Your thyroid gland sits in front of your neck, right below your voice box.  It releases hormones that control your metabolism.  Hypothyroidism means that your thyroid isn’t producing as much hormone as it should.

Hypothyroidism is on the rise in the population in general, but it is still more common in older women.  See if you recognize yourself in any of the following symptoms:

• Sensitivity to cold
• Difficulty concentrating
• Constipation
• Depression, fatigue, and/or weakness
• Heavy menstrual bleeding
• Joint/muscle pain
• Thinning eyebrows, brittle hair or fingernails
• Unintentional weight gain

Factors that influence hypothyroidism include:

• High stress (because when the adrenals collapse, the thyroid tries to compensate for the lack of energy)
• Deficiency in the nutritional precursors necessary to produce thyroid hormone
• Certain drugs (including amiodarone and lithium)
• Toxicity, especially heavy metal toxicity.
• Inflammation of the thyroid gland (may be viral or autoimmune)

Lab Testing

There is some disagreement between the naturopathic and the traditional medical community over which lab tests ought to be run for hypothyroidism and how they ought to be interpreted.  Most doctors will run TSH only, or occasionally T4.  TSH is the hormone produced in your brain that tells your thyroid to produce actual thyroid hormone, which is T4.

Naturopathic doctors believe that these tests alone could be misleading.  Basically, there are several places where the production of thyroid hormone can go wrong: in the brain, in the thyroid, or in the rest of your body.  TSH and even T4 can look normal in patients exhibiting clear hypothyroid symptoms.  An accurate diagnosis may require several other tests.

It’s also important to interpret the TSH values in light of your symptoms.  Naturopathic doctors like to see TSH significantly lower than the accepted range in the traditional medical community.

Conventional treatment:

This typically focuses on replacement of thyroid hormone only.

Naturopathic Treatment:

While we may resort to thyroid hormone replacement therapy as well, we don’t usually start there.

1) First, it’s critical to make sure you’re getting the right nutrients, especially a particular few that are required to produce thyroid hormone and activate it.  There are also botanicals to jump-start a sluggish thyroid.  For many patients, this alone is enough to reverse mild hypothyroidism.

2) Next, we have to look at your adrenals.  This is one of those conditions where stress plays a major role.  The adrenals need to be stabilized before treating the thyroid.  Stress management techniques are also critical here!

3) If this doesn’t take care of the problem, we’ll need to assess whether you have antibodies against your thyroid.  If you do, several other tests may be necessary in order to determine root cause.

4) When necessary, there are natural thyroid medications derived from animal thyroid glands.  These are generally considered to be superior to the isolated T4 hormone found in pharmaceuticals, because natural thyroid also contains the full spectrum of thyroid hormones (T1, T2, T3, T4, and calcitonin) in order to stabilize the effects of T4.  Some patients find that natural thyroid hormone works much better than the isolated pharmaceutical version.

There may be angles to supporting your thyroid that you have not tried.  Together we can find the best approach for you.

Dr Lauren Deville is board-certified to practice Naturopathic Medicine.  For more information, please see www.drlaurendeville.com. 

Headaches can be caused by a lot of things.  Most often migraines must be differentiated from tension or cluster headaches, assuming that some of the more serious causes have already been ruled out.

Migraines usually begin around puberty and are more common in women than in men.  Pain is usually localized behind the eyes, and is accompanied by visual changes, light and noise sensitivity, nausea and vomiting.  Sometimes pain is preceded by flashing lights, called an “aura.”

