Community News
Ride Don’t Hide!

Spring is finally here and it’s the perfect time to get outside after a long, cold winter! Outdoor exercise is a great way to soak up the sun’s vitamin D, get your blood pumping, and reconnect with your community – all proven ways to boost your mental health. Need some motivation? Think about joining the Ride Don’t Hide movement, a Canada-wide community bike ride to build awareness for mental health. This year’s ride will be held at the Vimy Ridge Park, and its 21 km route will take you and our 300 riders through Winnipeg’s beautiful downtown. Ride Don’t Hide is for riders of all skill levels; it is not a race, but, rather, an opportunity to celebrate mental health and honour the recovery journeys of people who live with mental illness. Join the Ride Don’t Hide movement and celebrate mental health!

For details, visit: www.ridedonthide.com/mb/ride/winnipeg. Sean Miller, mbwpg.cmha.ca

Love Keeps You Healthy

Being in love not only gives you a bounce in your step, but it also has several proven health benefits. When you are in love, your brain produces a hormone, which is its own natural form of amphetamine called dopamine that contributes to feelings of elation, pleasure, optimism, energy, and a sense of well-being. Physical touch, such as hugging, handholding, and lovemaking, releases a hormone called oxytocin, which lowers stress hormones. Studies have demonstrated that people releasing these hormones have stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, greater resistance to colds and flus, and decreased stress and depression. It has been documented that happily coupled people also tend to live longer. We have always known eating healthy foods help maintain a healthy body. Now there is no disputing that healthy relationships foster a long and healthy life. Finding your life partner has more benefits than we once realized.

Lianne Tregobov, Intuitive Matchmaker, CamelotIntroductions.com

Clean Eating: Veggie Burgers

1 lg. red onion

1 lg. bell pepper

3 carrots

1 sm. head cauliflower

1 lg. stalk broccoli

1 C almonds, soaked 12-24 hours.

1 C sunflower seeds, soaked 5-6 hours

1/4 C sesame seeds, soaked 5-6 hours

5 cloves garlic

2 T Braggs or to taste

1 t cumin

2 T dried Cilantro or 1-2 C fresh

Blend all ingredients and seasonings in a food processor. Form and put 1/2” thick patties on a teflex sheet and place trays in dehydrator. Dehydrate at 105º for 8-12 hours. Flip burgers after 4 hours and remove teflex sheets, continue to dehydrate for 4-5 hours.

VeganRawFoodRestaurant.com

Nutrition from the Sea

The vegetables we consume today are vastly different from those grown 50 years ago. With the use of fertilizers, the exhaustion of most minerals from the soil cannot be prevented. However, minerals are still quite abundant in the ocean. Seaweed is a highly nutritious vegetable that’s often overlooked as a meal option. As dark, leafy veggies go, seaweed is about as nutrient-dense as it gets. Eat about a gram of seaweed and your daily iodine needs are taken care of. Seaweed packs high amounts of calcium and protein, as well as a good amount of vitamins B12 and A, and it’s a great source of fibre. But not just any old fibre. Seaweed is mostly soluble fibre; the kind that turns into a gel, slowing down the digestive process, thus inhibiting the absorption of sugars and cholesterol. Still don’t like the taste? Taking a seaweed pill can help with that!

ReVitamins of Charleswood, Twitter.com/ReVitamins

Children and Financial Health

Are you ready to give your kids “the talk”? Many families struggle to teach their children about money management and financial health. A parent is the primary source for a child’s financial education, but most are reluctant to give the “money talk”, as they fear their own personal financial situations make them a poor role model. To open a discussion about finance, allow children to be responsible for saving and spending their own money. A small allowance and piggy bank provide opportunities to start learning about long-term financial stability. Together, you can learn how to save for a goal, balance income and expenses, budget purchases, and learn about the effects of interest. It is never too late for parents to set a positive example and nurture positive financial techniques. Take the first step towards a healthier future for you and your family by seeking help from a financial advisor.

Thomas Johnson, Financial Advisor, Cascade Financial Group

Diabetic? Other Health Issues?

Contrary to what you have likely heard, diabetes is not caused by a family genetic history or being overweight. As damaging as diabetes is, it is simply a metabolic condition caused by lifestyle – mostly diet. Humans are not meant to be sick. There is no reason for type 2 diabetes or prediabetes to exist, aside from lifestyle causes. Resolving your diabetic issue is as simple, and as difficult, as correcting your diet. This dietary change is not ‘diabetes specific’. It is a return to the foods that our bodies expect. Eating a corrected diet for your body halts, reverses, eliminates, or prevents most health issues of the body or mind. T1 diabetics experience less dependence on insulin with fewer complications. Sound too good to be true? “It’s better to walk alone, than with a crowd going in the wrong direction.” ~ Diane Grant.

