What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 5:30pm Tuesday 8am - 5:30pm Wednesday 8am - 5:30pm Thursday 8am - 5:30pm Friday 8am - 5:30pm

http://www.drlauranicholas.com/

Dr. Laura Nicholas, ND, #1420-1030 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC (2025)

09/12/2025

The unfortunate truth is that one in four pregnancies ends in a miscarriage.

Many women suffer in silence during one of the most challenging experiences they have ever faced.

🤝✨ I believe that women need more miscarriage management and support!

After a miscarriage, you need your healthcare provider to LISTEN to your experience. To HEAR your feelings and fears. You need your doctor to INVESTIGATE the unknowns and ANSWER the questions that can be answered. You need a provider who can offer you REASSURANCE going forward.

💛 It is understandable that you want answers, and you should not have to wait to have “more” miscarriages before you should have access to testing and investigation.

I offer my patients ACCESS to screening testing that can be used to identify if there are any underlying reasons why your body didn’t cooperate with your last pregnancy. The more information we can gather, the more we can prepare together for your next pregnancy to be a healthy one.

Some things that can be investigated after a miscarriage include:

🔎Hormones
* Hypothyroidism and diabetes are associated with higher rates of miscarriage

🔎Uterus anatomy
* Misshapen uterus can contribute to pregnancy loss

🔎Genetic
* Chromosomal abnormalities lead to poor embryo development and loss

🔎Antiphospholipid antibodies
* Positive antibodies increase the risk of miscarriage

Each of these pieces of information gathered changes your treatment plan. Different therapies, medications, minor surgeries and services may be indicated for you based on the answers we uncover.

The good news is that though many women experience a miscarriage, very few experience multiple miscarriages.

Whether you have had a loss in the past, or simply wish to decrease your risk factors for miscarriage, I look forward to helping you achieve your goals of growing your family. 💫

09/11/2025

What is depleting your s*x drive? 🤔

There are so many factors that can disrupt s*xual desire and function.

Often we jump to HORMONES as the catch-all reason for low libido. Truth is, it is very rarely low testosterone that is causing the dysfunction in your s*x life.

💡 More often, there is a host of LIFESTYLE and EMOTIONAL reasons why your s*x drive has changed.

LIFESTYLE FACTORS
⚡️ High stress
⚡️ Busy lives
⚡️ Fertility challenges
⚡️ Motherhood demands
⚡️ Changes in attraction

When you are rushing your way through life, living off of caffeine and adrenaline your mind and body are not going to be in the mood for intimacy. You need to prioritize self-care, actively participate in stress management, and carve out time to prioritize your s*x life.

In my office, I frequently see an adjustment phase when s*x for fun turns into s*x for baby-making. When there is pressure around s*x because of fertility challenges the sparks can dwindle and it takes effort to communicate with your partner the things you believe that will make it better.

Same goes for postpartum. The demands of motherhood comes with some intimacy growing pains. Don’t give up, communicate and get support when you need it.

EMOTIONAL FACTORS:
〰️ High stress
〰️ Anxiety
〰️ Body image issues
〰️ Taboos
〰️ Traumas & betrayals

Emotional components of a relationship require frequent, honest communication. The opportunity to listen without judgement to your partner, express your own feelings and feel heard. Get counselling if you can’t do this alone.

PARTNER RELATED FACTORS:
➡️ Partner’s mood
➡️ Partner’s stress
➡️ Alcohol intake
➡️ Partner’s low libido
➡️ Disconnected

Maybe your desire is influenced by your partner’s interest in s*x or lack thereof. Let them know you want to support them, and ask if there is anything you can do together to reinvigorate your passion for one another.

Stay tuned for my next post when I discuss the underlying medical conditions and medications that also get in the way.

Are your struggling with your stress, lifestyle, hormones or libido? Book a Discovery Call to discuss your care options. 🙌

https://lunahealthclinic.janeapp.com

09/10/2025

What causes low libido and s*xual dysfunction🤔?

