Archive for April, 2010


Stand Up to Diabetes

Filed under: Health — 1 Comment
April 29, 2010

Here’s what took me by surprise this week, an article from Time online, 1 in 3 people born in 2005 will have some form of diabetes. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association 10% of people have type 1 diabetes (pancreas is not able to produce insulin) and 90% have type 2 (pancreas does not produce enough). The bad news is, if left untreated diabetes can cause heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, impotence and nerve damage, which can lead to amputations. The good news: “scientists believe lifestyle changes can prevent or delay the onset on type 2 diabetes”.

For your information, the Ministry of Health Promotion of Ontario has a strategy to address the issue of diabetes.

Their website provides good information/education for both the individual either living with diabetes, knows someone who has diabetes or is interested in prevention of diabetes. There is something for everyone including videos, tool kits, diabetes programs, and so much more. It is definetly work looking at because the reality is at some point we will all need to “Stand up to Diabetes”.

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Are We Lab Rats?

Filed under: Food, Health — 1 Comment
April 28, 2010

Have you ever wondered what it must be like for animals that are used in testing of products?  Well if you enjoy drinking pop, then you too have joined the ranks of the “lab rats” as per the author in the article

How Soft Drinks Could Cause Rapid Aging . In the last 20 years food companies have been adding “significant amounts of phosphate to soda and other processed food”.  So why is this a problem?  Well,  while we do need phosphorus for our bodies, there must be a balance.  Research shows that there was a toxic effect to mice fed a high phosphate diet, which the article states could have the same effect on other mammals including humans. As per Fast Company

“In the 1990s, phosphorous-containing food additives contributed an estimated 470 mg per day to the average daily adult diet. However, phosphates are currently being added much more frequently to a large number of processed foods, including meats, cheeses, beverages, and bakery products. As a result, depending on individual food choices, phosphorous intake could be increased by as much as 1000 mg per day.”

Once again, as per above, yes we need phophorous for healthy living, but as the study indicates perhaps too much of a good thing is not so good after all.  I’m sure further testing will be required to prove or disprove this research. In the meantime, perhaps a call to the dietician is in order to determine what amount is right for you, so that the next time you need to quench your thirst you can make an informed decision for your health.

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In the Toolbox–Eat Right

Filed under: Food, Health, The Toolbox — 2 Comments
April 22, 2010

This week while riding the subway, I was pleasantly surprised at how many health and wellness ads were posted.  One ad in particular caught my attention, Eat Right Ontario.  So I thought I’d check it out,  and share with you  what I discovered.

First let me start  by saying this site is a gem.  It is full of good info and covers  topics like diabetes prevention, disease prevention, healthy eating, menu planning, workplace health, to name a few. This venture between The Dietitians of Canada and The Ministry of Health Promotion  not only provides a useful website but they also offer  Ontarians an opportunity to connect with a dietician via email or telephone call (1-877-510-5102) for healthy eating advice .

Wow,  now that’s what I would call  a great service right at your fingertips and in the comfort of your own home. And the best part of all, this service is FREE.

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The Yearly Ritual – Tax Time

Filed under: Health — Leave a comment
April 21, 2010

Ah, its that time of year again. You know it’s spring because the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and the tax man is waiting for his dues. So as I sit here once again for my annual tax ritual of sorting through receipts and organizing papers, it struck me “why is there no tax deduction or incentive when it comes to personal health and wellness?“

You can write off home improvements, for example, which is great because  that helped to stimulate the  economy.

You can write off  your donations, as another example, which is great because that helps others in need.

You can write off the kids fitness activities, which is great as it encourages fitness and hopefully stave off future problems.  I don’t think that goes far enough though, when it comes to wellness.  What about a health and wellness tax break for  adults, which would be a great tool to continue to incent people to lead healthier lives thus removing the burden on the ailing healthcare system.  Healthy adults set good examples for younger people as well.  Just like making a retirement contribution is deductible, why aren’t preventative wellness activities also deductible?  For example, if you go for an annual physical, that should earn you a tax break as it is proactive.  If you choose throughout the year to eat healthy, for example, organic locally grown foods, those receipts should be a tax break.  This would help to drive healthy behavior throughout the year.

When it comes to driving wellness and healthy behavior, we need to use as many “levers” or drivers as possible.  I think the financial incentive could be one of many good ways to achieve this.

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Team Buy

Filed under: Health, Tech, The Toolbox — 7 Comments
April 20, 2010

Yesterday, I decided to take the “better way” (aka the Toronto subway) downtown to a meeting.  As I was making my way towards Yonge and Bloor I noticed a bit of commotion.  There were fellows on loud speakers and dressed up.  It looked like a rally of some sort, which I wanted to avoid, but due to construction could not.  So I marched through this group of  young people  and received a postcard.  I would have tossed it out except I was intrigued by the logo—teambuy.ca-buyers unite.

What is Team Buy?  It’s a company trying to shift the power of buying into the consumers hands. It’s “collaborative buying, leading to massive discounts”.   I love the idea, because I love a good deal.  Everyday there is a new item on for ‘sale’, they require a certain number of people  to sign up to buy the item for the sale, in order for the sale to go through.

Now let me back track a bit.  This idea of the power of buying was alluded to at the TED conference by Jamie Oliver and his food revolution.  It’s the concept that when banded together, consumers have huge buying power  and can  insist that companies provide us with better and healthier products.  I like teambuy.ca because of the potential for savings on products, food and services.  I think, however, beyond just good deals, something like teambuy.ca could facilitate the purchasing of healthy food for people.  Often, it is cheaper for people to simply buy fast food rather than a healthy alternative.  With Team Buy, there is the potential to leverage their buying model for healthy alternatives.  Talk about a win-win situation:  good deals on good healthy food.

