by | Oct 7, 2015 | Uncategorized
At Amaranth, we value meeting our customers where they are. We know that there is more than one right way to do things and we are here no matter where you are in your health journey. From organic, natural and whole foods to environmental responsibility and optimizing health and healing, there are lots of places to start. If colds and flus are your motivation, think of all of the extra benefits that building the immune system will have on your body!
No one wants to get the flu so we will start with how to prevent it, then we will look at what to do at the first sign of sickness and follow with how to treat symptoms that are making you feel miserable.
Of course none of us want to experience the discomfort of having a bad cold or flu, but in addition to preventing the flu these things can also prevent a lot of other health problems. Good sense cannot be overstated!
- enough restful and restorative sleep
- mild to moderate exercise everyday (Intense exercise or over exertion for your abilities can actually weaken the body and make it more susceptible to getting sick. Athletes or weekend warriors should follow extra mechanisms of prevention.)
- healthy eating including lots of greens, fats, carbs, sugars, fibre
- washing your hands with soap and water before eating
- having a healthy gut
Your gut is the tube that goes right from your mouth, all the way through your body and out the other end. Research is mounting as to the importance of getting this tube healthy. A healthy gut is full of a wide variety of beneficial bacteria that work with many or all of your body systems to regulate your immune system and your general health. A gut that is plentiful in good bacteria is better at crowding out cold and flu germs so that they cannot get a foot hold as well as working with the immune system to create its own antibodies to prevent colds and flus naturally.
Working to have a healthy gut can be a big process for some but it starts with getting the good bacteria in AND helping it survive. Good bacteria comes from spending time in healthy soil, not over disinfecting things and consuming fermented foods and probiotics. Keeping them alive and flourishing can be achieved by feeding them the things that they like to eat including all types of fibre from a variety of vegetables, fruits, pulses and whole grains. To learn more about building a healthy gut, visit your Docere Naturopaths.
You know when you feel that first tingle in the ears or throat or a bit of stiffness in the neck? Don’t wait to see what happens! You have a small window to get ahead of the germs that are trying to multiply. Taking a cold or flu targeted remedy can be very effective to both reduce your chances of a sickness setting in or decreasing the length and intensity of the infection.
A favourite Amaranth remedy is Cold Defense by Health First. Cold Defense uses a combination of traditional Chinese herbs that treat and prevent a variety of infections including some fungal infections.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Calgary
Why We Love It: In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), health is optimal when there’s an abundant supply of life energy or ‘Qi’ (chee). This energy supports our body, providing nourishment for all of our organs and tissues. Cold Defense uses the herb astragalus to strengthen our Qi and andrographis to clear heat and dampness from our body which can contaminate our Qi. Both of these herbs also have antibacterial and immune boosting effects. With the Qi healthy, the fang feng herb in the formula can use the Qi to aide in releasing toxins trapped in our body which helps to alleviate the pain associated with cold and flu symptoms. On top of these herbs, the formula uses North American ginseng to generate fluids and strengthen the immune system, as well as huo xiang which aids the digestive system and prevents diarrhea (phew)!
Blinded By Science: When a cold or flu gets past our primary defense system it often affects our stomach first. This can show as stomach upset/nausea or simply digestive issues. When our digestive abilities are weakened it is much more difficult to fight an infection and other issues soon present themselves. If taken at the onset of symptoms, Cold Defense has been shown to reduce cold and flu symptoms within 2-4 days. It can be taken for immediate relief of symptoms with an intense dosage over a 4 day period (3 capsules, 3 times daily) or it can be taken one capsule per day as a preventative or for long-term detoxification purposes.
If you miss this initial warning system and find yourself with a full blown cold or flu there are still lots of things that you can do in addition to continuing to take the Cold Defense.
First of all, rest and sleep. Yes, you are busy and surely very, very important, but you are sick and you will get better faster (and infect less people) if you stay home and rest. Taking something to numb to your symptoms and put you back into life’s responsibilities is only going to keep you sick longer.
Take a hot bath in Epsom salts, drink lots of fluids including ginger tea if you have congestion or digestive upset and follow your healthy living guide to prevention above.
Sore throats and coughs can be eased with Nim Jiom taken in a spoon or dissolved in hot water as a tea. A high dose probiotic can help to give you that extra boost to get your bacterial balance back to normal.
Moist air is easier to breath and supports the healthy bacteria that live in your mucus membranes so a humidifier can be helpful. Essential oils like tea tree or thieves oil can be added to the humidifier to ease symptoms and promote healing.
If you find it hard to breathe due to a stuffed nose, try ‘Magic Socks’. Have a hot bath with the door closed to help clear your passageways and get your body warm. Get out of the tub, dry off and put your pjs on. Wet a pair of 100% cotton socks with really cold water and put them on your feet (sorry!) and pull a pair of dry 100% wool socks over top. Go to bed. The wet, cold socks help to create a pump to cleanse lymphatic tissue and promote drainage where you need it. In the morning your socks will be dry, your feet will be hot and your congestion will be much, much less. Repeat again the next night.
