Treating skin conditions: Part 1 - Topical (lotion/cream) help

Troublesome skin has been a huge part of my life. My mom will tell baby stories of me with more than the average diaper rash: angry, red eczema covering huge portions of my body. She changed detergents, could only buy very specific brands of wipes and diapers, using "hypoallergenic" lotions and creams... but everything made my skin angry. I grew up with eczema and dry skin in general; always patchy, but it always came back.

The most troublesome spot was the inside of my elbows, and it was awful seeing as how everyone in gym class and at school in general could see it. Sometimes it would move to the backs of my hands and knuckles, to my stomach, under my arms. It was unrelenting.

Steroid creams like hydrocortisone definitely helped. Of course they should! They suppress inflammation. So after 2 days the patches would be gone, but just a few days later and we'd be starting all over again with itchiness, redness, dry, scaly and patchy skin, and then it was back to the steroids.

This is something I see often in practice and the problem is how we treat the skin. We think because skin is on the "outside" that we should treat skin conditions solely with topical treatments, but this isn't the case. In fact, more than 90% of the cases of acne and eczema that come into the clinic are not due to any external irritant. These eruptions of inflammation are telling us that something is wrong on the INSIDE (I'll talk more about this next week in "Part 2").

Of course, changing your detergent and body products can still have a big impact, and that's in part because some of these chemicals and substances can be absorbed through the skin and get into our bodies (and blood streams). Sometimes we forget that all of these things are linked: what we expose our bodies to (internally, like food, and externally, such as body products), can affect our hormones and elicit immune responses like inflammation.

What should you avoid in skin care products?

• I tend to toss away any product that has a high amount of alcohol in it. Alcohol is drying and on eczema, it can cause burning and stinging. Eczema is already a dry skin condition, no need to dry things out even more. 
• Avoid products that have any type of alcohol listed in the first 5 ingredients. This is more common in lotions, as opposed to creams. 
• Fragrance and Parfum/parfumes: these tend to be chemical irritants. Look out for them in body products and try to pick fragrance-free products, or those that only contain natural essential oils 
• Side note on essential oils: There are some that can still be irritating for skin, especially in concentrated forms. Avoid oils that have a "pine" scent as these can be more irritating and astringent. 
• Parabens ( including methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben: These are known hormone disruptors. 
• Propylene glycol: can be a skin irritant
• Triclosan: a skin irritant that also may disrupt hormones

Growing up with this type of inflammation, it's an understatement to say that I've tried out a LOT of products. I found I had to rotate my moisturizers on a continual basis. From all of that experimenting I have come to the conclusion that: 

Products with the most "natural" ingredients and oils seem to give way better results than those that are "dermatologist recommended" or "pharmaceutically designed" --> Even if it says "hypoallergenic" on the label. 

All the Cetaphil, Aveeno, and Vaseline in the world couldn't help me and instead my skin just burned and itched even more. 

Look to the following helpful ingredients either on their own or in combination:

• Shea butter
• Cocoa butter
• Vitamin E oil
• Aloe vera
• Avocado oil
• Olive oil
• Coconut oil
• Vegetable Glycerin (especially for soaps - I've gone back to Natural bar soaps!)
• Avena sativa (oat) extracts

My favourite products at the moment are Scentuals Scent-free Hand & Body Lotion, and Aleva's Daily Soothing Moisturizer (pictured below):

For my face and hands, I primarily use oils. This is also a great added treatment for eczema lesions. As often as you can, apply small amounts of coconut oil, shea butter, vitamin E oil to damaged and itching skin. Oftentimes I'll even incorporate a natural diaper rash cream (something with Zinc Oxide and Calendula) for skin healing and the zinc to decrease itching. 

These ingredients are meant to heal skin, provide anti-inflammatory support, and nourish damaged tissue. While we nourish our skin from the outside, we must treat it on the inside (see Part 2 next week).

The goal is to be consistent, and often I'll have patients apply these products as often as they can throughout the day (at least twice daily, but up to 4 times can give better results).

For an individualized plan and prescribing, I suggest seeing a licensed naturopathic doctor as not all of these options will be right for everyone (especially in the case of allergies or sensitivities).

