My Daily Wellness Tip

Mercola.com

If you are seeking more information on natural health, www.mercola.com is a great website to browse through.  They also have the world’s most popular natural health newsletter which you can sign-up to for free.

Here is an example of an article which you would find on the website.

6 Ways to Reduce Inflammation -- Without a Statin Drug

Experts predict that as a result of the so-called JUPITER study, which seemed to show that the statin drug Crestor lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes in those with high levels of inflammation, will lead to millions of people being put on statin drugs.

But the benefits were actually tiny -- about 0.72 percent of the statin takers in the trial had a heart attack or stroke, compared with 1.5 percent of those taking placebos.

Instead of a statin drug that comes with dangerous side effects, try these six measures instead:

1. Stop smoking. Smoking hardens the arteries and increase inflammation. But research shows you can reverse all the damaging effects to your arteries within 10 years of quitting.
2. Think olive oil, fish, and nuts. People who stick with a Mediterranean-style diet based on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and olive oil can lower their levels of inflammation. It works by increasing the amount of foods you eat that are rich in omega-3 fats, which fight inflammation.
3. Get active. Exercise a great way to lower inflammation without any of the side effects associated with medications.
4. Shrink your waist size. If you're a woman with a waist measurement of over 35 inches or a man with a waist of over 40 inches, you probably have high inflammation. Whittling a few inches off the waist by reducing your portions and increasing activity can go a long way toward solving that problem.
5. Get enough sleep. A new study shows that elderly people with high blood pressure who sleep less than 7.5 hours a night have dramatically elevated chances of having a stroke or heart attack. Other research has shown that both too little and too much sleep increases inflammation. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says most adults need between seven and eight hours of sleep each night.
6. Reduce stress. High levels of stress hormones can lead to the release of excess inflammatory chemicals.

Sources:

• U.S. News & World Report November 11, 2008

Click here to see Dr. Mercola's comments about this article.

Quinoa - try it out!

Quinoa is an alternative to wheat or other grains that is a much healthier taste and it is very good for you. It has a nutty flavor and cooks like rice. It has fibre, good fats and protein. It is gluten free as well.

Try cooking it in a chili, on the side instead of rice, in other dishes as well. See this website for some recipe ideas; http://www.quinoa-recipes.com/ 

Low fat makes you fat

Cold medicines not for kids: Health Canada

By Sharon Kirkey (Ottawa Citizen)

  

Photograph by: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Parents across the country are being warned not to give cough and cold medicines to children under six because of "limited evidence" they work and rare but real risks of potentially serious reactions.

Health Canada is ordering manufacturers to relabel over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to state "do not use in children under six," a move that will affect 722 products now authorized for sale in Canada.

Click here for the full article.

 

Codes on Your Fruit & Vegetables at the Grocery Store

 

You probably want to know how the foods you are consuming are grown, whether they are organic or not and nowadays as well if they are genetically modified or not.

To find out if your fruit or veggie is organic or genetically modified look at the little sticker on it that shows the 'PLU code';

The PLU code for a conventionally grown fruit consists of four numbers—i.e. 1022

The PLU code for an organically grown fruit is five numbers prefaced by the number 9—i.e. 91022

The PLU code for a genetically modified fruit is five numbers prefaced by the number 8—i.e. 81022

The Club You Don't Want to Join

5 out of 6 Canadians die from either cancer or heart disease. I call that the 5 out of 6 club. These are the leading causes of death in Canada, one of the most advanced nations in the world. What do these diseases have in common? Well, more and more scientists and medical researchers are telling us that they are both lifestyle-related. That is, they are preventable.

Recently, I heard of 3 people in their early 50’s and 60’s who died suddenly of heart attacks. Some people will say, “It was so out of the blue. He ate well, he exercised, he did everything he was supposed to do, and he still had a heart attack”. Well the thing about heart disease is that it doesn’t have symptoms most of the time. That’s why they call it the ‘silent killer’. I actually heard someone say, “Well what’s the point of exercising and eating right if I’m just going to die anyway?”

None of has any control over when our time will come to leave this earth. But we do have a lot of things within our control – we can control our lifestyle and we can be the best stewards of our bodies that we possibly can. Who’s to say that this guy wouldn’t have died of a heart attack in his forties instead of his fifties if he hadn’t been exercising or eating well?

The point is, do the things today that you know will lead you towards health. Do everything in your power to maximize function and healing in your body. At least then you know you did what you could to take care of yourself, and you’ll enjoy life a lot more in the process. I congratulate every one of you out there that is on the path to health and wellness – keep up the great work!