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Sunday, September 28, 2014

Is It Time to Get a Standing Desk?

Have you ever considered standing, instead of sitting, while you work at your desk? Numerous medical studies including ones done in Denmark and the United States have shown that sitting all day in front of a computer has terrible effects on our health.

Sitting Is Harmful to Your Health

According to an excellent article in The New York Times by James Vlahos called “Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?[1] Both James Levine, a researcher at he Mayo Clinic and Marc Hamilton, an inactivity researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center have done very thorough studies and discovered that when you are sitting, the electrical activity in your muscles drop and go silent which in turn causes your metabolic rate to drop.  You burn calories of about a third of what it should be and your ability to process insulin can be affected in just one day.  This not only increases your chances of developing Type 2 Diabetes, it also causes the levels of enzymes responsible for breaking down fat in your body to lower, which in turn causes your levels of cholesterol to rise.  Hamilton actually discovered that even fit and thin volunteers for his studies had a forty percent reduction in insulin’s ability to uptake glucose after just four twenty-four hours of being sedentary.

Over a lifetime this type of stress on you system can add up and you can find yourself more prone to heart disease, metabolic syndrome, babies with low birth weight and a higher risk of mortality.

Yet another problem with this particular health hazard, is that you cannot fix a day of sitting, with a day of exercising any more than you can fix a day of smoking with a day of exercise. Sitting all day and staring at a computer is just not that healthy for you and the damage that it can do to your body is irreversible.

Standing Desks Might Be A Solution

Standing desks have been conceived so that people can write or read while standing up or while sitting on a high stool. These can be tall tables or resemble music stands. They usually come up to the level just about where your elbows might bend to type on a keyboard.

They are available commercially online and in furniture and office supply stores and are sometimes called a lectern.

The health benefits of standing up while you type have been known for years and there were several famous people who adopted the practice of working or writing while standing, including authors Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway, composer Oscar Hammerstein II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. founding father Benjamin Franklin.

Worried about obesity, high cholesterol or heart problems? We can help. For more information or to book a consultation about anti-aging, diet and weight loss programs or any health issue you may be experiencing, visit the Pinewood Natural Health Clinic website that has a list of full services and products at www.pinewood.ca or call our Toronto Office at  (416)-656- 8100.  We also have an office in Pickering, Ontario at (905)-427-0057. You can also email us at info@pinewoodhealth.ca and we would be happy to answer any question that you have about our holistic health services.





[1] Vlahos, James (2011-04-14). "Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?". Magazine (New York Times).

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Aromatherapy for Anxiety and Insomnia

The benefits of aromatherapy baths and the benefits of aromatherapy diffusers are now just being acknowledged as truly helpful to people with headaches, joint pain and other ailments. They are especially good for ailments that have a psychological component or that are caused by too much stress such as anxiety,  or insomnia.

It’s Best to Buy Organic Oils

Aromatherapy works best if the molecules of the essential oil are dispersed through the nasal passages so that they can be delivered to the bloodstream through the lung tissues or through a carrier oil  so that they can be absorbed through the skin. When misted through the air and inhaled they trigger nasal receptors to send healing messages to the brain. The brain then responds to the change in chemistry so that your body can feel more relaxed, joyful or calm.

Both anxiety and insomnia are very common problems in our high pressure world There all kinds of brands essential oils that can actually act as a cure for these problems but my recommendation is to buy the highest quality organic oil that you can find and afford in order to achieve the optimum results. Organic oils simply contain the highest concentrations of healing compounds, phytochemical and phytoestrogens so there is more capacity in the actual substance to help heal you.

How to Use Oils

For the quick and effective relief of anxiety, dilute the oils in a base carrier such as almond, olive or grapeseed oil and apply them to your pulse or temples. Be careful not to get the oils in your eyes as many essential oils are very irritating to the eyes.

You can also disperse the oils through the air using a diffuser or candle oil warmer. In this case you do not have to dilute the oils.

You can also add a few drops of the oil to eight ounces of distilled water and mist your surroundings. Be sure to shake the bottle well and be sure not to get it into your eyes.

You can also shoot a mist straight up into the air and walk through the resulting fog so that the essential oil’s healing molecules mist your skin.  Simply mix the oils in an atomizer with water or alcohol.

If you are having an anxiety attack, you can apply a few drops of the oil to a paper towel, hanky or Kleenex and inhale. For acute anxiety, you can also apply a few drops to the bottom of a paper bag and then cup it to your mouth and slowly breathe in and out. 

Best Anxiety and Insomnia Remedies

If insomnia is the problem you can try taking a bath in diluted essential oils just before you go to bed or you can try spraying or applying the oils to your linens and pillows. A bath is very therapeutic as the warm water helps release the scent molecules in the oil.  A mixture of any of the following essential oils should be very effective for insomnia - chamomile, Clary sage, frankincense, lavender, rose or sandalwood.

