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Portion Sizes - They have gotten bigger along with our waist lines

In a report released this month in the Lancet, researchers from Columbia University state that half of U.S. adults will be "obese" by 2030 - that means 164 million Americans, a staggering statistic. Medically, being obese (BMI 30-35) is a different term than being overweight (BMI 25-29.9)

I've also noticed a couple of trends as we've gotten bigger. Some clothes sizes have become misleading. Retailers and manufacturers know that the public are more averse to buying bigger sizes so they have actually shrunk the sizes on the labels while increasing the waist and hip sizes. Don't believe me? If you have a really old pair of jeans, try them on for size and try one with the same size today to compare.

Another trend is the hyper portion food sizes that have become the norm. It seems like we all love a good deal so the more the merrier. Take a look at this article showing a pictorial representation of the changes in portion sizes from 20 years ago. I would like to add to that list a can of pop from my youth (with something like 250mL) vs today's can with (330 mL).

By the way, the researchers also note that a mere 1% reduction in BMI would prevent 2.4 million cases of diabetes and 1.7 million cases of heart disease and stroke. I would like to add that a mere 15 minutes of exercise (done regularly) has been shown to significantly improve one's health. What are you waiting for? If you've fallen off a good lifestyle regiment, then it's time to begin again. And I'm talking to my patients specifically. I know, I'm a nag.......but it's because I care!

Yours in Health,
Ian Koo, ND

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www.NaturopathicEssentials.com
"The care you want, the health you need."


Who is looking at the BIG picture?

Some of my patients have a number of conditions that are being managed separately by different specialists. My question is, who is looking at the BIG picture? The respirologist is prescribing his meds, the rheumatologist her meds, the GP has her meds and now the kidney specialist wants my patient to take more meds for her new kidney problem.

Is this the best course of action to take? How are all these medications interacting? Is it possible that long term use of this chemical cocktail is what's causing harm to the kidneys in the first place? Hopefully, someone's listening to my concerns.

A friendly rant from your local naturopathic doctor,
Ian Koo, ND

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www.NaturopathicEssentials.com
"The care you want, the health you need."

Insomnia - Something that may help

There are a number of reasons why you might have trouble falling asleep at night. A common one involves late night computer use. That's because the blue light from your computer screens trick your brain into thinking that it's day time. It's one of the reasons why I often advise patients with insomnia to cut out the use of laptops, ipads and even smartphone use late at night.

Another option for those that just "have" to use their gadgets is to use a program that can "dim" the light on your screen. There are different ones out there, but here's a link to a free one that you can try out: F. Lux

Let me know if it works for you!

Yours in Health,
Ian Koo, ND

Visit us on our new Facebook page!

www.NaturopathicEssentials.com
"The care you want, the health you need."