Episode 58: Vaccine Optimization with Dr. Taylor Bean, ND

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!

Stay safe everyone!

Episode 57: How Your Genes Influence How Your Jeans Fit: Genetics and Weight with Dr. Penny Kendall-Reed, ND

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

You can connect with Dr. Penny Kendall-Reed at http://pkrhealth.ca/

See your naturopathic doctor for more information on using GeneRx.

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!

Stay safe everyone!

Episode 56: What You Need to Know About Hair Loss in Women

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:

  1. Anagen – active growth phase lasting 2-7 years
  2. Catagen – brief transitional phase where fibre stops growing
  3. 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:

  1. Genetic – progressive gradual reduction in your hair volume, can make your hair follicles more susceptible to reactive hair loss
  2. 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!

Stay safe everyone!

Episode 55: No New Year’s Resolutions Here: Reflections on 2020 and Intentions for 2021

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
  • Scheduling fun and partner dates
  • Looking at new systems for planning

Dr. Lisa’s Intentions for 2021:

Word for 2021:

  • Dr. Toni: Nurture 
  • Dr. Lisa: Wonder/Light 

What do you want in 2021? Consider creating something like Gretchen Rubin’s 21 for 2021 List

Today’s Mama Must Haves:

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.

Dr. Toni’s next Online HypnoBirthing Prenatal Class for expecting parents starts Wednesday, Jan 20th at 7:00pm MST

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!

Stay safe everyone!