AIMA RC INT EG RAT E D M E D I C I N E

For Better Health

Exercise Benefits You have heard it all before, but let us give you a friendly reminder; exercise is good for you!

In fact, exercise is the single best thing you can do to improve your overall health and

wellness. This is a bold statement, but there is lots of high quality scientific evidence to prove

it. In some cases, exercise has been shown to be better than surgery in the treatment and

prevention of long-term complications in patients with coronary heart disease. What type of

exercise you ask? According to the research, not too hard and not too long. Moderate

exercise such as walking 30 minutes a day at a brisk pace shows the most overall benefit. If it

is weight loss you are looking for, strength training is actually more effective than cardio. Yes,

you read that correctly, participants in a recent study lost 9 pounds in the strength-training

group compared to only 7 pounds by the cardio-only group.

The Weight Loss PuzzleSo you have been trying to lose weight, and

you have worked really hard to change

your diet, eat more veggies, less carbs,

more water. You’ve even started going to

the gym several times per week!

Congratulations, you are on the right path

to amazing health...but why aren’t you

loosing weight? Too many of us continue

to struggle to drop weight, even in the face

of good eating habits and exercise plans. It

tends to get more and more difficult as we

age, and while the reasons for this are not

completely understood, we are starting to

understand some of the major players. The

biggest hindrances to healthy weight loss

are inflammation and hormone imbalance.

The benefits of exercise are many; here are a few to get you motivated:• Better immune system: exercise increases natural killer cell activity, awhite blood cell, found in your immune system that helps you fight offinfections.

• Improved sleep: exercise in the morning or early afternoon is best topromote restful sleep.

• Better mood: exercise lowers stress and anxiety.

• Better sex life: exercise helps you feel good inside and out.

• Improved heart health: remember your heart is a muscle and benefitsfrom exercise to aid in its strength and overall function.

• Happier periods: exercise has shown to decrease dysmenorrhea, orpainful periods.

EXERCISE & WEIGHT LOSSAll about moving your body, getting outside and loosing that weight

Moderate exercise such aswalking 30 minutes a day at a brisk pace shows the most overall benefit.

InflammationA Harvard study in 2007 revealed thatchronic inflammation is a root cause ofinflammation. High levels of inflammationresult in dysfunctional control over twomain hormones responsible for weightgain. Insulin and leptin resistance canoccur as a result of excess inflammation.Leptin is the primary regulator of appetiteand food impulse control, and when youhave high levels of inflammation the leptinsystem can no longer function properly.Inflammation also affects your bodiesability to process sugars properly, throughincreased insulin resistance, and thecombination of these dysfunctionalhormones has a major impact on yourability to loose weight.

Changing your diet and adding exerciseinto your life are the main ways to decreaseinflammation, but you may require somenutritional supplements that are specific toyour individual case. Your NaturopathicDoctor can help you figure out what is bestfor you.

Hormone BalanceThe second major regulators of weight lossare hormone imbalances. Below are someof the common offenders.

Estrogen→ Too much estrogen,especially in relation to a low progesteroneincreases the likelihood of beingoverweight. Women accumulate highestrogen through many several ways, andthere are just as many ways to decreaseyour levels too.

Testosterone→ Testosterone is themain reason that men have less troubleloosing weight than women. Testosteronehelps to burn fat and build muscle whileincreasing sex drive, bone density, energyand motivation. It is normal to seetestosterone decline as we age, but we areseeing much quicker rates of decline thanwe used to, and this is having a majorimpact on rising rates of obesity.

Thyroid→ Your thyroid has a hand incontrolling every major system in yourbody, and perhaps the most important ofthese is your metabolism. A sluggishthyroid directly imapcts your ability toloose weight.

Insulin→ Insulin is released in responseto circulating sugar in the bloodstream, itfunctions to bring it into the cell to be usedas fuel, or stored as fat. High levels ofcirculating insulin results in manyunpleasant symptoms including nausea,anxiety, heart palpitations, sweating,irritability, weakness and fatigue. Typicallyour body responds to these symptoms bythinking that we are hungry, we eat morecarbs and the cycle continues.

