Year round or certain times a year?
Spring is around the corner and allergy season is almost upon us!
Surprisingly, tree pollen allergies can start as early as March so be prepared.

We can do immediate, in-office testing for some of the most common allergens including grass, trees, weeds, dust mites, ragweed and cats.

Safe for children and adults, this testing takes only 20 minutes.
Has been deemed an effective diagnostic method by medical allergy specialists.

There are many treatment options:

If you test positive or have already identified your allergies, we can help manage the situation using the many naturopathic treatments that exist.
This includes the clinically proven sublingual immunotherapy treatment; an easy-to-take therapy involving specifically prepared drops taken under the tongue daily.
Patients report significant improvement of allergy symptoms over time and a dramatic reduction of anti-histamine use.
Treatment for seasonal allergies in Ontario should begin in March but assessment and treatment of dust and cat allergies can start any time.

Details:

The cost for allergy testing is $40.
This panel tests for tree, grass, weed, dust mite, ragweed and cat allergies.
Please note that antihistamine use should be stopped for 48 hours before testing.

Book your appointment for testing as soon as possible by calling (519) 766-9759.

Learn about:

• the order of food introduction
• amounts and texture of foods
• food allergies and sensitivities
• feeding relationships
• home made vs. store-bought
• making your own baby foods from scratch
• storing, sanitation, choking

Babies, dad and grandparents are welcome. $30 (includes HST), per family.

Classes are held at the Guelph Community Health Centre in downtown Guelph, at the teaching kitchen. Parking free throughout downtown (max 2 hrs), or paid parking at Baker St. parking lot.

Call to register. Space is limited.

Making baby foods from scratch by Paulina Zettel, ND

Why would anyone recommend making baby food? Doesn’t it take a great deal of time and effort? Aren’t the jars of commercial baby food just as good? With all the tasks facing new parents, why burden them with more things to worry about? These are some of the very important questions that new parents are asking. But in fact, making baby food from scratch can be easy, if not easier, more convenient and less expensive than purchasing commercial baby foods.

When making your own baby food, you know exactly what you put into that food. For example, if you serve a mashed banana to your baby, if contains banana and banana only. On the other hand, baby food jars can contain added sugar, or starch, depending on the manufacturer. With incomplete Canadian government guidelines for baby food labeling, you might end up having very little idea of what is in commercial baby food.

Another benefit of making your own baby food is that you can change the texture of the food as the baby grows. When you start feeding baby solids, the consistency should be almost liquid, and very smooth, as is jarred baby food. However, as your baby grows, he/she will be ready for more challenging textures. At home, foods can be easily mashed, blended with breast milk, minced or later finely chopped, when your baby is ready to start chewing. This plays an important part in the developmental skills of your baby’s life.

Also, regardless of income, home-made food is a good idea. Based on the ingredient cost alone, home-prepared foods are most often less expensive than their commercial counterparts. For example, a beginner jar of plain vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, or fruit costs 40-90 cents, where as you can buy a 2 lb bag of carrots for 79-99 cents, which will contain carrots for the whole family.

And last but not least, preparing your own baby food, helps parents gain confidence and control over what their children eat, setting a basis for a life long pattern of healthy eating!

Please join us for the 2 session workshop to learn more. We will discuss order of food introduction, food allergies and sensitivities, texture of foods, sanitation, storage and choking.