Some of Our Favourite Things
A few of our practitioners would like to share some of their favourite things that they are currently enjoying. Hopefully one or two of these items might inspire or encourage you to try something new or simply make your life a little easier.
ANDREA WINGRAVE
Book:
Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz: I’m big on gut health and I believe we should all be consuming healthy bacteria on a daily basis. I don’t eat dairy products so need to get it another way. At first I thought it was enough to just eat store-bought pickled sauerkraut but I soon learned that pickling kills all the good bacteria. So I decided to learn how to ferment vegetables myself. A friend leant me this book and I’m excited to learn all about the subject.
Activity:
Running stairs I met a group of women who like to run stairs. At first I wasn’t sure about it but I soon learned to love it. At 6 AM, the only sounds are the birds, squirrels, the gentle breeze rustling the leaves and your heart trying to bust out of your rib cage. After an hour of this, you feel amazing! The secret is to force yourself to breathe when your natural inclination is to hold your breath while you skip up a few stairs. Keep looking straight ahead instead of up at the expanse of stairs looming above. Trust that your feet will find the steps as you tip toe down the stairs to start again.
App:
Flo Since having kids, my menstrual cycle has been all over the map. Clearly I need some acupuncture to even things out. In the meantime, I’ve been keeping track of my cycle with this great mobile app called Flo. It is very easy to use and it is free! I always ask my female patients what day of their cycle they are on and many are not able to tell me. Keeping track on an app like this is an excellent way to discover trends in your cycle and it could help your health care provider council or treat you better.
Dr. MANISHA SHARMA
Websites:
The Chalkboard Magazine: This site was originally launched by Pressed Juicery (you may have seen their juices at Costco). It serves as an overall guide to living a wellness oriented life and has articles on nutrition, fitness, beauty, avoiding toxicants, and much more.
The Environmental Working Group: I tell so many of my patients about this site! It is such an incredible resource for learning how to avoid toxicants and lowering your body burden. Some of my favourite parts are their Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, which tells you which produce is most contaminated with pesticides, and their Skin Deep Database, which can help you pick cleaner hygiene products.
Books:
One Simple Change: Surprisingly Easy Ways to Transform Your Life by Dr. Winnie Abramson, ND: This book outlines 50 simple changes that you can make that make a noticeable positive impact on your health. It makes these changes seem a lot less daunting, as it is written in such an approachable way.
Clean, Green & Lean: Get Rid of the Toxins That Make You Fat by Dr. Walter Crinnion, ND: This book outlines exposures to different toxicants in our diet, home, and environment that can have severe impacts on our health. This easy to read book arms you with the knowledge you need to make simple changes that lower your toxic burden.
Apps:
Calm This app helped me get into meditation, which can seem daunting when you’re just starting out. Meditation can be amazing whether you are addressing insomnia, anxiety, stress, or just want to find a way to ground yourself. Since the app is free, it’s a nice way to try meditation on for size!
f.lux Studies suggest that blue light from cellphones, tablets, and laptops is a major sleep disturber. Ideally, we would all power down an hour or so before bed, but understandably, this can be tough. That’s why f.lux is one of my favourite apps – it automatically changes the display of your computer at night to reduce the amount of blue light it emits. If you have an iPhone, the latest software update has a new “Night Shift Mode” which does the same thing.