10 Read Worthy Health Blogs

blogThe great thing about the internet is that there is so much information to choose from for any given topic… the worst thing about the internet is that there is so much information to choose from for any given topic. Diversified Health has complied a list of 10 health relate blogs that offer useful information, and engaging blogs that will make your life a little bit easier.

Breaking Muscle.com – This blog is all about fitness and nutritional advice.  Breaking Muscle is a team of experienced professionals dedicated to providing comprehensive strength & conditioning and mind body wellness programs. They provide information from expert coaches and scientific research – no fads just the real deal.

Examine.com/blog –  Examine.com is an independent and unbiased encyclopedia on supplementation and nutrition.

Tiny Buddha.com – Daily wisdom quotes, tips to live out loud and find happiness, and stories about applying wisdom to real life.  Providing simple wisdom for complex lives.

Blog.TED.com –  TED is a nonprofit organization that believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. They are building a clearinghouse of knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.

Tabata Times.com –  This site has the latest and greatest CrossFit workouts, tips, and inspiration. Tabata Times has grown to become the largest independent media voice covering the sport of  CrossFit.

The Kitchn.com – The Kitchn is a daily food magazine on the Web celebrating life in the the kitchen through home cooking and kitchen intelligence. This is a site for people who care about the quality of their food, and how it affects the health of themselves and the planet.

Authority Nutrition.com – Welcome to Authority Nutrition, a site that helps people make informed decisions about their health based on the best scientific evidence available.

Precision Nutrition.com/blog  – Precision Nutrition helps people transform their lives through expert coaching, ongoing support, and guided mentorship.

The Atlantic.com/author/james-hamblin – James Hamblin, MD, is a senior Health editor at The Atlantic. If you find yourself getting confused about the latest health trends, this is the Blog for you.

My Fitness Pal.com – MyFitnessPal is a free, comprehensive nutrition and fitness system that makes it easy for you to attain your fitness goals and live healthier. Take advantage of MyFitnessPal’s precise, personalized & powerful tools, like our vast meal database of over 4 million foods, and incredibly simple food & exercise trackers.

These blogs are a great resource; some are full of practical information, others are a place to find an interesting fact,  an inspirational section, or just a giggle. Enjoy!!

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When To Take Your Vitamins

time-to-take-supplements-350x286Some vitamins and supplements can interfere with certain medications resulting in serious side effects. Some of these medications include blood pressure medications, antidepressants, and certain cancer therapies.  If you are taking any medications, check with your physician before taking any supplements.

Everything from bottled water to breakfast cereals seems to have added vitamins and minerals in it.  Remember that if you eat a fortified cereal at breakfast, grab an energy bar for a lunch, and eat enriched pasta for dinner, and take a daily supplement, you could easily be over the recommended daily intake for vitmains and minerals.

If you opt to take multivitamins, choose one that provides no more than 100 percent of the daily value of each nutrient.

Vitamins come in two varieties: water soluble ( Vitamins B and C) and fat soluble (Vitamins such as A, D, E and K). Vitamins are grouped according to how they are dissolved and stored in your body.  Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in your body’s fatty tissue and liver and are used as needed by your body,  while water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water and are not stored in your body.

Here are a few rules on taking vitamins:

  • Calcium should be taken at night; as it acts as a natural muscle relaxant, promoting quality sleep.
  •  Magnesium has a calming effect, and is best taken in the evening and with food, which aids in absorption.
  • Some vitamins can enhance the absorption of other nutrients. Vitamin C, helps enhance iron absorption.
  • Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are more easily absorbed when taken with a meal that contains fats.
  • Zinc is best taken 1 – 2 hours  either before or after a meal.
  • Iron is best absorbed if taken on an empty stomach and should not be taken with calcium, zinc, or vitamin E, which may interfere with proper absorption.
  • Fish oil is best consumed alongside other fat-soluble vitamins, and with a meal, where the fat content aids in absorption.  Fish oil should never be taken prior to physical activity
  • As a general rule, supplements should be taken with water, and never taken with coffee and tea.  The caffeine or tannin content may interfere with nutrient absorption.

Be aware that vitamins and minerals can affect the absorption and effectiveness of many medications, so always check with your doctor or health care provider.

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When should you see a chiropractor?

If your life is disrupted due to back pain, neck pain, headaches, sprains or strains, chiropractic care can help you feel like yourself again. Injuries to the spine can happen at any stage of life and for various reasons including car crashes, workplace incidents and sports injuries. Even simple everyday tasks such as going for a walk or washing the dishes have the potential to cause pain or discomfort that many of us just decide to live with. Sometimes these aches and pains even prevent us from working or doing the things we love.

