The Art & Practice Blog
Navigating the Healthcare System
I, like most of my colleagues became a naturopathic doctor because of my own extremely disempowering experiences with the healthcare system. In my late teens and early 20s I was suffering from what I now know were a series of metabolic and hormonal issues and I, like...
What I Learned from Camping at -5 degrees Celsius
From Thursday to Tuesday (yesterday) I was camping on Canada's East Coast in Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia (near Halifax, Cole Harbour, etc.) I was nervous about the trip. I've never winter camped before (in a tent, no less). I've winter surfed, but never without warm...
Microbial Wisdom: How your gut bugs can influence your levels of wisdom and loneliness
Hippocrates once said "all disease begins in the gut" and, even though as a naturopathic doctor I have internalized this to the utmost degree, I still forget from time to time. So, when I was having an increase in histamine symptoms (itchy eyes, runny nose,...
Spleen Qi and the Change of Season
What is your favourite season? Normally Fall is mine. Perhaps it's because I've spent so many years as a perennial student, but the wool scarves, crisp leaves and fresh air (and pumpkin spice!) has always held a special place in my heart.However, this year fall hit...
Rolling with the Times: a New Approach to Vitamin D and Iron Supplementation
Did you know it can take modern medical research 17 to 20 years before it reaches mainstream medical practice? Sometimes it takes us time to be sure and this means repeating study results over and over again with various populations. Sometimes, however it can...
Following the Science
Is medicine a science? The short answer is it's an applied science. We've been hearing quite a lot about The Science these days. So, what is science? How does science guide medical practice and naturopathic medicine? The science council defines science as, "the...
Health is a Complex System
Brett Weinstein and Heather Heying have a t-shirt that says "Welcome to Complex Systems" on it. Indeed. Many patients and biological reductionism want to know what caused my anxiety, depression, hormonal issues, and autoimmune disease? What did I do wrong, or that...
Stomach pH is a Chesterton’s Fence: beware of tearing it down
G.K. Chesterton described a scenario like this: "There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the...
Tallow Salve
It's been a long time since I've posted something about DIY natural skincare. I used to tinker in my kitchen, mixing up concoctions using beeswax, cocoa butter, and other ingredients to create natural deodorants, lip balms, and dry shampoos. It was a lot of fun but...
Some Like it Cold: the therapeutic benefits of “freezing your butt off”
In the winter of 2019 I took a surfing lesson in Costa Rica. I fell in love--the sun and salt water on my skin, the beautiful view of the beach, the spray off the back of the waves, the loud crashing of translucent turquoise, and the feeling of power, ease, flow and...
Killer Red Paleo Cury
You know how you just want the recipe and yet you have to scroll through someone's long story about their cat and their grandma and a blistery winter day? Forget all that. I made this curry. Here's the recipe (you're welcome 😜 ): Ingredients: 1 can coconut milk (full...
Put Yourself in the Way of Beauty: on sunsets, sunrises, water, and nature
"There’s a sunrise and a sunset every day and you can choose to be there or not."You can put yourself in the way of beauty.”- Cheryl Strayed, WildYellow and orange hues stimulate melatonin production, aiding sleep.Melatonin is not just our sleep hormone, it’s an...
Heal Your Anxiety in a 90 Second Wave Ride
It was a crappy week and I was chatting with a friend online. He said something that triggered me... it just hit some sort of nerve. I backed away from my computer, feeling heavy. I went to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water and collapsed, elbows on the...
Crafting an Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle
It's day one of my period and I've been healing a broken foot for 6 weeks. The weather is overcast, thick, humid and rainy. My body feels thick and heavy. Clothing leaves an imprint on my skin--socks leave deep indentations in my ankles. My face and foot is swollen....
The Wisdom of Cravings
Whenever I sit with a new patient for an initial intake, I ask about cravings. From my many conversations about food, appetite and cravings, the most common responses are cravings for salt, or sugar, with many people falling on one end of the preference than the...
Getting Meta on Metatarsals: Boredom, Loneliness, and Broken Feet
About a month ago I fractured my right 5th metatarsal (an avulsion fracture, aka "The Dancer's Fracture" or a "Pseudo-Jones Fracture"). As soon as I laid eyes on the x-ray and the ER doctor declared, "Ms. Marcheggiani," (actually, it's doctor, but ok) "you broke your...
Informed Consent: Your Right to Bodily Autonomy
"The right to determine what shall or shall not be done with one's own body, and to be free from non-consensual medical treatment is a right deeply rooted in Canadian common law. The right underlines the doctrine of informed consent. "With very limited exceptions...
How to Stop Craving Sugar
Quentin Crisp says, "Repeat yourself loudly and often" and so I'm repeating myself on blood sugar regulation. I guess if I had to leave a legacy in the world of natural health and lifestyle medicine, if I could sum everyone's problems down to one key major concept and...
Functional Movement and Surf Training
I was sitting with my friend and her ex-partner. Their kids are soccer stars--one is headed towards a professional career and the younger one is not far behind. My friends ex-partner, a fit soccer fan himself, lamented, "I'm getting old. I don't recover like I used...
Meeting Your Food
It's mulberry season, which means while walking through my neighbourhood I can snack, picking food right off the trees growing behind fences or on people's front lawns whenever I walk by a berry-stained sidewalk. There's something therapeutic about entering into the...