The Brown Blunder

Have you ever had a luxurious latte sitting in your hand, ready for your ravenous consumption, only to be interrupted by a hint of guilt? Thinking that with all that full fat milk that was used it must be high in calories. Then, to make you feel better one might think, “Wait, I’ll make the healthy choice and use brown sugar instead of white sugar.”

Today’s little bit of health information is brown sugar is white sugar with molasses added back to it after it has been processed. Yes, unfortunately brown sugar has a minimal amount of minerals than white sugar.

Quite honestly, people do better with less of the real thing then trying to replace it with an imitation. This goes for sugar, meat, fat, chips, cookies, baked goods, pizza, fried foods, ice cream, etc.

If you just aim to have a medium instead of mammoth macchiato coffee you will feel that same satisfaction without as much of the negative health benefits. So, go forward and find an appropriate opportunity to spring out this little bit of water cooler information!!

~Think Vitality!~

Acupuncture Day?

While scanning the headlines I discovered that on April 16th, it is Acupuncture Day! It might be the day that acupuncture was born, but I doubt it. I believe it is a day to try to help bring awareness to the benefits of acupuncture to those who haven’t discovered it yet.


As I’ve been practicing for a few years, I often forget how amazing acupuncture is. I see miracles every single week! I am not exaggerating, every week I see patients that have regained energy, reduced stress, and found balance. But more importantly, I see patients reduce and eliminate pain. Pain can greatly reduce the quality of life. If you can stay pain free for life you are among a minority. There are two types of pain, acute and chronic.


Acute pain
Acute pain is “normal pain.” Acute pain comes from breaking an ankle, stubbing a toe, or hitting your thumb with a hammer. Acute pain is… well painful! It’s usually severe but it will heal with rest and time.


Chronic pain
Chronic pain can be referred to as “pain illness” which can last for days, weeks, and years. It is usually low grade, nagging, and difficult to deal with. Sometimes there may be no obvious reason for chronic pain. Western medicine aims to “manage” pain. Acupuncture aims to heal pain from the inside out.

If anyone has acute or chronic pain they should try acupuncture. It will greatly speed healing, decrease inflammation and swelling, and of course reduce pain. Sometimes just using 5-10 needles around the area of pain can give great relief (known as “ashi points”).


When dealing with chronic pain sometimes you can eliminate it completely, other times (as with treating severe arthritis) you can just manage it. Either way, one can have less pain and improve quality of life!


~Think Vitality!~

Mashed Faux Tatoes

Are you going to have a massive feast this weekend for Easter but you’re concerned about packing on the pounds? If you are on the low carb lifestyle and have a terror of tubers, try Mashed Faux Tatoes to replace traditional Mashed Potatoes.

When you read the ingredient list you might think “you’ve got to be kidding me!” I have experimented with several faux potato recipes and believe it or not cauliflower makes an excellent replacement. Honestly, I think it can taste better then low nutrient density potatoes.

First, a little info on cauliflower;
· It is a cruciferous vegetable and is in the same family as broccoli.
· It is high in vitamin C: 3 florets provide you with 67% of your daily requirement.
· It is also high in folate, which helps the blood work more efficiently, tissue regenerate and repair, and prevents heart disease.
· Most importantly, cauliflower is high in indole-3-Carbinol, or I3C. I3C has recently been shown to reduce excess estrogen in men and women and can help prevent prostate issues, and breast tumours. If you have a family history of breast cancer, adding cruciferous veggies into your diet is highly recommended.

Mashed Faux Tatoes
1 head of cauliflower, with green leaves removed
½ cup of skim milk (use higher fat milk if you want a creamier texture)
1 tsp of butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of nutmeg

Bring a pot to boil with 1-2 inches of water. Wash, cut, and place cauliflower in a steamer basket and cook for 10-15 minutes or until it is tender. Remove from heat and put cauliflower in a bowl with spices, butter, and milk. Use a potato masher and beat the heck out of it! I prefer to use a hand blender- it gives a much smoother texture and makes more of a mess. Enjoy!

Try it, and feel free to leave a comment!
~Think Vitality!~

Qi gong vs. Tai Chi Round one!

I have had a couple people ask me in the last couple months about what qi gong is and how it is different from tai chi. Firstly, qi gong is pronounced “chee gong” and it basically means “energy work.” It can also be spelled as chi kung, qigong, or chi gong. I chose to use the “qi gong” spelling because it is phonetically most accurate in the Chinese speaking world.
Qi gong is a practice thousands of years old that helps to build the energy, health, vitality of the body. It helps to reduce stress, increase blood circulation, and slow the aging process. I have studied many different “healing” systems and have found qi gong to be one the most effective. It is helpful because it is easy to do, you don’t need any special equipment, and it uses the body’s own energy to bring itself into a state of balance.
So, what is the difference between qi gong and tai chi?

Tai chi is a martial art that is healthy to practice because of its “circular movements.” Circular movements have no beginning or end and increases circulation without stressing the joints. Tai chi is a martial art with self defence being its primary focus. Tai chi also requires quite a bit of open space to practice.

Qi gong exercises were developed specifically for building the health. The movements are not focused on self defence and they often mimic movements of animals and nature. It requires very little space to practice and you need to know only a few moves to get the health benefits from it. You can build a tremendous amount of energy in a very short amount of time.

Those of you who have heard me speak about qi gong know that I feel very passionate about it. I think that every senior, office worker, athlete, student, ADD/ADHD child or adult, a stressed, or depressed person should know basic qi gong and would benefit greatly from regular practice. Keep your eyes and ears open for upcoming classes and workshops in the next little while.

~Think Vitality!~

Alert on Allergies

A very common question that comes up this time of year is, “What can I do about my allergies?” When I suggest moving to the Antarctic, it never seems to be much help.

The common symptoms of seasonal allergies are
· Stuffy, runny nose
· Asthma, difficult breathing
· Itchy, watery eyes
· Sneezing
· Skin reactions (such as hives, and eczema)

All of these symptoms are “histamine reactions.” A healthy body would have a normal reaction to allergens by flushing them out by sneezing once or twice, and slightly increasing mucous production. In an unbalanced body there is an “over-reaction” or histamine reaction which gives rise to the irritating symptoms of allergies.

How severe your allergies may be is determined by the pollen count. This year in Victoria, it has been lower than most years due to the strange spring weather we have been having.
You can check Pollen Forecast: Victoria, British Columbia - The Weather Network to see how we are fairing. While patients have complained about allergies a little bit, I don’t think we have seen the worst of the season yet.

What can you do to prevent or treat your allergies?
Well, it may seem obvious but the first thing is to try to reduce your exposure to pollens. You can check the pollen count and if your allergies are severe you may want to consider staying inside days that the pollen count is “high”. Other useful tips are:

Spice it up!
Eat some ginger, onions, cayenne pepper and other spices to help thin the mucous in the sinuses and flush out allergens. Ginger can also dilate the bronchial tubes and help breathing.

Get fat!
That is, get essential fatty acids such as flax seed, Udo’s oil blend, or fish oils. EFA’s are natural anti-inflammatories and can help with allergic reactions.

Query some Quercitin!
Quercitin is a natural flavanoid that counter acts the effects of pollen and has anti-histamine effects. You can get your dose of quercitin from an apple (with the skin on), red grapes, red onions, berries, and black tea.

Boost the Belly
Food intolerance and poor digestion seem to be connected with allergies. A healthy digestive tract will lessen the load on your immune system, thus reducing allergies. Simply add 18-24 ounces of PLAIN yogurt, preferably one with acidophilus in it. I mention “PLAIN” because sweetened yogurts do not have the same effect on the digestion because of the high sugar content. A recent study at the University of California showed that by adding yogurt into the diet reduced allergies symptoms up to 90%.

Of course, acupuncture is very helpful for when you are having an immediate (or acute) attack, or allergies that are a long standing (or chronic) problem. It can balance the immune system, reduce nasal stuffiness, and calm down the immune system. Until next time!!
~Think Vitality!~

Spring Swing

Didn’t it seem like such a wonderful day today in Victoria? The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the air was clean! It would have been a great day to get outside and go for a run, clean the deck, or straighten up the yard.

Most people have been in hibernation all winter and have been doing exercise as often as I have been doing my ‘daily blogs’!

But be careful of Spring injuries. The most common injuries of Spring are to the neck, shoulder, and back. So, before jumping on the tennis court, chasing the dog, or running around Elk Lake make sure to do a basic warm up.

It takes all of 5 minutes to gently stretch and warm up the neck, back, shoulders, hamstrings, quads, ankles, and wrists. Most seasonal injuries can be prevented by simply warming up. So go ahead, stretch, swing your arms wildly, weird out the neighbours and stay healthy!
~Think Vitality!~