Victoria’s Read

There are times or events in life that are game changers, those things that permanently alter our future. We can perceive these as positive or negative, the difference between them is simply how we choose to react or deal with them. It is after all always a choice.

I recently had one of those events. One of the most positive people I know had her life taken quickly by cancer at 47. Even though this tragic event left many asking why, she remained positively well even into her last moments. How did she live and remain so positively well even when faced with her own mortality? She was a determined and positive woman. Here are some positive tips I’ve learned from her life.

Deal with the elephant: Whatever the issue is no matter how difficult or seemingly unpleasant, deal with it concisely and as soon as possible. The stress form ignoring or trying to bury a problem almost always weighs more than the elephant in the end.

Believe in people: People and who we help are the only true measure of our success. The people you help and their gratitude will encourage you and help you to stay positive.

Take the next step: Have faith in purpose and take the next step. What you can achieve will only be limited if you don’t take that next step. Even if the next step seems misplaced, you will learn and have wisdom for your next step.

Take good care of yourself: When you feel good, you are also positive and vice versa. Love yourself each day.

Smile: Wear a smile every day, it’s infectious, and it’s harder to be negative when you are smiling.

Believe: Live with integrity, and believe in yourself, the people around you, and a higher purpose. Trust your heart.

So you see even though the event seemed tragic and untimely, I choose to be positive. I choose to take to heart how she lived her life, and to do my best to lean her lessons on living positively well. These are powerful lessons from a powerful woman.

In loving and positive memory of Sylvie Hyndman (Houle) 1963-2011

Stay well, stay strong… you deserve it.
email info@ohanawellness.ca, or visit www.ohanawellness.ca.

©Darren Renaud  Natural Health Practitioner
Take time to try these tips, and I’m sure you’ll see results.

CHERRY CHICKEN

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (4 pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 (15 ounce) can pitted dark cherries packed in water
½ cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 orange - with peel, quartered and thinly sliced
½ cup slivered almonds, toasted

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then coat with flour.

Fry in the hot oil until browned, turning as needed. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for about 25 minutes or until meat is tender and juices run clear.

Remove the chicken from the pan and pour off all but 1/4 cup of the drippings. Return to medium heat and stir in the cherries, reserving some of the cherry liquid for later.

Stir in sugar and bring to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in the reserved cherry liquid, then stir into the pan. Cook, stirring gently, until thickened.

Add orange slices and almonds to the skillet, then return the chicken pieces to the skillet. Spoon sauce over the chicken to coat, and simmer over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes before serving

CHERRY WALDORF SALAD

Ingredients:
2 large apples, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 cup pitted tart red cherries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a large salad bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add the celery, cherries, cranberries and almonds.

In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream, honey and salt until well blended.

Pour over salad and toss to coat.

I know I have made them, and likely you have too. Made a New Year’s resolution that is, and not been able to keep it. It seems to be a tradition to make a change for the positive.

Here are some tips that may help you to be successful in this year’s resolution.

Keep it simple. The easiest way to not keep your resolution is to make it unattainable. Make it a resolution that is attainable.

Plan it out. Don’t wait till the last minute on New Year’s Eve to pick the resolution.

Decide what it will be and plan on it.  Put substance to it. Write down the plan and decide on how you will deal with distractions and temptations.

Share your resolution. Talk about and share your resolution with friends and family. The more support you have the higher the success will be. 

Make progress worthwhile. Decide what rewards you will give yourself for reaching milestones and eventually success. Use them for motivation.

Have compassion. Make sure that if you do momentarily slip, that you don’t beat yourself up for it. Just review your goals, motivators, and plan, and work to the next milestone.

So what do most people resolve for the New Year?

#1 To lose weight. This is the all time winner. Be aware that to be successful, movement has to be part of the plan. Diet changes alone will not do it. In fact for every pound you lose without exercising, will be 30% muscle. Keep the muscle, and lose the fat by getting moving.

#2 To quit a habit. This could be anything that is holding you back on your path to wellness. Some of these habits may even be good in intention, by taken to excess will turn to a negative, “Too much of a good thing.” If to quit a habit is you choice, research what help is out there for it, and what support you can get.

