Staying Healthy in the Winter Months

With the stress and sugary treats over the holidays (hopefully) behind us, it’s time again to start thinking about staying healthy.

Our immune system is dependent on sleep, and regulated hormone patterns in order to stay healthy. During the day, our bodies secrete a hormone called cortisol, a hormone that helps us metabolize carbohydrates, fats and protein to give us energy throughout the day.

Cortisol is not a bad hormone, however, excessive release of cortisol is when we run in to health problems. By night time, cortisol levels decrease while growth hormone and the well-known sleep hormone, melatonin, prevail during the night. Growth hormone and melatonin are important in regulating sleep and rejuvenating the immune system, and regenerating the body for the next day. When our bodies are over-stressed and in overdrive, cortisol is continually secreted at high levels, even at night, preventing the secretion of growth hormone and melatonin.

Excessive sugar consumption (especially at night) can also cause unwanted stimulation of cortisol. As a result our sleep is hindered, our immune systems are weak and our susceptibility to catching colds and flus is sky-high. Too much cortisol excretion can also lead to adrenal gland exhaustion, a point where the adrenal glands can no longer produce adequate amounts of cortisol, as well as adrenaline, to keep us energetic throughout the day. That in itself can cause a whole series of problems on the body!

Thinking long-term, imbalanced cortisol levels can have extremely negative effects on the body, leading to conditions such as, increased abdominal obesity, poor sleep, extreme lack of energy and diseases like Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. So how do we keep our bodies nice and healthy? Keep the adrenal glands (and therefore cortisol) balanced and healthy!!

1) Take time to relax! The stresses of daily life can make us to forget to sit down and breath. Even taking 30 minutes before bed to relax, breathe and sip on a nice cup of relaxing tea can help bring those cortisol levels down and prepare your body for a restful sleep.

2) Get a good night’s rest! As mentioned before, sleep is the time where your body repairs and rejuvenates itself for the upcoming day. Getting at least 8 hours of sleep will do wonders for your energy levels and immune system.

3) Keep those intestines healthy! Supplementing with a good quality probiotic will boost your immune system and help you digest and assimilate food.

4) Keep the sugar to a minimum Try saving treats (and drinks) for special occasions only. This will take much will power but the reward in the end is worth it!

5) Know your ABCDE (Zn) Vitamins C, A and E and Zinc are nature’s antioxidants, perfect for boosting the immune system. You can buy a combination formula of ACES + Zn from your local health food store. B vitamins help manage your cortisol levels by calming the nervous system and reducing stressful reactions. Vitamin C in particular helps our adrenal glands (our stress organ) cope with stressful situations more effectively, and is also great for boosting our immune systems.

As you can tell, cortisol is a hormone that greatly impacts our health. If you experience fatigue, poor sleep patterns, anxiety, weight gain, or know that your health isn’t where it should be, I recommend getting your cortisol levels tested to see if specific interventions (the natural way!) should be considered. Many naturopathic doctors offer these tests through their clinics so please contact your local naturopath to see if you qualify for testing. Here’s to a Healthy Winter!

Written By Dr. Tanya Lee, BSc (Hons), N.D. 

Dr. Tanya Lee is a naturopathic doctor currently practicing at The Health Centre of Milton.. Dr. Lee was drawn to the naturopathic profession for its core beliefs in treating the whole person. She practices general medicine, with a special interest in children’s health, women’s health and pregnancy. For more information on Dr. Lee and her practice, please visit, www.tanyaleend.com. 

Momstown Milton Mom's Night Out: Food Sensitivities Education

momstown Milton moms got a special treat as part of the Biggest Loser Challenge (bi-weekly expert speaker series) on Monday January 28, 2013. We headed over to Sam Kassam-Macfie's house, our momstown Milton owner, for a unique education from Kristen Owens, Registered Holistic Nutritionist & BioEnergetic Practitioner.

 

Kristen explained to us that what we were about to learn in our session was very different from what we would be told in a traditional doctor's office, for example; as science cannot validate the holistic practice, similar to the practice of acupuncture which science cannot validate. We were advised upfront that Kristen's role is not to treat, cure or heal. The focus is on balancing our body's energies.



