Osteoporosis - Vitamin D along with K2 if needed to increase calcium absorption - D3 supplementation is associated with a 22% decrease in risk of falls

• Depression - D3 deficiency has been linked to increased incidence of depression 

• Autoimmune conditions - D3 deficiencies have shown an increase risk of autoimmune diseases such as MS, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis 

• Thyroid health - There is an association between low vitamin D status and autoimmune thyroid diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Graves’ disease

• Poor immune system - Vitamin D helps the immune system adapt and ward off infection, beneficial in cold and flu season

• Metabolic disorders - D3 helps restore beneficial gut bacteria which in these studies has shown to have a key role in diabetes and heart disease 

How much Vitamin D to supplement?

So with all that information you may be wondering how much to actually supplement. This really depends on your individual levels of 25-OH D. As stated early, I’ve seen a patient with levels in the 20s (nmol/L), so they would need a much higher dose of D3 to reach optimal levels, compared to someone that is slightly deficient, let’s say in the 60-70nmol/L range. If you suffer from any of the above health conditions, I advise to get your vitamin D levels tested. The quicker you raise D3 levels if you are deficient, the sooner symptoms will improve. The common recommended dose of 1000-2000IU may not be enough for you! That said, if we were to give higher levels of D3, a dose of 5000-8000IU, it is important to know D3 levels and assess the necessity of vitamin K2 and vitamin A supplementation - all these soluble vitamins play a role with each other to prevent toxicity. Sufficient levels of potassium and magnesium have also been suggested to protect against vitamin D toxicity.

So ask your doctor to test your vitamin D levels, 25-OH D levels to be exact. There is a simple blood test I do in practice to assess your levels. Book in for a blood test visit to get yours tested today!

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen