WHAT IS POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME? - MARCH 2017 - VOLUME 8, ISSUE 12
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Normally the ovaries produce a small amount of male sex hormones - androgens - but with PCOS, they produce too many androgens in relation to female hormones, causing an imbalance.
Focus on nourishment as the goal. Include foods that are anti-inflammatory, such as:
There are some Nature's Sunshine supplements relevant to this newsletter. You can find information about these products and purchase them in 
HOW CAN RESVERATROL IMPROVE OUR HEALTH? - JANUARY 2017 - VOLUME 8, ISSUE 10
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There has been interest in resveratrol's role in heart health ever since a meta-analysis found a significant risk reduction associated with drinking 1-2 glasses of wine daily.
Anti-aging
We all know that chocolate is an important feature of Valentine's Day.Winterizing Yourself - December 2012 - Volume 4 Issue 7
/With the holiday season here, and winter starting, it’s time to make sure we’re winterizing ourselves to stay healthy over the next few months. I’ve put together a number of tips both to help you through the holiday season and the rest of the winter. Enjoy!
Read MorePhysical Activity - September 2012 - Volume 4 Issue 5
/Two years ago (August 2010) our newsletter was on the topic of anti-aging strategies. New information is becoming available all the time, so I thought an update would be a good idea. I hope you enjoyed a wonderful summer and that you find this information interesting and helpful.
Aging affects our bodies and our minds to a certain extent, but it’s becoming more and more evident that our minds, i.e. how we think, can strongly affect how our bodies and minds actually age. Pessimistic beliefs about aging generate negative health outcomes whereas positive beliefs result in positive health outcomes. Of course, we also need a healthy diet, adequate sleep, physical and mental activity, and social engagement to age well.
A recent British survey finds that people now consider middle age starts at 55 (as opposed to much earlier in previous surveys) and lasts until almost age 70. However, almost 20% thought middle age only began at age 60, and 20% said that middle age is a state of mind, not something that begins at a certain age.
Read MoreSpring Cleaning - April 2012 - Volume 4 Issue 1
/With spring comes spring cleaning – for most of us this is a time of year to clean our homes, reorganize our wardrobes and make a fresh start as the weather gets warmer, and the days, longer. But my focus this month is on cleaning ourselves. Just as spring cleaning means more than a quick vacuum and dusting around the house, our spring body cleaning should be more than a long, hot bath. We should cleanse ourselves both externally and internally.
Read MoreCardiovascular - February 2012 - Volume 3 Issue 10
/Best wishes for a Happy Valentine’s Day! I think February is an appropriate month for an update on heart health. Two years ago (see Newsletter, February 2010) I reviewed several risk factors for heart disease and also discussed how you can minimize or reduce your risk of heart disease. This month I’ll provide recent updates regarding heart disease and stroke.
Read MoreAdrenal - December 2011 - Volume 3 Issue 9
/This is always a busy time of year, and we often feel as if we’re running on empty, or as if adrenaline is the only thing that’s keeping us going. I thought it would be an appropriate time to give you some information on the adrenal glands – they are arguably the most important glands in the body. They play a vital role, which has been described as producing chemicals that maintain life, nothing less.1 Your adrenal glands regulate your disposition, your efficiency, and even your personality. Whether they regulate well and help you, or poorly and harm you depends largely on what you eat. Therefore, you can help the adrenal glands function well by eating an appropriate diet.2 Of course, good strategies for managing stress are also very helpful.
Read MoreDepression - Nov 2011 - Volume 3 Issue 8
/As the days grow shorter, and winter approaches, some of us tend to feel less cheerful than we do during the summer. Seasonal affective disorder, with the very fitting acronym of SAD, becomes more prevalent at this time of year. I’m going to describe some aspects of depression, and explain how you can tell if depression is a concern for you, as well as offer a number of strategies to combat tendencies toward depression. If you think you suffer from major depression, please call me for an appointment (613.829.0427) or seek other appropriate professional help.