Mood and StressYour mood and stress levels can also giveus clues about how well your hormones,and neurotransmitters are functioning –which greatly impacts your ability to looseweight.

Depression→When we are feeling low,our body is typically low in one or moreneurotransmitters. The most common ofthese is Serotonin, which has a majorimpact on emotions, pain tolerance, sleep,appetite and cravings (especially forcarbohydrates). The less Serotonin wemake, the more we end up craving thingsthat will help our body produce more,unfortunately these are things like sugar

and simple carbs.

Stress→ Chronic stress can range frommajor trauma’s like job changes, moving,family loss or divorce all the way toconstant, minor irritations like getting 50emails a day, always being on a tightschedule or making sure your kids get toall their activities on time. Your bodyproduces high amounts of cortisol to dealwith these stressors, which causes anumber of disastrous downstream effectson your hormone balance, not to mentionpredisposes you to that ‘impossible toloose’ abdominal fat.

Healthy GardeningIt's that time of year when thesun is shinning, birds andbees are working, andflowers are blooming.Gardening is a veryenjoyable hobby withlots of health benefits.Healthy gardening preservesflexibility, increase mobility, buildsstrength and endurance and is therapeuticto the mind and spirit. Gardening allowstime to connect with nature; anopportunity to grow your own food, andteach your children about the awe andwonder of Mother Nature. Growing andtending to your own garden can be veryrewarding in the beauty and bounty itprovides.

Most pharmaceutical drugs are derivativesof plants. For example, metformin(glucophage), which is a drug used tomanage blood sugar in the treatment oftype II diabetes comes from a plant knownas Goat's Rue (Galega officinalis). Goat'sRue contains galegine, an alkaloid thatlowers blood glucose and insulinresistance. In fact, if you do a littleinvestigative work, you will find that manypharmaceutical agents get their originsfrom the plant world. The doctors at ArcIntegrated Medicine use botanicalmedicine almost everyday in their practice!If you have questions about herbalmedicine, please feel free to ask us.

Some other signs thatinflammation is impactingyour health:• You have joint and muscle pains• You have chronic issues

with digestion• You have suffered from anxiety or

depression• You have been diagnosed with an

autoimmune disease • You have active heart disease

or diabetes • You lead a high-stress life

help alleviate constipation, bloating andgas. This beautiful weed is very helpful inthe treatment of acne, high blood pressureand hormonal imbalances.

5 LavenderNot only does thisplant look and smellamazing in yourgarden, it also helpsheal burns, wards off mosquitoes andshould you get bit, helps relieves itchingfrom those nasty insect bites.

6 Rosemary You just need to smellthis powerful herb tofeel its invigoratingeffects. Rosemaryhelps bring blood and oxygen to yourbrain, increasing cognition and memory.

7 CilantroDid you knowcilantro helps to ridyour body of heavymetals? Now you do!This is a must-have addition to any herb garden.

After your gardening is done for the day, try some gentle stretches:

• For your wrists, put your hands into pray position, palms touching and push downward.

• For your neck, drop one earlobe down towards the shoulder on that side and hold for 10 seconds, slowly come back toneutral and repeat on the other side.

• For your back, lay on the ground with knees bent, engage core muscles and slowly bring knees down to one side doing a gentlelow back twist. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat other side. Finish in child's pose, knees spread apart, and hold for 1 minute.

1 GarlicThis culinary herb iseasy to grow, and hasmany health benefitsincluding loweringblood pressure and stimulating theimmune system.

2 Calendula(Marigold)This bright orangeflower helps killbacteria, heals skinand is safe to use on cuts and scrapes.

3 Fennel Fennel seeds aretraditionally used tocalm spasms in thedigestive tract. Usefulin colic, diarrhea or stomach upset.

