Treat the Cause http://treatthecause.ca Be safe. Be wise. Be educated. posterous.com Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:52:00 -0800 Oral Contraceptives: How safe is the pill? http://treatthecause.ca/oral-contraceptives-how-safe-is-the-pill http://treatthecause.ca/oral-contraceptives-how-safe-is-the-pill

Oral contraceptives (OCPs) are increasingly popular with young women.  Surely this is not surprising, as the media has popularized the pill, advertising the control women gain over their lives by simply taking one pill a day.  No doubt the feminist movement in the 60’s influenced this. Many women also use the pill to control their menstrual cycle, regularity, menorrhagia, and acne etc. Despite all the potential benefits, I don’t believe women are being adequately informed of the risks associated with taking OCP’s. I also believe women are not getting to know their bodies as we use to in the days of the Calendar method.

The many benefits to the pill are definitely understandable. The freedom for women to choose when to have a baby is a definite advantage to OCP’s. When there was discussion of thrombotic disease in the news, many women discontinued the pill and induced abortions went up by 11%.  Although it does help with cycle regularity and flow, there are other natural ways to treat this that doesn’t involve artificial hormones. Acne is another concern for young women who go on the pill. Again there are natural ways to battle this uphill struggle for girls.

Women walking into a doctor’s office today to discuss contraception are immediately told about the pill and how it will be a wonderful addition to their daily life. There is no immediate discussion about other options, or of risks associated with the pill, or about their monthly cycle and how their body works. The risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVTs), certain types of cancer and STI’s seem to be a fleeting thought. From Nelson’s textbook on Pediatrics (2007): “Thrombophlebitis, hepatic adenomas, myocardial infarction, and carbohydrate intolerance are some of the more serious potential complications of exogenous estrogen use”. I wonder how many doctors actually told their patients about these risks before talking about how wonderful it would make their patients life?

Lastly, many women don’t even know when they ovulate! Explaining the cycle in a simple manner is an excellent way for women to get to know their bodies better. Learning about the changes in cervical mucus to help understand ovulation, gauging their cycle on a calendar and paying attention to other physical changes in their body are ways women can better understand how their bodies are made to function. There are all kinds of app’s online that help you determine when you are ovulating. There are devices now that take a sample of saliva and can tell you when you are ovulating based on ferning due to increased estrogen in the body. The body temperature of a woman also changes during her cycle and can help indicate ovulation. Learning that the egg that is released from the ovary doesn’t necessarily live all month long and that sperm can live in the woman’s body for 3-5 days, are all important details in understanding your body and your cycle better.

Furthermore, the transmission of STI’s is increasing, and although many STI’s are treatable with antibiotics, many are not. Hep B is sexually transmitted, as well as HPV and HIV. Long term effects of STI’s are also a major concern. “STIs can lead to genital warts, blisters, infertility, spontaneous abortion, cancer and death. “

“In 2003, 854,817 people aged 15-49 who have ever had sexual intercourse reported ever being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection”

“Close to 63,000 cases of Chlamydia were reported in 2004, the highest number of cases since the disease became reportable in 1990.“

Although the pill may prevent interrupting the spontaneity, perhaps better knowledge of one’s body in combination with the use of condoms is an important step in preventing unwanted pregnancies and STI’s, without the risks associated with constant hormone subjection.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:05:31 -0700 My Week with Dr. Andre Saine http://treatthecause.ca/my-week-with-dr-andre-saine http://treatthecause.ca/my-week-with-dr-andre-saine

Spending 20 hours with Dr. Saine just isn’t enough! Observing Andre as he takes cases has been an amazing experience for me as a developing homeopath. The questions are always open-ended, well-formed and thorough, and Dr. Saine’s decades of clinical experience are vividly clear. 

I have to say that what I learned just this week through observation, was more valuable than spending the last quarter in clinic as a secondary student working directly with patients! Watching homeopaths that really know what they are doing is something all students new to homeopathy should experience. I learned so much about how to take a case. I saw Andre go through the symptoms the patient reported on the initial intake and follow-up on each of them. If a patient mentioned they had been irritable, he would ask how has the irritability been since you’ve taken the remedy. Instead of asking the long drawn out question to ddx nat mur, how long could you sit in the sun on a park bench with no hat, no sunglasses in 80 degree heat, he would simply ask, how are you in the sun?

