The Truth About Supplements

Every so often, the media starts a new round of nay-saying about vitamins. “Spend your money on food instead”, says a Feb 2006 article in Consumer Reports. “Supplements can actually cause harm”, says a November 2007 article in Reader’s Digest. They’re taking a healthy practice out of context to sell magazines.

Living With Cancer

We’re all going to die sometime, of something. That’s just realistic. And yet, a diagnosis of cancer is almost universally associated with fear. Fear is contagious and stressful, and it can trick you into relinquishing ultimate control of your health care. The next thing you know, you’re caught in a machine built on the premise that “all that alternative stuff” is fine to “play” with when you’re basically healthy, but when you’ve got cancer, brother, it’s time to “get serious.” What gets chewed up first in that machine is your quality of life, and that’s what scares people most about cancer. Not the prospect of death. It’s the pain, debility, and indignity of cancer and its treatment.

A CARP Framework for a Discussion on Natural Health Products

The health of Canadians as we age has been, and continues to be, an engaging and often heated topic for discussion. If our bodies are designed to live for 100 years or more (some say 130 years!), why is this not the case for the majority of people in North America? Why with all our medical advances are we seeing dramatic increases in chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease? Has the effectiveness of the current medical industrial complex plateaued, leaving us with ongoing infrastructure, medical procedure and prescription drug costs we will soon not be able to afford? Is there an alternative?

The Ins and Outs of Healthy Hydration

During the summer months many Canadians enjoy hours of outdoor activities or simply sitting in a sunny spot to catch a few rays.  Squeezing every bit of fun out of the hot summer weather without maintaining proper hydration can leave you rung out and dry! Hot and humid temperatures, vigorous outdoor activities and insufficient fluid intake can lead to fatigue, poor mental focus, slowed metabolic rate and increased toxicity in the body.

Suncreen, Unveiled!

It is a message that has become louder and louder over the years – put sunscreen on before spending time outdoors. Protect yourself from those harmful ultraviolet rays that can turn you tomato red, leave skin burning, blistered and looking weathered beyond your years. But reasons for sun protection are more than just skin deep.  With an estimated 75,500 cases of non-melamona skin cancers (the most common forms of skin cancer) to be diagnosed in Canada this year, sun protection is serious business.