Healthy Compromises

Preggy Time: Third Trimester, Labour and Delivery...and Now :)

2012-01-13T14:15:00.000-08:00

I didn't have time to finish my third trimester blog before the baby came so I thought I'd write about everything up to now all in one entry :) Mostly because at this point, the 3rd trimester is just a distant memory since time with the baby has thankfully been a blissful experience for me....and....the labour part...or mostly the pain of it...trumped any of the peaceful memories of the 3rd trimester! :P

The third trimester was smooth sailing for me except that the baby grew and grew and became heavier and heavier to carry around. I also should have just lived in the bathroom as all the pressure on my bladder made me visit the little girl's room every 45min-1hr! Our little girl was breech until the 35th week and then she remarkably turned! We went to Miami for one last quick getaway and I did a lot of swimming which, I swear, did the trick. I also had Makoto give me frequent acupuncture treatments to help turn the baby and I spent as much time as I could walking on my hands and knees up and down our living room.

Labour and Delivery - We had a quick and completely natural birth. But.....Oh. My. Gawwwwwwwwd. Ok....I don't want to scare any of my patients or my friends that are soon to give birth...and please keep in mind that every birth experience is different...but HOLY SCHMOLY was it ever painful! People keep asking me to describe it...and the closest way I can describe it...which is still a very distant comparison....is going in for a root canal without proper anesthesia! The entire process was a fast one for us.....8hrs from start to finish. I...of course, being the first time mom and naturopath that I am, decided that I would try for a natural labour. This meant that I was not prepped for an epidural....so of course, half way into it, when the contractions really started kicking in (oh...and I was that *lucky* girl that quickly progressed from contractions 20min apart to 1min apart within an hour...and...to top it off...they came in PAIRS) I begged my nurse (who was aweeeeeeeeeeeeesome!!) for an epidural. Buuuuut....apparently the hospital was TOO BUSY and there were no anesthesiologists available to give me an epidural!!! I seriously wanted Makoto to find a blunt object and knock me out with it!! It's amazing how the availability of the anesthesiologists can dictate how many natural births may take place!

So basically....I was lying on the bathroom floor in the delivery room like a crazy wild woman....in so much pain that I could barely move. Makoto was super supportive but there is honestly so much your partner can do for you at this stage. He tried everything to make me feel better....held me in the different position that we practiced that was *suppose* to help decrease the pain, massage my lower back, telling me loving words, bringing me nanaimo bars (which usually makes me so incredibly happy)....but really, I just had to close my eyes and focus through the pain. When I seriously thought I was going to pass out, our nurse (who was VERY pro natural birth) asked me to get in the bath tub. She had placed an exercise ball in there and wanted me to sit on it. I re-iterate....I COULD NOT MOVE.....but her and Makoto somehow convinced me to get in the tub and sit on the exercise ball. She then placed a stream of warm water on my lower back and had me lightly bounce on the ball.....whatever the mechanism is, it totally worked! The pain went from super @#$%(@ craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy ouchie to just craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy ouchie...enough to get me through another hour of contractions...and enough to get me to fully dilated!!

I have heard that the pushing stage is suppose to "feel refreshing"....uhhhhhh.....this was not my experience. Pushing is like having to have a crazy workout when all you want to do is pass out from exhaustion. My team of medical doctors (there were 3 interns in the room with us that doubled as our cheering squad :):):)) and nurse kept telling me to "push through my bum and not my legs"...what the heck does that mean?!?!? Oh...did I mention that they make you hold your own legs up while pushing!!! Your knees literally need to be at your ears. Ladies who are about to give birth...seriously practice this at home before going in!! At one point, they asked if I wanted a mirror to see the top of the baby's head....in my delirium, I said "sure". That lasted about 2sec......you think that you would be motivated by seeing your babies head but instead, all I saw was craziness down there....and I certainly didn't want to keep watching unrecognizable things happening to my body!!!! :P

After about 45min of pushing, our sweet little angel came into this world....it was early afternoon and the sun was streaming into the room.....I'll never forget that moment for as long as I live :)

At this point, you still have to deliver the placenta and this is when you get stitched from any tearing but because the baby was now peacefully laying on my chest, I don't even remember if that part was painful or not. Since there were no complications during the delivery, they actually let Makoto have the last pull of the baby and place her on my chest!! That was VERY AWESOME :)

Here are some things we learned:
1. Makoto and I laughed as we unpacked our hospital bag when we came home....we packed a head massager, massage lotion, all my hypnobirthing materials, a wide selection of music, reading material, snacks, essential oils, natural bubble bath........we didn't even have a chance to touch this stuff. What we did use and were so incredibly thankful that we did pack was a HEATING PAD. Makoto would place this over my back, chest, tummy....whatever I needed during the delivery and it really helped to soothe me in between contractions. We also gave our nurses the natural diapers and diaper balm that we packed so that they could use them right from birth.

2. Even if you want to try for a natural birth, be open to asking your medical team to prep you for an epidural...juuuuuuuuuuuust in case you change your mind.

3. Don't be too attached to your birth plan. I had been practicing hypnobirthing techniques all throughout my pregnancy....ummm....I listened to my hypnobirthing track on my IPod for about 15sec....it did not work for me. What did work was listening to relaxing music for the early stages of my contractions. We also wanted to try for a squatting birth to help decrease perineal tears....but in the end, I was on my back. Be open to trying all different types of techniques.....you don't know what will work for you and what does work may change hourly so keep switching it up!

4. Our nurse pulled out a bottle of olive oil and gave me a perineum massage in between contractions while in the pushing stage to help stretch things out and decrease tearing. Apparently all nurses are trained to do this and most hospitals have olive oil in the delivery rooms just for this purpose!!

5. No matter how crazy the pain is, you do honestly forget about it once the baby arrives :) Ok.....it may take a week or two to forget about it but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat to meet my little baby.

I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. Baby Aria is doing great! She is a good little feeder and sleeper...thank heavens! I highly recommend spending the first month hibernating (I seriously lived in pajamas for a month) so that you can bond with your baby and take your time learning how to breastfeed, survive the night waking and teaching yourself how to function on interrupted sleep. It's amazing how tired I am in the middle of the night yet I still get excited to wake up and see her and can't believe how much time Makoto and I can spend just watching her sleep :)

I highly recommend motherhood :)

Happy Holidays!!!

2011-12-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

We are especially blessed this year with the best Christmas present ever....the arrival of our daughter, Aria!!!

It's been a wonderful time and we are happily sleep deprived and completely in love with our baby girl. We're also lucky to have my entire family here to help us out with the baby and to celebrate the holidays.

Thank you everyone for your well wishes and wonderful parenting and baby advice :)

From our family to yours, wishing you strength, health and happiness this holiday season and a very joyous 2012!!!

In health,
Aileen, Makoto, Aria and Rambo

How to Feed your Kids a Healthy Lunch...that they'll actually like!

2011-11-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are still a few years away from having to decide what our daughter will get for her school lunch.

Even though Aileen and I are both practising Naturopaths, we still have differences in our own tastebuds and our own likes and dislikes, and what we will potentially feed our kid(s) when they get to school age. We are major plan-aheaders, so discussions have already started about what we are each going to contribute to our childrens' packed school lunches.

We have fun times reminiscing about our own good/bad/ugly experiences with our lunches as kids...although living in this decade in downtown Toronto has a completely different set of rules from growing up in the 1980s.

My hippy lunches were packed full of nutrition, but were very low on the cool scale (I actually loved my lunches until a lunch-lady made fun of my lunch in grade 3 "What are you eating? Maggots?", after which I became very self-conscious of what I was eating compared to other kids). Here was my typical lunch:

1 hardboiled egg
1-2 rice balls, wrapped in nori (seaweed), stuffed with umeboshi (fermented plum)
an apple or orange
small fruit yogurt
on a rare occasion, a treat of natural fruit leather

Aileen's lunches were extremely high on the cool lunch scale, but nutritionally lacking. She loved her lunches, and I'm sure the other kids often tried to trade her for her bounty of delectables. (note that Aileen's mom is an amazing cook, with her specialty being very healthy Korean cuisine, but tried to integrate Aileen's lunches to the North American standard, not realizing how unhealthy the norms are here)

wagon wheel
bag of chips
nutella sandwich
juice box
on a rare occasion, a surprise mom-delivered Happy Meal

This being said, Aileen tells me about her frequent childhood ear infections, allergies, nasal congestion and her "cute, but robust" physique. I was a scrawny kid, but, sadly (from my childhood perspective), never got to miss a day of school thanks to my overly healthy lunches.

High-maintenance gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, food-dye-free, sugar-free kids seems to be somewhat the norm these days....which is great news for us soon-to-be overbearing naturopathic parents! However, being a kid is still being a kid so the key is trying to find a balance between our nutritional ideals, their tastes and not being social outcasts. I think a healthy balance between our childhood lunches would be a perfect compromise.

Here are some ideas for healthy, kid-tastebud-friendly, and not too uncool lunches:

Main:

dinner leftovers (who doesn't love leftovers?)
Brown rice pasta with peas/carrots
Dimpflmeier or Stonemill bread sandwich with nitrite-free meats, avocado, sprouts, 365 Brand Ketchup/mustard
Wraps (rice paper, tortilla) with salmon/turkey/chicken and vegetables
Brown rice balls with nori (these have come full circle and may actually be cool to have in Toronto)

The all-important Snack:

Larabars (who needs fruit roll-ups when you have these?)
Sweets from the Earth gluten-free Cashew Cookies
Celery sticks stuffed with almond butter (hummus, if nut-free) and raisins
Oskri coconut bars
Sheep yogurt
Cut up veggies (red peppers, carrots, cucumbers)
Trail mix (seeds instead of nuts)
Apple, berries, orange, pear, banana, etc..

Drinks:

Water bottle
Boxed unsweetened brown rice/almond milk
Coconut water
as a treat, Blue Sky natural rootbeer

Disclaimer: Of course, these are all in the very early planning stages and have not been tested first-hand...we'll keep you posted on what we actually settle on a few years down the road. :)

Preggy Time - 2nd Trimester

2011-10-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

So far....so good! :) The second trimester has definitely been a great one......you definitely don't realize how differently you have been feeling for the past several months until things start to get back to normal for you. Most women enjoy their 2nd trimester the most during pregnancy as this is when your morning sickness starts to subside, you regain your energy, you reach your halfway point in the pregnancy and best of all, you feel your baby kick for the first time!!!! I was lucky to be able to enjoy the summer months (and prime ice cream season) that coincided with my 2nd trimester.

We've been going for our monthly check ups with our OBGYN which are exciting as we get to hear our baby's heartbeat :) Another huge milestone is reached at 20 weeks when you go in for your anatomy ultrasound. This is the one that takes a good 45min-60min and they go through every little part of your growing baby to make sure everything is developing properly. So really, we already know that our baby has ten little fingers and ten little toes! :) The results of our two part IPS blood tests also come back and you go through these results plus the anatomy ultrasound together with your OBGYN at your next appointment post anatomy ultrasound.

Although I didn't start showing much in the 2nd trimester, feeling our baby kick for the first time was the most exciting and amazing part of the pregnancy. Unfortunately, this is something only I could feel (no matter how much Makoto tried his best to poke and palpate my tummy) as the baby is too small still for any movements to be felt from the outside of the tummy. Makoto does his share in connecting with the baby by having his nightly "chats" with my tummy and reading bedtime stories to the baby. We've definitely done some damage to our credit cards at the bookstore......it's amazing how nostalgic it is to go to the children's section of Indigo and see all your favorite childhood storybooks. We both went berserk when we re-discovered "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein :)

One thing I started experiencing was low back pain which I wanted to nip in the bud as I was sure it was only going to worsen with my progressively growing tummy so there were 3 things that were integral in improving the pain:

1. Regular adjustments with my chiropractor (Dr. Brian Dower - http://www.drdower.ca/) - WOW! Did it ever make a difference after my spine was realigned. I had a few imbalances in both my thoracic and lower spine so re-aligning it made almost an instant....and more importantly....sustained difference in my low back pain.

2. Regular massages with Chris and Luis - both AMAZING registered massage therapists at our clinic. They are also experienced at pre-natal massage.....I've never had a side-lying massage before but find it even more relaxing than a face-down massage! I seriously want to bring them to the hospital with me on the day we give birth!

3. Yoga/Stretching/Rest - I learned pretty quickly that running around all day long and not allowing myself to rest was not helping the low back pain situation at all. Even just taking a 15min rest (as in lie down somewhere and FULLY commit to resting) every few hours helped so much. I do yoga moves and stretches before bedtime as well which has helped.

We ended our 2nd trimester and entered our 3rd trimester with the most wonderful baby party thrown for us by two of our best friends. We were blessed to be joined by 60 of our friends and 150 pink and white balloons.........IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!! :):):):):):):)

Preggy Time - 1st Trimester

2011-08-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm happily into my 2nd trimester of pregnancy, I can't believe how fast my 1st trimester went!! I must admit that I've been pretty lucky and have had a smooth pregnancy so far....no major morning sickness, no puking and just some mild nausea. One thing that I wasn't warned about was that you lose your appetite all together during the 1st trimester. I often found that I just wasn't hungry....so I ended up losing weight my first trimester!! One thing that was confusing was knowing what our next steps were once our pee-stick pregnancy test confirmed that we were pregnant. After we calmed down from excitement/happiness/pure fear, we found that we had no idea what to do next!

Makoto and I decided to go through the good ol' OBGYN route with our 1st pregnancy. We had researched a list of doctors through a combination of referrals from colleagues, rateMD.com, and friends and I went to my GP with this list hoping to get into one of our top choices. My GP (who is absolutely fantastic and I trust completely) didn't even look at my list and referred me to an OBGYN he works with and just knew that we would get along. Well, he was absolutely right! So far, I am very happy with our choice of going through our 1st pregnancy with an OBGYN.

My GP and his support team also set me up with:

1. Blood test and urine test to confirm pregnancy and check out important blood markers like my anemia status, thyroid function, vaccine history, viruses/infections and of course blood type and Rh factor.

2. Referred me for my 8 week ultrasound (warning......if the baby is too small to get a good abdominal ultrasound reading, they will do an intravaginal ultrasound! Uncomfortable if you're not prepared for this but absolutely amazing to see your little baby for the first time!!)

3. Sent a referral to the OBGYN we agreed upon - from there, I have been going to the hospital that our OBGYN is affiliated with.

4. After meeting with our OBGYN at our 12 week follow up, he sent me for 12 week ultrasound and our 1st round of blood work called IPS to rule out down syndrome, trisomy 21 and any spinal cord defects. The IPS bloodwork has 2 parts to it and is actually completed in your 2nd trimester (and also factors in readings from your ultrasounds) so you discuss the results with your doctor well into your 2nd trimester.

It's been so exciting going to the ultrasounds to see our baby (Makoto calls it skyping with our baby) and our fridge and walls of our offices and waiting room at our clinic are now plastered with ultrasound pictures :) I find that a common complaint with OBGYNs is that you feel rushed for time but we found that going into our appointments with specific questions helped to focus our time and we felt that all of our questions were sufficiently answered.

The following things helped me get through my 1st trimester:

1. Not forcing myself to do...really anything! I had a master plan of nutrition, exercise, meditation, prayer, vitamins, supplements, lists of books to read, etc all ready to go for as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Then the reality of pregnancy hit my body and I found that I barely wanted to eat, let alone choke down my vitamins and fish oils, then would fall into a comatose sleep by 8pm. I stopped pressuring myself to be on my "ideal pregnancy plan" and just went with the flow. I made sure to eat when I could, take naps when I knew I needed them, slowed my social schedule, took walks around the neighborhood with Makoto and Rambo and pretty much took it easy.

2. I figured out that my nausea was instantly relieved when I smelled fresh lemons!! I think that, for me, it was a sensory thing rather than a hypoglycemia/blood sugar issue. Makoto even made this hilarious mask for me that had fresh lemon peels inserted into it. But often just slicing fresh lemons and smelling them helped to ease my mild nausea.

3. Keeping well hydrated. There was something in knowing that my body was producing loads of amniotic fluid that helped me to constantly hydrate myself. I drank loads of good ol' filtered water as well as iced peppermint/lemon/ginger tea to mix things up. I found that it really helped dissipate headaches and kept my skin feeling great!

4. When it was hard to take my prenatal vitamins and fish oils, I started juicing again as I found sipping a cup of fresh fruit/veggie juice was much easier to digest than capsules. I also mixed my liquid fish oil into applesauce (just like how I prescribe to my wee little pediatric patients) and found it much easier to gulp down 1Tbsp of applesauce than pure liquid fish oil. Also, making sure I had some food in my stomach before taking my prenatal vitamins and fish oils helped me to not feel as nauseous.

5. Communicating how I'm feeling with Makoto. Makoto has been an amazing partner and very understanding but I also realized that he wants to be just as much of a part of our day to day pregnancy life as I am! This is basically the biggest science project of his life and he has researched the benefits of proper nutrition, fish oils, exercise, etc on fetal development and I know that it kills him when he watches me eat a nutella sandwich for dinner.......3 days in a row. We established from the beginning that the MOST important thing is for us to be peaceful and happy as a couple....and family :) So we compromised....I can have my nutella sandwich as long as I wash it down with a cup of fresh veggie/fruit juice :)

All pregnancies are different.......we are lucky to have 7 friends that are currently pregnant as well and it's amazing how much variation there is in how we are all feeling. Just remember the most important thing is to not put pressure on yourself, keep yourself comfortable....and enjoy this precious time!!

Pregnancy and Fatherhood: First Trimester

2011-07-11T14:18:00.002-07:00

I am so stoked about having a kid!

It is definitely a more observational role that the father plays during pregnancy compared to the mother...watching from the outside how there are changes to her tastes, sensitivities, emotions as the direct nurturer of the child in the womb.

They say that a woman becomes a mother when she is pregnant, and a man becomes a father when the baby is born...although I understand the logic, I also disagree. Things change for us men in a major way once you know that you have a child on the way. I think the nine months gestation is critical to men because it buys us, the slower emotional gender, time to process, reconfigure and rationalize everything that it entails to be a father.

The first trimester is cool because you have incredible life-changing news! You are a father. You have the privileged opportunity to raise a child and experience the joys of parenthood (and of course, the expected stresses that are all made palatable by these joys). Biologically, as a proud male, you have propagated your genetic material (not that it is accomplished by undesirable means!). The notion of being a father is inexplicably fascinating and amazing to me.

As Aileen and I approach our fifth wedding anniversary, I feel so lucky to have had this time alone with her but we both feel so blessed to embark on this next journey together. I am thankful that Aileen has been so understanding during the first trimester, as I can only imagine the changes her body is going through. She has different wants and needs than before that I am sure I am not completely understanding, but trying my best, and she has had few criticisms and been very flexible.

The first trimester is often accompanied by nausea and wildly changed tastes in food and drink. From a guy's perspective, the main *actual* change in your routine is that you can't just whip a steak on the grill and have a beer. Women very often are either NOT interested in meat and beer, or are completely turned off by their odour.

Although this change may sound completely earth-shattering, just keep in mind that your pregnant lady is not only incubating your spawn for the better part of a year, but also has a lot more restrictions on what she can consume compared to you. You can do your part (plus, keep in mind, her sensitivities often improve in the second trimester!).

Other advice:

Help your lady out to ensure that she takes a good quality prenatal vitamin and high-potency fish oil...give her gentle reminders to help her take them regularly. Keep in mind that it is a new routine for her.
Be sensitive to her emotional changes...you would also behave differently if you were suddenly given large doses of progesterone and estrogen.
Talk to your babymama's belly (re: your kid), even early on...even if it seems like there isn't anything in there! Aileen didn't show at all for the entire 1st trimester but our ultrasound definitely confirmed that there was a happy, bouncing baby in there. She (and your baby) will both appreciate it.
Always remember that although sometimes we wish we could carry the kid in our belly rather than have to deal with your partner's emotional ups and downs, this is not physiologically possible (besides Arnold in Junior), so let us appreciate our women for their strength and courage in getting through nine months of carrying our future offspring.

Babymoon in Italy and Spain!!

2011-06-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Makoto and I were in Italy and Spain for the last little while on our BABYMOON! :) We figure this is the easiest way to travel with a child :P

Once we found out we were pregnant, one of the first things on our to do list was to plan our babymoon. Historically, the term "babymoon" referred to the time where you enjoy your newborn baby but it is now often used to describe the vacation many new parents take BEFORE the baby is born to enjoy some time together and rest before the many sleepless nights ahead of them!

We have both always wanted to go to Spain so Barcelona was an easy choice. It's hard to go to Europe and not visit at least one other beautiful country so we decided on Italy (really...so I can gorge on nutella (my #1 pregnancy craving) and so Makoto can stuff his face with fresh gnocchi). We finally decided on Venice, Florence and Barcelona.

A major highlight of our trip was being joined by our good friends Mendel and Haruka in Venice for an international double date :). They also just became engaged so we had lots to celebrate!! What a gorgeous and romantic city!

Makoto and I are both big fans of renaissance art, fresco painting, obsessed with the history of the Medici family and big Brunelleschi and Michaelangelo fans so Florence was an awesome leg of our trip. We tried to take in as much art and architecture as possible,

We climbed to the top of the Duomo for the amazing views of Florence (Brunelleschi and his team used over 4 million bricks just to finished the top of the dome.....how he designed and engineered this in the 15th century is pure genius) and lit a candle for our baby.....

We hung out at the Bobali Gardens...one of our fave places in Florence....

Spain was a first for both of us and we just took in as much Gaudi as we possibly could!

And were able to take a quick day trip to Sitges...highly, HIGHLY recommended!

One day we will go back to Spain and I'll be able to taste every single one of these Spanish wines and cavas but for now, iced herbal teas are my champagne:

We had such a lovely, relaxing and romantic time away :) We feel refreshed and are now nesting and getting ready for our baby!

Before you go away for your babymoon, make sure that:
1. You and your baby are in good health
2. It's ideal to travel in your 2nd trimester
3. Make sure there are no breakouts of viruses, such as Rubella, that can harm your baby in the place you want to travel.
4. Check the location of local hospitals in the area that you will be staying at so you feel secure about having an emergency place to go to juuuuuuuuuuuuust in case.
5. Take it easy and enjoy yourself!!!

HAPPY BABYMOONING!!

A Wonderful Blessing!!!

2011-05-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

Makoto and I have some amazing news.....we're having a baby!!!!! YAAAAAAaaaAaAAYYY!!!

We went for our ultrasound today which revealed that our baby is healthy....the best news ever :) This is a picture of our ultrasound....our baby is sucking it's thumb....or trying to karate chop my womb :)

I've been lucky to have a great pregnancy so far (knock on wood) and we are over the moon with joy!!

Lot's of pregnancy blogging to come!! Hope everyone is enjoying this amazing weather!!

Top 5 Reasons to Embark on a Cleanse/Detox

2011-05-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Spring Clean Your Body!
Top 5 Reasons to Embark on a Cleanse/Detox

Spring is a great time to reset your body by introducing healthy habits. As animals, we have a tendency to gravitate toward lighter foods in the warmer months, and a cleanse during this transitional time of year works with our natural inclinations.

But... why should you detox? What benefits are there to doing a cleanse? Isn't this just a passing fad? Here is a quick list of reasons in support of giving your body an opportunity to cleanse.

Top 5 Reasons to Embark on a Cleanse

Support your liver and kidneys - a proper cleanse cooperates with your elimination organs to strengthen their function
Determine food sensitivities - common foods that may be unknown allergens/intolerances can trigger negative reactions; a cleanse works as a "trial" period to see your body functioning at its baseline, with a post-detox "reintro" phase to determine dietary sensitivities
Decrease exposure to toxins - on a cleanse, it is important to be cognisant of the types of foods you are introducing to your body, minimizing toxin intake (organic foods, whole chemical-free foods)
Improve cravings - a structured cleanse gives you an opportunity to commit to stepping back from unhealthy eating habits, and reset your psychological attachments to foods
Feel better! - by feeding your body cleaner fuel, your body will optimize it's function

If you need assistance embarking on a safe cleanse that works to target your specific health concerns, please visit our website www.zen-tai.com for more information.

Happy Spring!!

A Tip to Help You Sleep Better

2011-04-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I watch Rambo while he's sleeping and envy how simple it is for him to fall asleep and have a nice deep slumber...anywhere and anytime. He has never once had a bad night's rest in the past 4 years since we brought him home at 7 weeks old (Rambo just turned 4 on the 15th!). I credit this to good controlled nutrition, regular exercise and, let's face it, the dog has a great life with little to worry about! I'm sure we would all sleep wonderfully if we had the same routine as him!

Another thing I realized is that he is never on the computer. It's a bit scary how much time Makoto and I spend on the computer. We are on it all day long at the clinic then often use our computers at home for other projects, reading our fave blogs, watching UFC youtube vids (Makoto) and watching Korean dramas (me! In my defense....it helps me to practice my Korean :):):)).

We also noticed that the days we are on the computer the longest are the days we have bad sleeps. This may be due to the fact that computers emit blue light which tricks our brain into thinking that it's daytime. Consequently, it screws with our melatonin (natural sleep hormone) production so that you don't feel sleepy when you're suppose to. Case in point - have you ever noticed how going on the computer when you have insomnia never really helps you to fall asleep?

Try to stop using your computer several hours before bedtime. Make it a ritual to wind down an hour before you plan to fall asleep with calming activities like reading in bed instead (using a soft light....or even better, a candle since fire emits red light which doesn't affect our melatonin production....and it's romantic), having a warm bath with epsom salts, listening to relaxing music or having pillow talk with your spouse (but no talk about work allowed).

Sweet dreams :)

March Madness and NBA Basketball People: A Lesson On Focus

2011-03-23T05:46:00.000-07:00

March Madness has kicked off for another year making basketball fans all over the world very happy.

I am not a basketball fanatic but I sure do love cheering (gooOOOoOOOOO Raptors!!) and will go to games with Makoto when his favorite teams are in town (he is not a Raptors fan).

Over the holidays, our very generous friends treated us to a game and we were lucky to sit courtside.....Makoto was over the moon :) I have to be honest.....I usually go to watch sports with Makoto so that I can hang out with the other girlfriends/wives/partners who *happily* accompanied their boyfriend/husband/partner to the game. I love drinking wine and eating nachos while catching up aaaaand being surrounded by excited sports fans :) But during this particular game, I suddenly became very aware of my munching and crunching, wine sipping and chatter....I felt that I was interrupting the NBA basketball people (what do you call them? basketballers? basketball players?). It was amazing to see them doing what they love to do so up close and personal....lots of sweat.....and it was neat to finally hear what the heck they say to each other during the game....lots of swear words. Then it dawned on me that these NBA basketball people are super lean focus machines! They easily tuned out the chatter, crazy music, anti-fans talking smack....and certainly my munching, crunching, sipping and chatter.

March has been madness for us. From worrying about beautiful Japan (I am completely inspired but not surprised by the absolute grace and class at how the Japanese people are handling the devastation of the earthquake and tsunami), the clinic being super busy, getting ready to pay our taxes (ugh), seminars, launching Spring/Summer products for Sprout Botanicals, to hosting baby shower/birthday parties.....and why I chose now to plan the re-pointing of the brick on our house is beyond me. I am starting to feel scattered and definitely need to take a lesson on focus from the NBA basketball people.

I've re-prioritized, trimmed down my to-do list, put certain projects on hold and have decided to give my undivided attention to the top three items on my list instead of trying to juggle a dozen projects at once. I feel less overwhelmed and happier to increase the quality of both my work life and home life :)

Spring is finally here :) It's a great time to de-clutter your life, re-prioritize your to-do list and focus on what's most important to you.

Thoughts and prayers for Japan

2011-03-18T10:43:00.001-07:00

It's been one week since the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. I must admit it has been difficult to focus thinking of all the tragedy, lives lost and destruction that is happening in Eastern Japan.

Aileen and I would like to thank everyone who called/emailed/inquired to ensure that our family in Japan is safe (they are safe, but scared, as massive aftershocks continue on a regular basis).

Please keep Japan in your prayers and thoughts.

P.S. www.globalmedic.ca is a trustworthy charity if you wish to also provide financial support to help the rescue and recovery operations.

Tips on Aging Gracefully

2011-02-21T15:18:00.000-08:00

My dear wife recently turned thirty, finally joining the 30-something club. She had been looking forward to the momentous birthday for sometime, eagerly looking to turn the big three-oh.

I think most of my friends and colleagues who are well into their 30s or 40s thought it was endearing at how excited she was to step into the beginning of her fourth decade; meanwhile, the rest of us are all starting to sweat a little as we approach our next "big" birthday.

There are definitely physical changes that we notice as we get deeper into our thirties. Strange little cues from our body telling us that it is actually mortal, and, at least physically, we are past our peak.

For the first time, you notice you have to put in more effort to get the same outcome. To run or play sports as hard as you did in your teens and twenties, you have to monitor and tweak your diet, hit the gym regularly and keep an eye on your stress levels to maintain your lung capacity and strength. In your earlier years, a Big Mac meal and an exercise routine that only worked your thumbs on Nintendo would do to keep you running around for hours. Keep in mind that most professional athletes retire in their mid- to late- thirties.

And what is up with hair as we age? Sure, hair loss is well-known as well as a random influx of white hairs; but, in a weird type of second coming of puberty, random hair growth pops up in new places...but all the wrong places! Eyebrows, back, nostrils...ears?? Come on, give us a break.

Of course, we also start to notice the development of fine lines and wrinkles on our face, random new aches and pains, and start keeping count of our daily sodium or fibre or protein or whatever it might be to balance out your genetic predispositions.

Going to the doctor may mean a prescription for your ailments or the start of regularly scheduled and highly undesirable testing method (mammograms, prostate exams, colonoscopies).

The one thing I have noticed from patients in my practice, who teach me something new and inspire me on a daily basis, is how to age gracefully. I can almost guarantee that any patient whose date of birth surprises me incorporates exercise very regularly. The majority of the time this is accompanied by a relatively healthy diet. I use these extraordinary people as models for prevention for others and now, for myself.

Rules to live by as all of us human beings age together in unison...at the same speed, but at different paces:

Know your genetic susceptibilities, and take extra precautions to thwart them.
EXERCISE!! This means at age-relative high intensities and activities that are enjoyable to you, at least 3x/week, with other moderate daily exercise in-between.
A diet chock-full of naturally occurring anti-aging whole foods and deplete of pro-inflammatory (re: processed) foods.
Maintain a balanced life, and keep an eye on your stress levels (big-time age-accelerators).
Got a nagging problem...GET IT CHECKED OUT! (yes, guys, I'm talking to you)
Be cautious about settling for prescription medication that may be avoidable by lifestyle/diet modifications (see #2-#4). Once you get on the medication bandwagon, it's difficult to get out. Make sure to talk to your family doc or a licensed naturopath to make a fully informed decision that works for you.
Always keep an eye on your piss and poops...they are great indicators of what is going on inside your body.
Don't forget the basics: Get a good sleep and drink water regularly.
Roll with the punches of Father Time; acceptance of aging and finding humour in it definitely helps ease the inevitable.

Oh, and always keep in mind that although aging may be noticeable in physical decline, boy is it made up for in expanding knowledge and experience.

The ear hairs sure don't make me look forward to getting older, but wisdom certainly is appealing.

Happy Family Day!!

2011-02-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

HAPPY FAMILY DAY EVERYONE!!

It's SooOooo Cold!! Beat the February Blues Now.

2011-02-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

Last year, around this time, we were doing this (Tulum, Mayan Riviera, Mexico):

Today, this is what our local dog park looks like (Riverdale Park, Toronto):

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! :(:( I'm from Calgary, Alberta so I know I should be used to the cold but I'm sooo not!! When it snows in Calgary, I know this just means that we are going to have an awesome ski weekend in Banff....in Toronto, this much snow means that everyone will lock themselves at home for the weekend. So sad. So sad.

Even though I'm Korean and my very Korean mom, grandma and aunts have brainwashed me into believing that tanning my skin is the equivalent of selling my soul to Satan himself, I still live for basking in the wonderful, glorious rays of direct beautiful sunshine (thank heavens for Sprout Botanicals SPF 30 sunscreen :)). Makoto and I worship the sun and we are definitely summer people. So, it's no surprise that we become a taaaaaaaaaaaaaad bit miserable in February.

This year, I was determined to not get hit by the usual February blues. Here are some things we did to prevent ourselves from feeling the effects of the dark, cold winter days of our Canadian winters:

1. Vitamin D - we both take Vitamin D religiously (make sure to see your Naturopath or GP to make sure that you are on a correct dose). Winter time is a busy time for us at the clinic so that means it's dark outside by the time we get home. No sunshine for poor Aileen and Makoto :( When the weather is nice, we go for a coffee break at the park across the street from our office but there is no way I'm even going to pretend to enjoy hanging out in the park when I'm freezing my buns off. Since we are not getting the usual dose of natural Vitamin D production that we would in the summer, we supplement with a high quality Vitamin D3 supplement.

2. Bundle up! - It's amazing how you can actually enjoy the winter when you're dressed appropriately. Invest in a great down jacket, earmuffs, scarf and mitts and get out and enjoy the winter! We try to go for a walk around Toronto with a yummy warm cappuccino/tea/hot chocolate on the weekends instead of staying holed up in our house and cursing the snow.

3. Cut the carbs - try cutting your carb intake by even just 50g per day. The last thing you need when you're less active and feeling glum is forcing your body to regulate another influx of excess carbs.

4. Stay active - I can't stress enough how important it is to get some constant activity all throughout the winter. We tend to be less active in the winter (hey....I totally understand.....I make Makoto drive us to the office on cold days....it's a 10min walk from our front door to the office :(...SHAME) so that means we have to make an extra effort to get to the gym. Make sure to incorporate cardio 2-3 times a week to boost your circulation and get your blood pumping.

5. Do things that you LOVE - whether it's going for a facial at your favorite spa, taking that language or art class that you've always wanted to or just roasting a yummy chicken and inviting friends over for dinner and gossip......don't let the cold weather interrupt your life!!

I didn't have my annual February breakdown this year (the one where I start packing our belongings...promising that we will forever move to a warm location and never endure another cold, dark and gloomy winter day ever again) and instead embraced this refrigerator that we call Canada, eh!!

Getting in touch with your roots: Our Trip to Japan & Korea

2011-01-31T08:21:00.000-08:00

It was amazing to travel back to the motherland with Aileen.

I know for both of us, we feel an affinity with our respective cultures in Japan and Korea, despite having both grown up in Canada. I always notice how passionate Aileen is about her Korean heritage, and having been back to Japan after a hiatus of almost fifteen years, I realize how amazing it feels to be connected back with my roots as well. I was also so excited to share a part of my culture with Aileen (and of course, I knew she would go nuts with the endless shopping in Tokyo!). This made it an important and incredible trip for us both.

The one thing I do notice about the Japanese culture, is that there seems to be a well functioning hybrid of extremes. Japan has always been on the leading edge of advanced technology, but this is fused with culture that is steeped deep with ancient tradition. This is apparent in the core of bustling Tokyo, with endless retail and fluorescent signs...

...Yet, turn a corner and you may find youself at a serene well-preserved and active temple:

You can also notice this in most bathrooms, which often still maintain the custom of changing into bathroom-specific slippers, yet have the most high-tech toilet seats as standard issue (photo: notice the array of buttons and dials on the control panel).

One other thing I learned from being in Japan is that for such a populous place (Tokyo's current population is about 13 million!), there is an unbelievable amount of respect, courtesy and cleanliness. Check out this rack of bikes in busy Shinjuku...notice there aren't any locks (this would be cleaned out in 2 minutes flat in Toronto):

We were helped out with directions countless times (the network of trains and subways in Tokyo is boggling!), and were consistently amazed with how patient and helpful everyone was despite my broken Japanese.

Unfortunately, as Aileen also pointed out, we were surprised with how much of modern Japanese food has become saturated with preservatives and artificial chemicals...which is in great contrast to the health-optimizing traditional Japanese diet.

Just a few of the many other contrasts include the typical stature of Japanese compared to their monstrous athletic brethren in sumo; conservative clothes contrasted with bold, sometimes outlandish streetwear; quiet, respectfulness varied with well-known crazy Japanese gameshows and manga culture.

Reminders we took home from this trip:

Get in touch with your heritage, and know your roots
Incorporate traditional Japanese foods as part of a healthy diet: miso soup, seafood, seaweed, healthy stews
Cold, unsweetened tea is an affordable, refreshing and healthy alternative to juices
Always be respectful and helpful to others
Be sure to balance a busy worklife with a much-needed vacation!

We're Baaaaaack! Amazing times at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul and Exploring Tokyo!

2011-01-20T06:42:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness!! I LOOOOOOOVE KOREA AND JAPAN!! What a wonderful way to begin 2011 :)

We started our trip in Seoul at our fave hotel, The Shilla. After working straight through the holidays, we wanted to start our trip with some uber relaxation and there is no better place in Seoul than The Shilla to do this. It has excellent, EXCELLENT service, an awesome gym, yummy restaurants and an extensive wine list at the lounge, amazing outdoor pool to enjoy in the summer and THE BEST sauna and Korean Bath amenities EVER (Makoto and I are huge hydrotherapy fans and basically live in the pool/gym/sauna/steam room every time we stay here). We went out our first night in Seoul to meet up with friends but after that, we spent the next few days relaxing, eating yummy food and visiting our fave spots in Seoul.

Entrance to gym/sauna at The Shilla:

Thank goodness we took the time to decompress because...

TOKYO IS CRAAAAAAAAZY!! Since it was my first time in Tokyo, Makoto was my wonderful tour guide and we spent the week checking out all the major sites (Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya, Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower, Roponggi, Tsukiji Fish Market (the best sashimi I've ever had), Ginza, Asakusa, etc) which were insane, beautiful and completely inspiring. I can't get over how clean and organized such an intense city can be.

And...of course...THE SHOPPING. Oh. My. Goodness. I was in shopping heaven. I shopped.....

and shopped....

and shopped...

and Makoto was so patient...until he finally had a mini (much understood) freak-out on me and reminded me that we had bought another two pieces of luggage to carry all of my treasures back home in :) hehehe.

We were also so lucky to be there during the Sumo Tournament. Even if you know nothing about sumo, you quickly become a fan. They still strictly follow all the interesting rituals and traditions of the game, the rules are easy to follow and you can feel the love that everyone has for the Sumo wrestlers (who are considered national heroes).

Makoto eating Chanko Nabe (Sumo Soup):

Even though we were on holidays, we still tried to keep ourselves as balanced as possible. We knew we'd be doing a lot of this (how can you resist fresh draught beer and "highballs" which are whiskey/soda/lemon at almost every snack bar/cafe/restaurant/izakaya in both cities):

So we still made sure to hit the gym, drink lots of water/green tea and get lots of good sleep in. One thing we noticed in both cities is that there is such an extreme in the food. It's either completely healthy, natural and nutritious if you choose to eat traditional Korean/Japanese (Korean soups/ban chan, Japanese nabe mono/sushi/sashimi, barley/green tea) food or completely synthetic, fried and MSG laden (ramen, curry rice, aspartame in almost everything sweet...especially beverages in Japan). We definitely gravitated towards more traditionally prepared foods but had fun trying everything!|

Also, one thing we always splurge on whether at home or away are massages. We were in massage heaven in both Seoul and Tokyo but I must say that Ariran Spa in Shinjuku was AAAAH-mazing! They incorporate both Swedish and Shiatsu massage techniques and finish every treatment with layering hot towels over your body then wrapping you up in a thermal blanket while they gently knead your muscles. To. Die. For.

I've been up since the crack of dawn (forgot to take my melatonin last night!!) so I did laundry (5 loads) and am looking through all my souvenirs and pics. I heart Seoul and Tokyo forever and caaaaaan't wait to go back!!!

Now...time to plan the next trip!!! Spain? South of France?

Vacation Time!! Korea and Japan!!

2010-12-29T21:34:00.000-08:00

Makoto and I often write "TAKE A VACATION!!!" on our prescription pads to our patients. There is nothing more relaxing and healing for your mind, body and soul than taking off to a fun and exciting destination! It's amazing how countless patient's eczema/IBS/migraines will completely vanish while on vacation....this is our body reminding us how healthy we can be if we take time to enjoy life!! We decided to spend my upcoming 30th birthday in Korea (going home to the motherland! I LOVE KOREA!!) and then Makoto is taking me to Japan...he's been there a handful of times but this will be my first!! TOOOOOO exciting! Our office manager now refers to January as Japanuary :) I was looking at pics of our last visit to Seoul last summer and here are just a few highlights:

Visiting my old school and dorm where I spent the last year of University - Yonsei University:

Drinking shi-keh (Korean rice beverage) at Dragon Hill Spa...great place to go for a massage and a manicure if you can`t sleep at 4 in the morning!!!

Visiting Palaces, making paper, playing with traditional Korean toys and exploring Hanok Korean Village:

Late night shopping for the most random things:

Food, food and more food:

And of course karaokeing!!

We were so sad to go (last late night/post Dragon Hill Spa 3am meal):

But at least we were able to come home to our little Rambo and give him his new Taekwondo outfit!

Rx: TAKE A FUN VACATION!!

Merry Everything!!

2010-12-21T21:22:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a very healthy and happy

holiday and a joyous new year!!!

The Family Unit - Honor and Love

2010-12-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

For the first time in my entire life, I will be spending Christmas without my nuclear family. My parents, sister and I all have conflicting travel and work plans that collided with our usually family Christmas get together....and I am pretty devastated :( Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Makoto has been an absolute sweetheart trying to re-create the Christmas that my parents usually do for my sister and me......chocolate advent calendar, cherry candy canes and he surprised me with a special trip to buy our first Christmas tree together!! Gotta love him :)

I realized quickly how lucky I am to have my loving hubby and our wonderful "Toronto Family" consisting of fabulous friends and neighbors. We hope to be blessed with a healthy baby soon but in the meantime, we have our hairy little son, Rambo :)

We've filled December with lots of get togethers and celebrations....and as much as I will miss spending the holidays with my family and all my flying monkey cousins....I am extremely excited to spend our first Christmas in Toronto!!!

Who do you consider your "family"? Think of the people in your life....who are those who make you feel wonderful? Treat you with honor and respect? Are there to laugh with you when times are great and cry with you when times are not so great? These people are your family!

It's time for Makoto and I to start traditions of our own......here is the end of our 1st Christmas tree that we are going to turn into an ornament. Happy December everyone!!

My Obsession with Dental Hygiene

2010-11-29T20:03:00.000-08:00

I kinda got stuck with not such a strong mix of dental DNA. Being half-British and half-Japanese speaks for itself in terms of quality of teeth genes.

As such, I am prone to cavities. I am quite envious of that minority of people who have that amazing dental heredity and have never had a cavity despite only irregular brushing and rarely flossing.

My routine consists of flossing on a daily basis. Aileen laughs at how I go a little too hardcore with the floss flicking action, but I just want to take any measures necessary to disrupt those bacterial colonies that grow on enamel. I love dental floss, and always make sure to keep either an extra pack of floss or specialty toothpicks at work, in the car or in my coat. It's good dental hygiene and man, is it satisfying!

I have experimented with many different manual toothbrush techniques in the past: small circles followed by brushing to the crown, dry toothbrushing followed by wet, small vibrations using a very loose grip, dental pastes vs gels vs powders...I've even tried ambidextrous brushing to ensure that each quadrant is equally brushed.

Despite all of this time I put into my dental care routine, many times I visit the dentist and hear about some new "small" dental carie developing. It drives me nuts and makes me obsess even more about refining my brushing technique.

Finally, I gave in reluctantly and invested in an electric toothbrush...and let me tell you, my teeth have never felt so clean! I think I may overdo it sometimes going well past the indicator timer that tells you you have spent enough time brushing your pearly yellows. Best part is that my dental check-ups have been much more positive since.

Debate is still open about fluoridated versus non-fluoridated toothpastes. Aileen and I do try to choose toothpastes that are sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)-free. SLS functions as a foaming agent, but is quite harsh to use on mucous membranes like your gingiva. Some people (although this is purely empirical information) find it can aggravate or even cause canker sores.

I would recommend Tom's of Maine toothpastes, which use natural ingredients, and give you the flexibility of choosing fluoride vs fluoride-free, or SLS vs SLS-free, which is nice, as well as Jason Naturals, which has a nice line of toothpastes that are both chemical-free and SLS-free.

Also important to have a fantastic dentist. We love our dentist, Dr.Jerry Vasilakos. He's always up in his new dental gadgetry that helps to monitor the state of your dental health, and has some of the best dental hygienists around. Aileen and I both agreed that we have never had such thorough dental cleanings till we went to Dr.Jerry.

To summarize:
Get an electric toothbrush.
Try out some natural toothpastes.
Get an electric toothbrush.
Make sure you have a great dentist.
And get an electric toothbrush!

Something That is ALWAYS a Good Idea

2010-11-29T01:00:00.000-08:00

I realized that I have never once left the gym unhappy. Going to the gym is ALWAYS a good idea!!! Makoto despises the fact that I over use the words alwaaaaaaaaaaays (and neeeeever) but I really do think that going to the gym is always a good idea. Although, it's important to learn how to adjust what activities you do at the gym for your mood and how your body is feeling.

After having dinner on Friday night, Makoto and I were still determined to go for a late night workout. This seemed almost impossible after our 2nd glass of wine and a very satisfying dinner. BUT, at around 10pm, we somehow found ourselves at our gym.

I usually have a hairy canary when Makoto suggests going to the gym at night because it usually means that it'll take me too long to wind down and go to sleep. What I have since figured out is that I shouldn't feel pressured to have a high intensity workout every single time I go to the gym. My night workouts usually include a nice little walk on the treadmill (20min) followed with stretch exercises on the mat (15-20min).....followed by an awesome 20min eucalyptus steam room pow wow with my locker room crew! Even if you are too exhausted to have a mini workout, go stretch.....or spend time pampering yourself with a nice steam....or even spending an extra 5 minutes to meticulously apply that extra hydrating conditioner to your hair. It feels great to take care of yourself!

It was such a perfect way to wind down after a hectic week at the clinic!

My Favorite Blogs

2010-11-16T19:37:00.000-08:00

A scary thing happened to me last week. An afterwork event forced me to leave my laptop at the office and I swear I had the shakes all night from internet withdrawl!! So sad....so sad. Ok...it's not thaaaaaaaaaaaaat bad but there are definitely some online shopping sites and certain blogs that I love to follow! Here are some of my favorite health related blogs (because I'm sure you already know that I loooooooooooove perezhilton.com.....I. Can't. Help. It.)

1. Holistic Vanity (www.holisticvanity.ca) - I am crazy about natural skincare and Kristen Ma is definitely one of my fave natural skincare health gurus! She owns Pure and Simple Spa in Toronto (which was just voted the best spa from NOW Toronto...YAY!!) and I couldn't live without my deep cleansing facial from Slavica at their Yorkville location. She is always trying out new products, gadgets and gluten free recipes and gives an enlightening view on how ayruvedic medicine can give you clues about the health of your skin.

2. Gwendolyn Honey (http://www.gwendolynhoney.com/) - This is a new blog by writer Stacey Lindsay. She is a wealth of knowlege when it comes to natural products, studies, tips and recipes and her sincere journey to live a healthy and happy life is conveyed through her writing.

3. Gluten Free Goddess (http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/) - This is a blog that I recommend countless times every single day I practice. It has great tips on how to start eating gluten free as well as delicious gluten free recipes for every meal....including brunch! Check out all the gluten free breads (her gluten free sandwich bread recipe is amaaaaaazing), cakes and even cupcake recipes she has!

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd....if you are a coffee lover and want to find out where all the good quality coffee is in the city, check out www.coffeestork.com. You're already going to have that cup of java so make it a good quality, delicious one!

Movember: Promoting Men's Health Awareness Through Moustaches

2010-11-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

The whole idea behind Movember was a dumb guy idea...but the awesome thing about dumb guy ideas is that every other guy gets them and loves them.

Movember was supposedly started over beers by a few blokes in Melbourne, Australia in 2003. The idea was to grow your mo (moustache) for the month of November (starting with a clean shave on October 31st), to raise awareness for men's health. This event has now ballooned into a worldwide phenomenon supporting prostate cancer awareness, the ugly stat being that 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Last year, the Movember charity raised $47 million worldwide, with Canada being the second largest fundraising country worldwide behind Australia. Good on ya, mates.

Being a healthcare provider and a fellow member of the male species, I observe and understand the difficulties men have in taking charge of their health. In growing my pathetic excuse for a moustache (mind you, I did start a week late...) I am supporting the brotherhood of men (the Mo Bros) throughout Toronto and the world to raise awareness for men's health.

Men do tend to struggle with being proactive in their health and getting check ups from their health professionals. I admire women for taking charge of their health and being on top of annual physicals and bloodwork, and being courageous enough to try to find out if anything is amiss in their body. I also admire women who bring (or sometimes drag) their reluctant male partners into the office because they care. And, of course, I admire all the men who are brave enough to go on their own for a health check up, are open to listening to messages their body is telling them, and take a proactive role in preventing disease...as opposed to visiting the doctor after a problem has already arisen.

To the Mo Bros and Mo Sistas (not women with moustaches as some people think, but women who support the promotion of men's health through the Movember movement), here are a few health reminders for the dudes in your lives:

Get your annual bloodwork and physical done...and yes, annual means EVERY year
If you don't have a family doctor yet, take the time to find one that is accepting new patients...try the website for the Health Care Connect which helps Ontarians find a family health care provider.
Check your testicles every month for any unusual lumps (takes 2 minutes)
Over 50? Time for a colonoscopy and prostate exam.
45 years old with a family history of prostate cancer? Time for a prostate exam.
Eating plenty of vegetables and fruit will not make you less of a man.
If you avoid soy products because you are worried you will grow breasts, know that beer is also estrogenic like soy.

Although my version of Movember, so far, should be renamed Dirtyupperlip-ember and Aileen is supporting only the reason behind this, but not necessarily my new look, I'm happy to keep going with this until November 30th in support of men's health.

Happppy Movember!

How to Make Yourself More Happy AND Burn Some Excess Calories

2010-11-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

SING!!! That's right!! Belting out your favorite tune not only helps to release endorphins, your brain's natural feel good chemical, it can also burn up to 100 calories in an hour! Shake your booty while singing and instantly double that calorie count.

Being Korean, I am lucky to have a karaoke gene encoded in my DNA. This does not mean that I am an amazing singer...it just means that I have no shame when it comes to belting out a tune in private or in public. Makoto is half Japanese so I was convinced that he would also be a karaoke star but it took a little persuasion to get him to come out of his shell. On our first trip to Korea, I dragged him to a karaoke bar (Asian Karaoke bars are a little different....you rent private rooms....this is mostly because we are all mic hogs and sharing the stage with a large group of strangers and having to patiently wait our turn would be out of the question). At first, he insisted on just listening to me while he shook the tambourine and drank soju. Maybe it was the liquid courage or the discovery that he could karaoke to Eminem, Snoop Dog, CCR, Metallica, The Backstreet Boys and, of course, Vanilla Ice but the man is now addicted.

Subsequently, we now own both Rap Star and Sing Star for our PS3. The greatest thing about karaokeing is that you quickly realize that you don't have to be a good singer. It's all about having fun and just letting go! So start the day with singing your favorite song in the shower (the acoustics are faaaaaaaaaaantastic) or organizing a karaoke night with your friends! Toooooooooooo much fun!

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

WE HOPE YOU HAVE A SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN!!

A lesson from Tom Green: Laughter and Testicular Cancer

2010-10-25T10:21:00.001-07:00

Tom Green was in Toronto this past week as part of his North American standup comedy tour.

Having grown up in Ottawa, and listening to his late-night college radio show and then seeing him around downtown pulling hilarious pranks on unsuspecting bystanders for his Rogers' Cable TV's The Tom Green Show, was awesome.

I wasn't sure how he would do at standup, since I've been used to him doing performance comedy, pranks or hosting guests on his talkshows. I somehow convinced Aileen to come along to join the fun, but felt added pressure that Tom not resort to bringing out roadkill to hump on stage, or I would have a very disappointed wife.

After waiting in line in the rain for a good 20 minutes in front of the Phoenix, we were hoping for a really good show. The opening act was actually hilarious, and then Tom came running up from behind the crowd and didn't let up for a high-energy amazing performance. I couldn't stop laughing for the whole 90 minutes. Best part was that Aileen was busting a gut laughing as well. Phew...thought I would be hearing about "the *real* romantic night when Makoto dragged me to see Tom Green" for decades to come. Happy wife, happy life.

Anyhow, it's been a stressful and busy few weeks, and I think laughing our brains out was the best prescription we could have had. I think neither of us would have imagined anytime before that night, that Tom Green would actually be therapeutic. They do say laughter is the best medicine, and sometimes it's easy to forget when you are too busy to laugh. I have to remember to keep passing this advice on to others, and refer to Dr.Tom Green, Dr.Russell Peters, Dr.Chris Rock or one of the many other docs with mics.

Another lesson from Dr.Tom Green was about his survival through testicular cancer. He says "Sometimes I think about my battle with cancer, and think, I wouldn't trade if for anything...and then I think, well, I would trade it for my right testicle. Wouldn't mind getting that back!"

I recall his "Cancer Special" on MTV's The Tom Green Show in 2000 that tried to make light of his experiences dealing with doctors and surgery through his cancer treatment. Was great that he was educating the public through humour. He had a frank and serious moment in the show when he touched on this again, appreciating that he survived cancer, and reminding all the men to check their nuts.

So guys, don't forget to do a quick nut check every month in the shower.

There's not a lot of tissue to palpate (no matter what you want to believe), so it won't delay your morning by more than a minute or two. Ensure that there aren't any strange lumps or masses, and if there is anything you feel that is not normal, consult with your physician.

Prognosis is good if caught early, and main demographic is fairly young (20-35 yrs old), but can happen at any age. And, no, it does not make you any less manly if you see your doctor more than once every five years.

Thanks for the awesome time, Tom!

Amazing Olive Oil!! How to incorporate Olive Oil Into Your Life!

2010-10-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

Those who know me are well acquainted with my obsession for olive oil. I. Love. Olive. Oil.

Olive oil is an important source of monosaturated fatty acids...the good type of fat that helps to decrease LDL (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL (good cholesterol). It also protects your heart, decreases the risk of colon cancer, helps to heal ulcers and keeps your skin glowing and moisturized!

It also is SUPER YUMMY!! My favorite is Kalamata Olive oil....it has an extra amazing fresh and fruity taste to it!

But...not all olive oils are created equally and it's a very fragile oil so here are some guidelines:
1. ONLY buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and it must be cold pressed. Organic? Even better.
2. Stovetop - only heat olive oil at the 3 or 4 setting...maximum.
3. Oven - only heat olive oil to 350F...maxium.

So basically, EVOO is best eaten in it's natural, raw state. Here are some of my favorite ways to use EVOO:
1. Pour it on toast. Makoto and I pour Kalamata Olive Oil over toasted Dimpflmeier 7-Grain toast almost everyday. Add a dash of sea salt and freshly ground pepper for a boost of deliciousness! (If you're feeling extra fancy and want to have a very Parisian lunch, top with chopped basil and sardines (yes...sardines...The French eat sardines the way us North Americans eat tuna...if you like tuna, you will love sardines).

2. Pour it over pizza (yes...Makoto and I eat pizza! Life would be so boring without pizza! There are so many crust options (thin, gluten free) and topping options now!) - I learned this while visiting Italy. The pizzeria's would insist on pouring fresh olive oil over my pizza. At the time (I was 16yo), I was completely afraid of the added fat from the olive oil but now realize that olive oil is a form of GOOD fat that has many beneficial health properties and helps me to burn bad fat. Try it...you will never eat pizza again without pouring olive oil on top!

3. Add a heaping tsp to your smoothie or yogurt - it blends instantly into your smoothie/yogurt and boosts your snack with a dose of antioxidants!

4. Chop up all the leftover veggies in your fridge and spread them on a baking sheet. Drizzle EVOO, fresh chopped up herbs, sea salt and fresh ground pepper over them and bake at 350F for 30-45min (or until veggies are tender).

5. Pour a 1/4c of EVOO into your next bath...add 20 drops of your favorite essential oil if you're feeling extra fancy. Soak for at least 20min. When you come out of the bath, towel dry and just massage the oil left on your body into your skin.....your skin will feel baby soft.

I even designed Sprout Botanicals Nipple Balm with olive oil as the main ingredients due to it's healing and moisturizing properties (http://sproutbotanicals.com/product_detail/item/olive_nipple_balm/)

I heart olive oil forever!

BEDBUGS! How to be proactive in preventing an infestation

2010-10-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

Seems like these days everyone's major fear for their home and personal comfort is a bedbug infestation. In the last few years, there have been huge increases in incidences and almost daily articles in the newspaper about new areas of infestation, including major sports stores, cinemas and high-end hotels. Most of us feel that there is not much we can do about this, but hope for the best... and in the awful case that we do get infested, get our home treated by an exterminator.

Aileen's natural baby care line has a natural outdoor spray, which contains essential oils that can function as a bedbug repellant, and can be ordered online or purchased at several health food stores, including The Big Carrot. Of course, nothing is a guaranteed prevention for bedbugs, but this helps in being proactive instead of feeling helpless.

You can visit the Sprout Botanicals website for product information.

Below is what we recommend to patients regarding a bedbug prevention protocol and evidence that natural essential oils function to repel blood-sucking arthropods.

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Following is a link to a 2006 research paper from the Journal of Medical Entomology, an article entitled "Repellency of Oils of Lemon Eucalyptus, Geranium, and Lavender and the Mosquito Repellent MyggA Natural to Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) in the Laboratory and Field."

The tested product contained essential oils of lemon eucalyptus, geranium and lavender and was tested on ticks which are blood-feeding arthropods, as are bedbugs. Repellancy effects were substantial.

Sprout Botanicals Outdoor Spray's ingredients are known to be effective in deterring mosquitoes and blackflies, should also logically function as a preventative measure to repelling bedbugs. It is not a guarantee to prevent bedbugs, but as evidence shows, does function as an effective repellent for blood-feeding arthropods.

Sprout's Outdoor Spray contains essential oils of eucalyptus, geranium and lavender, which not only smell great, but are also the same oils tested in the 2006 study. Although it is called an Outdoor Spray it is completely safe to use indoors and inhale as it is 100% chemical-free.

Bedbug prevention can be implemented in the following ways:

Sprayed uniformly on mattresses (covers and sheets removed) every 2 weeks. Allow a few hours for mattress to air dry before re-covering with linens.
Carried in your bag or purse to public places prone to bedbug infestations (theatres, cinemas) and sprayed on the seat before sitting down.
Sprayed on your clothes after having been seated in a public place.
Good luck, and don't let the bedbugs bite!

Quick and Easy Lemon Lentil Soup

2010-10-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

After a crazaaaaazy September, Makoto and I are happy to be spending most of our time in Toronto this month. We realized how much we love our house and we missed seeing our wonderful neighbors. We are dedicating our weekends to “winterizing” our house, cleaning up the garden and hosting a few dinner parties.

When things get busy, and especially when we’re travelling, we eat out 3 meals a day. So it’s time to get back on track and we decided to do so by making some easy to digest, high in protein soups.

I made this quick and easy Lemon Lentil Soup and it provided several hearty lunches…especially when had with toasted organic Dimpflmeier Sunflower bread (drizzled in kalamata olive oil with a dash of cracked black pepper). YUM.

Lemon Lentil Soup
(Adapted from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook)
2 onions
5 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
2 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained
8 cups vegetable stock or water
5 cups of baby spinach, chopped
1 small handful fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Sea Salt to taste

1. Chop onions and gralic and saute in coconut oil until soft (5-7min).
2. Add the red lentils and vegetable broth/water. Cover pot and simmer for 30min (or until lentils are cooked through).
3. When lentils are cooked, add chopped spinach and parsley along with the lemon juice and sea salt. Simmer on low for another 5 minutes.
4. Cool soup and purree if you'd like but it tastes just as yummy as is :)

Thanksgiving Apple Pie Smoothie

2010-10-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

Tested out a great tasting smoothie after my Thanksgiving workout today.

And in the spirit of the holidays: thanks to our gym for being open on a holiday, and thanks to my Uncle Bob and Aunt Carol for giving me a huge bag of apples from their organic orchard after an amazing Thanksgiving feast last night, and thank you to the powers above for keeping Aileen and I, our friends and families, in good health and spirits.

Thanksgiving Apple Pie Smoothie

Two fresh apples (peeled, with guts removed)
A healthy dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg
Thumb-sized piece of ginger

Frozen banana
Maple Syrup, to desired sweetness
Your choice of healthy protein powder (mine is brown rice protein)
1.5 cups Filtered water

1. Blend and enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

2010-10-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES A VERY HEALTHY AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Cool New Lab Tests: Functional Nutritional In-House Lab Tests

2010-10-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

We've been excited about a series of new lab tests that we have been putting together at our clinic and are now offering to new or existing patients. The cool thing about them is that they can be done in-house, with results within a few minutes, and are cost-effective.

The information from the seven tests is useful to help guide you to understanding how well your body is functioning and if you have a healthy mineral status (calcium and zinc).

My favourite tests are the Urinary Indicans Test which reveals the health of your digestive tract (the degree of 'dysbiosis' or toxic bowel) and the Koenisburg's Adrenal Test, which helps to assess the state of your adrenal glands, which can be depleted if you are under chronic stress.

We can also help you determine your blood type and recommend a basis for your diet, that best suits your genetic makeup according to your blood type (ie. based on the theories in The Blood Type Diet by Dr.Peter D'Adamo).

Here is a complete list of the new functional nutritional tests we now offer at Zentai Wellness Centre:

Urinalysis: For the urinalysis test, you will provide a urine sample. A ten-patch test strip will be dipped into a urine sample. Within a couple of minutes, you will have results determining the following:

•Specific Gravity (concentrating & diluting power of kidneys)
•pH (acidity/alkalinity)
•Leukocytes (infection)
•Nitrite (significant bacteria)
•Protein
•Glucose
•Ketone Bodies
•Urobilinogen
•Bilirubin
•Blood and Hemoglobin

Zinc Sufficiency Test: Zinc is crucial for many possesses in the body, however many of us are deficient. By swishing a zinc solution for 20 seconds, you will find out your zinc levels.

Koenisburg's Test (Adrenals): With a simple urine sample, the results of this test will be able to provide information on the state of health of your adrenals.

Urinary Indican Test (Dysbiosis): Interested in the state of your bowels? This test, looking for indicans (resulting from incompletely digested protein, proliferation of harmful bacteria, and a permeable bowel wall) in your urine, can give you a glimpse of your level of toxicity (dysbiosis) or clear state of bowel health.

Sulkowitch Test: Serum calcium levels can be determined through a urine sample. Calcium is associated with many conditions such as osteoporiosis, osteopenia, arthritis, and hyptertension. Find out your calcium levels with the Sulkowitch Test.

Blood Type: Are you a universal donor or receiver? Find out your blood type with this quick blood test, using only a few drops of blood from your finger. We also offer Blood Type Diet consultations which helps you cater your meals to your specific blood type.

pH Test: Our pH saliva test, will determine the acidity/alkalinity of your body.

More info about these tests on our website.

Sprout Botanicals - Now available at The Big Carrot!!

2010-10-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

Sprout Botanicals is a natural baby skincare line that Makoto and I founded over a year ago. I started to compound natural and gentle skincare products in our clinic compounding room for my pediatric patients that were struggling with sensitive skin.

My first product that I made was Sprout Botanicals Soothing Balm....a natural, petroleum free alternative to Vaseline. You can slather it on an irritated diaper rash, itchy eczema, dry lips and nose or mix a dollop of it into your favorite moisturizer for added hydration.

Sprout Botanical products are completely natural and free of harsh chemicals and preservatives. They are safe to use on delicate baby skin but are also great for adults with sensitive skin including eczema, rosacea and psoriasis.

The newest store to carry Sprout Botanicals is The Big Carrot Natural Food Market. For a more complete list of where to find Sprout Botanicals or more information about our entire product line, please visit www.sproutbotanicals.com.

Flexible Quinoa Salad - safe to bring to dinner parties!

2010-09-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is one of our favourite naturopathic-friendly go-to recipes that can easily be altered to suit your tastes or pantry supplies. The bonus of this very healthy (and dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, vegan) recipe is that it is safe enough to bring to dinner parties (ie. not too weird-looking and enough flavour to appeal to everyone's tastebuds, even for those who aren't health-conscious). We have tested variations of this recipe out at a few potluck parties, and it always gets rave reviews.

Flexible Quinoa Salad

Ingredients
1 ½ cups quinoa
3 cups water
pinch of salt

½ cup dried apricots or cranberries, finely diced
½ cup red bell pepper
½ cup yellow bell pepper
¾ cup toasted pine nuts, cashews pecans or walnuts
¼ cup chopped cilantro or basil

Vinaigrette
grated lemon zest and lemon juice from one lemon
splash of balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup olive oil

Directions
1. Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in cold water then pour into a fine meshed strainer and rinse again under running water (if not rinsed well, quinoa tends to be bitter).
2. Bring water to boil and add salt, then stir in the quinoa.
3. Lower the heat, cover and cook for 15min. Taste the grain. There should be just a little resistance and the opaque spiraled ring of germ should show. If necessary continue cooking until done.
4. Pour into strainer and set it to drain over a bowl.
5. Toast all the nuts either in a dry pan or the mini oven works great too! Just put them on some foil in the mini oven, watch them carefully and stir often because they may burn.
6. Combine the apricots, peppers, nuts and cilantro in a large bowl.
7. Mix together the ingredients for the vinaigrette and add to the bowl of yummy apricots, peppers, nuts and cilantro.
8. Once the quinoa has cooled, add it to the bowl. Give it a good mix and ENJOY!

Warming Foods for the Cooler Weather: A Chinese Medicine Perspective

2010-09-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

Seems like in the last couple of weeks, everyone has been getting sick from coast to coast (we noticed it in Toronto and then when we went to Vancouver for Aileen's sister's wedding, people were hacking out their lungs). Part of the problem is that the weather has been cooling down, and as happens every year, we neglect to protect ourselves with adequate clothing.

Yesterday I saw people wearing parkas, others wearing shorts, and some wearing parkas with shorts(??). What this means is that those people that are holding on to the last remnants of summer by continuing to wear their summer wardrobe (not that I can blame em...I'm having a really hard time giving up my flipflops) are going to be chilled, and thereby at a higher risk of infection, such as the common cold.

For decades, conventional thinking has dismissed the correlation between cold weather and risk of infection because of Pasteur's germ theory of medicine. The germ theory explains that infection is based on exposure of a host to a pathogenic organism. The component that this theory neglects is the immune state of the host, which can be compromised by exposure to negative stressors, such as cold weather. Mothers and grandmothers have been telling us ad nauseum for eons to "dress warmly" and their theory has been vindicated by a review article in 2007 in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, which clarifies that there is a relation between repiratory tract infection incidence and exposure to cold: Exposure to Cold and Respiratory Tract Infections.

Further to this study, in 2005 at the Common Cold Center at Cardiff University, Claire Johnson and Professor Ron Eccles conducted a study that involved immersing participants' feet in cold water for twenty minutes. The participants' incidence of catching a common cold within the next few days was 29%, which was much higher than the control group, which was only 9%.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has acknowledged this phenomenon for thousands of years, and termed pathologies created by exposure to cold as "Wind-Cold Invasion". Much of TCM theory is based on Yin versus Yang qualities, which includes respectively, Cold and Heat characteristics.

Based upon changes of seasons, TCM also recommends changing cooking methods and types of foods based on their inherent cooling or warming qualities, to balance out the energies we are exposed to from the environment.

Cooking methods that impart "heat" into foods include roasting, baking and steaming. A raw food diet may be beneficial to some people who have a more yang or hot constitution, but may be detrimental in the cooler months from October to March.

Below, I have summarized common warming and cooling foods from each particular food group. During the fall, winter, and early spring, stick to neutral and warming food types, and in the summer, switch to cooling foods.

Warming Vegetables: sweet potato, parsnips, cilantro, green onions, cabbage, beets, turnips, pumpkin, shiitake mushrooms
Cooling Vegetables: broccoli, eggplant, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, radish, celery

Warming Fruits: blackberry, cherry, date, peach, lychee
Cooling Fruits: apple, banana, watermelon, strawberry, grapefruit, avocado

Warming Grains: oats, quinoa, rice, spelt, rye
Cooling Grains: barley, wheat, wild rice, millet

Nuts and seeds are generally all neutral, with some warming nuts including coconut, pinenut, chestnut and walnut.
Most meats are warm or neutral. Cool meats are frog and rabbit. I know this may be extremely challenging, but please make sure to limit your intake of frog and rabbit meat in the winter.

Most beans are neutral, with the exception of the cooling beans mung, soy, and lima beans.

Herbs are generally warming foods. If they are added to a recipe, they will provide more heat to the final food. There are some cooling herbs to avoid in the winter time: marjoram, mint and tamarind

TCM also considers a protective energy called your Wei Qi (akin to your immune system), that can be easily depleted by exposure of your neck to cold winds. So, like your mom always told you, DONT FORGET TO WEAR YOUR SCARF.

Wonderful Weddings in September!!!!

2010-09-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

We just came back from Vancouver to help my sister and our new brother-in-law celebrate their AMAZING wedding on September 12, 2010!!! CONGRATULATIONS Elisa and Denis!!! September is a big wedding month for our family. My wonderful parents celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary on the 10th of September.......

And Makoto and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on the 9th of September!

Denis and Elisa were absolutely glowing on their wedding day and I credit this to their incredible ability to stay grounded throughout the entire wedding planning process. They made sure to take care of themselves, exercise, sleep well and eat well up until the day before the wedding and while half of the wedding party had caught a bug or were completely exhausted from a week long of pre-wedding celebrations, Elisa and Denis were the picture of perfect health! We all had an incredible time and they really went all out including a beautiful fireworks show (with heart shaped fireworks!!!) and....Makoto's favorite....a photobooth!!! Congratulations Elisa and Denis...we love you!!!

Air Purifying House Plants

2010-08-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

These are the two little plants in our bedroom that we count on to purify our bedroom air.

The extent to which they can clean our air is unknown but what we do know is that new infrastructure and construction sites are rising up all over the city, road maintenance is a regular occurrence, and smog produced by our daily usage of gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and coal, are major contributors to Toronto’s poor air quality and pollution.

North Americans spend 90% of their time indoors. We would except that this would decrease our exposure to air bound toxins. However, air quality indoors is often times just as, if not more, toxic! There are at least 300 known toxic substances found indoors ranging from insulation, sealants, paints, to household cleaners, detergents, and even carpet. Three most common air pollutants found indoors are formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene. Poor indoor air quality often results to a condition called Sick Building Syndrome which includes symptoms such as allergies, asthma, eye, nose and throat irritations, headaches, fatigue, sinus and respiratory congestion.

In the 1970s, NASA conducted many studies in search for solutions to maintain air quality inside confined spaces (e.g. space pods). Results showed that plants, through the process of photosynthesis, can break down contaminants and greatly reduce indoor air pollutants!

It is recommended to have one mid-sized houseplant per 100 square feet in your home or office.

Here is a list of the top plants that will help to naturally detoxify indoor air for cleaner breathing:

Aloe

Apothos

Bamboo Palm
Chinese Evergreen

English Ivy

Gerbera Daisy

Janet Craig

Marginata

Mass cane/Corn Plant

Mother-in-Law’s Tongue

Pot Mum

Peace Lily

Warneckii

In addition to air purification and detoxification, plants can add many additional benefits:

- Studies have found that plants can help to reduce stress (lowers blood pressure and heart rate).

- Plants can help with productivity and creativity as they allow us to relax and focus

- Plants can keep the air in our homes from getting too dry by increasing humidity

- Plants aid in reducing noise - add a few by your windows to reduce noise from outside

Add a few plants to your home and give them some TLC. They offer you so much in return!

Give a plant a home today!

If you need further assistance or want to purchase air-purifying houseplants, contact Paul (he is super knowledgeable and very, very nice!) at Bloom The Flower Company (1009 Yonge Street, at Crescent Road), 416.324.9900.

It's Officially Fall: Does the Cold Weather Cause The Cold/Flu? Tips on How to Adapt to the Cooler Weather

2010-08-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

I know it's not Sept. 21st yet but for me, there are 3 things that make it Fall:

1. For the first time since Spring, the weather is cool enough that I wanted to come home and take a warm lavender bubble bath, make a cup of tea (it's the first Saturday in months that we didn't come home and open up a bottle of white wine!) and then pull out extra blankets for Makoto, Rambo and me.

2. While at our friend's (gorgeous) penthouse abode, I had a bird's eye view of the luscious green trees turning red in Allan Gardens.....tear.

3. I picked up the September issues of Vogue and Bazaar....this confirms that it's officially Fall.

In Chinese medicine, many philosophies on health are directly related to the changes in seasons. As leaves fall off trees, flowers stop blooming and several plants become dormant, they are conserving their energy in their seeds and roots to prepare and survive the winter. We should also take cues from nature and use this time to conserve our energy as the Fall and Winter are designated the "yin" seasons where our bodies priorities shift towards recharging and nurturing our "qi" (inner energy).

Now...this doesn't mean stock up on cheetos and become a couch potato until March. But it does mean that the Fall and Winter are a fantastic time for renewing, exploring, starting fresh and taking care of yourself. I make a lot of referenes to Chinese Medicine in this blog post so you'll either think this is interesting or that I'm talking about a lot of mystical voodoo weirdness, but whichever camp you are on (or maybe somewhere in between) I hope you can take something from these tips which can help you stay healthy and happy during the Fall and Winter:

1. Soups, stews and congee galore - As the weather becomes cooler, choose foods that are easily digestible such as soups, stews and congee (the Korean version is called jook). The lung meridian in Chinese medicine is the most vulnerable during the fall and it also happens to govern your immunity. So making sure that you don't stress out your digestive tract (Stomach and Spleen meridian) means that more energy can be given to balance your lung meridian.

2. Bring a sweater - Canadians are often confused, fashion-wise, during the change of seasons. This weekend, I saw girls in short shorts and tanks and others wearing their winter jackets. In western medicine, they do not make a direct link that cold weather may cause the cold (the theory is that cooler weather causes more people to stay indoors which means we have more contact with each other and become germ-passing monsters....not to mention that school is back in session where the little kiddies start passing around germs like it's going out of style...WASH YOUR HAND DILIGENTLY!!!). In Chinese medicine, the cold weather is seen as one of the six pathogenic factors that can attack your system. Dressing appropriately can prevent pathogenic cold from attacking the exterior of our body and weakening our qi which can lead to us contracting the cold/flu. No matter which theory you believe in, we've all been stricken with the sniffles, fatigue and malaise after a night out without being properly dressed (ex. ladies...remember the morning after going clubbing in the winter and not wanting to carry around a jacket all night? Flu central.) So....bring a scarf or sweater with you wherever you go!

3. Vitamin D - If you've been slacking off on taking your vitamin D over this glorious summer we've had, it's time to start up again! Visit your Naturopath to get the correct dosing.

4. To quickly warm up, drink warm tea! - I remember sitting through my last CPR/First Aid course and when we got to the hypothermia part our instructor was adamant that the best way (after the obvious first steps like getting them out of soaking wet clothing) to help the victim warm up was by administering sips of warm fluids. Warming up your core temperature helps you to feel warm and fuzzy and drinking peppermint tea is so yummy!

5. Renew and Explore - I think that many of us see September as a fresh start since this is when the new school year started. Even if you are not a student anymore, take this time to start fresh! Re-evaluate the things that make you happy in life, tweak your diet and listen to your body.

We've had such an amazing summer that i'm actually looking forward to Fall! Makoto on the other hand refuses to even talk to me as I'm writing this blog post because he lives for summertime....poor guy...maybe I'll just have to try to get him excited over all the new amazing Fall fashion....highly unlikely but worth a try!

Weird Health Fads Review #4: The Master Cleanse

2010-08-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

Often called "The Lemonade Diet" or "Maple Syrup Cleanse" the Master Cleanse became popular (as most health fads do) as a result of the Hollywooders. Although created with the intention of being a cleanse or detox, it is most often misused as a crash weight loss program.

Originally concocted in 1941 by Stanley Burroughs, an alternative health practitioner, it has increased exponentially in popularity in the last decade. It is quite a simple program as there is only the "lemonade" solution consumed during the detox period. The length of time suggested ranges from 10 to 40 days...this is without any food, only the lemonade.

The solution is a mixture of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, dark unrefined maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water. Taste-wise, the Master Cleanse solution is actually not bad - goes down like a natural tangy lemonade.

The theory with this cleanse, as with other fasts, is that the lack of food gives the body a break to recuperate and repair its tissues. Lemon juice provides vitamin C and electrolytes, maple syrup provides natural sugar and minerals, and cayenne pepper increases circulation and sweating.

The composition of the lemonade provides basics to sustain the body during a fast, but unsupervised, this can be quiet dangerous particularly with underlying health conditions and/or medication. The other problem is that fasting, although targeted to eliminate toxins from the body as a result of nothing else being consumed by the body, can actually do the opposite.

Metabolic detoxification pathways in the liver require many nutrient co-factors that can be depleted during a fast. Because of this, toxic metabolite intermediates may actually back up in the body or be prevented from being properly eliminated. Proper foods and nutrients should be supplemented with to support the detoxification process. Without this support, it actually defeats the purpose of cleansing.

Short-term, under medical supervision, The Master Cleanse can have benefits for some people, but I would not recommend doing this for longer than a 2-3 day period without food. And to reiterate, this is only after a thorough medical assessment and under supervision.

Many people use this cleanse as a quick weight loss program, which will absolutely work in the short-term, but as most diets that put the body in a state of ketosis (or starvation) will have a rebound effect as you reintroduce food. You will quickly regain the weight you lost, and often more than previous, as your body wants to protect itself from starvation again.

I think the cleanse lemonade solution is a great adjunct to a normal healthy diet, taken first thing in the morning, or even as a natural homemade Gatorade replacement (with a pinch of salt and baking soda added), but would not recommend it for extended periods of time.

REVIEW (out of 10):
Weird Factor: 5

Safety Rating: 3

Health Benefit: 4

What We Learned from a 15 Year Old

2010-08-17T23:06:00.000-07:00

My little cousin Andrew (aka Andy Pandy or Drew-Poo :)) stayed with us for a few days at the end of July/early August. He just came off of a 2 week trip to Washington and New York where he was chosen to represent Canada in a youth leadership conference and his days were filled with learning about international politics and world banking.....he's also the captain of his volleyball team, a debate champ, reads The Economist on his free time and dresses like a fashion model. Oh, did I mention he's 15 years old?!?!? At 15, my main priority was to get home in time to watch The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Makoto's hottest outfit at age 15 was his red sweat pants and matching Spiderman shirt.

Makoto and I were completely entertained by him and realized that 15 is not what it used to be. Here are a few things that we learned from him:

1. Sex ed ain't what it used to be when we were in grade school - One night over sushi in Yorkville, Makoto and I found ourselves awkwardly in the middle of giving Andrew the dreaded "sex talk". Actually, it was more like me spewing out random rhetoric while Makoto pretended to be really interested in the wasabi and Andrew was trying to hold in his laughter. Makoto and I haven't received the sex talk from our parents to this day so we felt that Andrew's traditional Korean parents would probably also not be so forthcoming with this subject matter. To our surprise, Andrew saved us from the awkwardness and we discussed in great detail how he has learned all about the birds and the bees, protection, pregnancy, etc since he was in elementary school. He's lucky to have other older role models in his life that have also sat him down and given him "the talk". He also knew about some things that horrified me but I am starting to accept that he is not my 2yo little baby cousin anymore. Most importantly, he seemed very appreciative (ok....maybe not appreciative...but not annoyed) that we even attempted to enlighten him on this subject and I'm hoping that he knows that he can always come to us if he has any other questions. We were on such a good vibe that we even through in the "drug talk" for good measure. If you have a tween/teen in your life, make sure to let them know that you're there for them....even for the awkward conversations!

2. Our metabolisms are at a turtle pace compared to his - After eating double what Makoto could eat, Andrew would still be up for poutine 30min post meal. It really is unfair how our metabolisms slow down with age. But after spending a few days with him, I also realized how I forgot how much more active we were at 15 compared to 30. Andrew and his friends constantly play all sorts of sports in their free time whether its getting together to work out, kicking around a ball or just walking everywhere since they don't have their driver's license. I know that Makoto and I try to get to the gym 3 times a week but I also think we (as in all adults) should also incorporate more "play time"....Makoto and I are now trying to get outside for even 20-30minutes during lunch/break for a walk and some fresh air instead of just using this time to check emails or google every random thing we can think of.

3. At some point, we forget to dream big as we "grow up" - Andrew dreams of becoming a lawyer as well as finishing his MBA so that he can combine both and become a super duper lawyer businessman....and a full time career in a professional sport is, of course, also in the grand plan. I remember he told me this last Christmas and being the protective older cousin that I am and not wanting him to be forced into the Asian immigrant parent's dream of having their child either become a medical doctor or a lawyer, I started to go into a monologue of how he should explore all sorts of other interests and be true to dedicating his life to a career in something he actually wants to get up and do every morning. Then I didn't want him to feel dissapointed if he didn't become a super duper lawyer businessman so then I started going on about how tough law school can be, the pros and cons of an MBA, how much work it is to be a busy lawyer, the politics within law firms and I just went on and on like a big Debbie Downer. He stopped me mid sentence and said "Aileen....I'm 15. If I don't dream big now, when will I ever dream big?". Man did I ever feel like a "noob" (apparently this is the teenager's choice word to describe a dumb ass). He's absolutely right....why can't he become an insanely powerful lawyer while playing for the NBA full time? He's done nothing but show me what an amazing person he already is and I'm incredibly proud of him and should be nothing but supportive of any dream he has....especially at the tender age of 15!! Whether he becomes a lawyer or changes his mind and joins the circus, I realized that he should be able to aim for the stars. It's refreshing to be around such sincere optimism......I think it's making Makoto revive his hopes of becoming a UFC fighter. And me......I may not ever become the professional ballerina that I was suppose to grow up to be but I've definitely set new higher limits for all the personal goals in my life.

In summary, safe sex is cool, don't forget play time and always dream big!

Gluten-Free Beers and other Alcohol Options for Celiacs or Gluten-Sensitive Folk

2010-08-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

Nothing is as refreshing as a cold one on a hot summer day.

For the increasingly many who are either gluten-sensitive or suffer from celiac disease, options may seem limited for enjoying a drink on the patio with friends. But fear not...there are actually a good selection of options available.

Firstly, wine, and its fortified counterparts (sherry, port) are all safe. As a general rule, there are no gluten containing ingredients used in wine production.

Secondly, essentially any pure distilled spirit such as whiskey, rye, vodka and gin will lose its prolamin (celiac-aggravating proteins that include gluten and gliadin) content during the distillation process. As a result, it does not matter whether the initial fermentation uses gluten-containing grains such as wheat, rye or barley, as long as the final product is a result of distillation. The only caveat to this is if there is some gluten-containing ingredient added after the distillation process (ie. in some kind of weird mixed drink concoction).

Beer on the other hand, is fermented from barley malt or a mix of other grains (rye, wheat, oats)with barley. Because these standard grains contains gluten and this is not broken down or extracted in the fermentation process, beer is sadly excluded as an option for those with gluten sensitivities. The great news is that there are an increasing number of breweries that are catching on to this predicament, and are producing gluten-free beer options.

Rejoice, celiacs!

Keep in mind that because they are brewed from non-standard grains, they have a slightly different taste, but not difficult to get accustomed to. It is still beer after all.

For Canadians, there is the health-conscious Quebec brewery, Les Bieres de la Nouvelle France, which has not one but TWO gluten-free and preservative-free beer options. La Messagere and La Messagere Red Ale are both derived from buckwheat and rice and are available across Canada.

Albertans give us Bard's Beer, founded by Craig Belser and Kevin Seplowitz, both diagnosed celiacs who could not stand a miserable life without beer, and brought us their popular beer derived from sorghum.

American beer-makers, Lakefront Brewery, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, also has a gluten-free beer available. Their beer is called New Grist, which is brewed from rice and sorghum (a gluten-free grain from the grass family).

Brewing giant, Budweiser, has gotten on the bandwagon by partnering with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness and providing us with Redbridge Beer, another sorghum-based gluten-free beer, available widely in the States, but unfortunately not yet to us Canucks, as far as I know.

Cheers!

How much Calcium do we need? Non-Dairy Calcium Sources Exists!

2010-08-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

It amazes me how many of my patients can make the link between dairy milk consumption and their maldigestion symptoms (ex. stomach aches, gas, bloating, diarrhea) yet they continue to drink it because they "need the calcium!". So let's chat about non-dairy sources of calcium.

Calcium is super important as it is the most abundant mineral in the body and needed to maintain healthy bones and teeth as well as play a role in preventing osteoporosis.

Recommended Intake of Calcium:
Infants (up to 12mos) - 200mg per day
Children (1-4yo) - 500mg per day
Children (4-8yo) - 800mg per day
Children (9-13) - 1300mg per day
Adults (18-50yo) - 1000mg per day
Adults (>50yo) - 1500mg per day

1 cup of milk has 300mg of calcium...but 1 cup of cooked collard greens has over 350mg! Here are some other non-dairy sources of calcium:

Calcium content in milligrams per 1 cup of food:

Soy or Rice beverage (fortified) - 315mg
Orange juice (fortified) – 300mg
Fresh squeezed orange juice (from 2 medium oranges) – 100mg

Canned salmon with bones – 480mg
Canned sardines with bones – 400mg

Tofu, with calcium sulphate – 260mg
Soybeans (cooked) – 170mg
Navy beans (cooked) – 140mg
Pinto beans (cooked) – 84mg
Lentils (cooked) – 50mg

Brown rice (cooked) – 20mg
Quinoa (cooked) – 80mg
Oats (cooked) – 40mg

Almonds – 412mg
Walnuts – 280mg
Sesame Seeds – 178mg

Note: Cooked dark leafy greens are a great source of calcium except for spinach since it’s high concentration of oxalates may hinder the absorption of it’s available calcium.

Collards (cooked) - 357mg
Green Turnip (cooked) – 208mg
Kale (cooked) - 179
Broccoli (cooked) – 66mg

(Source: Canadian Nutrent File, 2007)

Or how about a cup nettle infusion. Nettle is a great anti-inflammatory herb that is naturally high in calcium. A cup of nettle infusion (1 cup of nettle herb in 1L of boiling water; allow to soak for 5hrs) has a whopping 500mg of calcium!

Why not just take a supplement? There are various forms of calcium supplements out there....some have more bioavailability than others which means that not all calcium supplements will absorb fully in the body. The best way to incorporate absorbable calcium into your diet is through whole foods so try getting it trhough food first!

Bulk Barn Healthy Options & Gluten-Free Section

2010-08-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

Aileen and I work and live in downtown Toronto, and as such we hardly encounter Bulk Barn, which always seems to be somewhere in a random plaza in the burbs. We happened to be out on the northwest end of Toronto this past weekend, and stumbled across a Bulk Barn.

We all have fond memories of Bulk Barn...pretending not to notice the "Do Not Sample" signs, and tasting - just a few - of every awesome snack available. We were quite impressed with the extensive gluten-free section. (Note that although these are labelled gluten-free, this is more applicable to gluten-sensitivities rather than celiac disease, in which case bulk sections are not recommended due to cross contamination with trace amounts of gluten).

The gluten-free options range from almost every type of whole grain (organic quinoa, amaranth, teff, millet, and a great variety of rices) to flours and pancake mixes to gluten-free pasta.

Of course, prices are reasonable as a result of being sold in bulk and use much less packaging...I think they would actually be even cheaper, but Bulk Barn must be taking into account the "snack factor" that we all have been guilty of.

Other awesome finds: Cassava chips, bulk almond and sunflower seed butter, apple butter, tamari almonds, honey-coated sunflower seeds, dried herbs, pinatas, and cool cake and pastry molds. And since this blog is all about healthy compromises and honesty, of course, we had to get a selection of some nostalgic childhood candies. Aileen loves her gummy green mint leaves and blue sharks, and I love my red lips and sour keys. Mm mmm.

Heard there is a Bulk Barn just at Leslie and Lakeshore, just a few minutes from downtown...I think we will be paying it a visit once our new stash of clear-bagged goodies starts to dwindle down.

My last summer as a 20-something year old

2010-07-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, Makoto planned a day of fun to celebrate my 29.5 birthday. I'm turning 30 in the new year which means I am now enjoying my last summer as a 20 something year old. Suddenly I feel this cheesy urge to start clubbing again to "get it out of my system". When does the transition happen when we go from dancing all night to amazing (and sometimes even not-so-amazing) music at clubs to drinking $20 cocktails at posh hotel lounges for fun? I told Makoto this and he was right there for me, even finding his old university backpack that would secretly house a 12-pak and has secret built in compartments for attaching straws.

Then we remembered our last outing to some random club and how our conversation upon arrival went a little something like this:

Makoto: I think the air quality in here is pretty poor.
Me: Whoa....the music is so loud.....do you think this is bad for my ears?
Makoto: Well...at least we'll be getting our cardio in tonight.

As my 16yo cousin would say, LAME-SAUCE! We still have a great time going dancing and ending the night with a mandatory 3am meal in Chinatown from time to time but we realize that our gong show clubbing days are behind us. I must say that my favorite nights are the ones I spend talking and laughing the night away with Makoto and our beloved family and friends no matter where we are.

As much as I loved my 20s, I am incredibly excited to move into my 30s and leave behind certain insecurities, self doubt and certainly some bad fashion choices (listen up Asian girls...we should NEVER streak our hair blonde...ever).

One thing I am much more in tune with is my health and my body. I'm not sure if it's because I'm just "getting older" and more sensitive to things that I use to be able to easily overcome or whether I'm just not tolerating certain discomforts any longer. Either way, I know it feels good to take care of myself and I'm a much more happier and peaceful person when I do.

I know I still have a lot to learn....but I'm looking forward to it.....and I will forever be the first girl on the dance floor at any good party!

Ending Our Detox - aka. Weekend Niagara Winery Tour

2010-07-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

Well, our midsummer detox came to an end last weekend thanks to a tour of the Niagara wineries. The detox went quite smoothly, and we felt great in terms of energy, no cravings and fantastic internal plumbing, but it definitely was nice to end it with some wine tastings in the company of good friends.

We took the Niagara Wine Route to try out a few wineries, including Frog Pond Farm, which is small, but is the only certified organic winery in Ontario and uses green electricity. They have a selection of organic reds and whites, a Riesling icewine, as well as pure organic grape juices.

Two other amazing wineries we visited used a gravity-fed process, which, as far as I understand, prevents oxygen from being introduced during the more conventional pumping, leading to a better quality wine. Flat Rock Cellars was incredible as was Tawse Winery. Flat Rock had amazing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer. Tawse wines have a higher price point, but many of them are not only organic, but also biodynamic wines, such that they are chemical-free and incorporate sustainable farming methods. Definitely worth mentioning the very nice Sketches Chardonnay and the full-bodied Meritage from Tawse.

I am definitely no sommelier (but am a seasoned beerelier) but I think almost everyone leaves Niagara with a renewed appreciation for wines and the uncanny ability to pick up notes of tobacco, mushrooms, and butter in their next glass of wine.

Chocolate Makes Me Very Happy - Where to Find Healthy Chocolate in Toronto

2010-07-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

I loooooooooooooooove chocolate. Makoto, on the otherhand, is an alien from Pluto and thinks that chocolate is "just okay".

I vividly remember how on one of our earliest dates, Makoto made me dinner. After enjoying his delicious Thai curry and mango salad, I excitedly anticipated dessert. He came out of the kitchen with two big bowls....of organic blueberries topped with organic amber maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon. I watched him grin at me between big bites of blueberries and wondered when he would bring out the big piece of chocolate cake that these blueberries were suppose to top. It never happened.

It was then and there that I realized that it was up to me to teach him about the bliss that chocolate is and I knew exactly how to do it. One trip to Soma Chocolatemaker in the Distillery is all it tooked to get Makoto hooked. www.somachocolate.com

Soma is an artisan chocolate maker that makes small batches of chocolate directly from the cocoa bean. They have several dairy free, organic and fair trade chocolate items. You can find anything from 100% chocolate bars (Arcana - no sugar added allowing us to taste what chocolate is in it's true form) to the best chocolate covered raisins EVER (tumbled in 40% cocoalatte).

If you do visit, you MUST try:
1. Mayan Hot Chocolate - AAAAAAAAAMAZING. It seriously cured my winter blues.
2. Dairy free Sorbets - The Strawberry Mint and Blueberry Basil are To. Die. For.
3. Chocolate dipped Orange Peels. Too deelish.

Grab a dairy free sorbet or an antioxidant packed dark chocolate bar, sit out in the sun and savour.

Ladies who Lunch - The Healing Effects of Girl time

2010-07-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I was lucky to see two of my most cherished girlfriends for coffee/tea...which turned into lunch...which turned into shopping....and included a 6hr girl talk pow wow.

It's horrible how life takes over and it takes a 10+ email thread to set up lunch for 3 little ladies. During our girls gone-not-so-wild day together, we covered everything from bra clips to kids (too early/too late? We decided there is never a perfect time.)

No matter how much I love spending time with Makoto (I've even introduced him to the world of spas), there are some things that only my girlfriends will understand (like how devastating Sex and the City II was....why...WHY did they have to do another sequel?!?!? It almost ruined the entire series for me!).

It's easy to take friendships for granted, especially when your girlfriends are so unconditionally loving and supportive. But there is no replacement for spending time together. There's something about sharing both laughs and intimate details of tough times with female energy that is so healing and supportive to the soul and completely irreplaceable by any other therapy.

Call your girlfriends today and tell them you love and appreciate them!

Mini Detox Check-in... (and sample detox menu)

2010-07-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

So Aileen and I are on Day 7 of our midsummer detox...and this is my breakfast (recipe is a variation of the one listed on my protein powder post). We are surviving it better than we were expecting; I think we were both in the right mindset to take a little break from typical summer indulgences.

