Just Dance

Hello May! Why aren't you beautiful?

Took this picture near my school. Isn't it the most perfect daffodil?!

I don't know about the rest of Canada, but Toronto's weather has been a beaut these last couple of days. May flowers? Check! (See above). May sunshine? Check! (Today it was 22*C). May sunburn? Check! (Doh! That was my bad. I got caught up in today's glorious weather, spending too much time outside without protection or shade. Lesson learned).

Now that the weather is nice, the side-walks and parks have been bustling with people getting in some exercise. But apparently the exercise doesn't have to shop once the sun goes down. Now, according to this article, it has become trendy in New York City to party while exercising. That's right: rather than going to a bar on a Saturday night, you go to a "workout" club, complete with a DJ and fancy disco lights. You can read the article about this cool new workout option here.

While this idea sounds super fun, and is a great alternative to spending your Saturday night binge drinking, I must chime in with some of potential health concerns that may arise when following this trendy new workout regime:

First, what about sleep? After engaging in that much physical activity and excitement late into the night, it may be hard to "wind down" and fall asleep. Don't be alarmed if you can't get those catchy club beats out of your head! Exercising at night may throw of your circadian rhythm/normal sleep cycle.

Second, what about refueling? After physical activity, it is very important to refuel your muscles with protein and carbohydrates. Oh, and lots of water to replenish the fluid you lost through sweat. But these dancers may not want to have a meal at 1 AM. My suggestion would be to have a smoothie (the liquid will be easier to digest that meal or solid snack), complete with protein powder, berries, banana, and coconut water for ultimate replenishment and hydration.

Third, what about those who are still drinking after exercising? I wonder how many of these late-night exercisers will still go out and have a "night on the town" after their workout; a night full of alcohol and late-night pub food. An intense workout (which dehydrates) plus alcohol (also dehydrates) plus salty food (resulting in more dehydration) could equal one killer hangover the next day! These dancers should be careful when combining heavy exercising with heavy partying.

5 Easy Ways to Support Earth Day

The grass is greener on the [out]side! 

1) Download a thirty-day 'green living' challenge here. Lots of great tips for becoming more green in that guide. I recently committed myself to the challenge listed on Day 3. No more dryer sheets. Instead I'm going to be using wool balls that are reusable and made by independent artists. I bought mine off of Etsy. 

2) Check out EarthDay.ca and look for events happening in your area. There weren't too many events registered for Toronto, which made me sad because over 3 million people live in the city! I thought there would have been tons of events listed. 

3) Commit yourself to a green challenge. EarthDay.org has several pledges you can make here. Easy ones like pledging to recycle E-waste.

4) Seeing as today is Monday, make today a meatless-Monday! Reducing your overall meat consumption is always good for the environment. I'm cooking up some tempeh tonight. 

5) Get outside and enjoy the beautiful Earth we live on! Garden, walk, sit on the deck/patio, bike, etc. Now that is Spring, it's time to soak up the fresh, fragrant, and floral air! 

Dog Walking

Last week, on my current Thursday clinic shift, we chatted about strategies to get someone who doesn't exercise to start. We brainstormed lots of ideas and took notes for when I am in practice and begin coaching non-exercises. So, exercise motivation has been on my mind lately.

Then, on the weekend, when it was nice, bright, and somewhat warm outside, I noticed lots of dog walkers. This got me thinking: would owning a dog help with exercise motivation?

Throw a dog a bone ...then chase after it with him/her!

If you are a good dog owner, then you take your dog on walks to stretch their legs, frolic and be free, and use the bathroom of course. Having a dog basically forces the human to get outside (unless you have a hired dog walker or a big, fenced-backyard where you can let your dog roam unattended... but let's not think of too many counter points; that'll defeat the point of my argument :P). So yes, owning a dog forces you (if you want to take good care of your dog) to get outside and go on walks on a regular basis.

My conclusion: maybe non-exercisers just need a dog to get them moving! Especially a dog that definitely needs to be walked (i.e. not one of these lower energy dogs, but if you read the attached article, you'll see that even teeny-tiny pups also need a good stretch!).

