In this episode, Dr. Toni talks with Dr. Taylor Bean about vaccines, vaccine optimization and enhancing the immune health of our children. The topic of vaccination, especially for our kids, is often emotional and polarizing, whether you’re talking to your family, friends or health care provider. Many parents have questions about vaccines but don’t feel comfortable asking questions, or don’t even know which questions to ask to fully understand the vaccines that are recommended for their kids.
Dr. Taylor Bean, ND, is one of the few Naturopathic Doctors in British Columbia (and all of Canada) who is licensed to administer vaccines to adults and children 5 years of age and older in her office. Having two children of her own, Dr. Bean is well aware of the concerns, questions and even fears that parents have when it comes to vaccinating their children. Dr. Bean is open to discussing the many questions parents have around vaccination, as there are several inaccuracies that can be found on the internet.
In today’s episode, we cover:
The basic goal of vaccination (to make antibodies in response to an antigen)
How different vaccine schedules in different provinces and countries can impact kids and adults who have moved
The importance of informed consent and respectful communication around vaccination to address vaccine hesitancy
Nutrients that can support your immune system function and vaccine effectiveness, including vitamin C, probiotics, glutathione
The importance of avoiding Tylenol to support the effectiveness of a vaccine
How your individual genetics and tendency for inflammation can impact how you react to vaccines (it’s not just about MTHFR!)
The importance of getting your titers tested for measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox and hepatitis B – did you know that not everyone makes antibodies in response to a vaccine?
How making antibodies to a specific vaccine does not mean you have zero risk of contracting that illness – what?!?!
Fuel for your immune system: vitamin C, zinc, selenium, water, good sleep
Whether you should be concerned about possible delays in your child’s vaccine schedule from disruptions due to school closures or focus on COVID-19 vaccination
You can connect with Dr. Taylor Bean on Instagram @drtaylorbean
If you’re interested in learning more about Dr. Bean’s vaccine optimization webinar, sign up for notifications at https://drtaylorbean.com/
Today’s Mama Must Have:
Dr. Toni depends on her morning elixir with herbal or green tea, coconut butter, local honey, herbs like maca and shatavari and other immune supportive nutrients like vitamin C, mushroom extracts and arabinogalactans. Her favourite elixir cookbook is Elixir Life by Malcolm Saunders
Dr. Taylor Bean recommends the book From Fear To Love by Midwife Red Miller to pregnant mamas who want a more connected and informed birth and parenting experience.
Thank you for joining us today!
Email us or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram. We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.
Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!
In today’s episode, Dr. Lisa is talking to Dr. Penny Kendall-Reed, ND, about how your genetics plays an important role in your metabolism and weight management. When it comes to diet and exercise, one size doesn’t fit all! Learn how your genes provide the information to tell your body when it’s hungry, how stress will impact your weight and what type of food and exercise is the best for your body to reduce your weight.
Penny Kendall-Reed is the director and practicing naturopathic doctor at the Urban Wellness Clinic in Toronto. After graduating from McGill University in Neurobiology, she earned a degree in Naturopathic Medicine from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine; here she received the Dr. Allen Tyler Award for Most Outstanding Clinician. Dr. Kendall Reed is the author of 5 national bestselling books and just released her 6th book Fix your Genes to Fit your Jeans. In 2013 she was voted Naturopath of the Year, and in 2018 was the recipient of the top Naturopathic Doctor Award in Canada. She is the creator of GeneRx, an integrated genetic platform and an international medical consultant for Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations and Pure Genomics.
In today’s episode, we cover:
How dopamine can help you to get “addicted” to exercise
The importance of being able to turn on and turn off your gene expression, or individual coding, through lifestyle and nutrition to support your metabolism, hormone balance and anti-cancer activity of your immune system
What is a SNP or single nucleotide polymorphism?