I incorporate my favourite Thorne Mediclear cleanse powder containing 30g of organic brown rice protein, along with liver, digestion supportive nutrients, and supe it up with L-glutamine (to strengthen the lining of the digestive tract and lean muscle mass) and Organika Spirulina. Aileen prefers her hemp protein powder, and adds a shot of pomegranate juice in her shake...adds a nice bit of flavour.

We are both feeling 'digestively strengthened' (I'll keep it at that to avoid sharing too many details of our bowel improvements), with no cravings for wine (Aileen), beer (me), sweets or dairy, which were our biggest vices in the early part of the summer.

Energy has been fantastic, having great sleeps, and just feeling overall cleaner and less congested. We both agree that this was well-needed and surprisingly easy to incorporate. A bonus is that it is pretty easy to structure meals and menus for the week.

My biggest fears of detoxing several years back, was of losing weight, since most people look forward to shedding a few pounds on a detox. In my case, I find it harder to keep weight on, so during a detox, I ensure I have plenty of nutrient-dense, Calorie-rich snacks to keep my hunger satiated and prevent weight loss. I constantly munch on cashews, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds and almonds, and add an avocado and coconut milk to my shake each morning.

Here my typical day's menu on the detox (dairy, gluten, egg, corn, refined sugar, alcohol, chemical, preservative-free):

Breakfast: ~ 600mL Super Smoothie (packed with antioxidant-rich fruit + protein)

Mid-morn snack: Handful of nuts/seeds

Lunch: 1.5 cups Brown rice with white and black sesame seeds and sea salt + non-spicy Korean side dishes (seaweed, bean-based) + 1 cup Sweet Potato Coconut Ginger Soup

Mid-afternoon snack: Apple, Nectarine, Pear

Dinner: 1 cup Quinoa, tomato-cucumber salad (with olive oil + balsamic vinegar), organic soft tofu (with grated ginger, sliced green onion, olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce)

It's great being able to do a cleanse with Aileen because it keeps us both in check and we can support each other throughout, encouraging each other to eat well, and whine together if we miss some indulgences (which we did in our early spring detox, but not this one!). I highly recommend doing your detox with a partner or friend or family member.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Midsummer Detox - How to successfully complete a mini cleanse

2010-07-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get to a point where you actually start to crave healthy food instead of "bad" food? This is where Makoto and I found ourselves this weekend.

We have been very happily indulging in summer BBQs, amazing local summer fruit pies, pitchers of sangrias, mini kegs of beer (how can you resist that mini keg of Heineken at LCBO?!?!) and endless wine and cheese summer parties. We've also been slacking on going to the gym as we somehow convinced ourselves that walking and sweating back and forth to work in the sweltering heat counts as a workout. So we decided that it's time for a much needed week long mini detox.

Detox doesn't have to be complicated. Just think of it as a rest for your digestive tract and resetting your system. Makoto opted for his favorite Thorne MediClear Detox using a whole foods and brown rice diet. I decided to go on a detox heavy on fruits and vegetables with juicing as it's backbone. Both of us are going vegan this week and also keeping away from common allergens (dairy, wheat, corn and eggs), caffeine and alcohol (whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!).

Here are some of our must-haves and tips to get us through our mini-detox:

1. Prep - plan out roughly what you will eat for the week and make sure to buy everything you need. The key to a successful detox, no matter what the length, is to have everything ready so that you don't get tempted to veer off path. Roast a huge casserole dish of veggies with olive oil, chop up veggies for snacks, wash berries and freeze them for smoothies, toast nuts to sprinkle on your salads.

2. Mum's 100% Organic Hemp Protein Powder - this is the absolute most DELICIOUS protein powder...EVER. It has 6.5g of protein per Tbsp and blends perfectly into smoothies...promise!! It also doesn't give you 'sweaters' on your teeth like many other protein powders do. When detoxing, it's important to make sure to stabilize your glucose levels to prevent hypoglycemia symptoms like headaches and nausea....protein will help to do this.

3. Super Duper Smoothies - These will save you. My staples in the smoothies include coconut milk, frozen fruit (mangoes, bananas and blueberries are my fave), 100% pomegranate juice, 2 Tbsp of Mum's Hemp Protein and a heaping tsp of extra virgin olive oil or NutraSea fish oil. It's not uncommon to have 4-5 mason jars of these smoothies littered in my office everyday of the detox.

4. Fruit and Veggie Wash - Juicing uses a load of veggies so it can get super exensive to buy organic veggies only. Enter my trusted Fruit and Veggie wash (you can buy them at any health food store). They are made with natural surfactants and help to dissolve pesticides and other chemicals sprayed onto produce. Make sure to wash all fruits and veggies (including organic) thoroughly whether you are detoxing or not!!

5. Keep things low key for the week - try not to plan any major social events (although we are going out to our fave detox friendly restaurant with friends this week, Fresh Restaurant). Plan to catch up on sleep, rent that movie you've been dying to see, go for a massage, have a wicked workout and steam and do whatever it takes to ground yourself again.

Mini detoxes like these are cleansing for both the body and the soul!

What type of Protein Powder should you supplement with?

2010-07-04T18:22:00.001-07:00

One of Aileen's GTLs (or habitual necessities) is ensuring adequate protein in your diet. I agree that this is critical to function properly as muscle tissues, enzymes, antibodies and countless cellular components are all comprised of amino acids, which are derived from dietary protein.

Unfortunately, it can be easy for some people to get carried away, thanks to all these "high-protein, zero carb" diets (eg. Atkins), which are actually misleading and inaccurate. Our body absolutely needs carbs to survive, but it's a matter of choosing the right types of carbs in the right quantities (ie. complex carbs = whole grains, fruit/veg, legumes).

However, protein is still important to keep as a regular part of your diet...and it can't always come from grilled steak, as much as a lot of my friends would like to believe. Protein powder supplementation is an easy way to boost your protein intake, particularly if you are exercising regularly, decreasing your meat intake or trying to meet weight goals in the gym.

The most common type of protein powder is whey, which you can find at all the chain workout stores, in massive plastic jars and sometimes even in actual buckets, plastered with one of either huge colourful comic book font or metallicized shiny labels bearing tough names like Mass XXL, Isoflex, Mammoth 2500 or MegaPro Magnum.

This all kind of goes along with the whole machismo lifestyle of cranking up your protein intake, doing low reps of high weights and having massive quantities of whey protein powder kicking around at home...kinda like the guys in Jersery Shore.

I did at one point try out the Mammoth 2500 to gain weight back in school, since I had difficulty putting on pounds with my overly fast metabolism. The idea of this powder is that it has an insane caloric value of TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED Calories per shake. One shake has more than most people's complete daily caloric requirements!

I tried this for over a year, with a regular weight training routine, with minimal gains, and brutal digestive responses (to be polite) to the shakes. I would not recommend long-term excessive protein intake to anyone, as it overworks your poor kidneys.

My approach to protein intake is now more moderate with myself and especially with patients, even those looking to lose or gain weight.

High-quality vegetarian protein powders work well with your body, and provide the whole range of basic amino acids to help your body function optimally. Bonus, is that they are easier on the environment, ethical to animals (whey protein is dairy-derived, and the milk industry is not a pleasant life for our bovine friends), lower allergenic potential, and in my opinion, better for our health.

My go-to protein powders are currently Mediclear organic brown rice protein (with additional vitamins/minerals and detoxifying nutrients) from Thorne Research and Aileen has recently turned me on to Mum's Original organic hempseed powder, which dissolves nicely and tastes great in a smoothie.

Try this recipe for an unbelievably tasty nutrient-packed dairy-free summer smoothie (with or without protein):

Super Summer Smoothie (two servings)

1 serving of your favourite protein powder

1 ripe mango

1 (preferably frozen) banana

1/2 cup blueberries (or other berries)

1/4 cup strawberries

1/2 ripe avocado

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup water

Handful of ice

1. Dump ingredients in blender.

2. Blend until smooth.

3. ENJOY!

What's Your GTL?

2010-07-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

I don't watch MTV's Jersey Shore (ok....I've watched the first episode) but I am familiar with their famous saying "GTL" which stands for "Gym, Tan and Laundry." The personalities on Jersey Shore insist that they must accomplish these three tasks everyday in "order to meet your maximum potential". Hilarious.

I asked Makoto what his GTL is and without blinking, he replied "Sh*t, Shower and Shave". So simple and so honest....I envy his uncomplicated thought pattern.

This lead me to think of what my own "GTL" is........and this is what I came up with...SPP.

1. S - Skincare. I'm obsessed with skincare and healthy skin. The state of your skin reflects on your overall health. I can't start or end the day without my proper skincare routine. Sleeping with makeup on...UGH. Not only does it clog your pores, but taking off your makeup and removing a days worth of pollution, dirt and sweat is so cleansing for the soul as well!

2. P - Protein. - My patients are all very familiar with my protein talk. Protein helps to stabilize your body's release of glucose (do you feel like crapola mid afternoon and feel like you either want to take a nap or pick a fight with your co-worker...if yes, you are probably not getting enough protein in your breakfast and lunch). Whether you have allergies, auto-immune conditions or just want to lose some weight, protein is your friend!! Now, this doesn't mean that you need to snack on big chunks of steak....how about a nice cold glass of soy milk, adding coconut milk to your smoothie, snacking on some roasted pumpkin seeds and pecans or having quinoa salad for lunch.

3. P- Pray. I think I'm verging on annoying God. Whether it's to keep my family healthy, happy and safe, help me help my patients, give me strength when I'm feeling low, be thankful for when I'm feeling grrrrrrrrrrrreat or help me not to freak out on Makoto....I talk to God....a lot. For me, it's my form of grounding, coping and meditation. It reminds me that there is more out there than the present.

What's your GTL?

World Cup 2010: A Healthy Lesson

2010-06-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

It only happens once every four years, and man, is it exciting! World Cup fever has hit the world, and Toronto is one of the most enjoyable places to catch it.

I love that there are so many diverse ethnic groups in Toronto, that no matter who wins or loses a match, there will always be a jubilant group of people celebrating somewhere on the streets...sometimes it can be a passing carload of fans honking their horns or other times an impromptu parade will start. Hilarious and fun! You can't help but be happy for them.

While the rest of the world's soccer-playing countries suffer from societal depression when their teams are knocked out of the running, Canada will be cheering all the way to the finals. The bonus of living in a country that has not qualified since the '86 World Cup, and is hardly expected to qualify in the near future, is that we are not, as a whole, overly invested emotionally in any particular team. This allows us the freedom to cheer our own team, or jeer our friends' or co-workers' teams wins and losses with only minimal antagonism.

Although I'm upset that South Korea (was fun having my wife right in there, glued to the game with me!) was eliminated from 2nd round play by Uruguay yesterday, I look forward to Japan beating Paraguay this coming Tuesday. :) Both teams are lowest ranked in the round of 16, but have played strong, and I have been very impressed.

Toronto World Cup: It's a lesson for life!

Enjoy your ups, appreciate your downs and keep your expectations reasonable. Don't get overly involved emotionally in any situation, but relish the fun while it happens.

Oh, and of course, there are physical lessons to take out of this...add interval training to your work out routine! There's a reason professional soccer players are some of the best athletes in the world.

Sprint, jog, sprint, jog, sprint, jog...you can't get a better cardio/lower body work out!

How Our Cleaning Lady Helped Cure My Adrenal Fatigue

2010-06-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I'm lucky that Makoto is a pretty clean dude. Buuuuuuttt....we still have different tolerances to what we think "clean" is...Makoto's being much higher than mine.

One luxury that we both equally agreed to splurge on was a cleaning lady (ok....Makoto suggested it after a Saturday afternoon where I tried to teach him my toothbrush scrubbing technique for perfectly clean shower tiles).

I can't begin to tell you what a relief it is to not have to start Saturdays with my cleaning to do list. I've talked to several people who are on the fence about getting a cleaning lady...mostly because they think it is a splurge/luxury and that they really could/should just do the cleaning themselves. In the end, it costs us $120 a month (3 x $20/hr every two weeks)...that's roughly $4 a day for sparkling clean bathrooms and kitchen, shiny clean floors, dust-free surfaces, fresh linens and no more arguing over who's cleaning the black crud out of the oven.

Some tips:
1. The best way to find a cleaning lady is by referals through people you trust. This may take time but its so worth it to completely trust your cleaning lady/gentleman :). After all, she/he is coming into not just your house, but your home.
2. Don't be afraid to make a list of exactly what you would like for them to accomplish within the given time. Of course, be reasonable.
3. Supply plenty of natural, chemical free cleaners, cloths and recycled paper towels!! Check from time to time to make sure they have everything they need and encourage them to write you notes if they have requests for any new products/supplies.

Of course we still do light cleaning throughout the weeks in between but the extra help has decreased stress in my life and freed up my precious weekends!

Batch Soup Cooking

2010-06-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

Soups and stews are fantastic for prepping on a lazy Sunday and having available during the week for a quick nutritious meal or as a starter. Best part is that they are great re-heated, not affecting the taste or the texture, and in the summertime they taste great cool.

Today just so happens to be one of those nice lazy beautiful Sundays, a few chores to do around the house, and a great day to batch cook! Aileen's on a cooking mission today, adding to our ever-expanding list of go-to recipes (seems like most people have about twenty go-to recipes, with about ten favourites that they keep going back to).

My contribution to this week's menu will be soups. I love soups because you can keep adding to them, tweaking the flavours, and simmering, without having to be too concerned about overcooking or timing.

Below is one of my go-to soup creations. Although it has a lot of ingredients and tastes great as a final product, you can add or subtract as you please, just keep sampling throughout and you'll find a flavour that works for you and whatever you may have in your pantry and fridge.

Sweet Potato Coconut Ginger soup
Serves 4-6

1 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil (or other heat stable oil)
2 cloves garlic, sliced
3 small onions, roughly chopped
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
3 medium sweet potatoes
3 medium carrots
3 medium parsnips
2 thumb sized pcs Ginger root
1tsp black peppercorns
2 cups water
Small bunch fresh thyme leaves, no branches
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 can coconut milk, sodium metabisulphite free
3 bay leaves
1 tsp Dried oregano
1 tsp Dried basil
1 tsp salt
Handful coriander, garnish (optional)

1. Heat oil to medium-high heat, adding garlic and onions. Cook until onions brown, stirring regularly.
2. Add potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, ginger and balsamic vinegar. Cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add peppercorns and water and heat to boil. Bring down to simmer and cook for 40 minutes or until vegetables soften.
4. Blend ingredients until smooth in a blender or with hand blender.
5. Add thyme, applec cider vinegar, coconut milk, bay leaves, oregano, basil and salt. Simmer at low heat for 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
6. Add fresh coriander before serving, if desired.

Flourless Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies - You Only Need 4 Ingredients!

2010-06-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

When I was 11 years old, my parents moved our family to Rosetown, Saskatchewan. My sister and I were the only Asian kids in...well...Saskatchewan. I kid, I kid. But we were, no joke, the only two Asian kids in Rosetown, Saskatchewan.

We lived there for just under two years and some of my best childhood memories are from playing in the giant grain piles at my friend's farms and going to the harvest festivals. The farmer's markets were also out of control....I remember my mom buying a huge bucket of organic zucchinis for 25 cents.

My first introduction to baking was during one of my first classes in Grade 7 when I realized I was enrolled in Home Economics on crack. These girls were baking peach cobblers from scratch and sewing their own custom designed pyjamas on our FIRST day of class. I made a giant (burnt) cookie with Smarties and a pin cushion (roughly in the shape of a heart) for my mom. Thankfully, my little girlfriends and our teacher took me under their wings and taught me all the secret baking tricks and tips that their grandmothers had taught them from birth.

To this day, I absolutely love baking. It's something I do to relax! The tricky part is making my favorite recipes into healthier versions.

Here is my gluten, dairy and egg free (vegan) Peanut Butter Cookie recipe….health conscious or not, you’ll love this moist and delicious cookie!

Flourless Vegan Peanut Butter cookies

1 cup Peanut butter (or any nut butter...try pumpkin, sunflower, or a mix)

¼ cup Extra firm tofu, blended (use a hand blender for convenience)

2/3 cup Brown sugar

½ tsp Sea salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Mix all ingredients together with a wooden spoon.

3. Drop by Tbsp full on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

4. Bake for 9min.

5. Let cool completely and enjoy with a cup of tea!

What!?! No Dairy?!! But What Will I Put In My Coffee?!?

2010-06-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

For all of you die hard coffee drinkers out there, I know that coffee was meant to be had in it's true form...black.

But for the rest of us...that live for the creaminess of a cup of coffee with milk, it's devastating to find out that we are lactose intolerant, allergic to dairy or have an intolerance/sensitiviy to dairy.

For this group, I have an amazing solution for you.....COCONUT MILK!! It mixes in beautifully without separating and has the same texture as pure dairy cream. Here is a pic for proof:

Soy milk just doesn't taste right in coffee, rice milk is too thin, almond milk isn't good for those with allergies and hemp milk...ugh...just no (in coffee anyway).

My fave is Aroy-D's Coconut Milk. You can either buy it in a can or in a 1L milk carton. I've only found the 1L milk cartons at T&T Supermarket in Toronto but the canned form can be found anywhere from Food Basics to most health food stores. Coconut milk is a source of anti-inflammatory medium chain fatty acids and also helps to eliminate yeast. The only trick to using coconut milk is to SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE. We pour the can/carton of coconut milk into a glass pitcher and keep it in our fridge for easy use. We just give it a quick stir before pouring it into our coffee, using it for cooking, baking and adding it into smoothies.

Give it a try!

Healthy Food Review: Sweets from the Earth Cashew Cookies

2010-06-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

I've been loving the Sweets from the Earth treats lately.

They have a great selection of cakes, cookies, brownies and other sweets, that are not only free of refined sugar, but are dairy and egg-free as well. Many products are also gluten-free and use GMO-free plant-derived ingredients. The founder, Ilana, became vegetarian at a young age, and eventually vegan and studied to become a pastry chef.

Her lifestyle and training is evident in her products, which are not only healthy and use quality ingredients, but bonus is that they actually taste really really good!

These are desserts that I actually feel comfortable bringing with me when I visit friends' homes whose priority is taste over healthy ingredients. I show them the atypical ingredient list only after they have finished enjoying the dessert. Gotta love the reaction when they realize they just ate a dessert made with tofu and a few simple plant-based ingredients.

I picked up some Sweets from the Earth flourless cashew cookies from Sobey's...kudos to Sobey's for finally catching up to stock health foods sometime in 2009. They were behind Loblaws for quite a while, but now have a great selection of gluten and dairy-free options that were previously found mainly in health food stores.

The Flourless Cashew Cookies were absolutely fantastic. Full of cashew flavour (using cashew butter as the main ingredient, rather than a flour), with adequate sweetness, and good texture. Only critique would be that they are quite crumbly, so make sure to scarf it down over a plate or napkin.

Ingredient list is exactly what I like to see - just a few whole ingredients:

Cashew butter (dry-roasted cashews, safflower oil), organic evaporated cane juice, organic tofu, baking soda, sea salt...and that's it! Love it.

