Busting Some Big Fat Myths
Most clients I work with have an uneasy relationship with fat. It’s no wonder. In my 23 years of nutrition experience, I’ve seen the pendulum swing from one extreme to the other regarding fat. I was in University training to become a dietitian during the fat-phobic years. Back when everyone ”knew” that fat was bad for you. To be healthy, you needed to eat a low-fat diet. Pasta and bagels were the king and queen. Practically every parent fed their babies yams and rice cereal as their first foods. Contrast that to the present where my social media streams are full of avocado recipes...
Read MoreThe Word Cancer Creates Fear
So much had happened in a short time and I want others to understand why it’s important to have a mammogram. I knew I was going to be okay but the word “cancer” instigates fear. Everyone is different in processing their thoughts and I have an emotional personality so I knew I had to have courage and discover a better me after cancer. A couple of weeks before my diagnosis, I was watching “The Doctors” talk about the importance of having a mammogram, no matter how old they are. In the back of my mind I remembered thinking. “It’s been awhile, so maybe I should go for one....
Read MoreB.C. to cover cost of abortion pill
Starting Jan. 15, B.C. will join five other Canadian provinces in offering the pregnancy termination drug Mifegymiso for free. According to a B.C. health ministry press release, universal, no-cost coverage for the drug, which is also known as RU-486, will be available to patients with a valid prescription at pharmacies around the province. Mifegymiso is an alternative to surgical abortion and can be used to terminate early-stage pregnancies of up to nine weeks. “It’s the gold standard in terms of health care for women,” said Dawn Fowler, executive director of the...
Read MoreCreating Christmas Spirit
Christmas … portrayed in folklore, the media and commercial hype as a time of peace, happiness and goodwill. Unfortunately, the reality is that for many people, the reverse is true; it is a time of loneliness, grief and regret. The suicide rate increases over the Christmas holiday period. Why should this be so? For some, this will be the first Christmas they will be without a spouse, a child or a loved one. For others, it triggers memories of Christmas past. For me, December 23rd brings back the pain of my father dying when I was 15 years old. The unrelenting commercial pressure at this...
Read MoreAttention-Deficit Disorder.
– the new flavor of the month diagnosis or is it one that has gone unrecognized and misdiagnosed for years? Have you ever wondered why you, your loved ones or associates seem to march to a different drum? Are not just another sheep in the fold but were/are considered a rather unique individual? Why, despite being average or above average intelligence, you or your loved one are underachievers? Or regardless best intentions, anxiety kept you or yours on the peripheral? Why emotions seem to be more intense at times and detachment seemed easier at other times? Why you more reactive than...
Read MoreSacredness Of Giving & Receiving
It is at this time of year that many heated discussions arise on the touchy subject of gift giving, gift receiving and the materialism of the season. Have you had these conversations? Which side are you on – the side which says gifts can be a fun and meaningful way of expressing your friendship, love or appreciation for someone, or the side which sees only the commercialism and materialism in giving and receiving gifts at this time of year? This is a subject dear and close to my heart, mainly because I love giving gifts. And truth be told, I love receiving them as well. I grew up in a...
Read MoreBe Santa to a Senior in Victoria
This is the time of year when many of us are busy attending holiday parties. But not everyone is so fortunate. Many of our elderly find December a lonely, isolating month. That’s why becoming Santa for a Senior can make a huge difference. Nancy Hum was looking over a small Christmas tree at Heart Pharmacy IDA Shelbourne earlier this week. The tree was decorated with paper ornaments, on which are written the name of a senior and a gift they are hoping to receive for Christmas. Hum then spied an ornament which lists “socks and slippers” and removed it from the tree. That means...
Read MoreA question from mother
Why do I still need to eat healthy? When you have an elderly parent, encouraging healthy eating may seem a bit condescending. After all, she is over 85 years old, and must have been doing something right all this time? Why shouldn’t she just eat what she wants, or skip a meal when not feeling hungry? In fact, elderly seniors need more nutrients at a time that they need less calories. So, every bite counts. Proteins are important to maintain lean muscles to keep your strength, balance, and ability to walk. Losing lean muscle mass increases risk for a fall. The current recommendation for...
