Learn with Dr. Cristina Allen ND about how to sustainably nourish physical and mental health by prioritizing holistic wellbeing and building a reciprocal relationship with nature.
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Address the root cause with naturopathic medicine.
Dr. Cristina Allen is experienced in providing treatment and education for:
DIGESTIVE HEALTH
Healthy digestive function is the foundation of our health.
It nourishes us, and provides what is necessary for us to thrive. Mentally, and physically.
The basic role of the digestive system is to breakdown food to be absorbed as nutrients into the bloodstream for energy, growth, and cell repair.
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is also home to an enormous and complex community of commensal bacteria, our gut microbial community (microbiota). Humans and their commensal bacteria have co-evolved for over a millennia. They benefit us in vast ways, including contributing to good digestion, protecting the human’s digestive tract from colonization by invasive pathogens, regulating our immunity, communication with the nervous system, affecting mood, producing and absorbing nutrients, and detoxification.
Optimal digestive function is essential to optimal health.
Its function should always be prioritized and be assessed in any cases of chronic illness. When the digestive tract is not in balance, it results in reduced nutrient absorption which can develop into imbalances and deficiencies, inflammation, and impaired detoxification and impacts all other systems in the body.
STRESS & FATIGUE
Long-term stress is a common experience in our modern lives, often far exceeding the our bodies capability to cope, albeit resilient.
This excessive exposure can result in feelings of anxiousness, difficulty coping with stress, brain fog, memory decline, awake feeling unrested or constantly fatigued physically and/or mentally, infertility, low mood, and poor exercise progress or tolerance.
Developing stress management strategies including spending time in nature, and providing opportunities and support to the mind and body is more important than ever to achieving optimal health.
HORMONAL IMBALANCES
Hormones play a significant role in achieving optimal health.
They govern our reproductive health, metabolism, energy, digestive function, cognitive health, sex drive, bone density, recovery, immunity, and how we age.
Hormonal imbalances present differently in each person, but symptoms may include any combination of fatigue, PMS symptoms, changes in mood and personality, indigestion and irregular bowels, infertility, poor body temperature regulation, difficulty with weight loss or muscle gain, and increased frequency in injury and illness.
Many factors contribute to maintaining hormonal balance, including how we physically and mentally interact with our environment, toxin exposures, environmental estrogens, detoxification, microbiome, stress, genetics, vitamin and nutrient imbalances.
Hormones interact with one another and engage with multiple systems within the body, so a holistic approach to investigating and treatment is necessary to achieve sustainable health.
IMMUNITY
The primary function of the immune system is to protect the body from harmful pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses, that we are exposed to on a daily basis.
If the immune system becomes out of balance, it can result in frequent cold, flus, and infections, autoimmune disorders, and atopic conditions.
Autoimmune disorders occur when the body’s natural defence cannot differentiate between the body’s cells and foreign cells, and inappropriately attacks the body’s cells. Conditions include psoriasis, Hashimoto’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Atopic conditions are hypersensitivity responses including eczema, allergies, and asthma.
Inflammation significantly impacts and can be the result of an imbalanced immune system. Causes of increased inflammation may include imbalanced microbiome, food sensitivities, allergen and toxin exposure, stress, hormonal imbalances, nutritional and mineral deficiencies, and poor detoxification.
Other factors that contribute to immune imbalances include diets based on monocrop farming, ingredients grown with pesticide and antibiotic use and processed foods, environmental pollution, and stress.
By identifying the root cause and triggers, the immune system can be balanced and symptoms can be reduced in severity and frequency, or be resolved.
FERTILITY
Approximately 13% of women aged 15 to 59 experience impaired fertility, and 16% of Canadian couples experience infertility.
This number has doubled since the 1980s.
Fertility challenges are experienced by both women and men, and the key is to uncover what is preventing them from conceiving and treating that underlying cause.
This is achieved by looking at the whole person including their family history, medical history, environmental exposures, stress, nutrient deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, diet, activity, sleep, ability to detox, microbiome, and understanding of hormonal rhythms and awareness of the best time to conceive.
Preconception care is incredibly important to consider to improve fertility, healthy pregnancy, and paediatric outcomes.
ANTI-AGING & ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
Conquer performance goals with a holistic approach.
Lack of sleep and time for recovery, high stress, inflammation, imbalanced biome, hormonal disruption, toxic exposure, suboptimal detoxification, and poor nutrition can result in weight gain or lack of weight loss, fatigue, difficulty gaining muscle mass, low endurance, muscle and joint pain, and extended recovery times.
By eliminating blockages and optimizing systems, the body can thrive.
Cannabis as Medicine
Seeking a deeper relationship with cannabis?
Humans have interacted with cannabis for medicinal, recreational, and entheogenic purposes for over 5000 years. Our bodies have co-evolved with this medicine, seen by the presence of the endocannabinoid system in the human body, which is one of the most physiologic systems involve in establishing and maintaining health.
Cannabis can be beneficial for a number of health conditions and can provide pain relief, appetite modulation, mood balancing, inflammation reduction, cognitive stimulation, trauma intervention, reduction in spasticity, and improved quality and quantity of sleep.
Each cannabis strain has a unique make up of cannabinoids including THC, CBD, CBG, and CBN, and terpenes. It is the interaction of these particular cannabinoids and terpenes with each individual that elicits distinct outcomes.
