Dr Jessie Short, Naturopathic Doctor

06/05/2025

Do you know your cardiovascular risk? It matters more than you think! Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in women, yet many don’t realize how unique their risk factors can be.

✨ Several key factors increase cardiovascular risk in women, including:
• Weight gain
• Decreased insulin sensitivity
• Dyslipidemia (unhealthy cholesterol levels)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)

👩‍⚕️ Menopause also plays a big role. As estrogen levels drop, so does its protective effect on your heart

🤰 And don’t forget your pregnancy history — complications like gestational diabetes or preeclampsia can raise your long-term risk

💡 Knowledge is power. Talk to your healthcare provider about your heart health, and take steps now to protect it

05/29/2025

⚠️ Did you know?
The menopause transition isn’t just about hot flashes and mood swings — it’s also a time when cholesterol levels can spike dramatically.

👉 During this phase, many women experience sharp increases in:
• Total cholesterol
• LDL (“bad”) cholesterol
• Apolipoprotein B — a key marker of cardiovascular risk

These shifts can significantly raise your risk for heart disease, which is why it’s so important to check your cholesterol more frequently during this time, and take action if indicated.

💡 Lifestyle changes and targeted nutrient support can make all the difference

05/26/2025

❤️‍🔥 Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women — but here’s what’s not talked about enough:
most heart disease is preventable. As a naturopathic doctor, my mission is to educate and empower women to get proactive about their health — before there’s a problem.

✨ Prevention starts with:
• Knowing your numbers — cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar
• Understanding your risk
• Taking action on what you can change — nutrition, movement, stress management & sleep

Your heart deserves attention, not just when something goes wrong — but every single day. 💪💖

05/15/2024

So excited about this!!

What is the South Shore Perinatal Wellness Collective?

We are a collective of healthcare providers based on the South Shore of Nova Scotia who have significant experience & expertise in perinatal (prenatal and postpartum) healthcare, and are working to improve access to evidence-based perinatal health information and perinatal healthcare.

We are gearing up to offer Becoming: a 5-week evidence-based prenatal class. Classes will begin in Mahone Bay (at the Mahone Bay Centre) in October 2024. Start spreading the word - it's going to be GREAT! Classes will run from 6:00-8:00pm on Thursday evenings, Oct. 17, Oct. 24, Nov. 7, Nov. 14, and Nov. 21.

Help us spread the word!

Program co-facilitators will be:
-Jesse Robson, Physiotherapist
-Dr. Jessie Short, Naturopathic Doctor
-Kelly Linehan, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
-Taylor Chinenere, Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and Doula

11/24/2023

Exciting news for NS!!!

At long last, legislation fully regulating naturopathic medicine has been passed in Nova Scotia! This is the culmination of decades of work and collaboration by many of our members (myself included!). It is long overdue and welcome recognition that will give Nova Scotians greater access to high quality medical care delivered by highly trained naturopathic doctors. We are joining 5 other fully regulated jurisdictions in Canada, some of which have been regulated for almost 90 years!

09/06/2023

Because it is a window of opportunity to have huge impacts on long term parental health…

Because most medical care at this time focuses on the baby and not the birthing parent…

Because the postpartum period is not easy and can be extremely difficult and isolating despite how often we’re told to “enjoy every minute”…

You don’t have to do it alone.

06/27/2023

Hi friends, Dr. Jessie here. Wow, I am realllllly bad at consistently posting on social media, but I’m trying to be better, hurray! I have so much to share with you and want to make my posts as accessible and useful as possible. For the next little while I’ll be focusing on everything pregnancy-related, from preconception to postpartum. This is a patient population that I love to work with because there is so much that naturopathic medicine can do to reduce risk and improve maternal and fetal outcomes throughout pregnancy and beyond. Know someone who is pregnant, or planning to become pregnant in the near future? I’m currently taking on new perinatal patients at . Thank you for being here and please bear with me as I regain my social media “sea legs”

05/23/2022

Friends! Meditation guru and I are launching this juicy combo class THIS WEEK. Half meditation tutorial and practice, half acupuncture treatment directed at reducing the physiological effects of stress; it is the perfect mid-week reset. There are still a couple of spots left if you want to jump in and take advantage of our introductory pricing.

05/04/2022

Come and join us for some mid-week relaxation time!

DE-STRESSING THROUGH MEDITATION AND ACUPUNCTURE

Starting May 25 at 12:00 pm, for 4 weeks, join Dr Jessie Short, Naturopathic Doctor and meditation coach Shannon Sponagle for a relaxing session where you’ll learn techniques to ease anxiety and cope with stress.

During the first half of your hour-long session, Shannon will guide you into relaxation with a different meditation each week. No experience necessary! This will be followed by an acupuncture treatment from Dr. Jessie, aimed to calm the nervous system to leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed.

Sign up for the first session at the introductory cost of $140! Class maximum is 8 people.

Sign up in person at the clinic, email us at info@zenithphysiopilates.com, or call 902-529-1331 to register.

04/26/2022

Starting next week! A whole new Spring session, most classes still with some space!

SPRING PILATES SCHEDULE (9 weeks)

Session runs from Tuesday, May 3 - Friday, July 1

Tuesdays

8:30am – Springboards with Rebecca, cost $270

9:30am – Physio Pilates Mat Level 2 with Rebecca, cost $180

Wednesdays

8:30am – Physio Pilates Mat Level 1-2 with Rebecca, cost $180

Fridays

9:30am – Physio Pilates Mat Basic/Level 1 with Kathleen, cost $180

MEDITATION/ACUPUNCTURE SCHEDULE

Wednesdays, May 25 - June 15 (4 weeks)

12:00 pm – DE-STRESSING THROUGH MEDITATION AND ACUPUNCTURE with Dr. Jessie and Shannon, introductory cost $140