Visit http://www.letstalkback.ca for more info.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUTFdvKtm9Q

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Laser Hair Removal And Sun Exposure

imageHair removal is a goal for many people, especially during the summer months. While the results can be fabulous, you should know the rules around cosmetic laser hair removal treatments.

Stay out of the sun, as tan increases the risk of side effects, so if you have a tan either from sun exposure, a tanning salon or sunless tanning products, you will need to wait until the tan fades completely before undergoing laser hair removal.

Cosmetic lasers hair removal works best on people with lighter skin tones and darker hair.  Beware that changes in pigmentation can occur to anyone. These changes can be hypo-pigmentation which is lightening of the skin or hyper-pigmentation which is darkening of the skin.

Do not tweeze, wax, bleach, or use depilatories during cosmetic lasers hair removal.  These hair removal methods can disturb the hair follicle and interfere with your treatments.

Below are four common types of hair-removal lasers:

The Nd:YAG Laser is the preferred system when it comes to hair removal for dark skin because it has weaker melanin absorption. Some lasers cannot tell the difference between the melanin in hair and the melanin in dark skin. This means they have the potential to injure the skin.

  • Pros: The Nd:YAG has longer wavelengths than other hair-removing lasers, meaning that in addition to being safe for dark skin, it has the most potential to destroy hair at the bottom of the  hair shaft.
  • Cons: Because it absorbs less melanin, it requires more treatments for optimal results.

The Alexandrite Laser has a slightly longer wavelength which makes it use able on a wide range of skin tones.

  • Pros: Because of its size and repetition rate, it is one of the quickest hair-removal lasers available.
  • Cons: Despite its long wavelength, it still achieves a high melanin absorption, so there is a significant risk for discoloration and burns on all but very light skin.

 The Diode laser is one of the newest and most commonly used laser systems today. It is designed for fair to medium skin types.

  • Pros: It absorbs melanin and also penetrates deep into the hair follicles. The longer wavelengths also decrease the risk of skin damage.
  • Cons: There is not enough data to assess its long-term results.

The Ruby Laser is the oldest type of hair-removal laser, and has a higher melanin absorption rate than most other lasers on the market, making it most appropriate for very light skin and light hair removal.

  • Pros: Effective, even on very fine hair.
  • Cons: Because of the high melanin absorption, it should only be used on very fair skin.

Remember, not everyone’s skin is suitable for cosmetic laser hair removal, so make sure you do-your-homework, and find a certified clinic and practitioner.

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Straighten Up Canada

chiroArticle on the Canadian Chiropractic Association Website.

How many hours a day do you spend sitting? Reading, using computers, driving, watching TV —all that sitting adds up, especially if you have poor posture. Did you know that lower back pain and other musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions account for one third of missed work in Canada?

It’s time to Straighten Up Canada and improve your spinal health!

Canada’s chiropractors have developed an app for that. Straighten Up Canada is a FREE, easy-to-perform posture program that you can use in just three minutes a day. It’s the only free Canadian app specifically designed and completely dedicated to improving posture and spinal health.

The Straighten Up Canada program can be practiced almost anywhere and is a great warm up, cool down, stand-alone routine or ergonomic break.

Good posture will help you to:

  • Look and feel even better than you already do,
  • Prevent back aches and muscle pains,
  • Decrease wear and tear on your joints,
  • Use less energy for daily tasks, and
  • Increase your spine’s flexibility and resilience.

Straighten Up Canada app features:

  • 12 unique posture exercises
  • Adult and youth exercise options
  • Easy to follow Image stills and video content
  • Tracking function
    • Set personal reminders
    • Track your progress
  • Share your posture exercise progress with friends through social media
  • Learn about your back and common back-related problems
  • Find a Chiropractor in your area quickly and easily
  • Read the latest blog posts on MSK health

Watch the Straighten Up Canada exercise videos online: For Adults  |  For Youths

To download the free app click here.  The development of this app has been supported by the CCA and all provincial chiropractic associations.

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Why Do My Natural Vitamins Have Synthetic Ingredients?

imagesWhen people think of vitamins, most of us think about healthy and natural, but vitamin supplements can be artificial, and in fact, many vitamin supplements produced today are artificial.

There are six categories of nutrients used in the manufacturing of vitamin supplements today.