Traditional Treatment:

1. Traditional medicine recognizes the importance of tracking triggers for your headaches by keeping a headache diary.  When you begin to see a correlation between certain triggers and the onset of a migraine, you can avoid those triggers as much as possible.  Unfortunately, triggers are different for different people.  For some, certain foods and food preservatives may trigger migraines.  There are a few that are more commonly associated with migraines than others, but even that list is rather long.  For others, triggers may be bright lights, certain odors or perfumes, alcohol, allergic reactions, sleep pattern changes, dehydration, physical or emotional stress, exercise, loud noises, missed meals, smoking or exposure to smoke.
2. Rest in a cool, dark room with a cool cloth on your head.
3. Use certain medications to control pain or stop attacks.  There’s a spectrum of medications to control pain, ranging from over-the-counter to narcotics and sedatives.  But beware that rebound headaches can occur if you take pain meds regularly to keep headaches at bay.  Many of the medications intended to stop attacks work on the vascular system, and these include medications ordinarily used for blood pressure, or those that cause blood vessels to narrow (including Imitrex, Cafergot and Midrin).  These medications increase the risk of heart attack or stroke if you have heart disease already, and you must avoid some of them if you are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant.  Other meds to stop attacks include certain antidepressants, and occasionally seizure medications.  These, of course, have their own set of drawbacks.

The Naturopathic Approach:

1. First, we will start with the headache diary to search for triggers.  It will be important to avoid them until we deal with the underlying cause.
2. At this stage we can also try several naturopathic treatments which are essentially suppressive, in order to control symptoms.  I’m not opposed to using or continuing to use medications as long as they are necessary, either.  Quality of life is very important.
3. About 50% of migraine sufferers have rotated vertebra in their necks.  Try a chiropractic adjustment.  This won’t likely take care of the whole case, but it can certainly help if it contributes to your headaches.
4. A very high percentage of sufferers also have food allergies.  Delayed reactions to allergens can manifest in a wide variety of ways, and this one is relatively common.  Your triggers may or may not correspond to the foods to which you are allergic, though, because it can take up to 72 hours for symptoms to show up after exposure to a food allergen.
5. While we’re at it, we’ll also assess your diet for certain key nutrient deficiencies which occur frequently in those who suffer from migraines, remove additives known to cause migraines in some, and ensure that your blood sugar remains stable throughout the day.
6. Some migraines are associated with neurotransmitter imbalances, which is why antidepressants are used.  If this is the case, the treatment may involve neurotransmitter testing and rebalancing in a similar fashion to the treatment for depression.
7. Environmental sensitivities frequently play a role in migraines, which may explain triggers like perfumes, cigarette smoke, and the like.  If this plays a role in your headaches, detoxification and cleansing will be in order.
8. Many women find that their headaches worsen at menses and improve during pregnancy, which implies that hormone balancing and liver detoxification will be very important in recovery.

As you can see, causes of migraines are many and varied, and it may take some time to unravel your root cause.  But together, we can select a protocol to bring you relief. 

Dr Lauren Deville is board-certified to practice Naturopathic Medicine.  For more information, please see www.drlaurendeville.com. 

Your immune system is designed to protect your body against harmful substances, such as bacteria, viruses, and foreign substances (allergens). In that sense, allergic responses are not inherently bad. But in a person with allergies, the immune response is exaggerated, and you react to substances that are not generally harmful. The word “allergies” is kind of a catch-all term. Learn more about what causes allergies.

The Traditional Approach to Treating Allergies:

Most medications for allergies focus on symptomatic relief, including antihistamines, steroids, decongestants, and a few other medicines that work by different mechanisms (such as Singulair).  Although these medicines can be effective for many patients, they do not address the root cause of immune system hypersensitivity, and side effects can be prohibitive.

For severe allergies or allergens that cannot be avoided, shots are sometimes recommended.  These work much like vaccines, exposing your body to a small amount of each allergen at a time so that it “gets used to” it.  They work well for some patients, but they require frequent (usually weekly) trips to the doctor, and the co-pay adds up.

The Naturopathic Approach:

The primary approach in traditional medicine is the same as in naturopathic medicine (at least initially), and that is the avoidance of triggers.  This is important while we figure out what else is causing the hypersensitivity reactions and address the root cause.

