GMOs so what?

What is the big deal?  Animal studies and the experience of farmers feeding GMO grains to their animals has given us more than enough reason to be concerned about Genetically Modified Organisms in our food.  Farmers have seen their pigs become completely infertile after a switch to GMO feed, people have been made sick by GMO foods, most industrialized countries have banned or labeled GMO foods to protect their citizens from their unknown effects.  They are watching and waiting to see what happens to America's children before they allow themselves to be guinea pigs.  We do not have any idea the long-term effects on the health of people, animals, ecosystems, and our agricultural system, from the use of GMO's.  Adequate research was not required before they went into wide scale use, but the effects we have seen so far are reason for concern.  This is why there are efforts all over the country to label foods with GMO ingredients.  We get to know how much fat, cholesterol, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup are in our foods, why not GMO's?  As my sister says follow the money.  The companies manufacturing GMO foods, and profiting from their sales are pumping millions into lobbying and advertising to convince us that there is no difference for our health between GMO food and non-GMO food.  If there isn't any difference then what are they afraid of?  Take some of that money and fund some studies by unbiased parties to show that GMO foods have no negative side effects…  That’s not what is happening.  Instead these companies are dumping billions into fighting labeling with legislation like H.R. 4432.  More on that in another post.

For more information about GMO's please go to Jefrey Smith's website Seeds of Deception.com

For information on how to tell which foods have GMO ingredients get the non-GMO shopping guide here.

Discounted Reiki Sessions with Lyn Byars

I am very pleased to announce that Lyn Byars has offered discounted Reiki sessions for all of my patients!  As you may know Lyn is a Reiki master, and recently started practicing here at my office.  I can tell you from my own first hand experience as well as that of my patients that he has a gift for this type of healing and has helped people make some wonderful healing discoveries, and find better emotional and physical health.  Lyn is graciously offering an incentive for you to add Reiki to your healthy living plan at an incredibly affordable rate, just $60 per session!  For more information on Reiki go to http://www.reiki.org.  To schedule a session call Lyn at 970 948 8228.

Local herbal medicine and skin care CSA

My friends Dawne Vrabel and Stephanie Syson have teamed up to offer a fabulous opportunity for you to incorporate products lovingly made from local organic and biodynamically grown herbs into your health and beauty routine.  They have both been growing herbs and hand crafting medicines and skin care products for years and now they are sharing them with the community through a CSA.  It is a great concept.  You sign up for $200 for the year, and receive 4 boxes, each with 5 different medicinal and skin care products.  Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, you can enjoy fresh local products prepared with love and wisdom to nourish yourself and your family.  Please go to their website www.DynamicRoots.com.

Free intro session for upcoming nutrition & cleanse classes

I am very excited about 2 classes I will be teaching in May 2014.  One is my detoxification/cleanse workshop which runs 6 weeks where we go through an elimination and challenge diet to identify food sensitivities and learn all about the things that make us fat- inflammatory foods, and the things that don't- BACON woohoo!  Read More...

I also have a class on the CMC continuing education schedule titled "Finding Your Best Diet".  This will be a 13 week course on diets from the common to not so common, and the good, bad, and ugly about them from my perspective.  It should be VERY informative and is suitable for those who just want to find their own best diet as well as those who teach others about diet and would like to learn my perspective as a Naturopathic Doctor. Read More...

I will be holding a FREE intro session for both classes on Thursday May 1st 4-5pm at my office.  Please stop by, check in, and see if one of these classes is right for you!

CMC Class!

I am so very excited to partner with CMC to offer a class on diet and nutrition.  This class titled Finding your Best Diet, will begin Tuesday May 13th 5pm at the Carbondale CMC campus.  It is a 13 week exploration of common and not so common diet plans with in depth discussions of their pros and cons from my prospective as an expert in clinical nutrition.  I work with people on diet changes every day, not just for weight loss, but also to support fertility, skin conditions, gastrointestinal problems, arthritis, mood, growth and development, detoxification, and scores of other problems.  Most of our information on diet comes from the media, and is not scientifically based.  Please join me in a journey to uncover the truth about how what you eat impacts your health, and find your best diet.  Free preview class May 1st.  For more information and a syllabus click here.

