CAN WE TALK?

with Catherine Cole

When members of our community come through the doors at The Great Vine, our team of experts is pleased to offer personalized advice for all kinds of health concerns. Our new “Can We Talk” advice column takes this customized approach online, creating an opportunity to ask your question in a confidential format, no matter where you are. Your identity remains confidential, but the answer is shared here, creating a unique chance for knowledge-sharing. Send us your question on any health-related topic. We look forward to making a connection.

Dear feeling trapped: I so get this. I developed a terrible fear of bridges after a bad experience on the Burlington Sky Way. I have always had a fear of heights and occasional vertigo so my new bridge phobia was something I felt really traumatized by. I don’t like letting my fears get in my way but I found myself seeking bypasses and becoming familiar with alternative GPS routes. Argh!! One day I knew I had to bite the bullet and just do it so I decided to try it with RESCUE REMEDY in hand. This formula, created by Dr. BACH, is a combination of five flower essences that are used for emotional emergencies. It is safe for everyone. It comes in liquid and lozenge form. I have used it on injured animals, myself when driving down the highway worried about my loved one, on house plants when moving and many times when I have had the occasion to feel the anxiety rise in my chest with panic and tears not far behind. It calms, it’s subtle but significant. Often I take multiple doses (there are no toxicity concerns) as I question - “ is it working?”  Each time I can feel my breathing start to regulate and the weight come off of my chest. With Rescue remedy in hand, a lot of trepidation and multiple doses, the Burlington Skyway and I are re-acquainted. We will never be fast friends but at least, with Rescue in hand, I no longer have to go out of my way to avoid her. 
Let freedom reign, Catherine

Dear even greener cleaner: I think it’s an essential part of being human now that we recognize the impact of our footprint on the planet. In schools our children learn about the 3 Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle - I think the focus has been on the recycle, which hasn’t really made us mindful of making choices to reduce our footprint in the first place. The choice to use greener products in our homes is essential, and you mentioned a few brands that you have tried. In terms of cleaners there are some great Canadian companies I love that have gone that extra mile - my favourite right now is Aspen Clean and Attitude products. They have full ranges of cleaning products for different usages. I also want to put a shout out to good old elbow grease and white vinegar. White vinegar was an amazing discovery that used corn, beets, potatoes etc as a source for distilling ethanol and producing acetic acid and voila white vinegar. It is true that some of it can come from industrial petroleum based oil distillation but many manufacturers of white vinegar point out if their product is plant based. White vinegar is a miracle product for cleaning especially in dire cases of burnt pans when combined with baking soda (remember the volcano experiments). 

Making green cleaning choices also means taking a look around your house and making conscious choices to reduce and reuse first. We can replace paper towels with reusable cleaning cloths and wash them - old towels are perfect for this. We can move toward replacing all the plastic containers with reusable containers and get rid of cling film and try covering left overs with beeswax reusable wraps and bags. The company Beebagz has a fantastic product line and is local as well. It’s about moving toward zero waste - looking around your home and making changes one at a time. Many of these changes will impact your bottom line and the planet’s health for the better. Using a dryer ball made of sheep’s wool from Collingwood, ON instead of toxic dryer sheets is a great choice. Spend under $10 and get years of fabric softening. Buy in bulk. Bring your own containers and refill your products. This goes for your spices as well. Why keep paying for bottles - bring them in and reuse. One of my favourite sites for green cleaning home recipes is http:www.keeper of the home.org   

Hope this helps and healthy 2019, Catherine

Dear What to eat in 2019: You and I  are on the same wavelength. Healthy eating seems  to be a very welcome trend and not just a part of a soon-to-be-forgotten New Year’s resolution. I love a beautiful book with colourful pictures and interesting facts and mouthwatering recipes.

There are so many trends at the moment— plant-based, keto, paleo, vegan and what they all seem to have in common is a move away from processed foods laden with preservatives and chemicals and a move toward fresh, local fruits and vegetables. If we choose to consume meat we want to know that husbandry practices are humane and clean. If we want to support a plant-based diet, we need to ensure the transparency of the food chain and understand any nutritional gaps that need supplementing.

The low carb craze is not a fad; it is the sensible reaction to a typical North American diet that has produced epidemics of obesity, auto immune and heart diseases, diabetes, Alzheimers and other neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis. We are what we eat and food truly is the best medicine. When deciding what we eat, we need to keep these health and environmental issues top of mind, but it’s also okay to have fun and remember food isn’t just fuel, it’s medicine, nourishment and a multi-sensory experience. Here is my current cookbook reading list that I think embodies all of these - hope you enjoy.

Joyous Health by Joy McCarthy - This book is filled with easy, accessible recipes that are all about eating and living well without dieting. It is a great primer for those switching to healthier food choices.

