Deep Dive Health Consulting:
Menopause-Related Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis impacts many more women than men during and after menopause. Research shows that women with hormone deficiency are at higher risk of developing osteoarthritis. Unfortunately, not all medical research makes its way to your doctor. My client was one such patient whose doctor sent her for cortisone shots but didn't believe her pain could be helped by addressing her hormones. My research uncovered new treatment possibilities for her to try by herself as well as to advocate with her healthcare team: rebalancing her hormones and regenerative interventions, and how to access them.
Deep Dive Health Consulting: Constipation
Constipation is extremely common especially among women, and gets worse with menopause. A client started suffering from abdominal pain and constipation years after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes and successfully reversing it using lifestyle measures (green keto diet and frequent exercise). My client had a history of polyps as well and low-thyroid, and felt confused and overwhelmed and didn't know where to turn next. My research uncovered that the long-term effect of the keto diet can impact thyroid especially among women, which can slow down gastric motility and cause constipation and other digestive issues. Together we created a plan to request certain tests from my client's healthcare team to confirm the source of constipation and obtain appropriate treatments, and identified some self-care and lifestyle measures to prioritize with professional support.
Daytime Ottawa with Derrick Fage, September 22, 2023
"If you were going to do only one single thing for your health during menopause, it should be strength training... It is the # 1 evidence based lifestyle habit and exercise type for women in menopause. It protects bones, joints, mood, cardiovascular health, even cognition. There's a study that showed that post-menopausal women with cognitive decline who did resistance training saw some of those effects reversed."
Weight Loss in Menopause -
Menopause Support Hub Educational Session
Weight loss is the # 1 concern for women related to menopause according to my poll taken in summer of 2023. Weight gain occurs due to multiple factors, including aging, hormonal shifts, as well as shifting habits as women get older. Exercise, nutrition, and stress management are key elements of a weight loss strategy.
Daiana Temple, nutritionist, presented some nutritional tips for losing excess body fat and maintaining healthy body weight as we age, including her signature weight loss program.
The Federal Government’s Patching Holes Health Strategy: Can We Do Better?
The Liberal government has announced nearly 20 health-related strategies since their election in 2015, and COVID-19 has only reinforced their commitment to health care. However, all of these strategies share 3 underlying factors in common. This article suggests a more cohesive framework to fill the common health care gaps that these strategies are attempting to address: combining all of these strategies into a single chronic disease strategy. The second part of this article released in November 2022 describes a 3-dimensional chronic disease strategy that would fill gaps while removing duplication. This article is only available to subscribers. Click the link on the picture to be directed to the subscription page.
Mortality Due to Cancer 2022: Understanding the Drivers of Variability in Interprovincial Cancer Mortality
Previous research showed which Canadian provinces had better or worse mortality rates for 3 cancer types. This follow-up research paper delved into potential reasons for those differences in 5 cancers: lung, breast, prostate, colorectal, and myeloma. Findings demonstrated that provinces with higher incidence have better healthcare system capacity, and these also have better mortality outcomes. Population mental health ratings also have a lot to do with mortality outcomes in these 5 cancers. These are important considerations for post-COVID health policy reform and point to the need for targeted systems performance improvement measures specifically in provinces that have under-funded healthcare capacity.
