Spring is in the air! Wouldn’t it be great if you could smell it? Studies show that smokers lose some of their ability to smell. That can make life a lot less pleasurable. If you lose your sense of smell, you can’t appreciate the scent of spring flowers or freshly mowed lawn. Eating becomes a lot less rewarding too, since aroma contributes a great deal to the flavor of food. Life could even become more dangerous, since you may be less able to detect the odor of a gas leak or a house fire. There is some good news, however: Quit smoking and your sense of smell quickly returns.
Community News
Tick and Heartworm Season is Here
There are several kinds of ticks crawling around Manitoba, including the Deer Tick which is responsible for transmitting Lyme Disease. Symptoms of Lyme Disease include fever, sore joints, lethargy, and a loss of appetite. Ticks tend to latch on in areas with less fur such as ears, eyes, groin, underbelly and paw pads. Make sure you are performing thorough full body checks for ticks on a regular basis. Heartworm is transmitted by infected mosquitos. Symptoms may include mild persistent cough, reluctance to exercise, fatigue, and weight loss. Consult your veterinarian for the best preventative measures and medications for your pets.
Patient Means Being a Partner
Patient safety is everyone’s responsibility, including patients themselves! Getting involved improves your care. This is why MIPS offers free patient safety presentations to the public, providing information, resources, and tools that people can use to learn how to: 1) engage with their healthcare team 2) ask questions 3) be informed 4) take part in decision-making, and 5) advocate for themselves & others. If you are looking for valuable education for your community group or organization, and are interested in booking a virtual presentation, visit MIPS.ca/presentations.html for more details.
Reducing Cognitive Decline
Untreated hearing loss may result in long term consequences to healthy brain functioning. Past studies of shown that treated hearing loss by wearing hearing aids reduces the risk of cognitive decline associated with hearing loss. Dr. Frank Lin from Johns Hopkins University recommends treating hearing loss before “brain structural changes take place.” He states, “if you want to address hearing loss well, do it sooner rather than later.” If you haven’t had your hearing checked there is no better time than now.
Inhaling vs. Consuming Cannabis
When cannabis is inhaled the effects are felt quickly, peaking within 30 minutes, lasting up to 6 hours. Inhaled cannabis has a different metabolic process than when you ingest it. Ingested cannabis must first travel to your stomach then to your liver before getting into your bloodstream and brain. When eaten, the same amount of cannabis will deliver more potent effects than when inhaled. When you eat or drink cannabis, you will feel its effects within 2 hours, with full effects peaking within 4 hours and lasting up to 24 hours. Edibles have enhanced bioavailability and greater potency in comparison to inhaled cannabis.
Becoming the Creator of Your Life
Why not create beauty in the face of adversity and uncertainty? See raw vulnerability as the courage to be fully acknowledged and understood. Allow yourself the permission to listen to your body’s wisdom and hear what it yearns to share. How can I allow my heart to open wider, create more space and release all that is no longer required? Each moment you are presented with the choice to fully show up, be brave and courageously walk through the threshold of fear, pain, and uncomfortable situations. Or we can choose to run, hide, and lock the doors, freezing into our pain and power. I will hold space and deep prayer as you choose your vital life force!
It’s All About Energy
Whether it’s working, playing, eating or sleeping, our bodies need energy and problems occur when you’re not producing enough. Our bodies need energy to transport the nutrients we digest, to allow our immune system to fight infection, and for our cells to repair and rebuild. Muscles, such as the heart, need lots of energy to function properly. If energy supplies to the brain are low, brain fog, confusion or apathy can result. One of the best ways to make sure that your body is producing enough energy to function optimally is with nutritional testing. It will determine if any of your energy producing organs are nutrient deficient and therefore unable to produce the necessary energy for you to thrive.
Tropical Banana Smoothie
We can’t travel to the tropics, but we can bring the tropics to us! Enjoy this delicious and healthy fruit smoothie. INGREDIENTS: 1 cup CO-OP GOLD Tropical Banana Blend Strawberries, ½ cup Strawberry Liberté Kefir, 1 ½ cups Vanilla Silk Oat Beverage, 3 tbsp CO-OP GOLD PURE Hemp Seeds, 2 tbsp chia seeds, 2 tbsp oats, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp lime juice, 3-5 ice cubes. DIRECTIONS: Place all ingredients into a blender. Run on high speed for one minute or until smooth.
Spring Cleaning for Your Body
Whether March comes in like a lion or lamb, it signifies the coming of Spring, an optimum season of transition to consider receiving a hands-on session of Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT). Closely linked with our immune system, lymphatic flow seeks and carries away pathogens, toxins, and metabolic waste, enhancing our overall health and well-being. A sort of “Spring Cleaning” for our body. Lymph Drainage Therapy sessions support a calmer nervous system as well, so helpful for stress reduction. Other benefits include relief from digestive problems, hormonal imbalances, and skin conditions.
Benefits of a Ketogenic Diet
Many people are interested in reaping the benefits of a keto diet, whether for weight loss or other health goals. Some of the benefits you may see from following a keto diet include: 1. Reducing appetite – can help with weight loss. 2. Reducing harmful abdominal fat – can decrease the risk of conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. 3. Increasing levels of good cholesterol – can lower the risk of heart disease. 4. Lowering blood pressure – can help prevent heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. 5. Treating brain disorders – burning brain ketones can help treat epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.
Acupuncture Treats Dizziness & Vertigo
Studies reveal that acupuncture stimulation may induce an immediate effect to treat dizziness and vertigo. When experiencing dizziness or vertigo, you may feel like the world around you is spinning, that you are unbalanced, or that there is movement within your head. From the Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, problems with dizziness and vertigo often involve phlegm, deficiency, wind or fire. TCM follows a holistic approach to treating dizziness. We consider the overall health of the body and whether there is an imbalance in the qi, the body’s life force. This approach addresses the root cause of our dizziness and provides long-lasting symptom relief.
