New Year's Day: The Healthy Hangover

We have all been there.  The music, the people, the oodles of alcohol.  There is the first shot, followed soon after by the fourth, and then the why is everything [insert name here] says so funny?  Somewhere in the mix you think 'Wow I really *am* such a confident person...and quite frankly...a brilliant dancer!'

...

And then the next morning.

The dry mouth, the pounding headache, and the need for a cheeseburger and fries.

Before you reach for any heart attack food, here are a few healthy alternatives that are *so* much better for you than a happy meal and a quad americano.

Your liver has been working overtime - from right around when you were busting your awkward dance moves to your comatose sleep - to get rid of the alcohol in your blood.  So we will need to support your weary liver by doing the following:

Dr. S's Healthy Hangover Tips

1. B Vitamins.

Since you prolly forgot to take it before you went to sleep, take them as soon as you get up.  B Vitamins help with the carbohydrate metabolism of alcohol, and will help dilate your blood vessels.  You will especially need B 6 and B12: B6 will help you to rehydrate your body, and B12 will help give you energy, dilate the blood vessels, and even metabolize any alcohol you still may have in your system.

You can take this in a multivitamin, or as I posted about here -  EBOOST.

2. Cysteine-Rich Foods

Say what?  Ya it's a weird name, I know.

Cysteine sounds positively boring but it does help the body detoxify, it also helps protect cells against free-radical damage, and get rid of the gunk floating around in your body





Foods with loads of Cysteine:

• Egg whites 
• Lentils
• Soy Protein
• Sesame Seeds
• Seaweed
• Spirulina
• Oats
• Quinoa

You can also get good amounts of cysteine from most animal products as well.

3. Water to Rehydrate

Make like a fish an drink water!!  Alcohol is a natural diuretic, which makes you urinate.  Beer is especially dehydrating.  Resist the urge to grab a coffee the next day - that will further dehydrate you.  A glass of water (with a squeeze of lemon ) is the first thing to reach for.

4. Minerals, Dear

When we become dehydrated, it is not just the water we need to replenish, it is the electrolytes, and minerals lost as well.  Foods rich in potassium (like bananas) are amazing for this as they are rich in potassium. 

If you are feeling a bit queasy the next morning, a banana shake with some Vega and Almond milk might just do the trick:

1 Banana
1/2 Cup of Almond Milk
1 Tbsp Almond Butter
1 Scoops of Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer (I love this shake with Vanilla Chai)
Some good quality honey
Blend. Eat.

--
So, on your first day of the new year make a healthier choice by reaching for either the Banana Shake above, or bowl of oatmeal, with some scrambled egg whites (cooked in coconut oil).  You will feel so much better. Trust.

Hopefully you will ring in the New Year with the people you love and start your year off right with some wonderful memories.  If you happen to drink too much, you now know what to do nutritionally to start your year off right. I look forward to seeing you all in 2010.

Be Healthy. (And Happy New Year!)

Dr. Stephanie
xo

Well, Well, Well : Gifts for Health & Wellness

Tis the Season to be Healthy...
Here are a few offerings you and your family will love!

DRINK

As I posted about here EBOOST is one of my superstar products.  Anyone can take them, they are a healthy boost of Vitamin C, B6, B12 to strengthen your immune system so it can be strong against any scary superflu, seasonal flu, and just the dreariness that is winter.

A few examples of people who should be taking EBOOST



Jet Setters
Students
Bartenders
Fitness Buffs
Professional Athletes
Moms
Airline Pilots
Party Animals
Investment Bankers
Lawyers
Supermodels
Pirates
Sailors
Railroad Tycoons
Nurses
System Analysts
Graphic Designers


Makes a fab stocking stuffer for you (or anyone trying to keep up with you) 
Buy it HERE with free shipping!


GET

Gift certificates for any of the following services:

Chiropractic
Acupuncture
Cosmetic Acupuncture
Cellulute Acupuncture

Can be purchased in any denomination!

Happy Holidays!

Shoveling 101 : A Pile of Snow [Shoveling Tips]

Everyone was starting to mutter about the tragedy of having a green Christmas...well...rest assured - I don't think you need to worry about that anymore.  B with a side of rrrr!!!!

Mother Nature, made up for our very mild (and lovely) fall with a huge snow burp last week here in Toronto.  And while the snow may have melted for now - I am betting on a White Christmas.

So, snow means shoveling.  You know what goes along with lots of shoveling, right ?  The potential for lots-o-back-pain.

Here are a pile (heh heh...couldn't resist!) of Dr. Stephanie's snow shoveling tips :

1. Get a proper shovel!






There are a ton of ergonomic shovels out there.  Go in your garage, and throw out the 30 year old shovel you inherited from the previous owners of your house.

Ideally you want to look for a shovel with:

• An Ergonomic handle (with a bend in the handle), 
• A Small blade.  (Smaller blade means less snow on the blade, and less stress on your back and body.)

Some good bets in the downtown area:

Canadian Tire
Home Depot
Home Hardware


2. Warm Up (yes like you do @ the gym)

Believe it or not, shoveling is pretty intense physical activity, and if you are not used to it - you can seriously hurt yourself.  There is a sharp rise in the incidents of heart attacks following heavy snowfalls.  A brisk warm-up (we are talking a small commitment of no more than 5-10 minutes) beforehand, followed by some stretches is perf.

What kinds of exercises and stretches you ask?  

Any kind of light cardiovascular warm up, whether it is light skipping, jogging on the spot, or a few squats and lunges will help get your muscles warm, get the blood flowing to the legs and back, and the arteries dilated and ready for work.

Stretching before (and afterwards) is super important as well to protect your muscles from damage and to properly cool your body down.

Chest stretch




Arm, Shoulder & Back Stretch:






Forearm & Wrist:




Middle Back Stretch:




(Photos courtesy of www.buildingbodies.ca)

3. Shovel asap after a snow fall.

The longer the snow sits, the heavier and more packed it becomes.

4. Pace yourself.

It is not a race.  Slow down, and listen to your body.  It is grueling work to shovel a driveway and even if you practically live in the gym - it is extremely strenuous on your heart, back muscles, your arms, and shoulders.

5. Never (ever, ever, ever) lift with your back

This is where we run into problems.  I often get many new patients, or long time patients who come in after a snowfall with acute back spasms, neck spasms, sore this, that and the other.

It's all in the technique!

If you can, push the snow off to the side of the driveway (meaning you don't even lift the snow off the ground).  If you *must* lift the snow, bend your knees (keeping your back upright), and use your abs and power from your legs to lift...not your back.

And while we are at it - no twisting when you are throwing the snow off to the side.  Your body should be facing where the snow is going.

---

Be Healthy

Dr. S
xo

Chiropractic & Pregnancy : Posterior Pelvic Pain | PPP

This is why you need to always give up your seat for a pregnant woman.   Not only are they creating a little wee person, but some of mechanical stressors and stuff they have to deal with.  Oy vay.


So if you are pregnant, and experiencing low back pain or something that you think may be Sciatica...read on.

Here is the 411 on PPP:

• PPP is one of the most common issues I see related to pregnancy.  
• It can mimic Sciatic-like symptoms and location (back of the hip, bum, thigh)
  
• It occurs 4 x more frequently than just low back pain, and is usually a source of frustration because it happens all the time with the most everyday things:
• walking and running
• getting up from sitting
• rolling over in bed
• going up and down stairs

Please just take a minute to re-read that.  That is like, what, 80% of your day?! 

Ugh.  I really do have a lot of empathy and love for my PPP patients.

PPP usually starts becoming an issue towards the end of the second trimester (so, in tandem with your new curves we talked about yesterday) and often feels like it is in the base of the spine, or spreading across the hips in the back. It can also feel like it goes into the bum and hamstrings, too.


