Naturopathic Source

That`s right folks. Kids do not need to be immunized to go to school in Ontario.

You DO however, need to get an affidavit signed and notarized and get it on file with your local health unit. Basically this form says that you choose not to immunize your child based on your conscience or religious beliefs.

For all the fear that surrounds ''But what will happen to my child when they go to school?'', this one is pretty straightforward.

Don`t know where to get the form? Don`t know where your local health unit it?

Never fear -- I`ve got you covered!

The Form - Here you go! Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief Affidavit

Local health unit - this web page lists the health units throughout Ontario.

http://www.ingoodhands.ca/cert_02.html

Print out the form, fill it out, take it to a notary public (when I needed one in the past, I just looked in the Yellow Pages. You should be able to find one easily on the internet as well.) and get it signed. Then go to your local health unit, get it on file and have a copy for yourself and anyone who may want to see it such as schools etc.

And that's all there is to it!

TC

There is so many mixed messages out in the media about what is healthy and what is not healthy. No wonder so many people are confused about what food is and is not healthy.

Why, why, why?

One of the most common questions I get from patients is, "If it's not good for you, why are they allowed to say it's good for you?"

Marketing. Sales. Profits.

Health? No, no....that's not the point. Sales and profits are the point.

I just caught a few minutes of a morning show...

...and on this show they were talking about saving money at the grocery store. I didn't catch the whole thing, but what I did catch fired me up enough to open up my blog and write this post.

TV Tip: Instead of buying frozen/refrigerated pasta, buy old-fashioned pasta in cans. The pasta is already cooked and in sauce, so you don't even have to boil water! And it`s non-fat whereas the other pasta has lots of fat.

Me: Are you kidding me?? First of all, the frozen/refrigerated pasta had cheese (and probably cream and/or vegetable oil in it). So of course there is going to be lots of fat - that`s the jist of high-fat dairy.  

So they suggested the old-fashioned canned pasta in sauce. Canned foods, as a general rule, are not good for you. There are some foods that are okay to use canned sometimes (sardines, legumes) but that`s about it. Having meals that come out of a can is not a good idea.

And while I`m on it, let me say that although I`m all for old-fashioned, just because something is the way ''it always was when I was a kid'', it doesn`t mean it's good for you.

About 50 or so years ago, the pesticide truck used to drive down residential streets and spray lawns with chemicals. People would take lawn chairs and sit on their front lawns while they were being sprayed as a form of entertainment. I guess there wasn't much going on in many suburban neighbourhoods and this was exciting. But now we know better and some communities are banning pesticides on lawns altogether.

But I digress...

A healthy alternative would be to buy dried and/or fresh plain pasta, a healthy jar of sauce and add a bunch of vegetables and sauteed/stir-fried meat/chicken/fish.

TV tip:  Since most orange juice is just reconstituted orange juice concentrate anyways, you might as well save some money and just buy the concentrate and add the water yourself. There is a huge savings of about $5 with this one.

Me: Ah, the illusion of choice. Would you like this one or that one? Maybe I would like neither.

If you are going to buy orange juice (or any juice) make sure it's not from concentrate at all.

But something important to know is this: juice isn`t good for you. You read that right. Juice isn't good for you.

Juice is processed by your body the exact same way as if it were sugar-water. By the time you buy orange juice in the store, the vitamin C is long gone and all you have is a liquid with a ton of sugar in it.

Eat the fruit. Fruit is full of fiber and it slows down how quickly the sugar enters your bloodstream. Eat the fruit instead of drinking the juice.

And no, kids don't need juice. Of course they like it but this is for the same reason they like cake and cookies: they are full of sugar. Teach them to eat fruit and you'll be planting some very good seeds in your child about healthy food choices.

Save on juice by not buying it at all! (Now there's a tip!)

TC

(I don`t have any financial interest or arrangement with this company. I just really like this product!)

I love my Kleen Kanteen water bottle!

If you are a patient of my Brampton office, you`ve never seen it because I have a big glass 1 litre jar. But when I`m at my Toronto office and on my days off, I`ve always got my Kleen Kanteen (500ml) bottle with me. In fact, I am going to add to my collection with a 1 litre bottle soon.

Non-leaching stainless steel

These water bottles are made from non-leaching stainless steel. Some types of stainless steel can leach, but this company uses a kind that does not -- incidentally there are over 50 different types of stainless steel.

Light and easy to carry around

This bottle is nice and light when empty. And the 500ml bottle fits nicely into my purse -- so I can take it with me when I am out running errands downtown, on the subway or out for a walk.