I'd also highly recommend the dairy-free chocolate cheesecake, wild blueberry cheesecake and carrot cake. Sweets from the Earth treats are definitely decadent enough for any sweet tooth, health-conscious or not.

Rating (out of 10):

Taste: 8

Texture: 7

Ingredient List: 9

Getting Back in the Groove After Vacationing in South Beach, Miami

2010-06-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

We spent this past weekend in South Beach, Miami for a quick relaxing weekend. WOW....people in Miami are BUFF. I guess that's what happens when you can be in your bikini year round!

One thing I loooooooooooove about being on vacation is not having to cook. We were lucky to be travelling with our friend who's a frequent flyer so we had all access to the members lounge at our hotel. Makoto and I had no shame....we were there numerous times a day to gorge on their daily breakfast/lunch/dinner/cocktails & cordial presentations.....pain au chocolat, waldorf salad, tuna tartare, grouper with roasted vegetables and berry mousse galore. I was in heaven.

Then we came home and the last thing I felt like doing was cooking dinner. We went to our usual fave Korean restaurant for dinner then forced ourselves to go grocery shopping. BEST thing we could have done. We knew that we wouldn't want to make any involved recipes so we grabbed:

1. lots of arugula salad
2. Chicken and Salmon - for quick grilling and topping our salads with
3. Rice pasta that I can quickly cook and toss with bolognese sauce that I had premade before the trip
4. lots of bananas and avocados for making smoothies with hemp protein powder we have at home
5. brown rice (sprinkled with sesame seeds and eaten with nori makes a surprisingly healthy and satisfying lunch!)

Thankfully, Makoto had made 2 huge batches of tom khaa and a vegetable bean soup before we had left so we had several mason jars of these deelish soups for quick lunches at the clinic.

It's already Friday and I'm proud of us for having eating healthy, non-take-out meals for the entire week. What's the lesson learned? Force yourself to go grocery shopping as soon as you get home from trips to prevent a week of eating sodium/fat laden takeout!

Now...we just have to get our butt's back to the gym.

C'mon....just try it!

2010-06-03T22:19:00.001-07:00

Try adding 1 tsp of liquid Chlorophyll to your bottle of water for an instant dose of antioxidants and to help boost your energy!

Lobster Birthday BBQ

2010-05-31T15:15:00.000-07:00

I've always loved my birthday. I still remember when I was little, from January 1st, I would mark down the days remaining until my birthday...even though my birthday is at the end of MAY! 150, 149, 148...you get the picture...

Anyhow, I was spoiled this year, as my dear wife hosted a Mexican bash at our house for my birthday. She served amazing Mexican food with organic meat, lots of toppings and healthy sides of guacamole, hummus and salsa. (Thank you, Aileen!).

My friends are very generous with gifts and one of the most unique, amazing and delicious gifts I got this year, was from my good friends, Chris and Lisa. They contacted Aileen ahead of time and surprised me with a dinner of lobster freshly flown in with them from the East Coast (they are pilots and Lisa's home is on the East Coast).

They brought EIGHT lobsters with them, and as Chris is not a big seafood fan, I was fortunate enough to eat his share, and had a gut-busting FOUR whole lobsters to myself! The meat was mouthwateringly sweet and incredible!!

Lisa's dad had pre-boiled the lobsters earlier that day, and I followed Bobby Flay's (the guy annoys me, but man does he know his grill techniques!) method for "Perfectly Grilled Lobsters". Was only about 5 minutes on the grill (after lobsters are boiled), and they turned out outstandingly well.

Seafood on the grill is one of the true pleasures of summer in Canada, and this was definitely an extra special meal. (Thank you Chris and Lisa!)

May is Mindful Money Month - Wrap up

2010-05-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of May...and it's been a faaaaaaantastic month!

We've realized the biggest lesson we have learned is how excessive our spending can become...and how easily we can normalize this. I'm notorious for always having to buy something from the impulse section of any retail store and Makoto can't go into any hardware store without picking up a new gadget for the house....we've cold-turkeyed this behavior. It's refreshing to not have little piles of gum, magazines and random treats and knick knacks that we've bought during the week. Our recycling bin is no longer overflowing with the take-out coffee cups from our fave coffee shops.

On the weekend, our usual routine is to go wine and dine with friends....usually for all three meals of the day. This month, we definitely cut down on eating out but instead hosted several get togethers at our house or went to our friends house's for dinner/wine/dessert. This included Makoto's 33rd birthday fiesta at our house! We were still able to buy organic meat and fresh produce for the Mexican feast and I baked 3 different desserts all within the budget we set :) We had a fantastic time and it felt great that everyone was able to enjoy the night and fill their bellies with healthy food!

Being more mindful about your spending naturally directs you to cook your own food, become more home-centric and enjoy all the little things in life (hanging out with my puppy at the park with home-brewed iced green tea makes me so happy :)). The automatic bonus to this is that we've been eating cleaner, spending time on our house (our garden has never looked better and Makoto built a bench, table and new gate for the yard within the last month!), becoming more organized (I cleaned out my closet instead of going shopping...scary how many items of clothing still had tags on them!) and we both realized how well we slept this month and how great we both feel!

I'm hoping to keep everything up but realize that I'll somehow end up on several patios with this amazing sunny weather! I kept a journal of the month and we put it on our fridge to remind ourselves to become more mindful...not just of our spending and eating quality food...but to become more grounded in everything we do.

Weird Health Fads Review #3: Drinking Urine

2010-05-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

I had heard of this therapy years ago, as it is not that unusual in Japan - mind you, a lot of strange things are not considered unusual by my peeps in Japan. It also has roots in Ayurvedic medicine, the Aztec civilization, China and Egypt.

Lyoto Machida, a UFC all-star hailing from Brazil was recently interviewed about his participation in this self-imposed treatment. He matter-of-factly discusses this with a very curious reporter in this hilarious interview.

Drinking your own urine, also known as urophagia, supposedly has beneficial health effects and detoxifying effects on the body. Urophagia is claimed to lead to improvements in skin, immune system function, arthritis, digestion and even touted to cure cancer.

Unfortunately, there have not been many studies to back these claims (could be a problem finding research participants?). Urine contains urea as a normal catabolic breakdown product of amino acids in our body. Urea has antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal effects, which could help support some of urophagia's claims.

Urine also contains hormones, proteins and water-soluble compounds. Some propose that melatonin, a hormone secreted by your brain at night-time, will be in your first morning urine. This may be true, but wouldn't picking up a bottle of melatonin from your local health food store be a little more appealing?

My concern with this therapy is that your kidneys also function to remove water-soluble toxins from your body, and these days we are exposed to plenty of chemicals. If these are re-consumed, they will be absorbed again. Seems kind of counter-productive.

Urophagia is relatively safe unless your body is excreting very high amounts of chemicals due to drug use, occupational exposure, or poisoning. But in any of those situations, I think you would have bigger concerns than wanting to experiment with drinking your urine.

I would recommend urine-drinking if you are stuck in the wilderness and far from a water source. It will buy you more time before dehydration sets in.

Personally, the thought of consuming a warm bubbly cup of my midstream first morning urine would lead me to vomit, negating any potential health benefits. I eat a lot of weird tasting healthy foods, but there ain't no way that pee is making it onto my menu!
RATING (out of 10):
Weird Factor: 8
Safety Rating: 8
Health Benefit: 3

Confessions of a Naturopath

2010-05-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness. As a naturopath, I feel that I should make a few confessions. Warning: the following confessions may be even more shocking than my Juicy Ammonia Burger confession.

Confession #1 - I strongly dislike camping. I seriously thought that 'portaging' was a made up thing that only crazy people would actually volunteer to do.

Confession #2 - I am not a Yogi. Oh....the shame.

Confession #3 - I will not ever wear Birkenstocks. Ever.

Back to Confession #1:

To this day, the joke amongst our circle of friends is that Makoto proposed to me just so that we would go camping the next day (he asked me at some point post-proposal and in my euphoric state, I somehow agreed). Although our friends were awesome and surprised us with stemware and champagne to help us celebrate, I was just too miserable by the second day and made Makoto pack up our little tent and drive me back to the city for emergency sushi and a manicure. I am conflicted because I absolutely LOVE every plant on this green earth, interesting insects (ok...mostly butterflies), fresh air, swimming in fresh water, star gazing at night, telling ghost stories around a bonfire and cooking over fire....but combine these activities back to back over several days where I am forced to sleep in a stuffy tent and forego a shower and I turn into one miserable unhappy camper. I thought that I'd be better at cottages...nope...just as miserable. After seven years, Makoto has stopped being in denial and now enjoys camping/cottage-ing without me. BUT...I still LOVE nature! I just prefer DAY trips to beautiful parks, hiking trails (that take no longer than 3hrs) and gardening, BBQing and star gazing from the comfort of my own backyard....where warm running water is just a few steps away!

Back to Confession #2:
Ashtanga. Hatha. Bikram. Vinyasa. Kundalini. Iyengar. I've tried them all yet I still am not eagerly going to Yoga 3-4 times a week as many of my colleagues and patients do. Now, don't get me wrong. I absolutely respect Yoga and sometimes, there is nothing better for calming and centering me than a yoga class. But I find that I am that person in the class looking around at the others wondering if I'm really as "connected with my uterus" as that bendy girl beside me. I find that most times, mid way through, I can't believe that there is still another 45min left and wonder how I'm going to stop myself from secretly switching the CD to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack and dance my lulu lemon pants off to Hungry Eyes. I have found that I much prefer dance classes since I'm a pretty hyper person and crave that type of movement and activity to express all my excess energy! I have stopped forcing myself from going to Yoga when I am much more in the mood for a dance class and now go to Yoga when I am feeling it. We are all different so it makes sense that we all gravitate to different activities. The important message is to find an activity that really makes you happy, feel great and keeps you active year round.

Back to Confession #3:
I prefer stilletos over birkenstocks. Period.

May is Mindful Money Month - Halfway Check In

2010-05-14T03:44:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already the middle of May! So far, Makoto and I have been pretty darn good with cooking at home. The cooler weather has helped since we've been making some seriously awesome soups using organic chickens and veggies. We made everything from good old chicken (rice) noodle to our very own Pho Ga!!

Coffee - eek. This one was harder than we thought. The first week we made it through with a few deelish $2 (including tax!) soy lattes at Jet Fuel Cafe on Parliament Street. God Bless Johnny at Jet Fuel!! This was followed by a busy week at the clinic and we didn't have time to leave for coffee so we reaquainted ourselves with our French Press. Now we're actually loving our cup of black Swiss water decaf coffee. We have it with a piece of dark chocolate.

I've learned that a little planning goes a long way - it's amazing what spending 15min roughly planning our meals will do for our savings! We usually just wander the isles of the grocery store and grab whatever strikes our fancy but now we stick to our list and don't have wasted food at the end of the week. This also helps us from filling up our shelves with random items that we never eat.....seriously, why do we have Disney Princess Alphagettis in the pantry?

I spent a half day baking gluten free biscuits, muffins and cake so that we have something delicious and healthy to snack on during the day and I don't get tempted to go buy a $6 gluten free protein bar....or even worse...Timbits from across the street. I made a gazillion of everything and put them in the freezer so we have lots of goodies for the month...and then some.

We still were able to go out to eat on the weekends by going for awesome cheap eats in Chinatown and Koreatown. We even had one fancy dinner to help our friends celebrate their surprise wedding this week...all within our budget!

Weird Health Fads Review #2: The Cookie Diet

2010-05-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

I literally burst out laughing when I first heard about this new diet some of the celebrities are on. Gotta admit, great marketing. Who wouldn't want to subsist on cookies to lose weight?

I realized I shouldn't knock this diet until I investigated further. Obviously it's a great name for a diet, but what did the meal plan consist of? What are these "cookies" all about? Did Cookie Monster come up with this?

There are several versions of The Cookie Diet, which was first pioneered by Dr.Siegal in the 1975. There are alternative versions called the Smart for Life Cookie Diet and a Hollywood version.

The diets recommend substituting cookies for meals. There are some allowable meals, but the main focus is on cookie-munching. They are obviously low in calories (~100 cal per cookie) to target weight loss, but I'm really curious to see their nutritional breakdown and more importantly, their ingredient lists, as this is the primary source of nourishment on the diet.

On the Smart for Life website, looks like the cookies run about $200 for a 2 week supply. Dr.Siegal charges about $60 per week of cookies. Reasonable as far as a per meal cost, but astronomical for cookies.

Looking at Siegal's cookies' ingredients list, I am quite shocked...I did not have high hopes for nutrient content, but honestly did not imagine it would be quite as strange as it turned out to be.

Listed right after water (the first ingredient) is GLYCERIN (!!). Glycerin is a petrochemical byproduct most commonly used in cosmetics and soapmaking, likely used here for its preservative properties and sweet flavour. I'm very surprised that it is listed so high on the ingredient list.

Next ingredient is BEEF PROTEIN HYDROLYSATE (!!!!). What?? Meat cookies? I had to wipe my laptop screen to make sure I was reading this right. There are so many other accessible healthier, vegetable protein sources...this one blow me away. I also notice this is the protein source in the shake mixes that are also available on Dr.Siegal's Cookie Diet.

As expected, there are plenty of egg and dairy sources in the cookies, which can be fine for most people, but are also major food allergens. There are, also as expected, some artificial flavours and colourings (FD&C dyes).

Siegal allows one lean-protein meal per day (chicken, turkey, fish) with one cup of vegetables in addition to his cookies. Some sources say that 60% of patients on this diet are reportedly prescribed appetite suppressant and thyroid hormones.

The Smart for Life cookies, on the other hand, have 60% organic ingredients, no preservatives and a vegetable sourced protein. The cookies do contain dairy, wheat and gluten, but otherwise use more natural, less-processed ingredients. This likely explains their higher price point.

Smart for Life also allows one lean-protein meal per day with FIVE cups of vegetables, which is a more reasonable option considering there are no kale or brussel sprout cookies offered.

All in all, the Cookie Diet seems to me just another spin on the low calorie, low carb, exercise-free, nutrient-devoid fad.

This will result in weight loss, but most likely will be followed with weight gain as your body readjusts to eating normal non-cookie foods.

REVIEW (out of 10):
Weird Factor: 6
Safety Rating: 5 *
Health Benefit: 3 *

* 1 additional point for Smart for Life's focus on better ingredients and more veggies

C'mon.....just try it!

2010-05-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Add another 10min to your cardio routine and/or another 10lbs to your weights routine.

You've already made it to the gym and are burning calories, boosting circulation and building muscle.....the extra 10min or 10lbs will just be a bonus!

Surviving the ‘Free’ Drinks and All You Can Eat Buffet at An All-Inclusive Vacation

2010-05-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

One day this February, after *lovingly* telling Makoto that he was breathing too loudly, I determined that I was either majorly deficient in B-vitamins or completely lacking from the happy rays of sunlight. Since I religiously take my B-vitamins, I knew that the lack of sun, warmth and all the wonderful glowing things that pure sunshine can do for someone had finally taken its toll. My very understanding and patient husband immediately booked an all-inclusive trip to Mexico.

We usually try to stay away from all-inclusives since we live for travelling, exploring new territory and trying all sorts of different cuisine but in the middle of our gloomy Canadian winter, 7days on a beach without having to think about your next meal or accomodations was veeeeeeeeeery appealing.

We welcomed the wave of humidity and brightness of the sun rays with open arms. The overflowing taps of ice-cold Corona and endless bottles of champagne at our all-inclusive resort also helped. After downing our third cerveza (beer) /glass of bubbly within the first twenty minutes of our arrival, we realized that we were going to that dark place…..we call it the “starving student” mode. A combination of being on a restricted post-secondary student’s budget for over eight years tied in with our greediness for anything that tastes delicious turns us into these scary consumption monsters. So after giving each other a pep talk and reminding each other that we must not embarrass one another, we came up with these rules to enjoy our holiday while keeping our good health in mind:

1. It’s hard to believe….but all inclusive resorts offer bottled water! Just because you are on holidays doesn’t mean that the eight glasses of water per day rule should be thrown out the window. In fact, you are sweating more in the hot, glorious sun and drinking more alcohol than usual so make sure to constantly keep rehydrating yourself. Having water in between drinks also helps you to moderate your intake. Remember that you should have a glass of water for every alcoholic drink that you have.

2. At the buffet, you already know that you’re going to go for seconds…you’re on holidays! So make your first round your healthy round. Fill up on more of the veggie dishes and salads offered. Choose a larger portion of chicken and fish over the red meat dishes.

3. Stay away from the extra large drinks - We saw people bring their own Big Gulp sized thermoses to the bar and ask them to fill it with beer/pina coladas/margeritas/etc. When you are at an all-inclusive, walking to the bar to get your drink may be your day's worth of exercise so take advantage of this ‘cardio'. Besides, walking to the bar and waiting in the lines for your drink makes it taste that much better! My favorite drink was the mojitowith tons of fresh mint leaves but I would ask for "very little" sugar (basically 1 shot of syrup instead of 10). Makoto and I were addicted to the fresh juice bar and we'd have several cleansing celery and beet juices every day. If you are not big on the sugary drinks but still want a fun cocktail, find the fresh juice bar at your resort and they will gladly add a shot of rum/tequila/vodka in your juice for you.

4. Portion control – at the buffet, we tend to scoop WAY more food onto our plates than we realize. If you want to try that creamy dish, go ahead! Just don’t take a heaping scoopful of it. You will still have the satisfaction of tasting the dish without overeating. And now you can try several other dishes too!

5. Exercise – All-inclusive resorts do a great job of providing endless activities for the day. Now don’t be intimidated….the activities (yoga, aerobics, salsa dancing, volleyball, etc) are much more relaxed in comparison to your local gym. Most people join just to have a great time. After a Corona and double-mojito, Makoto decided it was time to participate in the resort’s daily "Iron Man" competition…..every single Canadian encircling the pool area was cheering for him and he won us a bottle of tequila!
Most importantly, remember to relax! Ok...we'll forgive checking your e-mail once...twice MAX...but remember you are there to enjoy life and reward yourself with dealing with all the stresses that life can bring! Arriba, Arriba!!!

Weird Health Fads Review #1: Breatharianism

2010-05-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

A brief primer on why I decided to review Weird Health Fads:
As a naturopathic doctor, I practice what is still considered complementary and alternative medicine. Our training provides us with an education in laboratory diagnosis, physical clinical diagnosis and evidence-based treatments; however, we focus on treatments that include clinical nutrition, herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy and lifestyle counselling.

Depending on who you ask, these may still be perceived as falling into the "weird health" realm, but really any treatment, either conventional or alternative can be criticized in some way or another.

I have an open-mind to many complementary treatments that I do not practice, but that my patients may be receiving or seeking out on their own. I will not discourage (and sometimes encourage) my patients to continue these treatments if they meet the following criteria:
a) they are safe
b) they are receiving health benefits
c) there is some logical sense to the treatment plan and treatment itself (even in a metaphysical, emotional or energetic sense)

I think these criteria can and should apply when assessing conventional allopathic treatments as well as any alternative treatment.