Tom White, EndDiabetesManitoba.ca, BecomeHEALTHY.ca

Detoxing Your Body

Pollutants from the environment – in the air, water and foods that we eat – as well as wastes produced from normal bodily processes, can accumulate within the body and lead to a state of congestion. To help maintain a healthy balance of assimilation and elimination, the Wild Rose D-Tox Program is uniquely designed to enhance all aspects of the metabolism. It is a proven 12-day cleansing program that follows a healthy and satisfying meal plan. Emphasis is placed on supporting the function of the liver, the small intestine and the bowel (large intestine) to promote proper digestion and elimination of toxins and wastes. The Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox program is simple to use. It has excellent benefits for both young and old, and it is enjoyed by both the novice and the experienced cleanser as a hearty diet can still be maintained.

Nathan Zassman, Aviva Natural Health Solutions, AvivaHealth.com/WildRose

Love Connection

In today’s fast-paced society finding love can be a difficult task. Technology often replaces human to human contact, and actual socialization has decreased. Many people have resorted to the Internet in attempts to find love. Virtual dating can be a very daunting task with terribly mixed results. There are wonderful, quality, single people, of all ages in Manitoba who are at a loss as to where find love. A Matchmaker is often the answer. Matchmaking is an age-old profession that historically has brought love into peoples’ lives for centuries. An experienced Matchmaker hand picks and presents individuals who have been screened and are suited to their clients often resulting in long lasting love. Placing your heart in the hands of a good Matchmaker should lead to an amazing love connection with someone who is right for you.

Lianne Tregobov, Camelot Introductions, camelotintroductions.com

Vipassana Meditation

Research has shown that meditation can expand the brain, and help people avert stress and disease. One way to achieve this is through Vipassana meditation, a technique that emphasizes mindfulness, with the goal of seeing things as they “really are.” An ancient meditative technique from India, Vipassana was taken up by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) just over 2,500 years ago. Vipassana meditation is the practice of freedom. It is an honest and direct practice: the moment-to-moment investigation of the mind-body process through calm, open, and precise awareness. Learning to observe our experience from a place of spacious stillness enables us to relate to life with a balance of wisdom and compassion. This experience fosters clarity and penetrating insight into the nature of who we are, as well as increased peace in our daily lives.

Brett Scott, Disability Tax Credit, DisabilityTaxCreditWinnipeg.com

Something to Sleep On

Daydreaming about better health? Getting 7-9 hours of uninterrupted, deep sleep can help make those dreams come true. Some researchers claim that the health benefits of sleeping are equivalent to those of eating. When daylight fades, our bodies release melatonin, a natural sleep aid/hormone with powerful antioxidant properties that works to: 1) Reduce inflammation; 2) Foster mental and emotional resilience; 3) Boost immune system function; 4) Improve performance and memory; 5) Protect your heart; 6) Prevent cancer. Having trouble sleeping? Here are a few tips to help you nod off: 1) Darken your room. Melatonin release only happens in low light/dark conditions. Blue light from mobile devices, TV’s, etc. inhibits this process. 2) Avoid eating/drinking 2-3 hours before bedtime. 3) Keep a consistent sleep/wake schedule. 4) Engage in moderate to rigorous exercise. If you rarely feel well rested talk to your healthcare provider about natural and medicinal support.

Sean Miller, CMHA MB & WPG, mbwpg.cmha.ca

A Daughter’s Recommendation

Care At Home Pharmacy can help seniors remain in the comfort of their home by having quality care come to them. My parents have greatly benefitted from “visiting pharmacist” Yolanda Yeung’s involvement. She initially developed a medical profile for each of them and made recommendations to their doctor regarding medication changes. She visits my parents’ home weekly to monitor their progress and well-being, and provides their prescriptions and any other pharmaceutical needs, as recommended by their doctor. I am my parents’ primary caregiver but do not live in the city, so Yolanda and I communicate by email. She also regularly communicates with the doctor and nursing service involved with my parents’ care. It is a great comfort to me to know the Care At Home Pharmacy team provides a personalized and reputable service to seniors like my parents and is so willing to partner with other services in this type of care at home model. – Happy Daughter.

Care At Home Pharmacy, CareAtHomePharmacy.ca