Catch the talk at the Port Dover Library on June 12 or the Simcoe Library on June 13. The topic will be preventing illness and treating lingering COVID symptoms.
By Jacob Fehr
Port Dover’s only naturopathic doctor, Dr. Steven Maltais, ND, will be speaking at the 8th International Congress of Naturopathic Medicine (ICNM) in Barcelona, Spain, on Saturday, July 6. Dr. Maltais will be giving similar public talks on Wednesday, June 12 at 6pm at the Port Dover library and Thursday, June 13 at 6pm at the Simcoe library.
The Maple Leaf interviewed Dr. Maltais last week to learn more about the meeting, his presentation and his preparations.
Dr. Maltais has been practicing as a licensed Naturopathic Doctor in Port Dover for 15 years, helping patients in the areas of Port Dover, Simcoe, Tillsonburg and more.
In 2023, he submitted a talk on the impact of Long COVID to an ICNM event in Paris, where the organization awarded him a Certificate of Contribution for his work.
“Last summer, I spoke about helping people recover health post-COVID — how to make their bodies stronger so they can resist viruses and things like that,” he explained.
“I thought I’d try applying for a similar talk again this year and decided to speak at the event.”
Dr. Maltais is one of 30 people selected to present at the conference, which ICNM organizers are expecting hundreds of attendees.
“I’m talking about clinical solutions to the immune system, inflammation and brain health,” he said. Drawing from his research and experience, he plans to discuss the use of natural therapies to treat patients’ long COVID symptoms and other illnesses.
“I’m basically writing a presentation for my colleagues to talk about products that can be used to help patients that I hadn’t thought of,” he explained, with his presentation focused on improving “the things that have happened since COVID that are hurting our health.”
As an example, he cited the case of a patient, a former nurse, who suffered from severe respiratory distress and left the hospital on her own accord as her condition worsened. He recommended that the patient return to the hospital or be placed on ventilator support, as her health was so poor. However, the patient refused and sought alternative treatment, so he recommended that she take Ferm Phos, a tissue salt that helps with oxygen delivery and reduces inflammation.
Shortly after taking the product, the patient called Dr. Maltais and expressed surprise at how effective the product was in treating his respiratory illness: the doctor said the product reduced inflammation in his lungs and improved his breathing.
Some of his other patients suffer from long-term COVID-19 symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, reduced or lost sense of smell and taste, tinnitus, joint pain, heart, liver and gallbladder problems, etc. He plans to share insights gained from his experience treating such patient symptoms with his colleagues through his presentation at ICNM.
“I’m nervous and excited at the same time,” said Mr. Ito, who has some public speaking experience but has never presented at an international conference.
He plans to give similar talks at libraries in Port Dover and Simcoe in June to practice. The public presentation will be based on a talk he submitted to ICNM last year and one he is preparing for the July conference.
But practicing isn’t his only goal: He wants to help local people by sharing what he’s learned in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We will be talking about how people can address the health issues that have been on the rise over the last few years,” he summarized.
Dr Maltais believes it may be of interest to locals interested in disease prevention and treatment for long-term COVID-19, and said his talk in Norfolk would be easy to understand and not overly academic.
“I’m looking forward to helping people get healthy and stay healthy and help people who need help,” he said. He enjoys helping others and educating them on what they need to do to help themselves.
“As naturopaths, we are educators of preventive medicine,” he says. “I love helping people and teaching them. It’s fun.”
To learn more about Dr. Maltais and his services, please visit dovernaturopath.com/ For additional information about ICNM events, please visit icnmnaturopathy.eu/en/
First published on June 5, 2024
