Integrative Medicine :: Healthy Lifestyles and Natural Weight Loss Information

Integrative Medicine
by author Joey Shulman, DC, RNCP

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Andrew Weil, a pioneer and world-renowned leader in the field of integrative medicine. After teaching and writing about natural and preventive medicine for over 35 years, Dr. Weil provides a unique approach to health care, which encompasses body, mind, and spirit.

"I have been writing books for 35 years and saying the same things about health and medicine. I think what has happened is that the culture has gradually caught up with me."

"My general feeling is that aging is a natural process that is universal. If you set yourself up in opposition to that, you are in a very wrong relationship with nature."

Dr. Weil, a best-selling author and international speaker, has appeared on the likes of Oprah and Larry King Live. I wondered about the source of his international acclaim and to what he attributes this interest by the general public.

Dr. Weil, in acknowledging and welcoming this interest, said, "I have been writing books for 35 years and saying the same things about health and medicine for that length of time. I think what has happened is that the culture has gradually caught up with me."

The Journey

During his 35-year journey to bring the message of integrative health to the general public, Dr. Weil has encountered many roadblocks. Among them, Dr. Weil identifies medical doctors as being one of the most difficult to navigate.

The good news, according to Dr. Weil, is that this is about to change. "I think for much of that time the general public was in agreement with what I was saying, but there was a lot of resistance from the profession. I think that in the past 10 years, this has been changing."

A Voice for Change

Dr. Weil has, in the past, commented that his medical school training included a mere half-hour of nutritional training. To address this shortcoming, he has set up programs to help educate medical doctors.

"It has been one of my commitments to train doctors. So, in my integrative medicine-training program, we always have a great emphasis on nutrition. During the second annual Health and Nutrition Conference for health professionals (Tucson, March 2005), I [made] a strong commitment to get this information into medical schools."

Children and Nutrition

On the topic of documented surges in childhood ailments and disorders such as ADD and childhood obesity, I asked Dr. Weil about his thoughts on children's nutrition. He expressed concern about the trend in North America for increasing consumption, by children, of refined and processed foods.

He noted that in addition to the increase in childhood obesity, "there are a lot of conditions that people currently do not think of as having nutritional roots, such as attention deficit disorder, when they indeed do."

I asked Dr. Weil about the risks to young children of prescribing powerful drugs to treat mental health and behavioural disorders. His response recognized the benefits these drugs can bring: "I think there is a subset of children who do well on Ritalin and other stimulants and they can be life-changing for them."

But Dr. Weil added, "I think ADD is vastly overdiagnosed and stimulant drugs are much too widely prescribed. One of the concerns I have is [of] children being put on high doses of time released stimulants and significant amounts of anti-depressants. The nutritional implications of doing this greatly concern me."

Nutrition from Fish

On the subject of healthy eating, I asked Dr. Weil about his views on ways to consume fish in a responsible manner. Dr. Weil recommended fish oil supplements for those who have difficulty sourcing quality, affordable fish products.

"My choice is still to use sardines, herring, and wild salmon when available. If we could get responsibly raised salmon it would be great; there is no reason salmon farming can't be done to produce high quality fish, but I think it will depend on consumer demand. The salmon would have to be fed high quality feed that does not have toxins in it and this can be done organically without giving them drugs or chemicals."

Diets and Nutrition

In his call to action statement at the 2004 Nutrition and Health Conference, Dr. Weil asserted, "The nation is in the grip of low-carb mania, the latest dietary craze." I asked Dr. Weil if he felt that this "craze" was coming to an end. He responded that, in fact, the low-carb movement was "beginning to lose steam. [But] I think these are nutritional phenomena that cycle every year, and I am sure there will be more."

As we discussed diet trends, I asked Dr. Weil if he advocated the "Mediterranean diet." Referring to a Mediterranean pyramid, Dr. Weil explained, "It includes a relatively small amount of animal foods - meat and fowl should be eaten only a couple of times a month with more consumption of fish and vegetable proteins (in the form of legumes). There is a small to moderate amount of dairy products, mostly in the form of yogourt and some cheese, as well as lots of high quality fruits and vegetables, whole grain pasta, olive oil, inclusion of red wine, and small amounts of sugar."

