As February rolls around, I am starting to have many a conversation about the varying success rates of New Year’s resolutions.  One story I found most interesting starts out in the usual way- individual signs up for trial membership at a gym; individual attends a free consultation with a personal trainer.  In the midst of this consultation there is a discussion about goals and needs of the individual and a proposal is made indicating a workout plan and price point at which it can be achieved.

The interesting part for me is that the individual’s availability, financial position and starting goals were not really taken into consideration, resulting in the individual being set up for failure before they even got started.

Please remember as you enter into whatever activity you have chosen to achieve your New Year’s resolution that the key part is being active.   Start with goals that fit your lifestyle and seek a coach/instructor/trainer that keeps you passionate about your activity so you will keep going.

Michelle Kudelka, RMT

p.s. Consider the S.M.A.R.T. criteria for successful goal setting!

Summer seems finally here to stay! And you can tell people are happier for it. This is a good time of year. And yet, we often gloss over the irritations of the season until confronted with them once more. Two of the biggest of these are sunburns and bug bites.

The Canadian Cancer Society just released a report stating that melanoma rates continue to rise, in part due to sunscreen fatigue — people not applying any, enough or frequently despite extensive sun exposure. And bug bites are at best annoying, but at worst can lead to severe allergic reactions or disease transmission like Lyme Disease.

For many, choosing sunscreens and bug spray can be exercises in frustration. Trying to find something that isn’t toxic but actually effective is easier said than done. Thanks to the Environmental Working Group‘s annual Sunscreen Guide for making that issue a little easier to navigate. As far as bug spray goes, that’s a little trickier. The always interesting and informative Adria Vasil, author of Ecoholic, covers this issue here on her blog.

If you’re interested in more preparation for summer, consider attending one of our Naturopathic First AId for Summertime workshops run by Kura’s Janet Hibbs, ND next week. See here for more details.

Alexandra Verge, ND

Holiday seasons like Easter can be a real challenge if you’re new to a healthier way of eating and trying to avoid things like additives, allergens or lots of refined sugars. It can feel like you have to miss out on what might be life long family traditions.

As the mother of a child with life threatening allergies, I know that most chocolate bars and store-bought cookies are not an option. It has become our family’s mission over the years to find alternative holiday treats that are fun or yummy, but, most importantly, safe.

Here is a list of things that can be thrown into an Easter basket for naturopathic kids to enjoy! Check it out…

Outside spring toys like skipping ropes, sidewalk chalk, soap bubbles, balls, mini sticks, and Frisbees.

Craft materials like markers, construction paper, scissors, glue, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, melt beads, and, of course, rainbow loom!

Healthier snacks such as sugar free fruit leather, licorice and mint Yogi tea bags, Ener-C packets, raisin boxes, packs of xylitol sweetened gum and honey sticks.

Homemade goods using cookbooks like the reliable Nourishing Meals which has these great stevia sweetened “sugar” cookies decorated for Easter. Or try these oatmeal cut-out cookies which I have made for almost every holiday or season, just by changing cookie cutters. They are so nutritious and delicious, I don’t care if my kids eat the whole batch in one night!

Allergen-free treats for when you want a traditional, but safe, treat. Peanut Free Planet is a great online store with a wide variety of allergen free options.Divvies‘ popular high calibre solid chocolate bunny is peanut, tree-nut, milk, egg and gluten-free and available at Whole Foods Stores. And Gimbal’s Fine Candies have jelly beans that are free of gluten and the top 8 allergens. These are commonly available at Shopper’s Drug Mart and Walmart.

Lastly, have fun thinking of things to put inside hollow Easter Eggs for an Easter Egg Hunt. Although we have tried almonds, raisins, cheerios, marbles and lego, MONEY (pennies, nickels and dimes) has been the kids favourite of all!

Have a healthy and safe Easter!

Paulina Zettel, ND

I’ve always loved sauerkraut although it wasn’t a family staple growing up. I have memories of being fascinated by the enormous and mysterious kraut crock our neighbours had in their basement. And as an adult, I was thrilled to discover kimchi, which is both like and totally unlike my beloved sauerkraut.

Learning that these lacto-fermented foods had health benefits was a bonus. But I decided I too should make my own versions, both improving my digestive health and connecting with long standing preserving traditions. And since I’m recommending them more often in my practice, it only makes sense I should have a greater comfort with making my own.

But it turns out I’m not that good at it. Too much book learning, not enough hands on confidence perhaps. Either way, I recently came to two conclusions. First, I needed some in-person help. Check! This past weekend, I attended Little City Farm’s Saeurkraut and Kimchi workshop and it was great. Second, get my hands on some fermenting “airlocks” for my mason jars. There is much debate in the lacto-fermenting world whether these are necessary or not, but I came to realize that *I* felt better with the idea of using them, so they became necessary for me. And with that, my order was placed and airlocks on their way.

Interested? There are many lacto-fermenting resources out there — library, bookstore and internet. And so many good reasons to start exploring these foods. Both Little City Farm and Minga Skill Building Hub run workshops periodically, but do what I found so difficult, and jump right in! Then let me know how it goes. 🙂

Alex Verge, ND

Last week in JAMA Internal Medicine, a study (summarized here by the Globe and Mail) came out linking a high intake of “added” sugar (over 25% of total daily calories) to a *tripled* risk of heart disease in Americans. This is huge!

Added sugar is defined as all sugar, corn syrup, honey and maple syrup added to foods. It does not included naturally occurring sugar.

For the most part, we health care professionals hold to the idea that moderation is key. But maybe we need to rethink this with sugar. It is thought that up to 72% of adults eat enough sugar (between 10-25% of their calories) to increase their cardiovascular risk by 30%.

If you add that to the 10% of adults eating over that 25% line, a whopping 82% of American adults are significantly increasing their risk of dying from heart disease just by eating too much sugar. And I don’t think Canadians are that different.

Curbing a sweet tooth can be an incredible challenge for many. But here is yet another reason (maybe the best one yet) to work on it.

Alex Verge, ND

p.s. I apologize for posting this close to Valentine’s Day!!

I’ll admit it, I love the library. Mostly because I Iove books. But this week I found another reason to go.

J.O.E.

J.O.E. is Jobs. Opportunity. Employment. J.O.E. is families and community members focused on creating local, meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with special needs in Guelph. J.O.E. is great.

The J.O.E. team started selling Planet Bean coffee this summer at the Exhibition Park based Farmer’s Market. More recently, they’ve been selling the coffee in the Main Public Library downtown.

Check J.O.E. out and enjoy some delicious locally roasted joe to boot.

Alexandra Verge, ND

My sister introduced me to this great book just before Christmas. As someone who both enjoys and encourages generous fruit and vegetable intake, I was thrilled to learn more about how best to choose and prepare these foods.

In “Eating on the Wild Side”, health writer/food activist Jo Robinson explains which versions are most nutritious and how to make them even more so.

I have two favourite tips so far. The first involves letting your garlic sit for 10 minutes after chopping before cooking with it. The second is to choose smaller onions (or better yet, replace some of the onions in your recipe with shallots – the powerhouse of the onion world!).

This book is available at the Guelph Public Library and I bought my copy at the Bookshelf.

Alexandra Verge, ND