Jason McCammon

As a naturopath myself, I have never heard of a "naturopathic diet." I'm also not sure what is special about doing a "diet" in the summer. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to sound nutrition. It's best to eat whole food year-round. I do not recommend a diet but rather a well-planned eating strategy. One that works with your preferences but also addresses any health issues. For example, for someone with considerable cognitive impairment, a low-carb or ketogenic diet might help. Or, for someone with gut issues, reducing grains and legumes can hasten gut repair in most cases. In terms of cleanses, generally, it's a smart strategy to plan at least two cleanses per year, spring and fall. These are the major seasonal transitions. The cleanse does not have to be fancy but I do recommend a juice fast for a day or two, along with a few cups of Yogi Daily Detox tea. This can help reset the body but keep in mind we live in a toxic world, relative to 20 or 30 years ago, so technically detox should be done daily at some level.

Disordered sleep can have many root causes. Most importantly, you should work to find the root cause of disordered sleep. I suggest you consider black-out curtains in your sleeping space, play on white noise or put a small fan on low, keep your phone at least 10 feet away from you as you sleep, no screen time or TV at least 30 minutes before bed, do some meditation and deep breathing before bed, and finally journal any racing thoughts or issues that can make you anxious. This combination of foundational tools helps the majority of my patients. If you just want help relaxing the mind-body for sleep, the most direct non-prescription medicine I have found is using a cannabis tincture of 1 part THC to 1 part CBD. This is called a 1:1 ratio. When these cannabis compounds are taken in this way, you will not get any "high" from the THC, unlike smoking pot. This is because CBD blocks the receptors in the brain which cause the "high." But what you will get is very relaxed, both in the mind and the body. Start with a few drops, 30 minutes before bed, then asses from there. I hope this helps!

Ideally, we should all get daily sun exposure. Although this is tough in northern latitudes, the sun provides much more than just vitamin D synthesis. It helps regulate our hormones, sleep-wake cycle, protective neurotransmitters for a good mood, the infrared rays help us detoxify the body, and so much more. While we should avoid getting sunburned, generally we have been told to be wary of any sun exposure which is a dire mistake. The lack of sun exposure greatly increases our morbidity, including the risk of skin cancers. In fact, the lack of sun plus a low omega-3 diet, combined with widespread vitamin D deficiency, is a key cause of skin cancer. As for vitamin D, for most people who work during the day in terms of an office or factory job, it is nearly impossible to get daily exposure to maintain proper D3 blood levels. For nearly 90% of the population, D3 supplementation is a must. There is an app called D Minder that can help you see the optimal time each day to get sun for optimal vitamin D synthesis. But you will find most of the time this is between 10 am and 4 pm which is a challenging time for most people to get into the sun. D3 supplementation varies but for adults, 5,000 IU per day is the very minimum. Additionally, getting some sun exposure at sunrise and sunset, while you will not get D3 from this, can boost health as well. *Dr. Jason McCammon * PhD, BCND, CHHP, PN, NFPT, CMA 2510 E. Michigan Ave. Lansing MI, 48912 517-409-5095