Anti-Antiaging

Dr. Weil has been quoted as being against the term "antiaging." In fact Dr. Weil has recently finished a new book entitled, Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being (Knopf, October, 2005 release) which includes a chapter on antiaging medicine, "which I am very critical of.

"My general feeling is that aging is a natural process that is universal. If you set yourself up in opposition to that, you are in a very wrong relationship with nature."

The Future of Integrative Medicine

I asked Dr. Weil about his vision for integrative medicine 10 years from now. Responding that he believes economics will drive the future of integrative medicine, Dr. Weil said, "I think it is really going to be a mainstream phenomenon."

Dr. Joey Shulman, DC, RNCP, author of Winning the Food Fight-Every Parent's Guide to Raising a Healthy, Happy Child (Wiley, 2003) is a chiropractor and registered nutritional consultant. drjoey.com.

Source: alive #275, September 2005

The Fruit of the Vine
Known as the '"nectar of the Gods," wine has heen a staple in many European diets for years and has become increasingly popular here in North America as well. Not only are more people pulling the corks out of red wine and sipping happily, but they are sharing in the health benefits as well.

Good Sugars, Bad Sugars
Our society’s collective sweet tooth is an adaptive response. It goes back to caveman days and it’s what encourages us to eat foods that are high in energy and nutrients.

Home-Cooking Thai-Style
There’s a misconception that Thai food is just a colorful name for "spicy Chinese." The cuisine was indeed influenced originally by the Eastern culture, adopting its tendencies of blending the contrasting tastes of sweet, sour, bitter and salty.

Looking, Feeling and Performing Your Best
Do you remember how you felt when you were really young? The reason everything seemed to work so well back then was because your body invested a lot of time and energy on repairs. It was as if you had a full-time mechanic on the premises.

Get Physical With Blended Drinks
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Three Steps for Lifelong Health
Exercise, a whole foods diet and supplements are what you need to avoid spending your retirement in the doctor’s office. They say there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes.

Ankylosing Spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis is an illness that took my whole lifetime to mature and five years to battle into submission. The symptoms and causes, like almost all so-called incurable diseases, piled up, stone upon stone, beginning to create my tombstone.

Lasting Longevity
Until recently, most people believed growing old and dying was unavoidable. However, it now appears the assumption many of us held as children, that "I will never grow old and die," was not quite as absurd as our parents thought. Different cultures have varied definitions of aging.

Age-Less Exercise
If there is an anti-aging pill, it has to be exercise--age-less exercise. Proper exercise has been shown to slow aging through reduced cholesterol, high blood pressure, stress levels, insulin levels and osteoporosis risk..

A Bite of Sweet Indulgence
Nothing beats the sweet sensation of chocolate tantalizing your tastebuds. However, we all know the dangers of too much processed white sugar.

Age With Vitality
There’s truth in the old saw "we dig our graves with our teeth." Heart disease, stroke, many cancers, kidney disease, diabetes and other disorders emerge from the way we live. Particularly what we eat. Nature has genetically programmed humans with a potential 120 years of life, yet most succumb long before..

Age-Defying Exercise
I’m amazed by the number of people who blame genetics for developing disease and disability or for premature death. Natural health supplements can oppose the degradation of lean mass, improve response to exercise and support muscle function, growth and development.

The Browning Effect
Imagine if you will the intricate network that makes up the human body. Think of the organs and tissues, the numerous hormones, neurotransmitters, peptides and amino acid.

Get the Sugar Out for a Healthy Holiday
Sugar has been blamed for nearly every known disease and even for the fall of several empires. Those accusations may sound like exaggerations, but they are probably closer to the truth than you realize. Saying sugar is bad for you is the ultimate understatement.

Longevity
Probably no one understands baby boomers as well as David Foo.

Aging, Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
How many times have you heard someone make a birthday toast with the wish, "Live long and prosper?" You’ve probably thought of this as nothing more than a good-humoured gesture.

Celebrate Life
"Life is a great adventure, or it is nothing."--Helen Keller "One of the wonderful things about being alive is that it is never too late.

Herbs for Longevity
We’re all aging all the time. As we grow older, our metabolism--the body’s chemical and physical changes from producing energy from food and oxygen in cells--becomes less efficient.

Successful Aging
Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the past century, from 47 years in 1900 to approaching 80 years today.

