Today is Day Two of my vacation in France with my gorgeous husband and what is the first thing that I do after a luxurious lie in? I log into my blog and start typing. I guess the fresh air and biodynamic food (and, erm, wine) has not done much to melt away the London pace from my weary bones, but I do not think I will need much coaxing away from my laptop over the next few weeks. I have found out that we are going to be visiting his parents (I must preface any reference to his parents with this fact – they are Absolutely lovely) for a couple of days in their house in the woods for some dinner and wine. His parents’ English vocabulary consists of ‘’hello’’ and ‘’thank you.’’ My French lexicon is pretty much limited to food, wine, bodily functions and swear words. Did I mention that we are going to be in the middle of the woods, far away from civilization (and escape)? I did, however, bring this upon myself. I boldly told my husband a few days before our month long escape to France that while we are in France, we are to speak nothing but French. Ha! Only a day into my vacation and I’m being thrown into the deep end. Français Lesson avec Les Parents-in-Law. I’ll keep you posted.

The silver lining in this will be his father’s impeccable taste in French Biodynamic wine. Ah wine… the Elixir of Life, Liquid Courage and whatever other titles of invincibility it has been bestowed with. I lose any and all inhibition when attempting to speak my horrible French when I drink wine and I will inevitably ramble on and on in broken French while inwardly congratulating myself for being so clever and already bilingual only two days into my vacation in France. And the beauty of the Biodynamic part of it all? No Hangovers. For Serious.

So… what is the difference between Organic and Biodynamic? Well, from the reading that I have been doing, it seems that Biodynamic Agriculture has predated Organic methods by a few decades and is much more stringent in its rules and regulations in terms of maintaining soil integrity without chemicals, encouraging a completely self-sustainable/self-contained ecosystem balancing harvesting and growth with processes such as crop rotation, specific fermentation in their manure to act as fertilizer and harvesting in accordance to the Lunar cycle. The term ‘’Organic’’ was coined by J I Rodale and it is more of an Americanized term whereas Biodynamic farming was based on Rudolf Steiner’s approach to the farm and the earth’s relationship and thus it is much more popular in Europe. What do I think? Regardless of whether something has been labeled Organic or Biodynamic, make sure that it’s up to a standard that is regulated properly.Organicconsumers.org is a great site that helps you to understand labels and regulation. Biodynamic.com is another good resource. At the end of the day, the food industry is one that thrives on making money and labeling is under policed (or self-policed) and not necessarily to be trusted at first glance. For more eye-opening facts, watch Food Inc. and be thoroughly appalled. Pour yourself a large glass of biodynamic wine while watching it – you’ll need it.

Links:
www.biodynamic.com
www.organicconsumers.org

Went to see the much anticipated Sex and the City 2 movie this summer with my “Goils’’ which consisted of one legitimately female friend and 3 of my main Gays.  Two words.   Train Wreck.  Not only was the wardrobe completely disappointing, (which let’s be honest, is 90% of the draw.  Nobody watches this for the writing) but the characters all came across as whiny, spoily, overly-American prats! Half the movie takes place in the Middle East – the colours, the desert, the scenery – there was so much to work with, so much potential!  I was picturing Missoni-esque colours mixed with flowing veil-like fabrics done tastefully, not like the garish carnival depicted on the big screen in HD.  And I knew that Samantha Jones’ character was over-the-top, but that was what made her funny.  In this movie, she became…trashy?  Samantha rubbing estrogen cream on her punany in the office (which had glass walls, by the way)? Samantha rubbing mashed yams on her punany?  Samantha rubbing everything and anything on her punany? Really?  REALLY???

Speaking of yam-rubbing on the nether-regions, there is something to be said with phyto-estrogenic foods and their balancing affect on the endocrine system in women.  Wild Yam, Black Cohosh, Soy – these are all effective natural substances that help balance out the female endocrine system.  And this is not to say that these are sure-fire treatments.  The key here, ladies, is prevention.  We all know how emotionally intense things can become before each monthly menstrual cycle – but it’s almost as if the body is giving its final reproductive swan song once menopause hits, and if you haven’t done all the legwork with healthy eating, exercising and emotional cleansing by the time perimenopause hits, you’re in for quite a roller coaster ride of hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

What can one do to maintain the appropriate hormone balance? Be good to your liver. Exfoliate your skin on a regular basis. Detoxify through exercise, drink at least 2L of water a day and eat plenty of dark green leafy vegetables.  Juice as much as you can.  Consume soy in its cultural context (fermented forms such as miso and tempeh) not as a vegetarian burger option.  Stay away from plastic as much as you can.  And most importantly, do not ignore the emotional messages your body throws at you premenstrually – these are signs that there are things that need to be dealt with.  I highly recommend reading Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup, MD.

