Boo! This time of year, parents of kids with foods sensitivities have more to be frightened of than the ghouls and goblins haunting their neighbourhoods. I got a scare myself when I heard on a CBC news report that our American neighbours spend over $4 billion on Hallowe’en candy every year – that’s more than they spend on costumes and decorations! That’s the annual GDP of Prince Edward Island (our country’s smallest province, but still – all the money generated by an entire province in a year!) Considering that candy is dirt-cheap, that’s one creepy, very expensive mountain of high-fructose corn syrup and plastic packaging. We can’t be too proud up here in Canada as we celebrate Hallowe’en in exactly the … Read More
Drink Your Way to Health: The Benefits of Green Tea
It’s tea time! Green tea is one of my favourite superfoods – it’s energizing yet calming – the “zen” option in the caffeinated world – antioxidant, antiaging, and even has antiviral properties. That’s right, regular green tea drinkers are at a lower risk of coming down with seasonal flu and other viral infections. It’s effective for infection prevention in kids, although you may want to choose a decaffeinated option for your little ones. Clinically, we suggest green tea as an affordable health-booster and we also use ECGC (a constituent of green tea) as a detox- and weight loss-support. Recently, we’re experimenting with matcha, a beautiful bright green powder made from grinding green tea on a stone mill. It’s a superfood that adds … Read More
3 Essential Herbs For Cold & Flu Season
I’ve been hearing lots lately that you’ve (or your Little One has) already come down with a back-to-school cold or flu. Last week at our free kids’ health class, “Healthy All Year”, Dr. Antoinette and I shared our tips for keeping your kiddos (and you!) as healthy as possible and we loved to excited those mamas were to get this prevention rolling in September. From a naturopathic perspective, we think prevention first, so that you can avoid illness and reduce the severity and duration of suffering if and when you do get sick. Herbal medicines are complexes of plant compounds that your body recognizes (because both plants and your body are parts of nature) and picks up what it needs to do its amazing … Read More
How to Be Healthy All Year…
…Starting With the Kids! At Two Rivers Health we love to take care of families through the entire lifespan: preconception planning, pregnancy and birth right through to graceful ageing and vibrant elders! We find there’s no better time to work on kids’ health than September. At the start of every school year we receive tons of questions from concerned parents about how to strengthen their kids’ immune systems and get a edge up on cold and flu season…So they don’t have to repeat the cold and flu season they had last year. From sore throats to asthma to fevers or even pneumonia, parents know that when kids aren’t well the entire household is affected. Meanwhile, when kids are well: game-changer! Recognizing the huge … Read More