Read MoreOsteoporosis - June 2011 - Volume 3 Issue 3
/We don’t usually give much thought to our bones – at least as long as they don’t give us any trouble. But it’s a good idea to know how to keep them in good shape so they will continue to function well as we get older. Healthy bones depend on us for a healthy lifestyle so they won’t develop osteoporosis.
Read MoreDiabetes - April 2011 - Volume 3 Issue 1
/You have probably heard mention of the current ‘obesity epidemic’ that Canada and other countries are experiencing, followed closely by the ‘diabetes epidemic’. In this context, we are talking about type 2 diabetes, or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, although the second term is not entirely accurate since type 2 diabetes can become insulin dependent. The focus of this newsletter is type 2 diabetes (not type 1 diabetes, see below) because there is so much we can do to prevent it, and because it is the most common type.
Read MoreSleep - December 2010 - Volume 2 Issue 9
/Are you getting enough sleep? At this time of year, it may be unlikely – the holiday season is the busiest time of year for many of us. But we need to understand how important enough, good quality sleep is to our health, and to minimize sleep deficits as much as possible.
Read MoreDementia - September 2010 - Volume 2 Issue 6
/The front page of the Globe and Mail on September 16, 2010 announced, “Dementia: Confronting the crisis - Every five minutes, another Canadian faces life robbed of memories, skills, relationships and independence.”
“More senior citizens are in Canada’s future, and more of them will be living longer. Dementia will loom increasingly large. Already there are 100,000 new cases each year, and rising. An estimated 1.1 million Canadians will suffer from dementia in 2038, up from 480,000 now. The direct costs of caring for them today are $8-billion a year; between now and 2038, the total spent directly on care will be $92-billion. The loss of an individual’s ability to contribute to herself, her family and society is, on a community-wide scale, impossible to calculate.” (Globe and Mail, September 18, 2010)
Most of us have been taught that how well we function mentally is a characteristic that we’re born with and that we can’t do much about. Happily that’s far from true! There is just as much we can do to improve and protect our cognitive functioning as there is to prevent something like heart disease. In fact, many steps we can take to prevent heart disease will also prevent a decline in mental functioning as we age.
Read MoreCancer Prevention - July 2010 - Volume 2 Issue 4
/Cancer. It’s the diagnosis no one wants, and everyone fears. But often cancer can be prevented. In the past 30 years, millions of dollars have been raised for research with the ultimate aim of curing cancer. During the summer we have different marathons and fundraisers. However, we have not made much progress and are still far away from curing the many different types of cancer. Therefore, it is time to take a closer look at what we may do for our health, and how we can be active and prevent cancer. The adage “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is nowhere truer than with cancer. At least 50% of all cancers can be prevented through healthy living.
Read MoreWeight - January 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 10
/Happy New Year! We tend to start the year with good intentions and resolutions. Often our resolutions include losing a few pounds that may have crept on over the holidays or the past year, despite our best intentions. What I want to talk about this month is weight management.
Read MoreMaking Healthy Choices - December 2009 - Volume 1 Issue 9
/With the holiday season fast approaching this is a time of year that we are all busier than usual. In spite of the good times, we need to take care to stay rested, calm and well nourished, but not over-nourished with all the temptations that are everywhere! I have put together some practical tips for beating the most common ill effects of the holidays. I hope you find them helpful.
Read MoreImmune - November 2009 - Volume 1 Issue 8
/As we head toward winter and into flu season, it seems like a good time to consider the importance of our immune system, and particularly the role of antioxidants in maintaining an effective immune system.
Read MoreColon - July 2009 - Volume 1 Issue 5
/Colon health is receiving a lot of attention these days - articles appear frequently on topics ranging from solving problems of 'irregularity' to preventing colon cancer. Other diseases of the colon, with varying degrees of severity, can have a profound effect on a person's quality of life, such as irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis, and ulcerative colitis. The good news is that there is a lot we can do to promote good colon health.
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