Nutrition | Innate Wellness Naturopathic Medical Centre

Baby… It’s Cold Outside! Try these herbs and spices to stay warm…

By Dr. Kathleen Regan, ND 1. Cardamom: You may know the taste of cardamom from chai tea. It is a member of the ginger family long used as a warming stimulant. It is specific for damp weather. Grab a chai tea to start your day off on a warm note. 2. Cayenne: Hot, hot, hot! This spicy herb can be added to curries, stews or soups. It will increase circulation and facilitate the flow of blood to the hands and feet… keeping you warm. It is also excellent at fighting sore throats, colds and chest infections. But a caution – too much cayenne can cause sweating which will cool you down in the long-run. It is no surprise that this plant is native to the hotter climate of Central America. 3. Cinnamon: This sweet spice helps with tiredness, chilliness and poor immunity. A great herb to be using all winter long – it also helps to balance blood sugar and fight depression. Add this to your morning oatmeal or smoothie. 4. Fennel: Mildly warming but easily accessible and excellent taste. Fennel is not as strong as ginger but can still help to keep you on the warm side. It also helps to heal stubborn cases of bronchitis and chest infection that are common in the winter. 5. Ginger: Warming and Stimulating, the fresh root of ginger is suited to people who feel chilly. Add this to your soup or tea. Ginger can also help to calm an upset stomach – bonus! Additional Tips: Remember the winter is a time for warming and well-cooked foods such as spiced oatmeal, soups, stews and curries. A surplus of raw food, cooling juices or fresh salads will cool you down. [...]

By Dr. Kathleen Regan ND|2014-01-09T11:28:21-05:00January 8th, 2014|Cold and Flu Season, Nutrition, Recipes|Comments Off

Festive Clementine, Olive and Mint Salad

by Andrea Sarjeant, CNP Here’s a recipe for a great salad that you can bring to your next holiday party. The olives will help to support your adrenal glands, which need some extra love during this busy (and often stressful) season. The clementines are a good source of vitamin C, and the greens are super alkalizing and detoxifying! 1 container of mixed greens 4 clementines, peeled and sliced into rounds 1 cup black, oil cured olives, pitted ¼ cup mint leaves, packed ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil Tip the mixed greens into a big salad bowl. Scatter the clementines overtop, squishing them a little to release their delicious juice onto the greens. Roughly chop the mint leaves and olives and scatter overtop as well, and top with the extra virgin olive oil.

By Andrea Sarjeant CNP|2019-04-08T19:52:05-04:00December 10th, 2013|Nutrition, Recipes|Comments Off

One Important Tip for New Year’s Resolutions ….Made Easy!

by Dr. Kathleen Regan, ND on January 10, 2013 The New Year is FAST approaching and it is time to set our intentions for the coming year. Yes, it is a little early. But making important changes in our lives take time. Here is my simple recipe for resolution: 1 Part Vision 1 Part Passion 1 Part Willpower It’s simple and easy to follow…. right? All you need is the clarity of mind to know what you want, the desire or passion to seek it out and the willpower to follow-through. Easier said than done! At Innate Wellness we have designed some special New Years Packages to help you set your goals for the New Year and actually achieve them. Inquire about our ‘New Year’s Kick-start Program’ or our ‘Winter Detox Program’. A little support and guidance from our life coach and nutritionist can take your goals that much further! […]

By Dr. Kathleen Regan ND|2019-04-08T19:52:06-04:00December 5th, 2013|Mental Clarity, Mind Body Medicine, Nutrition, Self Care|Comments Off

Why Naturopathic Doctors Recommend Professional Natural Health Products

Question: Why do Naturopathic Doctors recommend professional supplements when other brands are sooooo much cheaper and have similar ingredients!? By Kathleen Regan, ND On days where I don’t practice as a naturopath, I consult at a law firm on medical files. Last week I walked into the staff room to find a group of lawyers standing around talking about the price of supplements. I got a lot of questions put to me directly about the cost, quality and regulation of supplements. These are questions that patients might not be comfortable asking… in so many words. Nobody asks questions as directly as a lawyer!! So I thought I might pick a few of them and provide some answers. How is all of this regulated anyways? Is there quality control in place for the natural supplement industry? Why do you recommend such expensive professional products?! Is there really a difference in quality or is this just a scheme to make money? Are there certain supplements that you should buy from a ‘better’ company and others that you can get on the cheap? What products or details do you pay special attention to when recommending a brand? […]

By Dr. Kathleen Regan ND|2019-04-08T19:52:07-04:00November 21st, 2013|Nutrition, Self Care, Women's Wellness|Comments Off

What is Holistic Nutrition?

