Community News
Book Club: Why Can’t I get Better?

Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease by Dr. Richard Horowitz. Looks at pain, fatigue, memory and concentration problems, sleep disorders, and much more. Lyme disease and its related conditions are incredibly complicated. You can take the questionnaire yourself, and start doing your own detective work with this book as your guide.

LymeDisease.org

Book Club: Whose Mind Is It Anyway?

Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life by Lisa Esile & Franco Esile. Most of us spend our lives trailing after our minds, allowing our brains to take us in directions that are safe and secure, controlled and conformed. Whose Mind Is It Anyway? will help you learn how to separate what you want from what your brain wants and how to do less when your mind is trying to trick you into doing more. In a colorful, funny, and nonthreatening way, it answers the difficult question of how we can take control of our self-defeating behaviors.

LisaEsile.com

Clean Eating: Veggie Burgers

Ingredients:

1 large red onion
1 large bell pepper
3 carrots
1 small head cauliflower
1 lg. stalk broccoli
1 C almonds, soaked 12-24 hours
1 C sunflower seeds, soaked 5-6 hours
1/4 C sesame seeds, soaked 5-6 hours
5 cloves garlic
2 T Braggs or to taste
1 t cumin
2 T dried Cilantro or 1-2 C fresh

Instructions:

Blend all of the above ingredients and seasonings in a champion juicer with solid plate, or a food processor. This blended food is your patty mixture. Form and put 1/2″ thick patties on a teflex sheet and place trays in dehydrator. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 8-12 hours or until desired texture is obtained. Flip your burgers after 4 hours and remove teflex sheets, continue to dehydrate for 4-5 hours or until desired moisture is obtained.

VeganRawFoodRestaurant.com

Natural Nutrition

One of the most crucial problems of modern civilization is malnutrition. Whether we consider malnutrition due to poverty and shortage of food as encountered in third world countries, or witness dietary abuse problems common to the rest of the world, we find enormous suffering caused by the way we feed ourselves. We are dying of malnutrition. It takes courage to face the fact that through ignorance and lack of interest in the needs of our own bodies, we are slowly bringing ourselves to the point of extinction. Fortunately, there is hope. Our modern society is awakening to a new and vital interest in nutrition. This curiosity is not aimed at the traditional dietetic and scientific field. Rather, it involves an emerging sphere of nutrition that encompasses not only the characteristics of food, but also explores the quality of the food source and holism of the consumer. This new area is called “natural nutrition.”

Danielle Perrault, R.H.N., Founding Director, Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, see full article at csnn.ca

Many Benefits of Eating Local

On Vancouver Island and across Canada, small farms are disappearing. This is happening despite the fact that small scale agriculture have an important advantage over large scale farming operations. By producing a diverse variety of crops, small farms create a home for many beneficial organisms, preventing the stress affecting insects that are caused by monocropping. With biodiversity and a strong microbial soil culture, pests are not a problem making the use of pesticides unnecessary. Today, over 90% of the food consumed on Vancouver Island is imported. This is a far cry from the 1950s when 85% of the food consumed here was grown here. By supporting local small scale agriculture and buying local, consumers can help establish stronger food security and a local economy for our communities. Buying local will help ensure an organic, sustainable food supply for many years to come and reduces our carbon footprint.

Brian Prince, Farmer, Prince Acres CSA
PrinceAcresCSA.com

Gambling and Balance

Have you ever wondered if your gambling habits are in balance with other areas of your life? Problem gambling can harm a person’s relationships, employment status, education, and finances. It can also affect one’s physical and mental health. Here are some questions you can answer to do a self-assessment. Do you feel annoyed by criticisms of your gambling?  Do you feel guilty about your gambling?  Do you borrow money to gamble?  Do you gamble more than you intend to?  Do you often gamble until all your money is gone?  Do you lie or hide evidence about your gambling? Do you gamble to pay debt or solve financial difficulties?  Do you feel anxious, hopeless, depressed or suicidal about your gambling? If you answer “Yes” to any of these questions, you may have a problem with gambling. You are not alone. Reach out for help. That’s what we’re here for!

