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3 of Golden Naturopathic Clinic's Online Supplement Store's general recommendations, available to anyone who visits this store.

Women's Optimal Health Support
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Hi there! Here are my favorites of "the basics" for promoting overall health for the years to come. Feel free to try one or more of these as you need! Feel free to contact me with any questions about these or other products. Take care! Dr Kaycie
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Supplements for Survivors
Top 4 Supplements for breast cancer survivors Hi, I’m Dr. Kaycie. I’m a Naturopathic Doctor and breast cancer survivor on a mission to help women restore their health and vitality, during and after their treatment. Since 1999, I’ve been working with women to optimize and support their whole body health. Through my Thriving Survivors online programs and 1:1 Health Partnerships, I help breast cancer survivors, those undergoing treatment, and women diagnosed with BRCA mutations improve treatment efficacy, decrease harsh side effects, rebuild their health, and lower the chance of recurrence. I love empowering women by giving them the tools and information they need to make impactful health decisions, each and every day! I developed Thriving Survivors after my own experience recovering from breast cancer treatment. From nutrition to mindset, each tool, tip, and guideline included in the programs has helped me and my clients retain and regain balance, during treatment and beyond. My vision is to transform what we think of as the "end" of treatment. Treatment isn't over until you feel great again. The good news? Simple, easy-to-implement changes can have a big impact when it comes to improving post-chemo, post-radiation, and post-surgery recovery. Are nutritional supplements good for breast cancer survivors? This is a great question that I hear all the time from survivors. And the answer is–yes AND no. Yes because targeted, high quality supplements can help you feel better now and in the long-term. But just because something is marketed as nutritional it does not guarantee that it will be right, safe, or effective for you. When I recommend supplements, I want them to be: Targeted to meet your individual needs Proven to be safe and effective Help to prevent cancer Recurrence If a supplement doesn’t meet that criteria–it’s off the list. Every breast cancer survivor I work with has specific needs for her supplement plan. This is based on symptoms, labwork, and how she lives. However, while each of us has a different experience on our healing journey, there are a few supplementary nutrients with lots of studies that indicate they are beneficial for any survivor. Why are these my favorites? After my cancer diagnosis, I worked together with my conventional and integrative oncology team to create a regimen that helped me minimize my symptoms, recover more quickly from my treatment, and build on my expertise in the particular health challenges of breast cancer survivors. The holistic and natural therapies I researched and used during and after my treatment were invaluable in terms of keeping me balanced as a whole person, speeding up my healing process, minimizing the harshness of my side effects, restoring my vitality, and reducing my risk of recurrence. Since then, I’ve used this same approach to help many of my clients recover from their treatments — and built my Thriving Survivors program on these evidence-based principles. I want you to return to the healthiest, happiest version of yourself and stay there for the long term. I have spent hundreds of hours buried deep in the research looking for the nutrients that are most crucial and most effective for improving and maintaining the health of survivors. The nutrients I include in this list can absolutely be a part of your diet, but it can be challenging to get enough, which makes supplementation a useful and simple option. These four supplements are curated to include the safest, most effective nutrients produced by companies with the highest quality and integrity. I curated this list for you to use as a guide on your journey as a thriving survivor! This guide gives you my top four supplements that you can start implementing today to get your mind and body back on track and help you feel your best! Supplement #1: Vitamin D Low Vitamin D levels are associated with higher rates of breast cancer. Taking your daily recommended amount can improve your mood, strengthen your immunity, reduce inflammation, and prevent recurrence naturally. In addition to taking high-quality supplements, you can boost your consumption and absorption of Vitamin D by spending some time outside in the sunshine (while wearing sunscreen, of course!) and eating Vitamin-D-rich foods. Getting your Vitamin D levels tested regularly will help you stay on track–make sure your Vitamin D levels stay above 35. BONUS TIP: High levels of Vitamin D can be found in salmon, tuna, egg yolks, sardines, and fortified dairy and plant milks. Supplement #2: Omega 3’s Omega 3 fatty acids, like EPA and DHA, have a wide range of positive effects for breast cancer survivors. They can help decrease hot flashes and night sweats and improve skin healing following chemotherapy and radiation. They are also a good systemic anti-inflammatory which can help decrease aches and pains. Omega 3 fats are also associated with lowered risk, progression, and recurrence of breast cancer (and a number of other cancers). Studies have also found high Omega-3 diets and supplementation with Omega 3’s to increase survival time both on its own and in women receiving chemotherapy. Fish and seafood are the best, most easily used sources of Omega 3’s for your body, so I generally recommend a fish-based omega 3 supplement. If you are choosing a plant-based diet, some good vegetarian sources include flax, chia, soy, and walnuts. BONUS TIP: Fish can be exposed to a number of things we don’t want to consume (like mercury and environmental chemicals), so make sure to get a product that has been molecularly distilled! Supplement #3: black cohosh Black cohosh can be helpful for women who are experiencing hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and anxiety after treatment. It helps to prevent recurrence and is safe to use along with tamoxifen. Supplement #4: Calcium with bone nutrients and ipriflavone I include Calcium here because it is so important to support bone health for most breast cancer survivors. Estrogen is crucial for healthy bones. Chemotherapy, tamoxifen, and other estrogen-lowering medications change your body’s production of hormones. In particular, aromatase-inhibiting medications like arimidex decrease estrogen production enough that women can experience rapid bone loss while taking them. I like the ipriflavone because it helps your bones use the minerals to rebuild. It is essential to get bone-supporting nutrients from your food, but I like women to also get a balanced supplement that also includes other bone-supporting nutrients, like Magnesium, Boron, and Vitamin K. BONUS TIP: For best absorption, take calcium with food but away from other medications.