Anti-Aging: Immortality or Bunk?
The concept of anti-aging is cropping up all over the place. Popular books, high-profile doctors and purveyors of drugs and nutritional supplements all claim to have the inside track on anti-aging. But what does it really mean? To kick off this new column, let’s take a look at what anti-aging is–and isn’t..

How is Your Mental Muscle?
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Diet, Exercise And Supplements Help Keep Your Heart Young
In most industrialized countries, the incidence of cardiovascular disease goes up with age. Canada is no exeption-heart disease is the number-one cause of death in this country. However, this may have more to do with lifestyle factors such as diet, inactivity and stress than with aging.

Preventing Medication Mishaps in Seniors
People are living longer than ever before. For example, a Canadian born in 1960 can expect to live 20 years longer than one who was born in 1900.

Clear Vision, Sharp Hearing: Sense the Differences
Although memory loss heads the list of concerns among aging Canadians, vision and hearing loss are far more likely to afflict us as we get older. These common changes can impair your ability to drive, read and enjoy simple pleasures.

Movement
If we could bottle the benefits of physical exercise, we would have one of the most powerful anti-aging remedies known. Physical activity rejuvenates virtually every organ in your body, adding energy to your days and years to your life.

How to Slow Cellular Aging-Fast!
Did you know your body’s cells host visitors from another time and place? The mitochondria, energy-producing factories in every one of your cells, are descendants of independent, free-living organisms. Mitochondria have unique DNA, separate and distinct from cellular DNA.

Foods for Longevity
Eating a nutritious diet high in raw organic produce, whole grains, and clean water can slow the aging process and fight degenerative disease. Here we show how to combine foods to create a diet that targets the body systems most susceptible to aging and disease-reproductive, circulatory, musculo-skeletal, and digestive.

Cut to the Mustard
Picture a solitary burger patty (veggie or otherwise) sitting naked on a bun. Somehow, it doesn’t seem complete. Where’s the pizzazz? Where’s the zip? Condiments add excitement to many of our favourite foods.

Muscle Mass Mastery
If we’re not careful, by retirement, we could lose one-third to one-half of our muscle tissue. This debilitating condition, called sarcopenia, is now considered one of the top biomarkers of aging: its specific physical traits are used to measure the progress of aging.

Spring Into Your Autumn Years
People with a positive attitude toward aging can adjust very well when individual circumstances change. Their positive outlook allows them to adapt to the inevitable physical and biochemical changes of the body that are associated with the natural processes of aging. With a healthy outlook on the golden years, even unpredictable setbacks and disabilities can be managed successfully.

Not Now, Grim Reaper … Another Time, Perhaps
Woody Allen said, “I’m not afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

Thanks to tremendous gains in life expectancy - at an all-time high average of 79.

Practice Mental Calisthenics
I asked my friend Dennis why he’s so optimistic about life and physically active at age 79. He regularly walks, hikes, exercises, and swim.

Sweetening Power of Honey
Honey is known to be very sweet, however, you may be surprised by the relative bitterness of some honeys. The sweetening power of honey is determined by its sugar composition and the rate of dilution.

The Fountain of Youth
The fountain of youth is at our fingertips. Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, little free-radical scavengers that just may be our fountain of youth. Antioxidants exert many positive effects on the body.

Clear Vision, Sharp Hearing: Sense the Differences
Although memory loss heads the list of concerns among agingCanadians, vision and hearing loss are far more likely to afflict us as weget older.These common changes can impair your ability to drive, read and enjoy simplepleasures. Fortunately, you can do several things to preserve your eyesightand hearing..

Unrefined Tastes
Sugar refining refers to a process by which the juice of sugar cane or sugar beets is separated into white sugar and molasses, thereby removing important minerals such as iron, calcium, and chromium.

The Original Diet
The last 80 to 100 years have ushered in a drastically different style of eating in comparison to the diets of our grandparents, and their grandparents before them. No longer are our food sources home and community-based. We have become global eaters, consumers of mass-marketed, highly refined and processed "foods.

Links to Health
Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, set a medical precedent in considering the role of nutritients in relation to health and disease. It only took the next fifteen hundred years for the Arthritis Foundation and the United States Surgeon General to come to some of the same conclusions.