Prevent Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are veins that have become torturous (aka twisted and enlarged, I already discussed this term) and blue due to abnormal pooling of blood. They can sometimes be painful, but often are benign other than being visually bothersome. Spider veins are teeny, tiny varicose veins; whereas varicose veins occur in larger veins (most often in the lower leg).

Healthy, normal functioning veins have valves in them to keep blood flowing towards the heart and not flowing backwards, back into the legs. When veins are varicose, these valves do not work as well, allowing . blood to flow backwards, pooling in leg veins causing them to enlarge.

How do health care professionals tackle varicose veins? 

Allopathically, you can have surgery to remove the troublesome vein entirely or to repair the valves. There is also laser surgery that can repair the vein without cutting into the vein.  

Naturopathically, we primarily focus on prevention. Prevent varicose veins by...

1) Exercising to improve circulation (walking and running are good options)

2) Avoiding crossing legs when sitting

3) Maintain a healthy weight (excess weight means more pressure on the legs)

4) Eat a low salt diet to keep blood pressure in check and to decrease water retention

5) Wiggle and shift legs while standing for long periods of time

6) Avoid wearing high heels and poor footwear that compromises feet/lower leg circulation

In terms of some simple treatment options to use when varicose veins already exist, you can elevate your legs for 10 minutes each night (try stacking a bunch of pillows under your leg when you are watching TV or when reading in bed) or wear support stockings (which are basically very tight socks that compress the lower limbs). 

Winter Exercises

Source

How to Exercise in the Winter
(don't forget to bundle up first!):

Go for an after-dinner stroll
Hike in a snowy forest
Ski or snowboard
Skate or snowshoe
Shovel the driveway
Go sledding
Have a snowball fight
Walk midday, when the temperature is warmest


Other Ways to Stay Active 
(without having to go into the cold!):

Exercise at home with an exercise-DVD
Join a gym or take a fitness class
Swim in an indoor pool
Attend a hot yoga class or do yoga at home
Wander around a mall (not for the shopping, but for the walking!)
Take the stairs as much as possible

Fatigued?

We have learned that when a patient walks into your office and says "my chief concern is fatigue", we have to ask a bunch of questions to understand what they actually mean by fatigue.

What does fatigue mean to the patient? Does it mean:

 ...tired? ...sleepy? ...physically exhausted? ...apathetic? ...depressed? ...is there lassitude?

The descriptors above would each point the doctor towards a different diagnosis so it is very important to ask the right questions to make that sure he or she is going in the right direction when a patient presents with fatigue. 

Several examples of questions that may be asked to help determine the diagnosis: 

- Are you still fatigued after a good night of sleep?

- Do you feel well rested in the morning?

- Do naps help the fatigue?

- Tell me about your sleep. Is your sleep of adequate quantity and of good quality?

- Does the onset of the fatigue happen at the end of the day?

- How is your mood?

- How is the fatigued changed by exercise? Increased or decreased?

- Tell me about your diet. Are you consuming adequate calories, nutrients, and iron?

- Do you drink caffeine? How much and when?

- Etc, etc...

Cayenne Pepper Feet.

Image source here. 

We learned about Cayenne pepper (Capsicum) in Botanical Medicine recently. People often associate this herb with spicy food; it is a component in chili powder and has quite the kick! However, this herb also has lots of medicinal properties too.  My professor made a funny comment when he talked about this herb in class: he said that skiers and other people who spend long periods of outdoors in the cold, should sprinkle some cayenne pepper onto their toes before they go into the cold!  Apparently the constituents in Cayenne stimulate not only the heat receptors in the mouth, but those externally too!  I'm not a skier but I think I will try this sometime in the Winter; one day when I have to be outside during long periods of time.  I bet it will feel silly to sprinkle a spice on my feet, but it is worth a try.

Note: I have not tried this and am not recommending it per say, just sharing the idea. I am not responsible for burnt toes! :P

Vitamin G

Have you received your daily dose of vitamin G today?  

