Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues and improve their overall health.

Proper diet and nutritional supplements can benefit everyone suffering from allergies by boosting immunity and optimizing health. Allergies, ranging from sinus congestion and hay fever to asthma, dermatitis and hives are all symptoms of reduced immunity. Presented here are some recommended supplements and dietary advice to keep you sniffle-free!

Multivitamin/Mineral
A full-spectrum multivitamin and mineral product in a highly absorbable form is essential to ensure the foundation of health. Vitamins and minerals are necessary for proper growth, metabolism, digestion, immune system function, muscle and nerve function and detoxification processes in the liver. Scientific studies have shown that the majority of us are deficient in many essential nutrients because of poor dietary habits and other factors which may deplete nutrient levels such as caffeine, drugs, stress or pollution.

Acidophilus/Probiotics
Studies have proven that taking acidophilus helps to reduce the frequency and severity of infections. Acidophilus is the friendly bacteria that live in our digestive tract. This bacteria balance is affected by the use of antibiotics, the birth control pill or excess sugar and carbohydrate intake. Everyone can benefit from the use of probiotics for healthy digestion and immunity. Acidophilus has also been found useful in the treatment and prevention of skin conditions, allergies and thrush. Be sure to follow any course of antibiotics with supplements of acidophilus for double the length of time you took the antibiotics.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.

For many people, myself included, grabbing a latte is the high point of a day. You may occasionally give it up for a few weeks at a time, but the comfort and gratification from this basic pleasure doesn't keep you away from the local coffee shop for long. However, there are a few things you can do right now to make this unhealthy habit, a whole lot healthier:

1. Go for soy milk over cow's milk: Some sources suggest that cow's milk is a common food allergy that can contribute to eczema, asthma, sinus congestion or digestive upset. Soy is high in protein and in calcium. It is also beneficial for heart health, prostate cells, menopausal and PMS symptoms, bone density and sex hormone balance (due to its phytoestrogenic isoflavones). Breast tenderness, irritability and acne breakouts before menses can be lessened by having a cup of soy milk each day. Recent studies even suggest that soy protein contributes to fat loss and the maintenance of muscle during a weight loss program.


2. Top it off with cinnamon: Cinnamon is all the rage right now in the treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes because of its insulin-sensitizing effects. Insulin instructs the body to store extra calories as fat if they are not burned off after consumption. An insulin-sensitizing agent is one that causes the cells of the body to have a better response to insulin, which ultimately lessens the need for excessive insulin secretion. A study published in Diabetes Care found that half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It also reduces triglyceride, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels among this group. Less insulin is beneficial beyond weight loss reasons and cholesterol control as avoidance of high insulin levels over long periods of time is linked to reduced risk of cancer (i.e. breast), Alzheimer's disease, high blood pressure, accelerated aging and heart disease.


3. Coffee: One cup a day is not that bad: New research confirms that moderate coffee consumption has possible benefits and may not cause us harm. These benefits include reduced risk for type 2 diabetes, gallstones, liver disease, colon cancer and Parkinson's disease. Studies show that type 2 diabetes is lower among regular coffee drinkers (two or less cups per day). In addition to the long-term health benefits, the immediate effects of coffee consumption include improved endurance in long-duration physical activities and higher, fat-burning effects before a workout.

Last weekend my boyfriend made me dinner and because he is typically a steak and frites kind of guy, I was quite impressed with his choice of wild and brown rice with tons of veggies made to accompany our grilled fish. While healthy is not usually his first priority when it comes to food, he knows vegetables are a sure way to charm his nutritionist girlfriend. And thus, consider this is my personal guarantee to you that this recipe is both easy and delicious and has my nutritionist seal of approval.

There were three local ingredients in this recipe: garlic, onions and asparagus and the remaining items didn't travel too far across mama earth to get to the kitchen. Fresh onions and garlic in Ontario this time of year are amazing so I implore you to check out your local farmers' market and simply follow your nose to the freshest ingredients.

As anyone who has done even the smallest amount of cooking knows, garlic and onions go into just about every recipe, which is a good thing according to the many experts and nutritionists like myself who consider them superfoods with seemingly endless health benefits.

Health benefits and recipe after the jump

Each morning, we dish out a few links we love.

Are you a runner? Check out these gadgets -- according to the National Post, they might help your journey go a bit smoother.

Do you know the signs of a stroke? Take time to learn them -- doing so can quite literally save lives!

What's the latest trend in sex, you ask? According to Lemondrop, the really cool thing to do these days is become celibate.

Got asthma? Knowing your triggers is the first step to avoiding an attack.

If you're watching what you eat, you might want to re-consider these items -- They're commonly thought to be bad for you, but in reality, they're actually quite healthy.

In my last post I wrote about why you should be running outside, even when it's cold. This article is part 2: How to run in cold weather.

The first rule of how to run in cold weather: Suck it up.

Many people have a mental block surrounding this, but the simple fact is that you won't die, and if you've got all the proper gear then you'll not only be more comfortable, but that will have a positive impact on your motivation. In other words, you'll feel like an idiot if you drop a few hundred bucks on cold-weather running gear and then never use it.