  • Natural source – the nutrients come from vegetable, animal or mineral sources. however, the vitamin still undergo processing and refining.  
  • Nature-identical synthetic – These nutrients  are manufactured in a lab with the molecular structure identical to the same nutrients in nature.  This process is preferred because of the cost and scarcity of natural resources. Most standard vitamin supplements on the market today are this type.
  •  Strictly synthetic – These nutrients are manufactured in a lab , Synthetic vitamins can have the same chemical constituents, but still have a different shape (optical activity). This is important because some of the enzymes in the human body only work properly with a vitamin of the correct shape. When we give the body concentrated forms of synthetic nutrients, it doesn’t always appear to have an appropriate delivery system.
  • Food cultured –  Raw material are  grown in yeast or algae; and through the process of culturing – it creates new nutrients.
  • Food based extracts which come from whole food sources. This is not a popular method as the nutrients have unstable levels and a limited shelf life.
  • Bacterial fermentation –These nutrients are produced by genetically altering bacteria which can produce nutrient by-products.

Supplement manufacturers often add fillers to their vitamins during manufacturing to make the pills or capsules more appealing, and easier to swallow.  Just like processed foods being loaded with additives and fillers, the same goes for vitamins.

Manufacturers put additives into your vitamin tablets for many different reasons:

  • Fillers – to add volume to tablets and capsules 
  • Bulking agents – to top up the content of the pills or capsules 
  • Binders – used to stick ingredients together in a tablet 
  • Anti-caking agents – to stop the ingredients clogging up machines 
  • Coatings – to make swallowing easy 
  • Preservatives – to save ingredients from spoiling 
  • Emulsifiers – to bind water to fats 
  • Colours – to look more appealing to the consumer 
  • Flavours – to alter the taste, even in tablets that are swallowed whole 
  • Sweeteners – to make flavour more palatable, again, even for tablets  

Here are a few of the non-essential ingredients that can be added to your vitamins:

Artificial Colors  – These artificial colors are added to compensate for color loss due to exposure to light, air, temperature extremes, moisture and storage conditions.  Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Red No. 3, Red No. 40,  Yellow No. 5,  Yellow No. 6  

Hydrogenated Oils –  are used as fillers, particularly hydrogenated soybean oil. Unless soy is organic, it will be genetically modified.

Magnesium Stearate – This is used as a lubricant so that the vitamins don’t stick together.  One study links this compound to creating a suppressed immune system, by creating a biofilm in the intestines. This biofilm blocks the body from absorbing any nutrients.

Titanium dioxide – this colourant is used to make tablets bright white. It is not an ingredient found in any natural food.

Sodium selenite and selenite – toxic, inorganic chemical sources of selenium.

Always read the ingredients of your vitamin or supplements, and know what you are taking.

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Lens Color and Sun Safety

imageWhen talking about sun safety, we talk primarily about the skin, however, protecting your eyes from the damaging rays of the sun is just as important as applying sunscreen.

Lens colors affect how much visible light reaches your eyes, so it is important to know which colour lenses would be right for you.

Make sure your lenses are dark enough to keep your eyes comfortable, and that you wear your sunglasses every time you go outside.  Just like wearing sun screen, wearing sunglasses needs be part of your lifestyle.

Dark Colour Lenses: Brown, Gray & Green

These colour lenses are great for everyday use and outdoor activities. Darker shades are intended to cut through the glare and reduce eyestrain in moderate-to-bright conditions.  Darker colour lenses limit colour distortion.

Dark colour lenses are great for general daily use, and provide true colour perception, and aid in preventing eye fatigue during outdoor activities, where glare is not an issue.

Light Colour Lenses: Gold, Yellow, Amber, Red & Rose:

These colors excel in moderate to low light conditions.  They provide excellent depth perception, enhance contrasts, improve the visibility of objects and make your surroundings appear brighter.

Light colour lenses  are great enhancers for vision by giving you high contrast, enhanced depth perception, and reduced glare. They are helpful for any sport where distance needs to be judged such as golf or racquet sports.

Here is a quick colour break down to help decided what colour lenses are best for you:

The basic rule of thumb for choosing a lens is to consider color opposites. Blue is opposite of Yellow and Red is opposite of Green. Red lenses will absorb Green light and Yellow Lenses will absorb Blue/Ultraviolet light, and vice versa.

Green – green lenses work the same in any light conditions, so can be used for any outdoor activity.  Green tints reduce glare, while offering high contrast and visual sharpness.

  • Good for general purpose use
  • Offers even color perception
  • Dims glare while brightening shadows
  • Provides good contrast for low-light conditions

Gray – Gray is a popular neutral tint that allows the eyes to perceive colors in its purest form. Gray tints reduce brightness and glare. Choose gray for driving and outdoor sports.

  • Good for general purpose use
  • Reduces eye fatigue
  • Provides true color perception
  • Minimizes glare, especially off water

Brown / Amber – These lenses are great for activities like tennis, golf or other sports where distance is a factor and must be calculated.  Brown tints reduce glare and block blue light, giving them the ability to brighten vision on cloudy days.

