A sedentary lifestyle has recently been coined the new smoking.
Can you imagine! The negative effects of sitting for a living are now rivalling the known health dangers of regularly inhaling deadly poisons! Wow. Let’s do something about it!
Yes, many of us have jobs that require us to sit long hours at a computer, driving, sitting in meetings, sitting at our desk, or sitting on the subway or train.
Let’s take a few minutes every hour or two, to move, stretch, and get our blood flowing. It will not only help your body feel better, but your mind will also reap the benefits of added oxygen flow and feel the joy of movement and stretching!
It is important to be mindful of your posture while at your desk or sitting in various positions. Try to sit up as straight as possible, and don’t lean in toward your computer.
If you are straining to see your monitor, make the font larger or reposition it, as the very last thing to want to be doing is tilting your neck forward to see your screen.
Over time, this can cause your neck to begin to curve forward and create a ‘forward head posture’. This is incredibly problematic for your body because your brain must be able to send all of the information your body needs to be able to function through your central nervous system. If your bones in your neck have shifted forward out of alignment from straining to see your screen, it puts an immense amount of pressure on your nervous system (which is encased by your spinal bones) and makes it very difficult for the information to get to all of the places it must reach to have your body function and heal at 100%.
Focus on stretching your neck and back muscles, arms, shoulders and legs when you take a few moments regularly to move that body! Get your coworkers involved, as they are in the same position as you – hunched over your screen for hours on end!
Stretch your arms and shoulders.Can you do this? Can you balance a book on your head and continue working? This will help to train you to sit up straight and correct your posture.Stretch! Move your arms, reach for the ceiling and feel your blood circulating.Arch your back and stretch your arms up, reach your neck back and up and hold for 10 seconds.Stretch your arms and use your chair to rest on, extend your legs and feel a stretch.Stretch your arms out and forward, and let your arms reach back to stretch your shoulders and expand your chest with your breath.Move your body side to side and let your spine move freely and stretch.Stretch your legs and hamstrings with the support of your desk and feel the blood reach down to your toes.Take a moment to centre your thoughts with a mini meditation over lunch. Focus on your breath and bring your thoughts back to your breath when they flit about to other ideas.Stretch your arms and wrists regularly throughout the day and remember to smile often!
Jo-Anne Richardson has almost a decade of experience managing a chiropractic office and educating patients on how chiropractic can allow your body to express optimal health. She is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and holds a Degree in Communications. She loves to experiment with raw vegan recipes, loves to salsa dance, travel and learn new holistic health information to share tips with everyone who visits the office.
Today’s society has taught us the foundational habits that put us on the fast-track to obesity, chronic illness, disease and a shortened lifespan. One of the most dangerous habits practiced by nearly everyone you know and very likely you too, is poor nutrition. Ouch! But it’s true… Read on!
Our culture has fostered in each of us eating habits that has made us a society of heavy carb-consumers, carb-burners, carb-cravers and fat storers! And it’s these habits that have set the stage for many of the devastating plagues of the day – namely diabetes, heart disease, cancer and as a result, a shorter life.
So what does this have to do with burning fat and becoming a fat burning machine?
Everything! Yes, how we eat has literally programmed our bodies to crave fast fuel carbohydrates as our predominant fuel source and subsequently for many, to store fat on our bodies at an alarming rate.And we hate it because it makes us look and feel crappy. Possibly the most upsetting reality is that many of the‘experts’ have literally taught us it’s the right way to eat to be healthy.Well, not if you look at the science. In fact, research has shown countries who consume the highest percentage of fat, particularly saturated fat have been shown to have the lowest risk of heart disease! It’s the exact opposite of what we’ve been taught.
Truth be told, it’s very simple — you burn what you eat. If you keep eating sugar (carbohydrate)you’re going to burn sugar and sadly you’ll store the excess as – you guessed it! FAT!But if you consume more fat, much more fat – particularly healthy fats, you’re going to teach your body to preferentially burn fat as it’s primary fuel. And it’s not just the fat you ate at dinner, but also that unwanted body fat will start to burn away too. If there was a secret to this then that’s it. If you want to burn fat, you have to eat fat. Eating fat does not make you fat, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Eating fat makes you an efficient fat burner. It can actually make you leaner. Not only that, healthy fats are crucial for many body processes not the least of which is your brain function. In fact, your brain cannot function properly without fat.
