At this time of year, we want to say thank you to all of our patients that we served during the past year.

You are like family to us, and we wish you all a Merry Christmas!

We look forward to helping you with your Health in 2023 and beyond!

Larry, Gaetana, Anne and the team

Insomnia?

Sleep Like a Baby!

-From the desk of Dr. Brkich

If you don’t sleep as well as you should, you are not alone.  We have all heard the expression, “sleep like a baby”.  Even babies don’t always sleep well.  Sleep issues are common. 

Insomnia is defined as difficulty falling or staying asleep. There is much information about insomnia on the internet, and no shortage of treatments for it.  A Google search of insomnia will garner almost 500 million results.

Much of the information about insomnia and how to treat it is management oriented.  Management of insomnia focuses on ways to improve sleep.  And rightfully so, because sleep is so essential for health.  Any sleep management strategies that can help to improve sleep are always desirable, as long as they do not have deleterious side effects. 

Pharmaceutical drugs, such as Zopiclone, are commonly prescribed sleeping pills.  Some insomniacs may require stronger medications to “knock them out”.  Natural sleep aides such as melatonin, valerian, passion flower, catnip, and essential oils are but a few of the commonly used natural sleep aides.  For many, melatonin, for example, may be all that is necessary to induce good sleep. 

Even if melatonin helps with sleep, in my opinion, we must still look for and find the cause of why the sleep is disturbed in the first place.  From a natural medicine perspective, it is important to understand that management of insomnia is not the same as treating and reversing insomnia.  If you are not sleeping as well as you should, the underlying cause always warrants investigation.  Usually, there is something else going on in the body that is affecting sleep, and poor sleep is just a symptom.  Although poor sleep is common, it is not normal.  The normal state is to sleep soundly, like a baby, so to speak.  Babies can also be a cause of poor sleep for many sleep-deprived parents! 

There is a multitude of factors that can affect sleep.  It may not always be straightforward to pinpoint the cause of poor sleep, especially where a number of factors are involved.  In many cases, the cause of poor sleep can be easy to identify, while others can be more challenging.  Nonetheless, one should never give up and resign to a life of poor sleep.  Poor sleep is unnatural and almost always has an underlying cause.  We just have to keep searching for the cause, even in those cases where sleep is improved or even restored, with sleep aides such as melatonin or other natural remedies.

All sleep aides, including natural ones, even if they work for insomnia, are not a cure for insomnia.  There is a big difference between managing insomnia and reversing or eliminating it naturally without sleep aides.  Improving sleep by whatever means that work is always a good thing.  Better yet would be to have no sleep issues at all, which should ideally be our normal, natural, default state.  Optimal would be to have good sleep without having to take anything.

Melatonin supplements may work very well to help with sleep when a person has a deficiency of melatonin.  Melatonin may even help when there is no deficiency, but at a price, especially if one feels overly groggy in the morning, or has headaches, nausea, dizziness, or tiredness, all of which can be side effects of too much melatonin.  Having good quality sleep is far more natural and desirable than having to take melatonin, or any other natural supplement. 

One of the most insidious and pervasive causes of insomnia is chronic stress.  Stress has a profound impact on sleep.  Prolonged stress can result in poor sleep as well as a progressively decreasing ability to handle less and less stress.  Inability to cope with stress can progress to the point where even previously non-stressful things can become too overwhelmingly, causing us to go into a sympathetic nervous system fight, flight, or freeze mode.  Over time, this can lead to undesirable negative consequences on our brain-gut axis and our hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.  The stress response can easily get out of control for all of us.  None of us are immune.  Chronic, persistent, unrelenting stress can run away on us and become magnified with our nervous system becoming turbocharged, resulting in a snowball effect where we become incapacitated when our brain and nervous system are revving out of control.  This out-of-control response to stress can take a severe toll on one’s mental and emotional health. One can feel agonizing anxiety and/or a depressive state marked by hopelessness, helplessness, despair, and a debilitating desperation arising from a false belief that there is no way out.  The excruciating pain of an agonized mind may not be visible to the outside world, but it takes its toll on the one suffering from it.

