Celiacs give gluten the boot
by Christine Borgstad
Within minutes of meeting Maureen Jack-LaCroix, it becomes clear that she is as wild as the free-flowing mane of silver curls that frames her delicate facial features. Energy and enthusiasm seem to pulse off her as we settle into an interview that underscores her talent as one of Vancouver’s best “connectors”: a networker and a weaver of ideas and people. She’s a rare find—a hybrid who’s equally comfortable working with concepts (the world of ideas) and practicality (the world of action).
Early in her career, Maureen established herself as a producer and impresario who could engineer projects at the highest of levels. But she’s perhaps best known for taking a teenage sport thought to be populated by juvenile delinquents—skateboarding—and making it a respectable and even celebrated part of urban life. Maureen, whose son is a boarder, did it through the creation of Slam City Jam, a three-day festival of skate culture and music—and the longest-running event of its kind in North America.
It was a tough undertaking. Maureen recounts bumping up against City Council, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, and the Chief of Police, following a cover story in Thrasher magazine that featured one of the world’s top boarders bombing down a metal railing in Vancouver.
“The business association guy held it up and was like, ‘Look at this! Look at this!’,” she recalls. “And I laughed, and said, ‘Yeah, can you imagine doing that?’”
Before skateboarding, it was music. A classically trained pianist,
Maureen stepped into the rock ’n’ roll scene after a college boyfriend enlisted her help in making a documentary about a band. She went on to become the band’s manager, and found herself thrust into a near-exclusive—and notoriously ruthless—boys’ club: the music industry.
The more intimate she became with the scene, the more appalled she was at the way musicians were being shafted, from contracts that resembled “master-slave” relationships to banks that rejected loan requests to replace broken instruments. Not content to merely play “backup,” Maureen founded a series of seminars on the music industry, which ultimately grew into New Music West, the biggest new music event in Western North America.
“It grew organically because it was of value, until we had 200 bands together showcasing in 20 venues, 150 talent scouts out from 75 labels internationally,” Maureen says. “It was a wonderful appreciation of our music and what was coming up from the grassroots of our creativity.”
And the hit parade doesn’t stop there. Maureen’s other credits include working closely with Bruce Allen, Bryan Adams, and David Foster to produce “Tears are Not Enough,” the song recorded in ’85 by a supergroup of Canadian artists to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.
It’s a star-studded resumé, to be sure, and it’s about to get fortified even more. Because now, Maureen’s entire career and set of producing experiences have aligned for her most important work yet. Get ready, Vancouver, for “Be the Change.”
A grassroots movement, Be the Change is bringing people together to combat global warming. Through a series of symposiums, it takes the huge and daunting concept of “saving the environment” and breaks it down into manageable chunks to show how our small, everyday contributions—like riding our bikes instead of driving, or composting our kitchen scraps—can result in permanent change. As the name suggests, “Be the Change” is about what you can do.
“This is no longer the time to marginalize our environmentalists,” Maureen stresses. “It’s not ‘They have to fix the problem and deal with it.’ What are our values? Who are we as a community?
“The best part of how big this global mind shift is,” she continues, “is that it’s truly ego-shattering—it’s so humbling to face the enormity of the task at hand, to fully recognize that I am not in control. ‘I’ cannot solve this problem. But ‘we’ can. It’s a profound shift in consciousness to truly value the ‘we’ over the ‘me.’”
The monthly, one-day symposiums are slated throughout Vancouver for the rest of this year. Participants are encouraged to bring the message back to their communities—but not to preach it. The philosophy is that as an individual changes, he or she will inevitably lead by example.
The ultimate goal? To get 1,000 Vancouverites to reduce their energy consumption by 20 per cent and, among other initiatives, increase their use of local organic produce by the same amount. In October, members and the public will gather for the first Be the Change Festival, featuring inspirational speakers, interactive workshops on climate change, plus music, film, dance, and poetry.
This is a project of—if you will—global proportions. But it’s also an idea that’s been germinating for 20-some-odd years. Shortly after Maureen finished working on “Tears are Not Enough,” she wrote her first proposal for an environmental event. Unfortunately, it didn’t take hold.
“At that time I thought we needed to have stars to endorse something for it to go,” she explains. “It needed to be powerful people that were behind it, and I was a young woman and I didn’t feel all that powerful. It never left me though.”
In fact, for the last several years, Maureen has had a quote from R. Buckminster Fuller, the American inventor, architect, author, mathematician, and futurist, affixed to her mirror: If success or failure of this planet and of human beings depended on how I am and what I do… how would I be? What would I do?
“I didn’t know,” she says, in answer to the first question. “But I knew I had to be different from the way I was.”
In response to question no. 2, Maureen’s taken a hiatus from her very successful company, Jack of Hearts Productions—and thus her income—to form the Be the Change Earth Alliance. It wasn’t an easy move.
“That entailed letting go of my attachment to the illusion of independence,” she says. “Of my self-worth being attached to how much money I made, and of my attachment to being in control. Not easy, letting go without knowing what will come in its place.”
With a string of such wildly successful events backing her up, it’s a leap of faith the premier producer and impresario can probably afford. After all, this is the same woman who championed skateboarding and took on the music industry—and the passage of time has done little to curb her defiant spirit.
