If you've ever wondered if your thyroid is getting in the way of your metabolism and weight goals, this episode is for you.  Whether you've struggled with hypothyroidism, or have just been curious about your thyroid, I'm sure you've come across many claims that treating your thyroid will "solve" your metabolism or weight problems.  In today's episode, we break down: What's real and what's myth (and what's water weight) and whether treating your thyroid will actually help your metabolism...

There is nobody happier than I am that the knowledge about perimenopause is starting to permeate pop culture and general health information.  But like every pendulum, we often swing things WAY WAY too far.  What I mean is that every person with ovaries who has learned about perimenopause now thinks that every single symptom that is happening to them is hormonal and that they are knocking on menopause's door.  This podcast episode is going to help balance out that pendulum and teach you...

Do you wear a "wearable"? This is one of the most common questions I get asked on Instagram (and if you don't follow me, head over to www.instagram.com/drjordannd to follow along.  In this episode we cover The Apple Watch Whoop The Oura ring Fitbit I share my experience with each of them (yes I've tried them all) what I loved or hated about each of them and whether or not they actually helped me meet my goals.  We talk about what you're tracking, why you're tracking it and how to be...

Welcome back! After a summer hiatus we’re ready to get back to the podcast and share evidence-based health information and mindset discussion to help you advocate better for yourself in your health journey.    Today’s episode is a welcome-back discussion about how we often let our past decisions and failures prevent us from trying something new. We’re going to break down why we feel badly about past choices and how to reframe the experiences you’ve had with your health (even if they didn’t...

If you’ve watched TV in the last few months, you’ll notice a theme in the news on health: MENOPAUSE.    Menopause is finally having it’s moment in the media. From Oprah to The National, my guest Dr. Heather Hirsch and I discuss our media appearances in the last few months, what this means for menopause and how to start getting the care you deserve.    Heather has exploded on the menopause scene with her book, Unlock Your Menopause Type which is sold wherever you buy books.  We discuss her...

In today's episode, we’re taking a very practical approach to talking about nutrition and how to slightly change some of your routine nutrition patterns to help you meet your nutrition goals, especially if you are working on your blood sugar or weight loss.    We use the “money” and “budgeting” metaphor to discuss why we’d even consider taking a lower calorie food option occasionally or how to think about your nutrition patterns to be sure that they are helping move you forward with your...

With a wider conversation happening online about menopause, we’re seeing people come forward more than ever discussing the mental health strain that this phase of life can cause. I’m joined in this episode by one of my friends and close colleagues (we work in the same office!) Dr. Laurie Alpert ND, who is a NAMS certified menopause practitioner and your new mental health advocate.    Laurie and I share our experience in working with people in menopause and help you feel seen and understood...

In this week’s episode, I share my yearly reflection questions, what my personal answers were, and how you can use this kind of exercise to help you move forward on your goals, whether they be health related or otherwise.  Here are the questions for the episode and the ones that I moved through in the podcast episode. I shared my experience looking at my answers 6 months later, and how to use personal goal setting and journaling to help you achieve your own goals.    What are things I...

With an increase in hormonal symptoms appearing over 40, many people are offered treatment options such as the pill, the IUD and HRT. Each of these treatment options have wonderful effects and some side effects and may or may not fit the bill for supporting people as they transition towards menopause.    In this episode, I sit down with Miranda Tawfik, a pharmacist with a focus on women’s health and hormone therapy. We discuss the pros and cons of each medication option and help settle some...

PMS is more than a minor inconvenience. It can leave you feeling like a different person half the month, put strain on your relationships and can really derail achieving your other health goals.  In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Keara Taylor, a Naturopathic Doctor in Toronto and one of our expert clinicians at The Confident Clinician. Keara’s focus in her practice and her research is on the emotional regulation of people through their PMS experience, and how to equip menstruators with...

I love watching someone so good at their craft. Whether it’s an artist, or a great lawyer, watching someone in their element always leaves me feeling in awe of their dedication, experience and tenacity to get great at something.    Nobody feels that way about their doctor.    In today’s episode, I want to address the trend of “doing your own research” for your medical care. The general distrust in medicine and the lack of appreciation about what goes into making a medical decision...

If you’ve spent 10 minutes on social media, you’ve probably heard the term insulin resistance. If you’ve spent 11 minutes on social media someone has probably scared you into feeling like your blood sugar is a problem, and you need a special solution to manage it.  In today’s episode, we talk about what the term insulin resistant means, and why everyone needs a basic understanding of blood sugar regulation to achieve better health. With diabetes being one of the most important (and most...

In today’s solo episode, we talk about how to tell if it’s time to throw your plan in the garbage and try something new.    It’s common when working with patients that people “quit” when things aren’t getting better as fast as they want to, or there’s a mismatch between what people value (natural treatments) and what people want (instantaneous results!).    We also talk through questions you need to ask such as:  Do you understand your baseline?  Are you even tracking the right...

