Liz' Promise

When Liz Manley-Theobold’s mother died from ovarian cancer last July, the Olympic silver medalist made a vow to take better care of herself. On Thursday, the perennially bubbly 44-year-old is going to do just that. A little more than a year after her mother passed away, she is getting her first ovarian ultrasound, to check for the disease. “I’m a little scared, but I need to know,” says Manley-Theobold, who is nevertheless upbeat and says she’d like to have a child this year with husband Brent. “I have no other symptoms, but because Mum had ovarian cancer, I am at risk. I’m the perfect demographic for it. Like a lot of women, I’m scared to know, but if there’s a possibility I could detect it, I’d want to.” It’s a message Manley-Theobold is taking to the streets as well, as Ovarian Cancer Canada’s spokesperson for the seventh annual Winners Walk of Hope, which will take place in 14 cities across the country on September 13 as part of Ovarian Cancer Month. “This is our single largest fundraising even for us,” says Karen CinqMars, Ovarian Canada Canada’s national director of marketing and communications. “This fundraising drive is critical for us.” But for Manley-Theobold’s, who will appear at Winners Merivale this Thursday and in Orleans on Saturday, August 22, it’s much more personal than that.

Posted in Wellness on 08/21/2009 - 0 Comments

Do you need your A, B, Cs? The Great Vitamin Debate

Joe Schwarcz is known for his blunt, take-no-prisoners style when he gets fired up, and today is no different. For the past 25 minutes, the erudite director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society and outspoken star of the Dr. Joe Show on Toronto's CFRB radio has been on a roll, taking shots at pseudo-science, the gullible public, "vitamin advertisers who shove things down our throat" and the biggest kahuna of them all, the $23.7-billion dietary supplements industry. So it's just a matter of time before he mentions Nick Nolte. "Look at him!" Schwarcz directs, and sure enough, an image of the aging actor's ravaged face comes to mind. These days, Nolte eschews hard living for a thousands-of-dollars-a-week vitamin habit in an effort to turn back the clock. "See how sick he looks?" Schwarcz says, his voice rising in exasperation. "He takes 60 supplements a day!" It's an extreme example -- few of us live Nolte's life, much less endure his medical bills -- but it does beg the question: If 60 pills a day doesn't make a visible difference to someone's visage, what chance does a single multivitamin have?

Posted in Health on 03/31/2009 - 0 Comments

No Doctor In The House

In the end, it was neither Government programs, an online search nor dumb luck that landed Carisa Morison one of the hottest commodities in Ottawa: a family doctor. Rather, having exhausted those options, the 29-year-old did it old school and networked with a half a dozen friends. Eventually, one of them called in a favour with a GP friend, who agreed to take on the pregnant Morison and her young family as patients. “I felt like I’d won the lottery,” says Morison, who recently moved to Barrhaven from Hamilton. “Unfortunately, she’s 25 minutes away and that’s not convenient, especially at rush hour. But I don’t mind, because I have a doctor I really like. I just don’t understand why I had to work so hard to find one.” She’s not alone. According to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), one in five Ontarians—including those with chronic and acute conditions--are without a family physician. In the meantime, doctors face a crunch themselves.

Posted in Health on 02/10/2009 - 0 Comments

12 ways to stay healthy this Christmas

"Silent niiiiight! Ho-oly niiiight! Aaaaall is caaaalm!" Not in Lauren Jeffs' house, it isn't. Lauren, 37, a mother of two and a public servant in Ottawa, is racing around her kitchen, defrosting shrimp under the tap, stirring something in a pot and uncorking a bottle of wine. Upstairs, a mountain of gifts awaits wrapping. Half of her 30 dinner guests have already arrived and she's still

Posted in Wellness on 11/30/2008 - 0 Comments

Scientist touts good food to cut health risks

Richard Beliveau's first lesson in food came to him decades ago in the back of a little Indian restaurant in England. He was down to his last $200 -- all that was between him and life on a park bench -- when the now internationally recognized biochemist and expert on the link between phyto-nutrients, diet and cancer found a job as a cook. "I was a student and I spent the summer in the U.K. with no money. I was always attracted to other cultures, their diversity and the pleasure of eating. It made me aware of traditional food and cultures. You know," he says with his infectious giggle, "now I can do a very good Rogan Josh!" Co-author of the bestselling Foods That Fight Cancer (McClelland & Stewart), Beliveau is passionate about all things involving

Posted in Diets on 11/22/2008 - 0 Comments

15 things you need to know about yourself

You like spicy food, Beaujolais and big dogs. You don’t like wet socks or Sunday afternoons alone. Overall, you think you know yourself pretty well. But do you? You may have hidden health and lifestyle problems you should know about.

Posted in Aging on 11/22/2008 - 0 Comments

Be Happy, Live Longer

Want to live long and prosper? The advice is, don’t worry—be happy.

Worldwide, more than 500 studies have shown that “people who cultivate kindness, compassion and generosity will be happier, healthier and live longer,” says Dr Stephen Post, director of the Center for Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics at New York's Stony Brook University. “The remarkable bottom line of the science of love is that giving protects health twice as much as aspirin protects against heart disease.”