These are the top two based on many lists, and web sites. Whatever your resolution is don’t do it alone. Find a friend to work with, and help each other to stay motivated. Keep in touch and give each other progress reports including any slips. Brain-storm together on ways to succeed, it will pay off.

Regardless of your choice, or even if you stick to it, the one guaranteed element to improve your wellness is movement and exercise. Get out get moving, and you’ll notice a positive change.

Take time to try these tips, and I’m sure you’ll see results. Stay well, stay strong… you deserve it.

If you are interested in these approaches, and ways to help yourself, email info@ohanawellness.ca, or visit us at www.ohanawellness.ca.
©Darren Renaud  Natural Health Practitioner

As I watch the last leaves fall and the first few snowflakes fly warning us of the months ahead, my thoughts turned to what can we easily do to help ourselves. Cold, illness, short days, closed spaces, holiday stress, loss of local produce… it all adds up to a challenge to maintaining our energy, balance and vitality while living in the north. There are some simple tips that can help.

Acupressure wise, there are many points to support your immune function, balance energy and even deal with the cold (or heat). One of the first points that help in many situations is Li11. Bend your arm and look at the crease on the outside of your elbow pointing towards the tip. The depression just beyond the crease is Li11. This point  helps to signal the body to balance temperature. Pressing firmly with finger tips into the points on each arm (cross your arms and you can do both at the same time) for 3-5min. This will help to warm or cool your body. That’s right ladies, if you want to take the edge off of a hot flash, this will help. The next point is Li4. It is on the hand on the highest point of the fleshy part between the closed thumb and the index finger. Some know this as a pain relief point, but it more accurately deals with discomfort from congestive issues like headaches, sinus, constipation, etc. Again press in firmly for 3-5min. each side.

Activity helps elevate energy and moods. Get out socialize and shake off the blahs. Exercise helps to keep your lymphatic system working which helps your overall immune system. Staying active is key to winter wellness.  Getting proper rest will also help. Try to be sleeping by 9:30-10:00pm.

Nutritionally winter can be a huge challenge. Drink at least half your body weight in ounces each day. We lose approximately half a cup of water per hour. Tea, coffee, juices and sodas make you lose more moisture than they contribute.

Your attitude is the overall biggest booster. Stay positive, embrace the season, get outside, get active, eat well and smile. By living in the north, it’s hard to avoid winter, so live and enjoy winter to your fullest.
Take time to try these tips, and I’m sure you’ll see results. Stay well, stay strong… you deserve it.
If you are interested in these approaches, and ways to help yourself, email info@ohanawellness.ca, or you can visit www.ohanawellness.ca.

©Darren Renaud  Natural Health Practitioner

There are many items from the natural world that have been used for many years as effective treatments and at the insistence of naturopathic doctors and holistic health practitioners, studies have been done to western standards and with some great results.

First off is the venerable ginger.  Used for thousands of years, ginger has proven to be a great nausea reliever, especially post surgery and along with chemo therapy. Ginger has also been tested as a pain reliever for muscle soreness. A study at Georgia State University showed that ginger reduced post exercise muscle pain by 24%. This is significant as ibuprofen in standard doses had an effect of 28% and the ginger had little or no negative effects. Ginger has in preliminary studies are showing good results with arthritis as well. An easy way to add ginger to your routine is to put a slice of fresh ginger in your tea.

Next is the spice Turmeric. It is the spice that gives curry its yellow colour. Turmeric has been shown to be a powerful anti-inflammatory and is showing huge promise for arthritis. You can use the powdered spice or you can get standardized capsules in most health food stores. The BBC announced in 2009 that preliminary studies in the UK showed promise for Turmeric as a preventative for dementia by preventing the spread of certain protein plaques. 

Garlic besides being great in cooking is and anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal agent. Garlic has been a traditional cure for thousands of years and now has proof of its effectiveness.  It helps to lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and boost your immune system. Garlic extracts can remove warts and stop fungal infections, often as quick as commercial chemical remedies.