4 DandelionLeaves

You don’t even haveto plant this guy!Typically thought ofas a weed, but dandelion leaves are greathelp in detoxifying your liver, which can

8 Lemon BalmMake yourself adelicious tea fromthese leaves, andexperience therelaxing effect of this anxiety-decreasing herb.

9 Chamomile One of the bestremedies to havearound, especially ifyou have youngchildren. Chamomile is a safe and effectivetreatment for colic, nausea and insomnia.

10 Sage Sage is a lovelyantimicrobial, but italso has propertiesthat can help alleviatehot flashes and excessive sweating.

As always, please check with your physicianbefore using any medication, even if you aregrowing it yourself!

10 Amazing home remedies you can grow in your garden:

5 Tips for Healthy Gardening

1 Use proper body position and mechanics: when raking or hoeing, keep your back flat,bend at the hips and use your leg strength not just your arms. A kneepad for weedingcan be very helpful to prevent the long “bend over and reach” approach to weedingthat often leads to a sore lower back. Always use your legs when lifting or carryingheavy pots and soil and avoid twisting or reaching to save your back from injury.

2 Wear gardening gloves: the right glove can help prevent blisters and prickles.

3 Choose the correct tool for the job: use the right size shovel for the job; longer handlescan save your back. Lightweight rakes will keep soreness to a minimal with the leavesstart falling.

4 Take frequent breaks: sometimes you just get into it and forget how long you have beenplaying in the earth, but frequent breaks for rest, hydration, and fuel will preventoveruse injuries and exhaustion at the end of the day so you can garden the next day!

5 Practice a light warm up and cool down: a few yoga sun salutations, shoulder figure"8"s, yoga cat-cow stretches, and a gentle hold of child’s pose followed by a light walkabout your garden will have you ready to go.

Sports Injuries

The hamstrings are the most commonlystrained muscle in the lower limb and inhonour of the 2014 World Cup, this articleis all about a common soccer injury knownas a hamstring strain.

The hamstrings are a group of 3 muscles(biceps femoris, semi-membranosis, semi-

tendinosis) located in the back of thethigh. They originate on the bottom of thehip bone (ischial tuberosity) and attachjust behind and past the knee joint on bothsides. The most common location of ahamstring injury is the biceps femoris atthe muscle tendon junction, about a handswidth above the back of the knee.

Hamstring injuries are commonin sports that involve sprinting suchas: soccer, rugby, track, and football.This is because your hamstringmuscles contract as you swing your legout and extend your knee to sprintforward. If you have ever had ahamstring strain, you know how painful itcan be and how slowly it can take to heal,preventing you from returning to yoursport. Hamstring injuries also have a highrate of reoccurrence (16-63%), soprevention is key.

Eccentric exercises can help preventhamstring injuries. An eccentric exercise isessentially lengthening the muscles while itis loaded and contracted, just how thehamstrings are when you are sprinting.Nordic exercises are done

with a partner, and achieve just that. Oneperson begins in the kneeling position,while the training partner applies pressureto the kneeling athlete's heels/lower legs.The kneeling athlete then slowly lowerstheir chest to the ground in a push upposition, arms/hands there to buffer thefall. The athlete then returns back to thestarting kneeling position using theirhands to minimize loading the concentricphase. Studies have found that performingNordic exercises twice a week building upin the number of sets and reps for 10weeks decreased the rate of overall, new,and recurrent acute hamstring injuries.

www.arcintegratedmedicine.com

123 • 6345 • 120th StreetDelta, BC Canada

V4E 2A6Phone: 604•424•9700

Dr. Emily Munn, NDdrmunn@arcintegratedmedicine.com

Dr. Ashleigh Lane, NDdrlane@arcintegratedmedicine.com

volume 1 issue 2

Please call, email or book an appointment online

Note: please do not attempt to performany exercise program without speaking toa healthcare professional. If you arecurrently suffering or have had ahamstring injury and would liketreatment, the doctors at Arc IntegratedMedicine are happy to help you return toyour sport or activity quickly and safely.