In "Part 2" of Treating Skin Conditions, we'll review treating the body from the inside out for both acne and eczema. Check in next week!

Is condo-living taking us too far from the earth?

I feel like new condominiums are going up in Toronto everyday. It's crazy to look at the space of cleared land, and to think about how many floors will be in this building... how many condos, and therefore people, on each floor? ... People stacked on top of each other way up into the sky.

It may be one of the least expensive ways to own a living space in the city, but being so high up physically separates ourselves from the ground... from the earth! That's not to say that there aren't perks to living in the city this way, but the amount of concrete we surround ourselves with isn't natural. Again, that's not to say that living in a concrete city centre is terrible, but I find a lot of city-dwellers don't get the amount of exposure to nature as they would like.

What's the easiest way to get that balance back? Ground yourself. Literally. Get back to the earth, walk, barefoot if possible, through the grass. Visit a nearby park or conservation area. Put your hand on a tree; Hug it! Physically put yourself in touch with nature. Even now, in the middle of Canadian winter, you can enhance your mental well-being by getting outside (dressed appropriately, of course). Bundle up, and walk along a trail with a hot tea. Take the dog or the family with you if you want company.

It's like when you're on a boat or an airplane for long periods of time and you finally touch ground, step off and your feet hit the earth. It can make you feel grateful, steady, safe.

For those of us completely surrounded by concrete in our everyday lives, or living on the 20th floor, you'd be amazed at how liberating it can feel getting back to nature.

The importance of how we view food

Food is incredibly important to many of us. It serves as a means of gathering family and friends together. It's nourishment; It's tradition; It's comfort; and so much more.

Where we can get into trouble with our health is when we stop making conscious decisions with what we put in our bodies. Food is so incredibly important to me personally because I've had such a difficult time with foods. My diet is constantly evolving, changing with what my body needs and what it is able to digest.

With a slew of digestive troubles since I was a teen, food has been a constant battle. There was the Candida diet, the diet based on Food Sensitivity testing, the Vegan diet, the Paleo diet, a modified Paleo diet, and now, a low-FODMAP diet. Some people might say I've been cursed with a severely dysfunctional immune system, with multiple autoimmune reactions and conditions, but to me, all of these "problems" serve as a way of making sure I make conscious decisions with what I feed my body.

It's unrealistic to say that those of us with dietary restrictions are perfect with our diets 100% of the time. And no, in general, we're not depriving ourselves. Of course there are some foods I wish I could enjoy, and then there are ones that I'm glad I'm not tempted by because I know how terrible they can make me feel (typically, anything deep-fried). The reason being that when you eat "bad" (ie pain-making, pro-inflammatory) foods, you learn that sometimes the mouth-pleasure you get from eating something isn't worth the consequences (IBS symptoms, eczema breakouts, acne breakouts, energy crashes, migraines, ... etc) that come with it.

This is why I'm so passionate about food and diet. We all have the capacity to choose what we eat, and it can be incredibly empowering to understand this concept. But it's also a wonderful challenge to create meals and snacks that are healthy, that our bodies can easily digest and be happy with.

There is great joy in being able to show others how many options there actually are for those with dietary restrictions. Food is a part of our culture, a part of our everyday lives. At the same time, we need to understand that it's impossible to create a single diet that's best for everyone; We're all so different. So instead, I implore you to listen to your gut. Experiment with foods. Pull away from ones that don't make you feel great, and incorporate the foods (maybe even new foods) that you know you should incorporate (like more vegetables, or good-quality proteins). Remember that the signs and symptoms of food sensitivities are there to give us an indication that something isn't right, internally.

Nourish your body, love your body, and create something delicious in the kitchen today!

Taking a bath for your health

Baths are my secret weapon for self-care. When I bring this up to a lot of people, I often get the response of "but you're just stewing in your own filth." Obviously they haven't had a really good bath - one that is actually composed of the proper elements for physical and mental well-being.

But don't you just sit in a tub of hot water? No! If that's what you're doing, you're not giving yourself an optimal experience. It's like that old episode of Friends, "The one where Chandler takes a bath." Monica is able to create an atmosphere of relaxation with bath salts, aromatherapy, ambiance... But when Chandler tries to re-create this experience, his salts don't dissolve, the water isn't the right temperature. It's easy to overlook important details that can really make or break the experience.