How can stress cause such profound changes in a person’s mental and emotional state?

10 Foods that Contain a Good Source of Melatonin

Here are ten foods that contain natural melatonin. They won't make you groggy, but they may help to signal your body that it's time to sleep!

1. Tart cherries

2. Pistachios: Pistachios also contain protein, vitamin B6, and magnesium, all of which contribute to better sleep. 

3. Eggs: Among animal products, eggs are one of the best sources of melatonin. Eggs are also highly nutritious, offering protein and iron, among other essential nutrients. Plus, they’re a rich source of tryptophan, which is necessary for restful sleep.

4. Milk: Like eggs, milk contains ample levels of melatonin and tryptophan. 

5. Sardines: Fish with bones, such as sardines, may help promote healthy melatonin production when needed. 

6. Salmon: Salmon is a good source of vitamin B6, which promotes the production of sleep hormones. Plus, salmon is high in protein, helping keep you full throughout the night.

7. Almonds: Along with pistachios, almonds are a great source of melatonin and magnesium 

8. Figs: Figs are rich in magnesium, fibre, and melatonin. These are all directly linked to improving the quality and duration of sleep.

9. Oats: Grains in oatmeal trigger insulin production, much like whole-grain bread. Essentially, they raise your blood sugar naturally and make you sleepy. Oats are also rich in melatonin, which relaxes the body and helps you fall asleep.

10. Sweet potatoes: Similar to oats, sweet potatoes stimulate melatonin production and gradually energize your body throughout the night, increasing sleep duration. 

Happy Holidays!

-Anne Deni, B.Sc. FdNu, Clinical Nutritionist

Ask us a question, and we might feature your question (anonymously) in our following newsletter! 

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-Dr. Brkich, Naturopathic Physician, Anne Deni, Clinical Nutritionist, Gaetana Deni, Clinic Director

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Do You Suffer From Silent Reflux?

Read this great article, "The Risks of Silent Reflux and How to Avoid it During The Holidays!"

Acid reflux is a common digestive disorder that affects around twenty percent (read: one-fifth) of the population. You may know acid reflux by its most common symptom: heartburn. But did you know there’s a type of reflux that doesn’t cause heartburn (or almost any other symptoms) at all?

Silent reflux occurs when stomach acid reaches the larynx without causing any uncomfortable symptoms. Without the “canary” signal of heartburn, indigestion, and nausea, silent reflux puts you at risk of long-term damage to the esophagus, larynx, and throat. 

These tips will help you recognize your risk for silent heartburn and how you can take charge of your digestive health.

What to EAT and DRINK to Be MERRY this Holiday Season!

I am confident that many of you are already familiar with what foods to limit during stressful times; just in case, I will list the ones that tend to overwhelm our adrenals the most:

1. Unhealthy oils: hydrogenated oils, non-GMO oils, canola, corn and soybean oil, non-organic fats/oils

2. Sweeteners:  artificial, high fructose corn syrup, processed and refined sugars (natural, unrefined sugars such as honey and maple syrup should be limited- palm sugar is a better choice).

3. Caffeinated beverages and foods                                             

4. Refined salts (sodium and sodium chloride)

The good news is there are foods that support your adrenals, click below to see my favourites!

-Anne Deni, B.Sc. FdNu, Clinical Nutritionist

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

That's the advice journalist, and author Michael Pollan offers in his new book, In Defense of Food.

The holidays are upon us! Please be advised of our hours on the following dates:

December 24th: 11:00 am-2:00 pm

December 25th: CLOSED

December 26th: CLOSED

December 27-December 31st: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Regular hours will resume on January 3rd, 2023

We wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season!

Book Online or Call us at 250-564-1700