Dr. Svea Ogilvie, ND

11/13/2025

Wondering how to improve your health? Book in and we’ll cover mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.

11/13/2025

We all know stress impacts:
- sleep- immune function - brain function - hormones - and more.

To mitigate this, we prioritize self care, adrenal function and targeted hormone support.

11/13/2025

Recovery is a journey through discomfort to acceptance and wholeness … everyone is on this journey in their own way and own time.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17anicX13b/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Recovery - by Addiction Actually. Theres more to quitting than quitting. Abstinence is a very worthwhile goal.
Over 30 years of scientific study and research evidence has shown that Addiction is.a highly complex condition.
Recovery is a process.

11/09/2025

If any of these nutrient co-factors are deficient, vitamin A, zinc, magnesium, the whole cascade can get thrown off…

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Vitamin D - built in 3 organs

Here’s the shortcut to how sunlight becomes a hormone in 7️⃣ steps:

1️⃣ Sunlight Sparks It
UVB converts 7-dehydrocholesterol in skin into Vitamin D₃.
💡 Low sun, sunscreen, darker skin → less D₃ formed.

2️⃣ Or You Eat It
Fatty fish, eggs, fortified foods, or supplements provide D₂/D₃.
💡 But it’s inactive when swallowed — still just “raw material.”

3️⃣ Liver Conversion Needs Magnesium
In the liver, enzymes (25-hydroxylase) turn D₃ → 25-hydroxy D (calcidiol).
💡 Magnesium is required here as a cofactor — low Mg = stalled activation.

4️⃣ Kidney Activation Needs Magnesium + Iron
In the kidney, 1α-hydroxylase turns calcidiol → calcitriol (active hormone).
💡 This step also needs magnesium. Iron supports enzyme activity, too.

5️⃣ Vitamin K2 Directs the Traffic
Active D increases calcium absorption, but K2 activates proteins (osteocalcin, MGP) that shuttle calcium into bone instead of arteries.
💡 D without K2 = calcium may end up in the wrong places.

6️⃣ Zinc + Vitamin A for the Receptor
Vitamin D works by binding to the Vitamin D Receptor (VDR), which needs zinc for structure and vitamin A (retinoic acid) for full function.
💡 Without these, signaling is weaker even if calcitriol is present.

7️⃣ The Payoff
Active vitamin D regulates calcium & phosphate balance, strengthens bones, helps the pancreas release insulin, and modulates immunity.
💡 But without magnesium, K2, zinc, and vitamin A, the chain breaks.

11/09/2025

The food we eat daily is medicine…

Excessive inflammation may play a role in a number of leading causes of death and disability, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. People who eat plant-based diets may experience the benefits of lower systemic inflammation. This may result from avoiding pro-inflammatory components found in animal foods, like saturated fat, cholesterol, and trans fat, as well as getting an abundance of anti-inflammatory components in plant-based foods, including fiber.

Indeed, plant-based foods are rich in fiber and resistant starch, which feed the good bacteria in our gut. When the good bacteria feed off fiber, they create short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the process. The SCFAs get absorbed back into our bloodstream and can benefit our immune system and reduce inflammation.

The benefits of fiber-rich diets are supported by more than a century of research with studies showing reductions in death from cancer, heart disease, and all causes put together. And the more fiber, the better, for protecting against heart attacks, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. At a minimum, fiber intakes should be no less than 25 to 29 grams per day, with additional benefits likely with even higher intakes.

Our ancestors may have consumed close to about 100 grams of fiber a day, yet most people are barely eating just 16 grams. The simplest solution to eating more fiber is to embrace a whole food, plant-based diet that naturally provides an abundance.

Don't go from zero to 100 grams of fiber all at once, though. Slowly add more fiber to your daily diet while also consuming adequate fluids to allow your body to adjust.

Watch the videos on NutritionFacts.org to learn more:
“How to Keep Your Microbiome Healthy with Prebiotic Foods” at see.nf/47x6iO8
“Foods That Cause Inflammation” at see.nf/Inflammation
“Which Foods Are Anti-Inflammatory?” see.nf/plantshift
PMIDs: 28298267, 31515473, 23941862, 31120342, 24950203, 30638909, 30746776, 24950203, 29019865

11/09/2025

Did you know? Some psychiatric disorders have underlying untreated infections driving neuroinflammation.

11/07/2025

11/04/2025

We’re definitely full on into warm, comforting soup season 🍂🍁🍂

11/04/2025

November 2–8, 2025 is National Pain Awareness Week, a time to raise awareness of chronic pain. Naturopathic doctors support patients living with chronic pain through evidence-informed, individualized care that helps improve function, mobility, and quality of life.

11/04/2025

IYKYK…