Functional Medicine | Women's Health
By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND Let's talk about the winter blah’s, because it happens to most of us during the dark winter days. We're less likely to be inspired to exercise, we can't stop eating sugar and carbs, and we start to feel low and run-down. This inevitably leads us to feeling defeated and unmotivated about health, self-care and wellness. The …
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Something people ask me about every day is how to slow down early signs of aging. Studies show that at least 25% of adults in North America feel many years older than their chronological age, especially adults between the ages of 40-50. In other words, it's really common to be prematurely aging. There are so many areas we can address to …
A large part of what I do in my practice is interpret people’s symptoms. We have been taught to look at symptoms as the problem – like a headache, a rash, stomach pain, low energy, but really these are just messages that the body is using to communicate a problem. Our tendency is to be scared by a symptom and want to treat it immediately – take …
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Thyroid issues are extremely common in women, and low thyroid function, or hypothyroidism is a chronic health condition that is both under-diagnosed and under-treated. This article is meant to inform you about signs and symptoms of low thyroid function, and how it is treated. Do you experience any of the following? Are you tired, sluggish in …
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By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND As a women’s health and hormone practitioner, I see patients every day who suffer from painful menstruation and often to the degree that it seriously interferes with their quality of life. The good news is that there are many steps you can take to eliminate menstrual cramps, or at least get off of prescription pain …
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By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND This is a short article and a reminder of the importance of self-care. We all have so many expectations of ourselves in a day, and it can become difficult to take care of the basics. Right now, I would like you to take a step back and take a close look at your self-care. Pretend that you are watching from a distance. …
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Bloating is one of the most frequent complaints that I hear in the office, and the good news is that it is almost always treatable once we have determined the underlying cause. Frequent bloating can be uncomfortable, but for many women it affects their confidence and how they feel about their bodies. It's important to know that abdominal bloating …
Burnout is something I've been talking a lot about in clinic, online and in conversations with colleagues. It seems as if our non-stop, high-pressure days are really beginning to take a toll. What's going on behind the stress? When stress levels are persistently high, every body system is impacted and even more importantly the mechanisms of rest, …
Our food cravings can indicate imbalances in the body, and especially of our neurotransmitters. For simplicity, I’m just focusing on two here: serotonin and dopamine. The production of both of these neurotransmitters is negatively affected by stress, and you can have a susceptibility to imbalances with them through your …