To all my science readers: no, you were not asleep during that part of the Biochemistry lecture. Vitamin G is a newly created "vitamin" in which the G stands for greenspace. This new "vitamin" was the focus of the new book Your Brain on Nature and the talk I attended last Monday.

Here are some snippets from the talk: 

- Research has shown that people who exercise outdoors have lower levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), blood pressure, and better immune system functioning after their workout compared to those who exercise in a gym. 

- Trees secrete chemicals that provoke feelings of well-being (which may be why we feel better after being in nature). 

- Research has shown that natural killer cells (part of our immune system) are increased for a week after we spend a good chunk of time in a forest. 

- Some counselors have set-up counseling sessions that take place outdoors. The natural, peaceful setting is thought to help the healing process of their patients. 

- It is thought that people have pets in order to better connect them with nature. 

- Kids who spend times in gardens are way more likely to eat their veggies! 

- Urban greenspace is good for you too; you can still reap the benefits of nature without having meadows and mountains in your background. 

- Vitamin G is the most affordable vitamin on the market. It's completely free and everyone has access to it. 

- We need to start paying attention to our "screen time". How much time do we spend a day staring at a computer, cell phone, or television? 

- Society is suffering from infotoxicity. We are overloaded with information and most of it is useless (e.g. useless Tweets, the Facebook reel, advertisements left-right-and-center, reality TV). 

- Kids today can't recognize plants and animals in their own backyards. "A shallow connection with nature leads to shallow solutions for conservation". 

- No greenspaces nearby? Try adding some plants to your home/office. Research shows beneficial health effects can be achieved by having four plants in the home/office. 

- Vitamin blue (oceans, lakes, rivers, seas, etc) is just as good as vitamin greenspace.

- These are just some of the things that were discussed during the talk. I'd recommend reading the book for way more information and inspiration!

So, what's the doctor's prescription? 20 minutes of vitamin G daily for good health. 

Physical Medicine.

The main naturopathic modalities that I will be using as a future ND include: nutrition (diet and supplements), botanical medicine, counseling, hydrotherapy, and physical medicine. 

When I first started at CCNM, and when these modalities were first introduced to me, I naively thought that physical medicine only consisted of massage and manipulation (aka chiropractic medicine). This year, however, I am learning that physical medicine is so much more! In third year, students take the course 'Physical Medicine'.  I've only had four classes of 'Phys Med' thus far, but boy have a I learned a lot of new therapies. 

Physical Medicine appears to be the best modality to body complaints; things like: sore muscles, sports injuries, strains, sprains, back pain, tension, nerve impingement, scars, etc. Phys Med involves a lot of pain management and techniques that encourage healing. 

Some of the Phys Med tools that we will be learning this year include (learning both theoretically and practically (i.e. hands on)):


Ultrasound: Not just an imaging technique, but a treatment too!  The ultrasound head sends sound waves through the tissue.  The sound waves cause internal vibrations, causing collagen re-growth promoting repair or increasing heat (heat is important in the tissue repair process, it means blood, hormones, growth factors, white blood cells (mast cells), and other repair elements are coming to the injury to fix it up). 

IFC (interferential current therapy): Very gentle electrical impulses are sent through the tissue surrounding the injury/pain. This low-frequency stimulation/vibrations causes the body to send healing factors (see above) to the site, helping to heal and relieve pain. 

Lasers: Similar to ultrasound and IFC, lasers use light beams to heal the damaged tissue/painful area by encouraging collagen regrowth and all those healing factors (see above) to the site. 


Who would of thought that sound, electrical current/vibration, and light could be so good for the body!

Summer Scenes 6.

Orange + Red = Fire Flower

I've really been enjoy the abundance of color everywhere this Summer! I've taken lots of pictures of plants. My walking scenery has been bright and colorful thanks to the flowers lining my path.  I've seen some really unique varieties lately too, like the funky, fiery, trumpet-like ones above.