Once you start getting back to normal, take it easy on yourself so that you don’t relapse. Keep taking the supplement(s) that you chose for prevention and relief and take good care of yourself, getting enough sleep and eating whole, nourishing and fermented foods and staying clear of sugar and other processed options. You deserve it!
For more information from Amaranth, visit the Amaranth Blog at https://amaranthfoodsblog.wordpress.com and like their Facebook page /AmaranthFoods.
For Health First Cold Defense or your favourite natural health supplements, visit Amaranth on the 1st Wednesday of every month for their Customer Appreciation Day where all supplements, vitamins and body care are 20% off of regular prices.
by | Aug 31, 2015 | Uncategorized
We were pleased to provide 20 snack suggestions for you on our Facebook page yesterday! As a follow up we thought our audience would like to know what types of snacks these might include and what the best options would be when it comes to purchasing local and organic.
Health Inspiration NW Calgary
Hard Boiled Eggs – these are a GREAT protein option especially when schools are a nut free and zone. You can find free range eggs at your grocery store now or you can buy at the farmers market from local farmers, (which is ALWAYS the best.)
Dips – The average bottle of Ranch Dressing is a chemical, by-product loaded zone but there are some EASY options to give your kids in their lunches to go side by side with their veggies! Follow this link for some homemade dressings that will have your kids asking for MORE!
Meats/Cheese – If you have not already heard lunch meats are chemical laden and are NOT the best option when making sandwiches or making pigs in a blanket. But more and more companies are coming out with lunch meat and rolled meats that have ONLY natural ingredients sans nitrates. We encourage you to find those options and choose those for your kids. Follow this link to help you choose healthier lunch meat and 6 key ingredients to AVOID!
Popcorn and Other Dry Goods – what seems to be fiber filled and easy to grab snacks can also be the worst for GMO’s, processed ingredients and high calories. When in a pinch and need to grab cereal, popcorn or pretzels always look for GMO free and the least amount of ingredients. Community Natural foods has AMAZING choices when it comes to these types of foods. Follow this link to find the store near you!
Fruits and Vegetables – as ALWAYS these are the best choice to include in your child’s lunch! They are sweet and crunchy and easy to pack and easy to eat! But when it comes to choosing what the best are for you it gets tricky. You have heard about the dirty dozen of fruits and veggies when it comes to pesticides and chemicals so we encourage purchasing local organic produce when available. Calgary has some of the most AMAZING farmers markets and you can be sure you are not only get high quality product but supporting these growers will result in better food to continue to be produced. Click this link to find a FULL list of farmers markets in your local area!
If you are still at a loss and unsure where to start on changing your families diet call our nutritionist to assist you! She would be happy to meet with you and work out a plan to keep your family healthy and happy as you plan out lunches and family meal times that keep everyone smiling! Click this link to find out more about how you can create a healthier lifestyle for your family!
If you are interested in our services or you have any health concerns, just give us a call at 403.452.6262 today!
by | Jul 22, 2015 | Uncategorized
Are you often overcome by feelings of anxiety? Anxiety is not an automatic response. Just because something threatening is in your way, it doesn’t mean that you will get instantly anxious. It is your thoughts about events that makes you anxious. Thoughts that typically trigger anxiety are “I am being threatened or overwhelmed”, “I am unsafe”, or “something bad is going to happen”. If you are exposed to an event or person that is deemed dangerous, your thoughts trigger the fight or flight response in the body and you feel anxious. The fight or flight response is an important component of anxiety. While anxious thoughts may trigger a response, one might already have a high level of physiological arousal, which in turn fuels your anxious thoughts and further stimulates your physiological arousal, which in turn provokes anxious thoughts, and so on. For example, you may have an exam coming up and be feeling tension about this and then someone almost drives into you with their vehicle. Already tense, your anxiety spins out of control. One way to intervene in this cycle is to practice deep relaxation techniques to lower your overall sympathetic nervous system. This teaches the body how to relax rather than overreact to tension and worry.
In addition to relaxation techniques, it is helpful to work with anxiety generating beliefs. This is because the root of anxious thinking is the belief that things are done to you: “She is making me anxious”…”that place scares me”. However, it is important to understand that nothing is done to you; things just happen in the world. You experience an event (A), this leads to negative thoughts (B), and this leads to anxiety resulting from the thoughts (C). So A does not cause C, rather B causes C. It is therefore the negative thoughts or what we tell ourselves in response to any particular situation that mainly determines our feelings of anxiety. Often these thoughts are so fleeting that we hardly notice them and therefore we call them “automatic thoughts”. This anxious thinking sounds like the truth but is often very irrational.