The best aromatherapy oils to use for anxiety are balsam fir, bergamot, cedar wood, frankincense, lavender, jasmine, rose and ylang ylang.  Linden blossoms and geranium can stop panic attacks. Geranium is good for anxiety or insomnia associated with menopause. 

If you are burnt out  and exhausted from working oils such as basil, bergamot, cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, ginger, lavender, orange, neroli (orange blossom) and patchouli can help ground you, revitalize you and lift your spirits.  Lime oil can help sort out a racing brain that is confused by too much information or  by too many emotional impressions\

If the cause of insomnia is grief then try using a mixture of basil, clay sage or rose oils. Making a spray and putting it on clothing or linen can help the person deal with upsetting feelings.

Make sure, for safety’s sake, that you always dilute an essential oil with carrier oil before you apply it to your skin or put it in a bath. However if you are using an oil diffuser it is not a good idea at all to use diluted oils as it can ruin the diluted. Only use the purest of essential oils inside a diffuser.

For more information or to book a consultation about anti-aging, diet and weight loss programs or any health issue you may be experiencing, visit the Pinewood Natural Health Clinic website that has a list of full services and products at www.pinewood.ca or call our Toronto Office at  (416)-656- 8100.  We also have an office in Pickering, Ontario at (905)-427-0057. You can also email us at info@pinewoodhealth.ca and we would be happy to answer any question that you have about our holistic health services.


Sunday, September 14, 2014

There Are Naturopathic Solutions to Cure PMS!

For the majority of women who suffer form PMS, the most common symptoms are mood swings and irritability, breast tenderness as well as headaches and nausea. For the majority of females, who are relatively lucky, the symptoms tend to be very mild and in some cases so mild that the symptoms are almost unnoticeable.

However, this is a small percentage of women that suffer from severe symptoms to the extent that the pain, moods swings and nausea affect their ability to work or relate to others.

Common PMS Symptoms

Do you suffer from any of the following symptoms of PMS? 
  • ·      bloating
  • ·      tummy pain
  • ·      joint and/or muscle pain;
  • ·      headaches
  • ·      chronic diarrhea or constipation
  • ·      acne
  • ·      hot flashes
  • ·      tender breasts
  • ·      food and alcohol cravings
  • ·      weight gain
  • ·      general weakness
  • ·      mood swings
  • ·      Irritability
  • ·      stress anxiety or depression that leads to insomnia
  • ·      decreased libido
  • ·      weepiness
  • ·      poor concentration (foggy brain)


While most who suffer PMS find that the physical symptoms of the condition are relatively mild, the psychological side of suffering is not always quite so easy.  For example, some women will change to such an extent that they become almost like a completely different person. The condition is very real but also misunderstood and made fun of by those around them, when it is physically anguishing and emotionally hard on the sufferer. Furthermore, the distractibility associated with PMS also means that many women are considerably more likely to suffer accidents when suffering from PMS.

Many women will resort to taking prescriptions non-prescription drugs to help them get over the worst ravages of PMS. Turning to drugs should never be the first option, because even non-prescription drugs have been known to have serious adverse side-effects that complicate the PMS issues even more such as causing rebound headaches, drug dependency, dopiness, insomnia and increasing irritability.

Natural Solutions for PMS

Naturopathic medicine has several solutions for helping you manage the symptoms of PMS including -

  • Adding Omega 3 oils by adding certain foods to your diet to control the production of eicosanoids which are chemicals released in the body at the time of PMS 
  • Reducing your sugar intake to reduce mood swings, mental fogginess and weight gain 
  • Reducing caffeine, soft drinks and sugar to help eliminate acne, irritability and bloat
  • Reducing your sodium intake to reduce weight gain and bloat as sodium overload causes your tissues to retain water 
  • Increasing your uptake of B vitamins and especially B6 to help deal with mental fogginess, moody and other PMS symptoms 
  • Taking certain herbs in the form of teas or extract such as fennel, chamomile, dandelion that can act as diuretics to help you eliminate excess fluids from your body
  • Taking bio identical hormones to help alleviate symptoms, particularly if you are also nearing peri-menopause or menopause 
  • Suggesting general lifestyle changes, diet changes and exercise to combat the worst systems of PMS is part of naturopathic consultation. 

For more information or to book a consultation about anti-aging, diet and weight loss programs or any health issue you may be experiencing, visit the Pinewood Natural Health Clinic website that has a list of full services and products at www.pinewood.ca or call our Toronto Office at  (416)-656- 8100.  We also have an office in Pickering, Ontario at (905)-427-0057. You can also email us at info@pinewoodhealth.ca and we would be happy to answer any question that you have about our holistic health services.