We hear a lot about food sensitivities these days and we've often said to each other during casual conversations that when we were growing up, we didn't worry about food allergies. It wouldn't even cross our minds. Our moms would pack a peanut butter sandwich lunch for us and we all thought nothing of it. With the increase of the prevalence of food allergies, we've become much more aware and with that comes our need for understanding.

There are many factors that can trigger sensitivities such as emotional; environmental; food intake etc. To show us how Kristen would determine what intolerance's we had based on our body's individual energy, we took turns going up to her and working through establishing our body's energy flow. It is important, Kristen cautioned us, that we have the right energy flow so that the testing is accurate.

For instance, supposing you had symptoms of cramping, bloating and diarrhea - Kristen would pull out various vials (representing energy in everything from: dairy, amino acids, and even including mould and dust!) to test your body's energy field.  Some of our mamas (and a cute true tidbit here: in a room of 11 ladies, we had three Kristens!) loved apples and so Kristen tested their body's energy field for their response to apples. Some were pleasantly surprised to learn that their "apple a day" consumption was A-OK by their body's energies and others were surprised to learn that apples were in fact not resonating with their body's energy. Thus, a "clearing" would be necessary to send the energy frequency back into the right flow.

 

Kristen was careful to tell us that she is not diagnosing any medical conditions and encourages people to continue working with their medical doctors. The goal of what she's doing is to balance the body. If the body is imbalanced in its frequencies, then it can contribute to imbalance in the body. Amino acids intolerance can create symptoms such as: increased weight gain; difficulty with losing weight; weakened muscle strength; increased sighing and yawning; decreased libido; among others.

All in all, we learned about bringing the body back to balance. And even once we undergo a holistic "clearing", our physical body wouldn't necessarily respond right away so we could potentially still test as allergic and/or intolerant under traditional medical testing. An initial consultation with Kristen could be 1/2 hour to 1 1/2 hours in length and the clearings could be anywhere from 1 - 4 sessions.

As an exclusive to momstown Milton members, Kristen is offering 10% off bookings made for her services within the next 2 weeks. 

Are you a mama who could use a Moms Night Out? Register here for your FREE 6 week trial.



Written by Liz Marques Kogan. A momstown Milton member and mother of 2 girls. You can check out her blog at orchidaforever.blogspot.ca

Does My Child's Behaviour Reflect on Me?

Does the child's behaviour reflect on the parents?  As I peeled my 2-year-old son off of the floor to talk him through his third tantrum of the day, and filed his tenth incident report from his daycare,  I thought to myself, "I certainly hope not". 

I admit it.  I'm not a disciplinarian.  Whenever, I reprimand my son, or do the dreaded count to three, I feel like an impostor.  I read Dr. Karp's, "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" and I'm trying his techniques with limited success.  I've attended workshops, discussion groups, and I've tried several different strategies, all with the same result- sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. 

When I watch other mom's disciplining their children, they appear to know exactly what they are doing, and their children seem to respond.  I must be missing something. 

My hope is that it will suddenly all just click.  All the workshops that I've attended, and the books that I've read will kick in, and I'll be able to negotiate these situations like a pro.  My son will get a little older, will be able to communicate better, and will turn into the little angel that I know he can be. 

In the meantime, don't judge me too harshly if you see me dragging my kicking and screaming toddler out of the supermarket...I'm trying my best. Join in on this discussion on our momstown Milton Message Board and see what our mamas are saying about this topic.

This post is written by Karen Bivand, a momstown Milton member who has a 22 month old son, Eric.

(Photo From: Clare Bloomfield/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Having a Bad Day!

It's not very often that you would ever hear me say that "I'm having a Bad Day". Not because I don't have them, because I sure do but I was always taught to put on a happy face and I really don't run into a lot of things consecutively that I can't handle. Well this past Saturday, was one of the most trying days I've had in a very long time.

It all started off with my phone being turned off and discovering that I had 10 voice mails and 7 texts about an event that was taking place that morning at 9am. I didn't even realize that I had the calls until 9:50am! As I was on the phone trying to figure out what went wrong and do some damage control, my darling little attention seeker decided to dump the blue bin in our kitchen. I was not aware that my hubby had emptied out our shredder the night before so you can imagine my surprise when I walked into the kitchen to this mess! I took a couple of breathes and laughed it off, grabbing my camera and taking some pics- couldn't resist and it put me in a better mood.