All the while, many nutrition ‘experts’ still tell us to eat a low fat diet to stay lean and avoid cardiovascular disease and outright heart attacks. Unfortunately the science just doesn’t support that. Not only that, but observation and experience doesn’t support that either. After decades of avoiding fat we’re more overweight, even obese than ever before in history and cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer with the incidence going up, not down. What we’re doing is not working.
The next logical question would then be, ‘What kind of healthy fats should I be eating?’
Some of the best sources of healthy fat are avocados and avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil (but olive oil not heated to boil or smoke point), butter from grass fed (pastured) cows, MCT oil and organic pastured egg yolks are a great place to start. Healthy omega 3 fat sources (that are essential for optimal brain health) would be flax seeds and flax seed oil, and fish oils, particularly sardines, anchovies, salmon or krill oil. Fats to avoid would be the trans fats in margarine, vegetable shortening, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Avoid these like the plague. Run, hide and be very afraid! They’re dangerous to your health. If you’re going to be consuming more fat, eating the right kind of right fat is key.
So now we know which fats to choose, the next question is how much fat do we need.
Although the simple answer is more, the latest science recommends that healthy fats should comprise anywhere from 50 to 85 percent of your overall energy intake. That is easily 2-4 times what that we’ve been told to eat!So definitely more. However, remember that fat is higher in calories but small in terms of volume so when you look at how much space it takes up on your plate, the largest portion should still be vegetables.
At the same time, it’s a good idea to cut back on those unhealthy carbohydrates – namely bread, pasta, cereal and baked goods, not just the obvious — cookies, chips, bagels, andfrench fries, sugar and sweets – the blatant no-no’s. Also avoid processed or added fructose, particularly high-fructose corn syrup which is staple in nearly every soft drink out there today. Do your body a favour — Read labels!
But remember, everybody is different and unique in their exact needs. While making the move to a diet that is higher in healthy fat, proportionately lower in carbohydrates and moderate in protein will make huge health strides for the vast majority of people, our specific needs are individual so it’s important to know there’s not an exact ratio that’s perfect for everyone. Getting to know how your body runs best can be measured with various tests, but also by how you perform and feel.
So if you’re like nearly everyone out there today that wants to become that fat burning machine to shed that excess body fat and body weight, while at the same time significantly lower your risk for conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancer, you’ll want to strongly consider upping your intake of healthy fats and and proportionately cutting back those unhealthy carbs. It truly can be the formula for you becoming a fat-burning machine, a you that is efficiently losing weight, feeling great and living a longer, healthier life.
Blog by Guest Author:
Dr. Mark Foullong has prided himself for over 20 years in delivering the highest quality of health care to Orangeville and surrounding areas. Dr. Mark graduated with honours from Canadian Memorial Chiropractic with a 4-year Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree. Prior to that, his studies were in Honours Biochemistry at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Because of his passion in helping families maximize their health and well being and also his love of children, he further completed 1 year of specialized training in Paediatrics granting him Fellowship status from the International Chiropractic Paediatrics Association (F.I.C.P.A.). He does what he loves and loves what he does.
Dr. Mark has been in private practice in Orangeville since 1995. He has built, and now alongside Dr. Trevor Middleton and Dr. Jess Willox, run the largest Chiropractic practice in Dufferin County. Dr. Mark and his team constantly strive to be the best they can for their patients and to stay on the cutting edge of the latest technology and information in health delivery. As such, the team is involved with regular continuing education and training. They travel thousands of miles and spending hundreds of hours every year to remain the health leaders in their community and their profession.
There is an abundance of information all over the web with suggestions about how to eat, what to think, what herbs and supplements to take and not to take. It’s confusing especially if you or a loved one is now battling a life-threatening illness.
It’s not knowing exactly what to eat to fight disease or create healing that is important. It is knowing how and why to change where you are at currently, to a healthy eating plan, make it stress-free, and a lifestyle change that is sustainable forever. However, here are some vital facts that apply to health and healing that are absolutely necessary to know. These are absolute truths, and apply to anyone, at any age, at any stage of health or disease, regardless of what treatment that individual may be receiving.
