Dr. Erin Crossman, Naturopathic Physician
827 Broughton Street V8W 1E4 Victoria, BC, Canada

New Canada Food Guide released yesterday, done with help from certain ND's through the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors! Key points: - Emphasis on Vegetables and Fruits, Whole Grains, and Proteins. - The 4 food groups have been eliminated. - Meat and dairy deemphasized... - Greater focus on plant-based proteins - Water is the beverage of choice - Healthy Food choices are now displayed on a plate, showing how much the plate should be comprised of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and proteins - Warns Canadians about sugary drinks (including 100 per cent fruit juice), processed foods, and alcohol consumption. - Focuses on environmental sustainability, diversity and whole foods - Outlines healthy eating habits cook more often, enjoy your food, take time to eat and eat meals with others https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/

Want to know more about high blood pressure? The new Sage newsletter is out and the topic is high blood pressure. I wrote an overview on the condition and included a lot of diet and lifestyle modifications for prevention and treatment! You can also check out the other doctors' supporting articles if you go to the Blog tab on sageclinic.com... http://www.sageclinic.com/high-blood-pressure/

#Repost @hydrateivwellness Hydrate IV Wellness Centre offers full-service naturopathic medicinea functional approach to health. Naturopathic doctors assess the whole body and work to remove the cause of illness while also addressing the symptoms. Naturopathic doctors are trained to diagnose and treat using a variety of different approaches: Dietary and Lifestyle Guidance... Vitamin & Nutraceutical Supplements Pharmaceutical and Prescription Medication Botanical Medicine Homeopathic Remedies Acupuncture Spinal Adjustments Counselling Advanced Injections and Intravenous Therapy Book a full consultation by calling 250.590.1482

Why is cabbage so good for you?? 1) It helps your body detox! In 2 ways: it’s a good source of fiber, and like other cruciferous vegetables it also has great sulphur containing compounds that support detoxification. 2) Its packed with nutrients, especially high in Vitamin C, K and B6.... 3) Cabbage is full of antioxidants, especially red cabbage where it’s antioxidant compounds aid in it’s great colour! 4) Its high in glutamine, this is the main amino acid used by the cells in your small intestine. Cabbage juice is actually used in treatment protocols to help heal peptic ulcers! 5) The fiber in cabbage also feeds our gut bacteria. Healthy bacteria flourish on great sources of fiber found in plants like cabbage. This fact is essential because if you aren’t consistently eating good sources of fiber, it doesn’t matter how many probiotics you take, the good bacteria wont stick around. Note: If you tend to feel a bit gassy from the bacterial fermentation in your gut after eating cabbage, don’t be discouraged. Regularly eating types of high fiber and nutrient dense foods like cabbage can help strengthen your gut and support less bloating. It also helps if you lightly cook them and be mindful of the portions. Happy cabbage eating.

Chronic Pain - redirecting our treatment approaches and why. Here is a bigger article I wrote for my clinic's newsletter on chronic pain. http://www.sageclinic.com/chronic-pain/ If this interests you there are also supplementary articles on the topic of pain (and lots of other topics!) on the Sage Clinic website: http://www.sageclinic.com/blog/

Yoga and Nutrition Series for Diabetes - A colleague of mine, Dr. Andrea Whelan, is collaborating with the yoga instructor Nina Leibow to put on a neat 6 part series on therapeutic yoga and nutrition for diabetes which combines yoga, nutrition and lifestyle guidance. Great idea!

Mental illness is a very common form of human pain and suffering. Being there for people you care about by being a good listener, being kind, and asking how you can help, provides a space to break the silence. Bell Lets Talk Day is reaching out to Canadians to: - Challenge stigma when you’re faced with it - Watch your language... - Be warm, caring and non-judgemental - Treat everyone with respect ! The Mental Health Commission of Canada states that - 1/3 workplace disability claims are related to mental illness - 70% of disability costs are attributed to mental illness Bell Lets Talk Facilitator Guide also mentions that: - 1/5 Canadians will experience a form of mental illness at some point in their life The goal of Bell Lets Talk is to bring Canadians together to talk about how people can find help and how communities can host conversations about mental health. They aim to reduce the risk and stigma of mental illness. Stigma can make people feel unwanted and ashamed for something that's not their choice or their fault and it's often harder to deal with than the illness itself. Today you can help drive Bell’s donations to Canadian mental health initiatives through Bell phones and social media. Find out how: https://letstalk.bell.ca/en/ This link also includes education tools to make year-long changes within yourself and your community.

The tsunami warning this week had many people asking how they might get that type of information quicker. If you want to stay up to date for the Victoria area, you can sign up for the free emergency notification service put on by the City of Victoria. Vic-Alert informs you by text, phone and email of major emergencies or disasters that may impact you in Victoria. http://www.victoria.ca//emergency-prepared/vic-alert.html