Read MoreAnimals cannot say what hurts
One of my visions is that every zoo would have a Reconnective Healing® practitioner employed. Somebody who gives perhaps every three months a session before something serious shows up. Animals cannot say when they do not feel right, have a headache, pain in the chest or the back. A lot of suffering could be prevented … and also the stress of being in captivity could be reduced and they animals would be happier. The sessions I gave at the SPCA showed me that animals respond much faster to the Reconnective Healing® frequencies. It is a very different healing modality than all the energy...
Read MoreThe Magic of Gabriola
Roger Christie’s cat loves her Gabriola home – O, yes she does. And, many a story circulates the neighbourhood. Her prow, and her complete abandon to anything but pure, unadulterated relaxation. I interviewed Roger Christie, or to be more accurate, Roger gave me his preamble not knowing I would ask for the opportunity as it presented itself. With Roger’s permission, I offer the love of living on Gabriola, humans and animals, pets and the odd pest. It is why a smattering of about 4,500 persons have chosen Gabriola as their home. Most have arrived from places far the...
Read MoreMammograms Are Not Foolproof
The issues surrounding the misdiagnosis of women who have dense breasts when they have mammograms are alarming. The false sense of security most women have is tragic and life threatening because they are not informed of the fact that they have dense breast tissue by various organisations that control mammograms. Women in B.C. have a right to know the implications and vagaries in the way our mammograms are read and interpreted, they are playing with our lives. Delayed diagnosis can kill. To bring this problem into to focus for Island women, the article below is written by an Island woman who...
Read MoreAging.
Aging is one of the most thought about topics in the world. Every nation has proud centurions, usually quite willing to give their own personal hints on how they managed to live so long. Whisky and cigars have even been credited on occasion. That they survived at all has got to be a fluke of nature, still we sometimes see them on TV, wrinkled-up, but still smoking. These are the exceptional. Most of us go into a slow decline, fighting all the way with exercise, meds. and diet, trying to last as long as possible, hoping desperately our brain cells will hold up. Asking a little...
Read MoreThe countdown to Christmas is here!
Some of us count down in days, others in weeks, and those with big shopping lists – in pay periods! One of the most fun ways to countdown to Christmas is with an advent calendar. I decided to add a new twist to an old tradition. In this article, I will show you how to make beautiful ‘advent’ boxes. These boxes also make perfect gift boxes for those ‘great things that come in small packages’ or, fill with chocolates for a wonderful hostess gift. In our home, we number these boxes and hang them on a garland, but feel free to hang them right in your tree or anywhere else that needs a...
Read MoreImportant Mortgage Changes.
Purchase or refinance now before rules change in January If you’re looking to buy and will have more than 20 percent down, or if you are considering refinancing, then you might want to do so before January 1, 2018. Why? On October 17, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released new guidelines for residential mortgage underwriting at all federally regulated financial institutions. Beginning January 1, 2018, a new ‘stress test’ will be applied to all new conventional mortgages – and not just those mortgages that require mortgage insurance...
Read MoreAn Emotional Video With a Twist
Roy went to a Seniors Health Show in Nanaimo last week and was very enthusiastic about a project he had come across there. It involved a chair that a man, Jon Pimlott, had designed to enable a lady with mobility issues to access the beach in Parksville. The next day Roy had created an article to be posted on Seniors 101’s “Island Voices” page. The article included photos and a video. When I watched the video I was reduced to tears. To watch the sheer joy experience by this lady as she felt the sand beneath her toes was so emotional but this paled for me when I realised that...
Read MorePreserving the Harvest
There’s a resurgence in preserving foods right now and there are many ways of doing this. It ranges from basic storage for winter squash and root crops such as onions and potatoes, to freezing, canning, dehydrating, pickling and fermenting. I often take an ingredient and put it by using several techniques; for example I dehydrate plums for compotes and snacking, and make plum jam, as well as freezing them for winter desserts. The freezer presents the least time consuming method of food preservation. Food rotation is important, because the maximum storage time for quality frozen fruit...
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