Typically low libido or difficulty with s*xual function has more than 1 root cause!

Common problems include:
⚠️lifestyle factors
⚠️emotional challenges
⚠️partner factors
⚠️medical conditions
⚠️medications

Stay tuned for my next post when I share how to overcome these obstacles and take charge of your s*xual desire!🌶

09/09/2025

The main goals of early pregnancy care in my office are:

✅ Assessment and prevention
✅ Symptom management
✅ Education and continuity of care

When it comes to assessment and prevention, the first step is prenatal blood tests.

🩸 hCG
Confirms pregnancy and dates the gestation in weeks, in order to provide an estimated delivery date prior to a dating ultrasound. It is important that the hCG levels rise week by week in a predictable manner; this helps confirm that the fetus is developing at an appropriate rate.

🩸 Progesterone
Sufficient progesterone levels confirm that the corpus luteum is secreting enough progesterone to maintain a healthy pregnancy or alerts of a deficiency that can be addressed in order to prevent miscarriage.

Other tests:

➡️ Blood typing
In early pregnancy it is common to confirm your blood type so that this information can be passed on to the hospital where you plan to deliver or your birthing provider.

➡️ Ferritin and CBC
A screening test for the storage form of iron, and to assess for iron deficiency anemia.

➡️ Vitamin B-12
Helpful to know your vitamin B -12 status as it is important for red blood cell formation, and cell division in early fetal development.

➡️ Vitamin D
Important vitamin that acts like a hormone which is involved in embryo implantation, and the calcification of bone.

➡️ Infectious serology
A classic prenatal screen will assess for HIV, syphilis, Rubella, and Hep B surface antigens.

Whether you are looking to prepare for a pregnancy, or you are already trying to conceive, book a consultation to optimize your chances!💫

https://lunahealthclinic.janeapp.com

09/08/2025

💤Sleep & Fertility Connection💤

➡️Both too little and too much sleep can impact your fertility.

Research has found that women getting less than seven hours of sleep are 15% less likely to get pregnant than women who got seven to eight hours.

✅On the other hand, women undergoing a treatment like IVF who got seven to eight hours of sleep were 25% more likely to get pregnant than women who got nine or more.

🤔So how does sleep affect fertility?

⚡️Hormones⚡️
The most significant factors is that sleep is closely related to hormones production. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body will won’t produce enough of certain hormones, and make too much of others. The same part of the brain that is responsible for regulating sleep-wake hormones like melatonin and cortisol also regulates reproductive hormones. Sleep deprivation will signal the body to produce more stress hormones, which is bad for overall health and can throw off levels of FSH, LH, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and other reproductive hormones. This hormone imbalance can inhibit ovulation, and you interfere with the s***m maturation process.

⚡️Circadian-rhythm⚡️
Good quality sleep allows for the body to rest and detoxify. If you are not getting adequate sleep you may make poor quality eggs, or poor quality s***m. Poor quality gametes can lead to inability of the egg to be fertilized, or poor quality embryos that results in lack of implantation and not pregnant or recurrent pregnancy loss. In fact, melatonin, the sleep hormone is a supplement that has a high antioxidant capacity and ability to protect egg from oxidative damage; melatonin also supports healthy luteal phase progesterone levels.

⚡️General health markers⚡️
Sleep deprivation increases your risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. These conditions all make getting pregnant more difficult.

⚡️Mental-emotional health and Energy⚡️
Not getting enough sleep is detrimental to your mood. Low mood can lead to low energy and low libido. If you are feeling tired, irritable, and a lack of desire for intimacy this can delay the time to pregnancy, unless your are using IUI or IVF to get pregnant.

09/04/2025

💫 Treating PCOS requires a multidisciplinary approach.

The more targets of therapy that are addressed, the better the success in managing the condition.

