The list below gives a brief summary of some different expressions of indigestion.  Remedies should be chosen based on the best choice considering your own specific symptoms.  You don’t have to be experiencing everything listed under a specific remedy; just choose the closest description.

The following remedies can all be taken in 12CH or 30CH potency.  Follow these rules for frequency of dosing:

• Stop taking the remedy when there is significant improvement; if symptoms recur, repeat the remedy as needed.
• Decrease the frequency of doses as symptoms improve; the interval between doses lengthens, as the person feels better.
• If there is no improvement after a reasonable effort, discontinue the remedy and reevaluate symptoms and select another remedy.

NUX VOMICA

• indigestion after overindulgence in food, alcohol or coffee
• cramping or sharp pains; heartburn, belching with bitter reflux; bloating
• frequent but ineffectual urging to belch or move bowels
• better for warmth and warm drinks

CARBO VEGETABILIS

• tremendous bloating with indigestion about half and hour after eating
• frequent belching which alleviates discomfort
• heartburn and gas
• better for fresh air or being fanned

PUSATILLA

• indigestion from fats and rich foods
• bloating and neusea
• no thirst
• feeling peevish; desiring sympathy

BRYONIA

• heaviness, like a stone in stomach after eating
• bitter belching
• worse from any movement
• thirsty for cold drinks

PHOSPHORUS

• headache from overindulgence in wine
• diarrhea from slight irregularity in the diet
• watery, painless stools
• thirsty for cold water or juice

 ARSENICUM ALBUM

• weakness and exhaustion from diarrhea
• food poisoning
• diarrhea with vomitting
• desire frequent sips of water
• better warm drinks and milk

Our previous newsletters around this time of year were all about how to “Avoid the Holiday 10lbs” that most people will gain or “How to Maintain your Sensible Eating Habits during the Holidays”.   While we still firmly believe in those ideas, and believe that moderation is the key to successfully getting through this season. This newsletter is going to have a different tone.  This issue is going to focus on how to protect your body from the perils of the season; the overindulging, the sugar and alcohol, late nights and stress that can also accompany the Wonders of Christmas.  I love this season, and I don’t know about you but each year the season keeps getting longer and longer. Our festivities this year seem to start in November, and don’t end until mid January. Now, even if you are trying to be moderate that is still a lot of functions!!

Have you ever noticed how everyone seems to get sick in January?  Some may say it is because the flu is just rampant at this point of the years. May be true!

But, we believe that it is the terrain not the disease. Meaning that if your body is protected, well rested, well fed and not stressed, you should be able to ward off the lurking  viruses.  Lets look at our system after the Christmas season…we are totally acidic (from all the sugar and alcohol which the bugs thrive in), we are exhausted from running around and many of us find this season to come with a certain element of stress. If even one of these is true for you, it can set your terrain up for more disease than is necessary.

While moderation is still the key, this issue is going to give you some tips of things that you can do if you do end up overindulging!

Hangover Helpers    

Alcohol

While it can be nice to sit back and relax with friends and a glass of wine, alcohol can really have a negative impact on many aspects of our health. Alcohol increases insulin, which creates havoc on our blood sugars, which then impacts our quality of sleep at night and causes us to want those high fat and sugary foods the next day. In order to minimize this effect, use soda water for your mix instead of pop or tonic water. If you consume drinks that are lower in sugar, you will have less headaches which are usually related to both alcohol and sugar. You will also have better insulin balance, which is going to help to manage some of the alcohol induced cravings for foods.

Red Wine is the drink of choice as it does have some health benefits, and has been shown in some studies to improve red blood vessel function. The amount of drinks per week that is deemed appropriate for a woman is 4, and men is 7. So there is too much of a good thing!

Liver Supportive Foods

We know that any kind of toxin to the body has to be processed by the liver. We also know (even if we sometimes don’t want to admit it) that alcohol is a toxin. Therefore it is really important to play close attention to our liver, as it works hard to keep us pure and clean over the Christmas holidays.

Foods that support liver function include beets, leafy greens, garlic, onions, cruciferous vegetables like kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. In terms of supplements there are a few that work very well to support the bodies detox process which include Vitamin C, NAC, milk thistle and choline and inostitol.

We have a product at the office called LIV H17 which is a mix of choline, inostitol and milk thistle that protects the liver nicely.

