I watched Guillermo del Toro’s masterpiece Frankenstein the last two nights. What struck me was one of the themes and how relevant it is to our daily lives. The created ‘monster’ was furious with his ‘father’ Victor for creating him once we realized he was indestructible. The cruelty of the world which he discovered quite quickly, existing in a human body, comes not only in the form of verbal insults and mockery, but also wounds in the from of direct hits from gunfire and bites from angry wolves. He can’t die therefore he must choose to fully live.

All of us existing are fully challenged to live in a human body. Our bodies start to give us more cause for concern as we grow older. I have a degenerative chronic illness MS. Despite all my positive intentions, knowledge on how to manage it with diet and lifestyle, knowing my thoughts create my reality, etcetera, I am still aware of my vulnerability. I have spiritual beliefs and believe I am an eternal being. I would like to realize my potential in this life.

I may not be indestructible like Frankenstein. but I am just as challenged to live fully in every moment as he was. I have fears about my future. I try to control my environment in every waking moment so I feel safer. I am ultra sensitive to my environment- weather, diet, people, traffic, moon cycles, solar flares- you name it, I feel it.

I think we should set our intention to fully experience every moment of our existence. Like the last frame of the movie, when we see Frankenstein walk into the sunlight, we must fully immerse ourselves in this thing called life. Focusing more on your senses can bring you more fully into the moment. What can you hear in each moment? What can you see, touch, feel in each moment?

Let your heart guide you. That is a most difficult thing in western culture. Letting go of all the programming we learned growing up, whether it be patterns of behavior we observed in our parents or internal voices that sabotage us in our daily lives. Let go of the mind and the memories that don’t serve you and focus on the heart and your compassion for your fellow man. Above all if we bring love and compassion into every moment, we are living lives of superheroes, not monsters.  

To book a session with me on Jane go to www.robinvinge.com. I am a registered naturopathic doctor practicing in Calgary on Jane doing telemedicine. Kind regards, Dr. Robin Vinge, ND

I listened to Dr. Greger’s webinar on October 11th on ‘How to get your LDL cholesterol as low as possible with diet’.

He recommended following the portfolio diet so I will mention the highlights in this post. You should eat 45 grams of nuts daily. The most helpful nuts include cashews, almonds and walnuts. A handful of nuts daily or 1/3 cup of nuts. Add to salads, cereal or yogurt. Have nut butter on toast. Have no more than 4 Brazil nuts/month to lower inflammation. (Not with pregnancy or breastfeeding.)

Have 50 grams of plant protein daily. Try replacing ground beef with hearty ground soy, lentils or tofu. Consume 3 servings of legumes per day. Try to consume black soybeans daily in the quantity of one tbsp.

Consume 20 grams of viscous fiber daily. Choose breads and cereals high in oats, barley, and or psyllium. Try 1 tbsp of psyllium husk powder with 8 oz H2O daily. Make sure bread is high in fiber- 2-4 gm per slice or 4-6 gram per cup of cereal.

Emphasize specific fruits like apples, oranges, berries, persimmons. Try to eat 2 apples daily. Emphasize vegetables such as okra and eggplant. It is recommended that you take in 3 tbsp ground flaxseed daily.

Take in 2 grams of phytosterols daily. They occur naturally in nuts, soybeans and peas. You can also supplement in fortified foods like spreads, juices or yogurts.

2 tbsp dried barberries/day found in persian spice stores.

There are a number of spices that can help lower cholesterol – 1/4 tsp turmeric daily, 1/4 garlic clove daily, 1/3 tsp ground savory daily.

Reference: Dr. Greger’s webinar on Lowering LDL cholesterol through Diet Oct. 11/2025

For more information on naturopathic medicine and how it may benefit you, come and see me online. I am a registered naturopathic doctor practicing on the Jane platform. Go to www.robinvinge.com then click on contact to be led to my Jane booking site. Be well!

 

I did some continuing education on migraines this week so thought I would pass on some recommendations. It is important to make sure you are well hydrated if you suffer from migraines, Sipping from a water bottle can be helpful. Add an electrolyte solution if it is particularly hot or you are sweating. It is important to prioritize sleep and rest if you are prone to migraines. Sleep in a cool dark room.n Sticking to a good sleep wake cycle can help establish beneficial circadian rhythms which help regulate your sleep.

Diet is incredibly important when you are treating migraines. Doing IgG testing to identify food sensitivities is a start. In terms of a migraine diet, it might be important to cut out high histamine foods like fermented foods (kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, etc.). High tyrosine foods might be cut out too such as aged cheeses, wine, etc. Nutrients like magnesium glycinate or magnesium threonate are particularly helpful to supplement along with riboflavin (B2). The goal is often to decrease the severity of the migraine then decrease the frequency of the migraine. 

In migraine, you may see a specific pattern or aura beforehand. You may suffer from nausea or vomiting alongside the headache. There is some relation to vasodilation or constriction of the arteries. There can be hormonal migraine patterns with estrogen dominance. Histamine can increase inflammation and estrogen can prevent the breakdown of histamine. Low progesterone can be related to inability to breakdown mast cells. Increased histamine can cause H2 receptors in the GI tract causing anxiety, fatigue and pain related to high mast cells. High salicylate foods, high tyramine foods and high histamine foods many need to be eliminated.

Doing Dutch hormone testing may help one discern if hormones are clouding the picture. As mentioned, estrogen promotes the release of histamine. You can look at the full load of hormones with Dutch testing including the PMS window leading up to the period. You can also look at estrogen metabolism for clues about estrogen breakdown and whether that may play a role in your migraines, If your 16-OH metabolite is high, you may not be clearing estrogen. You may need to methylate it out (provide help to move it through phase 2). You may have low serum estrogen with high metabolites. You may have rapid changes of estrogen levels in perimenopause affecting your migraine pattern. Look at testosterone, is testosterone being aromatized to estrogen?

How can your hormones be balanced and regulated? Working on liver function may play a role here.  I do a lot of liver drainage with patients that have high estrogen levels which can cause irritability along with migraines.

You may need to look at gut health, blood sugar, detoxification pathways, neurotransmitters, homeostasis pathways. Paint a solid picture of your migraine- before you get one, what did you eat, what time of the month is it, are you hydrated, are you sleeping?

Nutrients that may assist include Mg, B2, CoQ10. Diet may need to be followed for three weeks. Pull out nitrates, salicylates, high tyramine foods.

All these factors may help treat your migraines successfully. There are many homeopathic remedies that can offer symptomatic help for migraines such as belladonna, lachesis, natrum muriaticum, and calcarea carbonica. If you need more help with treating your migraines, please book an appointment with me. I am a registered naturopathic doctor in the province of Alberta. I am practicing on the Jane platform doing telemedicine. To book a session with me go to www.robinvinge.con then click on contact to be led to my Jane booking site.

Reference: Assessment and Approach to the Estrogen Dominant Female Allison Smith, ND

Estrogen Dominance: Signs and Symptoms. Rebecca Clemson, ND