Hello, my name is Tracy Martens and I want to thank you for joining me for another episode
of YQG In Bloom.
Now make sure that you like, follow, subscribe to my podcast or my YouTube channel so that
you can get any updates and you will know when we have new episodes coming up.
And today I am here on location with a naturopathic doctor, Adrienne DeLuca.
How are you doing?
I'm good.
How are you?
I am awesome.
Now let's just start off really easy.
What is naturopathic doctors?
What is that?
So naturopathic medicine, it's a form of primary care.
So I'm kind of like your medical doctor.
I can order lab work.
I can diagnose.
We do physical exams.
But we kind of work with the root cause more.
So instead of treating just the symptoms, we'll treat the actual cause and try to get
to that root cause of things.
So I use a lot of herbs, I use nutrition movement.
We talk a lot about stress management.
I do a lot of acupuncture and I do a lot more lab work, you know, more in depth than your
medical doctor would.
So yeah, we're kind of that primary care.
We work with doctors.
It's not that we're anti, you know, Western medicine.
So you guys can work in conjunction with each other.
Totally.
There's a time and place for both.
And I think they should both, you know, NDs and MDs have a place in your circle of care.
Well, that's great.
A lot of different medical conditions come from like B12 deficiency or iron deficiency.
Yeah.
So I see a lot of women in my practice.
So that's a really good example is the iron.
When it comes to lab work, there's these reference ranges of what is normal.
And so what I see a lot is women being told that their lab work looks normal.
And then when I look at it, I'm like, well, you're just above that deficient line.
Definitely room for improvement.
And so that's what I kind of call like optimization is we're focused on getting that number to
where I know women feel well and not just like enough.
Yeah.
And you definitely have to follow Adrienne DeLuca on Instagram because I saw that she
does a lot.
You have a post on that and she does have a lot of really great information as well
as on your website.
Your blogs are really good.
I really enjoyed them.
The blogs are a lot more in depth.
Yeah.
So my website is Wellness with Adrienne.
So wellness-with-adrienne.com.
So the blogs are a lot more in depth and then the reels are super short, but try to keep
them really informative and quick information.
Well, that is a lot of information.
When you went in depth about the iron deficiency and I was really shocked to find out that
some labs and some doctors classify just above the deficient line as normal when...
Yeah.
It's insane.
Like I've had so many women and especially teenagers.
I see this a lot.
I had a girl a few weeks ago.
She was a teen and her doctor said her iron was normal.
She was exhausted.
She had headaches all the time.
She was a heavy bleeder around her period.
And so for example, with iron, the low end is about 11 and she was at 12 and her doctor
said she was normal.
And I was like, in a couple of days when you don't take your iron supplement, you're going
to be deficient.
So it's really good to just have a second opinion on your lab work.
Yeah.
And my appointments are a lot longer than your medical doctor.
So I don't see you for five or 10 minutes.
I see you for usually an hour.
So I have more time to actually look into things and explain them to you and have you
understand what your lab work is saying and ask more questions about your symptoms and
things like that.
For say your schooling, is it the same as for an MD or?
It's similar.
So you still need your four year undergrad and then our medical school is four years.
So in first and second year, we do all the same biomedical science as your medical doctor
does.
So we've got immunology, microbiology, anatomy, like all the ologies.
But on top of that, we're doing our botanical medicine, Chinese medicine, all the stuff
that we do.
And then in our last year, we have an internship where we're in the clinic.
You have so many hours and so many patients and you have to do all your check marks.
So the only difference is that your doctor does four years plus they have a two year
residency, whereas we don't have to do a residency.
If you pick a focus, that's kind of up to you.
So when I was in my internship year, I did pick a focus.
I did pediatrics.
Yes.
Adrienne has her own podcast and it's called Wellness in Windsor with Dr. Deluca on Spotify.
And it's really good, your story on how you ended up as a naturopathic doctor.
I wanted to ask you about it.
But when I read it, or I listened to it, it was a really good story on how you ended up
because this is nowhere where you were going towards in your story to get there.