B-vitamins

Bvitamins are necessary for the breakdown of alcohol. There has been some studies that have shown that taking Bvitamins can reduce your hangover symptoms by up to 50%. It is important to take a Bcomplex, and best to take 1 before going out, one when you come home and then one again the next morning. For women, the folic acid in the Bcomplex  has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer that has been linked to excess alcohol consumption.

Bust away those Bloated Blues 

We all know that traditional feeling following a Christmas dinner, bloated and sleepy!  While the food is great, the aftermath of all of those starchy carbohydrates, proteins and increased portions is very hard on our digestive system and requires it to do extra work. That bloated sensation is the food not digestive properly in our system creating gas and distention.  The extreme fatigue after eating can be one of two things.  First, our blood and energy is diverted to our digestive system after a meal, so the larger the meal the more energy is required. Secondly, the traditional Christmas dinner is usually composed of a lot of starchy carbohydrates like potatoes, turnip, dressing and bread. These foods tend to affect our blood sugar and insulin levels, and this can cause us to feel fatigued after such a meal.

The obvious solution is to watch our portions and reduce our starchy carbohydrate intake.  However, you can also take a digestive enzyme to help you with these larger, or harder to digest meals. Take the digestive enzyme about 10min before the meal and it will help you to break it down.  If you aren’t a pill popper, you can also try taking about 1tbsp of apple cidar vinegar before the meal in water, which also helps to increase your natural production of digestive enzymes.

It is also important to take a probiotic, not only will it help your to support your immune system but it will also help your digestive system process these foods.

Take a probiotic that contains 10billion active cultures (or cfu’s) and during the season take 1 capsule twice a day.

Fight the Post Christmas FLU!! 

It has been found that 1 tsp of sugar can reduce your natural killer cells ability to fight infection by up to 50% for 4 hours after ingestion. With the Christmas season being known for its sweets, it is important to protect your immune system during this time.

If you would like more information on this, please refer to our last newsletter, which is packed with information on natural ways to fight infection.

To review, it is important that the whole family be taking vitamin D, and a probiotic during the winter months to optimize that immune function.

Most of all, Happy Holidays!

It’s that time of year again – Spring! The snow has melted, the sun is growing stronger each day, and the rain is moving in to wash away all the rubbish that has been hiding under the snow for months.

We’re all familiar with the idea of “spring cleaning” as it relates to our homes, closets, and garages, but how about spring cleaning our bodies? The change of seasons is the BEST time to cleanse our bodies and get ride of the toxins that have accumulated over the winter.

You know how good you feel after your home has gone through a spring cleanse; now imagine how good your body will feel it if you did the same for it!

Everyone is in need of a full body spring cleanse. It doesn’t matter how well behaved we were this winter we are all exposed to hundreds of toxins everyday, and it’s important that we aid our bodies in an annual cleanse to help rid these toxins.

While the body is normally an efficient detoxification machine on its own, the world we live in can put a strain on even the healthiest of us. The build-up of these toxins in the body can lead to a variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms, such as, fatigue, headaches, malaise, irritability, mood swings, bloating, insomnia, and muscle and joint aches or pains.

While we may have limited control over our environment, we have a great deal of control over our bodies. There is enormous value for your body in a spring cleaning.

In recognition of this important practice Vibrant Living has paired up with two other health conscious organizations from the community - Moksha Yoga Waterloo and Seven Shores Urban Market and Café – to deliver a well- planned and organized two week 3nd Annual Community Wide Spring Cleanse in the K-W area.

You know you need it!

We know this isn’t the first time you’re heard about cleansing or detoxifying. So, if it’s your first cleanse or if it’s a part of your regular lifestyle, please join us in the exciting event.

Everyone is welcome, and you do not have to be a patient of ours to participate in this free event so invite your family and friends along!   Please visit our web site, at:

http://waterloocleanse.com

to learn more about and to register for KW’s 3nd Annual Community Wide Cleanse.

We look forward to having you participate in this exciting event!

It makes sense really, if female hormones change then why can’t mens. This condition is referred to as Andropause and men that experience this will start to feel increased amount of depression, weight gain and fatigue over the age of 40.   Andropause is related to the decline in testosterone which begins after 25 years old. Usually this is a gradual decline, but the more rapidly the testosterone falls the faster a man ages and increases risk factors for heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis and dementia.