How stress can cause SNPs and impact your genetic expression
The least expensive way to get your genes tested
An easy way to maintain your privacy when you get 23 and me testing
How the GeneRx platform provides an option for getting specific lifestyle recommendations based on your genetic information
How you produce more cortisol, which increases insulin release and reduces your metabolism from 92% to 36%, as you get into perimenopause
How the nutrients in Sereniten Plus can be used to unstick your brain receptors involved in your stress response
The importance of connection, exercise and having something fun to forward to for reducing your stress and cortisol levels
How sleeping 7 hours instead of 8 hours a night decreases your ability to lose weight by 55% and can increase your weight by 6% in one week!
How the herbs and amino acid in Tri-Metabolic Control can help reset your metabolic hormones of adiponectin, leptin and ghrelin involved in your weight and food-seeking behaviour
How Dr. Penny uses the chocolate Pure Paleo protein powder to get enough collagen to support her skin, hair and nails
In today’s episode, Dr. Lisa and Dr. Toni discuss: the different types of hair loss, causes, lab tests to consider and solutions that can work for women in perimenopause who are experiencing hair loss. It’s important to recognize that some hair loss is normal but unfortunately, abnormal hair loss is common. Up to 50% of women will experience significant amounts of hair loss in their lifetime.
What is Normal?
Loss of 50-100 hairs on average per day
No change in hairline/scalp you can see; pony tail still same size
3-4 months postpartum:
you don’t lose hair during pregnancy; make up for it at this time
normalizes at around 6-12 months postpartum
The Four Stages for Hair Follicles:
Anagen – active growth phase lasting 2-7 years
Catagen – brief transitional phase where fibre stops growing
Telogen – rest phase lasting 3 months where old hair pushed up to skin surface then shed
What is Abnormal?
Losing more than 100 hairs per day when not postpartum
Change in your hairline with more scalp visible
Telogen effluvium: temporary hair loss after stress, shock or traumatic event
Type of Hair Loss:
Genetic – progressive gradual reduction in your hair volume, can make your hair follicles more susceptible to reactive hair loss
Reactive – also known as telogen effluvium, temporary hair loss
Causes of Hair Loss:
Nutrient deficiencies: low iron, vitamin b12, protein intake
Low thyroid function: Hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroiditis
Your thyroid gland helps to regulate your body’s metabolism by controlling the production of proteins and your tissue use of oxygen. Any thyroid imbalance can therefore affect your hair follicles.
If hypothyroidism is left untreated it may result in anemia or iron deficiency
Stress, shock or traumatic event
Can negatively impact your estrogen levels which can impact hair loss
Raises your androgen levels, disrupts your scalp health causing dandruff, negative impact on your digestion
Can negatively impact your thyroid function
Leaky gut, celiac disease and eating gluten – see Episode 8 for more info on gut health
Damaging hair dye or other hair care products that weigh your hair down
Traction alopecia: caused pulling hair back tightly (eg. ponytail, bun or braids) and weakening hair follicles
Hormone changes and imbalance
Perimenopause with lower estrogen
PCOS with high androgens and insulin resistance
Caloric restriction:
Excessive fasting
Cleanses with low protein intake
Eating disorders
No or low carb intake
Laboratory Testing You Can Consider To Determine The Cause of Your Hair Loss:
Nutrient testing
Iron panel – hemoglobin, ferritin, iron and transferrin saturation levels
Vitamin B12
Celiac screen
Food sensitivity testing
Thyroid panel (TSH, free T4 and T3 plus thyroid antibodies) – see Episode 42 for more info
Autoimmune testing
Hormone testing
adrenal/cortisol
hormone panel with estrogens and androgens
Blood sugar testing
Insulin and glucose levels when fasting
Hemoglobin A1C
Glucometer or continuous blood sugar testing at home
What you can do about it?
Biotin: does it really work?