I'm not a flower gardener myself, but major props to those who are (Hi, Gram and Gramp!). Gardening is wonderful for overall health because it...

1) Gets you outdoors, into the fresh air and sunshine (which boosts Vitamin D levels)
2) Is a form of physical activity, building muscle, moving lymphatics, and boosting metabolism
3) Is a stress-reducing activity, helping the mind to unwind and reconnect with the simpler joys in life, such as flowers

Six Pack.

The rectus abdominus is the name of the muscle that we commonly refer to as our abs. Most people develop their abs by preforming abdominal crunches.  However, according to my Anatomy professor, you have to forcefully exhale while doing your crunches, because the rectus abdominus muscle has an important role in active respiration. Remember: in order to develop a muscle, you have to use the muscle in the way the muscle was intended to be used!

...and instead of working out to develop your "abs", you can just tape a six pack of rolls on your chest like this funny fellow did. Ha ha!

30 Days with Nature.

Congrats on spending 30 days with nature!

Today the 30x30 challenge wraps-up.  Let's take a look back at the last 30 days (feel free to answer these questions yourself if you participated):

What did you manage to do?  Lots of walking (including evening strolls), Frisbee, soccer, managed to explore a new park, picnic/ate outdoors, etc.

What didn't you do?  Didn't get out biking, no gardening, and not as much time reading outdoors as I had hoped (I did this a bit, but most days in June were just soooooooo hot it was hard to stay idle outdoors).

How did you feel spending so much time with nature? Loved it. Especially now that it is warmer, it was nice to take advantage of the warm and bright evenings too. However, I must say that most of the time I didn't actually feel like I was immersed in 'nature'.  Remember that I live in Toronto, people :P  Finding true green spaces was HARD, but I made the most of city parks and neighborhoods.

What was the trickiest part?  Rainy days were challenging.  I managed to find a moment during one particularly wet day when the rain had stopped and got outdoors.  On another rainy day, I just put on my rubber boots and took an umbrella to keep me dry. Oh, and as I said above, completing the challenge in a city was tricky.

Hmm, now that July is here, should we start another challenge?  I am thinking about starting a smoothie one. A smoothie-a-day would be quite refreshing! 

Island Fun.

Today was fun! I spent the day on the Toronto Islands. The weather was sunny and breezy; perfect for visiting the lush green islands for the first time.

What did I do on the island? Play Frisbee Golf (or rather Disc Golf, because Frisbee is technically a brand name). Disc Golf is just like golf, only instead of swinging a ball into a hole, you have to throw a Frisbee into a net.  To the left is a picture of my Frisbee held up beside the map for Hole #10.

There is a lot I could say about the islands, but I'll keep the post short by discussing only my favorite island detail.  The best of the island was the activity!  Everyone on the island (and it was busy, even for a Tuesday) was being physically active. I saw bikers, roller bladders, canoe-ers, kayake-ers, hikers, walkers, Fribee-ers, paddlers, swimmers, runners, and more! You could even rent these cool two-to-four person bike buggies (pictured to the right) to drive around the island in. The island was simply bustling with (physical) activity.  What a sight to see so many people content while moving.

My visit to the islands today confirmed my belief that physical activity can most definitely be fun. So here is my plea: dear readers, now that it is Summer---sunny and warm---it is time to get moving! No cold wintery excuses will do.  The great outdoors is one giant playground just waiting to be explored.

So, who is with me? Let's make this Summer an active one!

The Diet Diary.

A diet diary is a tool naturopathic doctors use to take a peak at their patients' daily eating adventures.  Patients are asked to record everything they ate and drank each day, for a week. 

This is somewhat similar to the one they use at CCNM.  Found here.