Dishwasher friendly! (not the cap though, just the bottle)

It is easy to clean -- it has a nice wide mouth that fits perfectly into my dishwasher and comes out sparkling clean and ready for another day`s use.

It is just stainless steel -- there is no coating to wear off.

What a waste!

At one point, I had another re-usable water bottle that was made from aluminum with a coating (because aluminum is toxic). This bottle worked well for a while, but eventually the coating wore off in the mouth of the bottle and I could taste the aluminum. I had three of these bottles (about $75 plus tax!) and I just threw them all out. 

With the Kleen Kanteen there is no coating, nothing to wear off and no reason why this bottle shouldn`t last a lifetime!

TC

The smoky plot thickens

Some new research has shown that by smoking, you`re not just harming yourself anymore -- it`s been shown that children are harmed by this as well. Even if you smoke outside your home.

It`s called third-hand smoke and the news is not good.

Hair and clothing carry the toxins

Researchers have found that the contamination/toxins from tobacco smoke lingers long after the cigarette has been put out. The toxins get into the hair and clothing of a smoker (or anyone who is around cigarette smoke) and when that person comes into contact with anyone, that person is exposed to those toxins.

Two hundred and fify strong

These toxins (collectively called particulate matter) have been proven to be toxic and there are 250 of them. 250 toxins! What`s worse is that 11 of them have been shown to be Class I carcinogens -- the most dangerous level of cancer-causing chemicals.

Do it for the kids!

Third-hand smoke has been associated with cognitive (definition: the process of knowing and, more precisely, the process of being aware, knowing, thinking, learning and judging) deficits and lower reading scores in kids.

Do it for your loved ones!

Even if you are not around kids, everyone you come into contact with is being exposed to these hazardous toxins.

Do it for yourself!

On a slightly different note: smoking and cigarettes are not your friend.  Just like many people who overeat feel that food is their friend, many smokers feel that cigarettes are their friend. But they aren`t.

More ways to quit smoking than to skin a cat

If you find you cannot quit on your own, there is no shame in getting help. There are prescription drugs from your doctor for quitting smoking, acupuncture, hypnosis.

Stigma, schmigma

And perhaps psychotherapy is appropriate as well. Although there is still a social stigma that only `crazy`people go to psychotherapy, there`s actually a big joke here: Some of the most balanced, most accomplished people in society go to psychotherapy -- they just don`t tell everyone about it. So by hanging on to these out-dated views about therapy, you`re actually really missing out.

TC

My first appointment with an osteopath was this past Friday and it was very interesting.

Bones or fluids?

One thing I learned was that if a person gets a chiropractic adjustment and it doesn`t hold, there is a deeper problem that needs to be addressed. Often there is a problem with `the fluids`. There is fluid that surrounds our brain and spinal column and there can be a problem with these fluids. An osteopath can address fluid problems.

My Visit

In my visit, we first sat down and she asked me a bunch of questions about my history. Why I was there, surgeries, accidents, falls, any health concerns etc.

Then she had me stand up to assess my posture. I always try to stand up straight and not slouch, but that`s not quite what she was looking at -- apparently my posture is not good. I stand forward with most of my weight on the balls of my feet instead of back on my heels. In fact, when she placed my body in what was the proper position, I felt as if I would fall over backwards!

After a variety of falls, whiplashes and surgery at 1 year of age, by system doesn`t know where it`s center  is. So every time I get a little thrown out of balance, my body scrambles to figure out what to do and eventually to stabilize itself.

Sounds exhausting!

There are so many people in similar situations to myself -- surgeries, falls, accidents. It seems to me everyone should be assessed by an osteopath, at least once.

After the posture assessment, she had me lie down on a massage table and determined that there was a lot of pulling from my head all the way down to my right hip/SI joint. It seems  my right hip joint area was not sitting how it should be. After the treatment, I definitely felt like my right hip had been rotated outward. Interestingly enough, ever since I was a kid my right foot would always rotate inwards. Hmm.

My next appointment is in 2 weeks and apparently the body does a lot of work on it`s own between visits.

I am definitely more conscious of standing on my heels versus the balls of my feet and have really noticed every time my right foot turns in -- I never noticed these things before. I am not sure if it is the treatment or the power of suggestion.

I`ll write another post after my next visit and keep you up-to-date on my progress. I hope my chronicalling my experience helps you to determine whether osteopathic treatment is right for you.

TC