Interested in gaining a little advantage over all those nasty viruses this cold and flu season? Here’s a great way to bolster your defenses: with food! Bring this list to the grocery store and fill your shopping cart with immune-boosting yummies.
These were the words of Rona Maynard, former editor of Chatelaine magazine, in her keynote address to the audience at Breathe Now. And for me, that became the unofficial theme of the weekend-long conference for women.
Breathe Now, organized by four fabulous women (pictured above), happened this past weekend in Victoria, BC, and I had the good fortune, and privilege, of attending.
When I was a kid, my mother refused to allow me or my sisters to chew gum. This was an incredible injustice in my eyes. Chewing gum was cool! But she stayed firm: she couldn't stand seeing little girls chomping away on gum. To her, it looked cheap, stupid, and classless. Now, as an adult? I have to admit...she was right about that. Chewing gum is probably not your best way to appear intelligent and grown-up.
Psst. Interested in hearing about a secret easy thing that you can do to reduce your risk of cancer?
Most of the health advice for preventing cancer is pretty familiar territory: exercise, quit smoking, lose weight, eat more fiber, etc. These recommendations are well known and very worthwhile, but not exactly easy.
If you’re a mom, you’ve got stress. I know. It’s a stressful season of life. But...does that mean there’s nothing you can do about it? Do you just lie there and take it?
Heck, no.
Many patients tell me they’re stressed. When I ask them what they’re doing to cope, people often shrug. Or look at me blankly. What can I do? they ask, rhetorically. I’m juggling so many things, my days are a crammed mess...but there’s nothing I can do about it.
Fact is, kids typically catch 6-10 colds per year. And while they may not share every virus with you, there's a good chance you'll partake in some of those sniffles.
But don’t despair—if you’ve picked up a cold or the flu, there are lots of things you can do (and lots you can do to help those sneezing kids of yours, too).
Who doesn’t like the idea of a nice, long, healthy life?
To that end, I scoured the research recently and plucked out a few lifestyle changes that have been shown to boost longevity. And some of them, you’ll be happy to hear, are pretty easy to take on.
Staying healthy as a mom is so important. We all know this, yes? It’s about strapping on our own oxygen masks first, right? Okay…but how many of us really do this? And how many of us, in fact, put ourselves dead last?
And what's the healthy habit we neglect the most? Exercise. What’s the most commonly cited reason? Say it with me: not enough time.
And I so get that. I feel the crush of time poverty. Every. Freaking. Day.
I was recently asked by fellow YMC blogger, Sharon DeVellis, if I could explain why that annoying eyelid twitchy thing happens. And then I was suddenly flooded by a bunch of people on Twitter enthusiastically reporting : Yes, we get the same thing!...And what the heck is that anyway?
It’s cold and flu season. Feeling a little under siege? When everyone around you is coughing and sneezing, do you feel the urge to hide inside with your family and pull up the drawbridge?
Well, there are better ways to stay healthy through the winter and into spring.
Feeling a little sluggish? Thinking: a siesta would really hit the spot right now?
Sorry, Mummy. Not an option.
Having a down day might be possible for some people, but not moms. The needs of our little ones don’t go away just because we’re not feeling up to it. There’s no phoning it in on this job.
Erica Ehm experienced a health scare recently. She had a stress test done and was shocked to discover that her heart wasn’t exactly in tip-top shape. It came as a major wake-up call: time to start taking better care of herself.
And let’s face it, ladies, if that sort of thing can happen to Erica, it can happen to any of us.
Ghrelin is a hormone you may not have heard of, but you really should get to know. And take charge of the little bugger. That’s because ghrelin is your hunger hormone.
Ghrelin was discovered by researchers in Japan about 10 years ago—it was originally identified as a growth hormone. Only later did its role in stimulating appetite become understood.
Personally, I am a big fan of sleep. I haven't been getting as much of it, lately, as I'd like (my 18-month-old only recently started sleeping through the night)...and, frankly, it sucks.
Stressed? Anxious? Depressed? These are big problems, often with complicated solutions that involve a lot of lifestyle change. Which can be daunting, and tends to make a person feel rather...um, stressed.
Well, here's at least one easy thing you can do.
Get some magnesium into your system, girl.
It sounds too easy to be true, but surprisingly, this may be a remedy for a lot of what ails our modern lives.
Coffee has long been one of my favourite indulgences. Actually, let's be honest. I can't get through my day without visiting Starbucks. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say: I'm not alone in this. Even so...my sipping usually comes with a teeny bit of guilt.
Reasonable? Turns out, probably not. In fact, it looks like I just might be doing myself some good with my daily java.
Most of us would be happy to bid farewell to that pesky muffin top. But who likes the idea of “dieting”? Not me, that’s for sure. Still, truth be told, if we want to get slimmer, we have to knuckle down—somehow—and cut our intake. But here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be painful.
Turns out there are some very sneaky ways to curb your consumption, and you will hardly even feel the pain. Here’s a roundup of some ideas:
