IHC Webinar Series Addressing Infertility Wednesday, December 13, 2023 Addressing Infertility with Dr. Karen Parmar CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW If your wish for this Christmas is to be pregnant, then you don’t want to miss this opportunity with our co-founder and medical director, Dr. Karen Parmar ND. She has been helping couples conceive for the past 24 years, and has developed a “6 Phased Approach to Treating Infertility”. This webinar will review her 6 phased approach and provide general guidelines for enhancing fertility. Registration: To secure your spot, please register for the webinar here Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 Time: 6:30-7:30pm Duration: 1 hour Platform: Zoom Webinar Spread the Word: Help us reach a wider audience! Share this webinar with friends, family, and anyone who may benefit from this valuable information. | Extended Health Offerings A friendly reminder that most extended health offerings expire Dec. 31/23 and will be inaccessible if not used this calendar year. We have little changes to our hours during this holiday season. For details on working hours our closures are noted below in the hours of operation section. From our IHC family to yours we wish you all the very best holiday season. | Foundational Annual Cardiometabolic Blood Work Don't get me wrong, with 12 doctors on site, we provide a lot of fancy lab testing options here at Integrated Health Clinic. But this month, as we wrap up 2023 and look forward to the holiday season and the new year ahead, I wanted to highlight a few of the foundational tests that I strongly feel everyone should have run at least annually. To assess our cardiometabolic health. Research from 2016 indicates that upwards of 88% of the American population is metabolically unhealthy and more recently from 2022 as low as 6.8% of Americans had optimal cardiometabolic health. Now, these research studies aren’t perfect, but the takeaway is our overall cardiometabolic health in the developed world is poor and trending in the wrong direction. The fundamental first tests I recommend for assessing our metabolic health include – fasting insulin, fasting blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c, uric acid, lipid panel with ApoB100, Homocysteine, and liver enzymes. These tests are all provided by LifeLabs. The goal here is prevention! This requires early assessment to identify the first signs of changes allowing for action to be taken before we develop overt dis-ease. Please consider inquiring about obtaining these tests at your next annual visit or sooner if you've never had these tested before. Dr. Luke Mountjoy, ND References Araújo J, Cai J, Stevens J. Prevalence of Optimal Metabolic Health in American Adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2016. Metab Syndr Relat Disord. 2019 Feb;17(1):46-52. doi: 10.1089/met.2018.0105. Epub 2018 Nov 27. PMID: 30484738. O'Hearn M, Lauren BN, Wong JB, Kim DD, Mozaffarian D. Trends and Disparities in Cardiometabolic Health Among U.S. Adults, 1999-2018. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022 Jul 12;80(2):138-151. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2022.04.046. PMID: 35798448; PMCID: PMC10475326. | From the Cancer Care Centre | Empowering Resilience: Breast Cancer Survivors and the Unspoken Journey Through Genitourinary Symptoms of Menopause Women can experience many symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, mood disturbances, sleep dysregulation, and joint discomfort. One often less discussed but highly prevalent symptom relates to genitourinary symptoms of menopause (GSM). GSM encompasses vaginal symptoms of dryness, irritation, painful sex, urinary frequency, and or recurrent urinary tract infections. These symptoms develop due to the loss of estrogen after menopause. Unlike the vast majority of menopausal symptoms which tend to improve as women move farther into post-menopause, GSM symptoms tend to worsen over time. Understandably these symptoms can be distressing. Many women (as well as clinicians) are not always comfortable discussing these symptoms. Breast cancer survivors are especially vulnerable to GSM due to anti-estrogen therapies that further lower hormonal levels. It’s estimated that over 80% of breast cancer survivors have some degree of GSM and very few of these women are offered treatment to manage their symptoms. There are however, effective non-hormonal as well as hormonal treatments available to help women manage GSM. These treatments can encompass vaginal moisturizers, lubricants, and low dose vaginal estrogens. There is growing evidence that low dose vaginal estrogen is likely safe for women with a personal history of breast cancer who have symptoms of GSM, as very little, if any of the vaginal estrogen is absorbed into the bloodstream. Rather it works locally in the vaginal canal where it is administered. Ultimately the purpose of this blog post to help educate women with and without a history of breast cancer, that GSM exists. If you happen to have any of these symptoms, always know there is a way to manage it in a way that works for you. Dr. Erin Rurak, ND | Don't Let Gut Issues Get You Down Nearly 40% of adults suffer from a functional gastrointestinal disorder... 40%! With a plethora of symptoms, that can sometimes be severe and/or chronic, this disorder can be very debilitating. Enter, your naturopathic doctor! Naturopathic doctors are perfectly suited to help those with these conditions, it's what we do! Dr. Alannah Rinas, ND Click to Read Full Blog Post | | Plant-Based Foods Instead of Meat May Cut Diabetes and Heart Disease Risk "Replacing animal-based food such as deli meat or eggs with plant-based ones such as legumes may reduce the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, a review found." - CNN We all know eating less red meat can help lower cholesterol levels, but a review of 37 studies confirmed eating more plant-based proteins will also lower risk of heart disease and diabetes. Read more here Dr. Karen McGee, ND | Doctor Favourite Receipes | Chicken Marbella This is one of my new favourite dinners. It's make-ahead so you can do the prep in a less chaotic moment than right after work. Serve with your favourite whole grain or roast vegetables. Chicken offers lots of protein and for those of you with low blood pressure there's also a nice saltiness from the olives. Ingredients Marinade: - 8 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 5 teaspoons kosher salt (use 1 teaspoon per pound of chicken used)
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 4 bay leaves (optional)
- 2 tablespoons caper brine
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For the Pan: - 12 large skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 5 pounds)
- 1 cup pitted green olives, halved
- 2/3 cup chopped pitted prunes
- 1/3 cup capers
- 1 cup white wine
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Directions: - Whisk together garlic, oregano, black pepper, salt, and cayenne, bay leaves, caper juice, red wine vinegar, and olive oil and set aside.
- Prep thighs by making two cuts about 1 1/2 inches apart, into the skin side, perpendicular to the bone, and down to the bone.
- Scatter 1/2 of olives, prunes, and capers evenly on the bottom of the marination container.
- Place chicken over, skin side down. Whisk marinade again, and apply one generous spoonful to top of each thigh. Flip thighs over so the skin side is up.
- Scatter over the remaining olives, prunes, and capers, and drizzle evenly with remaining marinade.
- Place a piece of parchment paper over top and press down firmly (this step is optional but will give the best results). Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, but preferably a full 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Transfer thighs skin side up into a large roasting pan, and arrange evenly in a single layer. Scatter over remaining olives, prunes, and capers, and any remaining marinade.
- Pour in white wine, and using half the brown sugar, sprinkle the top of each thigh with a small amount.
- Roast the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, baste each thigh with pan liquids, and sprinkle the remaining brown sugar evenly over the thighs.
- Roast in the oven until thighs are fork tender, but not falling off the bone, another 30 to 45 minutes. As an optional step, when thighs are nearly done, you can increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for the last 15 minutes of cooking time for a deeper browning.
- Let cool for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.
Dr. Nicole Duffee, ND Recipe adapted from Chef John | Hours of Operation - Fort Langley Monday & Tuesday - 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Wednesday - 9:00 am to 7:00 pm Thursday & Friday - 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday - 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Hours of Operation - White Rock Monday - Friday - 9:00 am to 5:00 pm NEW - Saturday - 10:00 am to 3:00 pm *Holiday Hours* Closed - December 25-26 Closed - January 1-2 On Line Follow-up Bookings For all existing patients, we suggest you take 5 minutes and register below for our online booking platform. This will give you better flexibility to book your appointments 24 hours/ day, 7 days a week at no cost. Click the registration request link below, on the clinic page click the send registration just below the login button. Click to Request Registration Link | We care about you. We approach every patient as a unique individual with needs specific to your health. Expect a caring approach from us all. Visit our website to learn more. | | | | |
