Two major health conditions that can affect women after menopause are osteoporosis and heart disease. To protect yourself against osteoporosis, take 1,200 mg of calcium per day, along with 800 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily if you are over 50 years old (be sure to talk to your doctor). Stay active, specifically with weight-bearing exercises, stop smoking, avoid caffeine, and eat a well-balanced diet. Smoking cessation, healthy eating, and exercise can all help to protect you against heart disease as well. Monitoring your blood pressure, reducing stress, and watching your weight are also important.
Community News
Book Club: The Art of Choosing You
The Art of Choosing You: Tools to Radically Shift Your Life argues that judgment is a trap, putting us on a hamster wheel as we repeatedly strive to meet inauthentic expectations rather than finding freedom and peace through a practice the author calls “living in allowance” of ourselves and others. Judging ourselves and others by external standards can feel empowering, as if we are sorting out the world and escaping whatever fails to measure up—whether we are looking at people, situations, or activities. But judgment can hold us hostage and leave us dissatisfied with life.
Words to Live By
There are greater things to be achieved in every New Year, and each and everyone must prepare themselves to be great, not by words of the mouth, but by a lot of sacrifices. – Michael Bassey Johnson
Help for Mask Anxiety
Face mask conversations seem to go one of two ways — a debate about why people should wear one or a debate about why they won’t wear one. But there is another stance that we might not be taking into consideration. For some people, the thought of wearing a mask can cause a great deal of stress or even panic. This is known as mask anxiety. Mask anxiety is a very real thing for people who have anxiety disorders, who suffer from trauma, or sensory processing. Simply wearing a mask is not as straightforward for everyone. If you could benefit from a mask-anxiety coaching session, please connect with me.
A Unique Holiday Gift
This holiday season, why not give the gift of wellness with the tasty combination of HEYRU Hibiscus Flowers and Monk Fruit Sweetener? HEYRU Hibiscus Flowers are ethically-sourced and cultivated in Nigeria, and when steeped in cold or hot water, make a highly nutritious, caffeine-free beverage. The high vitamin C and antioxidant content in the flowers help boost the immune system. HEYRU Monk Fruit Sweetener can be used to sweeten the hibiscus beverage without adding any calories, while providing antioxidants for reduced inflammation and improved heart health. Shop local this holiday season and give the perfect flavourful gift for everyone!
Using our Gifts to Better the World
‘Tis the season to give and receive, yet this holiday season will be like no other. Many are tired, overwhelmed, exhausted and anxious for this to end, while navigating a pandemic with many restrictions, limitations and emerging needs. How can we best use our own gifts and talents to serve and nurture our relationship with self, others, material things and our changing world instead of filling up with more “stuff”? We are being called to diligently examine and discern what is most important and in need of deep repair, healing, and loving while bringing in more ease, kindness, compassion and light moving forward into 2021.
Mental Health This Winter
Winter months can be difficult for those experiencing a mental health challenge or illness, especially during and following the holiday season. There are, however, a myriad of evidence-based ways to boost your physical and mental well-being. One important tool is vitamin D. Research clearly shows the benefits of this powerful vitamin for improving body and thereby brain health. Our bodies synthesize this nutrient through exposure to the sun. However, during reduced daylight months we are unable to get what we need from our solar source. If low mood persists, contact your healthcare provider or local CMHA for additional information and resources.
Product Review: Colflex® by Innotech™
ColFlex® Super Oregano Oil Spray is a great-tasting 4-in-1 oral spray containing essential oils of oregano, thyme, and spearmint oil in an extra virgin olive oil base, sweetened with stevia and fortified with vitamin D3. Spray orally to help relieve coughs, sore throat, travelling challenges, that “under the weather feeling” and for general oral hygiene and fresher breath. Lab tests show that ColFlex inhibited the growth of bacteria such as S. aureus and S. pneumonia after 27 minutes and inhibited the growth of E. coli and S. typhi after 9 minutes. Ask for Colflex® at your local Health Food Store.
Helping Alleviate Depression with Nutrition
One of the most overlooked aspects of mental health is nutrition. Food plays a significant role in our physical health, as well as our mental and emotional health. Implementing a few small changes in your diet can have a positive effect on your daily life. Try foods that are rich in Omega-3 fats such as fish, nuts and seeds. Beans help regulate and stabilize blood sugar levels. Chicken and poultry are loaded with tryptophan, a mood booster. Vegetables contain folate, fiber, and other nutrients to stabilize and elevate your mood. Probiotics contribute to gut health, which regulates emotional health.
Ice or Heat?
One of the most frequently asked questions of physiotherapists is: ice or heat?
Ice is for injuries — calming down damaged superficial tissues that are red, hot, and swollen. The inflammatory process is a healthy, normal, natural one that, unfortunately, also happens to be incredibly painful. Be careful not to ice too long, as frostbite can occur.
Heat is for muscles, chronic pain, and stress — taking the edge off of symptoms like muscle aching and stiffness.
Generally speaking, ice is for fresh injuries, and heat is for stiff, aching muscles. But it’s best to seek advice from your physiotherapist as to which is best for your condition.
Smart in Everything but Reading
When you have a bright child who doesn’t achieve to his or her potential we often affectionately call them underachievers, because we know they are capable of achieving so much more. Over the years, I have found that bright underachievers often have vision problems which make reading difficult. It may surprise you to learn that many of the children who have vision problems interfering with learning actually have 20/20 eyesight (with or without glasses). A Developmental Vision Evaluation is needed to determine if a vision problem is interfering with reading.