The main targets in treating PCOS are:
1️⃣ Improving blood sugar regulation
2️⃣ Rebalancing hormones including androgens, progesterone, LH, prolactin
3️⃣ Managing stress and cortisol
4️⃣ Enhancing mitochondrial function

When I employ a treatment plan that includes multiple modalities, the treatment strategies work synergistically with one another to create a compounding effect!

A common thing my PCOS patients share with me is that their doctor told them to “eat better and exercise more”.

Nutrition or exercise alone may only get you so far. But nutrition and exercise, paired with nutraceuticals, herbs, and stress management can offer you more improvement on a shorter timeline.

Please don’t think that you have to workout more, and eat less and try to manage your PCOS all by yourself! There is so much more that can be done to support you on your PCOS healing journey. 🙌

If you are only trying one of two strategies at once right now, it might be time to add more tools to your toolkit and amplify your recovery.

The strategies I use together for my patients include:
🌸 Nutrition
🌸 Lifestyle
🌸 Nutraceuticals
🌸 Herbal Medicine
🌸 IV Therapy
🌸 Acupuncture
🌸 LED light therapy (acne)

If you are looking to get better results from your PCOS care plan, book a Discovery Call to discuss your options.

https://lunahealthclinic.janeapp.com

09/03/2025

September is PCOS Awareness Month! 📣

There are many aspects of PCOS that can be distressing to an individual, whether it be persistent acne, hair growth, weight loss resistance, or difficulty conceiving. It is not uncommon for us to hear about how our patient’s quality of life, relationships, and self esteem have been negatively affected by this condition.

🌙 At lunahealthclinic, we understand the impact of PCOS and are passionate about helping women overcome it!

There are 3 main treatment areas that our NDs focus on while addressing PCOS:

1️⃣ Correcting hormonal imbalances: In PCOS, our goal is to balance androgen levels and support ovulation, which can be done using a variety of different herbs (reishi, saw palmetto, and white peony are some of our favs!). It is also important that you get to know your cycle and rhythms, especially if fertility is one of your goals.

2️⃣ Support metabolic health: Supporting metabolic health is important in PCOS, as we often find higher levels of insulin and insulin resistance. This can be supported using individualized dietary and exercise regimes, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals (such as myo-inositol), and in some cases, prescription medication.

3️⃣Addressing inflammation & stress: The last piece of the puzzle is calming inflammation and stress, which may involve gut healing, utilizing adaptogens and nervines to calm the stress response, acupuncture, and/or nutrient IV therapy.

As you can see, the treatment for PCOS is highly individualized and dependent upon the goals of our patient! Book with us today for help with your PCOS! 🙌💫

https://lunahealthclinic.janeapp.com

09/02/2025

Welcome to my community! 👋👩🏻‍⚕️

I help women & their partners from preconception to postpartum to optimize fertility, pregnancy, and the growth of healthy families. 🤰

Making the switch from actively avoiding pregnancy to actively trying to get pregnant can be a big shift.

This transition can raise lots of questions and have you feeling stressed and overwhelmed by sourcing “the right” information. 🙇🏻‍♀️💬

The internet is a great tool, but often leads to information overload and difficulty knowing who to trust.

When it comes to baby making, I help take the stressing and guessing out of it!

I work with couples to help identify possible causes of suboptimal fertility and correct them in order to increase your chances of conceiving and maintaining a healthy pregnancy.

🔎 I use conventional and comprehensive testing to identify your fertility status, and employ targeted treatments to improve your egg quality, ovulation capacity, endometrial lining thickness, hormone regulation and more.

If you are looking to grow your family in the next year, book a Discovery Call with me to learn more about your options. 🌙

If you are new to my community, welcome. I regularly share information about women’s health, hormones, the menstrual cycles, fertility, vaginal and bladder health. 🌸

https://lunahealthclinic.janeapp.com

08/29/2025

Treating the Placental Microbiome ⭐️

We know very little about how the placental microbiome comes to be, but at this point it seems to be the most related to oral health and oral hygiene, antibiotic use, dietary fibre, and the vaginal microbiome. So I indirectly treat the placental and fetal microbiome by focusing on the digestive, vaginal, and cervix microbiomes🔎.

