Cell and cordless phones
· Keep cell phones away from the body (e.g. not in your pocket or near your bed).
· Use speaker phone or text messaging when possible. Blue tooth attachments increase your EMR exposure so opt for an air-tube headset.
We’ve attached our poster here in hopes that your workplace or other location might be interested in the healthcare options we provide.
by Carol Belanger, BA, RM, BHS
Many have seen the internet photos of the numbers of stacked sugar cubes representing the amount of sugar in various products we consume. I remember feeling horrified the first time I viewed this series of photos, even though I knew these products had a fair amount of sugar in them. For example:
Product Sugar Equivalent shows in cubes:
Small bottle coke (250ml) 16 ½
Ben and Jerry’s ice cream small tub 19 ½
Vitamin Water 7
1 cinnabun 14
Tall can Arizona ice tea 18
Small box raisins 7 ½
3 chocolate chip cookies 2 ¾
I asked my kids recently if they could eat a sugar cube. They answered yes. My husband explained that it had been a real treat to be given if not a whole then a partial cube of sugar to suck on. So in my efforts to impress upon my kids that they didn’t know how many sugar cubes they would have to eat to equal their treats, I explained that the bottle of coke that is a treat for them has 16 ½ cubes worth of sugar in it. Loosely in the bottle, the pile comes up almost to the bottle of the label! Their reply was, ‘So.’ Reflecting their complete lack of understanding of the problem.
They understood better when I told them that their liver helps with digestion. That it would convert sugar to glycogen and return it to the bloodstream a little at a time over the course of the day to keep their energy going through the day, signaled by the pancreas. But if they ate too much sugar or carbs at one time, the liver would convert it to fat instead and store it in the body. And that later it would take more of their energy to convert their fat stores to energy and they would likely feel more tired and want to just eat again. With so much emphasis on child obesity rates, plus peer pressure, there is quite a lot of awareness at the school level about being a healthy body size and structure. But energy levels are not understood by them.
So I then explained, that if they did some exercise – specifically yoga or qigong, they could Cultivate energy for themselves without food, or food conversion. This required more explanation.
~ Dr. Christina Vlahopoulos, ND
It is really hard to think about fresh local vegetables and farmer’s markets when it is still snowing out but believe it or not, it is that time of the year again – time to sign up for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Although the ground is still covered in snow, farmers in our area are gearing up for a new season in the hopes of growing and selling amazing produce this summer.
Generally speaking, less than 10% of food imported into Canada is inspected. Furthermore, “product of Canada” doesn’t necessarily mean, “grown in Canada.” What the CSA provides is an alternative to produce being picked too early and shipped for hundreds if not thousands of kilometers before making it to your kitchen. If you are not familiar with the concept of CSA, it is a great way to get fresh, seasonal, organic vegetables and support a local farmer.
Each farm is slightly different but most CSA farms require people to sign up
Please click here to view our entire online March e-newsletter, Brain Health.
Carol Belanger, BA, RM, BHS
Given the amount of information available to us these days, the plasticity of the brain is more interesting and useful than ever.
Plasticity refers to the how much we can change and influence our brain. It turns out we can change and influence our brain quite a bit potentially. It seems we can ‘teach an old dog a new trick!’ In his books on brain training, neuropsychologist Dr. Rick Hansen talks about how we can help sustain positive mental outlooks, heal negative emotions and memories, build resiliency and more. I like the simplicity of the concepts of his work and use them in my work.
For example, information is stored in our memory banks in several areas of the brain. New information enters the front part of the brain in the prefrontal cortex. When stored information comes up, bring to mind something positive to help that memory go back into storage with the positive. Gradually, you can help shift your interior landscape. There are some brain training techniques that involve tapping – EFT for example – on the front of the forehead while saying certain positive words to positively influence how we are thinking and influence our memories.
Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND
Memory is one of our most precious assets and I meet many people seeking ways to protect this life-enhancing attribute. Unfortunately, many of these people address their concerns by taking a variety of natural health supplements that claim to improve memory, including CoQ10, B-vitamins, and ginkgo, without a clear understanding of whether they’re working. The effectiveness of these products lies in matching one of them to the underlying cause of the change in your memory, and many people are surprised to learn that “aging” is not one of these.
The components in the brain responsible for memory require a substantial number of nutrients, adequate blood flow, hormones, and other chemical messengers for optimal function. The key to improving memory lies in understanding the underlying cause of the decline, specific to the person. Is it decreased blood flow to the brain caused by impaired heart function or a motor vehicle accident? Nutrient deficiencies caused by poor digestion or by daily liver and kidney detoxification of prescription medication? Or perhaps it’s hormones –
Click here to read our entire online February e-newsletter on Insomnia.
Dr. Sonya Nobbe, ND
Our ability to enjoy good quality sleep is one of the ultimate indicators of balance in our lives. Poor sleep is a risk factor for a multitude of health conditions, including obesity, breast cancer, depression, and heart disease. Severe sleep problems have many contributing factors and the underlying cause may take some time to resolve. However, these tips are an important first step and might be all that you need to achieve a good nights’ sleep.
1. Get your circadian rhythm on track.
Click here to read our entire online February e-newsletter on Insomnia.
by Carol Belanger, BA, RM, BHS
Our brain stem connects the spinal cord with the structures of the brain. The white matter of the brain stem relays sensations and information from the body to the brain. Scattered throughout the white matter are patches of gray that affect our physical functions. Part of the gray matter we are concerned with on the topic of sleep is called the reticular formation (rf). It governs both sleep and consciousness.
Consciousness normally depends on sensory information received from all over the body. This information is sorted, and sensed for essential, unusual and threatening information, and passed onto the brain. This information influences our levels of consciousness from attentiveness and alertness, to relaxation and inattentiveness. Signals from the rf to the brain stimulates our wakefulness. When the sensory stimulation of the rf is low, inhibited or slowed, sleep can occur.
There are many sensory stimulants: caffeine, exercise and activity, emotional stimulation from nervousness, anger, grief, worry or fear and even happiness, giddiness, etc., as well as computers, television, cell phones and more. They can significantly increase reticular formation activity, stimulate us and thereby impair sleep cycles or delay sleep, even if we are or should be tired.
Udo Schuklenk, Ontario Research Chair in Bioethics and Public Policy at Queen’s University, recently wrote an opinion piece in the Whig Standard about “pseudo-science”. In it, he writes that “the association of naturopaths is lobbying the provincial government to regulate them as if they were a body made of professionals”, and that their “homemade” colleges are accredited by “a body made up of colleges like themselves”. Curiously, a quick google search makes it clear that Naturopathic Doctors have been licensed by the Ontario government for nearly 90 years, the issuing of which requires successful completion of continent-wide examinations (NPLEX) and subsequent Ontario government board licensing examinations. The Ontario government accepts the status offered by the American-based accrediting body, which itself falls under the jurisdiction of the US Secretary of Education. Thank goodness Ontarians are protected by such stringent government regulations and that Naturopathic Doctors, in their completion of at least 8 years of rigorous post-secondary education, are so well trained to provide a variety of scientifically-sound medical and healthcare options. How did Mr. Schuklenk get his facts so wrong?
I find it hard to believe that a man who has achieved such an otherwise respected position of authority did such poor research as to be so genuinely misinformed. What was his real motivation in this article?
Learn to exult in the sharing of song, the beat of a drum, and the sounds of harmony. While not pretending to teach professional songwriting, with these workshops it is hoped that something will be conveyed of the spirit of bringing feelings to collective expression. Music and song heal. Music can be used to express joy, sorrow, pain, sympathy for others and grief for what has been lost. In the freeing up and sharing of voice in harmony and rhyme, layers and wellsprings of the self and its thoughts and feelings can be opened up and communicated. Examples of forms that can be put into song are prayer, mantra, Buddhist sayings (Lojong), hymns, and chants.
This workshop has been specifically developed for men who have been wounded in the line of duty, whether civic or military.
