Optimum Potential Chiropractic & Nutrition

06/21/2023

WE ARE MOVING!

It is with great pleasure I would like to announce joining the Miller Health Group. I am NOT retiring! In fact, this move will allow me to focus on what I love - Patient Care! I will be starting there on Monday June 26th. There will be some benefits such as no steps to get in and mutidisciplinary care. The software we use is different so your appointment reminders will look different, but you can still book online. Sara will still greet you as you enter. I am excited as the move will benefit all of us. Please note our updated hours.

03/29/2023

Did you know that you can book your chiropractic and massage appointments online?
Visit: www.optimumpotential.com
OR
Scan the QR Code to take you directly to our booking page!

We look forward to seeing you!

12/16/2022

🎄Thank you to everyone that participated in this year's Toy Drive for The Salvation Army. You have helped make children's wishes come true this Christmas.🎄

12/15/2022

Message Therapy - Coming January 2023

Welcome Nicole Hanna, RMT to the Optimum Potential Chiropractic & Nutrition team!

She will be available for booking beginning January 9th, 2023

After graduating with honors from Bryan College of Applied Health and Business Sciences, Nicole Hanna became registered with the College of Massage Therapy of Ontario. She has participated in many sports and physical activities throughout her life including horseback riding, swimming and jogging and uses her practical knowledge to aid in her clients treatments.

Nicole has experience with a variety of treatments and conditions including sports therapy, deep tissue, joint mobilizations, trigger point release, chronic pain conditions, relaxation and overall wellness. These experiences come from working in a multidisciplinary Sports Therapy clinic. Nicole is additionally certified in cupping massage and Craniosacral Therapy level 1.

By using a variety of techniques, along with home care exercises and stretches, Nicole tailors all treatments to her clients specific needs in order to help them achieve their goals.

11/30/2022

Lawrence's Motivation: I'm raising funds and awareness this Movember for all the dads, brothers, sons and mates in our lives. I need your help. Please donate to support men's health.

11/30/2022

https://movember.com/m/lawrencelafrance?mc=1

Its the final day to donate to my Movember!

Lawrence's Motivation: I'm raising funds and awareness this Movember for all the dads, brothers, sons and mates in our lives. I need your help. Please donate to support men's health.

11/23/2022

From now until December 21 we will be collecting
NEW - UNWRAPPED toys at the office located at 356 Laclie Street.

On December 9th ONLY - Please bring a toy of equal or greater value in lieu of paying for your treatment that day.

Help me bring joy to the lives of many children in Orillia this Christmas.

11/22/2022

My Movember Progression......

12/14/2021

Another successful turnout for our Annual Toy Drive!! Once again Dr. LaFrance donated a day in support of the Salvation Army, and our patients did not disappoint - raising well over $1000.00!!

Thank you to all that participated and on behalf of all of us here at Optimum Potential, Merry Christmas and best wishes in the New Year to all!! 🎄🎁🥰

12/09/2021

Do you feel like almost every time you eat you need to lie down and recover?
Are you on the couch instead of exercising because you are suffering through cramps, bloating, heartburn, brain fog and just no energy to follow through on your plans?

When I was a child I use to have stomach aches all the time. In fact it happened so often that it became normal for me to lay down and watch tv after dinner in a daze until the feeling went away. Looking back its no wonder I ended up in school for holistic nutrition and naturopathic medicine.

After learning the ins and outs of nutrition and systematically experimenting with diets and foods I rarely suffer from any of these symptoms. I am even able to occasionally eat the same meals that put me in these food comas without issue, using proper strategy.

Food sensitivities are difficult to detect because they can occur between a couple hours to up to 3 days from ingesting the offending foods. Understanding this and being mindful of what you eat can help you to realize why you are feeling certain symptoms. Next time you find your self doubled over on the couch ask your self what did I eat today? Then write it down so you know if this happens again you might need to temporarily remove that food from your diet until you improve your digestion.

If you are tired of feeling like a zombie please DM me or contact the clinic and learn how I can help you with diet, supplementation and food sensitivity testing to get to the root cause of your issues.

Jordan Ungerman ND

12/06/2021

Simply stated bitter herbs are exactly what they sound like. In fact most herbs tend to have a bitter flavour. So why is it important to single out this action and how is it useful?
Well, bitter herbs evoke an energy that stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system, inducing the rest and digest state. This can be helpful for digestion as blood and energy are rerouted to the digestive system. Bitters can also be helpful for shaking us out of an anxious state or panic attack as the strong bitter flavour pulls our thoughts out of our immediate consciousness and temporarily take us into the present moment as we experience the intense taste sensations. We can then reorganize and reframe our perceptions to approach the stress from a better angle.
One pattern that has emerged is that the more bitter the herb, the stronger affinity it has for stimulating production and release of bile. Bile, which is comprised mainly of cholesterol and salts is synthesized by the liver and stored and released by the gallbladder. When bile is stimulated to be released from the gallbladder it enters the small intestine to emulsify and prepare dietary fat for absorption.
In fact this highlights two more botanical actions.
Choleretics - herbs that increase the production of bile.
Cholagogues - herbs that increase bile secretion.
The herbs that fall in these categories for the most part are particularly bitter.
The following are herbs that are often selected for their bitter action:
Gentiana Lutea - Gentian (the main ingredient of Angostura bitters used to flavour cocktails)
Artemisia Absinthium - Wormwood (the famous ingredient in Absinth)
Angelica Archangelica - Archangelica
Taraxacum Officinale - Dandelion
Chelidonium Majus - Greater Celandine
Culturally an aperitif (drunk before a meal) such as vermouth, gin or Aperol is served about 15-30 minutes before a meal to stimulate and prepare for digestion, which is often the same way bitters are prescribed. Digestifs, consumed after meals such as Jaegermeister, grappa or Becherovka also tend to also have lots of bitters, as well as sweet and carminative herbs.
There are also contraindications to be aware of if thinking about using bitter herbs. Ailments such as ulcers and gallstones can be negatively affected by bitter herbs and it is alway important to consult a licensed practitioner when using herbal medicine to be aware of all risks, benefits and interactions with other medications.

