Nutritional Wellness - Beyond Food

Possibly the four scariest words a woman can hear are: you have breast cancer. Whether you have breast cancer yourself or know of someone who has experienced it, we know that the diagnosis itself is terrifying and the decision as to what path to follow is bewildering. There is so much information and advice available, so how do you choose what is right for you? My guest this week, Dr. Veronique Desaulniers, spent her entire career in the wellness industry and yet she developed breast cancer herself. Through her research and experiences, she conquered her cancer naturally and is now devoted to educating and supporting others through their own healing journeys. Join us as she shares her own story and discusses the many aspects of breast cancer: the myths surrounding it, how we can best prevent it, the best means of early detection, and the choices for healing the body. She will also introduce The 7 Essentials that she considers to be the foundation for vibrant health.

How important is food as a factor that influences longevity? No one knows for sure because the study of aging is a tricky thing. Scientists have several theories of aging that deal with everything from cell division to genetics to oxidative damage (or “rusting”), but none of these tells the whole story. There are too many pieces to the puzzle, diet included, for a definitive answer, but by studying those who seemingly defy aging we can glean some important clues. Bruce Grierson, award-winning social science journalist and author, explored the mystery of the 90-something track star, Canadian Olga Kotelko, in his book What Makes Olga Run? Join us as we discuss the various factors that influence the aging process, and consider what people really want and are willing to do as they approach their senior years.

Not all sugar is bad, but the news isn’t good. The Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation recently recommended that we cut our daily intake of added sugars by up to half. There is a big difference between naturally-occurring and added sugar. The former is found in fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy. The latter is insidious, it’s found in most processed foods, it goes by many names we don’t recognize, it’s addictive, and unfortunately it provides not merely empty calories but rather harmful calories. We are being urged to reduce added sugars to no more than 10% of our total daily calories, and ideally less than 5%. What does this mean for us? What is our average sugar consumption and where does it come from? What are our options? Do we have to start considering life without sugar? My guest this week, for a return engagement, is holistic nutritionist and weight loss expert Rachelle Wood. Join us as we discuss the sweetness in our lives and healthier alternatives to sugar.

Life today is a smorgasbord of offerings, and we tend to take advantage of all we can, as quickly as we can. From food to activities to possessions, there is so much to choose from that we wind up sampling a little of everything. The drawback to doing so is that we consume it all in haste and without thinking, thereby losing our connection with our thoughts, our bodies, the people around us and our environment. The end result is feeling uncomfortably full, unable to sleep and wondering why we didn’t make better choices. Is there a more desirable way to approach life so that we feel more satisfaction and less stress? My guest this week is Tracey Delfs, life coach, yoga teacher and student of renowned Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh. Join us as she shares her thoughts on how we can bring the gift of mindfulness to the buffet of life.

Considering how important hormones are, it’s amazing how little the average person knows about them. Perhaps that’s because we can’t touch or see them. We know a few of their names, like estrogen or cortisol, but unless we’ve had reason to learn more, they remain at best a concept. Women’s hormones are particularly difficult to understand because there are so many of them and they way they interact throughout our lives can be very confusing. For the most part though, it doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s usually not until peri-menopause that we start to get curious about our hormones because we start exhibiting symptoms that are uncomfortable or unpleasant. There is so much information about hormones, but we need to sift through it and separate the facts from the myths. Dr. Clare Westmacott brings an integrated approach to his medical practice, which includes hormone balancing and bio-idential hormone therapy. Join us as he presents “just the facts, ma’am”.

The stress response is a biological marvel and a thing of beauty. The complex interplay of the sympathetic nervous system, various brain structures and hormonal secretions, all within a matter of milli-seconds, which literally prepares us for “fight or flight”, is fundamental to our ability to survive as a species. We need it to help us deal with transient adverse conditions, then when the stressor is gone the body returns to a state of balance. What happens though when we feel we are under a constant state of stress and we ask this finely-tuned system to work overtime? How is it able to cope with the increased, unceasing demand, and what are the ramifications for our health? My guest this week is Matthew Hill, Ph.D, a researcher, assistant professor and expert in the field of stress response. Join us for a fascinating look at what stress is, how it affects the body, and the differences between the acute stress response and the slow simmer of chronic stress.