Here’s how it works.

GRATITUDE

“We’re more financially successful and have more stability than ever,” says Dr Tim Sharp, founder of Australia’s Happiness Institute. “Yet meaningful happiness is beyond having fast cars and plasma TVs.”

But it is about finding gratitude in small ways: keeping a journal, genuinely appreciating others and keeping ‘big picture’ goals in mind when little details trip you up. “I get up, and before I do anything else, I write three things I am grateful for,” comments Hal Urban, a leading American scholar on gratitude research. “You can imagine over the years the number of things I have to be grateful for.”

It’s good for you, too. A 1995 study by the Institute of Heart Math found that feeling grateful for even five minutes is linked to a state called resonance, during which heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and brain rhythm synchronize to work the body more efficiently.

GENERATIVITY

It’s better to give than to receive, because according to a 50-year study at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, it’s a good predictor of future wellbeing. The study found that as they aged, participants who were generous in high school ended up in better health, had closer family ties and were more successful.

The key is starting early, says Dr Sharp. Australians are already charitable—in 2005, 87 per cent of us donated $7.7 billion—but “we have to teach kids not to be excessive, about the power of giving.” Modeling generosity for your kids by volunteering, mentoring a teen or just offering a smile of encouragement is all it takes. It may even be instinctive: A 1995 study of 354 US families established that many people have a common genetic variation of the feel-good brain hormone dopamine that is linked to generous behaviour.

FORGIVENESS

As long as you don’t mistake forgiveness for condoning or excusing, showing mercy can alleviate depression, boost your mood and reduce anger. Swallowing resentment, on the other hand, creates a “stress response, and that is why unforgiveness is so bad,” says Dr Post. But that’s not all. “A high level of chronic anger…is associated with high risk of all causes of mortality,” says Dr Redford Williams, a psychiatry professor at North Carolina’s Duke University, and author of Life Skills (Wiley, $23.95). Hostile people also have poorer health, smoke and drink more, and consume around 600 more kilojoules daily, he adds. Instead of nurturing anger, learn compassion with the Buddhist art of Tonglen. With every deep breath, imagine inhaling others’ suffering; with every release, you exude peace and healing.

COURAGE

Whether you’d protest against globalization or face down an attacker, courage and a commitment to justice are “linked to sensitivity and fairness,” says Dr Post in his book, Why Good Things Happen To Good People (Broadway Books, $45). It will also make you emotionally resilient. A 12-year study by the Hardiness Institute found two-thirds of people who’d undergone a major life upheaval later suffered heart attacks, strokes and depression. Those who were emotionally courageous not only survived—they thrived. For most people, says Dr Sharp, bravery starts with “becoming the change you want to see or for parents, becoming the person you want your child to be.”

HUMOUR

Why is the old adage, ‘laughter is the best medicine’ so overused? A good belly laugh increases your endorphins and mood-enhancing adrenal gland hormones, and moderates the effects of the stress hormone, cortisol, which has been linked to coronary disease, cancer and stroke. A Sanford University study also found that humour activates dopamine production, which creates a sense of well-being and calm.

RESPECT

Whether it’s self-worth or esteem from others, respect influences your health, says Dr Post. “Your risk for everything from cardiovascular disease to diabetes, infections, and even cancer varies with your social rank—and this is not simply a matter of being rich or poor or having access to the best health care. This is about status and thus respect.” To earn self-respect and the respect of others, he says, generate tolerance, civility, acceptance and reverence, through world-travel, making friends from other cultures and following your social conscience in how you treat others.

COMPASSION

“Buddhists say happiness is like a bird with two wings, wisdom and compassion,” says Dr Sharp. “One doesn’t work without the other. My version of that is wisdom comes from knowing yourself; compassion is helping others alleviate their unhappiness.”

And in doing so, you’ll feel more energized and healthier, partly because compassionate acts release the so-called bonding hormone, oxytocin, which researchers believe boosts the immune system. A University of California study tracking 2000 people over the age of 55 for five years also found that regular volunteers had a 44 per cent lower risk of dying than those who didn’t, making it even more protective than maintaining mobility in old age (39 per cent) and exercising four times a week (30 per cent).

LOYALTY

“Loyalty is love that lasts,” says Dr Post, “and that’s all we want. Women in particular are good at connection and loyal relationships.” That may be due to women’s high levels of oxytocin, which helps us bond with our babies, engenders feelings of trust and reduces stress. A network of devoted friends will also increase longevity by 22 per cent, according to a 10-year study of the elderly. Loyalty in marriage also extends life, particularly for men, says Dr Post, and gives children a solid footing. A study of 1500 young adults by Elizabeth Marquardt, author of Between Two Worlds (Three Rivers Press, $55) showed that children of ‘low-conflict’ marriages did better in life if parents stayed together, rather than divorce. disease.”

Article appeared in GoodHealth and Medicine, 2007

Posted in Behaviour on 11/20/2008 - 0 Comments