So, the key is to preserve the amount of testosterone that a man produces. 2 ways we can do this is are:

1. exercise, especially weight lifting exercise
2. reduce the belly fat

That visceral fat will produce an enzyme called aromatase which actually converts testosterone to estrogen.  So, sometimes we can take testosterone to help but it has been shown that in the bodies effort to control estrogen levels it actually binds free testosterone making it unavailable. Therefore if this aromatase enzyme is present, even taking testosterone doesn’t produce the desired effect.

What do we do?

Lose that belly fat! We know that high levels of insulin and stress hormone cortisol are the 2 driving forces for this unwanted waist line.

Insulin levels are controlled by reducing the amount of sugar and white carbohydrates you eat.  So, part of achieving optimal health in aging men is achieving a healthy body composition!!

Start making steps to lose that belly today…your health will thank you!

Dear Community Member;

After the outstanding success of the 1st Annual Community Wide Spring Cleanse we did last May, we’ve decided to keep the tradition going and help member of the community improve their health with another cleanse this year!

Beginning Monday May 3, 2010 you are invited to participate in a 14-day spring cleanse, involving a two week commitment to guided healthy eating and movement designed to detoxify the body.

Vibrant Living co-founders, Robin Walsh N.D. and Kristijana Rakic N.D., Moksha Yoga, and Seven Shores Urban Market & Café are bringing together their collective expertise to host the 2nd Annual Community Wide Spring Cleanse charity event.  The Annual Community Wide Spring Cleanse is designed to promote healthy eating, the importance of environmentally conscious living, the benefits of low impact exercise, and the value of community involvement.

Vibrant Living:

Prior to the kick-off date for the Annual Community Wide Spring Cleanse participants are encouraged to attend an hour-long information session.  Topics such as, the benefits of cleansing, how to best aid the body during the cleansing process, how to assist the body in daily detoxification, and how to limit exposure to both dietary and environmental toxins will be discussed.  Please join us for one of the following information sessions:

• Sunday April 25, 2010 at 4:30 pm at Moksha Yoga, 55 Erb Street East Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 4K8
• Thursday April 29, 2010 at 7:00 pm Seven Shores Café, 8 Regina St. N Unit 5. Waterloo, ON. N2J 2Z8

Upon registering by clicking here, participants will be provided with an information package, prepared by Robin Walsh N.D. and Kristijana Rakic N.D, which will explain the benefits of a dietary cleanse, and include a comprehensive meal plan, a list of health promoting foods to add to your diet, and a list of foods to avoid, as well as, a shopping list to help guide your choices.

Moksha Yoga:

To add the detoxification benefits of hot yoga to the Annual Spring Cleanse participants receive a complimentary hot yoga class designed to enhance the cleansing process.

The facilities at Moksha Yoga Waterloo have been built and are maintained with a commitment to ethical, compassionate, and environmentally conscious living. Visit http://wwww.mokshayogawaterloo.com to learn more about the health benefits of hot yoga and their commitment to environmentally conscious living.

Seven Shores Urban Market & Café:

Participants can purchase an organic, locally grown food boxs for $15, $25, $50 or create your own. The food boxes are a great opportunity to improve your diet with organic foods, and to support the local farm community.

To reserve a food box for the Annual Spring Cleanse, click this link to email Shawn.

Pick up for the food boxes will be Friday April 30th; Tuesday May 4th; Friday May 7th; Tuesday May 11th and Friday May 14th. To learn more about the organic food box program visit http://www.sevenshorestrading.com.

In Sum, Cleansing…

• Improves energy level
• Helps us to cope with stress Improves recovery time after strenuous exercise
• Improves physical performance and stamina
• Removes impurities from the body for improved health and better absorption of nutrients
• Strengthens the immune system
• Helps prevent degenerative diseases
• Improves bone strength
• Improves the production of collagen for joints and ligaments
• Improves memory, concentration and focus
• Promotes weight loss
• Is for anyone who wishes to look and feel young and healthy

In health,

Vibrant Living – Robin Walsh, ND & Kristijana Rakic, ND
Moksha Yoga Waterloo
Seven Shores Urban Market and Café

Jamie Oliver is also doing a TV series called Jamie Oliver Food Revolution where he is going into school and restructuring the cafeteria food and educating kids on healthy eating.