There are thousands and thousands of nutritional products, plans, diets, and advice out there that are accessible to anyone if you search for them. However we do understand that there are indisputable truths that are pertinent when it comes to creating better health and healing from within. There are nutrients and factors that are absolutely necessary to improve immune system function prevent disease and allow the body to Flourish.
We start our nutritional planning with one simple philosophical understanding: We don’t get sick because we have cancer,… We get cancer as a result of being sick.
Cancer is simply an opportunistic disease. It is the body’s natural response to adapt to an unhealthy environment. Although there are genetic factors involved, it has been largely proven that lifestyle plays a much bigger role than previously thought and a much bigger role than genetic factors ever will.
Therefore since the body created the disease as a result of an unhealthy environment, our first response is to change the environment by making it healthier to therefore stop, or reverse the progression of the disease.
We need to change the body’s metabolism from that of sugar burning for energy to a fat burning machine. This can be done completely with dietary changes. Cancer feeds on sugar. Sugar compromises a natural immune response. Fat cells are a storage locker for toxins.
Immune system function becomes week and damaged when the body’s environment remains in an acidic state. Our nutritional goals need to revolve around changing the pH of the body to that of alkalinity instead of acidity.
Most diseases proliferate in an environment that is lacking in oxygen. An effective plan should be designed to provide nutrients and decrease toxins that deprive the body of an oxygen-rich state.
Over the years, myself and our team have been extremely successful in helping people that have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses achieve a much better state of health and success in beating those diseases and building a better quality of life.
No matter what medical or invasive procedures the patient may be experiencing or have undergone previously there is always a way to improve the body’s innate ability to heal through natural methods.
When my sister was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 44, I immediately sat down and talked with her about improving her lifestyle choices. Her life up to this point was full of poor Nutrition, no exercise, and a great deal of stress. She had poor posture, and poor nervous system function because she never visited the Chiropractor.
She agreed that a change was necessary. Although she was very receptive, her and her husband made decisions to receive intense medical treatment including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Within two weeks of her first diagnosis she had surgery to insert a colostomy bag to her lower intestine. I know that fear was a major contributor to her decision.
Within weeks she was well into a process of radiation and eventually chemotherapy treatment. My sister became very ill as a result of the treatment and her quality of life went downhill very fast. She quickly lost her freedom and spent most of her days lying in a hospital bed.
I continued to watch my sister’s health decline rapidly and knew that we were losing hope.
Within two years of her initial diagnosis my baby sister lost her fight passing away at the age of 46. I know in my heart that things could’ve been different and I know that some of the choices that she made in her lifestyle including the aggressive medical treatment that she received accelerated the process eventually leading to her death.
The question that you need to ask yourself now is “If I were diagnosed with Cancer tomorrow, what changes would I make in my diet and lifestyle to help overcome the illness and improve my function?”
If change is necessary, do it today before you get the diagnosis. Disease like Cancer needs to be attacked proactively not reactively.
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Guest Blog by Dr. Colin Elkin
“Chiropractic is my life. The Principle of Chiropractic has changed the person who I used to be. The way I think, the way I care for myself, the way I care for my family, the way I eat, and the outlook that I approach every day with.
The major premise of Chiropractic states that there is a Universal Intelligence that exists in all matter. This is the basis on how I mange my life, my business, my patients, my wealth, and my future.
I love caring for my patients and sharing this principle with them. I have a deep desire to attract and care for those people afflicted with life threatening illness, especially Cancer diagnosis.
I have a beautiful, intelligent, and strong wife named Kim and 4 healthy, unsubluxated, unvaccinated boys, Austin, Carter, Harrison, and Curtis. My family has given me the privilege of becoming involved in many activities, sports, hobbies. When I am not in the office caring for patients, you can usually find me at the hockey arena playing or coaching, at the dirt bike track cheering on my son, or at home jamming on the guitar.