Watching Dr. Saine listen to patients was also interesting. In the Medical Observer, we read about how important it is to carefully listen to be able to catch the moment when your patient says something important. Dr. Saine really demonstrated how that was done. I could tell when he was differentiating between remedies as well. His questions would bounce back and forth between characteristic symptoms of a few remedies as he tried to narrow it down. It really showed me how valuable a strong understanding of material medica really is.  Watching him use MacRep also made me regret my decision to buy Radar. MacRep is so much simpler to use. He would use something like EH on Radar continually to read the reporting’s of old doctors cases to see if something was comparable to his current case. It was also really interesting to see how patients who were sensitive to remedies were prescribed doses. I never knew that Hahnemann had recommended that sensitive patients smell the remedy, or take it via olfaction, as Hahnemann put it. It was amazing to hear these patients describe how much of an effect such a small dose had.

After this week with Dr. Saine, and my last few weeks with Dr. Kellerstein, my passion for homeopathy is stronger than ever and I am excited to get back to school to start applying what I have learned. I would recommend preceptoring with both of these amazing doctors to all students interested in learning homeopathy the way Hahnemann had originally practiced it.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:57:00 -0700 Holism - Our contribution to medicine http://treatthecause.ca/holism-our-contribution-to-medicine http://treatthecause.ca/holism-our-contribution-to-medicine

Over the last two weeks, I have been preceptoring with Dr. Joe Kellerstein. The number of patients coming in and out of the office was amazing to see as a future doctor. I was able to see such a wide variety of patients and pathology.  The experience was also invaluable to my homeopathic knowledge development. I saw new patient intakes and patients on follow up visits, which allowed for further development of my case-taking skills and materia medica knowledge. As a student, I can’t even express how valuable it is to watch experienced doctors take cases in an efficient and effective manner.

A question that Joe asked me multiple times over the two weeks was what is holism? What a daunting question for such a young student! Although I was taken off guard the first time, I managed to describe the importance of treating the whole person and not just looking at individual patterns of disease. Many times I answered and Joe replied giving me a bit more of a clue to what his idea of holism really was. Finally, after being asked many times, I responded that whole is greater than the individual parts and the whole communicates with us through physiologic responses in order to provide the physician with an understanding of the disconnects within the being. We are trying to look at how the whole experiences the disease process, and not just the specific disease. Holism means to look at what the person’s physiology is screaming at us to fix first, and see what is most important in their healing path.

A great book Joe recommended I read when I was in my undergrad was “Molecules of Emotion” by Candace Pert. It was a great book that really took my understanding of neuroscience to a new level. Although most people know that molecules make up our world and our bodies, sometimes we forget that molecules are the factors that influence our mood and our health. Those molecules make up hormones that act on different receptors in our body to make us feel the way we do. Everything in life has a physiological basis and if we, as physicians, can learn to listen to the physiology of the body, we can truly treat the cause and help establish well-being in our patients.

After spending time with Joe, more than ever I feel that homeopathy is the only way to truly help a person’s body re-establish health. I have seen that every person’s body has the ability to heal, and it’s our job to recognize the symptoms and provide a remedy that in a healthy person causes that same pattern of symptoms. I have seen the importance of what Hahnemann refers to as hygiene, and what I refer to as nutrition. Finally, I have seen the importance of looking at the totality of symptoms as they express the outer image of the internal essence of disease, and the importance of focusing on this as the only means by which we choose a remedy. 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:36:32 -0700 Mango Pineapple Garlic Chutney http://treatthecause.ca/mango-pineapple-garlic-chutney http://treatthecause.ca/mango-pineapple-garlic-chutney As many people know, garlic is a delicious flavoring that can be added to many meals. The flavor of the garlic is stronger when it's added to the dish near the end of cooking.  This is generally a good idea since allicin, the antibiotic compound found in garlic, loses it's antibiotic properties while cooking. Garlic is anti-microbial, immune system enhancing, an anti-oxidant and alkaline. It seems to be that the best way to keep the medicinal properties of garlic is to eat it when it's raw. Here's an excellent way to incorporate raw garlic into your diet: 

Ingredients: 

1 mango

¼ of a pineapple

1 tsp of garlic

Some chopped cilantro

Optional: juice of ½ and orange, or hot peppers

You can put  the chutney on top of chicken breast or salmon and it's really delicious! 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:09:36 -0700 Swiss Chard Wraps http://treatthecause.ca/swiss-chard-wraps http://treatthecause.ca/swiss-chard-wraps
Swiss_chard

I know that sometimes the biggest obstacle to eating healthy is coming up with the recipe ideas to do so. Here's a fast and healthy snack that will help you get your greens in, decrease your carbohydrate intake and fill you up!

Ingredients:

1 leaf

Swiss Chard

2 large slices

White rotisserie, deli cut Turkey

1 tsp

Yellow Mustard
Directions:

1.     Wash the Swiss chard leaf and dry well.

2.     Spread mustard over the leaf.

3.     Place turkey on the leaf and roll it up. Fasten with a toothpick.


You can make a few of these and pack them to take with you to work.

Swiss chard is full of vitamin K which is important in patients with liver diseases because vitamin K helps the liver make necessary coagulation factors that are important for normal blood clotting. Thus, increasing your intake of leafy greens is important to talk to your doctor about if you are on an anti-coagulant medication, like Warfarin. Vitamin K also reduces the risk of developing liver cancer, and is important in maintaining bone strength. Vitamin K is made in the gut by our beneficial bacteria. When you take an anti-biotic, all of the bacteria in your gut dies, so you temporarily have low levels of vitamin K. This is just another reason taking probiotics are beneficial.


Other interesting fact: Historically, mustard was used as a digestive aid that leads to extra vitality because of its active constituent glucosinolate.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:08:13 -0700 Ms.Kolesnick's Exercise Science Class http://treatthecause.ca/mskolesnicks-exercise-science-class http://treatthecause.ca/mskolesnicks-exercise-science-class Wow! Thanks for all your comments on my presentation! If I get the opportunity to speak with a great group of young adults again, I will definitely take your recommendations into consideration. I would like to say thank you for paying such close attention and taking what I said so seriously! Here's my reply to some of the comments I saw in the papers you wrote: My references to humans as savages, was just to provide a basic relation to our ancestral diet. We use to have a more hunter-gather style diet. This included a ton of veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds and meats from animals, including fish. A large part of our diet prehistorically was protein (24%) and now is much less (15%). When we ate animals, it was much different than now because we ate as much of the animal as we could. We even ate the organs. Did you know the adrenal glands, which are just above the kidneys, were a huge source of our vitamin C in the winter (which helps prevent scurvy)? When we ate this Paleolithic diet, we had less dental cavities (see the book "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" by William Price). People also suffered from less visual problems, including near-sightedness and cataracts, less acne and psoriasis, less digestive issues including gall stones and inflammatory bowel, less cardiovascular disease, the list goes on... And since the human genome has hardly changed since the Paleolithic age, it follows that we remain genetically and metabolically adapted to hunter-gather diets. Some items that were absent from the hunter-gather diets include things like grain-fed animals, processed meats, dairy products, refined sugars, vegetable oils, alcohol and grains. In fact, the average US citizen gets 72% of his/her total energy from these foods that were never eaten by hunter-gathers. So, we would expect to find that deviations from the paleolithic diet and lifestyle would promote disease. An interesting video you could watch, if you find all this interesting, is called The Journey of Man: As for replenishing electrolytes, if I thought it was necessary, I would recommend a beverage called “Recharge” which I don’t think they carry here in Canada, however it would be easy to make. In fact, I can share a recipe with you:
  • 1 cup grape juice (not from concentrate)
  • 2/3 cup water
  • celtic sea salt (this type of salt has more minerals than plain table salt, I use it for all of the things I salt)
I am happy to have been the first naturopathic student some of you have met! I would like to introduce you to our principles so you can have a better idea of the perspective we come from. If I could choose a favorite principle it would of course be “treat the cause”. I really think that once we find the cause, and then remove any obstacles to cure we can have so much success. But you must know, that it all begins with another one of our principles, which is “physicians as a teacher”. This is why I came to speak to your class. I can only hope that I inspired some of you to make positive changes in your life allowing you to lead the healthiest future possible. I am so happy to hear your responses to our talk and best wishes to you all and for all you endeavors! Remember: Be Safe, Be Wise, Be Educated!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:03:15 -0700 H1N1 http://treatthecause.ca/h1n1-336 http://treatthecause.ca/h1n1-336 CTV reports that many Canadian provinces are considering suspending their flu vaccination because of the concerns. Also, they report that the U.S. is starting an unprecedented system to track possible side effects as mass swine flu vaccinations begin next month. Doesn't this sound like massive science experiment on the public? I also heard that on CTV news they reported that Telus was looking at taking preventative measures and has decided to pay for all of their employees to see a naturopath. Pretty crazy eh!? Apparently their decision was related to a study that found that people who were vaccinated for the flu were actually more susceptible to it. Hopefully now that some major corporations are coming around, so will the public!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:17:45 -0700 Fibrocystic Breast Disease... http://treatthecause.ca/fibrocystic-breast-disease http://treatthecause.ca/fibrocystic-breast-disease ... is really the body saying no no no... No caffeine Of course it may be other things, but apparently this is one of the first things to check! Dr. Morstein's class is my favorite! Every week I learn soooooo much in her class. If only all my classes were like hers...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:04:46 -0700 Flu Season http://treatthecause.ca/flu-season-9 http://treatthecause.ca/flu-season-9 Just studying for nutrition and thought that this may be helpful to others! This flu season remember: Starve a cold and Starve a fever. Let your energy be directed at getting rid of the microorganism, not at digesting food! Kids and animals do this innately, adults override this tendency. Drink fluids (water, herbal teas, broths) hourly to help thin out mucus and urinate out toxins and to keep from becoming dehydrated. When your appetite returns, eat lightly. Brown rice, vegetable soup, steamed veggies, pieces of white chicken. If you have to, take a day or two off work because you will heal faster and you will be more productive in the long run. Spend those days lying in bed. Science has shown that our immune systems are more active at rest. Get some hydrotherapy done. It will help stimulate the body and reduce sinus and chest congestion as well as a sore throat. Do not eat dairy because it creates mucous and with diarrhea the lactase enzyme disappears, but returns when the gut heals. Do not eat sugar because it decreases the bodies immune response. Do not eat junk food or fast food. It's toxic. Thanks Dr. Morstein