Peppermint is another useful herb to keep handy. Use it fresh, dried or in pure oil form. Peppermint can help digestion and ease nausea. An Italian study showed it had a major reduction in irritable bowel syndrome. Peppermint oil can also be used to stop the intrusion of ants.  The pure oil can be mixed with carrier oil and used on the temples and forehead to ease headaches.

Oregano and its oil are next. It is also a great anti-biotic and infection fighter.  It can be added to shampoo or applied directly to infected skin. The oil can be added to any liquid soap to make it more efficient at clearing bacteria.

Stay well, stay strong… you deserve it.
©Darren Renaud  Natural Health Practitioner

This month’s article has brought up the topic of choices, mostly because there are so many worthwhile topics to choose from. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Healthy Lung Month, Love Your Body Day is October 15th, and of course Halloween. When trying to decide, it came to me that choices themselves are an important part of each topic. So choices it is.

Breast cancer is not something you choose, but certainly how you deal with it is. You can choose many early detection methods including regular self examination. You can choose a healthy lifestyle for prevention. You can choose if faced with it, to not own it, but disown it, stay positive, as you do have support. You only have to look at a group such as the Warriors of Hope to see what positive can do. You have choices.

Healthy lung month is another choice filled topic, and October is a great month for it. Choose to get out and enjoy the fall colours, don’t hide indoors. Choose exercise as your drug, and breathe in wellness. This time of year often has less pollution and allergens in the air, so make the best of it. From Acupressure we can stimulate lung function by tracing from the front of the chest near the arm-pit, up and along the front of the shoulder, down the inside of the arm, and off the thumb. This is the lung meridian. Tracing it in this direction will help energize the lung. Choose to avoid things that damage the lungs. We know what they are, yet many choose not to avoid them. The choices are yours to make.

Love your body day, what a wonderful choice. We often choose to ignore what our body is telling us, and in fact become numb to its messages. Stress builds up and becomes “normal”. Junk food becomes an easy choice, and we ignore that our body dislikes it. The body is an endless source of amazement, and is capable of incredible acts of balancing life’s insults. Yet our choices often push it past where it can balance. Simply choosing to respect, love, and honour our body will result in renewed energy to rebalance and thrive. Choosing to love our body everyday WILL make a difference. The trick is to say I love you to your body and mean it. It needs to hear that often. Choose activities to keep the body strong, flexible and resilient. Choose to care for your body and nurture it.

Finally, Halloween is one of my favorite days of the year and filled with choices. Choosing the right costume, where to go, what to do, or simply choosing to have a little extra fun that day is all good. Even the choices in candy are staggering to think about. Now since this is a health column, I’m not advocating diving into the candy, but a few of your favorites will not harm the waistline, will do wonders for your spirit and bring back fond memories with a little fun. Choose moderation, and the benefits of the fun and being a kid again are well worth it. There are always choices…

CHOOSE to: Stay well, stay strong… you deserve it.

©Darren Renaud  Natural Health Practitioner

This month we are departing from the regular how-to and tips column and focusing you on you. September is self improvement month, and with school returning and new-year’s resolutions probably forgotten, it’s a perfect time to focus on you.

So much of our time is spent selflessly giving for others, that it’s easy to forget ourselves. At some point in our lives we will find our self wanting to be a better person and measuring against some imaginary scale we create. This desire often leads us to take steps down a path of unknown difficulty. The desire and imagined fear may even stop us from taking a step, and so we stagnate.

The change we seek doesn’t happen overnight and our small steps may seem to prolong our journey, yet we still step towards the unknown because we desire to be better than we were. Though we are moving forward, the journey can seem to be taking us away from our goal or ideal. The struggle is in trusting the path and believing we are getting better.

Look at the picture of the labyrinth, and trace the path starting at the gap on the bottom. Notice how you move close to the goal, then far away only to return again, eventually getting to the destination after a journey. Unlike a maze which has wrong turns and dead ends, a labyrinth has only one true path. A journey of self improvement is much like the labyrinth in that you will often feel like you are losing ground one day, and gaining the next. The key to not losing motivation is to trust.