Anxiety Disorder Treatment Calgary
Anxiety is often generated by “what if” thinking. You may ask yourself “What if I can’t cope?” or “What if I am alone and there is no one to help me?”. Those with this style of thinking are often be vigilant for signs of trouble and they have a tendency to imagine the worst possible outcome, a characteristic of extreme thinking that we often call “catastrophizing”. This style of thinking often involves overestimating the amount of danger in the environment which only increases anxiety. This often leads to avoidance of anxiety provoking situations and because the person then never gets a chance to see if they could cope in the situation, the anxiety often worsens with avoidance.
Many people have been telling themselves anxious negative self-talk for a long time and it can be difficult to give up. One way of reducing the strength of these thoughts is to counter them with realistic statements by challenging them with a more rational and objective perspective. One way of doing this is to ask yourself questions that evaluate the validity of what you are telling yourself. For example, you could ask yourself “What is the evidence that this thoughts is true?”. If you look at the facts of the situation you will often find the evidence is not very convincing. It is also often helpful to ask yourself “What are the odds of this really happening?” as well as “What’s the worst thing that could happen”. If you can imagine the worst thing that could happen you can then ask yourself what is so bad about this and how you would cope if this outcome happened. Often, you will find that you can cope with an outcome and that it may not necessarily overwhelm you.
Once you have had a chance to challenge your anxious thinking, you will be ready to counter it with realistic, affirming statements. This involves keeping realistic statements in the present, for example saying “This may be scary but I can tolerate this anxiety as I know it will pass”. Beginning your realistic statements with “I am learning to…” or “I can…” is affirming and can counter anxiety. It is important to keep the realistic statements in the first person, for example, using “I” statements. Saying to yourself “I can handle this” is more powerful than saying “This situation is not as scary as I thought it would be”.
Making a list of all your fears and then developing realistic self-statements to each of these can be helpful. It is recommended that you write down your realistic statements and post them in conspicuous places. Reading through them daily will help you integrate them into your consciousness, in particular, reading through them when you feel anxiety rising. Often realistic self-statements will need to be specific to the particular form of anxiety.
There are many different forms of anxiety ranging from generalized anxiety, phobias and panic attacks to social anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. Not surprisingly, there are also a variety of treatments for these different expressions of anxiety, self-talk being only one component. There are many benefits to challenging anxiety-producing self-talk. Learning to use realistic counter-statements not only decreases anxiety but can lead to an increased sense of control over moods and improved self-esteem. Research has shown that these techniques, as part of a broader therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy, are more efficacious in the long term compared to other treatments such as medication.
Dr. Abigail Draper
Clinical Psychologist
Please call us at (403) 452-6262 to discuss your questions about or interest in individual therapy we offer.
by | Jul 11, 2015 | Uncategorized
Docere Wellness July Stampede Special
Stampede Detox NW Calgary
Feeling slow, exhausted, boated and hung over?
We have the detox for post stampede!
Stampede Detox Special runs July 15 till July 31.
The cost is $100 which will includes:
- a consultation
- dietary plan
- detox remedies
Call 403-452-6262 to book yours TODAY!
by | Jul 6, 2015 | Uncategorized
We all enjoy a little splurging now and then and with Stampede season in full swing it means some of us will be feeling ill very soon.
Whether its one day or several that you decide to enjoy, the options at the Calgary Stampede are most of the time filled with high fat and sugar content with minimal nutrients. This year the options are not lacking with deep fried butter, mini donut popsicles and grilled cheese donuts. Pair this with alcohol and you have a very toxic and dehydrated body.
Docere Wellness is all for having a good time and enjoying a treat now and then so to assist you in recovering from this high fat, high sugar indulgence, we suggest the following ways to stay healthy and recover quickly!
Detox Tips NW Calgary
- DRINK LOTS OF WATER!
This is the KEY to maintaining your weight and your health the next day. Having a hydrated body will enable you to handle a higher fatty diet for a day or two as well as keep the toxins from flowing out and not settling in.
- BE ACTIVE!
Stampeding includes a lot of walking and to increase the activity we suggest taking public transit instead of driving down. Get off a block or two before the stampede and walk in and out. This way you will increase your walking to and from the event increasing your ability to burn the extra calories that you may be wanting to treat yourself too.
- PLAN YOUR INDULGANCE
We know this does not sound like fun but the easiest way to recover from a few nights on the town is to plan. Be sure to stock your home kitchen with lots of fruits and veggies and cold water to drink in the fridge. This way when you are home the good choices will balance out the bad choices and your body will be able to repair and recover quickly.
By following some easy steps your body can recover quickly and stay on track even in the midst of the Calgary Stampede. Watch our blog and website for our upcoming Stampede Detox! It will get you to your optimal health in no time!
