Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Aged Garlic Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Garlic is a nutrient that as a supplement or even spicy food enhancer can be found everywhere. The benefits of using garlic as either a supplement or even just as a spice to add to our food are numerous. …
PRIMARY FOOD, LIFESTYLE AND OUR HEALTH~HEALTH By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT HEALTH seems like a no brainer when discussing wellness and lifestyle. However, what does it really mean? Let’s break this down and I’ll go over what this means to me as it …
From a Naturopath Point of View Part 5
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
You may have heard the saying that sleep and a good healthy diet are both the base of the pyramid of health. As a Naturopath I agree with this concept 100%! But while I agree it is important I understand that the practicality of “healthy diet and proper rest” can be confusing. Let’s start with sleep, shall we?
Why is sleep so important to our overall health? Well inadequate sleep has been found to affect our overall heart health. Those who don’t get enough sleep have a higher risk of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and even obesity. Studies have also found that not getting enough sleep can affect our metabolism and even hormones such as insulin, ghrelin and leptin. Additionally those who aren’t getting enough sleep are more likely to get colds and other infections. Lastly memory and brain health can be affected. (1) These are just the most common reasons that sleep is important for our overall health.
How do you know if you’re getting enough sleep? How do you know if you are getting good quality sleep? Remember it’s not just how much sleep that matters but the quality of sleep also matters. In my clinical experience I have found that the following questions can help determine if you’re getting enough, good quality sleep. To start do you have trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep? Do you wake up feeling energized or do you feel like you “need more sleep” to fee refreshed? I have found that the answers to these questions can help determine if your sleep is both adequate in quantity and quality. Please see the attached source to help determine how many hours of sleep are best for your age, https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep/how-much-sleep ! (2) For more information on sleep please check out Allie Might’s blog Are you getting enough sleep part 1.
The other part of the health equation is nutrition. This is where it can get tricky. A healthy diet can look different for everyone. For some people it can be the well-known Mediterranean diet. For others it means a vegetarian diet fits their goals better. As a Naturopath I will say that while there is no “one diet” there are some things that are important to incorporate into any healthy eating plan. These of course include vegetables, some fruit, protein and healthy fats. A healthy diet will also limit processed foods as well as added sugar. I always say the closer your food is to its original form the less processed it tends to be. What are some signs that your current eating plain is working well for you? When you are eating nutritious foods you will sleep well and have good energy. You will also find that your digestive system is working well. For example you will not have any constipation, gas, diarrhea or even bloating. You will also be less likely to get sick. If you’re eating plan is working well you will find it relatively easy to maintain a healthy weight. Your mood and even focus will be improved. Lastly, if your eating plan is working for you it will show in your annual blood tests. (3)
What are some ways to help improve sleep and nutrition?
I hope you enjoyed this Naturopathic view of different health topics. Our next topic will be focused on an important topic, our liver and kidney health.
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From a Naturopathic Point of View Part 4 Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND The importance of western and holistic medicine working together! One of the key pathways to helping people become healthy is learning how to balance both western and holistic medicine. These 2 ways …
Krill Oil vs Fish Oil Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND One of the most confusing topic’s in the vitamin world is the difference between krill oil and fish oil. I get asked pretty much all the time what exactly is the difference between the 2. …
From A Naturopaths Point of View Part 3
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Self-diagnosis?
One of the most integral parts of a consult with an Invite nutritionist t is knowing exactly what is going on in your body. In other words it’s important to see a doctor, get appropriate tests and finally receive an official diagnosis. However in this day and age medical information is all over the internet. There’s WebMD, Wikipedia and even google itself! The problem with all this easy to access information is that very often people will use this to self-diagnose rather than go to the doctor and receive the tests they need that can help to determine what the diagnosis actually is. This can be a huge problem for a number of reasons.
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? When we say self-diagnose we refer to the process of diagnosing or identifying a medical condition yourself without a doctor. This is a very bad idea for a number of reasons. Very often a self-diagnosis is wrong. What this means is that when you call you can not only receive wrong advice but cause a delay in getting the actual advice that would help you. (1) This is especially true in cases where your symptoms are not unique and can be a symptoms of many different diagnosis. For example fatigue is such a common symptom that it’s almost impossible to form a diagnosis just based on it!
In some case’s delaying proper treatment can be annoying. For example if you have a misdiagnosed rash it can be annoying but not necessarily life threating. In other case’s delaying proper treatment CAN be dangerous and even life threating. For example you may self-diagnosis panic disorder but actually have a problem with your heart that needs immediate treatment! (1) A personal experience that I can mention is as following. An induvial called Invite for a consult and I responded. They had self-diagnosed as having depression. I advised them to go to a doctor and get appropriate testing done. Well it turns out they had extremely high blood sugar and needed medication to control their diabetes. If I had just recommended things for depression they could have become very ill due to the high blood sugar! This was a prime example of just why a self-diagnose is so dangerous since uncontrolled diabetes can have very severe complications!
Additionally there are often things that we don’t notice about ourselves. It is common for people who diagnose themselves to overlook key symptoms. In some case’s an induvial may miss signs of depression and think they have anxiety. (1) Anther example is when someone who is suffering from dementia thinks that they have depression.
Another concern is the actual websites themselves. In fact search engines often bring up either the most severe ailment possible or the most common. Just because a diagnosis is common doesn’t mean it is correct for you! (1)
So what do I think about self-diagnose as a Naturopathic doctor? Well I think it can be a great idea to get a list of your symptoms ready so when you go to see your doctor you are ready. That being said overall I don’t think that to self-diagnose is a good idea nor do I encourage it. Remember that knowledge is power and knowing exactly what is wrong can help us and your doctor help you!
So what are some things that are good for our overall health?
Our product highlight will be talking about the difference between Krill and Fish Oil. I hope to answer any questions you may have on these fantastic nutrients.
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