After that, it’s always important to start by cleaning up your diet.  You need adequate nutritional support in order to heal, or at least to avoid undue stress on your system that will impede healing.  At this stage, there are also supplements and botanicals which function via a similar mechanism to some of the more common drugs for symptomatic relief.

Now down to business. 

Allergies of any kind almost always involve the gut.  This is because 80% of your immune system is in your gut – it produces an antibody called IgA.  Ideally, your gut should produce a lot of IgA , because it’s your first line of defense against any foreign substance.  The flora and the lining of your gut need to be healthy in order to produce adequate IgA so that the rest of your body never has to deal with those substances.

Next, we will assess whether your adrenals are acting properly.  High stress leads to a high level of a hormone called cortisol, and this can also decrease production of IgA.

Next, we will assess your liver.  People with allergies almost always have a high toxic body burden.  Toxins are foreign substances which really are harmful to your body (unlike allergens which are not), and they need to be altered in some way so that your body can eliminate them.  This alteration usually happens in the liver.  When there are too many toxins and your liver can’t keep up, these toxic substances build up in the system.  This may increase reactivity to substances that would ordinarily be considered harmless.

Finally, we offer an alternative to allergy shots: allergy drops.  The drops are formulated in a similar fashion and work via a similar mechanism to shots, and the allergens represented in the shots are chosen based on the results of an IgE blood test to environmental allergens.  These drops are not covered by insurance, but the cost is likely cheaper than the co-pay for frequent visits for allergy shots, and they can be administered in the convenience of your own home… without needles.

Allergies are on the rise.  They can dramatically decrease quality of life, and in traditional medicine, they are very difficult to treat.  Fortunately, in naturopathic medicine there is hope.  Set up an appointment today. 

Dr Lauren Deville is board-certified to practice Naturopathic Medicine.  For more information, please see www.drlaurendeville.com. 

Do you feel bloated and uncomfortable after eating, or throughout most of the day?

If you are a female between teen years and early to mid-adulthood, and these symptoms have persisted for some time, it’s likely that you have what’s known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS.

IBS is also known as irritable colon, mucous colitis, spastic colon, spastic colitis, and nervous stomach.  Symptoms include abdominal pain and cramping, changes in bowel movements (often alternating between constipation and diarrhea), flatulence, and occasionally mucus discharge.   When symptoms start, the frequency of bowel movements and the appearance of stools change, although symptoms tend to improve after bowel movements.  IBS patients with diarrhea will have frequent, loose, watery stools and may have difficulty controlling the urge to defecate.  Those with constipation may experience straining and cramping with bowel movements.  IBS patients may also lose their appetites due to the bloating sensation.  Overall, these symptoms tend to wax and wane over time for some patients, though for other patients they are constant.

If you didn’t already notice, the IBS symptom picture is highly variable.

IBS the most common cause of referrals to gastroenterologists in the US, and it is a diagnosis of exclusion.  That is because in patients with IBS, there aren’t any abnormalities in the structure of the colon itself, and all test results come back normal.  Within the traditional medical paradigm, therefore, not much can be done for it.  There is very limited data for the efficacy of any particular drug for this condition.

But fortunately, in naturopathic medicine, there is hope.  I take my time with my patients in order to discover the most likely root cause for his or her symptoms.  Some patients may have food intolerances contributing to their symptoms.  Others may have significant dysbiosis (overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria in the colon).  Some may simply not have enough fiber and water in their diets.  Some women may have a hormonal imbalance – these patients find that their IBS symptoms significantly worsen around the time of menses.  There is almost always some component of emotional stress in the case — more than 80% of the serotonin receptors in the body are found in the gut, which may partially explain the correlation between IBS and depressive symptoms.

Sometimes symptoms that suggest IBS require further testing to rule out other conditions, and sometimes a diagnosis can be made clinically and treatment can begin immediately.  I have seen IBS patients improve dramatically with homeopathy, enzymes, some simple diet and lifestyle adjustments, and stress management techniques.

The bottom line – the cause and the symptom picture varies depending on the patient, and so the treatment must also be individualized.  Call for an appointment to determine the best treatment for you.

