Sault Naturopath

The following post is written by Shawn A. Tassone, M.D. author of “Hands Off My Belly! The Pregnant Woman’s Guide to Surviving Myths, Mothers, and Moods” – a Mom’s Choice Gold Recipient and Arizona Book Publisher’s Glyph Award Winner.

So much mysticism and mythology surrounds the pregnancy due date. Much of the mysticism is held by physicians who hold on to the old ways of determining when a pregnant woman will deliver. Believe me, most physicians would love a way to determine the due date so we could plan our lives around the deliveries of our patients, but the truth is only 1-2% of women will actually deliver on their due date. So what determines a due date, and what is the difference between EDC (estimated date of confinement) and EDD (estimated date of delivery) and what the heck is Naegele’s Rule. This post will help show the origins of the due date and how we are currently using a system that is about 250 years old.  Read more...

Thiamin, vitamin B1, is an essential nutrient. Our bodies need thiamin to digest carbohydrates, to regulate blood sugar and blood pressure, and to produce hydrochloric acid in our stomachs that is needed to digest food. Deficiencies are linked to PMS, anxiety, and peripheral nerve disease. Prolonged deficiency can lead to labored breathing and cardiac damage. Although important, thiamin deficiency unfortunately is often under diagnosed.

Early symptoms of deficiency may include:

• easy fatigue
• loss of appetite
• irritability and emotional instability
• confusion, loss of memory

Later signs of deficiency may include:  Read more...

• burning feet (especially at night)