Making the switch to all-weather running takes some planning and preparation, and you'll likely need to open your wallet to ensure that you stay both safe and warm. I firmly believe that you should get specialized equipment at a specialized store. The staff is knowledgeable in the type of equipment needed for harsher conditions, and it usually makes for a one-stop shop.

Here are a few tips for what you'll need:

One of the holiday traditions that my family has always kept is leaving out a bowl of nuts in the shell -- along with an assortment of enigmatic nut retrieval tools -- for people to help themselves to. I'm not really sure where this tradition originated (although, considering the ballet The Nutcracker was composed in 1892, I'm guessing the tradition goes back a ways), but my family sticks to it.

And why not? Keeping a bowl of healthy nuts, still in their shells to protect them from going rancid, is a holiday tradition I can really get behind. (Unlike Christmas cookies, gingerbread houses or candy canes which only seem good for tempting us with unhealthy, sugary junk.)

One of my favourite guys in the nut bowl, as well as being one of the more nutritionally dense, is the walnut. Primarily, walnuts are a terrific source of the essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a heart-healthy omega-3 fat. According to the World's Healthiest Foods website, a quarter cup of walnuts provides over 90 percent of the total daily requirement for omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s have been found to protect the cardiovascular system, promote better cognitive function, provide anti-inflammatory benefits which are helpful for asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, and the fats are helpful for skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. And all these benefits could potentially come from a handful of nuts.

Do you have a list of nagging symptoms that don't really seem to be helped by the over-the-counter (OTC) medications that are meant to clear them up? Is that list seemingly getting bigger by the day? Heartburn, indigestion, nausea, gas and bloating, frequent loose or watery stools -- these are all signs that our system is not as healthy as it could be. Yet we tend to overlook these symptoms as more nuisances than anything else -- certainly not an indication that something requires attention. But really these nagging symptoms aren't just something we need to live with. They point to a wearing down of the body and could all be the result of chronic exposure to food allergens.

What are the symptoms?
Headaches and migraines, chronic blood sugar imbalance, stuffy-nose or post nasal drip, asthma, skin rashes and joint pain are all common food allergy symptoms. Even more serious conditions like irritable bowel, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's Disease can be traced back to unknowingly ingesting foods you are allergic to on a regular basis.

When people think of food allergies, they generally tend to think of the acute response. Acute responses include deadly reactions to foods -- like peanuts, shellfish or eggs for example -- where immediate medical attention is vitally necessary. These reactions, called anaphylactic reactions, are often life-and-death situations which can cause inflammation of the breathing passage and cut off air supply.

Each morning, we weigh in on the day's hottest headlines.

I'm sure you've heard about this already but Susan Boyle is in a posh London rehab clinic due to stress. What, going from living with your cat to being the most watched person on TV is stressful? Who woulda thought ...

Scared of Marathons? Who says you have to run? According to the New York Times, the Walk-Run Method is a way for all us regular joes to get into marathoning.

A little short of breath from asthma? Yoga will help, says a new study.

In Australia, there's a fancy schmancy beer available that you can get for $1 -- a sip! That's a little too rich for my tastes ...

Here's a word of warning to heed -- Canadian beauty Natasha Henstridge admits diet pills did damage to her body.

Each morning, we weigh in on the day's hottest headlines.

Lady Gaga, attention whore extraordinaire, recently admitted to reporters that she feels like a gay man trapped in a woman's body. Okayyyyy then ...

Speaking of bizarre, new studies have found that lice might be a cure for asthma because people who have it are less likely to experience symptoms of the respiratory condition. Um, ick. I'll take the asthma over the lice, thank you very much.

Need proof that Miracles exist? In Northern Ireland, a woman's terminal cancer simply disapeared, leaving experts baffled. Hopeful or hoaxful -- what do you think?

Here's a scary statistic -- 25% of 11-year-olds admit that they get dieting tips from pro-anorexia websites. When I was 11, I spent my time mowing lawns for change to buy a slurpee with -- my, how the times change.

Ladies, listen up -- Lenny Kravitz is hoping to break his vow of celibacy and is on the hunt for the right woman. Any takers? Only thing is, he's starting the search in England ...

Tamey McIntosh and Patti Murphy have plenty in common. They live on the same street in Ottawa, their daughters are in the same grade at school and they both care deeply about their family's health. It's the last commonality that spurred them to create the website Pure Know How that looks at dangerous toxins in everyday products and offers safe alternatives.

The idea blossomed after Patti was diagnosed with breast cancer despite regular visits to a naturopath, exercise and a diet heavy on healthy organic foods. When her naturopath asked her if she was using products with parabins in them, Patti did some research and found they were estrogren mimickers (found in shampoos, conditioners, creams etc.) and they were the last thing she wanted in her body with her breast cancer history.

Patti's health scare, combined with Tamey's environmental background kick-started their joint mission to purge their homes of toxic products and replace them with healthy, natural alternatives. Their website was born out of their desire to share all of their new-found (albeit scary) knowledge with others. Find out what products in your home are the most dangerous, if your beauty routine will give you cancer and what you should look for when buying cleaning products after the jump.

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