Why Take Nutritional Supplements?
While nothing can replace a healthy, wholesome diet, food supplements offer the benefits of a concentrated source of nutrients that food alone cannot provide. No longer are supplements simply compensation for an inadequate diet. Many people are regularly supplementing their diets to ensure an adequate supply of essential nutrients to maintain basic health.

Heart Failure
Heart failure tends to be a rather slow and painless process, making it more common in older individuals, though previous heart problems can trigger it earlier than usual. Symptoms depend on which side of the heart is affected.

Memory Problems
Short-term memory provides a small storage space for daily tasks and lists, and is more likely to be affected with ag.

Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Polymyalgia rheumatica is a rare rheumatic disease that affects the connective tissues of the body in people over fifty. The *muscles in the neck, shoulders, hip and lower *back are most vulnerable and become stiff and achy, especially when first getting up in the morning.

How Sweet It Is
Substituting artificial sweeteners for white sugar seems logical. After all, artificial sweeteners help us enjoy sweetness without the extra calories. However, we know that when we mess with Mother Nature, there is usually a price to pay.

Sip Yourself Well
Next to water, green tea is one of the most popular beverages consumed worldwide. It has been used medicinally for centuries in India and China to remedy headaches, body aches and pains, digestion, depression, detoxification, as an energizer, to enhance immunity, and to prolong life.

Chocolate's Dark Secret
Small amounts of pure chocolate produced by trained, quality conscious chocolatiers is far more delicious and better for your health. Dark chocolate, without the ingredients added for extension of shelf life or taste enhancement, is the best.

Green Energy
In an ideal world, we would all be getting our recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables. The fact remains, most Canadians are not eating the five to ten servings a day required to ensure optimal mental, emotional, and physical well-being..

Metabolic Aging
Everybody wants to live a long and healthy life. If you carry excess body fat on your frame, though, you may be setting yourself up for a shorter lifespan than the one you were aiming for.

Forever Young
All of us want to have longer and healthier lives, and while some of us are dealt a better hand than others in life’s genetic lottery, there are many ways we can maximize the potential we are born with.

Drink to Your Health
Do you want to have vibrant energy and good health? Getting the right nutrients in the right amounts is one of the secrets to feeling great. This requires a healthy diet that combines fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, and good fats..

Nutritional Consultants Change Lives
Interest in nutrition has never been higher or more relevant than it is today, and with good reason. Epidemic rates of obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease are just a few of the conditions motivating many to seek advice about preventing and treating these modern-day disorders.

Nutritional Yeast
Yeasts are a group of microscopic single-celled fungi, relatives of the mushroom. More than 100 different species are known. Nutritional yeasts can be used as condiments and supplements. They are rich in B vitamins.

Does Obesity Really Affect How We Age?
As we age, we tend to notice a loss of muscle mass, strength, bone mass, and energy potential. Meanwhile, body fat increases, skin wrinkles, mood changes occur, and immunity declines. New scientific research is shedding light on why we age and how we may be able to slow the process.

It's a Sweet, Sweet World
It is widely accepted among medical professionals that high consumption of sugar overstimulates the pancreas and adrenal glands. Extended over a long period of time, this may contribute to hypoglycemia, behavioral problems in kids, fatigue, fluctuating blood sugar levels and mood swings, diabetes and obesity.

Restore Your Body's Balance
Think of your body as its own ecosystem. Like the larger ecosystem of a rainforest, for example, all the elements must be in exquisite balance for every part to function at its best. If one element is out of balance, it throws off the entire system.

Excitotoxins
Many foods are laced with additives like monosodium glutamate (MSG) and aspartate (a component of NutraSweet) and because these chemicals are taste enhancers, diet and vegetarian foods are particularly targeted.

Age Gracefully in the Garden of Eden

Community Salute to Croft
Much has changed within the Canadian health food industry in the past 30 years. Croft Woodruff has seen it all through the windows of his vitamin shop, Croft's Health Products, in Vancouver, BC.

Go Mad for Mushrooms
The word fungus often brings to mind the fuzz on stale bread and mildew in the shower. Farmers know fungi can devastate such food crops as corn, rice, wheat and rye. But some types are both delicious and healing, valued for centuries as tonics throughout the world.