Here is the link to the YouTube video…

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

http://lose-weight-waterloo.com

PS — our 2FOR1 special is on until January 31st, so if you are thinking of signing up, bring a loved one along with you for FREE! The weekend is reimbursable under most extended healthcare plans.

Lose Weight, Feel Great & Prevent Disease. Kick Off 2010 The Right Way With A Transformation Weekend, All About YOU and YOUR Health!

Have you ever set New Years resolution goals, and broken them before the end of January? You are not ALONE. Statistics show that 60-70% of people will break their resolutions before March!!

STOP THIS CYCLE!

There is no faster way to commit to your lifestyle changes, then by immersing yourself in a weekend full of learning and motivational speakers. Most importantly, learn the psychology behind why you personally sabotage your health goals and learn how recognize this so you will never do it again!

Join Naturopathic Doctors, Kristijana Rakic, ND

And Robin Walsh, ND And Other Guest Speakers On

February 27-28, 2010 For A Motivational And Life

Changing Weekend That Will Inspire You To Make

Those Lasting Changes To Your Health.

What You Will Learn:

Part 1: How to sustain weight loss the healthy way.

Part 2: How to get more energy, focus and presence in your job and with your loved ones.

Part 3: To influence and impact your family and friends with the gift of health.

Part 4: How to become a better role model for your kids, leading by example.

Part 5: We give you tons of recipes to implement what your learn in a simple and quick manner.

Part 6: The tools and knowledge to prevent chonic disease.

As a thank-you for reading about our seminar, Robin and Kristijana have put together a Special Report. This report reveals the 10 secrets you must know to avoid putting on an extra 10lbs during the holidays.

There’s no catch, just quality information that you can be reading within minutes. All you have to do is enter your First Name and Primary Email address when you click this link, and the Special Report will be emailed to you within minutes. Once you claim your Special Report, we’ll give you even more information on the Health Transformation Weekend, including the line-up of amazing speakers, and outstanding bonuses!

So, here is what to look for…

Serving Size

On the nutritional facts, there will be a serving size listed. For cereal or grains it might say 1/2cup, for bars it might say 1. This is important to note, as most of the higher calorie items are 2 cookies, or 10chips.  This isn’t a lot of food for this many calories, which is why these foods must be limited. They are called empty calories, meaning they hold very little nutrition for their caloric punch

Fats

Fats are a very confusing topic for most people. I still get many people in my office that are afraid to eat things like nuts or avocado for fear of getting fat.

These good fats actually help your body to burn weight…not put it on.

The inflammatory or toxic fats are the ones we want to reduce, but we need to increase our consumption of the good fats.

Fats to Avoid – Many processed foods, will also contain processed fats. These are fats that help to add flavour and stabilize the shelf life of the food.  We want to avoid the following fats as much as possible – hydrogenated fats, partially hydrogenated fats. We want to greatly limit things like vegetable oil, corn oil or soybean oil as most of the time they are highly processed. So, if you see a product that claims to be high in fibre, but also has these fats in it…this is not something that you should be eating every day

Fats to include – things like nuts and seeds (except peanuts), avocado, olive oil, hemp seeds/oil, flax seeds/oil, olives, fish. These products contain the good fats, that will help us with cardiovascular function, weight loss and management, skin health, brain health and much more.

Sugar

Many of the processed foods will replace fats for sugar, or they add sugar to compensate for the increase in fibre (to still allow the product to taste great). White sugar is very inflammatory in the body and in increased quantities contributes to lowered immune system, weight gain and insulin resistance. When looking at a product it is important to make sure to look at the amount of sugar per serving as well as the type of sugar used.  Healthy products will use less than 9g of sugar per serving.

Healthy sugars to look for are things like brown rice syrup, agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, dates, dried fruit, organic cane sugar.