Dr Lauren Deville is board-certified to practice Naturopathic Medicine.  For appointments, please call Nature Medica at 887-4287, or for more information, please see www.drlaurendeville.com. 

As a naturopathic doctor, I take my time with my patients and get to know each person’s story, as well as his or her health history.  Very frequently it turns out that at least a component of his or her chief concern involves stress.

Nor am I alone in this – an estimated 75-90% of all visits to Primary Care Physicians are for stress-related complaints or disorders.  Stress has been linked to all of the leading causes of death, including heart disease and cancer.  Clearly from a holistic physician’s perspective, proper stress management techniques are absolutely essential to your health.

The following is a list of recommendations that I make to my patients.  Some may be more applicable to you than others.

• Get enough sleep.  Adequate sleep contributes to overall well being, including but not limited to improved energy and greater emotional stability.
• Eat a healthy diet.  High sugar, high saturated fat, and nutrient deficiencies can all cause inflammation and a physiologic stress response in your body.
• Exercise regularly.  Exercise elevates your mood by releasing endorphins (the natural “high”) and improves your metabolism.  It also promotes the elimination of toxins from your body by improving your circulation.  Toxic accumulation can also cause a physiologic stress response.
• Maintain a positive attitude.  Thoughts easily become habits — negative meditation (or worry) produces a negative attitude, and positive meditation does the opposite.  Just like any other habit, it’s difficult to break the tendency to think negatively at first, but it becomes easier with practice.  It is also important to be selective about the ideas that you allow to influence your mind.  As far as you are able, surround yourself with positive people and uplifting media (books, music, movies, and the like), and shut off those voices that are negative or harmful.  It still may not be easy at first to change habits of negative thinking, but this will certainly help to set you up for success.
• Practice effective communication.  Many stressful events in our lives come about as a result of poor communication, leading to tension in relationships.  It is important to diffuse these situations at the outset as much as possible in order to avoid larger problems later on.
• Manage your time.  This involves planning for those tasks that we consider to be most important, and also allowing time for relaxation.  Planning your schedule in advance will help you know when to ask for assistance, rearrange your priorities, or say no when you see that you won’t have enough time to complete a particular task.  Both over scheduling and poor time management can lead to unnecessary stress.
• Develop leisure activities.  Consider joining a social or volunteer group with similar interests to yours.  Schedule time to get away for the weekend, to go on vacation, or to spend time with people you love.
• Relaxation techniques.  Choose one or more of the following suggestions to practice regularly.  Notice that all of these techniques involve a shift in focus — that is the key.
1. Prayer: The idea that we are in control of our own lives is an illusion anyway.  Prayer reminds us to place our focus not on the problem, but on the One who can lead us to the solution.  Pray about your concerns, but then be still and listen.  You might be surprised what you’ll hear.
2. Meditation is the art of clearing your mind and focusing intently on a single image, phrase, or idea.  Worry involves the constant focus on a negative thought or idea, while meditation is the intentional focus on a positive idea.  For example, I meditate on Bible verses that speak specifically to my circumstance.  Instead of worry and fear, I begin to see the positive solution I hope for as I focus on these words.  My hope then turns into faith as I choose to believe the verses on which I am meditating.
3. Guided imagery.  When you worry, you are using your imagination to envision a negative outcome.  Why not use the powerful tool of your mind in order to achieve the opposite effect?  There are many terrific guided imagery CDs that can help you with this technique if you are not yet adept at creating powerful images on your own.
4. Yoga.  This form of slow, methodical stretching holds each pose long enough to release stored tension in the muscles that are forced to relax.  It also emphasizes proper breathing (see below).
5. Deep breathing.  This is a quick way to bring your body into a parasympathetic (or a “not stressed”) state.  When muscles are tense, they seize up, inhibiting blood flow and oxygenation.  Deep breathing provides more oxygen to your tissues, helping to release that tension.   Breathe in and out to a count of five seconds each, expanding your stomach rather than your chest.  This drops your diaphragm, fills your lungs to capacity, and slows your heart rate.
6. Massage.  This technique forces blood flow back into tense muscles, which both delivers oxygen and whisks away toxins that have stagnated in the tissues.