But a lot of people I think will resonate with that because when you think out, well,
I want to be an ambulance attendant and that's what I'm going to do.
And you change your mind, but people won't.
They're like, okay, this is what I said, so I'm stuck there.
And your story really resonated with me on following your heart and just listening to
all the signs and you ended up somewhere which I think is a perfect fit.
Yeah.
Well, and a lot of my colleagues, they have those big stories where it's like, I was so
sick and then I saw my ND and they fixed me and then I became an ND.
And so I always kind of felt like kind of off because I didn't have that.
But like I told women in my office all the time, I'm like, you have intuition.
We've been convinced that we shouldn't listen to it.
It's true.
So I think that's what I did.
Yeah.
And that's how you find what really fits with you.
And a lot of people, it's usually their first, second or even third career is before they
get it right.
Well, and I feel so lucky that I found this.
Figured it out in school.
I just had a little extra schooling, but it was still good.
Yeah.
Okay.
So definitely hit her up at Wellness in Windsor.
Wellness in Windsor with Dr. DeLuca is the podcast on Spotify.
Yes.
Okay.
Now my rant for that is over.
Now do you prescribe a lot of supplements?
Because I know a lot of people are deficient, don't get enough sunlight and I wasn't sure
if that is an issue for everybody.
Definitely not for everyone.
I'd say there's kind of, if we were to make it really broad, there's two reasons people
come to see me.
You're either trying to prevent disease and you live a healthy life and you just want
to add that extra piece.
And then there's people who have symptoms or they have a condition or they're looking
to get diagnosed and we're really hitting the nail on the head.
So if you're coming to see me and you're like, I just want to live a healthy lifestyle and
you know, prevent cardiovascular disease, prevent cancer.
Usually I don't give you a lot of supplements.
The one caveat to that would be if you're like a vegan or eat a vegetarian diet, you're
never going to have enough iron and B12.
So you're going to be on that supplement.
Usually I kind of see it as a pyramid.
So if the bottom of our pyramid was, you know, stress management and eating well and exercise
and all those things, for me, it's kind of like if we have all of those under control,
then supplements are like the next step to like level up.
I don't take a whole lot of supplements myself.
The things I take, I have like an identified purpose to take them.
So that being said, if you see something on TikTok, maybe ask your naturopath before,
you know, diving into that supplement because there's a lot of nonsense that happens on
social media.
But then when it comes to like, if we have a specific goal that we're trying to reach,
so if you need more energy and the things you're doing aren't enough or if you have
PCOS or endometriosis, fertility, I see a lot.
So there are supplements that I, you know, prescribe for like increasing egg quality and all those
types of things.
Then there's supplements.
At the end of the day, I always let patients know what the benefits are, what the risks
are and then cost is a factor too because supplements can get really pricey.
But to answer your question, what I'll say is I usually take people off more supplements
than I put them on.
A lot of the time people come in and they have like this, this grocery bag, like of
a list of all these supplements and I'm like, okay, why are you taking this?
Like you don't need half of these.
And then I'll usually change up sometimes like the dosing or the brand.
And sometimes, you know, the drugstore brands, they're usually cheaper because they're not
in the active form.
So if you're taking that supplement with a specific goal in mind and you're not seeing
that, then we'll probably switch it to a better quality that's in the active form that's going
to do more for you.
Now you did say, I noticed in there about fertility and different supplements.
Women's health and women's fertility is something that you really enjoy working with.
I love it.
That's your passion?
Yeah.
So when I was in second year of medical school, I took an extra course to become a naturopathic
doula.
So I was trained to help women during labor, but then also support them like prenatal and
postpartum.
So in naturopathic school, you learn a lot about fertility.
So that paired with my doula training is just like this beautiful like full circle thing
because I help women get pregnant, support them through their pregnancy, make their birth
plan postpartum, and then I'm trained in pediatrics.
So then I see their little ones when they need help.
But yeah, fertility is something I see a lot of.
I see a lot of women who are ready to get pregnant and they just want to know that they're
doing everything they can.
