Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer added to thousands of the foods you and your family regularly eat. The chemical flavor enhancer has been linked to fibromyalgia, obesity, fatty liver, high insulin and blood sugar, metabolic syndrome, and neurological damage. It’s used in everything from canned soups, crackers, meats, and salad dressings, to baby food, infant formula, and your child’s school lunch. It is used to enhance flavors. Dr. Russell Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon and author of “Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills.” explains that MSG causes brain damage to varying degrees — and even triggers or worsens learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and more.
Community News
Aloe As Nature Intended
Aloe has been celebrated for thousands of years for its natural soothing, cooling and moisturizing properties. Here are just a few reasons you will love our Aloe:
1. Supports healthy digestion
2. Provides rapid soothing
3. Immune support & function
4. Dental health & hygiene
5. Collagen & elastin support
Contact us to learn more about how our family of aloe vera drinks, skin care & nutritional products brings the remarkable properties of Aloe to your entire body. Let us provide you with a complete system to help you look better.
Kim, AloeLifestyle.ca
Waking up with Foot Pain?
Plantar fasciitis is a common and often persistent foot injury that can affect almost anyone. It involves inflammation of a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot and connects your heel bone to your toes (plantar fascia). Morning foot pain is a signature symptom of this. In some cases, rest, icing, and stretching may relieve your symptoms. Persistent pain can stop you in your tracks, undermine your fitness and general health, and drag on for years. Healthwest specializes in this treatment as well as treating many other foot problems, by providing therapeutic massage, shock wave, laser, compression sleeves, and orthotics.
Brent Konantz, Ortho. ,RMT LCSP C PED (C) Healthwest Prothotics
MyHealthWest.com
Meal Planning and Mindful Eating
Back to school, back to work…and lots of planning. Mindful eating doesn’t mean “just wing it”. Especially if it means not feeling good about or enjoying what you’re eating.
Mindful Meal Planning Tips:
1. Set the intention as convenience, nourishment, and pleasure, not rigid control or dieting.
2. Think of your plan as a sketch, not a completed picture.
3. Shop, prepare, and eat mindfully.
4. Rethink or modify your plan if it stresses you out or the approach limits spontaneity, flexibility, living, and above all, joy.
Love food. Live life. Have fun!
Lisa Kehler, OffYourPlateNutrition.ca
Need a Creativity Boost?
The benefits of floatation therapy are numerous and far-reaching. Perhaps the most universally appealing is floating’s tendency to enhance creativity, learning, and memory. From students to artists to working professionals, most of us would love to experience a boost in our ability to think, learn, and solve problems. Floating can do just that. Study after study has shown that time spent in a float cabin enhances our cognitive powers. Since all external sources of distraction are removed, floating provides an extreme form of rest, and this appears to amplify the positive effects of letting our mind take over.
Fluid Float Studio, FluidFloat.com
Why are Sunglasses Important?
Most people are aware of the damage the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation does to your skin, but these rays can cause equal damage to your eyes. Sunglasses are more than a fashion statement; their most important role is protecting your eyes and the surrounding skin from these rays. Damage to the eyes includes cataracts, macular degeneration, pterygiums, and cancer. Extended exposure to UV can cause photokeratitis, also known as snow-blindness, a temporary but extremely painful sunburn of the eye. Sunglasses also block glare, which increases comfort in bright light. When buying sunglasses, look for ones that block out at least 99% of both UVA and UVB radiation, so you can keep your eyes healthy and your vision clear. A wide-brimmed hat offers great protection, too.
Linden Ridge Eye Care, LREyeCare.ca
Plan a Stress-Free Vacation
Planning your holiday is meant to be fun and exciting. The lure of the convenience of the internet can quickly turn to confusion, indecisiveness, and anxiety. Travel agents are here to save you time and don’t cost a penny. Think of a travel agent as your tour guide, who will lead you to the perfect vacation. No matter how much you prepare, sometimes unexpected things happen while you are on vacation. When you book with a travel agent, they are with you every step of the way to ensure a stress-free, enjoyable time, which is what a holiday is meant to be.
Holly Sproule, SouthBeachTravel.ca
Counselling: Investing in You
Have you been thinking about counselling? If you don’t know where to start or how it might help, here are a few ideas to consider:
• Counselling provides an opportunity to talk about concerns in a safe, confidential place.
• It can help you gain increased self-awareness, direction, and invaluable coping skills.
• The hope, self-worth, stability, and health that you develop continue long after the counselling sessions end.
Counselling is an investment in you. Take the first step today.
Tracy Sparham, BSW, RSW, Sparham Counselling, SheaTreeWellness.com
Turmeric for Your Health
Turmeric is one of the prized spices, with an impressive list of health benefits. It is one of the most potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. In my practice, I see that there is a growing trend of taking turmeric (active ingredient – curcumin) as a supplement. In Ayurveda, great importance is given to vipaka (post-digestion effect). The vipaka of turmeric is pungent. Therefore, taking turmeric as a supplement creates stress in the liver, as our liver has a tendency to overheat. However, using turmeric in cooking changes the vipaka, as it gets mixed with foods with different post-digestion effects. This way, you get maximum health benefits from turmeric without creating unwanted stress in the liver. This is how it has been used in India for thousands of years, never as a supplement.
Purnima Chaudhari, Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Reflexologist & Reiki Master, AyuReviveAyurveda.com
Health Product Review
Super Critical Omega Norwegian Gold by Renew Life.
With well over 7,000 studies on their safety and efficacy for many health issues, there is not a single natural health product with more scientific validation than omega 3 fish oils essential fatty acids. They are necessary fats that humans cannot produce, so we must get them through diet or supplementation. With so many fish oil supplements on the market, what makes the Renew Life Norwegian Gold line so different?
• 100% fish gelatin, not pork or beef. This makes them ideal for fish-eating vegetarians or those with religious dietary restrictions.
• Enteric-coated and contain the fat-digesting enzyme lipase, so there is optimal absorption and no fishy aftertaste.
• Have a 5-star rating from the International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS) program. This proves that they meet or exceed all national and international standards for purity, potency, and freshness.
• Friend of the Sea certified. This certifies that the products are from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
Aviva Natural Health Solutions, AvivaHealth.com
Pre-habilitation
Having to go through an orthopedic surgical procedure can be scary. What if there is something that you, the patient, could do to help maximize your outcome and give you the best chance at success? Think of your upcoming surgery as a big game or event that needs preparation and training. Pre-habilitation is a term used to describe the treatment, education, and strengthening that clients receive leading up to orthopedic surgery. Whether you are scheduled for a knee or hip replacement, ACL reconstruction, muscle-tendon repair, or cartilage repair, physiotherapists will develop a pre-hab strengthening program, help manage pain through modalities, such as acupuncture, and maximize your available mobility through myofascial techniques, dry needling, and manual therapy. All of these factors being the best they can be before your big day can give you your best chance at your post-operative recovery and rehabilitation.
Prairie Trail Physiotherapy, PrairieTrailPhysio.ca
