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Prepare for the Change of Season

The change of seasons is an important time in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  This is a time to consciously shift gears and to prepare your body, mind, and soul for the next season. Summer is a ‘yang’ season, which is associated with energy, growth and creativity.  In contrast. autumn is a ‘yin’ season where our vital energy contracts and moves inward. As we move into autumn and the weather changes, instinctually our desires and preferences change.  We are drawn to warming, hearty foods such as soups, stews and roasted vegetables, rather than salads and other cooling foods that we tend to enjoy in the summer. Autumn is a time of harvest, and we begin to gather our crops, can our vegetables and pull energy inwards.  The change of season is natures way of preparing us for the stillness of winter. Diet, lifestyle, pace and energy should all be considered at this time of year.  By understanding the next season we can make the transition easier and provide the support that our body needs to stay in sync with the seasons. […]

By |2024-06-21T03:13:44-04:00October 8th, 2013|Nutrition|Comments Off on Prepare for the Change of Season
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Seasonal Affective Disorder: Start early to beat the winter blues!

The clouds roll across the sky and the days get dark.  This marks the beginning of winter for many people, a trigger for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  If you suffer from SAD you should focus on preparing for this season BEFORE the winter arrives with these simple tips: Incorporate Light Therapy (Begin Early Fall) Consider Vitamin D in the right dose! Supplement with Melatonin at the right time! Nutrition to beat the blues Exercise Do what you love and love what you do! […]

By |2024-07-22T08:32:43-04:00October 2nd, 2013|Mental Clarity, Mind Body Medicine|Comments Off on Seasonal Affective Disorder: Start early to beat the winter blues!
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Gardening Tips for Your Back

Fall is here along with thanksgiving and it is time to put your garden to sleep. Raking, lifting, pulling and digging. For the majority of us, these are not our typical everyday activities. So when we take on the weekend warrior role of green thumb extraordinaire, it is important to know our limits. Here are some tips to help keep your back and body healthy and strong. 1.)   Warming up is important. Start on the lighter things first in the garden. Do some jumping jacks or running on the spot to get the muscles and body warm and loose. 2.)   Break up activities into 20 minute blocks. Spending longer than 20 minutes bending over digging our pulling plants is a recipe for disaster for your low back. Our muscles are designed to move us not hold us (i.e. try and hold your arm out to the side of your body for longer than 10 minutes). When you give your body a break it has time to recover which means less back ache and injury. 3.)   Try and keep upright. Our shoulders should be directly over our hips, when we bend at the hips this increases the load in our low back. Bending at the knees while lifting allows you to keep your shoulders over your hips and your back straight. If there is small stuff to do, bring it to a raised work surface. 4.)   Stay hydrated, You would be surprised how much water our body loses with activity in sweat and breathing. Keep drinking while you are working in the garden. If you have become thirsty, you are already dehydrated. 5.)    Recovery is also important. We all have felt and know the next day [...]

By |2024-06-21T03:09:07-04:00September 28th, 2013|Self Care|Comments Off on Gardening Tips for Your Back
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Natural Remedies for Acute Coughs

In our house, weʼre just going through our first family cough of the season. And as the elder kid hacks, she says, “Ha, take that, virus! Get out!” Apparently sheʼs actually been listening to me all along. Coughs, as you may know, are our bodiesʼ way of moving a virus / bacteria / fungus / pollen / foreign body out of our airways. As we cough, air if forced out and along with it, any intruder that might be causing trouble. Add some mucus to trap that intruder, and itʼs an ingenious system to expel pathogens. That all said, coughs can be uncomfortable and shouldnʼt last beyond 7 -10 days. There are many wonderful naturopathic therapies to help soothe a coughing airway and support your body to purge the germs causing the illness. Good to know since pharmaceutical cough medicines are no longer recommended for children under the age of 12. And the puffers recommended for coughs are pretty heavy duty. Great to have them if necessary, but even better to help the body do the work, itself. Here are a few natural cough helpers: Honey Soothing for the throat, it actually contains antimicrobial properties to help kill germs. Conventional medicine has been studying honey recently and the conclusions have been that it is an effective medicine for coughs. Local honey that is not highly processed is best. Add it to a warm water with lemon, herbal tea or warm rice milk with a little organic cocoa to entice a sick kid to drink it up. Babies under 1 year old should not have honey. Mullein I love this herb. It soothes irritated mucus membranes (the lining of airways) and helps spasms of coughing. It [...]