And then I see people who have been struggling with fertility.
They may be waiting for IUI or IVF or they may be trying to avoid it.
And what I see a lot or what I do a lot is I see a lot of unexplained fertility being
diagnosed when really there maybe hasn't been enough imaging or lab work.
Like to me, there's usually a reason.
Like 90% of the time there is a reason.
It's just can we find that reason and address it?
So something I see a lot is, for example, women's in my office.
They're like, I've been trying for eight or nine months to get pregnant.
So they're not at that one year level of being considered like infertility.
But they haven't been getting pregnant.
So that's when we look at lab work.
When you come and see me, like I said, we spend so much more time together.
So a lot of the time I'm diagnosing hypothyroidism that hasn't been seen, PCOS, endometriosis,
just diagnoses that have been missed because someone hasn't taken the time to really go
into depth about your symptoms.
And on that note, when I ask about your menstrual cycle, I always ask, are you a heavy bleeder
or are you regular?
And so women usually say yes or no.
But then when I start to ask the specific questions, it's like, oh, you are a heavy
bleeder.
So your medical doctor doesn't know that you have these symptoms because society has
convinced us that just because something's common, it's normal.
So getting to chat with women a little bit more in depth, I'm able to say, look, you
need to go ask for this imaging, whatever.
Once we know you have PCOS or endo or whatever it is, then it's like, okay, now we're on
track to fix that so that you can get pregnant.
And supplements come into that too.
Acupuncture is really, really helpful for fertility.
It is?
Yeah.
I have had patients who have done four to six treatments and they've gotten pregnant
when they've been trying for a long time.
Yeah.
Oh my goodness.
I had no idea that acupuncture could help.
Yeah.
Oh yeah, 100%.
And supplements can help as well?
Yeah.
There's a lot of nutrition that can help.
There's a lot of supplements, whether it's the sperm or the egg that needs work.
And that's, I don't see enough of the men in my office.
They should be in too.
But there's supplements, like zinc will help with the sperm mobility and motility, things
like a good prenatal in the right dose, in the right form.
There's other certain supplements depending what you're diagnosed with that can help with
egg quality, egg quantity.
And then there's other like herbs, especially your acupuncture that'll help regulate your
period so it is more regular.
And then we can identify when you're ovulating more specifically.
Yeah.
So it'll regulate the ovulation.
Yeah.
Now, are you a certified doula?
I'm like a naturopathic doula.
So I'm not certified through like the, there's like a federal doula little trademark.
This was specifically for naturopathic doula certification that I got.
Okay.
So you can help with the before the getting pregnant, during the pregnancy and then the
postpartum, we don't do the delivery.
Yeah.
I don't currently attend active labor.
I'm just doing the prenatal.
The thing that I'm finding is most beneficial with my doula training is because midwives
are really hard to come by, especially because women don't find out they're pregnant until
five weeks is the average.
And then if they haven't been planning for it and they're like, okay, I don't know if
I want a hospital birth.
I don't know if I want an OBGYN or a midwife.
Sometimes by the time they call for a midwife, there's no room.
And so they're kind of destined to give birth in the hospital with an obstetrician.
And so what I do for those women is I'm filling in the gap with education because in the hospital
we're into a routine of what makes sense for the doctors and we're in and out.
Because a lot of the things that are routine aren't necessarily evidence-based.
It's just what they do.
So I spend a lot of time educating women, helping them discover what they want their
birth plan to be.
I'm not pro vaginal birth.
I'm not pro C-section.
I'm pro informed consent for you.
There's no right or wrong.
There's safety involved.
But then there's also, you know, there's a lot of times in hospital where you're being
told you need to be induced or you're being told you have to lay on the bed and you can't
move around.
And all these things, like you do have a choice.
And so it's about empowering women beforehand to know what their choices are and to not
be pressured by whoever it may be.
And then another thing that's really lacking is postpartum planning.
So like your mom...
You don't even think about that until afterward.
I know.
And I talk to so many women and I'm like, how long did you spend planning your wedding?