11/30/2021

The final mustache shot!! Today is the last day for donations to our Movember page at the link below!!

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far, it is greatly appreciated!!

https://ca.movember.com/donate/details?memberId=12199849

11/26/2021

It's the final days of Movember! I think it's coming along rather nicely. Thank you for all of the generous donations. I have attached the link if you would still like to donate.

https://movember.com/m/lawrencelafrance?mc=1

11/25/2021

Carminatives

The use of carminative herbs are most commonly utilized to treat digestive complaints. They are rich in a compound called volatile oils, which has been used interchangeably with essential oils. Essential in this case refers to the plants essence, which should not be confused with the term essential fatty acids like omega 3 & 6 fats, where essential means that they are required by diet because the body cannot synthesize them. Volatile oils as their name suggests are not stable compounds and when ingested can stimulate and gently irritate the stomach to contract and relax. Thus increasing motility, while helping to reduce cramping, bloating and gas in the stomach. Carminative herbs are great as teas, but can be even more potent in tinctures. I usually make sure to steep the herbs at least 15 minutes to extract more of the oils. Below are a list of herbs that may be chosen when looking to treat with the primary action of carminatives.

Mentha Piperita - Peppermint
Zingiber Officinalis - Ginger
Foeniculum Vulgare - Fennel
Matricaria Recutita - Chamomile
Melissa Officinalis - Lemon Balm
Pimpinella Anisum - Star Anise
Angelica Archangelica - Archangelica

To reiterate from a previous post, herbs can have many actions and formulas are put together with primary actions in mind first, then the secondary and tertiary actions of the herbs are considered. Thus insinuating that each herb has its own profile of compounds and actions. It is always important to consult a licensed practitioner when using herbal medicine to be aware of all risks, benefits and interactions with other medications.

11/18/2021

Botanical Actions

You may be thinking how do naturopathic doctors and herbalists choose which botanicals to proscribe to their patients? Well before scientists had the ability to extract and observe how small plant constituents affect the human body we relied on an understanding of what's called botanical actions. Thus meaning the observed affect the botanicals have on our bodies. Many practitioners use the actions of botanicals as the main way in which they formulate their remedies, as this wisdom had been past down and continually perfected since the earliest times of human culture.

Single botanicals can have several actions. Usually a primary actions is decided for the patient based on their presentation, then botanicals are picked with that action in mind. However practitioners often consider secondary and tertiary actions that the chosen botanicals have in order to individualize the formula to be more specific to the patient’s needs.

Some examples of actions are the following: Antimicrobial, Adaptogen, Alterative, Anti-inflammatory, Astringent, Carminative, Demulcent, Expectorant, Hepatic, Immunostimulant, Nervine, Sedative, Vascular tonic and Vulnerary to name a bunch of my favourites. There are many more and I will highlight some of these actions in future posts to continue to showcase the benefits of botanical medicine

11/16/2021

Movember Progress Picture!! 👨

Thank you to all who have already donated, 2 more weeks to go!!

Head to the link below to donate online, or bring your donation to your next appointment!

https://ca.movember.com/mospace/12199849

11/15/2021

“The dose makes the poison” Paracelsus

With the growing understanding that we need to do more to take our health into our own hands, the reemergence of botanical/herbal medicine’s light has begun to shine again. In previous civilizations this wisdom was passed down culturally, however particularly in the western world in the age of technology and modern medicine this knowledge has been pushed to the wayside.

Botanical medicine is known to be gentler on the body than most conventional drugs, although botanicals can be very potent medicines, as well as dangerous poisons so heed the quote above. When we look at a drug (which many come from plants) we think about tiny extracted constituents isolated and accumulated into a pill. With botanical medicine we often use parts of the plant in their more whole forms, which being closer to nature and if you believe, as God intended.

Although many drugs remove the unwanted parts of the plant to extract the desired medicine, there is something to be said about the synergistic way the whole plant may affect our body, perhaps protecting our cells at times from too much of a concentrated isolate. Often with medication we find we are exchanging one set of symptoms for another. Please understand that I am not advocating for botanical medicine above conventional medical drugs in every situation because sometimes when we let our guard down for too long we need a stronger intervention. However according to the first principle of naturopathic medicine: First, do no harm, it is important that we begin treating with the least amount of necessary force in order to restore homeostasis (balance).

Dr. Jordan Ungerman ND

11/08/2021

Here's a sneak peek at what's underneath the mask for Movember! The real picture will come in due time!! Thanks for all of the donations so far! Don't forget to donate!!!

http://movember.com/mospace?utm_campaign=20211105_EDM_Fundraising_2021Members_F4&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elqTrackId=a3e685a3181343b3aee7cc7a2506c99f&elq=8eacdf39b02846cfb855c15d6aef7f8b&elqaid=3741&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=1965