Wellnessnews, Author at Wellnessnews

Have You Tried Kefir?

Kefir is a unique cultured dairy product and one of the most probiotic-rich foods on the planet. Drinking Kefir has incredible medicinal benefits for your digestion and gut health. It’s tart and refreshing flavor is similar to a drinking-style yogurt, but it contains beneficial yeast as well as friendly probiotic bacteria found in yogurt. The naturally occurring bacteria and yeast in combine symbiotically to give superior health benefits when consumed regularly. It is loaded with valuable vitamins and minerals and contains easily digestible complete proteins. For the lactose intolerant, kefir’s abundance of beneficial yeast and bacteria provide lactase, an enzyme which consumes most of the lactose left after the culturing process. Drink up for benefits to your immune system, your bowels (see you later, IBS symptoms!), and your bones. It helps fight allergies, improves lactose digestion, supports detoxification, and even kills candida.

Disability Tax Credit, www.disabilitytaxcreditwinnipeg.com

Positive Mental Health is a Laughing Matter

While living with mental illness is no joke, laughing for positive mental and physical health seriously works. In fact, evidence supports the claim that a joyful heart provides a similar benefit to that of medicine. Although not considered a replacement for medical treatment, some doctors are using laughter as an adjunctive therapy. In the short and long term, laughter has been shown to, 1. Stimulate/boost the immune system; 2. Alleviate pain; 3. Reduce anxiety and stress; 4. Reduce depression; and, 5. Promote a sense of hopefulness. What if you don’t feel like laughing? No problem, fake it until you make it. Physiologically speaking, for the most part, your body doesn’t know the difference. And, faking it often leads to the real thing which may be exactly the health supplement you need to get to the positive side of negative circumstances.

Sean Miller, Canadian Mental Health Association, mbwpg.cmha.ca

Book Club: Big Magic Creative Living Beyond Fear!

Empowering author Elizabeth Gilbert asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

Did You Know?

Blue corn has been popping up as an ingredient everywhere from tortilla chips to breakfast cereal. New research suggests that anthocyanins, the nutrients that give the corn its blue color, may help protect against metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer!

www.newhope.com

Clean Eating: Spaghetti Squash “Mac ‘n’ Cheese”

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash

3 tbsp coconut oil

3 tbsp spelt flour

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp onion or garlic powder

pinch ground black pepper

1 cup (4 oz) any hard cheese, shredded.

Red pepper flakes, to taste. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Wash squash, cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds with a spoon. Place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 40-50 minutes. Let cool and separate into strands with a fork. Preheat medium pot on low-medium heat and melt oil. Whisk in flour and milk until smooth. Add salt, onion powder and pepper; whisk and let simmer for about 4 minutes or until sauce has slightly thickened. Add cheese and whisk again until smooth. Add squash and mix gently with a spoon to combine. Cover and let squash warm through for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

www.ifoodreal.com

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Also known as a weekly farm box program, CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) are an excellent way for you to become better connected to a local farm. Your produce will never be fresher than when it’s harvested and directly received by you, with minimal transportation. This allows your food to maintain its high nutrient content. CSA’s help farmers to plan their seasons; to know how many people he/she will be growing for therefore help define crop production; and make important early investments in infrastructure and maintenance. When buying a share of a farm’s crop you can expect the varieties of produce to be seasonally oriented, the way people throughout history have always eaten. Becoming a member is easy and rewarding. Simply purchase a share from the farmer, and as the growing season begins come down to the farm or pick up location each week to receive your bountiful basket of fresh farm goods.