  • Good for variable conditions
  • Enhances contrast
  • Improve depth perception

Yellow/Orange – Yellow and orange tints increase contrast in low-light conditions. These tints tend to make objects appear sharper both indoors and outdoors.

• Filters out hazy light that is hard on the eyes
• Good for using at Dawn and Dusk
•Provides greater clarity in fog, haze, and other low-light conditions

Pink and Red – These colours provide better visibility on the road, by improving visual depth & reducing eye strain.

  • Provides good road visibility
  • Offers greatest amount of contrast

Blue and Purple –   These colours block the glare from visible white light. Useful for outdoor sports,  such as snowboarding, biking, or sailing.

  • Helps define contours
  • Reduces glare
  • Enhances color perception

What ever colour choice you pick, remember the most important thing is to wear your sunglasses!

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Expiration Dates – How long is too long?

multivitamin-tabletsWe all have expired vitamin bottles in our medicine cabinets. Some we take daily, while others are taken on a more infrequent basis.  So what happens if your vitamins expire… are they still good?

Vitamins in general should be stable for up to five years if stored properly: however, there are some exceptions.  Water-soluble substances (vitamin C, B-complex vitamins) are susceptible to a process called deliquescence, in which humidity causes some compounds to break down.

As vitamins begin to degraded – whether from oxidation, exposure to humidity, light, air, or heat, they are safe to consume but will have lost their effectiveness.  Some manufacturers may increase the vitamins strength by adding up to 40% more than what’s stated on the label, so that the vitamins are at 100 per cent strength at the time of expiration.

Signs of vitamins past their expiry dates vary: look for changes in color, physical appearance, taste, or smell.

So how should we store vitamins to maximize their potency over time? Keep your vitamins in a cool, dry place, away from heat and light, and make sure they are sealed in an air-tight container, and always follow storage directions on the label.  Also, don’t remove the little silica gel packet, it helps remove moisture from inside the bottle.

 Do not keep your vitamins in your bathrooms and kitchens, because of the humidity and temperature changes.

Refrigerators, can be a good option for those vitamins that you consume once in a while; however, vitamins that you consume on a daily schedule will breakdown quickly because of the frequent opening and closing  of the container; which can cause condensation and expose the vitamins to moisture.

Pressed tablets, such as aspirin, are more porous and allow a greater influx of oxygen once the bottle has been opened and will alter the supplements chemistry, limiting their effectiveness. Try purchasing encapsulated or coated vitamins.

The biggest factor that determines shelf life is product quality.  Look for supplements that have high amounts of essential material and low levels of nonessential material. The supplements must be packaged in opaque and secure containers in a sterile, dust-free, dehumidified environment.

Products if stored properly in unopened bottles should last at least two years before any loss of potency occurs.

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What is SPF?

sunscreenThere are many choices for sunblock: creams, mousses, sprays and powders, ranging from SPF of 15 to SPF of 55 or higher.

Sunscreens are made with dozens of active ingredients that either use “absorbers” to create a chemical reaction to absorb UV rays or physical barriers that reflect and block UV rays. Many sunscreens incorporate both methods.

What is SPF?

Sunscreens are rated by the strength of their sun protection factor (SPF). The SPF number refers to the product’s ability to prevent UVB rays from damaging the skin.

A product with SPF 15, filters out approximately 93 percent of all incoming UVB rays.

A product with SPF 30, filters out approximately 97 percent of all incoming UVB rays.

A product with SPF 50, filters out approximately 98 percent of all incoming UVB rays.

  • It should be noted that no sunscreen, regardless of strength, will stay effective longer than two hours without reapplication.

To ensure that you get the full SPF of a sunscreen, the average adult needs about 2 or 3 tablespoons of sunscreen to cover their body and 1 teaspoon to cover their face and neck. That’s about half of a 237ml  bottle of sunscreen for a full day at the beach.

Sunscreens should be applied 30 minutes before sun exposure to allow the ingredients to  bind to the skin. Reapplication of sunscreen is just as important, so reapply the same amount every two hours.

Sun tips:

  • Sunscreen should be used on any exposed skin including ears, lips, feet etc
  • Use a lip balm with SPF and reapply often
  • Apply sunscreen on cloudy days – UV rays can pass through clouds
  • Sunscreens have an expiry date; they contain chemicals that may not work as well after the expiry date
  • Sunscreens can be affected by extreme changes in temperature, so leaving your bottle of sunscreen out in the sun all day, can destroy some of the chemical compounds and make the sunscreen much less effective.
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