Against the Grain by Danielle Walker - Delectable paleo recipes to eat well and feel great. I love this book - it teaches you how to adapt comfort foods and make them healthy and sugar free.

The Whole Life Plan by Dr. David Perlmutter - This book is really about the author’s personal journey to healthy living. I like the balance he is asking us to look for in our own lives and some of the questions we can ask ourselves about how to make changes to live a healthy and long life. As a neurologist and the author of Grain Brain - he stresses the negative impact sugar is making in all of our lives and provides advice on how to make healthy changes.

The Wahls Protocol Cookbook by Dr. Terry Wahls - This book is my new absolute favourite and has had an extraordinary impact on people who are challenged by chronic neurological conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis. The information and diet suggestions can be life changing for all of us and the future of chronic disease management. I love this book, this author and one day I believe she will win a Nobel prize in medicine for her groundbreaking work.

Love from the Kitchen, Catherine

Dear Cooking Keto: Holidays are a time when it is hard not to go off the rails and indulge: cookie exchanges, get togethers with family, all these events challenge our resolve. Click the link below to learn easy substitutions, to make the holidays simply delicious and healthy!

https://soundcloud.com/hunters-bay-radio/sets/food-for-thought

Love, Catherine

Dear Healthy Traveller: After all of the anticipation and planning of a trip we want to make sure we give ourselves the absolutely best chance of having a stress free and healthy vacation. There are so many fabulous remedies to have on hand just in case - if you don't need them better yet but, if and when you do, it is comforting to know that your suitcase is just a step away from keeping you as healthy as you can be. 

PRE TAKE OFF

Plane germs are the absolute worst, and a common place for vacations to get off on the wrong foot, so prep yourself with a few handy dandy items.

JETLAG REMEDY: If you are going on a trip which involves a lot of distance  you will find jet lag support with a homeopathic jet lag combination remedy. Many companies make them and it can take that trip to a different time zone a walk in the park.

XCLEAR: is a nasal spray made from Xylitol that creates a barrier so that you are not inhaling all the evil viruses and bacteria shared by your cabin-mates. A quick spray pre boarding can insure that you are a wall of health and nothing can invade.

EUCALYPTUS OR BANDITS’ BLEND ESSENTIAL OILS: are fantastic choice to soak on a cotton ball and keep in a little baggie so that when you are on the plane you can constantly inhale. Many essential oils have antimicrobial properties and especially combinations like the famous thieves’, robbers’, bandits’ blends etc were designed to protect the user against germs. 

MY FIRST AID KIT: 

ARNICA 200: for use in case of accidents - shock - injury bruises - swelling etc - so handy dandy to help recover quicker.

ARSENICUM ALBUM 200: A fabulous remedy when either food poisoning or diarrhea ensue. I usually take one dose of the remedy and then wait an hour and take one more. It is a very great remedy for relieving the acute reactions that we all hate to encounter and can really mean you spend your vacation saying hi to the porcelain. 

APIS 200: for bites with swelling it is especially helpful for those who react terribly to bites. One or two doses are usually all that is needed. It is a fantastic remedy to have on hand if an episode present 

SOL 30: Sol is a homeopathic remedy for those who react in the sun with hives etc. It helps the body to tolerate the intensity of the sun - often used twice a day while in the sunshine for best results.

APIS/LEDUM/CALENDULA CREAM: This cream also helps to deal with both the itch and the swelling of bug bites as well as having calendula for soothing.

ALOE VERA GEL or NATURE'S AID:  fantastic for cuts and burns ...sunburns and removing makeup even.

NUX VOMICA 30: Sometimes our holidays involve a little bit of over indulgence - NUX is the perfect remedy for that hangover from the night before - 2 to 3 times a day or as needed. You will be everyone on the beach's best friend if you have this on hand.

SNORE NO MORE: If everyone is going to hate you because you are the big snore person on the trip then you can minimize the damage with snore no more. Keep it in a sealed baggie and then take it out before bed- you inhale the smell 5 times and then leave the jar beside your bed with the lid off. Bye bye snoring -hello good night's sleep and friendships intact. In the morning put the lid back on and you are ready to go. repeat nightly.

MYCOSHIELD: Is my go to when I am feeling sick and I need a really powerful immune booster and virus/microbe fighter. It's a travel sized spray and has saved my body from falling into the sickness abyss many times. I spray like crazy all day and at night when I am able and it just makes me happy and healthy. It is a powerful combination of many mushrooms that have potent immunity supporting properties.

SHELF STABLE PROBIOTICS: Such a handy item to have on hand to make sure that you have all of the good bacteria you need to keep your digestion and immunity happy and healthy. 

BON VOYAGE have a fantastic time knowing you have everything well in hand - ready to go and have the vacation of your life. Renew and refresh.

