Christina De Avila eats, lives and breathes holistic health. Here’s your chance to get a glance at the inner-workings of a health guru’s life.
Christina De Avila is a naturopath who heals through diet and lifestyle counseling, Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture, botanical medicine, and homeopathy - a truly eclectic practitioner. After receiving her degree in Human Biology and Physiology from the University of Toronto, she decided to go the natural route after witnessing her grandmother suffer with various health issues. In an attempt to help her grandma, Christina found her true passion and eventually was able to share it with the world as a volunteer of Naturopaths Without Borders in Haiti and Natural Doctors International in Nicaragua. Christina now has her own practice, appropriately named “The Portuguese Naturopath” an ode to her grandmother’s heritage. This yoga-loving-holistic-healer has about a million things she could tell you about health, but here’s 20 questions worth:
1. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Well, I am not a morning person but I am a strong advocate of eating breakfast. Most of the time, I have my breakfast at work and today I packed a banana, a boiled egg, chia seed pudding topped with strawberries and cocoa nibs, and coffee with coconut milk and cinnamon.
2. What does a typical day-in-the-life of The Portuguese Naturopath look like?
A typical day consists of scrambling in the morning...ALWAYS. My days can get pretty busy as I balance working as a pharmacist’s assistant as well as seeing patients as a naturopathic doctor. Usually I end my day with a hot yoga class...it is essential!
3. If you could take only ONE supplement or herb for the rest of your life, what would it be?
This is a hard one but if I had to choose — and I think all my patients would agree — I would pick Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica). It is just such a great herb with such vast therapeutic properties — antihistamine, nutritive…nettle is the cure-all you never knew you needed.
4. What are the most common issues you have found that people come to you for?
The most common issue I see in my practice is all things digestive — gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux and everything in between! From a naturopathic standpoint, everything always comes back to the health of the digestive tract — you are what you eat; therefore, I am not entirely surprised and it really is what naturopaths do best!
5. What's your "not-so-healthy" guilty pleasure?
CHOCOLATE! More specifically, chocolate covered almonds! Lately, I have been doing the more bitter 70% cocoa, which still hits the spot and I eat less.
6. How many days per week do you exercise?
The benefits of exercise are tremendous - from cardiovascular health to immune function, mood, improving quality of sleep and so much more! I commit to exercising three times a week which usually consists of yoga classes. During the summer, I am an avid walker. When it comes to exercise, ensuring you are doing something you love will keep you committed and motivated.
7. Yoga or running?
YOGA! I love yoga — hot yoga to be specific! It really is an exercise that targets mind, body, and spirit.
8. What's the last thing you read?
The last book I read was A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. Such a well-written novel that so delicately shows how people from all walks of life can intertwine, impact and influence each other, and continue on their path.
9. What would you be doing if you weren't a health guru?
When I was trying to figure things out I had applied to the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, U of T Nursing, and the Michener Institute. If I had not become a naturopath, I think I would be a genetic technologist, as that was the program I was most interested in.
10. What's your Dosha type?
I didn't know what Dosha type meant so...Google to the rescue! I took a Dosha test and turns out I am a Pitta type.
11. What are you obsessed with currently, food-wise?
Chia seed pudding! It is something that I have recently started making and love it for breakfast or as a snack. It is such a nutrient-dense food and can be different every day depending on what you choose to top it with. I usually add fruit, nuts, and cocoa nibs!
12. Describe your diet in three words.
Variable, nutrient-dense, and planned. The biggest thing I emphasize, especially since digestive complaints are so common in a naturopathic office, is PLAN! Planning meals is huge if you want to be successful in implementing dietary changes.
13. Whose Instagram should we all be following right now?
One of my favorites to follow on Instagram is yogainspiration. Aside from aspiring to achieve the strength and flexibility these yogis have, I love the quotes they often post. Sometimes on a rough day, because we all have rough days, it can be exactly what you need to remind yourself to let go of the things that do not serve you.
14. What inspired you to become a health guru in the first place?
I was inspired to go into naturopathic medicine when I saw my grandmother's health declining and seeing the end stages of poorly managed diabetes taking over — renal failure, diabetic neuropathy, blindness...I remember thinking in that moment, “there has to be more to medicine than this.” Funny enough, around the same time I came across a page in my U of T agenda for the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine.
15. Favorite herbal tea?
My favorite herbal tea is a mix of nettle (Urtica dioica) and licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra).
16. What's your go-to snack at the moment?
If I don't have chia seed pudding for breakfast, then it is usually my go-to snack. Otherwise, fruit is the way to go — apples, bananas, oranges or anything else that is in the fruit bowl.
17. What’s the most common thing people do wrong when they're trying to get healthy?
Chasing fads and the new hot supplement that’s trending on the market (especially those for weight loss) is probably the most common thing people do wrong when they are trying to get healthy. Naturopaths are always emphasizing individualized treatments because at the end of the day we are all unique and have different requirements. Just because it’s the trend right now, doesn't mean it is right for you. Check in with your naturopathic doctor and be your optimal self with a treatment plan tailored specifically for you.
18. Favorite restaurant? What do you usually order?
I don't know if this is my favorite restaurant but I am definitely a huge fan of Fresh (Spadina and Bloor). My usual order is one of the bowls — usually Beach or the Power House bowl. Delicious AND nutrient dense.
19. Do you have a morning ritual?
As I mentioned before, mornings are definitely not my best time of day. So my morning ritual, if you can even call it that, is scrambling to get myself ready and out the door.
20. What's the best piece of health advice you've ever been given?
This may not seem like health advice, however; something one of the yoga instructors at my studio always says is “If you cannot think of anything to commit to today, commit to treating yourself with kindness.” We are often our toughest critic and for this reason I think this is such a strong statement that truly resonates with me. As a naturopath, I am constantly mindful of meeting patients where they are at and emphasizing the journey of naturopathic medicine to optimal health and well-being. On that note, I will end this with a quote from yogainspiration - “You're so hard on yourself. Take a moment. Sit back. Marvel at your life: at the grief that softened you, at the heartache that wizened you, at the suffering that strengthened you. Despite everything, you still grow. Be proud of this.”