Trust is a powerful word, and my challenge for this month is to use it daily. Not just say it but believe it when you do. A good place to start using it is to replace the word hope with the word trust. Hope is not a bad word; it just doesn’t have the strength of belief behind it. For example “I hope you’ll have a good day” or “I trust you’ll have a good day”. In the second quote, the speaker is not on-the-fence with “hope”, but has committed to trusting you’ll have a good day. They are on your team.

Self improvement is often just that… trust. Trust in yourself, trust in your beliefs, trust in your dreams, trust in life having purpose even if you are unsure of it.

Take time for yourself, invest time in improving and caring for you and believe in yourself. The time spent in this way not only helps you, but those around you. As you grow, you can better help those on their own path in the labyrinth.
Stay well, stay strong… you deserve it.

©Darren Renaud  Natural Health Practitioner
Take time to try these tips, and I’m sure you’ll see results.

ACQUAINTANCES
BOYFRIEND
BUDDY
CLOSENESS
COMPANIONS
CONFIDE

FAVOR
FONDNESS
FRIENDLINESS
FUN
GIRLFRIEND
GOOD TIMES

HELP
LEND
LOYALTY
PAL
PRANKS
SHARE

Taken for granted by many, our eyes are certainly near the top for most prized. They are far more than what they seem and there is a lot that you can do to maintain their health and your wellness.

Exercise your eyes. Like everything else in wellness, exercise is a potent medicine. Our eyes suffer as a result of our lifestyle and environment. Sitting at a computer, reading or any close in activity for long periods can fatigue the eyes. Your eyes move little and the muscles that focus the eyes work little. A simple exercise is the 20-20-20. Every 20 minutes, focus on something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Another exercise is to move the eyes while keeping the head still. Move up, down, right, left and do circles in both directions. This is very important for eye glass wearers, as with glasses, over time there is a tendency to turn the head instead of the eyes. This over time weakens the muscles that move the eye because they rarely have to move beyond the edge of the lenses.

UV protection is important too and there are many fashionable sunglasses with UV protection in any price range. Fashion has also been a cause of many eye related issues. Cosmetics are a concern and there are now many organic and natural cosmetic lines available that are less likely to irritate or damage. Also from a safety aspect, the fashion trend for eyewear to have very wide temples or arms, limits your peripheral vision. To test if your glasses are affecting your peripheral vision, extend your arm and point a finger up. Stare straight ahead and slowly move the arm to the side till you lose sight of the finger. Now take off your glasses and repeat. If your arm got further to the side without the glasses, then your choice or style of glasses might be impacting your safety. When it comes to safety there are now many fashionable eye protection options, with many looking like designer sunglasses. 

What can be done to help tired eyes?  The simple answer is rest. Persistent tired eyes means you should visit your eye doctor for an assessment. When it concerns your eyes, an expert opinion is well worth the time and expense.

Other tips for tired eyes:
-Cucumber slices over tired eyes does refresh and relieve puffiness
-Cool moist tea bags also work to refresh and relieve puffiness.
-Vitamin A is essential for healthy eyes so try to get it from diet first, then supplements.
-Take a couple of Q-tips, dip both ends in water and freeze. In the morning, roll the frozen tips  on puffy areas around the eyes.

Stay well, stay strong… you deserve it. 
©Darren Renaud  Natural Health Practitioner

Watermelon Fire & Ice Salsa

Ingredients:
3 cups chopped watermelon
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper
½ teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the watermelon, green bell pepper, lime juice, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno and garlic salt. Mix well and serve.

Watermelon Pie  

Ingredients:
1 (3 ounce) package watermelon flavored gelatin
1/4 cup water
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 cups watermelon
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

Directions:
Mix together the watermelon gelatin and water. Fold gelatin mixture into the dessert topping. Add cut watermelon. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust. Cool in refrigerator for about 3 hours

Watermelon Cucumber Salad  

Ingredients:
6 cups cubed seeded watermelon
4 cups cubed English cucumber
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar (optional)
½ cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Place the watermelon and cucumber cubes in a large bowl and gently toss with the salt and sugar. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 15 minutes then gently toss one last time before serving

Source: allrecipes.com