Natural Supplements
When you take a drug or natural supplement, you sometimes have the choice of the form. Should you take a solid (capsule, tablet, etc.) or a liquid? Solid preparations have become the mainstay in both the health supplement and the pharmaceutical industries. They offer a precise dosage, are stable, easy to carry and practical.

Introducing alive Around the World
At alive, it is our goal and privilege to bring you up-to-date research and information on health and wellness to improve the quality of your lives. Our intent is to raise awareness regarding natural and preventive approaches to healthcare.

One Century and Counting
On August 14, alongside a room full of friends at the Azure nightclub in Vancouver, Doug McIntyre marked his centurion year with dancing, cake, and a heartfelt speech.

Chocolate: Divine or Decadent?
Chocolate and love, chocolate and sex, chocolate and Valentine’s Day—these are indisputably inseparable. There has long been a connection between this rich, creamy confection and our liaisons amoureuses. Can something that tastes so delightfully decadent also be good for us?

A Tribute to Rhody Lake
As I write these words, it has been over a week since Rhody disappeared from her home in Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast, BC. Five days later, the search was called off.

A Successful Transition to Health
In the previous two issues of alive, I presented the symptoms and nutritional assessment relevant to Jacqueline, alive’s case-study client. After five meetings over the course of two months, Jacqueline was able to eliminate most of the symptoms that had plagued her for years.

Bottled Water
It seems that anywhere you go these days, you will see people—young and old, fit and not-so-fit—carrying one of many shapes, sizes, and colours of bottled water. Is it just a fleeting fashion fetish or is the portable, packable water bottle here to stay?

Splenda
With increasing awareness about the dangers of chemical sugar substitutes such as aspartame, consumers are searching for a replacement.

Genetic Roulette
On writing the highly acclaimed Seeds of Deception (Yes! Books) in 2003, Jeffrey M. Smith became one of America’s vocal champions against biotech industry claims for the safety of genetically modified foods. His sequel, Genetic Roulette, is an updated and more uncompromising reference work that underscores how “eating genetically modified food is gambling with every bite.”

Nutritional Blue-Green Algae
While many people in North America might not think of eating algae, the indigenous people of Japan and China have eaten it for thousands of years for its nutritional properties. Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) contains amino acids, vitamins, and trace minerals that tone the immune system, raise energy levels, and improve general health.

Super Supplements for Women
Overall health and well-being is greatly affected by daily nutrient intake from whole natural foods and nutritional supplements. In combination with a positive attitude and physical activity, nutritional status impacts energy levels, moods, mental ability, immunity, and aging.

Creating Health Benefits with Creatine
Creatine is a nutrient that can offer myriad benefits to almost everyone, especially those of us who are interested in maintaining an effective metabolism as we age.

Supplementing 101
To supplement your child with a multivitamin or not to supplement, that is the question. The necessity of adding a daily multivitamin to your child’s diet is a hotly debated topic. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, giving a child a daily multivitamin is only necessary...

Food for Thought
The brain needs intensive nutritional support. Junk food and high-calorie snacks must be replaced with nutrient-dense meals and appropriate supplements. Use well-researched natural health products as an excellent, drug-free way to stay mentally sharp and energetic throughout the day.

Hard to Swallow
As a kid, I couldn’t swallow pills. My mother would have to get liquid versions of any medicines I needed, or crush pills into a teaspoon of jam. She’d be so proud if she could see me now, knocking back supplements the size of exotic beetles with barely a sip of water.

From Pasture to Plate
Catch up with Doe Gregoire at the farmers’ market in Cawston, BC, and this spunky pioneer in organics can tell you more than you ever wanted to know about her apples.

The Yuck Factor
Supertasters have the TAS2R38 gene and twice as many fungiform papillae on their tongues (on whose sides taste receptors are located) than the average person. There is hope in the laboratory to help supertasters enjoy healthy vegetables.

Too Much of a Good Thing
I have a confession to make: I’ve never been one for moderation. I’m the gal who falls for the in-store bonus offer that requires the purchase of three times more product than needed, just to get 10 percent off. I choose the extra-dry formula body lotion even though my skin isn’t that dry, because why not have more of a good thing?

Antiaging or Healthy Aging?
With the growing number of baby boomers entering their golden years, interest in antiaging is at an all-time high. Although we may not be able to stop the aging process, healthy aging can help minimize the effects of time by optimizing our health along the way.