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:30:01 -0700 Clear Complexion Juice http://treatthecause.ca/clear-complexion-juice http://treatthecause.ca/clear-complexion-juice The following juice mix helps clear skin problems. When taken several times a week, it also acts as a blood purifier. Beet Juice Tomato Juice Celery Juice Mix 2 oz. of each juice together and drink 2-3 times a day, for a total of 12-18 ounces per day. - From Natural Detoxification by Krohn and Taylor

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:52:48 -0700 Rain Barrels and Body Burden http://treatthecause.ca/rain-barrels-and-body-burden http://treatthecause.ca/rain-barrels-and-body-burden When that when you were born, you were born with a rain barrel that contains any and all toxins that your little body had been exposed to. Your mother's body is full of toxins and without knowing, she passes some of these on to you throughout your growth as a fetus. After you were born, your mother probably breast feed you and passed on some more toxins from her fat stores. When you are old enough you get your first vaccines, which are loaded with toxins like formaldehyde, aluminum phosphate and sometimes even thimersol, your barrel fills up with a bit more toxins. Once you are a bit older you start eating fruits and veggie puree, which have been sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, again, the level of toxins in your rain barrel increases. Let's not forget to mention the clothes you are wearing, that has been washed with fabric softener, and the toothpaste you are using that contains fluoride, both which continue to fill that rain barrel. As you get older and start bathing yourself, you use all kinds of shampoos, soaps and lotions full of chemicals. All these things can eventually cause your toxic rain barrel to overflow. As you can tell, our world is full of toxins. As our rain barrels fill up, our bodies ability to function at optimal capacity slowly decreases. Our detoxification systems are over-worked and can no longer function optimally, and we develop symptoms because our toxin levels are too high. These symptoms represent disease. Now, if we acknowledge our rain barrel and periodically empty it through detoxification procedures, we can withstand these modern day chemical stressors. When our rain barrel is only partially full, we may still experience symptoms but they may be less concerning than when our rain barrel is overflowing. Thus, our individual body burden is affected by how full our rain barrel is and how effectively our body can remove any additional toxins. However, many people don't know what symptoms of a toxic body burden are, so they take drugs to treat the symptoms and never truly treat the cause!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:57:12 -0700 Cell Phones and High Blood Pressure http://treatthecause.ca/cell-phones-and-high-blood-pressure http://treatthecause.ca/cell-phones-and-high-blood-pressure "In 1998 Dr. S. Braune of the University of Neurology Clinic in Freiluug, Germany, published a study in Lancet on the effects of radio frequency emitted by mobile phones. He found a significant elevation in blood pressure among mobile phone users, which he and his colleagues concluded was a result of constriction the arteries caused by the rf electromagnetic fields. This increase could severely affect people with high blood pressure." - From Natural Detoxification by Krohn and Taylor.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:23:00 -0700 I love homeopathy... http://treatthecause.ca/i-love-homeopathy http://treatthecause.ca/i-love-homeopathy