I’ve been following the research on burnout, PTSD and resiliency for a few years because I find adaptive changes in the brain and nervous system so fascinating. Getting real results with patients often involves us recognizing the impact of their mindset, nervous system regulation and level of burnout/resilience as we construct a plan.    We can easily see how a patient would find it hard to do a particular part of their plan if they couldn’t afford it, if the resources were too far from...

If you haven’t listened to our past episodes with Dr. Erin Ley, you’ve missed out on a lot of ranting, a lot of practical solutions and a lot of laughing.  Dr. Erin Ley is one of the Naturopathic Doctors at Clarity Health, serving people all over Ontario Canada. Erin sees both our adolescent patients and our male patients (in addition to patients looking for nutrition support and hormonal health) which gives her amazing insight into the challenges of working with this unique population.  ...

We know you’ve likely had information about protein shoved down your throat (pun intended) but do you really understand the WHY?   Things change during ageing and the menopause transition that affect how people’s bodies incorporate dietary protein, and the impact on this is far-reaching. From lower muscle mass, changes to change in satiety (how full you are) and a reduction in energy expenditure (how much we burn in a day), protein affects a lot.    We review what catabolism is, and how...

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus (again!) to talk about sex and how to have a thriving sex life. We outline how little people know about what contributes to positive libido and desire (so they don’t know what they were doing right) and then have NO IDEA what is getting in the way when their desire or drive changes. This feeling of a lack of control leaves people feeling powerless and like the solution lives outside of themselves.   This episode is for you if you are...

This week we are diving into the vault and bringing back our most downloaded and listened-to episode in 2021! We will be back next week with a brand-new episode.  Is your morning routine part of your secret sauce or are you a roll-out-of-bed-and-run kind of person? My morning routine has been an important part of my life for years and I’ve spent a lot of time testing various strategies to make the most of my day. In this episode I give you some ideas of how to create your own routine by...

It’s common for us to skip over an episode if we feel like a topic doesn’t apply to us, or if we feel nervous to listen.    This particular episode is for everyone, and we’re going to help you feel more confident thinking about cancer either for yourself, or in your family and loved ones.    I’m joined today by Dr. Martha Sharpe ND who focuses her practice on cancer survivorship. We discuss her personal journey with a cancer diagnosis and how she felt as a healthcare practitioner trying...

There are patterns that people who are successful with nutrition change adopt, and in today’s podcast, I’m sharing the 3 food categories that I want you to include in your kitchen to help you make it through tougher weeks (and help you meet your goals!). It’s common for a new nutrition plan to focus on novelty, new recipes and unique ways of incorporating unique ingredients into your diet. New nutrition plans can often feel like a part-time job for many people, 🥵 and this level of...

Today’s conversation is an important one. On a few levels.  When I sat down to do this podcast I was thinking about the medications for obesity (we’re focusing on Semaglutide/Ozempic today) I was going to focus on the “clinical” discussion. Does it work? Who benefits? What do we expect? Then, that very week, there was a social media explosion about weight loss drugs for adolescents.  And I realized that our conversation had to be much more emotional than that.  Should we treat obesity...

Janette Yee, an athletic therapist who supports people after vaginal birth and c-section is a joy to listen to. She’s vibrant, excited and passionate about something that we’ve all kept to ourselves.    How freaking hard it is to recover from birth.    As an athlete herself, Janette gives us the metaphor we’ve been waiting for. Birth is a season ending injury. And yet, while most athletes get trainers, time off and rehab, we send people who have given birth home with a screaming baby...

It’s probably a bit of a stretch that an adult with ADHD who has 17,000 undread emails (at last count) is going to do a podcast about managing your email.    But hear me out.    I think we are in an opportunity to show up with leadership when it comes to both our inbox and our outbox, by breaking down some of the email culture we’re observing out there.    We’re going to talk about how our email culture is breeding:   Unrealistic expectations of each other.  To-do lists that we...

Today’s podcast is an important episode if you exercise, identify as an athlete or have ever skipped a period. We’re talking about the energy it takes to create a menstrual period, and why women who exercise, diet or both are at risk of missing a period.  I’m joined by Dr. Katrina Allison, a Naturopathic Doctor in British Columbia who focuses on supporting female athletes and young women with menstrual concerns. Even if you don’t think your diet or training is impacting your menstrual cycle,...

I was inspired by conversations I have seen in academic spaces I belong to about where “responsibility” lies in health change.  Does it lie with the individual (bottom up) or with the government (top down)?  As I was listening to this conversation happen, it made me think about how our health solutions for people are often bottom up, versus top down in their own household.  We ask people to eat spaghetti squash while their family eats something better.  We ask people to exercise at the...