Love, Catherine

Dear cautiously tipsy: So a night out with friends is always a great boost to the soul and it is helpful to plan ahead so you get to enjoy your whole weekend away - not just the first night. We are a society that is very alcohol oriented and  it is wonderful to know that we can enjoy a drink or two and not end of paying for it the next day. The key is planning: 

PRE DRINKS: Make sure you eat a good meal that is rich in protein and high fibre foods to help absorb the alcohol. By having a full stomach the metabolism of alcohol is slowed down. Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and all veggies rich in fibre are a great addition to a heavier meal. A salad is not the best meal when drinks are on the menu.  If you want to prep further you can add a supplement that is already pre made - something like Party Smart - or create your own healthy preventative cocktail by taking a number of the following supplements before your first drink. The “mocktail”  should include some of the following: Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, coconut water, a bit of green food powder and perhaps a bit of dandelion, chicory or milk thistle for liver support and absorption.

DURING DRINKS: My number one tip is to remain mindful. I think the first thing we do when we get together with old friends or have a weekend away from our normal responsibilities we let our guard down and relax. This is not a bad thing - it’s great to chill but keeping one eye on our consumption can really help us manage our evening and create a healthy and non regrettable outcome. All of us kind of know our limit - so keeping track is a good time.  For every alcoholic drink  make sure that you balance it with one non alcoholic drink - Water is your best friend. I am disappointed that in our western culture we haven’t really embraced the non alcoholic great tasting drink in the bar. If we were in the UK or Australia we could order a lime bitter which is sort of like a soda with lime and a bit of bitters which is delicious and because of the bitter component phenomenal for our digestion as well. Being mindful doesn’t equate with being a party pooper - it just means that the next day you will not be in a bed or hanging over the side of a bucket feeling depressed and full of self loathing. Making sure you alternate cocktails with water or mock-tails  will keep you hydrated as well. 

AFTER DRINKS: When alcohol is consumed it is mainly converted to acetaldehyde by the liver. The build of of acetaldehyde in the liver results in the “hangover” feeling the next morning.  A post drink smoothie will be delicious and help your body deal with its inflammation and distress. Add some green food, frozen berries, coconut water ( untrue’s gatorade) ,protein powder and some of the following herbs in a quick fix it up drink: cumin, cinnamon and turmeric. A green kombucha drink is also a fantastic remedy for a upset tummy. Eating eggs after an excessive night out is an old wives’s tale that has some merit. The amino acid - cystine, contained in egg yolks  helps support the liver in breaking down the acetaldehyde from the alcohol. Last but not least in my party pack is the homeopathic remedy Nux Vomica 30CH. Nux is known as the remedy for just doing toooooo much: too much food, too much work, too much excitement, too much alcohol. It is a handy fix in a pinch.

Stay safe and have a fabulous time with your friends, Catherine

Dear on-again off-again antibiotic user: Probiotics are your friend. The simple answer is yes you need to ensure that every time you take antibiotics you replace your body’s good bacteria with a probiotic afterward. This is even more true when there are repeated prescriptions. Without the introduction of probiotics your body is much more susceptible to reoccurring infections, candida proliferation and systemic issues arising from the lack of good flora. 

Antibiotics are magnificent tools to have at our disposal but their impact on our bodies are so profound that it is important to understand just what they do to our natural gut flora and microbiome. My favourite way of thinking about the role that probiotics play in our lives is to think of them as the good armies that fight on our behalf. They stand as soldiers protecting us, warding off intruders, communicating with our immune system, improving our mood, acting in many ways as gatekeepers protecting us at all times. The gut flora or “microbiome” is a hot subject right now as we are still discovering the crucial ways in which our good bacteria help to keep us healthy. I think of it somewhat like a war; there are invading armies and our good armies are doing the best to fight off the intruders. Antibiotics are the Nukes. We drop a nuke and wipe out the bad bacteria but in the process we also wipe out all of the good armies as well. We need to replace our good armies or we have nothing to defend us. It is important when we are on antibiotics that we wait at least two hours before taking a probiotics and some people just wait until their prescription is finished before adding in the probiotic.  As we discover more information about the role that probiotics play in supporting our immune systems it just makes sense to ensure that we all have a healthy supply.

Be Well, Catherine

Dear picky and plugged: You are not alone! Constipation is a struggle for so many and can be very manageable with a few simple suggestions.

First off Water is your best friend. Water Water WATER. DRINK DRINK DRINK. There are many people, myself included who are not naturally thirsty. If you fall into that category make sure you give yourself water drinking reminders. Water is what keeps everything flowing smoothly. This is even more important if you have added any form of fibre supplement in your attempt to solve the constipation problem. If you add fibre without adequate and surplus water you will create a beaver dam effect and feel even more backed up. You need enough water not only to absorb the fibre but to flush it out as well.