Looks something like this:







Usually the culprit of PPP is a combination of a few things working at once: 

1. New Stresses to Spine

The low back is literally changing it shape.  (Read more about that here.) And even though you might not be tipping over, your center of gravity does shift forward with increased anterior weight, which stresses out your joints (in particular the SI joints), holding ligaments of the pelvis and spine, and muscles around the spine. 

Blurg.

2. Hormones Galore

The second thing, which may seem pretty obvi, is the abundant hormones in your body!  

Relaxin Hormone being the main one, which basically...well, relaxes everything.   

In the pelvis, we normally have some migh-ty strong ligaments - which are basically turned to silly putty by the end of the pregnancy via Relaxin.  The amount of relaxin increases as you progress through your term for a good reason (to help prepare for labour) and not some random cruel joke from Mother Nature.


But it can leave things feeling wibbly, wobbly, and generally unstable.  This can and does annoy the muscles and nerves in the area, and can exacerbate the problem.

3. The Preggo Walk

When the baby's head drops further down in later stages of pregnancy, this is when the classic waddle tends to appear.  

It is generally characterized by a shorter stride, and less range of motion.  Preggies tend to have a "wide shuffle" walk, in which shorter, smaller steps taken at a wider distance apart.  This too, will irritate everything in the pelvic area - most importantly the joints, ligaments and muscles.



Coupled with the hormones relaxing the ligaments, the weight gain, and everything feeling loosey goosey - your back muscles are more tired, and you are more weary in general.  This preggo walk is a way to deal with the physical and mechanical demand on the body, but also, unfortunately can further aggravate the issue.

---
All of the techniques I talked about yesterday (Chiropractic, muscle work, and Acupunture techniques, etc) can be used to help the mum with pain relief and have also been shown to help prepare her for a speedy labour as well. 

The point here is - yes - if you are unfortunate to have to experience PPP - it can totally suck.  But there are some solutions that are available to you that you may not have considered before that can really help with pain management which are organic and good for baby and body.  :)


It is often the case that during treatment, the baby will start to kick and wiggle around like crazy, almost like it is getting more room to play in...


Dr. S

Chiropractic & Pregnancy: You Curvy Minx, You

I don't know what is in the water lately but everywhere I turn I have a new pregnant patient.  Squee!!

I am seriously struggling to keep my prenatal vitamin kits in stock! Nonetheless, I am always giddy and uber excited for such great news - whether it is baby 1 or 5.  And even more excited when I get to meet the little bunnies. :)


I think it makes such a huge difference if a mother is educated on what kind of changes are going to happen to her through her pregnancy.  Specifically from my perspective, changes in the spine, pelvis, muscles, joints and ligaments.  If ya know what's gonna happen, it isn't so foreign when it does.


So, all my preggies, and preggies-to-be, or if you are just flirting with the idea - my next couple of blog posts are going to discuss some common chiropractic pregnancy issues I deal with in my office :

1. Increased Curves

So, yes, increased curves is usually a good thing. Pregnancy is an awesome time for celebrating new curves!   As it relates to the spine, however, it can cause some discomfort through the supporting muscles and joints of the spine. 


The lumbar spine (or low back) will generally increase its curve as baby grows in size.  Now, every mama is different, but usually we can start to see these curve changes towards the end of the 2nd trimester.  As baby grows, we see an increase in the lumbar curve to support the increased weight through the belly.

Just a FYI (which is so beyond interesting) - the shape of the bones in our lumbar spine are totally cool with these changes, and they easily accomodate these new curves. In fact, their shape are the primary reason women don't tip over when pregnant! 





And just because our spines are so dang smart, it is not just the lumbar spine that gets curvy...the thoracic spine (or mid-back) will usually increase its curve as well.  This is to accomodate the increase in breast size, and to balance out the lumbar curves, too. 