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Good Calcium Sources
How Do I Get Enough Calcium? Why is Calcium Important? We all know that calcium is critical for healthy bones . Our bones, however, are not static. They are constantly remodeling (aka, breaking down and building back up), which is why they are able to stay strong and adapt to the changes in our body over time. On a day-to-day basis, Calcium is also critical for healthy functioning of our brain, nerves, muscles, and heart . Our bones also act as a storehouse for Calcium, so if we do not get enough Calcium each day our body will pull it from the bones to keep the body running. So we need enough of it to run our body and to keep up with healthy remodeling of the bones. Who needs extra Calcium? While anyone can develop osteoporosis, the group most at risk is generally: Thin Caucasian Women After menopause The data shows that the optimal BMI for osteoporosis prevention is 27. However, this BMI is considered overweight and not optimal for cardiovascular health. Which means that if you are a postmenopausal woman at a “healthy” weight, you still need some extra bone support. Estrogen is critical for keeping our bones strong, so after menopause our bones are at a higher risk of developing osteopenia or osteoporosis. For women who have gone through early menopause, the risk is even higher. What Foods are High in Calcium? The RDI for Calcium is 800mg; 1200 for pregnant or lactating women. Dairy products are touted as our best source of calcium, but not everyone tolerates dairy and there are other good food sources. Here’s a list for a one-cup serving of each of these foods: Milk: 300mg Cheese: 1oz=200mg Dark Green leafy veggies (cooked): 200-450mg (turnip greens highest) Tofu: 150mg Cooked Beans: 100-140mg Seafood: Sardines with bones: 1000mg Canned Salmon with bones: 490mg Shrimp: 300mg Sea Vegetables (seaweed): 1000-3500mg Grains: Quinoa: 80mg Whole wheat flour, cornmeal, rye flour, oats: 40-50mg Nuts and Seeds: Sesame: 2100mg Almonds: 750mg Hazelnuts: 450mg Walnuts: 280mg Sunflower seeds: 260mg What are the best Calcium Supplements? Every person has different needs, so it is important to find a calcium supplement that is right for you. For anyone taking Calcium, I recommend balancing it with Magnesium, Boron, and Vitamin D , as all of these are critical for healthy bones. Many people also find Calcium to be constipating; Magnesium tends to help things move along so a supplement containing both can be beneficial to the digestion. I have three favorite Calcium/Mineral options that I recommend in my practice. Let me know if you would like more information about any of them! Liquid Calcium Magnesium: is what I use most often because it is easy to take and easy for the body to absorb. In addition to bone health benefits, this formula can help with constipation, muscle cramping and can improve the quality of sleep. For this reason I usually recommend taking this at night before bed. For people with greater severity of these symptoms, I will often use a formula with equal parts Magnesium and Calcium; otherwise there is a formula with equal parts of these minerals. Multimineral + Vitamin D: For active women who need a more complete mineral supplement to balance electrolytes as well as bone health, I like this product. Osteoprime Ultra This is what I use for people with osteopenia or osteoporosis. Osteoprime also has a full complement of Vitamins and Minerals so it can substitute for your regular multi. Let me know if you have more questions! Dr Kaycie
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