Secondly there are 3 supplements that can be terrific tools to get your bowels rejigged and back on track. This is not an overnight process but is absolutely doable with consistency. Let’s start with the most important tool.

1. Probiotics- they are the good bacteria and armies working on your behalf to regulate so many different systems in your body including elimination. You need to have enough of the strain of bacteria in the Bifidus family present in your bowels to keep things moving. Most probiotics have some but not a lot of bifidus so you need to look for a probiotic that is specific to constipation. There are a few on the market that work wonderfully. The probiotic is taken before bed and will over time re regulate the intestinal and bowel flora and keep everything working as you wish. This is the key piece. There is also a a “prebiotic” digestion resistant starch that can help feed your body’s own bifidus and grow the  colonies which will also get the job done. These probiotic solutions are fantastic because they help the body do what the body knows how to do and helps support lazy and sluggish bowel function. We do not always want to wait to get things moving so there are also a couple of great supplements that are often used for other purposes that are a great alternative to laxatives. They do not promote dependency and work a treat when you need to get bowels moving.

2. Vitamin C - good old fashioned Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) when taken in quantity will flush out the bowels. Bowel Tolerance Factor or BTF is the concept of taking vitamin C to boost your immune system until you basically get diarrhea. Vitamin C is always helpful to the body so a great tool to have on hand if needed.

3. My favourite way to also support chronic constipation while waiting for the bifidus to do the job is to add Magnesium to your supplement routine. Magnesium is so essential  to the body: it helps support healthy muscle function so is heart smart. It may lower blood pressure, relieve symptoms of restless legs and muscle cramps, it can reduce migraine symptoms and help with a good night’s sleep and… when using the right source help reduce constipation. When choosing magnesium you want to think about bowels. Some magnesium flushes quickly (magnesium Oxide), some stays a bit longer in the body and is multi functional ( magnesium Citrate) and some doesn’t shift the bowels at all (magnesium glycinate). My preferred source for constipation is the Magnesium Citrate; it gets the job done, is gentle and helps with so many other things. Best time to take is before bed as it will also relax and help you sleep.

I hope this helps picky and plugged, it’s time to get things moving and back on track.

Keep it moving, Catherine

Hey Curious Canadian: As we all know “Recreational Cannabis” will be available for sale after October 17th. No health claims may be made for these products.  Medical marijuana will only be available through licensed dispensaries. Health Canada is in discussions on the how, who, what and where medical marijuana will be sold in terms of the retail environment where health info can be given.

Cannabis has two actual components: THC which acts on the CB1 receptors and CBD which acts on the CB2 receptors.  THC is the component that makes people high as well as having other medicinal properties. CBD does not make you high. The Great Vine has a proprietary blend of hemp oil from a company called CANNANDA that contains volatile organic compounds (terpenes)that act on the same CB2 receptor sites without containing any actual CBD. So it’s legal and has a NPN (natural product number) and you can travel with it.  The CB2 receptors are involved in helping with inflammation, anxiety, sleep, pain, heart health, depression, epileptic seizures, a healthy gastrointestinal tract and may improve bone density. It needs to be kept in the fridge to maintain potency and should be taken with food.  It is safe for adults, children and dogs, but not cats. My husband and I have been using it at night before bed for sleep. So far so great. Hope this helps.

Live your best life, Catherine 

Dear Going Grey at an Alarming Rate: Let’s nip that stress in the bud. There is absolutely no truth more substantial then we are never as happy as our least unhappy child. Life is stressful - we journey with our children and we do our best to help prepare them  to have the skills to meet the challenges they will encounter every day and…. We have to realize we are not superwomen - sometimes our energy flags, sometimes we just don’t have that extra oomph to answer with the appropriate tone of voice etc so how can we support ourselves when we need to love and support  our little ones — here are my go to supplements for a challenging life.

• Rescue Remedy - omg - take it as often as needed - it helps to reduce that feeling of overwhelming panic and emotional emergency.

• Vitamin B  complex - it supports our bodies to deal with the physical manifestations of stress and overwhelm and keeps our cortisol levels ( stress hormones) normalized

• L- Theanine - L - thiamine is a non protein amino acid derived form green tea. It puts your brain into an alpha brain wave state similar to that which you would get from yoga or meditation. It does not change the events but can help support you in dealing with stressful situations. It is not sedative and can be used morning and night to support emotional stability,

And of course there is breathing — please remember to breathe / 3 big breaths will signal to the adrenals to shut down the fight or flight response. Scheduling on you phone or calendar 10 minutes a day just for you will change your life in incalculable ways. When you are more there for you - there is more  of you to share. 

Live your best life, Catherine