Sunday, April 17, 2011

A Wake Up Call For Wellness

With yet another election campaign in full swing, our political leaders are once again making promise after promise of what they will do for Canadians, how much money they will save, and how much money they will spend. I know, promises, promises…we’ve heard this all before. What’s caught my attention this time are the promises they’re making yet again to pump millions and millions of more taxpayers dollars into healthcare. Does this really make any sense? Is healthcare what’s really needed, or should our focus be on prevention and wellness?

Doctors, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry seem to have formed the basis of healthcare and the health industry. However, it is a well known fact that pharmaceutical drugs, whether prescription or over-the-counter, are making people sick and killing them each and every day. Shouldn’t the health industry really be called the illness industry? The billions of dollars spent each and every year on healthcare seems to focus strictly on treating the symptoms of illness, rather than prevent illness and help people live a healthier life.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

You Are What You Eat

We’ve all heard the phrase “you are what you eat”. It’s a popular phrase in that it does hold some truth to it. The foods we eat contain a wide variety of essential and nonessential nutrients, as well as other substances that can affect our body functions.

There are six classes of nutrients known to be essential for human beings. They are carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. Our body needs all of these nutrients to maintain healthy functioning. Without sufficient or balanced intake of any of these vital nutrients, disease can develop.

Our body is constantly changing. We are not the same person we were a month ago. Although we may look the same and don’t notice any change, the substances that make up the tissues and organs of our body are continually changing. We tend to think of tissues such as bones, the heart and blood vessels, and nerves as being solid and permanent, but they are in fact in a constant state of renewal. How incredible is it that all of the cells of the skin are replaced every month, or the cells lining the intestinal tract are replacing themselves every 1 to 3 days. How about taste cells rejuvenating every 7 days, and red blood cells turning over every 120 days. Wow, isn’t the body remarkable! 

Feel Revitalized Everyday

With the arrival of spring, it’s so nice to be able to open up the windows again and let the warm fresh air fill our home. How rejuvenating it is to begin spring-cleaning both inside and outside of our home and once again experience the many joys springtime has to offer. There are also many great articles and advertisements about the importance of detoxification and spring-cleaning our body.

Well, I was originally going to join with the ranks and write an article about the importance of spring-cleaning our body, when it occurred to me that we should actually be supporting our elimination system on a daily basis through diet, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle. Not just every spring.