This morning, a close friend of mine woke up with a mucocele on the inside of his upper lip. It looked like a bulla and you could push on it and the fluid would move away. These typically are caused by local trauma that damages the salivary duct and results in a build up of fluid just under the epithelium (according to emedicine.com). He reported no pain or irritation, but said it was rather annoying. I did some research and pulled out my little homeopathy kit and decided to give him silicea. This remedy is for skin eruptions, abscesses, ulcerations with pus formation and of course a host of other things. 2 doses of 200 C and it's almost gone! It's only been a few hours! I read reports on the internet of other people that had to have theirs surgically removed because they had lasted incredibly long, like 18 months long. Emedicine.com reports that they typically last for less than 3-6 weeks, although some last a few days or a several years. If only more people knew about homeopathy, they could save themselves quite a bit of money and trouble!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:47:32 -0700 Living in the Information Age http://treatthecause.ca/living-in-the-information-age http://treatthecause.ca/living-in-the-information-age During a time when information is so readily available, it is ever more important to provide our patients with reliable and up to date knowledge regarding their aliments. Physician as a teacher is one of the principles of naturopathic medicine. Thus, as naturopaths we are going to be even more responsible for the education of our patients. Regard for internet is more important than ever. Many naturopaths have poorly designed websites that contain a lack of information and resources for the user. The sites don't connect to the user. We need to remember that having a website is not just a place for information, but a way to connect with our users! We need to take advantage of this opportunity to get our patients involved in the naturopathic world. Let us provide them with the tools to heal, and teach them via as many methods as we can. Let us use the information age to our advantage.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Thu, 14 May 2009 02:00:17 -0700 Paleo in a Nutshell http://treatthecause.ca/paleo-in-a-nutshell http://treatthecause.ca/paleo-in-a-nutshell

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:05:05 -0700 How "Green" is Your Water Bottle? http://treatthecause.ca/how-green-is-your-water-bottle http://treatthecause.ca/how-green-is-your-water-bottle Check out this link for an interesting article on water bottles.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:29:22 -0800 Physicians Who Listen http://treatthecause.ca/physicians-who-listen http://treatthecause.ca/physicians-who-listen Karen Ritchie, M.D., wrote an article called Why Doctor's Don't Listen. This was a really interesting article about insurance companies and our quest for scientific evidence, which has caused a division between the art and science of medicine. Here is an exert:
"A 1984 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that doctors listened to patients for an average of eighteen seconds before interrupting. Perhaps physicians have never been very good listeners. Those who practiced in 1904 apparently were not, as Dr. William Osler felt compelled to urge them to "Listen to the patient. He is telling you the diagnosis. "But in Osler's time listening was considered essential, an integral part of the art of medicine. Now insurance companies have decreed that listening to the patient is a waste of time and will not pay for it. While the physician's traditional role was to balance the science of medicine and the art, somehow the balance became instead a competition, a question of which was more important. Science won. Science is our new religion, the savior that will rescue us from all human problems."
For naturopaths, fortunately, physicians who listen is one of our motto's.  We are trained in school to maintain the art behind the science. Of course we spend hours slaving over the books and the research, learning about the science behind medicine. However, the docs in our field know that to truly heal a person is to aid the vis medicatrix in restoring balance in that person's body. When you listen to a patient, you hear what's really going on inside and out. Since the body is a closed system, all the symptoms are connected. If we can figure out what disharmony is causing the imbalance that is resulting in the presentation of symptoms, we are really treating the cause. Otherwise, we are just treating the symptoms.
"Medicine seems to be unable to improve this situation, so it is up to patients and potential patients, who are paying the bills, to demand change. If no one is listening, you may have to shout."