Found in eggs, fish, meat, seeds, nuts, sweet potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower
Can impact accuracy on certain lab testing like thyroid hormone tests
Too much can worsen cystic acne and affect your absorption of vitamin B5, which is needed for skin health
Your hair is made of protein, so adequate intake of protein rich foods is essential
Palm sized portion with lunch and supper
Aim for a total intake of 1 gram per kilogram of body weight daily
Complex carbohydrates provide your hair with the energy it needs to grow
Carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, greens
Other minerals and vitamins: iron, copper, zinc, selenium, vitamin C, B12, D3, essential amino acids l-lysine and l-methionine
Supporting scalp circulation
Head/scalp massage
Exercise, yoga, headstands
Essential oils applied topically to scalp
Thyme, rosemary, lavender, cedarwood in carrier oil of jojoba and grapeseed has been shown to support hair growth in people with alopecia areata
Hair oils can make your hair stronger and protect hair follicles and strands to prevent breakage
Ayurvedic oils and herbs like amla, ashwagandha, brahmi and dashmool can be applied to dry hair for a pre-wash treatment
Work with naturopathic doctor or other medical professional to support hormone and blood sugar balance, improve digestion and leaky gut
Reduce stress: sleep, say no, rest, get help…
After you start a treatment plan, the more you can be calm and patient, the better. Due to the nature of your hair growth cycle, it takes at least 6 weeks to see an improvement. Do your best and give your body some time to regain balance.
Today’s Mama Must Have:
Dr. Toni has been using her bullet journal to get thoughts and to-do lists out of her head so she isn’t thinking about them in the middle of the night! See Episode 11 for more info.
Dr. Lisa loves Cheeks Ahoy unpaper napkins and reusable paper towels to reduce her use of single use products to clean up spills.
Thank you for joining us today!
Email us or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram. We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.
Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!
In today’s episode, Dr. Lisa and Dr. Toni discuss their Best and Worst of 2020 and talk about their intentions for this year. This episode is not about resolutions!
Dr. Toni’s Best of 2020:
Staying hydrated by drinking lemon water every morning for increased energy and delaying breaking overnight fast
Walking outside daily for physical and mental health
Doing something about her hot flashes – improvement with nutrients and herbs, even when indulged in alcohol over the holidays! See Episode 32 for more details
Tackling mental health in the face of pandemic, loss and grief with nutrition, herbs, connection and gratitude
Taking a pre-holiday break from sugar and alcohol
Dr. Lisa’s Best of 2020:
Started Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) for improved sleep
Practiced daily gratitude and bullet-journalling
Started time-restricted eating (aka “Intermittent fasting”)
Modified her work environment for the better: near a window, using a light box, using standing desk
Took a break from alcohol for a few months in the fall, then really limited over the holidays and found other ways to relax, including yoga, Insight Timer, walking, reading
Asked herself “why” she was having alcohol and did I need more?
Dr. Toni’s Worst of 2020:
Sleep issues due to pandemic, Frankie’s broken sleep and poor sleep hygiene
Lack of daily practice for meditation, quiet reflection, gratitude
Too much mindless screen and online time
Dr. Lisa’s Worst of 2020:
Indulging too much: baking a lot with her son, Stuart
Addiction to SmartSweets – bought and ate way too much
Not asking for help sooner while trying to do too much on her own with her business (she now has a virtual assistant!)
Putting alone “couple time” on the back burner after starting off well so well with that at the beginning of the pandemic
Dr. Toni’s Intentions for 2021:
Daily pelvic health practice
Switching up meditation and incorporating HypnoMothering practices
Shutting off screens earlier and reading books before bed
Dr. Toni is currently obsessed with the series Bridgerton on Netflix (produced by Shonda Rhimes of Grey’s Anatomy fame), not only for how it provides a lovely escape from current events, but for its look at expectations around marriage, gender roles, class and race. Think Pride & Prejudice with sex! It has inspired her to get back to using her local public library to read the novels by Janet Quinn. While waiting, she’s re-reading Pride & Prejudice.
Dr. Lisa loves the Insight Timer LIVE events, providing extra options for breathing, meditation and yoga classes with the added bonus of connection and feedback.
Sign up for Dr. Lisa’s free Masterclass on Thursday, Jan 14th at 7:00pm EST: “Work Smarter Not Harder: Tap Into Your Hormonal and Moon Rhythms” to discover how to be more productive, efficient and energized in your life and business.
Recent Comments