I am rating weird health fads on the basis of these criteria: Safety, plausible Health Benefits and Weird Factor.

On to the review...

Breatharianism = Living on Air. Yes, eating and drinking air.

The concept of breatharianism was touted by an Australian woman named Ellen Greves, (otherwise known as Jasmuheen), who promoted the idea of surviving solely on breathing air, without fluid or food. This was described as "pranic nourishment." She had a cult following based on her teachings, and having others try to live off of the "physical and spiritual crystals in the air."

Unfortunately, between 1997-1999, there were three deaths associated with followers of breatharianism who perished as a result of dehydration and malnourishment. This seems like a tragic but obvious conclusion to depriving your body with its basic needs.

Breatharianism may sound like an interesting concept, but should remain only as a fictional idea, and not as a treatment that should be implemented by anyone.

REVIEW (out of 10)
Weird Factor: 10
Safety Rating: 0
Health Benefit: 0

May is Mindful Money Month

2010-05-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

After surviving taxing tax month in April, Makoto and I decided that May should be Mindful Money Month.

We’re extremely blessed to be Canadians and will happily fork over our share in taxes but we still have a little cry fest when our accountant gives us our final bill.

After reviewing some figures, we were surprised and embarrassed by how much we spend on food. One of the few things we agree on when it comes to spending is that our food budget should be very flexible since we both have dietary restrictions and try to eat fresh produce and organic/free range meats only. But then we realized that this has led us to believe that the daily $5+ soy/rice milk lattes are a must, and not a luxury.
Here are some ground rules that we've devised to help us be more aware of what we are spending our money on without having to compromise on the quality of our food:

1. Less meat - we are both meat eaters but will only cook with organic/free range/antibiotic free/hormone free meats. Cumbrae’s is Makoto’s happy place and it’s very rare if we buy our meats from anywhere else. With this said, $15 for a pound of stewing beef is definitely a splurge. Not that we even eat a lot of red meat but we decided to only have it once ever week or two….I’m from Alberta so this is a bit sacrilegious for me but I’m sure it’ll be easy to make this transition since we will be substituting with lots of fresh fish and grilling lots of yummy summer veggies on the BBQ shortly.

2. Veggie breakfasts and lunches – in Toronto, we are truly blessed to have exposure to a huge variety of produce. We definitely try to buy as much organically grown produce as possible but we also buy loads of conventionally grown produce and wash them diligently with our veggie spray. Bonus – veggies are totally affordable and are loaded with fibre and nutrients. We’ve limited our meat consumption to just dinner now and enjoy our veggies creations (ok….many of our creations end up being this weird veggie schlop as Makoto insists on blending lentils into everything…but nonetheless, pretty yummy and totally healthy) for breakfast and lunch.

3. Limit going to coffee shops without limiting quality coffee breaks during the week– as most of you know, Makoto and I are nutty about coffee. We. Love. It. We do drink 1 cup of coffee/latte each on a daily basis but we make sure it is decaffeinated by Swiss water process. We decided that instead of going to the coffee shops, we’ll French press our coffee at work during our coffee break and bring soy/rice/oat milk to work. Our favorite decaf bean is from a coffee roastery called 49th Parallell and you can find it at any Dark Horse or Crema café in Toronto. They will grind if for you and even give you a free espresso when you buy any lb of coffee. We still go to coffee shops on the weekend though as there is nothing better than reading the weekend newspaper with a hot cup of fresh java!

4. Meal Planning – This one is easier said than done. Makoto will really eat anything (thank goodness because I certainly have fed him some questionable meals when I was first learning how to cook) but I don't like to eat leftovers…or anything two days in a row. What works for us is that we keep a list of recipes that we love and are good at making and we choose 4-5 recipes per week and either pre-make them on the weekend or use the weekend to get all the ingredients together so that it’s quick and easy to make during the week. When there are 2 or 3 different dishes waiting for you in the fridge at home, it’s MUCH less tempting to eat out. The only thing we pick up during the week is fresh produce.

5.. Batch cooking – yes…I know what you’re thinking…..before attempting batch cooking, you should learn how to cook in general! I’m not a fantastic cook (yet :)) but I absolutely love cooking and learning how to cook new things. Even for us beginner cooks, there are certainly a few recipes that we are good at that we can make on a bigger scale. I can make a pretty amazing lasagna with Jamie Oliver’s Bolognese sauce…so I just decided to make a ginormous one and freeze it (gluten free lasanga pasta actually works great...try Tinkyada brand lasagna rice pasta but I cook it for half the recommended time to prevent mushiness). Makoto makes the best soups in the world and he’ll spend ½ a day making 1 or 2 huge batches of soup that’ll make several lunches. We also like marinating several (like a dozen) chicken breasts or tofu at the same time since you’re already doing the work. Tofu doesn’t freeze well but it does keep in the fridge for a very long time.

6. Limiting alcohol consumption - Even we try to justify our healthy spirits intake habit with the excuse that red wine is a powerful antioxidant and beer is a digestive bitter. Who are we kidding. Sure…in small amounts, anything can be good for you but the truth is that alcohol is just another source of excess calories, taxes your liver and may prevent you from having that post-dinner workout. Grapes for winemaking are also a highly sprayed crop so it's ideal to buy organic wine. We’re trying to limit our alcohol consumption for weekends only….but a glass of wine/beer does find itself in our hand midweek. Baby steps….baby steps.

7. Not eating out as much - I am a reformed restaurant/takeout junkie. When I was a bachlorette, I would actually buy Christmas presents for the staff at my favorite restaurants in Toronto because seeing them on almost a daily basis had made them my surrogate Toronto family. I still loooOoOove going to eat out at my favorite digs and checking out all the new restaurants in Toronto, but I definitely have to admit that my body feels much better with a good home cooked meal. We now try to replicate our favorite dishes at home....who knew miso cod was so easy to make at home!

Being frugal doesn’t mean you’re being cheap! It’s empowering to know what you’re spending your hard earned money on and making wise choices...and your body will look and feel amazing too!

Why a dog is good for your health

2010-04-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

If you have a dog, you have to take on weird responsibilities, like not being able to be away from the house for more than 8 hours (or a time equivalent to your dog's bowel/urine transit time). You also have to consider every vacation based on whether your dog has a comfortable place to be dogsat, you have plastic bags in every jacket and you find crumbs of wonderful things like dehydrated liver bits in your pant pockets.

They have you at their beck and call, expecting you to pick up their feces, demanding food and begging to be let outside.

But for all that dogs (or your pet cat, rabbit, gerbil) expect, they give back a millionfold! They make you laugh on a daily basis and have a sixth sense to know when you need comfort. They are our personal therapists, non-judging, understanding and bonus is that they are fuzzy and pettable.

On top of all that, dogs make you get outside EVERY day. You exercise and breathe fresh air and get to appreciate sights and sounds and hidden intricacies of your neighbourhoods that you wouldn't otherwise. Today, Rambo brought me through a quaint Cabbagetown road with incredible magnolia trees in full bloom. Unreal.

Although I grew up with dogs and know how much dedication and commitment they require, Aileen (never a dog owner) provided the motivation for us to get a dog three years ago even at my reluctance. I am eternally grateful to her for bringing Rambo into our lives, and for reminding me of the loyal friendship that dogs give us.

A domesticated pet's purpose in life is solely to give us joy, companionship and unconditional love. And all we have to do is provide for their basic needs.

Slimy Mixed Greens

2010-04-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am not ever going to buy another oversized container of Spring Mixed Greens again.

Makoto and I like to eat greens with every meal and now that it's summer time, we like to gorge ourselves on fresh salads.

On our last grocery shopping trip, we bought one of those extra huge containers of organic spring mixed greens. But I find that once you open the container, you basically have two days to finish it before your fresh greens turn into slimy, yucky greens. I secretly like the fact that Makoto can't stand wasting food but when he snuck in a little baggy of mixed greens into the movie theatre, I knew we should no longer buy these extra large tubs of greens.

Before you let this blog entry become an excuse not to eat fresh greens, there are several other types of greens that do stay nice and crisp for at least a week after you open the container. This includes arugula/baby arugula (our absolute fave), baby spinach and mache.

Of course, if you do have time, buying whole heads/bunches of greens is the best way to go in terms of freshness. Although, if cleaning, spinning and chopping up these greens will deter you from eating salads, don't feel guilty buying the pre-packaged, ready to eat greens! Healthy compromises! :)

Craving beer or wine after work?

2010-04-20T18:34:00.001-07:00

Aileen says:
Have you ever noticed that during your last hour of work, you look forward to a glass of wine or an ice-cold beer? Then you finally get home and instead of having just a glass of wine, you’ve some how managed to snack on everything in front of you while making dinner. Yes…us too.

This may be because it’s been several hours since lunch and your blood sugar levels have dropped. Your body starts to crave sugar and what is more instantly satisfying and easier to prepare than a refreshing glass of beer/wine.

Many of us don’t eat towards the end of the work day because we know we can go home soon and we’re “saving our appetities” but the reality is that it will be at least an hour or so to get home, prepare dinner and sit down to actually eat.

Make sure that you have a snack (preferably high in protein) an hour before you finish your work day. This will ensure that you won’t be famished by the time you get home and start eating and drinking everything in sight!

10-min Healthy Meal: Throw another shrimp on the barbie!

2010-04-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, maybe I just wanted to yell out, "Throw another shrimp on the barbie!" in an Aussie accent for my neighbours. But besides that, shrimp is one of the quickest and healthiest foods to grill; shrimp is a great source of lean protein, high in vitamin D, B12 and selenium and low on the food chain to boot.

Gotta love BBQing in the summertime, but really with us Canucks, no weather really holds us back. I know from personal experience, Canadians have never let a foot of snow prevent us from digging out the barbie, putting on a parka and grilling in sub-zero temperatures. The weather today was a little brisk compared to the warm spring we've been having, and even started to hail part-way through. The worst cooks amongst us men, will enthusiastically BBQ anything at anytime - or at least try our very best. Me man...me see fire...me must cook!

The beauty of the grill is that almost anything tastes better grilled. Tonight was an easy and delicious meal, done in about ten minutes.

Got some large fresh shrimp (smell them to make sure they don't smell fishy) and tossed them in sunflower oil, salt and cracked pepper. Then, drizzled sliced pineapple, halved tomatoes and asparagus with sunflower oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and cracked pepper.

Then, I popped the veggies and pineapple on the grill (on high-heat) first for about 5 minutes, then threw on the shrimp. Shrimp only take 2-3 minutes per side...and the beauty is that they tell you when they are done. When they turn a nice rich pink with hints of golden-brown with no sign of translucency, flip em, and do the same for the other side; watch them carefully - overcooked seafood tastes like rubber. Veggies are done when they turn a golden-brown, about 5 minutes per side.

Below is the finished product. I am far from a natural in the kitchen, but I know I prepared a good meal if the wifey is mmMM'ing throughout the meal!

Makoto's Defense: Why I Get Tired at the Mall

2010-04-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

There is a proposed anthropological explanation for why males are more likely to fizzle at the mall compared to their female counterparts. I read a recent article explaining this hypothesis. Primal man assumed the role of hunter, and correspondingly, modern men need to have a particular focus when they are out purchasing a product ("the prey").

Women played the part of forager/gatherer, and took time to search through foliage and patiently wait for edible plants, fruits and berries to develop and ripen so they could be harvested. Much in the same way, women tend to have an innate patience to forage through racks and racks of clothing, harvesting items suitable to try on in the endless lines of the changerooms. Women seem to have limitless patience in clothing stores. Men tend to prefer shopping only with a purpose, such as when they have run out of holeless socks, or require a large purchase item such as a newer large screen TV (I guess this would be like hunting a buffalo).

If you think of the ultimate guy-centric, guy-designed store, it is the beer store. There is absolutely no element of unnecessary aesthetic. The automatic door opens directly into the line-up to the cash. The menu is placed adjacent to the line-up, so you can quickly decide on your purchase as you are approaching the cash. You pay for your purchase and get the heck out of there. It really is an ingeniously developed model of efficient shopping.

However, as Aileen discovered, there are ways to keep my energy elevated and my endurance up for the marathon that is otherwise known as the mall. Both Jugo Juice and Booster Juice chains have smartly kept up with the times and now offer pure freshly pressed fruit and vegetable juices, instead of their previous focus on sorbet/sugar based smoothies. The concentrated antioxidants, enzymes and natural sugars in a fresh juice will power you through at least another hour of shopping. I do have to give her credit for diagnosing and treating my deteriorating health so quickly at the mall, using a naturopathic-friendly protocol. I am always amazed at Aileen's sheer endurance at the mall and the joy that accompanies her shopping trips. Maybe it is her equivalent of UFC? :)

Anyhow, so it turns out the anthropologist who proposed the gender theory of shopping is a married man, and I would bet that his brilliant research originated from a disagreement with his wife at a mall somewhere!

Makoto’s Meltdown at the Shopping Mall – Remedied with a Rare Healthy Snack from the Food Court

2010-04-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

Aileen says:
This weekend, Makoto had a meltdown in the middle of Eaton’s Centre. Ok….so it wasn’t as dramatic as I’d want everyone to believe but his nostrils did start flaring as small beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He also kept repeating “get me out of here, get me out of here” in this desperate scary whisper.

I loOOooooOOoooove shopping. It doesn’t matter whether I’m in the flagship Louis Vuitton boutique in Paris or in a random odds and ends store on Yonge Street, I find such pleasure in looking at everything any store has to offer and finding a new treasure. Makoto on the other hand thinks that as long as he has enough underwear to last him a week, he’s set.

As he was starting to lose his patience with me as I dragged him to yet another cosmetics counter to find my perfect peach lip gloss for Spring, I knew I had to either get us out of there (not an option) or quickly feed him a snack.

The mall is packed with mostly empty calorie/highly processed/high sugar/salt/fat snacks, but you will always find a Jugo Juice or other juice bar type franchise. Now, don’t be lured in by their sugary smoothies. Ask them to make you a fresh juice with vegetables and fruit. Makoto’s magic combination was the Veg Max juice from Jugo Juice with extra ginger, apples and beets. This wonderful juice bought me an extra hour of complaint free shopping.

Our Little Rambo's Food

2010-04-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

Aileen says:
Rambo is our little furry son and a major project in our life. Leave it to two naturopaths to have a dog with allergies and irritable bowels. We are determined to cure his doggy dermatitis (itchy-scratchy-dry skin) and soothe his sensitive gut, naturally, of course.

After spending hours calling our nutraceutical reps to see if our favorrite supplements were doggy friendly, we learned that Nutra Sea Fish Oil has a vet line as does Thorne Professional Products!! Unfortunately, it only took us a couple dosages of feeding Rambo fish oil to make us realize that this was going to be an obstacle. Even though we mixed it in his food, he somehow managed to smear the fish oil all over his snout, paws and even his ears! He then ran around the house and smooshed his face all over our bedroom comforter and living room armchair (the one I stood in line for over two hours to get at the coveted annual Gus furniture Warehouse sale).

After an afternoon of doing laundry and steam cleaning our armchair, we made a joint decision that fish oils had no place in Rambo’s naturopathic wellness plan to optimal health. The only thing was that we both noticed that his obsessive scratching had already noticeably decreased by the next day.
The anti-inflammatory powers and skin soothing properties of the fish oil were already pumping through the little guy’s system and who were we to deny him of this! After combing the local pet foods stores for a fish oil alternative, we found a great new food for him that is fish-derived. It is called Acana Pacifica Grain-Free fomula (dogs have difficulty digesting grains) and it is made with a blend of pacific Salmon, Wild Pacific Herring and Wild Pacific Flounder.

We’re happy that we are no longer awakened in the middle of the night with the thud, thud, thud of Rambo’s foot frantically scratching his sides and he’s happy that he has delicious food! I guess this makes him a pisco-vegetarian!

Coffee…the good, the bad, the deliciousness…

2010-03-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Makoto says:
Yes, I’ll admit it: I am a naturopath, and I am a coffee drinker. Never did touch the stuff until university, with the strategically placed Tim Horton’s located dangerously adjacent to the library that I spent many late nights in during my undergrad. My drink was the classic large double-double, and I would pound several of these back to keep me fuelled and alert while cramming for my biochemistry exams. That comfortingly hot sugar and cream soup was addictive and kept me going.

Both my tastebuds and health awareness have progressed since those formative years. Little did I know that those days would catch up to me and my body would start to become dependent on coffee, depleting me of my energy reserves, and be a culprit in my digestive challenges. I eventually weaned off the cream to milk and then to black, and then cut out the sugar and paired down to a more reasonable medium coffee and limited myself to one per day. Roll up the rim really made it hard to let go of Timmy’s.

Over time, I discovered true quality coffees, using carefully sourced, freshly roasted beans, their oils releasing delicious fragrances and complex flavours. With incredible third-wave coffee shops (Dark Horse, Bulldog, Manic, Sam James, Balzac’s, Communal Mule, Ideal) popping up in every neighbourhood all over Toronto over the last few years, it makes it all too easy for me to find a delicious espresso or soy (or the rare rice milk) latte wherever I am. My friend, Mike, the connoisseur of food that Aileen mentioned in the last post, has also become the go-to guy for any questions about the subtleties of coffee and coffee preparation…even recently started his own "coffee somelier blog" in which he rates and carefully describes the tastes of only the best coffees available today: http://coffeestork.com/.

I have carefully observed how my body responds to caffeine over the years. I notice that my tolerance to caffeine has changed, and I notice that I can become easily addicted to caffeine with a regular daily dose. I have gone lengthy periods cold-turkeying my coffee intake, and noticed a levelling in my energies and moods. I easily get withdrawal headaches if I neglect my dose for the day. The difficulty is listening to my body and determining whether I am wanting the taste of coffee, or confusing this with my body looking for another “hit” of caffeine. This is the tipping point for me.

My moderated balanced solution is this…when I am drinking coffee regularly, I will only have decaf (only swiss-water decaf…the process that does not use nasty chemicals such as methylene chloride to extract the caffeine), and every few days treat myself to a regular coffee. This keeps me physically and mentally in check and allows me to not be completely deprived of my love of coffee.

True Inspiration

2010-03-30T07:12:00.001-07:00

Aileen says:
Only ever so often, you have true wonderful friends that enter your life. Our friend Mike and his lovely wife Elissa (and adorable daughter Edie!) are a perfect example of that. They are hilarious, fun and dependable (not only did they help us paint the clinic but came with homemade tiramisu!!). More importantly, you can just tell that these two love life and share that energy with everyone surrounding them.

We are most thankful to them for constantly inspiring us to enjoy food! Whether they have just come back from honeymooning in Morocco or from the local fish market, they are always trying new foods and recipes and prepare the most authentic and delicious dishes for their friends to enjoy. When it’s tempting to go eat out at a restaurant after work for convenience, we talk about Mike’s pasta that he whipped up for us in less than 10min while Elissa grabbed a handful of fresh sage from their garden to complete the dish. Thanks Mike and Elissa for keeping up inspired to eat fresh, delicious, hearty food!