Pros (of Diet Diaries):

- gets patients thinking about their diet and where their daily calories are coming from
- encourages patients to eat proper meals (because the chart is divided into breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a spot for snacks on the side)
- allows the ND to help the patient to eat better. The diary is not something that the ND will critique, but will use as a template to make minor improvements (maybe more protein in the morning, fewer carbohydrates in this meal)
- helps address nutrient needs and/or deficiencies. The ND will be able to see if the patient is getting enough protein, fiber, vitamin C, calcium, etc, by analyzing the week's diary.
- help address water intake (a biggie; most people aren't drinking enough or don't really think about their water intake. The diary will make the patient start recording and thus thinking about H2O).
- typically, there is a spot for 'symptoms' too; meaning, if a patient eats pineapple and then has an afternoon stomach ache, or ate whole wheat toast and then felt bloated, then the doctor can begin to hypothesize some potential food sensitivities. The diary can be a starting point; sparking ideas for further health explorations.

Cons (of Diet Diaries), Part One:

- patients are consciously aware of their food being 'monitored'; they may skew their eating to 'please' their ND or may leave some things off the chart entirely. It is important to be honest with the diary and eat 'normal' during the recorded week.
- portions are often not recorded, maybe because the patient doesn't know much about portions. For example, the chart may read "spaghetti and meatballs" for dinner, but how much pasta was that? A handful or a salad bowl full? What about the meatballs? Was that 4 or 10?
- it's only a week. A week is really just a peak at a person's diet.  It's certainly better than nothing, but a month of diet recording would be ideal.

Cons (of Diet Diaries), Part Two:
(These are the things I hope to change on the diet diaries I hand-out when I am a practicing ND)

- an exercise log. What if a patient ate a salad bowl full of pasta (which seems like a lot!) but then ran 15 kilometers the next day? Or what if the patient had only salad for dinner, after the spent two hours at the gym? It is important to track activity in addition to intake to find out whether or not the patient getting enough fuel.
- a section for all drinks (coffee, pop, juice, wine, beer, herbal tea, etc, all contribute to one's diet and should be accounted for in the diary).
- number of bowel movements per day.  Some foods can promote constipation, while others make bowel movements more diarrhea-like (especially common food sensitivities, like dairy or gluten).  Bowel movements (as yucky as this sounds) is an important piece of the diet puzzle too.
- supplements should be tracked too.  Is the patient taking fish oil? Protein powder? Calcium chews?
- emotional feeling. In addition to physical symptoms (bloated, tired, headache, skin broke-out, etc) emotions should be recorded too.  Food can definitely stir-up our emotions. Did any foods make you feel satisfied, depleted, giddy, or miserable?

Halfway.

Today is the halfway point of the 30x30 Nature Challenge!  Congratulations to all those participating.  

Image source here.

Here's a recap of some ways that I've completed my 30 minutes a day (hopefully to give you some inspiration):

- walks (SO many walks)
- sat under a tree (yep, I just sat there (and ate a snack). Took in the sights and sounds of the world around me)
- Frisbee (the perfect Summer 'sport')
- did work outside (I sat outside and sent emails, etc. Feeling the breeze and sun while 'working' was enjoyable)
- sightseeing (went somewhere new and just took in the outdoorsy 'sights'. No need to go far to 'sight-see')
- read a book in a park (on a park bench)

Still on my list to try this month:

- picnic!
- bicycle? ...or garden?
- more reading outdoors (note the picture shown above)
- explore a new park in the city (hopefully going to do that TODAY)

...and even if you aren't registered for the challenge, that doesn't mean that today isn't the perfect day to spend some time in nature.  You got to start somewhere, am I right? ;)

Recap and Challenge.

Recap: Did you enjoy the Health Scenes? It's been a week and thus time to stop. I have many more scenes to show you, so I will likely repeat the week sometime in the future.

Aww nature, how I love thee. Image source here.

Challenge: I would like to invite you all to participate in this exciting new challenge. The David Suzuki Foundation is challenging everyone to commit to spending 30 minutes with nature for the next 30 days. The challenge starts June 1st, giving you a couple of days to plan out your upcoming month in the great outdoors! The website features all kinds of ways to enjoy nature and discusses the importance of finding time for nature (Naturopathic Doctors definitely encourage it for good health!). I am committing to the challenge and plan on spending my days:

- reading in sun

- gardening

- walking in the woods

- exploring parks

- picnics outdoors

- dance in the rain

- play frisbee, soccer, jump rope, and other outdoor activities

- and finding new ways to enjoy nature!