I owe Chiropractic my life. I suffered a near fatal motorcycle accident in 2013, that caused 4 severe cervical fractures. It was only by God’s grace that the surgeon who cared for me understood that the only reason I survived and had no permanent neurological injury was because my spine was in perfect alignment before the accident. The normal cervical curvature was able to withstand the impact and prevent any fractured bone from shifting and severing or damaging my spinal chord. Thank God for Chiropractic. Over the following year I have returned to full function and I am as strong as I have ever been and have my spine adjusted regularly…and yes, including my neck.
I am truly blessed to be part of Maximized Living. This is the future of health care in the world. My mission is to see this model gain world-wide acceptance during my lifetime.”
We have to admit that becoming a parent comes with its fair share of new responsibilities and parents are presented with a plethora of decisions to make about how they plan to raise their children. Decisions include the birthing process, breastfeeding, introducing solid foods, diaper choices and everything in between.
Today, we will dive into the topic of diapers to help make this decision a little easier for you and your growing family. The average baby has 2500 diaper changes in their first year of life. Yes, you heard me right, TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED diaper changes, making this a huge investment in your child’s first year of life. Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of the three most common diaper options.
Disposable Diapers
The most obvious benefit of disposable diapers is the convenience factor. Dirty diapers are disposed of directly into the trash and there is no further thought or mess to consider.
In my opinion, the cons of disposable diapers far outweigh the convenience that they offer.
According to research done by the Real Diaper Association:
•136 kilograms of wood,
• 23 kilograms of petroleum and
• 9 kilograms of chlorine
are required to manufacture enough disposable diapers for one child for one year.
The use of petroleum and chorine products pose a significant risk to children as their delicate skin is in contact with these harmful materials, not to mention the incredible amount of wasted resources and the cost of purchasing these products.
Eco-friendly Disposable Diapers
Eco-friendly disposable diapers also present the issue of filling up our landfills with more waste, but due to their use of more environmentally friendly raw materials, the hazard to the environment and to our babies is less pronounced. Careful research still needs to be done before settling on a company that makes eco-friendly diapers. Just like any product that is labeled “natural” or “eco-friendly,” research and discretion is still required to make an informed decision because labels are often misleading and not entirely true on many products.
Cloth Diapers
The initial investment may seem daunting, but if you spread the cost out over the years that you’ll be purchasing disposable diapers, it ends up being a significant cost savings.
Cloth diapers can also be passed down to younger siblings, making the initial investment more justifiable.
The obvious benefit of cloth diapers is their lower impact on the environment because they aren’t being thrown away.
But the primary benefit of cloth diapers is the fact that they are usually produced with organic fabrics and do not contain harmful chemicals (like the disposable diapers have in their absorbent pads).
The drawback of cloth diapers is the fact that more time has to be invested by parents in the washing and drying of the diapers on a daily basis.
Regardless of how we slice it, there is going to be some form of environmental impact from the use of diapers. Disposable diapers will take years and years to degrade in a landfill and contribute to the amount of waste that is generated each year, while cloth diapers need to be washed and dried regularly, utilizing water and electricity. Your goal should be to choose what feels right to you as a parent, considering your lifestyle, values, and budget.
Jo-Anne Richardson has almost a decade of experience managing a chiropractic office and educating patients on how chiropractic can allow your body to express optimal health. She is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and holds a Degree in Communications. She loves to experiment with raw vegan recipes, loves to salsa dance, travel and learn new holistic health information to share tips with everyone who visits the office.
Do you carry extra weight around your abdominal area? Research is telling us that people of normal weight who have extra central body fat are at an elevated risk of dying of heart disease.
Central obesity it extra fat around your midsection, and there is an easy way to calculate if you may fall into this category.
1. Measure your waist at your belly button.
2. Measure your hips at the widest part of your buttocks.
3. Divide the first number by the second number.
For men, your waist-to-hip ratio should be no greater than 1.0 and for women it should be no greater than 0.9.
If your numbers are higher than the suggested ratio, there are simple changes that you can implement to reduce your ratio and improve your health.
The first thing that you need to do is to add more fresh fruit and vegetables to your diet. It’s very difficult to make a massive diet and lifestyle change all at once and be able to sustain it long term. So the most important thing you can do is eat more fruit and veggies and these foods will begin to crowd out the bad foods.
I also want you to moderate your meat intake. A serving of meat is the size of a card deck. Which does not mean 8 decks stacked on top of each other!! When was the last time you ate a steak that fit in your hand? I bet it’s been awhile.