By Andrea Sarjeant, Holistic Nutritionist Am I eating properly? Is my diet balanced? Am I missing anything? Am I getting the nutrition I need? What diet is right for me? What should I eat? These are some of the questions that you may be asking yourself. In fact, these are some of the most common questions that I’m asked by clients. […]

By Andrea Sarjeant CNP|2019-04-08T19:52:07-04:00November 16th, 2013|Nutrition|Comments Off

Crush your Sugar Cravings with this Tip!

by Andrea Sarjeant, Holistic Nutritionist Fall is great and all, but it’s also the season of temptation. We have the beautiful and bountiful harvest that is Thanksgiving, followed by the candy bonanza that is Halloween. Then we do it all over again over the holidays. You may wake up in the morning with good intentions. Maybe you have a light breakfast of just fruit and then a light salad lunch, but by the time 3 pm rolls around, you are starving and lacking any sense of the willpower that you had when you woke up! So when you finally eat that sweet, you’re so hungry that you hoover the first sugary treat you see. When we eat refined foods that have no fibre such as many of the baked goods and candies that are making their office rounds, our blood sugar rises quickly. What goes up must come down and we will inevitably experience a crash. Since glucose (sugar) is one of the main sources of fuel for the brain, when we crash, our brain sends the signal that it needs more sugar… and so it’s a vicious cycle. […]

By Andrea Sarjeant CNP|2019-04-08T19:52:08-04:00October 19th, 2013|Nutrition|Comments Off

The Benefit of a Fall Cleanse

by Andrea Sarjeant, Holistic Nutritionist Although it may sound counterintuitive, autumn is a great time to cleanse. Next to spring, fall is one of the best times to cleanse because seasonal changes are a natural time of transformation. In the fall, we see the trees shed their leaves to prepare for the coming winter and we can have our own transformation, too. We are lucky here in Ontario as we have four distinct seasons. I am a personal fan of cleansing each season and I find that it contributes to my overall health and well being. How does a fall cleanse work? Spiritually, fall is a great time to let go of things you no longer need in order to prepare for the winter. In alternative medicine, seasons are linked to organs. A holistic fall cleanse will work with your lungs and your large intestine. These organs are connected to skin and breathing problems, such as acne, eczema and asthma, which typically worsen in the colder weather. A fall cleanse must also be warming and immune boosting (and for this reason, I’m not a fan of juice cleanses in the colder months!). I instead prefer to load up on seasonal foods that a) promote cleansing and b) warm me up. How can a cleanse help your health concerns? If you suffer from digestive concerns (such as bloating, constipation, acid-reflux or nausea), aches and pains, excess mucous, allergies, skin problems, female cycle disturbances (such as PMS or irregular periods), dark under eye circles or sensitivity to chemicals or fragrances, it may be time to start a cleanse. Digestive concerns – a cleanse can help to relieve digestive concerns, such as bloating, constipation, acid-reflux or nausea. One [...]

By Andrea Sarjeant CNP|2019-04-08T19:52:09-04:00October 16th, 2013|Nutrition, Self Care|Comments Off

Lighten up your Thanksgiving Table!

by Andrea Sarjeant, Holistic Nutritionist Thanksgiving is the time of being thankful and surrounding ourselves with loved ones. But it’s also the time of big plates and heavy foods that can leave us feeling less than wonderful with every additional bite we take. I’ve put some tips together to help lighten your Thanksgiving table. 1. Load up on veggies 2. Lighten up your mashed potatoes 3. Go au naturel with your stuffing 4. Buy a natural, pasture-raised bird 5. Resist the urge to go back for more 6. If you’re choosing dessert, make it a homemade and healthier option […]

By Andrea Sarjeant CNP|2024-05-14T04:22:51-04:00October 10th, 2013|Nutrition|Comments Off

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 Dr. Angelina Riopel ND|2019-04-08T19:52:10-04:00October 8th, 2013|Nutrition|Comments Off