Sometimes, this can translate to aches and pains, and possibly a general feeling of instability and irritation in the back overall.   This is where your chiropractor comes in. 

There are gentle, specific, and effective techniques we use that ease some of the joint irritation, and help the yummy mummy feel more comfortable and give her some symptom relief in the meantime. 

Because my focus is prevention, I always prefer to have the woman seeing me as the baby is growing - and ideally even before she is preg - so that we can really reduce some of the discomfort before they get out of hand.  


So, working on things like muscle tension, joint alignment, and making sure the spine is not stuck are key focuses for me.  This can be achieved in many ways, and usually is tailored for each woman and her needs.  But, to give you an idea, I can usually implement any of the following:

*deep breath*

Muscle Lengthening
Trigger Point Work, 
Holding Ligament Work

Gentle Adjusting
Specific Joint Pulsing
Postural Adjusting
Postural Exercises

Passive or Active Stretching
Hip Opening / Pre Natal Yoga
Fitness Routines
Supplements
Sleeping Tips and Tricks



All-natural, gentle, safe, and most importantly effective approaches to making the bun, and the oven (read: you!) happy.



Dr.S
xo

The Water Solution: Your New BOOST Friend

As posted about here, I absolutely detest water.  The taste, or, more correctly, lack thereof, just kills me.

Kills. Me.

I need me some good ole fashioned taste when I am drinking something (and eating for that matter).  Water, in all its hydrating glory, does not meet this basic requirement for me. 

So, as you can imagine, this gave me *enormous* trouble when I was competing for my fitness competition last year.  4 Liters of water a day?  Seriously people - my worst nightmare realized. 

In the beginning I tried to convince myself that the water intake would not be important and I could create trophy-worthy abs without it…ah well... to make long story short…I was so beyond wrong. 

During my training (with my normal little-to-no water intake) - my entire body was getting more toned, defined, and lean…except my abs.  The 200 bajillion daily sit-ups  (err...at least that it is what it felt like) were giving me an incredibly strong core, but the aesthetics bit -key in these competitions- were not matching the effort I was putting in.

This all changed one morning.  I was reading The Daily Candy, (an American e-zine similar to a sweetspot.ca)and accidentally stumbled across what eventually became the absolute best solution I have ever discovered.  In. Life. 

It is 6-and-a-half grams of powder that makes you feel invincible.

EBOOST.

Patients in my practice here in Toronto, know my profound love and dedication to this product.  And now, you lucky ducky, it is now available for purchase through the eStore on my website and at the retailers listed at the bottom of this post.

In terms of how it changed my fitness competition - well not only did I consistently drink my 4 Liter (and sometimes 5!) requirement every single day – but EBOOST has some strong benefits that everyone should be benefiting from:

Check this out:

So, it’s like your complete daily requirement of your B vitamins, Vitamin C, replenishes your electrolytes, gives you natural energy, and increases your immunity.  It really is that caliber of product.

Through flu season, my long hours logged at the gym, and diet restrictions - I never got sick. Not one, single time. The other *really* interesting thing is it made a huge difference in my workout recovery. I was less sore, and healed faster from my intense gym sessions.  Which meant I could hit the gym faster and harder than I could before.

The big winner for me though, was the convenience.  EBOOST tablets come in a tube, (which I would throw in my gym bag or purse) and just pop it into my water when I was ready.

Easy. Modern. Healthy. Brilliant.

This is kind of product I am all over - it is convenient, east to use, and works with your lifestyle.  This is what health is all about - allowing us to do something good for our bodies everyday in a logical way that is adaptable, and is not at all tedious. 

This is quite possibly my favorite product. Ever. 

EBOOST locations:

Toronto:

Dr. Stephanie's Office and Estore

Extreme Fitness (John & Richmond)

267 Richmond Street West, Toronto
1-800-694-7136
MON-FRI 5AM-12AM
SAT-SUN 8AM-8PM

*Coming Soon: GotStyle & Lileo!