I will post recaps in the month of June detailing my time with nature.  Maybe even throw in a picture or two! Sign up for the challenge here. I'll end today with this inspiration instruction found on the website: Be sure to breathe deeply, feel the sun on your face, take comfort; absorb the wonders of nature bit by bit.

DIY Deodorant.

This may sound a bit revealing, but I haven't worn deodorant for almost a year.

As a future naturopathic doctor, I can't help but want to avoid products that just seem so un-natural too me.  Deodorant falls into my suppressive chemical category that I try hard to avoid. You know, products that don't address the root cause and just cover-up the problem? (Another big example is taking tylenol/aspirin for headaches). Deodorant/anti-antiperspirants prevent your underarm from sweating by inhibiting sweat glands.  I decided about a year ago that I'll have no more unnecessary suppression in my life, hence my decision to drop deodorant.  I've spent most of the past year without anything under my arms.  I just made sure to give them a good cleaning (with soap and warm water, typically though I just clean them when I shower) once a day to prevent smell. Did you know that perspiration (aka sweat) is odorless and that it's the bacteria growing under our arms that feed off the sweat and cause the stink?

However, with warm weather and inevitably sweaty days on the horizon, I decided to create homemade deodorant to help combat smelling armpits.  I've been using this product for a month now and so far so good! No mid-day smell detected, even on my sweatiest days. I also feel fairly dry even when sweaty thanks to the baking soda. The recipe makes a lot, I'm thinking between 4-6 months of deodorant from one batch! If you are considering reducing your dependence of deodorants/anti-antiperspirants, I'd suggest giving this recipe a try.

Two cautions: First, apparently baking soda can stain clothes, so you may not want to use this product when wearing your best shirts.  I haven't had this experience, but I read of some people online with this problem.  Second, some people find the soda irritating if applied to freshly shaven armpits.  Again, I haven't had this problem, just throwing it out there.

DIY Deodorant (inspired by this recipe):

1/4 cup baking soda 

1/4 cup coconut oil (key ingredient because it stays solid at room temperature)

1/4 cup arrowroot starch (cornstarch would probably work too!)

Drops of essential oils for smell, like lavender, peppermint, orange, etc (optional)

Melt the coconut oil on low heat in a pan or pot.  Stir in the starch and soda until combined.  Pour into a little bowl or container.  Let sit on counter until firm (it will solidify completely!). Store container in the bathroom.  To use, simply use your fingers to dig-off a marble-sized amount of deodorant and spread under clean armpits (this amount will do both armpits). Wash hands after applying.

Apple + Chocolate

...and by referring to the combo of Apple + Chocolate, I don't actually mean a chocolate-covered apple!

What I do mean, is to share a piece of advice given to me by by grade 12 Law class teacher (rather my Droit teacher, because the class was taught en francais). He gave the class a piece of exam writing advice that I have never forgotten and still use his technique to this day.  Since I am using his technique these days as I complete my year-two final exams, I thought I would share it.  

Even if you're not a student, this technique can be applied to any activity that requires sustained energy and lasts about two hours long. Examples: hikes/long walks, shopping trips, cleaning the house from top to bottom, the last two hours of the work day, car trips, etc.

Here's the tip: 

Right before the event, eat an apple. The apple provides the body with energy by sustaining blood glucose levels over an hour or so period of time.  The fiber and water in this fruit buffer the release of the fruit sugars, allowing the body to have a gradual release of energy. This is important during long events such as writing exams or any of the activities above because we don't want to 'crash' or become very tired in the middle of them.  Then, during the last 15-30 minutes of the event (the 'crunch time' of the exam, or the last must-they-drag-on hours of the workday, or those last couple of highway exits before the destination is reached) eat a piece of chocolate.  Not a whole bar, just a square. Just enough to provide you with a burst of simple sugars and caffeine to give you the last bit of energy you need for that one last push!