Which brings me to my next point: There are different types of baths! Create the right conditions for your own personal needs. Here are some elements that can change the outcome of a self-care bath:

Elements of a Self-care Bath: Detoxifying and Relaxing

1) Water temperatures and application:

In general, hot/warm water in extended time periods (20-60 minutes) helps to relax the nervous system and your body. If you feel like you need help decompressing and getting to sleep, a hot bath is a great way to prep the body for bed.

If you're looking to invigorate your circulation and give yourself a bit of a "wake-up", follow that hot bath with 1-2 minutes of a cool/cold shower. The water doesn't need to be freezing, we're not looking to shock your system. We want it cold enough that it's a noticeable change from the bath, but not intolerable. For some individuals, even 30 seconds of cold water application is enough to change circulation, and at the least, the neck down should be exposed to the water.

Hot water tends to bring circulation to the surface, allowing your body to try to cool itself down. Whereas afterwards, if you apply cold water, you then force all of that warm blood back from your extremities and from the surface, back to central circulation.

2) Salts and Minerals:

Epsom salts, used externally, are a fantastic way of creating a mineral rich medium in which to soak your body. In particular, Epsom salts contain Magnesium sulfate. By soaking in this solution for 20-40 minutes, your body can absorb magnesium (and sulfates), which can act as a natural muscle relaxant. The trick is in adding the right amount of salts.

A full bathtub needs 2 full measured cups of Epsom salts. Other benefits of Epsom salts include a calming effect on the mind and nervous system, relaxing sore muscles and aches, and a detoxification effect on the body as it promotes pathways of elimination. Make sure to swish the salts around until they are fully dissolved into the water.

3) Oils (carrier/moisturizers and aromatherapy)

Oils are an excellent way of elevating the wellness aspect of your bath. Mix a handful of Epsom salts with some olive oil and rub gently over skin as a softener and exfoliator.
Essential oils can be added to the bath (just about 5-10 drops) as well for mood support and relaxation.

The Recipe for a perfect Detox-Relax Bath

We do a lot of detoxifying through our skin! Which is also why sweating can be beneficial and healthy. A detox bath can be accomplished just by using our Epsom salts, and by soaking for at least 30 minutes. The relaxation part will take a small amount of work on your part, to create the atmosphere you need. 

• First, you'll need to set up your bathroom: grab a big fluffy towel, light a few candles if you wish, brew a cup of tea or get a cup of lemon water to sip on while you're in the tub. 
• Try to eliminate distractions. Play relaxation instrumental music in the background, but avoid screens (tv, tablets, phones). Allow yourself this time just for you. It's your time to recharge - build up your Yin!
• Fill your tub with warm/hot water 
• Add 2 cups epsom salts, swished in bath and dissolved.
• Add 5-10 drops of essential oils
• Alternatively or additionally, you can add dried herb to your bath. 
• Add in calendula or chamomile flowers to help ease skin irritations, and ease an angry tummy; Add dried lavender if you don't have the essential oils on hand. 
• Note: I recommend cheesecloth to contain the flowers if you want to make clean-up easier in the end. You can use quite a bit of them, about 3-6 heaping tablespoons. 
• Soak and relax for at least 30 minutes. Up to 45 or 60 minutes if you're looking to relax more before bed. 
• Rinse off or just towel dry, making sure to be gentle on the skin. End with a slow gentle body massage with your favourite moisturizer or oil. Even if you don't have an extra set of hands to massage you, self-massage to apply a moisturizer will do just fine. 

One of the most dangerous things that we do in a doctor's visit

After having talked to multiple people, listening to stories over the years about people going to see their doctor, I realized that there is something crucially wrong about how we approach seeing a doctor. In fact, there is something that many people are doing - probably without realizing - that is extremely dangerous to their own health.

What is this crazy thing I'm talking about? Neglecting to provide information. I have a spot on my intake forms that asks for all previous diagnoses and medical conditions. As a Naturopathic Doctor, I spend roughly 90 minutes with my patients on a first visit and I try to get as much information from them as possible about their health and lifestyle.