Karen Hlady, Community Engagement & Prevention Service Provider, Gambling Awareness Program
BCResponsibleGambling.ca

Yoga is for Every Shape and Age

“I’m not flexible enough.” “I need more of a workout.” “Yoga is not for my body shape.” When it comes to reasons for not trying yoga, yoga studio owner Susan Pederson has heard them all. “The thing I hear most often is that people think they are the wrong body type for yoga.  This is based on pictures they’ve seen of young, skinny yogis doing backbends and standing on their heads. It’s intimidating.” The fact is, all body shapes at any age can benefit from yoga, whether it’s a chair yoga class for people who can’t get up and down from the floor; a class that focuses on breathing and stress relief, or a gentle class designed for beginners. Yoga studios will help people discover a yoga practice that feels right for them. “It’s just about showing up and trying your best. It’s that simple.”

Susan Pederson, Owner of Suga Yoga
SugaYogaParksville.com

Positive Travel Experience

Studies show that positive, well-managed vacations can make you happier, less stressed and that you will return to work re-energized with more meaning in your life. Using a travel agent is a great way to ensure a stress-free vacation. A travel agent will ensure that you have good flight connections, proper documentation, accommodations and arrive home in a timely fashion; relaxed and happy. “A local couple were on their dream trip cruising around South America.  On December 23rd, they left the ship and caught their flight to Nanaimo as planned. Their trip would have hit a serious roadblock had they not booked with a travel agent. Unbeknownst to them, their flight back from Chile had been cancelled two days earlier. Their travel agent was notified and she had them rebooked on another plane before their cruise ship docked. Had the couple not used a travel agent, they would not have made it home for Christmas that year.”

Lynn Alexander, CTW Oceanside Travel
www.Oceanside.Travel

Plants in your Home

Bringing plants into your home is a simple, beautiful and inexpensive way to transform your house into a healthy home base. Research suggests that the outdoors has a calming effect on the human body and brain, so introducing even just one small Peace Lily into your home can help you to breathe better, sleep better and live better.

Rita Callan, Realtor, Remax First Realty, Parksville/Qualicum
RitaCallan.ca

Meditation Made Easy

In our busy chaotic world, life seems to have an ever increasing hectic pace. You may be stressed from increased demands on your time and energy. This can leave you feeling frustrated, impatient and unhappy. Left unaddressed, over time it can wreck havoc with your health, your life and your joy. Meditation is a wonderful solution! It is often ignored, even ridiculed because many don’t understand it. Meditation is something that can be done anywhere, anytime. The key is learning a few basics and then building on them. Meditation can, in a matter of moments, support your transformation from hurried and disturbed to calm and understanding. There are many different styles and forms of Meditation. Explore what works for you to achieve inner peace and stillness. Want to experience more calm and a sense of inner control? You can start now by being aware of your breath’s movement.

Tammy Phye, R.A., EOT
LifestyleHarmony.ca

Orthotics & Summer Footwear

More and more people rely on custom foot orthotics to treat biomechanical issues related to the feet, whether it be plantar fasciitis, metatarsalgia, arthritic knees or low back pain, just to name a few. Now that summer has finally arrived, the question most orthotic wearers ask is what to do when it’s sandal weather. When orthotics are needed to correct altered foot mechanics it is important to wear them during all weight bearing activities.Fortunately many shoe manufacturers recognize the increasing need for sandals that accommodate custom orthotics. These sandals have removable foot beds that can be taken out to make room for your orthotics. If you recently purchased sandals but your orthotics don’t fit into them properly, very often a simple low-cost adjustment will solve the problem. Sandals don’t provide the same support as a closed-in shoe but can allow pleasant relief from the heat even for orthotic wearers.

Bryan Mitchell, B.D.
MitchellPandO.com