Stress is not what happens to us; it’s the way our bodies react to it.  But if we supply our bodies and our minds with positive, healthful influences, we will be much better equipped to deal with the challenges of life.

Dr Lauren Deville is a board-certified Naturopathic Physician.  For more information, please see www.drlaurendeville.com, or call 520-887-4287 to make an appointment.

If you’re chronically stressed out and always feel tired, read on. 

Your adrenals are two pyramid-shaped glands that sit on top of your kidneys.  They perform a variety of functions, but adrenal fatigue specifically refers to their ability to help the body cope with stress.  Prolonged stress can lead to adrenal burnout.

The core of the adrenal glands produces an acute stress neurotransmitter called epinephrine, also known as adrenaline (hence the name, adrenal glands).  Epinephrine performs a very important function: it gives us the strength we need to get over an acutely stressful situation.

Our ancestors needed epinephrine in order to stay alive in a hostile environment.  But today, we’re stressed out all the time.  Adrenaline gets released when we’re late and stuck in traffic, in angry confrontations, or even when we’ve adapted to chronic anxiety.

One of three outer layers of the adrenal glands produces another hormone meant to offset the effects of adrenaline and “buffer” the body against the effects of acute stress.  This hormone is called cortisol.  But the adrenals were never meant to produce as much cortisol as they have to in chronically stressful situations.  Eventually they just get tired.

The first stage of adrenal fatigue happens when you have been under a lot of stress for a long time, but not quite so long that your adrenals are unable to adapt.  During this stage, cortisol output is chronically higher than it should be, but still not high enough to compensate entirely for the adrenaline output.   In this stage you may experience:

• Weight gain
• High blood pressure
• Disturbed sleep
• PMS
• Irritability

During the second stage, when your adrenals can’t produce enough cortisol to compensate for prolonged stress, you may experience:

• Depression
• PMS
• Insomnia
• Sugar cravings and hypoglycemia
• Low blood pressure upon standing (orthostatic hypotension)
• Recurrent infections and difficulty shaking off infections

Your naturopathic doctor can work you up for adrenal fatigue; often the diagnosis can be made clinically but sometimes labs are helpful.  There are a variety of treatments, depending on the stage of adrenal fatigue, ranging from diet and lifestyle changes to supplements to prescription medications for more severe cases.  But most patients I’ve seen with adrenal fatigue feel much better just with a few simple treatments.  You can get your energy back too.

Dr Lauren Deville is board-certified to practice Naturopathic Medicine.  For more information, please see www.drlaurendeville.com.  

The American public has been led to believe that:

1)      Cholesterol is universally bad

2)      High fat content in our food leads directly to high fat content in our bodies.

How Fat, Cholesterol, and Sugars Interact In Your Bloodstream

High triglycerides (fats in the bloodstream) are not primarily due to a high fat diet, but rather due to high refined sugar and carbohydrates, which are broken down into simple sugars and impact the body in virtually the same way.  Both sugar and simple carbohydrates cause a rapid rise in blood sugar, which overwhelms your body: your blood can only accommodate a few tablespoons of sugar at a time.  Any more than that needs to be rapidly disposed of in order to prevent hyperglycemia.  And there’s only one place it can go: fat, with the help of insulin.  Insulin is what allows sugar to enter the cells for storage.