How many times have you bought a diet or other self-improvement book, read it enthusiastically from cover to cover, bought everything you need to get started and then have the whole plan fizzle out within the first week? The book gathers dust on your bedside table until you finally put it on the shelf next to the other similar books. The ideas in the books are great, your intentions are true, so why can’t you stick with the plan? In a word, habits. Change is hard, especially when you’re trying to break old habits or create new ones. But with the right information at hand and the right steps to take, it can be done. Tracey Fellowes has built a 30-year career out of helping individuals and organizations make the changes they want, and, most importantly, make them stick. Join us to discover how you can override the habits that keep you stuck on autopilot.

Are you stuck in poor eating habits and the endless cycle of yo-yo dieting? You try to change but the busy-ness of everyday life and resulting stress suck you back into the vortex of familiar eating and thought patterns, and there seems to be no escape. You wind up blaming yourself, thinking you lack the willpower or discipline to make effective change, or you blame other people or things. Either way, nothing changes. Is there a way out? According to empowerment coach and inspirational speaker, Deborah Jane Wells, the answer is yes and the way is love. Through her own recovery from burnout that included a sustained 80-pound weight loss and freedom from a 10-year bout of debilitating depression, she discovered that loving yourself unconditionally is the key to transforming every aspect of your life. Find out how you can create meaningful and lasting change in your life by choosing love over fear.

If I asked you what is holding you back from being as healthy as you can be, what would you say? No time to shop and cook meals from scratch. I eat healthy already. There’s nothing wrong with me, I feel fine. My doctor says I’m good at this weight. Are these truly your beliefs or merely excuses? For the average person without dramatic health problems, finding true health and wellness isn’t as difficult or time-consuming as you may think, and it starts with a straightforward concept: simplify, nourish, and enrich. These three little words embody my beliefs and are at the heart of my nutritional wellness practice. Join me to discover how you are unintentionally holding yourself back and how several small yet dramatic steps can move you towards better health

Food is nourishment, fuel, comfort, our daily bread. It helps us grow, brings us health, draws people together, can be simple or pretentious. Yet one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Peanut butter is harmless to most children, but can be deadly to others. Between these extremes of sustenance and severe allergies are many shades of grey, and these are the food sensitivities and intolerances. When someone has a food allergy, whether it’s severe or mild, the reaction is immediate and observable, such as hives, swelling, trouble breathing or vomiting. What many of us don’t realize is that we can be reacting to food days later and never make the connection between our symptoms and what we have eaten. The big question is why do we develop these reactions to foods we’ve been eating all our lives? Dr. Clare Westmacott, MD brings an integrated approach to his medical practice and often has his patients undergo food sensitivity testing because we can't be healthy when food becomes the enemy.

You’re eating 1200 calories per day and exercising like a maniac five times a week, yet the excess weight won’t budge. Calories in, calories out; isn’t that how it’s supposed to work? You’re burning way more than you’re consuming and yet your plan isn’t working. You’re revving up the sluggish metabolism you were genetically burdened with as much as you can, but now you’re ready to give up. If this doesn’t work, what’s left? Oh, to have the metabolism of a hummingbird! My guest, Tonda McGillis, has heard this story countless times over the years as a personal trainer and nutrition and weight loss expert. She’ll explain which factors that affect metabolism are within your control, dispel the myths you’ve heard and give you the scientific truths, and let you know if you can legitimately blame your genes.

Heartburn, bloating, cramping, gassiness, indigestion, and elimination problems. Sound like a job for a thick pink liquid? That may temporarily help with the symptoms but it isn’t getting at the underlying digestive problems that can easily become chronic and are often mis- or self-diagnosed. When the digestive system isn’t working properly, we suffer in so many ways, not just with physical discomfort. It affects the way we physically and chemically break down food, absorb nutrients and eliminate waste, which ultimately affects the way we feel overall. It can also lead to much bigger problems. The goal is to digest food quickly and efficiently, but how and where do we start? Join me and my guest, Dr. Joe Klassen, ND, on a journey through the digestive system where we will look at some common digestive ailments, identify the enemies of digestion, and learn how you can start to help yourself.

You are intelligent and educated. You manage a household and a job, career or business. You have a social life, activities, family and friends. You are also the manager of you; what you eat should be the easy part and yet food is in control of you. It doesn’t seem fair to reduce this complex scenario to two words, emotional eating, but that’s what we call it. When did it start? Who is to blame? Why is it so seemingly impossible to overcome? Is there a solution? My guest, holistic nutritionist Rachelle Wood, and I will discuss this dignity-stealing issue in the context of individuality and assessing the whole person. Over the past 7 years Rachelle has been helping Prince Edward Islanders lose over 125,000 lbs with her See Results weight loss system. The causes are many and varied; it’s more than just your emotions and it’s more than just what you eat. Yes, there is hope and there are solutions.