Placental microbiome is the most genetically similar to the oral micobiota. It is established early in pregnancy. Periodontal disease is associated with preterm birth and low birth weight

Treatment options focus on oral microbiota:

🪥 Brush and floss 2x/day
💧 Use mouth gargles (salt and water, apple cider vinegar, tea tree essential oil)
💊 Oral probiotic lozenges
💦 Probiotic powder in water swish and swallow
🥥 Coconut oil pulling
🍊 Chewable vitamin C tablets
🦷 and proactively get dental work done preconception!

Book a complimentary Discovery Call to have an opportunity to discuss your health goals and treatment options available to you!

https://lunahealthclinic.janeapp.com

08/28/2025

✈️ Targeted supplements I recommend for travel include… ⬇️

🌙 Saccharomyces boulardii: This probiotic yeast has robust evidence supporting its use in preventing traveler’s diarrhea and protecting against opportunistic bacterial infections, including Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) (McFarland, Therap Adv Gastroenterol, 2010). It is safe for short-term use and does not colonize the gut permanently, making it an excellent choice for travel-related support.

🌙 Digestive enzymes: Especially helpful if trying unfamiliar cuisines. Chooing and enzymes that contains extra HCl (stomach acid) can help increase the acidity of the gut and prevent colonization of pathogenic or opportunistic microbes.

🌙 Magnesium citrate: This particular type of magnesium is a gentle osmotic laxative, that helps draw water into the gut and prevent constipation.

🌙 Melatonin: This hormone is naturally made by the body in the evening in preparation for sleep. Supplementation is helpful when changing time zones to assist with regulating your circadian rhythm. This helps to get a longer and deeper sleep, which can support the immune system and prevent contracting an infection.

08/27/2025

Supporting gut health while travelling starts with planning ahead. ✈️

I recommend focusing on whole, minimally processed foods, staying hydrated, and avoiding excessive alcohol or sugar which can impair microbial diversity, and suppress immune system function.

Key foods and habits include:

✅ High-fiber foods: Vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains help feed beneficial gut bacteria (prebiotics) and assist with bulking the stool.

✅ Fermented foods: Such as greek yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and miso can provide live cultures to support microbial balance.

✅ Hydration: Helps prevent dehydration, maintain regular bowel movements and support mucosal lining integrity.

Stay tuned to learn about targeted supplements I recommend for travel! 🧳

08/26/2025

Did you know that travelling (particularly air travel) impacts gut health and function? ✈️

Travel, especially long-haul or international air travel, can significantly disrupt gut health.

First, there’s the change in routine: irregular eating patterns, unfamiliar foods, dehydration, stress, and altered sleep-wake cycles (circadian rhythm) all influence digestive function.

🚽 Even without contracting an infection, many people report changes in bowel habits — most commonly constipation — with travel.

🦠 Air travel is associated with increased exposure to unfamiliar microbes and pathogens, particularly in confined environments like airplanes.

💧 Dehydration from cabin air and decreased physical activity during travel can slow gut motility and contribute to constipation or bloating.

💤 Additionally, changes in time zones can disturb the body’s circadian rhythm, which also affects the gut microbiota’s own daily fluctuations.

Stay tuned to learn about what foods, supplements, or activities can help readers support their digestion and gut health — particularly before, during, or after a big trip.

Dr. Laura Nicholas, ND

09/12/2025

09/11/2025

09/10/2025

09/09/2025

09/08/2025

09/04/2025

09/03/2025

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08/26/2025

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Monday	8am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 5:30pm
Thursday	8am - 5:30pm
Friday	8am - 5:30pm