Move It or Lose It
Aging is inevitable. It is possible, however, to curb many of the effects of aging with regular physical activity. We all want to maintain quality of life and good health as we age, and exercise is essential to maintaining good health. The less we move, the more susceptible we are to various conditions and diseases, and thus the vicious cycle of inactivity begins.

A Fine Balance
There are signs not a result of normal aging that indicate an elderly person may be experiencing problems with drugs or alcohol. Such signs can include loss of appetite, confusion, anxiety, falling, sleepiness, sadness, irritability, unexplained chronic pain, and bruises.

Supplementing the 50+
While entering the realm of seniorhood, our risk of many age-related health problems, such as macular degeneration, osteoarthritis, and mental deterioration increases. Here are several supplements that nutritional scientists are advising we include in our daily health programs to enhance the quality and quantity of our elder years.

Sizing Up Sugar Substitutes
As rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease continue to expand, so does the sugar substitute industry. Many avoid aspartame by reaching for sucralose. Others avoid sucralose by seeking out the latest in sugar alcohols. The discussions and controversy are ongoing. Which sugar substitute is safe?

Taming the Holiday “Gimmes”
While it is okay to bend the food rules occasionally, there needs to be a balance that sets limits and keeps health in mind. An over-consumption of white sugar and high fat foods is linked to many childhood health problems, including obesity, dental decay, immune system suppression, behavioural issues, and vitamin/mineral deficiencies.

Foods and Your Moods
Ever wonder why certain meals make you feel great, while others leave you feeling sluggish and ready to nap? The answer lies within the way that nutrients from these foods interact with brain chemicals to either enhance our levels of alertness and motivation or to make us sleepy.

Diet Wisdom
As people learn more about the value of proper nutrition, they can become confused by the conflicting opinions they encounter. But giving your body its best chance of achieving good health is really a matter of following seven pillars of health wisdom.

Shopping Savvy
We really are lucky to have so many great organic products to choose from today, but we still need to shop with quality and health in mind.

Forever strong

Add longer walks to your exercise routine

Mid-life mindsavers

Realistic relationships

Hysterical medicine

Nu-Life
When the low-carb diet craze exploded, companies from nearly every food-related industry responded by rushing to develop low-carb products. As these companies scrambled to cash in on the dieting trend of the year, store shelves filled with low-carb cereals, low-carb ice cream, and even low-carb beer.

Exercise and Youth

Gym Safety Tip for Senior Citizens

Healthy Aging

Puresource
If you have any doubt that public interest in natural health products has been on the rise for years, consider the fact that natural products distributor Puresource was named on Profit Magazine’s list of the 100 fastest growing Canadian companies three times between 1997 and 2000.

How Do You Get to Work?

Change is Good

Move Your Mood

Active Healing

Teenage Irony

Live Leaner, Live Longer?

Diet and Arthritis
Removing foods from the diet may be difficult, but for some arthritis sufferers it could mean a reduction in their physical pain. The cruciferous group of vegetables including cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, as well as onions and garlic, are high in sulphur-containing compounds needed for joint repair.

D-lightful News

Riding a Shiny Horse to Health

Breast is Best

Phytoestrogens Boost Fertility

Organika
There are no genies in these bottles, but what you do get inside any package with the Organika label is something the company is very proud to talk about: quality, purity, and potency.

Avoid the Surgeon’s Knife
Lattes in hand, my friend Natalie and I were at an urban coffee bar catching up. A pretty woman in her thirties with two kids and a flashy but stressful job, Natalie confessed she felt saggy and tired and was longing to regain her youthful spark.

Meaningful Makeovers Part III - Toni eats for her life
Until I started this makeover, I was convinced I had a perfectly healthy diet, but I’ve since learned a lot about what and how to eat. This month I met with Sally Errey, a registered nutritional consulting practitioner. Sally’s job in this makeover is to help me eat better.

Meaningful makeovers Part III - Curbing Carb Cravings
This month I had the appointment that I’ve been dreading the most—the one about food. I suspected that the dietician would tell me things I didn’t want to hear, things I’d already identified as my major problems.

Enjoying Organic on a Budget
Is your wallet looking a little thin these days? Does your palate demand organic? Perhaps cash is tight, but health and taste can still top your priority list.