Brian Prince, Farmer
princeacrescsa.com

Acupuncture Has Withstood the Test of Time

The origins of acupuncture are lost in antiquity. It has survived at least 3000 years as a major healing technique now used in Modern Chinese Traditional Medicine and is respected as an effective alternative treatment modality by Western Medical authorities and Health Insurance Providers. Acupuncture is widely used to treat all types of pain, to prevent, diagnose and treat disease and to improve general health. For those averse to even the thought of needles, other techniques such as cold lasers or moxibustion may be employed. These are less invasive and do not puncture the skin. The goal of acupuncture is to promote and restore the balance of energy, which flows throughout the body. Hundreds of clinical studies on the benefits of acupuncture show that it successfully treats conditions ranging from musculoskeletal problems (back pain, neck pain frozen shoulder ) to nausea, migraine headache, anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD, insomnia, and certain forms of infertility.

Elaine Murphy, Reg. Acupuncturist, MA, RAc

Benefits of Reconnective Healing®

Reconnective Healing® is a unique interaction between our body’s energy field and a spectrum of energy, light and information. It provides access to create change and improves all aspects of a person’s life – health, career, relationships and abundance. People looking for a natural way to regain health are turning to Reconnective Healing® to relieve stress, depression, anxiety, sleep problems and all kinds of chronic pain and physical problems. There have been many scientific studies on Reconnective Healing® showing that it restructures damaged DNA, is twice as effective as physical therapy in restoring range of motion in frozen shoulder, and that it supports peak athletic performance! The many benefits include: more energy, better brain function, balanced emotions, improved memory and better sleep. Over the last ten years, thousands of people all over the world have discovered the amazing benefits of Reconnective Healing®.

Anna Christine Doehring, RHFP, RCP
Energy All Around Therapies

Energy-All-Around.com

Suffering with Muscle and Joint Pain?

Muscle and joint pain associated with sprains and strains can be very frustrating indeed, especially when striving to maintain an active lifestyle. Some essential oils from certain companies have been approved by Health Canada as Natural Health Products (NHP’s) for use to help with relief of pain associated with sprains, strains and rheumatoid arthritis. Oils such as lavender, marjoram, clove, black pepper, eucalyptus globulus or peppermint, and blends such as Deep Relief and Aromaease are great mixed with a carrier oil (such as coconut), and applied directly to the skin to help soothe muscle pain. Oils can also be added to a bath (mixed with Epsom salts or a carrier oil before adding to water). Having natural options for muscle and joint pain provides peace of mind, just be sure the essential oils you choose are not topped up with synthetic additives and preservatives.

Denise MacKinnon
Young Living Independent Distributor 2122587

facebook.com/simplehealthideas

Fall Prevention

Each year, an alarming number of people over the age of 65 experience a fall. Research has shown that as many as one in four older people fall every year. Fortunately these falls can often be prevented. Some of the things you can do to prevent a fall include: talk to your doctor about your risk of falling and how to prevent falls, review your list of medicines with your pharmacist to determine if any of these cause dizziness, do strength and balance exercises such as Tai Chi and make your home safer with grab bars and removing items that can cause you to trip. Sometimes, regardless of how careful you are, a fall will occur. When it does, it is prudent to have a safety device that allows you to signal for help or one that detects that a fall has occurred and will summon assistance.

Joan Ryan
Nanaimo Lifeline

nanaimolifeline.ca

Benefits of Aromatherapy Massage

Aromatherapy massage is massage therapy enhanced with essential oils (highly concentrated plant oils) added to the massage oil or lotion. Essential oils are absorbed through the skin and through inhalation creating beneficial changes in the mind and body by affecting the limbic system; a region of the brain connected to memory and nervous system. Headache, insomnia, digestive disorders, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and back pain are a few examples of conditions helped with aromatherapy massage. Aromatherapy may help to ease stress and anxiety. If you’re considering trying aromatherapy massage, talk with your massage therapist and healthcare provider about whether it’s appropriate for you. Each essential oil used in aromatherapy is said to have different properties. For example, some calm while others energize. Some widely used essential oils and their purported properties are: Calming – chamomile, lavender, geranium; Uplifting – orange, may change, neroli; Energizing – rosemary, peppermint; and Decongesting – eucalyptus, pine, tea tree.

Tammy Phye, R.A., EOT
Lifestyle Harmony

lifestyleharmony.ca