While I was cleaning up the kitchen, I had sent Jaxon into the family room to play so that he would be out of my way. Bad idea. He came running into the kitchen pants and diaper removed yelling "poop mommy poop!" Oh my! Took another breathe and ushered him into the bathroom to wash him up. I put him down beside me to wash my hands and the next thing I hear is "uh oh". You've got to be kidding me. Not even a a foot away from the potty yet he decides to pee all over the side of the counter and on the floor. Great - Breath in, Breath out. Ok, run to the kitchen to get the my tough and tender spray from under the sink and of course I return to the bathroom to a not so "helping hand" with my son pulling at the roll of toilet paper, dabbing at the puddle and dumping the wads of paper in the toilet. Found the bright side by reminding myself that he was only trying to help and was taking responsibility for his actions by cleaning up. Gave a quick prayer to the porcelain gods - please don't clog toilet, please don't clog! Flush - phew... all is good.



Time to get out of the house. Being a member of momstown Milton has it's perks since it's pretty easy for anyone to pick up the phone and get in touch with at least a dozen moms that you can lean on for support pretty much whenever needed. Trying to get Jaxon out of the house was a challenge. Struggles to get his wet clothes off and into dry ones, a battle on getting his coat and shoes on and a full on tantrum from not wanting to be put in the car seat. I checked my watch thinking that I could justify his behaviour to being close to nap time - not a chance. It was only 10:45am! It's going to be a very long day!

Picked up a pizza on my way since I knew I would need at least an hour of venting to feel any better about my day. Pulled into our destination and realized that I had left the sippy cup on the driveway at our house and that the marinara dipping sauce had fallen down the side of the seat by the door. Opened the door very slowly and was able to catch the container before it splattered. Things were already turning around. Got inside. plopped Jaxon down with the the other kids around the trains and was offered caffeine right away! Thank goodness for mamas that know what to do in a melt down situation. Got the listening ears that I needed and felt so much better once I let it all out. Being a part of momstown has allowed me to let down my guard, share my REAL feelings and not be afraid to be judged for not being the perfect mom 24-7. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm having a bad day any longer.

Caged Babies: Saving our Sanity

My oh my how things have changed. Its a shame they don't sell these anymore. It is multifunctional too! Comes with curtains for a breezy sleep nook! Remove the padding and no need for diapers or bibs! Oh how well people had it back then! I'm kidding... I think I am anyways. If it's not a window cage its something else. A playpen, a gated room, a locked closet (wait what?). These are all techniques us moms introduce to maintain our sanity. Some nights (last night for me) we get very little sleep. Our babies have their own schedule and for the first little while we follow it whether we like it or not. Even if it means party time at 4am. So to get that extra dose of morning caffeine, or even a little shut eye, we have to find little tricks to save our sanity.

But I also need my sleep. I need to shower. I need to do laundry. I need to eat. I struggle to find time for myself.




I've been creative with media to help with tummy time. My baby hates tummy time. He has hated Tummy Time since day 1. I used to prop him up a little with a rolled up towel but he is now long past that. Since he has figured out how to roll from tummy to his back Tummy Time has been an even bigger challenge. He lasts about 10 second on his front until he decides to roll over. This shouldn't be a big deal for most moms but it is for me. He has some issues on one side of his neck and shoulders causing him to always turn to that side (another breastfeeding challenge). This was likely caused by high forcep delivery when he was yanked from me in the most aggressive way possible. His pediatrician said that more tummy time can help balance this out. So how do I get him to stay on his tummy? Baby Einstein of course! I've tried throwing toys and books on the floor infront of him but he's just not interested yet.




It is very important to have these methods or you end up doing stupid things. Take the picture below for example:



This is our Diaper Genie. Full of dirty diapers and last nights explosion perched on top. The blue bag hangs down with that oh so important knot tied at the bottom. Well guess what I forgot to do last time I changed the Diaper Genie. Tie a freaking knot. So this mess is what I blindly stuck my hand into this morning when I went to change the bag. Delightful. I was in such denial I called my husband and asked if he changed the bag last. I was thinking I could not have done such a thing! I did. He hasn't ever changed it and doesn't even know how it opens. I had to accept the facts: I'm an idiot. Apparently I need to cage my baby more often. A sane mom is a happy mom, and a happy mom has a happy baby!

This blog was written by member Sarah Smith. She's a first time mom weeding through the ins and outs of mommy hood.