Good Health News • May• 2014
Good Health News May• 2014 Volume 6 Number 8
Health in Motion director Natan Gendelman
In This Issue
‘Having a healthy lifestyle’ has become an
Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle ................................Page 1 Wireless Technology and Health ................................Page 2 6 Ways to a Healthy Oflline Life ................................Page 3 Here's What People Have to Say about LIFE ................................Page 4
talks about ways to adopt to a healthy lifestyle expression that people talk about all the time. When you ask someone how living truly healthy looks like, most of the time they cannot give you specific guidelines. We all think that living healthy means choosing the right food and exercising. But let’s go beyond that: How much of a certain type of food should we consume? In what way they should be prepared? Some recommend eating raw, others recommend eating cooked food; some say Vitamin D is the most important, others say iron should be taken in supplements. I think that it is ultimately your life and you have to adjust your lifestyle according to your own needs. Firstly, remember that food intake is related to the natural habitats that people live in. For example, Alaska Natives usually are not vegetarians because seafood and meat is their main food source and their bodies are adjusted to this diet. If they experience a sudden change in diet, they might fall sick. I suggest that we stick to local produce. In Ontario, we see slogans like “Eat Local, Eat Organic.” This comes with a reason: because our bodies are adjusted to local conditions. I encourage you to visit farmers’ markets, where the vegetables sold are locally grown. Choose organic food, because they are not genetically modified (GMO). They also have much less chemicals, which results in them being healthier and more beneficial to our bodies. However, be wary of grains, sugar beets, soybeans or corn when they are labeled organic, since these are the foods that are widely GMO. As for the question of whether we should eat raw or cooked food, I would say raw food is better, but only fruits and vegetables, not fish or meat. Raw fruits and vegetables maintain all their vitamins and minerals. Cooking them kills at least 50% of their minerals. However, if you have digestive issues, avoid raw cabbage, beans or other hard foods. In general, it is best to be outdoors as much as you can, since fresh air helps your body’s nutrient exchange processes, without which our bodies’ circulation system could be negatively affected. Lastly, we should only send emails or text messages on our digital devices minimally. My rule is to “use as much as you need, not as much as you want to”. Electronic devices have electromagnetic radiation waves, which are bombarding
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Good Health News • May• 2014
General General Health Health
∂ Health Canada Suggests Wireless Technology Could Affect Our Health Radiation is all over the place now. With our mobile devices that emit radiation, we are susceptible to its harm while we are calling someone, texting, emailing or using a phone app while we are commuting or sitting at a restaurant. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are currently about five billion wireless subscriptions globally. In May 2011, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer found that in the case of glioma, a type of brain cancer, the evidence warrented radio frequency electromagnetic fields as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. Coffee and pesticide DDT are also placed in this category. According to Health Canada, in 2010 more than 24 million Canadians have used cellphones. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association estimated 70 per cent of people in major urban centres in Canada are using wireless telecommunications technology.
In the News
mobile devices, we are exposed to higher radio frequency energy. The amount of electromagnetic waves that is exposed to our bodies is based on how close we hold the mobile device to our heads, how many phone calls we make and how long we talk on the phone. Health Canada actually changed its previous guideline to encourage Canadians under the age of 18 to limit cellphone calls. They recommend limiting the length of cellphone calls, texting instead of calling and using ‘hands-free’ devices. Some organizations like the BioInitiative Report, the European Environment Agency, and the EMR Policy Group propose to reconsider the use of electromagnetic devices. They suggest ‘the precautionary principle’: to be cautious when we are not sure whether something will have a negative impact on our health.
It is also shown that when we talk on
Double Up Your Servings of Fruit and Vegetables, Researchers Say British health researchers say that we need to eat 10 servings of fruit and vegetables per day instead of five a day. The 12-year study by University College London (UCL) also found out that vegetables were four times healthier than fruit. Researchers say that eating a lot of fruit and vegetables could significantly lower the risk of premature death. In the study published by the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, people who ate at least seven portions of fruit and vegetables per day were 42% less likely to die from any cause. Also, canned and frozen fruit increased the risk of dying by 17%, and fruit juice was found to have no significant benefits. The five servings of fruit and vegetables guideline is issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). Statistics show that only 30% of people manage to eat that amount. The study shows that 10 servings of fruit and vegetables is an optimum number, since the protective effect of the food
continues to increase with higher consumption. The study’s lead Dr Oyinlola Oyebode of UCL’s department of epidemiology and public health said, “The clear message here is that the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die at any age. My advice would be, however much you are eating now, eat more.” The research found that the people with the highest intakes of fruit and vegetables were 25% less likely to die from cancer and 31% less likely to die from heart disease. It was also shown that vegetables were far more beneficial than fruit. Each portion of vegetables lower the risk of death by 16 per cent, while fruit only lower the chance of death by four per cent. Fresh and dried fruit showed protective qualities, however canned fruit increased death rates by 17 per cent, probably due to the added sugar in it. A serving is half a cup of fruit or vegetables, except for lettuce and spinach, which require a full cup per serving.