For Hormone Re-balancing Treatment, please contact me for more information.

When you’re in London, in the middle of summer, forget your images of sun, patios and lemonade in a jug.  It’s grey skies, cool breezes and an hourly sprinkle.  Flashback to my youth, with Shannon Hoon’s raspy voice crooning ‘’…and all I can do is just pour some tea for two… and speak my point of view but it’s not saaane… it’s not saaaaaaaayaaane…’’ words from the very single that made them famous before his untimely demise on some bus somewhere, choking on his own vomit.  Oh, to be a rockstar… But I digress.  No Rain?  Yes Rain.  At least everything’s green.

Which brings me to a question that many of my patients, especially here on the island of perpetual rain, ask of me, and that is… am I Vitamin D3 deficient?  And… if I travel to southern Spain for a week to get my sun fix, am I okay for the rest of the year?

Answer – Non.  Absolutement Non.  Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of Vitamin D3 here in the UK is 400IU, however your body absorbs 10,000IU within 20 minutes (40 minutes for those who have darker skin tones) of exposure to the appropriate wavelength of sunlight (which theoretically happens in London between the months of April and October… but how many sunny days do we actually have here?) which would lead one to believe that 400IU is hardly sufficient enough.  Can you store Vitamin D3?  Only for about a week or two at the most.  So, that lovely all-inclusive summer vacation on Cote d’Azur?  The sun-dependent good mood hormones that the Vitamin D3 gave you will disappear with that tan.

This means that it isn’t surprising when we find out that more than half of UK residents are deficient in Vitamin D3.  Not to mention other risk factors for deficiency, such as poor diet, obesity, institutionalization and overuse of sunscreen, all of which first world countries seem to have in spades.  According to the British Medican Journal, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 Diabetes, cancers and autoimmune disorders have been strongly linked with lack of Vitamin D3.  Vitamin D3’s relationship with calcium absorption in the bones is the most obvious, rickets being a severe form of vitamin D3 deficiency.  With an aging population, Vitamin D3 and bone health should be one of the main priorities in preventative health care.

So, the short and the long of it?  Take Vitamin D3 supplements during the winter months, at least 4000IU per day with meals.  Nutri has just come out with a liquid form of this sunshine vitamin, each drop being 1000IU.  Strawberry flavoured.  Yum.  And you’ll avoid being one of those ashen-faced depressed Londoners on the Central Line in the winter.

Link:
Diagnosis and management of vitamin D deficiency

Who Am I?

I’m Batman….

Pshaw.  If only.  To be able to start a blog by openly admitting that I am the Caped Crusader would be just too amazing.  But I am neither caped, nor a man, although I would like to think of myself as a Health Crusader.  With a Twist.  While growing up in a staunchly traditional and extremely suffocating Korean household, during breaks between piano lessons, violin lessons, trumpet lessons, Math classes, computer classes and Korean school, I would write in my beloved journal.  It was my sole source of expression in a culture that rigidly reminds women that opinions and voices are for men, and that we of the fairer half should practice the art of peeling fruit so that it comes off in one long, unbroken string.  I shit you not.

I am not quite sure when my interest in health came about.  It was always assumed that I would become a Medical Doctor – a dream that was quickly dashed when I applied to Naturopathic College to become a Naturopathic Doctor.  A decision that escalated, much like pierced ears, wearing make up, dating boys and curfews later than 10pm, into a bone of contention between me and my parents.

“But I AM a doctor..’’ I find myself whining to my parents.  And I can see the flash of disappointment in their eyes when I can almost hear their thoughts stating  yah…a Witch Doctah.

So here I am.  A Witch Doctor, doing what I do best, which is railing against the conventional and expressing myself in the way I know best – in writing.  It is here that I will touch on topics of health from a Naturopathic viewpoint, with a touch of spiced Korean Chili.

Welcome Everybody.  Welcome to My World.