300 ways to live.

Here we have found ourselves with the SECOND DAY in a row where we can actually wear our t-shirts outside and feel warm! Everyone is happier, you can just sense it. And since we can now officially say that Spring has sprung, we need to talk detox.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (which is the philosophy that created acupuncture) our liver is most active during the Spring. And because our liver does SO MUCH for us on the reg, we can take advantage of this time by nourishing the liver to do what it does most effectively, setting us on a good path for the year ahead.

What does a detox entail?

While everyone will tell you different things (and likely they will all be right in their own ways), the style of detox I recommend to my patients is typically 14 days long, involves a MAJOR clean-up in diet, focus on sweating through exercise and baths, as well as some key nutrients in supplement form that give your liver the essentials it needs to work most effectively.

What will a detox do for me?

While a short detox like I mentioned above isn't going to transform your liver forever, it certainly allows your liver to take a much-needed break. And don't we all need a break sometimes?! The liver is responsible for processing all that we put into and on our body (food, drinks, alcohol, medications, supplements, air, pollution, creams, makeup, soaps) as well as helping the body to package any unwanted toxins and send them out of our body effectively.

Long-term benefits

While seeming very strict at the outset, by the end of two weeks you will know exactly what to eat to keep you full, how many snacks to pack and water to bring with you if you're going to be on the road, and have implemented some really awesome (and easy!) ways to support your overall health. These practices are things you can carry forward in whatever way works for you. Basically, you will have some new tricks up your sleeve in order to live a more health-ful life ahead.

So give your body a nice Spring cleanup! Come see me so we can chat more about what type of detox would best suit your needs.

~ Dr. Rush, ND

I don't know about you guys, but this daylight savings really took a toll on me. I will admit that it happened at the transition into my birthday, which meant that I had people over at my house until 2:30am that then turned into 3:30am! That was definitely a rude awakening, and meant that my actual Birthday consisted of me sleeping until 5pm, no joke. A girl needs her sleep.

So besides that day-after torture, what is the time change actually doing to us on a deeper level? The week that we struggle to adjust and get into a new sleep routine, how is our overall health being affected?

There is an awesome episode of the Hidden Brain podcast that reminded me JUST how important sleep can be. Matthew Walker is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and he refers to sleep as the "swiss army knife of health" because it has so many beneficial functions.

The hidden dangers of losing one hour of sleep

The amazing benefits of a good night's rest

So what is the message from all of this? You need 8 hours of sleep. Period. For many tips on how to get your sleep in shape, follow me on Instagram and check out my series of posts on sleep hygiene.

~ Dr. Rush, ND

As I head off to sunny California for a week, I'm thinking what better to write about than to sing my praises to the sun! It's about Vitamin D, you guys.

In my practice this year, I have seen an overwhelming number of patients with vitamin D deficiency, and that is only counting the patients I have tested. I would imagine the trend would continue if I tested more. Those of us who reside in London get less sun than even our neighbours in other cities in Ontario, 300 hours less sunlight per year than our pals in Toronto.

But Canadians in general need to think about their vitamin D levels, as half the year we are bundled up so much when we are outside that only our faces are showing, which means only that small surface area of skin to soak up the sun and produce vitamin D for us.

So read on, and get your vitamin D levels tested every winter. Your naturopathic doctor would be happy to test it for you. It's not covered by OHIP anymore, but you can also request it from your MD (it will cost you roughly $40 no matter who tests it).

Top 5 best things the sunshine vitamin does for us

~ Dr. Rush, ND