Health + Wellness
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The Goods on the Ketogenic Nutritional Plan
Beginning in the 1970s many doctors and nutritionists advised against eating fatty foods. Such advice led to a significant rise in carbohydrate-based meals—that is, meals with a high content of glucose (sugars) like bread and pasta. The human body can either run on carbohydrates (glucose) or ketones (metabolized fat). The process whereby the body runs on fats as opposed to sugars is called ketosis. This happens when carbohydrates are severely restricted, causing the body to rely on fat intake or existing fat stores already present.
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Downward Facing Dog: The Benefits of Puppy Yoga
In need of some way to relax and destress? Puppy Love Yoga is the best place to go.
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Bouldering at The Rock Oasis for the First Time
If you’re looking to stay active, the best advice I can give is to find an activity that you enjoy doing. There’s nothing more counterproductive, or more grueling, than waking up at 6 a.m. to go on a run that you’ll then decide to never do again. Exercise is not a one-size-fits-all formula. You’ve got to experiment to find what works for you.
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Have Your High and Eat it Too
Last month, Canadians were able to legally purchase edibles at their local cannabis dispensary. We’ve all heard, or experienced, pot brownie horror stories – I witnessed a friend gasping for breath because he thought he was the couch and couches don’t breathe – but edibles are a viable alternative to smoking or vaping cannabis. Edibles are products infused with cannabis extracts or concentrates that contain active tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) ingredients. These products include beverages, gummy candies, dissolvable strips, baked goods, and even butter. What happens if I take edibles? While cannabis was legalised in October 2018, edibles were not until the following year and were not available for…
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Is Veganism For Me?
While researching popular health trends in 2020, one that continued to reoccur was meatless proteins and the vegan lifestyle. In Toronto the meatless market is taking the food industry by storm. Since the release of the Beyond Meat burger at A&W, many other fast food joints and even grocery stores have followed suit. You can now find a meatless meatball sandwich at Subway, a plant-based section at Loblaws, and entirely vegan restaurants with a vest menu selection.
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Things to Do If Your Child Tells You They Have Anxiety
So, your child has opened up to you about feelings of anxiousness and you’re wondering where to go from here. You want to be understanding and compassionate to your child, but you don’t want to reinforce their fears and continue the anxious cycle. While every child is different and the specific cause of their anxiety might alter the way it is dealt with, this list is a good starting point for parents that have little to no experience with anxiety in children. Thank Them for Trusting You While parents and children should constantly practice being both grateful and apologetic to each other when necessary, thanking your child is never more…
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Tai Chi: Finding Balance through Movement
Breathe in, breathe out. Concentrate on your moves. Detach yourself from the stress of everyday life. There is only you, your balance, and your next movement in the routine. The rest of the world fades away. Tai Chi (or, as some say, Taiji) and Qigong were born in Ancient China, but are by no means limited to that geographical boundary. Today, Tai Chi is one of the most popular martial arts, one with a deep philosophical approach towards energy, life force, and inner peace. The circulation of Chi (or life force) in the body can help mind and body’s health. It can also create balance in thoughts and movements. Some…
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What Do Safe Streets Look Like?
Forty-two. That is how many Torontonians died in the 2003 SARS outbreak, and it is also how many pedestrians and cyclists died on the streets of Toronto in 2019. If the City of Toronto treated pedestrian and cyclist safety as seriously as it is treating the current coronavirus scare perhaps that number would not have been so high. But, as the Toronto Star reported last December, Toronto police issued 140,000 fewer speeding tickets in 2018 than they had a decade earlier, and nearly fifty per cent fewer careless driving charges. There is a clear causal relationship between the reduction in the number of tickets that are issued and the increase…
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Why Starving Your Way to a Size Zero is Not Helping You
“Maybe, if I don’t eat for one month straight, I could totally rock that bodycon dress at the party”. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Starving our way to a perfect fit every now and then, believing that not eating for long hours is the fastest way to lose that extra inch. Well, sure–it might be. But it is also the fastest way to disturb your body’s metabolism–which could lead to something worse. Nourishment is a complex mechanism, which involves much more than just eating food. It is a combination of your psychological state, situational conditions, and biochemical signals being sent from your brain to your body and vice versa.…
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Bell Let’s Talk is Cheap
Bell Let’s Talk is an annual campaign wherein the telecommunications giant, Bell Canada, donates five cents for every text, wireless and long-distance call by customers, and any social media post that includes #BellLetsTalk. On surface level, the campaign is a success–having donated over $100 million to “mental health programs” in Canada over the last nine years. The campaign has also broadened its reach since it first began in 2011; going on to reserve funding specifically for child and youth programming, military family services, and Indigenous mental health initiatives nationally. However, as the campaign has gained esteem, impulsively becoming the pinnacle of a mental health movement in Canada, it has also…