How This Leads to Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

Problems come in when this cycle is repeated too often, too long: like a drug addict needing a bigger dose for the same high, your body will start to require more and more insulin to keep up with your sugar intake.  Eventually, your pancreas (which creates insulin) simply can’t keep up with the demand.  This is bad for two reasons:

1)      It can lead to Insulin Resistance and eventually Diabetes

2)      The excess sugar in the bloodstream damages the lining of your blood vessels, triggering LDL cholesterol (colloquially known as “bad” cholesterol) to create a plug.  This in itself is not bad.  In fact, LDL cholesterol acts like a band-aid, and is a positive adaptation of the body in an attempt to restore health.  But if this cycle of damage and repair continues, it can lead to cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Bottom line: the primary reason for the obesity epidemic, heart disease and diabetes is not high fat.  The problems are high sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Fat Isn’t All Bad

Diets that are too low in fat are not good!  Fat and cholesterol are necessary for the formation and maintenance of healthy cellular membranes (including those of neurons, enabling easy transmission and uptake of neurotransmitters), the formation of all cholesterol-based hormones and neurotransmitters, and the maintenance of healthy mucous membranes.  Not surprisingly, those who place themselves on strict low-fat diets experience bouts of depression at the minimum, and patients on statin drugs to lower their cholesterol must monitor their other cholesterol-based hormones carefully, and are likely to experience a wide variety of side effects such as muscle problems, fatigue, and memory loss.

How SHOULD We Eat?

So, what’s the answer?  First I have to start with a disclaimer that no one diet is right for everybody.  There’s plenty of evidence of healthy populations who live practically vegan, and others that live almost exclusively on animal products; those who consume up to 70% grains and those who live primarily on protein.  But all of these populations seem to have one thing in common: they eat real food.  It hasn’t been processed, so the nutrient density remains intact and the naturally occurring fiber slows the release of carbohydrates into the bloodstream.

That said, here are a couple of rules of thumb:

1)      Choose foods that will spoil, and eat them before they do.  Foods without a lot of preservatives most likely haven’t been processed very much.

2)      If you must choose something that has been pre-packaged, read labels.  If there are any added sugars, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), or ingredients you don’t recognize on the list, don’t eat it.

3)      Eat a rainbow.  Get as many naturally occurring colors in there as you can.  This will most likely cause you to consume the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables without even trying.

4)      Have some protein with every meal, including every snack.  This will help to keep blood sugar stable.  Protein doesn’t necessarily mean meat; there are lots of forms, including beans, soy, yogurt, cheese, nuts, quinoa, etc.

5)      If organic food is available and affordable, buy it.  Organic animal products are produced from animals fed a natural diet, and therefore the products they produce contain the proper, anti-inflammatory balance of fats (higher omega 3 and lower omega 6).  Additionally, organic foods in general are prepared without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or preservatives.  For a list of those fruits and veggies that should be purchased organically (the “Dirty Dozen”) and those for which organic is less important (the “Clean 15”), see this list by the Environmental Working Group: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/

6)       Drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water every day.

Again, this is not intended to be a substitute for personalized medical recommendations; be sure to check with your Naturopathic Doctor for the diet, lifestyle, and supplement regime most appropriate for you.  But if you adhere to just these principles, your blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and weight will almost certainly head back in the right direction.

Let 2012 be your year to turn your health around!

 Dr Lauren Deville is a board-certified Naturopathic Physician.  She currently practices at Nature Medica at One W Wetmore, Suite 101 in Tucson, AZ.  For more information, see www.drlaurendeville.com.

Two of the most common New Year’s Resolutions are to exercise more, and to lose weight.  They’re also two of the most frequently broken.  Here are a few ideas to help you beat the odds!