Like, okay, you need to spend that amount of time thinking about postpartum, especially
because now we live in this like city atmosphere where we're so far removed from our parents
and our grandparents and our cousins.
Like we're all in our own little homes.
So you don't have that neighbor next door anymore.
Like back in, you know, forever ago when you just dropped your kid off next door while
you went to go borrow milk from your other neighbor.
So there's this huge like lack of like postpartum care.
So I just, I asked like, they seem like such silly questions, but it's like, who is coming
to clean the house for you?
Who's coming to check in on not just the baby, but you?
Who's coming to like make you meals and clean and you know, where does your birth partner
fit in this picture?
Like, are they there?
How long of a mat leave do you have?
Like all these questions, having them laid out can not only like set you up for physical
success, but like during your birth, you will feel so much more at ease that you can have
a more positive birth experience, which automatically reduces your risk of so many things.
If you feel like you're empowered during your birth.
Oh, for sure.
Cause I, I know I got so tired of hearing that when the baby sleeps, you sleep and I'm
sorry because then you're stressed out because when am I supposed to be cleaning the house
and getting the dinners and stuff like that.
So I always took the time when the baby was sleeping to do all the other stuff so that
I could enjoy the baby when he was awake and it was a lot less stressful and he was obviously
calmer cause he wasn't picking up on my stress and people don't realize that each person
has an individual plan.
Like maybe some work, it works for them to sleep when the baby sleeps.
And that's something I talk about with women and like, there are going to be so many people
telling you how to do things.
And I'm just like, do exactly do what's best for you.
But that's a big thing because a lot of us, if our mental health isn't up to par, our
emotional boundaries aren't up to par before baby, that's only going to be like doubled
postpartum.
So I do place a big focus on mental health.
Even when we're working on fertility, I 99% of the time, even if you don't have a diagnosed
mental health disorder, I'm like, go to therapy, like just go and talk to someone and like
fill in any gaps that you need to fill so you are at a hundred percent when you're at
your most vulnerable state.
It's true because you don't even realize like everybody has their own thing.
What works for them is different than what works for somebody else.
And I was bound and determined that there was no way in heck I was going to have an
epidural.
I was going to have a natural birth.
I went to all the classes and I was overdue.
And by a month, because I had bronchitis and my doctor was like, okay, well, we're going
to induce you.
So he pulled on the sack and I was in labor the whole night.
And then he broke my water the next day.
And as soon as I had one, get traction, I'm like, okay, I need the needle.
Thank you so much.
And then there was a girl next to me and she's like, okay, I might want one too.
And then I had no idea I was going to need a caesarean, which I mean, you just don't
get it.
And then to find out afterwards that, oh, you still have the bleeding, even though you
had the caesarean.
I'm like, okay, I wasn't expecting that.
I thought I was getting away from not having that.
And then the hormones were all over the place.
And I think he was a week old and I'm just sitting there crying going, I can't do this.
Well, so there's two things I want to touch on from your story.
Number one is when we make a birth plan, it's not just like this is set in stone.
We make a plan based on what is ideal for you.
And then we make a backup plan.
Oh, that's a good idea.
Yeah, we have a backup plan.
So it's like, okay, if this happens, so example, if you decide to be induced or if you decide
to get the epidural, what does that look like?
And then in terms of the baby blues, so day two, three is when your hormones just take
a crazy, insane plummet.
And that's totally normal.
If that lasts longer, which for a lot of women it does, up to six weeks, they're still feeling
down, they're still feeling super anxious, that's postpartum depression or postpartum
anxiety.
And there are risk factors for that.
So having a doula reduces your risk of those things.
Or having any healthcare provider trained in this who helps you make that birth plan
reduces your risk drastically of experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety.
But there's also a lot of lab markers that do as well.
So having low vitamin D, having low iron, they increase your risk of experiencing that.
So that's something I look at in, ideally you come to me for fertility so that we've
set you up for a good pregnancy.
But even if your levels are low during pregnancy, we can get those up to reduce your risk of
those things afterwards.
It's very fascinating.
And it's funny you say vitamin D because it seems that C and D, they're key for a lot
of issues that you wouldn't realize.
Yeah.
Vitamin D is involved in so many roles in the body, like immune function, mental health,
you name it, vitamin D has some sort of role, even with osteoporosis, because vitamin D
helps calcium in the bone.
Well even my neurologist in London for the epilepsy caused by menopause, always make
sure that you're on your Cs and your Ds and they help your hormones stay in check to reduce
that during menopause.
Yeah, vitamin D has a huge role in the hormones as well.
Do you go all the way to menopausal women as well?
I do go all the way.
Menopause is very tricky.
It's not my favorite thing, but I am able to help.
I don't think it's anybody's favorite thing.
It's no one's favorite thing.
It's so tricky.
There's so much we don't know.
And I think that there's a lot of negative connotation that comes with hormone replacement
therapy, but there's actually a lot of good things that come from hormone replacement
therapy, like a lot of risk reduction with cancers.
So there's just a lot of uncertainty.
The thing with menopause too is I don't have my prescribing license yet.
I'm currently working towards that to be able to give hormone replacement therapy and to
give higher dose vitamin D, etc., etc.
So I don't have a lot of the tools.
There's a lot of herbs that help with menopause.
There's lots of nutrition.
I would say with menopause, there's a lot of stuff I can do for hot flashes.
Everyone with menopause wants me to help them get rid of this, that tummy extra.
Is it there?
And honestly, it's there.
There's things that we can do to get rid of it, but it's a lot of work.
And sometimes people don't want to do all the work.
They just want the supplement and I don't have the supplement answer for that.
Or we just want the plastic surgery.
Now, I know you deal with the infertility and with the pregnancy and the postpartum
and the children.
And you also do deal with women just on a regular basis because you do have a women's
program.
Yeah.
So I created this course.
It's online.
It's self-paced.
It's for people who aren't ready for that one-on-one care, like that individualized
care, or they're just looking for something more affordable.
That's the reason I created it.
Going through naturopathic school, I recognized that my profession is a luxury service, right?
You can't access what I do unless you have really good benefits or unless you make enough
money that you can pay for out of pocket.
So I wanted to create a course that could help educate women on how to be well without
the expense.
And so that's how the course came to be.
And it's really just the foundations of health.
So there's nutrition module, exercise, stress management.
There's a supplement module.
And it's really just the basics.
So it's really nice because I don't have time to go over that in office.
We do over time, but this is like six hours worth of material.
I'm lucky enough with Adrienne that this program is regular $149 online.
And you said it's a six-hour module broken up into five?
Yeah, I think there's six videos.
One's like an intro.
So it's worth about $600 of my expense.
Time if they were to come in to see you.
So it is normally priced at $149.
And if you use the code YQG in Bloom, you can get 15% off, which is great.
Now if people are lucky enough in the Windsor-Essex County area to be able to come in to see you,
where are you working?
Well, I'm here.
So this is All Systems Wellness in Riverside.
I'm here two or three days a week.
And then I'm also practicing out of Valero Wellness in Lakeshore.
Oh, that's great.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Trying to service two ends of town.
Adrienne, where can we find you online?
So you can connect with me on Instagram.
I'm adrienne.daluca.nd.
I try to answer messages within 48 hours.
And then I also am on Spotify.
So my podcast is called Wellness in Windsor with Dr. Daluca.
Which is amazing.
So make sure you do subscribe to that.
And I loved it.
It was really a great two episodes.
Thanks.
And you're working on your third one now?
I'm coming across some issues, but we do have lots of episodes in the works.
And if you want to message me on Instagram, if you have any questions about naturopathic
medicine, please send them my way because I always try to create episodes with just
common questions that people have about what I do.
Oh, that's great.
Thank you so much for being here today.
I really do appreciate it.
And again, my name is Tracy Martens.
And I want to thank you so much for joining me for another episode of YQG in Bloom.
You guys have a great day.