Sometimes when you look at some of the natural bars you will see that they have more sugar in them than 9g/serving.  If they are more, but they contain the natural sugars as oppose to white sugar, they are okay to consume. Lara bars are a good example of this

Sodium

Don’t be fooled…even some of the soups in the health food section of the grocery store contain more sodium than they should. Sodium in excess quantities can cause problems with water retention and blood pressure. It is advised to keep your daily sodium intake to 2400mg, with an individual product being around 200mg. Most of the convenience food like frozen dinners and packaged soups can contain up to 700-900mg of sodium per serving.  Therefore it is best to cook your own food, or make sure that what you are eating on a consistent basis is not too high in sodium.  Celtic sea salt is not processed, and the trace minerals are not stripped like in regular table salt. Therefore it does not have the same effect of blood pressure and water retention. If you are going to use salt, you can use sea salt sparingly, but also try to find other ways to spice your food like lemon juice or herbs.

Having the ability to be able to understand labels, will help keep you and your family healthy.

Dear Community Member;

Beginning Sunday May 3, 2009 you are invited to participate in a 14-day spring cleanse, involving a two week commitment to guided healthy eating and movement designed to detoxify the body.

Vibrant Living co-founders, Robin Walsh N.D. and Kristijana Rakic N.D., Moksha Yoga, and Seven Shores Urban Market & Café are bringing together their collective expertise to host the inaugural Annual Community Wide Spring Cleanse charity event.  The Annual Community Wide Spring Cleanse is designed to promote healthy eating, the importance of environmentally conscious living, the benefits of low impact exercise, and the value of community involvement.

Vibrant Living:

Prior to the kick-off date for the Annual Community Wide Spring Cleanse participants are encouraged to attend an hour-long information session.  Topics such as, the benefits of cleansing, how to best aid the body during the cleansing process, how to assist the body in daily detoxification, and how to limit exposure to both dietary and environmental toxins will be discussed.  Please join us for one of the following information sessions:

- Tuesday April 21, 2009 at 7:00pm Vibrant Living, 279 Weber St. N. Waterloo in the boardroom on the lower level.
- Saturday April 25, 2009 at 6:00pm Moksha Yoga Waterloo, 55 Erb St. E., Waterloo.

Upon registering by clicking here, participants will be provided with an information package, prepared by Robin Walsh N.D. and Kristijana Rakic N.D, which will explain the benefits of a dietary cleanse, and include a comprehensive meal plan, a list of health promoting foods to add to your diet, and a list of foods to avoid, as well as, a shopping list to help guide your choices.

Moksha Yoga:

To add the detoxification benefits of hot yoga to the Annual Spring Cleanse participants receive a complimentary hot yoga class designed to enhance the cleansing process.

The facilities at Moksha Yoga Waterloo have been built and are maintained with a commitment to ethical, compassionate, and environmentally conscious living. Visit http://wwww.mokshayogawaterloo.com to learn more about the health benefits of hot yoga and their commitment to environmentally conscious living.

Moksha is also doing a 15 day challenge between May 3rd and May 16th for only $70 for the duration of the 2 weeks! This is in addition to the ‘one free pass’.

Seven Shores Urban Market & Café:

Participants can purchase an organic, locally grown food box for $25. The food boxes are a great opportunity to improve your diet with organic foods, and to support the local farm community. To order a food box for the Annual Spring Cleanse, email Sean at sevenshores@hotmail.com by Monday May 4, 2009. To learn more about the organic food box program visit http://www.sevenshorestrading.com.

As a closing ceremony, and to celebrate the collective success of Annual Community Wide Spring Cleanse participants, a potluck lunch and park cleanup will be held at Waterloo Park West Side Picnic Shelter (Entrance is off Westmount Rd), Saturday May 17, 2009 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm. Biodegradable bags will be provided for the park cleanup.

Although all time and facilities for the Annual Community Wide Cleanse have been generously donated, we do encourage participants in the Annual Community Wide Cleanse to pay what they can to any event they participate in during the week long event.

In Sum, Cleansing…

• Improves energy level
• Helps us to cope with stress Improves recovery time after strenuous exercise
• Improves physical performance and stamina
• Removes impurities from the body for improved health and better absorption of nutrients
• Strengthens the immune system
• Helps prevent degenerative diseases
• Improves bone strength
• Improves the production of collagen for joints and ligaments
• Improves memory, concentration and focus
• Promotes weight loss
• Is for anyone who wishes to look and feel young and healthy

In health,

Vibrant Living – Robin Walsh, ND & Kristijana Rakic, ND
Moksha Yoga Waterloo
Seven Shores Urban Market and Café