Community News
3 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

Are you looking to kick-start your metabolism? Here are a few tips! 1. Build Muscle. Your body always burns calories, even when you’re doing nothing. Your resting metabolic rate is much higher if you have muscle. After a session of strength training, muscles are activated all over your body, raising your average daily metabolic rate. 2. Keep Drinking. Your body needs water to process calories. If you are even mildly dehydrated, your metabolism may slow down. To stay hydrated, drink a glass of water or other unsweetened beverage before every meal and snack. 3. Power Up With Protein. Your body burns many more calories digesting protein than it does with carbohydrates. As part of a balanced diet, replacing some carbs with lean, protein-rich foods can boost metabolism at mealtime. Good sources of protein include lean beef, turkey, fish, chicken, tofu, nuts, beans, eggs, and low-fat dairy products. Now get ready to become a lean, mean, calorie-burning machine!

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Book Club: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. www.goodreads.com

Home Remedies for a Cough

Did you know that onions can be used to cleanse airways and reduce congestion? Try a poultice of roasted onion to the chest every few hours. They can also be drunk as a warm broth. Cabbage also works well, as it has an extraordinary ability to draw out toxin. Crush the leaves with a rolling pin until the juice starts to appear. Place 3 or 4 leaves over the chest and cover with gauze. You can also drink the juice of a cabbage sweetened with a little bit of honey. Adapted from the book “The New Guide to Remedies” by Paragon Staff

6 Ways to Alkalize Your Body

Did you know that your immunity is based on how alkaline your diet is? Having an overly acidic diet eventually leads to a weakened state, and our bodies become susceptible to disease. Here are six ways to alkalize – and healthify – your body! 1. Drink plenty of water. Drink half your body weight in ounces every day to keep your body systems regulated. For an extra boost in alkalinity – add lemon! 2. Trade coffee for tea. Green tea is highly alkaline. Try jasmine, Sencha or Matcha. 3. Kick that sugar habit. Use stevia, coconut sugar or small amounts of honey in place of sugar. 4. Eat more greens. Vegetables are highly alkaline and oxygen rich. Consume fresh green vegetables often as possible. 5. Move. Exercise to create more oxygen and qi flow in the body and to avoid stagnation. 6. Reduce stress. Meditate as often as possible, practice deep breathing, do yoga, and get plenty of sleep

4 Ways To Supercharge Your Immune System

Ugh, January. Some may feel that this month is the worst of all months. Stay healthy, and you may find that January is actually enjoyable! There are plenty of natural remedies to help you boost your immune system and stay healthy all winter long: 1. Focus on Vitamin D. Did you know that most people have low vitamin D levels? Even dangerously low, within a range that could severely limit your immune system. 2. Eat More Garlic. Garlic is one of the most potent of all superfoods that goes back thousands of years for treatment of illness. 3. Get Your Probiotics. 70% of your immune system lies in your gut flora and the health of the friendly organisms in there to protect you against pathogens and sickness. 4. Avoid ALL processed foods and sweetened soft drinks. This is no time to bombard your body with processed foods, fried foods, high-fructose corn syrup, refined sugars or chemical additives.

Felly Grieve, A1 Nutrition, www.a1nutritiongrant.com

History of New Year Resolutions

January gives us an opportunity to reflect on the previous year, and also plan for the year ahead. Many of us will make new year resolutions for specific goals or self-improvements. It is believed that the Babylonians were the first to start this tradition! They made promises to their gods that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. Later, the Romans would make promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. In the Medieval era, knights took the “peacock vow” to re- affirm their commitment to chivalry. We hope that improving your oral health will make your resolution list this year! Schedule your yearly check up and cleaning, commit to flossing, cut back on sugar, and kick your tobacco habits.

Dr. Sarah Keating Sangalang, Reflections Dental, www.reflectionsdentalhealth.ca

Physio Support for Breastfeeding

Physiotherapy can benefit many people for a variety of reasons, but did you know that it is also beneficial for breastfeeding mothers? If milk is not being removed effectively from the breast, it can cause a milk stasis which will result in a blocked milk duct. It will often cause a hard, tender lump that can include swelling. Risk factors for developing include improper baby positioning and latching, sore or damaged nipples, fatigue or stress, engorgement, compression from a tight garment, inadequate breast drainage, hurried or missed feeds and a pump with an ill-fitting breast shield. Physiotherapy treatment includes a combination of ultrasound, manual techniques, education, and heat. Mothers will be encouraged to bring their baby to the session and breastfeed immediately afterward. Treatment frequency is every day until symptoms resolve – usually 1-3 days.

Kristi Hunter MPT, BSc, Prairie Trail Physiotherapy, www.prairietrailphysio.ca

Goals Difficult to Achieve?

Many of us have goals we desire to achieve in health, relationships, and our career. What would you like to work on and improve in this new year? So often we struggle to actually accomplish our goals – we get part way and give up, or we have too many other things interfering with our efforts. In theory, desire + effort = achieving goals….. right? So why in reality is that so often very difficult to do? One very important thing I have learned is that any time we have a desire to achieve something but struggle to accomplish it, it means that we have hidden factors between our desires and accomplishing our goals. Many times these hidden factors are fear, doubt or beliefs based on past experiences. Success is so sweet and so much easier to achieve when you have cleared out these hidden factors that are making success difficult.

Shannon Russell, BodyMind Freedom Solutions, thedashmethod.com

What Is Your Mouth Telling You?

The state of your mouth can offer valuable insights into your dental, oral and overall health. Any bleeding when you brush your gums is a sign that you should see your dentist. Unhealthy gums can affect your overall health. Atherosclerosis, clogging of the arteries, has a strong link to gum disease. Pain on biting might mean a cracked tooth. Sugar sensitivity usually indicates a cavity. Tenderness to cold might just need a change of toothpaste. Tenderness to hot is likely to be more serious. The pulp of your tooth can become inflamed for many reasons. The only way to find out, for sure, what’s going on is to see your dentist. Bad breath can be caused by poor oral hygiene. A good electric toothbrush, flossing and scraping your tongue all help. Throat infections also cause bad breath. Don’t assume that problems will resolve by themselves. See a dentist at least once a year. Remember: “You don’t have to floss all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep!”

Dr. George Cadigan, Exclusively Dentures, www.exclusvielydentures.ca

Clean Eating: Gingerbread Coffee

2 Tbs Cinnamon, ground

1 Tbs Ginger, ground

1 Tbs Cloves, ground

1/2 Tbs Nutmeg, ground

1/8 tsp Salt

Instructions:

1. Add spices and salt to a jar and shake well.

2. Add about 1/2 teaspoon (or to taste) of the gingerbread mix to your regular or decaf coffee grounds before brewing.

This recipe is adapted from Kristine’s Kitchen. These spices are among the richest in wrinkle and disease-fighting antioxidants. Coffee cheers to that!

Lisa Kehler, www.offyourplatenutrition.ca

Dare NOT To Diet!

Make 2017 the year you jump off your plate and into your life! Dare not to diet. Make a radical shift from being “good” (dieting) to feeling good (living vibrantly)! It’s natural to want to have more energy and vitality! And want to move with ease and feel good in your body. But a diet won’t deliver. Not long term. Simple, enjoyable mindful eating, plus a shift from “have to be good” to “want to feel good,” CAN deliver a good thing! Here are a few shifts to consider for January 1: “I have to go on a diet, I feel gross” to “I have more energy and feel better in my body when I eat the foods I love with balance on my plate.” “I have to work out every day” to “I feel better, sleep better and move better when I’m active. I’m going to find an activity I enjoy.”

Lisa Kehler, www.offyourplatenutrition.ca