Vaccination During Pregnancy: Is It Safe?

Click HERE for a link to a well-referenced article on the National Vaccine Information Center Website on safety data- or lack of- on vaccines in pregnancy.   The US ranks 50th in maternal mortality in the world- meaning mothers in 49 other countries are more likely to survive pregnancy and birth than US mothers.  Maternal mortality in the US is double what it was 30 years ago.  In the US we also have the highest infant mortality rate in the first day of life of all industrialized countries.  We rank 31st out of all countries in the world in infant mortality.  These sobering statistics warrant a good hard look at our standards of care and how they differ from other countries whose children and mothers have a better chance of survival. 

Risk Calculator for Cholesterol and Heart Disease found to be Flawed

 

Here is a link to a NY Times Article on a new risk calculator which if used could double the number of people with statin prescriptions.  No surprise...  Especially since cholesterol levels have never had a scientifically proven causal relationship to heart disease risk.  Nice to see that a paper did get published in the Lancet showing that this latest "tool" to help doctors determine who should be on statin drugs tends to overestimate risk, and lead to recommendations that people without risk factors be placed on statin therapy.  In case you didn't know pharmaceutical companies fund this well respected medical journal and papers which could damage drug company profits are rarely published.  Spending on cholesterol lowering drugs was $19 billion in 2010, and if this new calculator comes into widespread use the number of people receiving statin prescriptions could double.  As my sister says… follow the money.  

 

Free Class-Weight Loss from a Naturopathic Perspective, and Introduction to Dr. Powell's Cleanse Class

Trained in both conventional and alternative medicine, Dr. Powell brings a completely different perspective to healthy weight management by identifying and treating the underlying causes of your weight loss challenges.  Dr. Powell will explain how small metabolic imbalances, which your regular doctor may not consider significant, can have serious impacts on your energy, metabolism, and weight.  Learn how your brain chemistry is affected by the foods you choose to eat.  Learn how toxins in your environment cause you to gain weight.  This is health and nutrition from a Holistic perspective, Naturopathic Medicine treats the whole person, physical, mental, and emotional.  Learn how underlying emotional issues affect weight loss.  Then learn what you can do about all of these challenges, and the tools that a Naturopathic Doctor has to help you change these factors, making way for a healthier, happier you.  This class will also include an introduction to Dr Powell’s 6 week cleanse, food sensitivity detoxification and weight loss program which begins May 9th.

Carbondale Office Grand Opening!

I am so happy to announce the Grand Opening of my Carbondale office!  Please join myself and Lyn Byars to celebrate on Wednesday February 19th from 5pm-9pm.  There will be fabulous coffee from Rock Canyon Coffee, gluten free treats from Mama Bear Organics, other happy hour appropriate food and drink, live music, free Reiki sessions, and much more!  Please invite your friends and family and stop by to help us celebrate!  

1101 Village Road LL1B- on Buggy Circle across from the saw studio.

Gran Opening flyer 1101.jpg

Fathers Diet important in conception

It was nice to see some research done on the effects of a fathers diet on conception.  This was a rat study looking at folic acid levels in fathers and birth defect rates in offspring.  The less folic acid in the father’s diets, the more birth defects.  Paternal diet and health is very important in conception and health of children.  I will caution as always however not to supplement with high levels of folic acid unless you know your genetic MTHFR status.  Folic acid may be dangerous for some people with certain differences in this gene.  A simple blood test can tell you if folic acid is safe for you or if you need a pre-methylated form of the vitamin to improve you detoxification processes, and prevent many common diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and depression.

Click here for the full text of the article

Click here for more information on MTHFR testing