So before I buckle down before that exam (that walk, those errands, that report that needs writing...), I eat my apple.  I also tuck a piece of chocolate into my purse/bag/hoodie pocket for later on, when I need my second wind.  Most chocolate bars come foil wrapped, so I just take a bit of this extra foil to wrap-up my chocolate piece.  Point of caution: don't put the chocolate into a pant pocket or in any clothing pocket that is really close to the body, for the heat of the body will melt the chocolate! Trust me on this one; I unfortunately had to learn this the hard way. 

And there you have it.  Who knew that apples and chocolate make the perfect energy combination? Mr. D did. Many thanks---after all those years of using his tip---to Mr. D!

Boosting Bones.

Contrary to popular belief, calcium is not the be-all in bone health.

The key to understanding bone health is an understanding of acids+bases:

Calcium makes up our bone and calcium is basic. The standard North American diet is highly acidic (due to lots of unhealthy fats, animal protein, junk food, and soda/pop). When we eat this diet, our body becomes acidic. In order to neutralize the acidic environment, calcium is pulled out of the bone, resulting in weak bones (ultimately leading to osteoporosis, increased bone fractures, etc).

Based on the following points, you will see that number one way to take care of bones is to eat a whole foods, mostly plant-based protein, and fruit & vegetable-rich diet (this diet achieves all of the points listed below):

- Increase physical activity. The second best way to protect your bones (and not just weight bearing exercise, all forms of movement count)!
- Increase fruit and vegetable intake (F&V are alkalizing and lots of potassium, both excellent for bone).
- Decrease caffeine intake (caffeinated foods and beverages are acid forming in the body).
- Adequate vitamin D levels (vit D modulates calcium absorption, without it, no calcium is entering the bone!)
- Decrease animal protein (it contains lots of sulphur-containing amino acids, making the body more acidic).
- Adequate vitamin K (which you can get in leafy greens (and greens also have lots of calcium, double win!)).
- Adequate soy (for the isoflavones).
- Adequate calcium. 800 mg of calcium is recommended (for adults, per day, in Canada). This is very easy to achieve from diet alone, especially if it is rich in fruits and vegetables. Probably no need to supplement calcium unless you are at risk for osteoporosis. Talk to your health care provider if calcium supplements (or supplements of some other nutrients listed above) would be beneficial to your health.

The best sources of dietary calcium are greens and tofu. Other very good sources are molasses, dairy (yogurt, cheese, and milk), and herbs (such as basil, thyme, dill, oregano, and cinnamon). But remember that almost all vegetables contain some calcium, so eating a wide variety of veggies can provide a hefty dose of calcium too.

Image source (which are actually bone-shaped cookies!) here.

I Would Walk 500 Miles....

....and I would walk 500 more,
To be the man who walked 1,000 miles,
To fall down at your door.

Song lyrics here.

Now that the sun is up, I can't help myself but what to be outdoors, soaking up the glorious sun, going on long walks. Walking is by far my exercise of choice. It is leisurely, puts me outdoors, gets my heart beating, enjoy nature, and allows me to clear my mind. I'd a million times over prefer to go for a walk rather than sweat in a gym, play a sport, or even do yoga.

The point I want to make today is that in order to be motivated about doing exercise, that you need to find an activity that you really love. One that you enjoy and doesn't really feel like exercising. Too many people slave away at a gym because they think that gyms are key to physical fitness. Others take up running because it is very popular. But if these activities aren't for you, keep exploring different forms of physical fitness until one clicks. Now that it is warm out and the weather is good, take the time to try out new activities. Rollerblading? Jogging? Frisbee? Vollyball? Golf? Yoga on the lawn? It will be much easier to achieve fitness and weight goals if the form of physical activity chosen is a fun and lovable one.

Find a form of movement that suits your lifestyle, keeps you motivated, and makes you happy! So if it works for you, get out there, and walk 500 miles...