From the moment I went into the office, it felt completely different than a regular doctor's visit. The preliminary form I had to fill out took into account ALL aspects of my lifestyle, diet and overall health - a holistic approach. I was treated as a human with an interactive system, and not as a machine with just a few individual problems.
When I met with the naturopath, we discussed every detail of my diet and lifestyle, my concerns and feeling, and touched on what my thoughts were about what may be the culprit. Immediately I was given recommendations on herbal supplements to take, and was told how my various smaller issues were related to each other. I was relieved.
I was also told to keep a week long food journal. It just happened to fall the week of Christmas...meaning I had a ton of vegan cookies, a little too much wine and way too much digestive upset. But I was also told to record after what meals my upsets were more prevalent, which has actually helped a lot. I was also told to continue and even increase my intenstinal flora supplements (I use Renew Life brand), wake up to a glass of lemon water and then drink dandelion tea first thing in the morning. I can honestly say this has all helped my stomach aches a ton, but being the bad girl I am, eating my "triggers" here and there will still cause the aches.
I'm now working on eliminating wheat, dried fruit with sulphites (so, not organic), and of course chewing gum to prevent my tummy aches altogether. The only reason I had the first two at all was because if I was with my boyfriend, sometimes I didn't have much else to eat at his place, because he doesn't live in a vegan household. I pretty much could just have some bread with peanut butter, or some nuts and dried fruit as a snack.
I will be having an overall assesment of my body composition, and discuss my progress with the supplements next week. I will definitely keep posting about my experience. All in all, I absolutely recommend seeing a naturopath to everyone. You will be amazed at how much more attention and ultimately resolution your issues get.
Here is a link to the clinic I went to. If youre a full time student, you only pay 15 dollars per appointment! It will be with a forth year student, supervised by a registered naturopath.
http://www.rsnc.ca/
Happy digesting to all! And to all a good night.
