We are bombarded with negative issues surrounding the state of the economy in corporate Calgary. On the other hand, there is some messaging around how the economy is turning around and that companies are hiring again. There is always contrast and focusing on a more positive stream of thoughts is necessary and helpful to maintaining a state of optimism in the space of negativity. I have been listening to the Hay House Summit which is online for free this weekend. At this summit are varied speakers with different educational backgrounds, all consistent with their messages of empowerment and positivity. I attended a summit in person in 2005 in Las Vegas put on by Hay House and loved it.

There are some helpful tips that I gleaned from listening to the summit that I thought I would pass on to others. Focusing on things that you appreciate and make you feel good is one way of maintaining optimism in the space of negativity. It is highly individual so what you can appreciate about your life is different from what your friend appreciates about their life. I appreciate the warmth of the sun after a long winter and seeing the blossoms on the trees. I appreciate how connected I feel to other people in my life and am loving my relationship with my family members. I appreciate how strong and stable I feel in my permanent remission from what was at one time active M.S.. I knew I could get here and it has been 10 years of feeling stable so I am grateful and appreciative of that.

I try to direct my conversations with others into areas in which they can appreciate themselves and see how far they have come in their journey of achieving better health. When I counsel others, I hold a space of unconditional love so they can truly come into all of who they are. You can always do that for others. If you focus on the positive aspects of another and where they are achieving better results and help reinforce that, that is being a good support for them. The answers largely exist inside of us. If we take the time to listen in, we may need some help in implementation or inspired action but trust yourself at the same time. You will get there if you stay focused on what you are wanting to achieve.

Meditation can definitely help your answers or solutions to come forward that you are seeking as can Emotional Freedom Technique. Spending 15 minutes in the morning focused on your breath before you start your day is a simple way of spending some quiet time listening. Consistent morning meditation also allows you to feel more clarity throughout the rest of the day and remember things that you need to do. It helps you feel more at peace and more balanced so anything that shows up that appears to be disruptive has less effect on your day and on your life. Remember that any negative emotion that you feel just means that you have forgotten who you truly are which is a powerful being of light and life force energy. Emotional freedom technique which is a tapping technique that is like acupuncture without the needles is a great technique to change your emotional state into a more positive one while lowering cortisol which is the ‘stress related hormone’ that can be disruptive to sleep and well being. To book an appointment to learn about meditation or emotional freedom technique, seek basic counsel or come in for a naturopathic assessment to improve your health, call Parallel Wellness at 4032321283.

 

I taught a one day workshop on Eating Well to Live in Balance with MS this past weekend in Calgary. I have been in stable remission for eight plus years, living with MS, which I believe I have had since I was 21 years old (I only know this in hindsight). What I have learned in my 25 years with a lot of help and resources from individuals coping with this disease, that it is possible to live in balance with this condition and actually thrive, despite having it. It has been my greatest teacher. If you read some of my earlier blogs when I was in the trenches of healing, it was a real challenge at the time, I had to battle a lot of things and faced some difficult and painful flares; but ultimately, I began to find myself… opening from within and starting to discover my true self

Because I am a naturopathic doctor and pride myself on walking my talk, I was able to live a long time with this condition and not know, that there was something wrong with me. It was only when I was training for my second marathon and carbo loaded with a lot of gluten that the symptoms appeared in a big way (I was 33 years old). Before this time, I had largely avoided wheat because I thought it gave me acne. I had unknowingly protected myself, by avoiding wheat for many years. There is now a known connection between autoimmune disease and gluten sensitivity because it triggers zonulin which opens the tight junctions in the intestines and thus contributes to intestinal permeability (one of the three factors that underlies autoimmune disease).

In this workshop, I discussed the importance of limiting saturated fat consumption to less than 20 grams, even better if it is kept under 15 or 10 grams per day. We can thank the brilliant Dr. Swank for discovering one of the most important factors to help us stay healthy and limit progressive decline. This was one factor that I was not always 100% perfect with in my past. I did not realize that having one single meal over the saturated fat limit could set me back. Now that I know that, I am much more confident in maintaining control over my health. Before I used to have a ‘rich’ meal out on special occasions. The last one that I remember coincided with a flare, unfortunately. I remember feeling particularly happy that weekend. I had gone to Radium hot springs with my boyfriend and another couple. We had a great time. I even sat in the hot pools with little after effect of the submersion. I went for a fatty brunch on the last day and ate sausage and greasy eggs. I think I even consumed a gluten wrap the day before. Three days later, I began to feel poorly and had a bad flare.Now that I realize I can not even eat one meal too rich in saturated fat, I am feeling stable and back to my healthy self.