Uncorking the Truth
Some people are increasing their red wine consumption, believing it is good for them. Drinking more, though, has some definite down sides.

Fermented Nutrients
The word “fermentation” may conjure up images of aged wine or brewed beer. However, fermented nutrients are also important to your health.

Healthy at 100
If you’re reading this magazine, you’re already on a path to better health. Sometimes, by reminding ourselves of where we’ve come from, we realize just how much progress we’ve made.

Slow Down and Just Smell the Coffee
The majority of people today unwittingly exacerbate their stress response by consuming too many caffeinated beverages–especially coffee.

Favouring Flavonoids?
Flavonoids have long elicited media and medical interest for their potential health benefits as antioxidants, but in early 2007, the Linus Pauling Institute (LPI) published a review on flavonoids that horrified every dark-chocolate lover in North America.

What’s Good for the Goose…
Somewhere up there on Venus, women’s physiology evolved differently from that of men on Mars. Recent research proves that men and women are very different—and not just in the obvious ways.

Supplements Provide a Safety Net
Conventionally farmed foods are grown and bred for better yield, hardiness during transport over long distances, and eye appeal rather than for optimal taste and nutritional value. These foods also lose nutritive value when processed, cooked, or preserved.

Life’s a Picnic
It doesn’t take much to get me in picnic mode. All it takes is a warm day, bright sunshine, and a blue sky. Our picnic paraphernalia is always within easy reach. Wide-brim sunhats hang on hooks near the door; our beach umbrella and sunblock are in the hall closet.

Old Wives’ Tales
Generations before us relied completely on the wisdom passed down through oral traditions. With the advent of modern science and medicine, this is no longer necessary.

Fabulous Over 50
Earlier this year, the Toronto Star ran an article about the perfect baby boomer couple who lives such a well-balanced life, complete with daily urine dehydration checks, that you’re awed — until you get to the end of the article and discover the kicker: the whole story’s a joke.

Ladle Up the Organics
Want to keep dinner simple on a cool autumn day? Opt for a flavourful organic soup. If you’re planning to use a store-bought variety, the options are seemingly endless. But how can you make sure you’re getting real organic quality? The most important step is to read the label.

As Young as You Feel?
Sometimes it’s easy to forget I’m getting older. I look in the mirror and there I am, same as always. I mention something about my teenager and people say that they can’t believe I’m old enough to be the mother of a 13-year-old.

Making Sense of Soy
Soy is the Jekyll and Hyde of the plant world. With reported benefi ts often contradicted by accounts of negative effects, confusion about soy’s true nature abounds. This month we explore the many faces of soy—the good, the bad, and the unknown.

Ch...ch...ch... Chocolate
Feel guilty no more. Chocolate has been reappraised as an elite superfood: Harvard studies and candy merchants alike are excitedly touting its health benefits. But can these claims be too good to be true?

Healthy Foods for Life
Do certain stimuli make you reach for food, even though you might not be hungry at the time? Do you eat as an emotional response? What triggers this reaction?

All Fired Up
What sits unglamorously on your kitchen counter yet stores a substance so valuable that it served as currency in ancient times? It’s your pepper shaker, and the aromatic powder in its belly can dramatically enhance your meals as well as help you digest them.

Protein Powder
The key to maintaining a healthy body weight is not found in a magic pill or a diet book. It is a simple mathematical equation: calories consumed must equal calories burned.

It’s a Umami!
Many people are familiar with MSG—or monosodium glutamate—as an additive in Asian foods. When asked about whether or not they consume MSG, most would respond that they eat only at establishments that do not add this flavour enhancer to their food.

Joy Bauer’s Food Cures: Easy 4-Step Nutrition Programs for Improving Your Body
Are you wanting to make healthy changes to food habits and don’t know where to start? Consider this book as your private consultation with Joy Bauer, nutrition expert for the Today Show and dietary coach to many celebrities.

Perk Up With Protein
Our bodies need protein because it contains amino acids, a nutrient that provides our bodies with a constant supply of nitrogen and sulphur, necessary for the ongoing growth and repair of all our cells.

”Made in Canada, eh?”
Is there an international congregation in your kitchen?

Edible Offenders
We often hear about the foods we should add to our diet: essential fats, organic vegetables, and whole grains. These nutritional superstars top the food charts. On the flip side, what we keep out of our diet is equally important to overall health and wellness.