Check out Team Buy and let the Buyers Unite!

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Share and Live Well

Filed under: Health, The Toolbox — Leave a comment
April 14, 2010

Not too long ago, my newsletter from Physiotherapy Today came across my desk. Inside was an article titled “Live Well” which I’d like to share with you today. “Live Well” is a partnership between Health Care Professionals, researchers and the community in Hamilton,  Ontario. The program provides education and exercise programs in the community.

Have a look at these excellent programs being offered :

  • CanWell- Is an exercise and education program for cancer survivors. A Nurse and Physiotherapist  provide education and consultation to YMCA staff and participants with respect to this program.
  • Y’s Choices -Is a healthy lifestyle program geared towards children and families. Offered at the YMCA participants have access to a Registered Dietician, Behaviour Specialist and Kinesiologist.
  • In Motion- Is a program for individuals who want to improve their health pre and post knee or hip replacement (it can also help people with osteoporosis or osteoarthritis) A Phsiotherapist acts as the resource person on a weekly basis.
  • Healthy Hearts- Is a program for individuals who have completed their cardiac rehab program in hospital or for those at risk for  developing heart disease. A Kinesiologist provides support to the program where participants learn appropriarte exercises and heart rate monitoring.

The response to these programs, as per the article, has been positive.  This community based health care model, where people are active and willing participants in their health care, where researchers provide their expertise, Health Care Professionals act a resources,  and the YMCA acting as the hub is the way of the future.  I like this because I believe it is the most effective way of making health care work.  As is often said about raising children “It takes a village to raise a child”, I think that paradigm also applies to the delivery of good health care.  It takes a village to heal a person.

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Reviewing a Cooking App on the iPad

Filed under: Cooking, Tech, The Toolbox — 8 Comments
April 12, 2010

Well I managed to pry my husband’s iPad from his hands for a short while so I could explore some apps.  One app I wanted to share with you was an app called Epicurious and I thought the best way to do this would be to give you a few minutes of video of me using the application.   I hope you enjoy the video.  If you are getting an iPad, this is definitely an app to put on – it’s free and loaded with 27,000+ recipes!

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A Full Time Job….Your Health

Filed under: Fitness, Health — 3 Comments
April 7, 2010

Your health is a full time job.  The hard part is how to integrate this full time job with the other job (aka work). Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

  • 6 am wake up, shower , breakfast – instead of waiting in the drive thru why not try a morning smoothie in a mini-blender to go, don’t forget to pack your runners,  lunch and  healthy snacks
  • 7am leave for work- try some audio music therapy or an audio book to learn more about health and wellness while you are in the car or on the train
  • 8-9am get to work -set reminders to pop up  on the computer screen or your cell to remind you to drink water hourly, and to get up and change position/stretch
  • 10am  break time- get up and walk 10 minutes and eat a nutritious snack
  • 12pm lunch break- don’t eat at your desk;  make the effort to get up and eat somewhere designated . Consider a  10 minute walk
  • 12:30-1 Back to work – reminders still set to go off hourly.
  • 3pm  break -consider a 10 minute walk and having another nutritious snack
  • 5pm home time- pop in an audio tape to relax or to learn something new – keep the brain fresh.

I realize there are not enough hours in the day, thank goodness for weekends,  but I hope that what you got from  this post was that with some deliberate actions, we can begin to integrate the “work” of wellness into the “work” of our daily lives.  It isn’t easy, especially at the onset.  Some succed and some don’t.  My wish for you is to be successful in your health and wellness so that you can enjoy all the years to come.

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Seeds of Diversity

Filed under: Food, gardening, Health — Leave a comment
April 6, 2010

I recently watched a very interesting movie called Food Inc. that has taken me into an interesting area of research.  Before telling you about that, let me say, you should rent/buy Food Inc. as it will really open your eyes as to how our food goes from “seed to supermarket” in today’s industrial-factory-farming society.

In the movie, they talked about companies like Monsanto who have genetically modified seeds, like soy, and have acquired a patent.  This means that you cannot plant those seeds without purchasing them from Monsanto.  Farmers cannot save their seeds as has been done for decades upon decades.  Farmers who’s crop don’t use the patented seeds but become inadvertently cross-bred (through things like the wind!) find themselves being sued by the seed patent holders.

While I think it is strange that you can patent a seed, more concerning, was the very idea that so much of food is being genetically modified.  So I started to look into “public domain” seeds that are natural and not genetically modified.  In my search I found Seeds of Diversity and thought I’d share this info with you because of its importance.

What is Seeds of Diversity?  From their website that explain that their organization:

is a Canadian volunteer organization that conserves the biodiversity and traditional knowledge of food crops and garden plants.

and I think that this type of grass-roots movement is what is needed for individuals to protect this type of gardening/farming.

If you know of other similar initiatives, I’d love to hear from you on it.

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Getting Ready to Container Garden

Filed under: Food, gardening — 2 Comments
April 5, 2010

If you recall from a previous post, I was looking into container gardening.  With the spring weather that we’ve had this weekend, I’ve taken some time to start the planning for this exciting project of mine.  I came across a good video that I thought I’d share with my readers.  See below for the full video, which outlines these key points in terms of what you need:

  • Container
  • Good drainage
  • Good soil (miracle grow)
  • Line container with diapers (soil moist)
  • seeds or plants

Give the video a watch and stay tuned as I’ll be posting more on what I’m doing in this area of gardening.

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