By |2024-06-21T03:04:48-04:00September 25th, 2013|Cold and Flu Season, Pediatric Health|Comments Off on Natural Remedies for Acute Coughs
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One Day Conscious

I attended a course with a master herbalist who began the class by asking, “From which direction was the wind blowing today?” No one could answer.  He continued to ask a number of questions all relating to the subtleties of nature.  As a class we were only able to answer one question. We knew it was a new moon. As individuals we had not been present in our day to notice to subtleties. These details are important for people who are in touch with and rely upon the land, seasons, rainfall and tides.  Unfortunately those of us who rely upon alarm clocks, the subway and Starbucks, often do not pay attention.   […]

By |2024-09-26T07:29:53-04:00September 23rd, 2013|Mental Clarity, Mind Body Medicine|Comments Off on One Day Conscious
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Oh My! Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie Happy Fall! With the season approaching, I figured it was time to share one of my favourite Thanksgiving recipes from my blog. This is a wonderful pie that’s full of whole foods, naturally sweetened, nut-free and easy to make. Whether you use pumpkin or sweet potato, know that your pie will be full of carotenoids. Carotenoids are potent antioxidants, and help to reduce the free radicals in our bodies. Pumpkins are also high in antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which are especially good for your eyes. So eat up with the knowledge that this pie will nourish your family this holiday weekend.   Pumpkin Pie Recipe Crust: 1 cup pumpkin seeds 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 7 medjool dates, pits removed and chopped pinch Celtic sea salt pinch cinnamon and ground ginger Filling: 4 cups cooked pumpkin, squash or sweet potato 4 tbsp coconut oil  or coconut butter 1 tsp vanilla essence 1.5 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger pinch ground cloves ½ tsp grated nutmeg 2 tbsp sucanat or coconut sugar Optional: a few tablespoons of coconut cream (the thick cream that sits on top of your coconut milk when you open the can) to serve Pulse pumpkin seeds and coconut in a blender or food processor until roughly combined. Add dates, sea salt, cinnamon and ginger. Pulse to combine. You want the mixture to look like rough crumbs. Remove from blender and press into a pie plate with your fingers or the back of a spoon. Put in freezer to set. While the crust is setting, put all filling ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until the mixture is smooth. Scoop into pie shell and decorate with [...]

By |2024-07-22T08:38:45-04:00September 20th, 2013|Recipes|Comments Off on Oh My! Pumpkin Pie
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Getting the Right Backpack for Back to School

In the US in 2001, backpacks were the cause of 7,000 emergency room visits and countless complaints of muscle spasms, neck and shoulder pain. A few tips Rule 1 – Lighten up!! The backpack should never weigh more that 10% of the child's body weight. So if they weight 80 lbs., then 8 lbs. maximum. You would be surprised how quickly you can overload a backpack. Rule 2 – Balance!! A backpack with 2 wide adjustable straps will allow you to balance the load across a wider area on the shoulder, which means more comfort and less digging in. (P.S. Make sure they are using both straps and not on one shoulder). Rule 3 – Size!! It's important that the backpack is held close to the body. The further the weight is from our center of gravity the force increases dramatically. When they load the backpack put the heavy books or computer closest to their back. Rule 4 – If you child complains of tingling in their arms or aches and pains in their low back or neck, have them get checked out by a chiropractor. Knowledge is power!!!

By |2024-06-11T10:01:36-04:00September 18th, 2013|Self Care|Comments Off on Getting the Right Backpack for Back to School
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Recovery from Female Hair Loss

I was reading Gwenyth Paltrow’s new cookbook, “It’s all Good”.  Gwenyth speaks about the impact that adrenal burn out had on her health. She shares how holistic medicine and healthy eating helped to restore her well-being. I noticed looking at her pictures that her hair was thin and dry, not the usual beautiful Gwenyth hair.  I could relate to all of this!  I myself have experienced a prolonged period of stress where I lost too much weight, was burned out, anxious and half of my hair fell out. While I was going through this period of ill health I spent much time running tests and trying different things in order stop the gobs of hair from falling out daily in the shower. I tried everything to get my shiny, never thick, but full head of hair back to its glory days.  I am happy to say that things have turned around and I have a lot of short baby hairs growing in – a sign of new hair growth.  AND shampooing my hair is no longer a traumatic experience! There are many reasons for female hair loss or thinning.  Firstly we have to differentiate between hair breakage and actual hair loss.  Hair breakage occurs due to over-processing and blow-drying which results in split ends and hair breakage.  Whereas actual hair loss occurs when hair falls out from the root.  Hair loss will be noticed when shampooing as handfuls of hair will fall out.  Or you my notice that your brush is full of hair a lot faster than it used to be.  We are talking about hair loss here, not breakage. Causes of hair thinning or loss  Nutrient deficiency A number of nutrients need to be [...]

By |2024-06-12T02:34:20-04:00September 11th, 2013|Post Natal Care, Self Care, Women's Wellness|Comments Off on Recovery from Female Hair Loss
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Welcome to our Fall Open House!!

The team at Innate Wellness is pleased to announce our Fall Open House! Please join us Saturday, September 21, 1-5 pm to experience: Free 15 minute consultations for naturopathic medicine, chiropractic medicine, massage, holistic nutrition and health coaching Complimentary spinal assessment 15 minute massage Delicious food (think Kale and Kombucha!) Door prizes including a grand prize of 1 Healthy Digestive Package (valued at $689) Face painting for kids (and maybe adults too!!) For questions or directions please call us at 416-760-9424 or email [email protected]

By |2024-06-12T02:51:22-04:00September 4th, 2013|Upcoming Events at Innate|Comments Off on Welcome to our Fall Open House!!
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