Over the years, our portion sizes have grown and grown into rather ridiculous quantities of food. Our bodies don’t need that much food and literally can not digest that much protein in one sitting. This extra protein ends up being stored as fat and can contribute to central obesity, putting you at risk for heart disease.
Avoid fast food, processed food and packaged food.
Eat real food!! Learn to make a few delicious recipes that you enjoy. Check out our blog of recipe ideas here.
And of course, move your body more often. Add some gentle cardio to your routine, go for a power walk at lunch, hit the gym and sweat it out.
The very first sign of heart disease is erectile dysfunction. Your arteries and capillaries are very active and sensitive in that area, and can be the first to indicate that there is hardening of the arteries or plaque building up in your blood vessels.
Obviously not a topic that you want on your radar, but heading to the doctor for a prescription to help in this area is one of the worst things you can do. It puts added stress on your cardiovascular system and masks an important symptom that is telling you that your body is in distress.
This is the time to make healthy diet and lifestyle changes to let your body naturally heal and return to abundant health.
With Sources from:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/research-were-watching-belly-fat-boosts-risk-of-dying-of-heart-disease
Jo-Anne Richardson has almost a decade of experience managing a chiropractic office and educating patients on how chiropractic can allow your body to express optimal health. She is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and holds a Degree in Communications. She loves to experiment with raw vegan recipes, loves to salsa dance, travel and learn new holistic health information to share tips with everyone who visits the office.
The amount of sitting that we do in a day has quickly become a concern for our health and longevity. Studies reveal that the health impact of sitting for too many hours a day can be compared to the effects that smoking has on our health.
A sedentary lifestyle has been linked to;
Cancer
Diabetes
Obesity
Cardiovascular disease
Weakened immune system.
Let’s explore some ways to ensure that you don’t fall symptom to these diseases.
Shocking! How Many Hours Of Sitting We Do In A Day
There is the time in the car on the way to and from work. The 8 hours at the office. All in addition to spending time each night on the couch in front of the television, computer or on your phone.
The winter months in Canada can be particularly difficult to get motivated to work out or to be more active. But there are some simple things that you can add to your daily routine to increase your activity level without having to brave the elements of winter.
Set A Goal To Be Active 10 Minutes Each Hour That You Are Awake!
If you wake up at 6 am and go to bed at 10 pm, then you have 160 minutes to fill with activity. Don’t panic. Activity doesn’t mean that you have to be actively exercising.
Activity could be as simple as;
Standing at your desk while you make phone calls
Tidying your house
Preparing dinner
Walking to the car (I suggest parking at the far end of the parking lot at work and the grocery store to increase your activity)
Taking a walk on your lunch break
Taking a yoga or pilates class, or any other form of exercise that you enjoy
If you are pressed for time to fit in exercise, try multitasking.
When you drop the kids off at their extracurricular activities, rather than sitting and waiting for them to be finished, use this time to do an impromptu workout. Walk around the block or if the weather isn’t nice, go to a nearby shopping centre and do a quick lap around the store.
If you are prone to watching a lot of television during the winter, then during the commercial breaks, get up and do a small work out.
Do three reps of 15 squats, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, or go through a quick yoga flow of stretches.
Get a fitness tracker and aim to hit around 10,000 steps per day.
Especially if you are the type of person that needs to visually see your progress throughout the day.
The benefits of an active lifestyle are far reaching and include;
Higher energy levels
More restful sleep
Lower body mass index
Detoxification
Better mental clarity
By bringing awareness to our level of activity we can easily make adjustments to our lifestyle. All this to ensure that we are taking care good of our health and maximizing our longevity.
Jo-Anne Richardson has almost a decade of experience managing a chiropractic office and educating patients on how chiropractic can allow your body to express optimal health. She is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and holds a Degree in Communications. She loves to experiment with raw vegan recipes, loves to salsa dance, travel and learn new holistic health information to share tips with everyone who visits the office.
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“Chiropractic is my life. The Principle of Chiropractic has changed the person who I used to be. The way I think, the way I care for myself, the way I care for my family, the way I eat, and the outlook that I approach every day with.