What I noticed was that most patients left this area blank. However, when I asked the right questions, I got a lot more information than a patient originally disclosed - important information that I would have otherwise been blind to. Patients lie all the time. Sometimes on purpose, but often without even realizing it.

It's easy to do. We forget about things. Or we minimize them, thinking that some small detail doesn't matter.

When we withhold information from healthcare practitioners, we interfere with them making the best and safest choice for our personal health care. This includes occupation, recent travels, if you smoke or do drugs, your FULL past medical history. Even something as small as a bug bite can have huge implications.

You might not think it's relevant that you had a concussion 10 years ago, or that you had a UTI last week that has since cleared up, but to a clinician, it can make the difference in your treatment plan. That concussion from a head injury could have led to pituitary dysfunction, messing up your hormones. Or that UTI could have been caused by sexual practices that leave you susceptible to other vaginal infections like yeast or bacterial vaginosis.

I talk about this being dangerous because it is. There are some medical conditions and lifestyles that if unknown to your doctor, could leave you with a treatment plan that can do more harm than help. Getting swelling in your legs and you didn't tell your doc that you're a flight attendant? Being prescribed a heartburn medication but forgot to tell your doc that you're a vegetarian and your B12 is already abnormally low? Heartburn meds like proton-pump inhibitors can cause a B12 deficiency. Being a flight attendant with lower leg swelling may require compression stockings at work instead of just taking a water pill/diuretic.  All of these things matter.

We need to stop being afraid of being judged. If you feel put down by your doctor, judged by them, or if they make a comment to you that makes you uncomfortable, you have every right to say something and either mend the relationship, leave and find another doctor, or report them to their regulatory college. Not all health care workers are created equally. I highly suggest finding the right health care practitioners for you, so that you can feel safe enough to disclose your personal information to them.

This is also one of the driving factors of offering complementary 15-minute consultations in my office. I think it's a fantastic idea to go "shopping" for an ND. Meet with them, see if they can help you with what your looking for. Get to know their personality, ask about their education or their other experiences. And then go with your gut. Build a relationship with your health care provider so that you feel comfortable disclosing your personal information so you can get the best care - the care that you deserve!

How do you make a home gym affordable and user-friendly?

The home gym. I have to say it's probably my favourite gym. No line ups for machines, no sweaty men staring at you, no worrying about the A/C not working, or of it working too well.

The issue is that many people will argue that it's too tough to have a "home gym". They don't have enough space, or they can't afford big machines. The truth is that a home gym is what you make of it, and it can be so much more simple!

My own personal home gym is actually my living room. While in my undergrad, it consisted of a 3'x6' space between my bed and the wall where my yoga mat would fit. During my grad studies, it was my basement: a huge open space with a cold, tiled floor, and no furnishings. Just a makeshift table that my laptop sat on and oodles of basement space to do some kickboxing videos or animal flow.

Now, in my very own house, I transform my living room into a home gym. It's more affordable than you think and the only "set up" is moving the coffee table out of the way and rolling out my yoga mat:

The first thing to do is decide what you want to do at home. Maybe you just want to do yoga at home, or maybe you want to be able to do a variety of workouts. My collection consists of:

1) Yoga (P90X yoga, a few Rodney Yee videos, and Wanderlust TV's 21 days of yoga which can be streamed online for about $30 for full access anytime you want)
2) Weight aerobics: I love The Firm and all of their videos but their original ones from the 90's are by far the best workouts I've ever done!
3) Cardio: Cardio-dance-kickboxing fun, I have a collection of Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire DVD's from BeachBody's Chalene Johnson. Totally fun, and I can still manage it in a small space.

Building your home gym
The above workouts are just a small tasting of what's out there. I highly recommend visiting www.collagevideo.com to checkout a variety of workout videos. See what you like - what looks like fun and what you would be interested in doing. Based on what which workouts you want to add to your collection, you can start thinking about the equipment you need.

In general, start with a yoga mat. Something for you to work on, or stretch on. Any mat will do, though I'm in love with "The Mat" from Lululemon as it provides extra grip support and doesn't slip.

If you want to include yoga, invest in yoga blocks. These by far are my favourite accessories. They can help with posture and support, even with just sitting on the ground.

Beyond that, work up slowly with anything. Always start a new workout without any weights at all. Just go through the motions and get used to the new routine. Then work up in weight. Start with 1-3lbs. In the picture above, I have a set of 1 lb hand weights (pink), 3lb dumbbells (black), 5lb dumbbells (green), 7lb dumbbells (silver and pink), and 2lb ankle weights that used to belong to my mom.

The nice thing is that you don't need to buy 3-5 sets of dumbbells all at the start. For most beginners I suggest picking one super light hand weight (1-2 lbs) and one slightly heavier dumbbell (3-5lbs), depending on your physical strength and condition. That's really all you need to start. For a lot of videos and workouts, you might not need any weights at all.

To make things even more affordable, focus solely on body-weight exercises, (or hook up a TRX system). These don't require any hand weights at all, just your own body and your own strength. The goal is to find a routine that you love to do. That way, exercise isn't a chore, it's a part of your daily body maintenance, a fun activity, and part of your everyday life.
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Messy Spaces and Anxiety

Our environments have such a huge impact on our mental wellbeing but I find that sometimes we neglect to be mindful of our spaces due to being busy all the time. A simple example of this: a messy living space. Maybe it's your bedroom, your living room, your backyard, or your whole home. 

Things get thrown on the floor, maybe we get too caught up in work or our day-to-day and don't get a chance to vacuum or clean. Papers, books, documents pile up on counter tops or tables, and before you know it you're living in clutter. 

I experienced this first-hand over this past month. Moving into a new house (which is actually a 40-year old home) and having to fix it up and do renovations has been crippling on my own personal mental health. Worst of all, it took me too long to realize it. 

A messy, cluttered space sent my anxiety screaming at full volume, putting me into breakdowns and panic attacks on a regular basis over the past few weeks. I can't remember the last time I felt less like myself. 

When did it all click? As soon as my partner and I threw out the garbage, took out the recycling, cleared off the tables, and swept the floor. Garbage and dishes drive me nuts, but a dirty floor sends me spiralling! 

Maybe that's because I have a certain relationship with the floor. With most floors... and the ground. I have this thing where I feel better being grounded. I like sitting on the floor. I like being barefoot in the grass or on the sand. I like the option of being able to drop to the ground whenever I feel like it and doing a planck and downward dog, literally stretching next to our dog; Sitting on the kitchen floor giving her puppy massages and rubbing her belly. The ground is amazing because I have the power and strength to push myself back up again (whether with or without using my arms/hands).

The ground makes me feel steady. So having it covered in dust, debris, drop cloths, painting clothes, drywall, pieces of wood, and multiple empty cans of Perrier made me feel like my world was crashing. 

I didn't have a space -any space. Everything was chaos. And when our surroundings are chaotic we emotionally feel the chaos. 

Some of you might not understand this at all. Perhaps you're like my partner and just deal with it. You know everything is going to be fine in the end; It'll all get cleaned up eventually, right? So what's the problem?

The problem is with those of us who really are sensitive to their surroundings. Even if you're not, you might notice that just by cleaning and decluttering you feel better - almost lighter. 

Back in my undergrad and graduate studies, I would always do a huge house/room cleaning before studying. I couldn't sit and concentrate if things were messy or dirty. Cleaning my space and introducing some fresh air through open windows would make all the difference in the world. I could focus, I could concentrate, and I was at my best. 

Yes, there are things out of our control. I can't control how much drywall dust gets on our floors on a daily basis because of home renos, but I can clean up a space for myself. 

I encourage you to give it a try the next time you go to sit and work on a task, or even before you take some relaxation time. Clean and organize your space first; get rid of all the old shit you don't need. Clean out your closet(s), donate old clothes, and towels. File away all those papers or documents that have been piling up. Dust off shelves, or sweep/vaccum your floors. And lastly, if the weather permits, open up a window or door for a few minutes and bring in some fresh air. 

I don't want to encourage manic or obsessive cleaning here, but just an activity to try when you're feeling frustrated, unable to be at rest, or to concentrate on a task. Getting messy and dirty is amazing, and a ton of fun (like running outside in the mud and dirt or stretching on the ground), but a clean space can make a more clear happy mind.