Biotechnology On Your Plate
We can all rest easier knowing that Health Canada assumes genetically modified (GM) foods are safe—right?

The Spirit of Café Brio
For the past decade, Victoria’s Cafe Brio has planted its roots in a centuries-old tradition of regional cooking.

Twinkie, Deconstructed
Many food books today turn away from comfort flavours and practical meal instructions. This new genre takes a more journalistic approach to examining the components of food production, rather than suggesting which foods should comprise our recipes.

One With the Season
Cooking with fresh seasonal ingredients makes one happier where it counts most: in the kitchen. At One restaurant, in the heart of Toronto’s five-star Hazelton Hotel, Mark McEwan knows the value of happy cooks and has worked hard to develop a strong culinary culture since the restaurant opened in August 2007.

Curry Culture
In the summer of 2003, I stepped off a plane in Toronto and prepared myself for the challenges of university life and living alone in a foreign land.

Probiotic Rescue
Probiotic Rescue is a timely much-needed look at an age-old concept turned media buzzword. (Probiotics are bacteria that benefit the health of our intestinal microflora, and in turn affect metabolism, immunity, and more.)

Food Recalls and Food-borne Illnesses–Enough to Make You Sick to Your Stomach
Every year, we hear about food recalls due to suspected outbreaks of listeria, E .coli, hepatitis, and salmonella bacteria. If you suspect you’ve eaten a contaminated product, and experience nausea, cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache, or fatigue, you could have food poisoning. But the good news is that boosting the immune system’s defences and taking some basic food safety steps can reduce the chance of contracting a food-borne illnesses.

The Top 8 Ingredients to Avoid on Food Labels
Negative claims about trans fats, aspartame, and MSG are generally well known these days. But what else is potentially harmful in the grocery store aisles? Learn about which ingredients to stay away from and how to save time reading food labels to ensure you aren’t consuming the most hazardous offenders.

Plant Sterols Hold Great Promise
Cholesterol is a major concern for coronary heart disease, and statins are the fastest growing drug class despite evidence these prescription drugs may do little for most of the people taking them. Here is some good news about a natural cholesterol reducer.

Four Regular Guys (in Tuxedos)
A taxi pulls into the gravel parking lot of Calgary’s Edworthy Park on a hot June afternoon. As children spin on the roundabout, four handsome young men in tuxedos wait to get into the cab. Although they’re overdressed for this casual setting, Giorgio Armani would agree that his formal wear looks good anywhere.

Building a Health Reserve
Hoping to be a healthy elder? Then stock your health bank as faithfully as your financial one. Healthy aging requires preparation. This month’s Research Watch discusses what you need to know to build up your health reserves for a long and healthy life.

Elder Care in Canada
The lobby at the New Vista Care Home in Burnaby, British Columbia, is alive with chatter and laughter. A comfortable lounge area invites visitors to sit, but I wait my turn by checking out the sign that spells out the home’s mission.

The Sandwich Generation
When Naz Deravian became a mom for the first time, she found herself embracing her new baby girl, Luna, and her new role, with utter joy. But the 36-year-old actor was also worried about her own mom, who at the time was undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Eat Well–Age Well
Getting older isn’t what it used to be. Seniors are staying active well into their golden years, people are retiring later, and 60 is the new 40. The latest generation of retirees is more active and health-conscious–and living the motto “a rolling stone gathers no moss.”

Healthy Aging
Eat less, exercise more, get enough sleep, and avoid stress. Even after all this advice, our arsenal against aging isn’t necessarily complete without longevity-boosting nutritional supplements.

Seniors on the Go
A couple of noon hours a week, George Martin can be found at a downtown Vancouver fitness class, balancing on top of a big, bright stability ball or doing multiple sets of bicep curls with heavy weights. At 78 Martin keeps up with the best of them.

The G.I. Diet Clinic
This is the newest book from Rick Gallop, one of Canada’s leading promoters of healthy eating and living habits. During his 15-year term as president of Ontario’s Heart and Stroke Foundation, Gallop was recognized for achievements in fundraising for medical research and wellness.

Sanafir
Memorable meals are much akin to journeys, transporting the senses into new realms of experience. When such meals coincide with festive celebration, the experience becomes indelibly etched upon our minds.