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:57:01 -0800 Hippocrates of Kos http://treatthecause.ca/hippocrates-of-kos http://treatthecause.ca/hippocrates-of-kos In 300 BCE Hippocrates said, " Each one of the substances of a man's diet acts upon his body and changes it in some way and upon these changes his whole life depends." Hippocrates is thought of as the father of modern medicine, however this simple nutritional principle is not included in all forms of medicine today. Another interesting quote: "A good and proper diet is worth a hundred medicines and no amount of medication can do good to a patient who does not observe a strict regimen of diet." - Charaka Samhita

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:13:52 -0800 Cyclamate aka Sugar Twin http://treatthecause.ca/cyclamate-aka-sugar-twin http://treatthecause.ca/cyclamate-aka-sugar-twin I'm sure you are familiar with the company called Sugar Twin. It's a common artificial sweetener in the little pink packages, and sold in groceries stores in the baking aisles. What you probably didn't know about this product, is that it is banned in the US. Research has shown that the product can cause testicular atrophy and bladder cancer. Here's the link to one of the studies I came across. There is a lot to research when looking for a "good" artificial sweetener.  Based on what I've learned in school so far, I think the best choice is to avoid them all together. Your taste buds adapt to the foods you are eating. If you consistently eat sweet foods, you will think that only sweet foods taste good. But if you change your diet, and eat healthier foods, with less sugar and artificial sweeteners,  you will find that your taste buds will change and soon eating those sweeter foods will seem almost disgusting and intolerable. We are not designed to eat sugar and refined foods... When you look at the metabolic breakdown of all these so-called "foods", it's no wonder there is so much illness and disease. It should seem like common sense that what you put in your mouth, gets broken down into smaller molecules by our digestive enzymes. These get broken down even further in the gut and are absorbed into our blood stream to feed our bodies. What do you want to be feeding your body?

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:37:59 -0800 High Fructose Corn Syrup Contains WHAT? http://treatthecause.ca/high-fructose-corn-syrup-contains-what http://treatthecause.ca/high-fructose-corn-syrup-contains-what MERCURY! I suppose most of us thought that this product is "made from corn, doesn't contain artificial ingredients, and like sugar it's fine in moderation" just like their commercials have been telling us. Perhaps this is true, but it's time the Corn Refiner's Association puts some standards in place in terms of the manufacturing of their so-called healthy product. Check out this link for the full article. The "Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brandname food and beverage products where HFCS is the first or second highest labeled ingredient-including products by Quaker, Hershey's, Kraft and Smucker's." According to the article, the mercury gets into the product through the manufacturing process of the HFCS. Since the average American consumes 12 tsp's HFCS per day and teen's and other high consumer's consume approximately 80% more than that, this is a great concern.  Unfortunately, the article doesn’t specifically say how much mercury is contained in these products.  Learning about the metabolism of HFCS was enough to make me stop eating it. Now that I know this, I will be even more cautious in avoiding this unnatural product and any food products that contain it. To me, it’s just not worth the risks. Here's what Health Canada says about safe levels of mercury consumption: “A provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (pTDI) of 0.47 microgram per kilogram of body weight per day for methyl mercury was established in 1972 by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and was adopted by Health Canada. This level was reaffirmed in 1989 for the general population. However, through further studies, JECFA cautioned that pregnant women and nursing mothers were likely to represent a greater risk from the adverse effects of methyl mercury (WHO, 1989). This concern was shared by the bureau of Chemical Safety in the Foods Directorate of Health Canada and, in 1998, the Foods Directorate of Health Canada reviewed the new studies and lowered the maximum pTDI for methyl mercury to 0.2 microgram perkilogram of body weight perday for pregnant women, women of childbearing age and young children. A recent evaluation by JECFA (WHO, 2003) derived a similar value (pTWI of 1.6 microgram perkilogram of body weight perweek or 0.23 microgram perkilogram of body weight perday) to the Health Canada pTDI.” According to another source, "There is no established safe dose for elemental mercury, the type discovered in corn syrup. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says an average-sized woman should limit her exposure to 5.5 micrograms a day of methylmercury, the kind found in fish. If that same woman regularly ate corn syrup contaminated at the highest level detected in the study _ 0.57 micrograms per gram - the researchers estimated that she could end up consuming an amount of mercury that is five times higher than the EPA's safe dose."

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/589212/IMG_7068.JPG http://posterous.com/users/5AfOcwMS1EFX Alanna Harrison treatthecause Alanna Harrison