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Escarpment Magaz ine Winter
2012
Do any of these scenarios sound familiar to you?
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a friend is adamant that you try glucosamine sulphate because it worked brilliantly for their
arthritis, but you notice no change to your joint pain or mobility after months of taking the sup-
plement.
4
your spouse is getting a restful night’s sleep taking melatonin, yet after taking the same pills
you lie awake just like every other night.
4
your co-worker attributes her loss of hot flashes to black cohosh, however no matter the
dose you take you can’t shake those attacks of heat.
You may think this is happening because the remedies don’t work, but in fact it is most often
simply that they are not addressing the root cause of your symptoms.
Glucosamine sulphate may work really well for those who suffer joint pain due to the mild to
moderate degradation of the cartilage in their joints. But if your pain is due to dehydration, tox-
icity, imbalanced muscle development around the joint, food intolerances leading to inflam-
mation, infection, or any other host of causes, the glucosamine is not going to help you.
Melatonin is a neurohormone that is naturally produced by a gland in your brain in response
to the reduced level of light in the evening. If a person is not generating enough of this com-
pound then a supplement may work very well at correcting this imbalance. But your sleep may
be poor due to an imbalance in your cortisol levels, stressors, stimulants, restless legs, evening
routine, other hormonal imbalances, and more. For these, melatonin will seldom be effective.
Black cohosh may help alleviate hot flashes if your symptoms are due to reduced estrogen lev-
els in your body. Although commonly associated with low estrogen, hot flashes can be trig-
gered by poor blood sugar regulation, an imbalanced stress response or nervous system, food
intolerances, low progesterone, elevated testosterone, among other things. Howwill you know
what’s triggering your symptoms, without appropriate testing?
Above are only 3 examples of symptoms that can have a variety of causes. Other examples
include headaches, low energy, frequent colds, poor digestion, skin issues, depression/anxiety,
chronic disease, and any other symptoms that the body is expressing. So if you are not finding
relief from the highly recommended products from well-intentioned friends, family and maga-
zine articles, it is time to consult a licensed naturopathic doctor to explore where your symptoms
are really coming from.
There is a cause to your discomfort, and you may be surprised by what it is!
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By SHELBY WORTS
BSC, ND
Natural Remedies
Don’t Treat Symptoms
escarpment
wellness
naturopathic care
"The journey of a
thousand miles
begins with a
single step."
115 Hurontario St.
Suite 200
The StoneTree Clinic
705.444.8300
My focus i s on prevent i ve med i c i ne
and us i ng saf e , e f f ect i ve techn i ques
to res tore hea l th to your body.
The hea l i ng path that you
embark upon f rom your
i n i t i a l v i s i t wi th me
wi l l be the f i rs t s tep
i n an e f f ec t i ve
therapeut i c j ourney
towards ach i ev i ng
v i brant , sus ta i nab l e
hea l th for l i f e .
~Lao Tzu
BY SHELBY WORTS ND