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Good Health News • May• 2014
∂
6 Ways to Lead a Healty Offline Life
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation,
the average teenager consumes almost 11 hours of media a day. We are still not completely certain how all that screen time would affect our minds and our bodies. Parents worry that this would cause distraction in their children and make them more socially isolated. Just in last month’s Good Health News, we reported on a World Psychiatry study that suggests that high media usage, plus low physical activity and lack of sleep increases the risk of mental disorders for adolescents. Here are 6 ways we can shut down the screen and live an offline life: 1. Read Without the Screen Who says you need a Kindle or iPad to immerse yourself in a good story? Studies show reading engages our brain and triggers imagination, creativity and the senses. Regular readers have better verbal and critical thinking skills, and a lower risk of developing dementia.
5. Build Real-Life Relationships Children should not focus so much on maintaining their online profiles that they lose touch of how to make friends in real life. Make them practise eye contact and conversational skills by enrolling them in extracurricular activities and community events! 6. Stay Active Skeletal and muscle problems are popular amongst devoted texters, gamers and computer users because of the sedentary time spent in front of screens. Regular exercising would improve lung health, strengthen muscles and reduce depression and anxiety.
Study Shows Exercising Increases Lifespan Scientists have been linking too much cholesterol, high blood pressure and ‘muffin top’ waistlines to heart disease.
Researchers at Curtin University in Perth, Australia published a study in December 2013 based on the research of the health of 8,662 Australian men and women. It showed that 2. Be in Nature exercise habits play a big role in their health. People who live Spending time in nature lifts our minds from the everyday sedentary lifestyles had six times the risk of dying from heart stresses of our lives. It restores Vitamin D that is being depleted disease than others who exercise vigorously. by too much time indoors in front of screens and improves our distance vision. Research shows that schools that implement If you do not have time to be active currently, simply go for mandatory outdoor time have students scoring higher in math, walks when getting off work, or when going for lunch. The reading and writing. Perth study also showed that people who walk often and more briskly are more likely to be alive 15 years later than 3. Filter those who rarely get up and move. We see technology as a distraction nowadays, going to it whenever we feel bored. However, experts say that a healthy Different types of exercise improves our health in different approach is to use it for what you need, and learn to filter out ways. Aerobic exercises like cycling, swimming, walking, the “noise”. Stanford University professor emeritus Don Roberts skipping rope and hiking increases cardiovascular endurance. says parents can help kids become smarter tech users by Anaerobic exercises like pushups, lunges, weight training talking to them about the content they view online. and sprinting can firm, strengthen, tone muscles, as well as improve bone strength. 4. Balance New platforms of media and social networking are not going A 2003 study released in The Journal of Physiology stated away, but they need to be used by a child in moderation and that proper nutrition is as important to health as exercising. segregation. Parents can encourage their children to participate When exercising, it becomes very important to have a good in recreation, school, homework, and time with friends and diet to ensure that the body has the right ratio of family without a digital device. macronutrients to micronutrients to help the body recover after strenuous exercise.
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Good Health News • May• 2014
Learning Independent Function Everyday. That's LIFE.
what people have to say ∂ Here's about our LIFE Program:
Mini Program For: kids 0-12 & 12-15 with CP, ABI or stroke Frequency: 2 times a week, 2 hours/day Duration: Ongoing as needed Maxi Program For: kids 0-12 & 12-15 with CP, ABI or stroke Frequency: 5 times a week, 3-5 hours/day Duration: 4 weeks Contact us if you are interested in booking for 2014.
Our son Sean was diagnosed with cerebral palsy 25 February 2009 when he was 10 months old. Health in Motion was recommended to us by friends in Ireland who had a very positive experience with their son’s treatment so we decided to give it a try. The Health in Motion team is very professional, caring and most importantly has provided excellent all round treatment for Seán including functional rehabilitation, massage therapy and communication skills. Natan is a very unique individual and is second to none when it comes to his dedication and treatment. Thank God we found Health in Motion and we thank Natan and the Health in Motion team for their continuing support.
For more information, visit our website: www.healthinmotionrehab.com.
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John & Laura, Ireland ∂ Nothing can be built up on disability.
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