• Learn just enough to get started.  When you plan a long road trip, you need to know where you’re headed. For instance, you probably want to have some sense of what town you’ll end up in each night, but you don’t necessarily need to know what restaurants are off of every single exit.  You can figure that part out as you go.  Your resolutions are the same way. If you want to get fit, or lose weight, you need to have some idea of how to get started. (Combining my knowledge as a naturopathic physician and a former personal trainer, I’ve created a guide to getting started here.  Additionally, I offer a 30 minute consultation on how to meet your weight loss and fitness goals.  (There is a reduced rate for Tucson Citizen readers — mention this article to take advantage of it.)
• Pick a SPECIFIC goal.  Goals that can’t be measured can’t be attained.  You need to be able to determine whether you’ve reached your goals or not.  For instance, a goal like “Get in better shape” is not easily measured, but one like “Join a local gym, and work out for 1 hour 3 times a week,” is.  Don’t start your resolutions until you have a measurable goal, or you will almost certainly fail.
• Ask someone to help you!  It’s much easier to lose weight and get in shape with a friend.  Why?  Because everyone has times when they just want to skip it.  After a handful of days like that, all of a sudden you’ve given up altogether.  But if you know someone else is counting on you (or keeping you accountable), you are more likely to power through. Find someone with the same goals, and commit to keep each other going!
• MEASURE MEASURE MEASURE! You must measure your progress, because when you see that you have progressed, you’ll be motivated to keep going.  If your goal is to lose weight, this can be measured by the scale, or by bioelectrical impedance (a machine which measures your percent body fat, available in some naturopathic offices, including mine, as well as at most gyms).  In my opinion the latter is more accurate, since muscle weighs more than fat, and so the scale can be misleading.  You can also use a good old fashioned tape measure.  If you choose this option, I’d suggest measuring halfway down the arms, across the chest, across the waist, across the hips, and halfway down each thigh.  But whichever method you choose, make sure you keep records of your progress.
• Measure your MOOD too.  Each day, write no more than 120 characters about how your day went, and include a rating on your mood.  Exercise releases natural endorphins, and is a very effective treatment for mild forms of depression.  Even if you do not suffer from mood disorders currently, you may be surprised at how good you feel with regular physical activity.
• Choose activities you enjoy.  You’re much more likely to incorporate exercise into a way of life if you like it!  Some people enjoy jogging and lifting weights, and for those, traditional regimes work fine.  Some prefer gentler activities, such as walking, yoga, gardening, or pilates.
• Don’t overdo it.  Like anything else, it’s possible to burn out on an exercise routine if you try to do too much, too fast, not to mention predispose yourself to injury.  Increase the intensity of your exercise routine gradually, and be realistic with your goals.

Losing weight requires more than just sheer willpower.  Recognize that however motivated you may feel on January 1, you will encounter internal resistance.  The difference between success and failure has to do with setting clear, realistic, measurable goals, taking note of gains as they are achieved, having a plan to combat the resistance as it comes, and enjoying the process along the way.

Here’s to a slimmer, healthier 2012!

Dr Lauren Deville is a board-certified Naturopathic Physician.  She currently practices at Nature Medica at One W Wetmore, Suite 101 in Tucson, AZ.  For more information, see www.drlaurendeville.com.

There’s a lot of hype out there, and a lot of conflicting information.  The nutritional supplement aisle at the health food store can be downright overwhelming.  So how do you decide what supplements you should be taking?

It turns out that there are certain nutrients that are generally undersupplied even in a well-balanced diet.  The following recommendations assume that you already 1) avoid processed foods, white sugar and flour, 2) consume 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies per day, and 3) are basically healthy, and looking to optimize your health and prevent disease.  With those disclaimers in mind, consider starting your New Year right by taking the following four supplements:

1)      A Multivitamin and Mineral.  Our food isn’t nearly as nutrient-dense as it used to be even a couple decades ago.  There are many reasons for this, but the bottom line is that even with a relatively good diet, most of us are chronically vitamin and mineral depleted.  However, not all multivitamins are created equal – some are highly absorbable and some of them are a waste of money.  Check with a professional to tell the difference.

2)      Essential Fatty Acids.  The most common source of these are fish oils, but EFAs can also be found in high concentrations in Krill oil, flax seed oil, and cod liver oil.  The two EFAs to pay attention to are Omega 3 and Omega 6, but the former is more important for supplementation because the Standard American Diet tends to be many times higher in Omega 6 than Omega 3 (leading to an inflammatory imbalance).  Across the population, average dietary intake of EFAs in North America tends to be around 100 mg per day, whereas healthy individuals should get around 500 mg of EFAs daily.  Look for EFAs that say “Pharmaceutical Grade” on the bottle, as these have been tested for environmental contaminants.

