Give Your Immune System a Boost With Change of Season Soup

September 13, 2018Alexis Reid

It's that time of year again! One day it is 10 degrees out, damp and rainy and the next it is 28 and sunny. All these big weather swings are seen as stressors by your body. Couple that with the kids being back to school and bringing home lots of fun germs, we have a recipe for sickness. You may have noticed that many people around you have colds, sore throats, sniffles and congestion.

One way to help support your body through these big swings in temperature is by making a Change of Season Soup Change of Season Soup is something that originated in China with roots in Chinese Medicine. Change of Season Soup is a traditional bone broth, with added herbs that help the body to combat the extra invaders present at this time of the year. It supports the immune system and also works as an adaptogen (herbs that help the body respond to stress).

Ingredients Needed For Soup

Bones from 1 Chicken- best to get from a Farmer's Market
2 TBSP Garlic
2 TBSP Fresh Ginger
1/2 an Onion
1/2 cup Chopped Celery
1/2 Cup Chopped Carrots
Any leftover veggies from your kitchen (mushrooms, greens, leeks etc)
1-2 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
1-2 Organic Chicken Bouillon Cubed (I use GoBIO)

Chinese Herbs

Codonopsis Root: 4 sticks, 10 cm long. Helps to support the immune system, build blood and strengthen the body's fluids
Astragalus Root: 4 sticks, 15 cm long. Supports the immune system, supports stress response, increases energy, nourishes the spleen, tonifies the blood and the lungs
Wild Yam: 4 sticks, 5 cm long. Tonifies and balances the lungs and kidneys
Gogi Berries: 3 TBSP. Strengthen the liver and kidneys. High in Vitamin A and C

To watch Dr Alexis show you how to make the soup using an Instant Pot, click here.

For how to make the soup using a slow cooker, click here. This shows how to make a bone broth, the only difference is to add the above herbs.

In the morning, you wake up strain your soup and you are done! Drink 1 cup of soup per day for at least 3-4 days. You can also use this as a stock in another soup you make, or as the water in rice.

For those of you living in Canada, I have found that September/October and March April are the best times of year to enjoy this soup

Here's to you staying healthy this fall!

Dr Alexis

Dr Alexis practices in Kanata, and is currently accepting new patients

Could Your Symptoms Actually Be a Food Intolerance?

May 10, 2018Alexis Reid

Food intolerances or "sensitivities" can affect you in so many ways.

And they are a lot more common than most people think.

I'm not talking about anaphylaxis or immediate allergic reactions that involve an immune response. Those can be serious and life-threatening. If you have any allergies, you need to steer clear of any traces of foods you are allergic to, and speak with your doctor or pharmacist about emergency medication, if necessary.

What I'm talking about, is an intolerance, meaning you do not tolerate a specific food very well and it causes immediate or chronic symptoms anywhere in the body. Symptoms can take up to 72 hours to show themselves. And symptoms can be located just about anywhere in the body.

This is what makes them so tricky to identify.

Symptoms of food intolerances

There are some common food intolerances that have immediate and terribly painful gastrointestinal symptoms, such as lactose intolerance or celiac disease. These can cause stomach pain, gas, bloating, and/or diarrhea; symptoms can start immediately after eating lactose or gluten.

On the other hand, other more insidious symptoms may not be linked to foods in an obvious way.

Symptoms like:

Acne and eczema

Sweating, or increased heart rate or blood pressure

Headaches or migraines
Chronic muscle or joint pain

Exhaustion after a good night's sleep

Autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto's or rheumatoid arthritis
Rashes or eczema
Inability to concentrate or feeling like your brain is "foggy"
Gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation

If your body has trouble digesting specific foods, it can affect your hormones, metabolism, or even cause inflammation and result in any of the symptoms listed above. And these can affect any (or all) parts of the body, not just your gastrointestinal system.

How to prevent these intolerances

The main thing you can do is to figure out which foods or drinks you may be reacting to and stop ingesting them.

I know, I know...this sounds so simple, and yet it can be SO HARD.

The best way to identify your food/drink triggers is to eliminate them.

Yup, get rid of those offending foods/drinks. All traces of them, for three full weeks and monitor your symptoms.

If things get better, then you need to decide whether it's worth it to stop ingesting them, or if you want to slowly introduce them back one at a time while still looking out to see if/when symptoms return.

Alternatively, you can see a Naturopathic Doctor, like myself, for food sensitivity testing.

Start Here: Two Common Food Intolerances

Here are two of the most common triggers of food intolerances:

Dairy- NOT LACTOSE - milk, cheese, yogurt, butter. Dairy is frequently found in baked goods, and some sauces. Many people react to either casein and whey which are the proteins in dairy. These proteins are still present in lactose-free products. Try nut or coconut milk as an alternative. For more dairy substitutes, and more information on dairy sensitivity, see my blog "Is Dairy The Devil?"

Gluten (in wheat, rye, and other common grains - look for a "gluten-free" label - try gluten-free grains like rice, quinoa & gluten-free oats). Gluten is a definite "no-no" for anyone with a thyroid issue. More about that here

This is by no means a complete list, but it's a good place to start because dairy intolerance is thought to affect up to 75% of people, while "non-celiac gluten sensitivity" can affect up to 13% of people.

So, if you can eliminate all traces of dairy and gluten for three weeks, it can confirm whether either or both of these, are a source of your symptoms.

Yes, dairy and grains are a part of many government-recommended food guidelines, but you absolutely can get all of the nutrients you need if you focus on replacing them with nutrient-dense foods.

A reliable way to monitor how you feel after eating certain foods is to track it. After every meal or snack, write down the foods you ate, and any symptoms so you can more easily spot trends.

And, as mentioned earlier, symptoms may not start immediately following a meal. You may find, for example, that you wake up with a headache the morning after eating bananas.

You might be surprised what links you can find if you track your food and symptoms well!

IMPORTANT NOTE: When you eliminate something, you need to make sure it's not hiding in other foods, or the whole point of eliminating it for a few weeks is lost. Restaurant food, packaged foods, and sauces or dressings are notorious for adding ingredients that you'd never think are there. You know that sugar hides in almost everything, but did you also know that wheat is often added to processed meats and soy sauce, and dairy can even be found in some medications or supplements?

When in doubt you HAVE to ask the server in a restaurant about hidden ingredients, read labels, and consider cooking from scratch.

What if it doesn’t work?

If eliminating these two common food intolerances doesn’t work, it is a good time to consider doing a Food Sensitivity Test. I see many patients who have intolerance to foods they would never expect, like almonds, potatoes, and eggs.

You may need to see a Naturopathic Doctor for help, and that's OK. I don't want you to continue suffering if you don't need to!

Recipe (dairy-free milk): Homemade Nut/Seed Milk

Makes 3 cups

½ cup raw nuts/seeds (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, or sesame seeds)

2 cups water

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Soak nuts/seeds for about 8 hours (optional, but recommended).
Dump soaking water & rinse nuts/seeds.
Add soaked nuts/seeds and 2 cups water to a high-speed blender and blend on high for about one minute until very smooth.
Strain through a small mesh sieve with 2 layers of cheesecloth. Squeeze if necessary.

Serve & enjoy!

Talk soon!

Dr Alexis

Dr Alexis practices in Kanata and has a special interest in Acne, PCOS, Women in their 20's and 30's with Low Energy, and Female Athletes. She is currently accepting new patients. Click here to schedule your appointment.

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