News

March 16, 2011 In Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Rich Ralph

Dehydration: Do You Drink Enough Water?

You may already know that the human body is over 60% water. And you may have been told that the average adult should drink about 8 glasses of water every day. But did you know that by the time a person actually feels thirsty, their body has lost roughly 1 % of its total water? Dehydration can have a physical effect on our bodies before we even experience thirst. Once the body loses only 0.5 % of its water, there is already an increased strain on the heart. Obviously dehydration has a wide range of severity depending on the total...

February 18, 2011 In Food and Recipes, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Recipes for Health: Quinoa Black Bean Salad

Quinoa, native to South America, is the grain of the moment - much like brown rice in the 70's, wheat berries in the 80's, and couscous in the 90's. Pronounced "keen-wa," it was a staple of the ancient Incas, hence the name "the mother grain." Mild, nutty-tasting and packed with high-quality protein, fiber, and iron, it cooks quickly, has a fluffy texture, and is available organically grown, packaged, and sold in whole food markets and many grocery stores. We see quinoa recipes everywhere: in food magazines, cookbooks, and on diet "yes" food lists. Quinoa is a dietician’s dream. A third of...

February 11, 2011 In Food and Recipes, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Can Eliminating Gluten Be Unhealthy?

Gluten is a special type of protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It helps give baked goods elasticity, providing them with that chewy texture so familiar in good bread. In addition, gluten provides strength and structure to baked goods, and as a result, it is found in varying quantities in almost all of them, breads in particular. But you can also find it in most types of cereals, crackers, and pasta. Ever since Elizabeth Hasselbeck's best-selling book The G-Free Diet: A Gluten Survival Guide (Center Street, 2009) hit bookstores, there has been an uptick of articles about gluten and going...

February 4, 2011 In Fitness, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Mixing Work and Fitness: Get in Shape with your Co-Workers

Have you noticed that the thought of working out by yourself isn’t so appealing? Or, have you found that unless you commit to someone else, the chances of you keeping your word on a fitness regime are pretty slim? To tie this factor in with the ubiquitous excuse of “I’m too busy to exercise”, a solution that works for many is to build in exercise with the people we interact with most frequently. For many, this would be co-workers. One example of how this might work is the Office Exercise Group. When an office exercise group is formed, participants (who are...

January 21, 2011 In Food and Recipes, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Recipes for Health: Lentil Soup

Perhaps you’re still feeling a bit full from the holidays. It's time to think about eating food that is rich in flavor but lighter than some of our traditional holiday fare. Our hearty vegetarian supper is a good place to start. When you’re ready for the main course, dish up steamy bowls of lentil soup and surprise yourself with how satisfying a bowl of beans can be. It is chock–full of tender lentils, vegetables, and savory seasonings. A slice of hot, crusty bread or a warm, just–out–of–the–oven corn muffin is a perfect accompaniment. Serves 4-6 Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 cloves garlic,...

January 12, 2011 In News, Spotlight, Weight Loss By Rich Ralph

Body Mass Index (BMI): An Unreliable Indicator of Obesity

It’s scary to hear reports telling us that we are currently living in an era with the most obesity in our history. In fact, roughly 1 in 4 Canadians 18 years and older are labeled as ‘obese’. But what exactly does this mean? It’s no secret that the quality of our diet has dramatically dropped in the last 30-50 years. There has been an exponential growth of refined, processed and fried foods, and a decrease in the consumption of fresh, local, whole food. So it’s no surprise that we are becoming the most overweight generation to ever inhabit the planet. This...

November 1, 2010 In News, Spotlight, Supplements, Weight Loss By Vancouver Health Coach

3 Must Have Supplements for Weight Loss

In North America there is a massive market for products which promise to aid in weight loss. Some of these products include pills, lotions, creams, and perhaps most notably, supplements. Weight-loss aids, diet pills and supplements, they come with several names but the goal is the same, to boost your metabolism and help lose weight. If you are having trouble losing weight make sure that you are getting at least 8 hours of sleep, keeping your blood sugar levels stable, getting enough exercise and consider taking these three nutritional supplements daily. 1. Vitamin B complex. This water soluble vitamin plays a key role in...

October 11, 2010 In Fitness, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Traumatic Knee injuries in Females: ACL Injury Prevention

One question I often get as a physiotherapist is whether or not injuries are seasonal? My answer usually goes like this: “In the spring and summer, I see an increase in niggling running injuries such as tendinopathies as people return to outdoor running. The winter brings fractures and dislocations as skiing and hockey injuries tend to produce more forceful tissue damage. Lastly, the fall season brings about more traumatic knee injuries created by ballistic, running and cutting sports such as soccer, field hockey, basketball and ultimate.” Although this generalization is fairly accurate, there are many other factors that come into play...

September 27, 2010 In News, Video, Yoga By Vancouver Health Coach

Strike a Yoga Pose: Tree Pose, Vrksasana

Tree Pose (Vrksasana) improves balance and flexibility, while also encouraging you to lighten up a bit. Something very important to remember when losing your balance in Tree Pose and sans the gentlest breeze: Trees have roots. A tree grows both upwards and downwards from the ground, thus creating a supportive base from which to sprout. In Tree Pose, a yogi creates the supportive base by mimicking the trunk of the tree with the lower body – but any roots that assist in staying upright are conjured through imagination (since we lack “Go Go Gadget Tree Pose Roots!”). Without the underground mirror image...

August 30, 2010 In Food and Recipes, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Health Effects of Drinking Soda

At any given lunch period at Old Union Elementary School in Southlake, Texas, 28 cans of carbonated soda (many wrapped in foil to keep cool) are being consumed amongst 106 third graders. In other words, 26% of the class is drinking soda at lunch. By the end of the day, 60% of all the third graders will have consumed at least one soda. Soft drinks have replaced milk as the drink of choice for these children. As parents we willingly comply, but the health effects to our children, and the financial burden to our health care system will be enormous. How...