3)      Antioxidants.  We know that oxidative stress is a mediating factor in heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and chronic inflammatory diseases, and it is postulated to be a major contributor to cellular aging as well.  Antioxidants neutralize the free radicals that cause oxidative stress.  Many nutrients are considered to be antioxidants, but most important are those found throughout the body (called “endogenous”), and those that are capable of regenerating other antioxidants.  Find a complex that contains NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine), ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid), and CoQ10.  There are also specific antioxidants which may be important for a given condition, but it’s best to check with your naturopathic doctor which ones are right for you.

4)      Probiotics.  These are friendly microflora that help you to digest your food and contribute substantially to your immune system. Although it may seem unnatural to supplement with microorganisms, people once consumed a much higher volume of fermented foods (and therefore of probiotics) than they do today.  Look for a probiotic with 20 billion organisms at about a 50/50 ratio of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, as these are the organisms that make up the majority of your gut flora, at about that ratio.

Again, this advice assumes an otherwise healthy individual.  Those who are fighting an infection may have much higher nutrient needs for a limited time, and those with a preexisting diagnosis may have ongoing needs over and above these recommendations.  For questions or your individualized protocol, email or call for an appointment with Dr Deville at 520-887-4287.

Dr Lauren Deville is a board-certified Naturopathic Physician.  She currently practices at Nature Medica at One W Wetmore, Suite 101 in Tucson, AZ.  For more information, see www.drlaurendeville.com.

One of the most important things that you can do for your health is to get adequate sleep.  Sleep is necessary for memory, physical performance, mood stability, weight maintenance, and muscle and cellular repair.  Without it, we set ourselves up for chronic illness.

In order to address insomnia, Naturopathic Medical Doctors begin with First Line Therapy, meaning diet and lifestyle adjustments.  In this case, First Line Therapy would involve a good sleep routine.  Here are some tips.

1)      Go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning, even if you’re not tired at night and/or got very little sleep by morning.  It’s best to wake with the sun to reset your biological clock, and go to bed early enough that this won’t leave you exhausted the next day.  Adequate hours of sleep varies per person, however – it is a myth that everyone needs eight hours of sleep in order to function optimally.

2)      If you cannot fall asleep, get up and do something else.  The anxiety of trying to fall asleep can actually exacerbate the problem.

3)      The last hour (or at least half an hour) before you go to bed, do something calming — read a book, listen to music, pray, or meditate in bed until you start to nod off.  Try not to watch TV right before bed.  Do not take any stimulants or engage in stimulating activities before bed.

4)      Consume little or no alcohol before bedtime.  Alcohol may help you fall into a light sleep, but it prevents REM and deeper stages of sleep, and so you feel less rested.

5)      Give up smoking.  Like those who have night caps right before bed, smokers tend to sleep very lightly, and wake after 3-4 hours of sleep due to the nicotine withdrawal.

6)      Avoid caffeine after 2 pm.  As much as 25% of the caffeine you drink can stay with you 6 hours after you drink it.

7)      Get enough exercise: 20-30 minutes per day.

8)      Keep your room cool – you lose your ability to regulate body temperature during REM, so hot or cold temperatures can disrupt this stage of sleep.

9)      Write down the thoughts that keep you awake.  If your thoughts keep you up at night, write them down before you go to sleep. Doing so let’s your mind stop thinking about them, because it isn’t worried about forgetting!

10)   Try not to nap after 2 pm if possible.

For more ideas on how to beat insomnia, click here.

Dr Lauren Deville is a board-certified Naturopathic Physician.  She currently practices at Nature Medica at One W Wetmore, Suite 101 in Tucson, AZ.  For more information, see www.drlaurendeville.com.