Product Review Discover Your Microbiome with Injoy Your gut microbiome holds crucial insights about your health, which you can have fun exploring with Injoy,1 a Canadian-made microbiome testing kit. Our gut microbiomes consist of approximately 100 trillion microorganisms, from 500-1,000 different species, consisting of bacteria, viruses, yeast, and parasites. Harmony and balance among these species [...]
Can Medications Help Treat Obesity? A Review of Medications Used (On- and Off-Label) to Manage Obesity Obesity is a multi-factorial chronic disease that occurs when a person has an excessive amount of body fat, which can increase the individual’s risk of health complications, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, liver issues, arthritis, [...]
Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease The Liver The liver is the largest solid internal organ. It is located underneath the ribcage in the right upper part of the abdomen. Although liver size depends on a person’s age, body size, shape, sex, and disease state, in most adults, it is about the size of a [...]
Brain-Gut Connection and IBS If you’re one of the millions of people who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you may be aware that stress and anxiety can deeply affect your gut and sense of wellbeing. IBS is categorized as a disorder of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI),1 which means that there’s a disconnection between how your [...]
What is a Specialty Pharmacy and What Makes Them Special? As Canada’s population ages and rare diseases and chronic conditions are on the rise, more complex treatments and specialty drugs are being developed and used for patient care. Although there is no universal definition of what a specialty drug is, many of them have things [...]
Marty Enokson’s Battle with Obesity I am 13 years post bariatric surgery and still living with and battling the chronic disease of obesity. After having had a Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RNY), I can say that it is such incredibly hard work maintaining the weight you lose; so much harder than you think it’s going to [...]
New Hope for Gastroparesis Gastroparesis is a motility disorder affecting 4% of Canadians. It occurs when food does not move from the stomach into the intestine as quickly as it should, usually due to damage to, or impaired function of, the nerves connecting the brainstem to the gastrointestinal tract (vagus nerve). Symptoms include feeling excessively [...]
A How-to Guide for Medical Cannabis Since the legalization of cannabis in Canada, you might have considered trying recreational cannabis to treat your medical condition. While purchasing cannabis from a recreational shop may seem simpler, it is best to use medical cannabis instead. This way, you can be confident that the strain you use will [...]
Patient Support Programs Patient-focused adaptations If you’re living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), primarily Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and are taking a biologic medication, then patient support programs (PSPs) are useful in helping you manage your treatments. Biologics are highly effective medicines made in living cells used to treat chronic inflammatory diseases and [...]
Could a GI Condition Be Causing Your Chronic Cough? Coughs are common. Most of us have experienced viral or bacterial infections, or other acute forms of cough, typically lasting from a few days to a few weeks. However, some individuals experience a cough that doesn’t go away. Chronic cough is defined as a cough that [...]