Another thing I taught this weekend, was besides avoiding gluten and dairy (which again trigger zonulin and contribute to permeability in your gut), was the importance of avoiding sugar. I have craved fats not sugars, so this is one vice that is not hard to avoid now. There was a time when I ate a lot more sugar and that was in university. I am sure that consuming more sugar contributed to my intestinal permeability, as well. Interestingly enough, the microbiome of patients that have MS, has shown a preference for fostering bacteria that digest sugar. This is not a good thing and is another reason to avoid sugar at all costs. It will help your MS if you completely avoid sugar. Bacteria that produce inflammatory compounds and contribute to immune dysregulation have also been shown to be present in the microbiome of MS patients.

Probiotic bacteria are known to induce immunomodulating activity in the gut and help regulate inflammation. Probiotics help increase production of butyrate, an anti-inflammatory substance. T regulatory cells induced in the gut may suppress inflammatory conditions. Lactobacillus paracasei and lactobacillus plantarum induce T regulatory cells.  Probiotic bacteria may help in the treatment of MS. Some strains may be more helpful than others and there is much more research to be done.

Reference: www.imsms.org

 

A

I just read the Autoimmune Fix by Tom O’Bryan, DC, CCN, DACBN. Seeing as I have lived and dealt with an autoimmune disease for a long time, I have read a lot of books on the subject. This one is my favorite because of its thoroughness especially with regards to the autoimmune spectrum he covers and a comprehensive view on prevention and treatment of autoimmunity. He writes how the microbiome is the control center of your body. It is linked to influencing genetic expression and brain chemistry, regulating metabolism and blood sugar, and manufacturing vitamins (just to name a few jobs it is responsible for). The composition can shape a healthy immune response or predispose you to disease. There were over 5,000 pages published on the microbiome since 2015 so this is a hot topic in science right now.

He agrees with the view that there must be three factors present for an autoimmune disease to develop: genetic susceptibility, environmental triggers, and a loss of intestinal barrier function. It is a failure of the microbiome allowing bad bacteria, yeast, parasites, and viruses across the gut wall to activate genes that increase inflammation or dealing with the toxins that come from their inherent presence. Why does it fail? Because of repeated ingestion of foods that are difficult to digest (gluten, casein, corn, etc.), chronic dysbiosis due to insufficient numbers of good bacteria, ingestion of substances that disturb or destroy the microbiome (medications, antibiotics, processed food, sugar, alcohol, etc.) and failure to eat a diet that supports the microbiome best.

He talks about choosing supportive foods for a healthy microbiome such as foods high in polyphenols (brightly colored fruits and veggies, green tea, cocoa), the right carbohydrates (whole grains vs white flour, sugar, white rice, fried foods, etc.), eating grass fed meats and healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, coconut oil), raw nuts and seeds, wild fish, free range poultry, the importance of eating fermented foods (kefir, kimchi, kombucha, raw sauerkraut, etc.), prebiotics ingestion (inulin, asparagus, artichokes, cabbage) and probiotic ingestion (cultured yogurt) and supplements of the same if necessary.

Modifying other risk factors like reducing exposure to environmental toxins (choosing healthy sources of personal body care items, sunscreens, hair care, etc.), buying organic especially of the dirty dozen, limiting use of herbicides, pesticides, personal cleaning items, watching or dealing with exposure to heavy metals and other toxins (dental amalgams-mercury, paint-lead, PCB’s, BPA, etc.) are also covered in this book. This is just a brief snapshot of what he covers in his book. I highly recommend you pick up this book that is well written and has extensive resources to support you in your health care journey.

Reference: The Autoimmune Fix- Tom O’Bryan, DC, CCN, DACBN Rodale Inc.

PS I have been in stable remission for 8 + years with M.S. since I healed on a deep level. To book an appointment, call Parallel Wellness 4032321283