“Ideally, I’ve become a wiser rebel,” she says. “But I think it’s really healthy for all of us to have a little rebel inside, because otherwise we just spend so much energy compromising to fit in that we don’t explore all of who we can be.”
Freelance writer Andrea Warner and SharedVISION editor Tamara Letkeman also have a little rebel inside. They just need some help coaxing her out sometimes.
Hot Mush for Your Heart
by ELIZABETH BARKER
Love it or loathe it, oatmeal’s got serious heart-protecting power. A new research review published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine shows that the mushy stuff may pack even more cholesterol-lowering benefits than were established in 1997 (the year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved that health claim’s appearance on food labels).
For the review, researchers checked out seven studies (all published in the last 15 years) on oatmeal’s health effects. Without exception, the studies demonstrated that total cholesterol levels are reduced through oat consumption. What’s more, study findings also revealed that eating oatmeal regularly may lessen risk of high blood pressure and type-2 diabetes, prevent weight gain, reduce LDL (“bad”) cholesterol during weight loss, and deliver compounds that help stave off early hardening of the arteries.
Leafy Greens for Your Baby Blues
By the time they reach 80, more than half of all Americans will have developed cataracts, a condition that clouds the eye’s lens and blurs vision. But getting your fill of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin could curb your cataract risk, according to a new study from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. The study looked at data on 35,551 women, finding that those whose diets were richest in lutein and zeaxanthin had an 18-per-cent-lower chance of developing cataracts than women who consumed the least amount of the nutrients.
Both abundant in dark green leafy vegetables, lutein and zeaxanthin are the only carotenoids (yellow plant pigments that act as antioxidants) found in the lens of the human eye. The study’s authors suggest that the two nutrients could guard against cataracts by filtering lens-damaging blue light. To keep your vision sharp, load up on veggies such as kale, spinach, collard greens, broccoli, and brussel sprouts.
Kids, Moms, and Asthma
Kids with constantly distressed moms may have a higher asthma rate, suggests a new study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The study didn’t determine how maternal distress might raise children’s asthma risk, but the authors note that depressed mothers are more likely to smoke and less likely to breastfeed (two actions associated with the development of asthma among kids). Previous animal studies also show that depressed mothers are less likely to interact with their infants, and that decreased attentiveness from the mother could negatively impact the infant’s immune response.
“It is increasingly clear that traditional environmental risk factors do not fully explain the origins of asthma,” states study author Anita Kozyrskyj, Ph.D. For the study, Kozyrskyj and her team examined the medical records of nearly 14,000 kids born in 1995. They found that asthma risk among children with distressed mothers was even higher for those who lived in high-income households or who had more than one sibling.
Sink your pearly whites into holistic dentistry
When I was eight, my dad took me to get a cavity filled. The dentist, a tall man with a moustache and a big smile, reassured me that everything would be just fine. I sat confidently in the chair, closed my eyes, and let the local anaesthetic work its magic. But soon I felt dizzy, and fainted. When I was brought back to life—yep, you read that right—a few minutes later, the dentist told me I’d had an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic. I went home with a swollen face that amused my classmates for an entire week.
From then on, I fought any form of dental treatment tooth and nail. I was ready to sacrifice candy for the sake of a cavity-free future.
Many years later, when I first heard the term “holistic dentistry,” I was suspicious. While I understood “holistic” as relating to complete systems rather than focusing on individual parts, I could not see how dentistry fit in. To me, this was simply another sadistic trick that dentists used to not only inflict pain on your mouth, but on your whole body. Surely, holistic dentistry meant holistic pain dressed up with candles, spa music, and incense.
Armed with a healthy dose of bias and fear, I find myself walking into the Kerrisdale Dental Centre to meet Dr. Abbas Tejani, who practises holistic dentistry. I look for the candles and the spa music, but the place looks like a regular dental office with pictures of smiling patients on the wall. I grit my teeth and ask Tejani, “So what is holistic dentistry all about?”
“We work with the bite and the way the bite affects the whole body,” he explains. “I have always been interested in how to make things work in systems. By changing your bite, you change the efficiency of your muscles and your balance.”
Such an approach helps alleviate various problems such as headaches, jaw joint soreness, muscle tension, and pain in the neck and facial muscles, he adds.
Tejani works with practitioners including chiropractors, physiotherapists, and naturopaths, who conduct biocompatibility tests to determine which dental materials are best suited to the patient’s needs.
And he’s not the only one. Dr. Jonathan Kao, a dentist at City Dental Wellness Centre, uses mercury-free fillings and follows a strict protocol in the removal of mercury amalgam fillings. (Research has demonstrated that mercury, even in small amounts, can cause a variety of health problems.) While Kao believes in holistic dentistry, he does not practise it in the strictest sense, explaining that it depends on the patient’s needs.
“For people who are healthy, it won’t make a big difference,” he says. “Someone can smoke cigarettes for 40 years and never develop any lung problems while others die of lung cancer—just as someone who has a mouth full of amalgam fillings [might] not have any ill effects, while others with only a few amalgam fillings develop major health problems.”
Meanwhile, Tejani offers to perform a little holistic dentistry on me. The eight-year-old girl inside me wants to run away, but I let him proceed. He asks me to stand up and raise my arms horizontally. While I keep my mouth slightly open, he presses down on my arms, telling me to resist. I’m successful (surely I know how to fight dentists). But when Tejani performs the test again, this time while I bite a spatula, my arms quickly collapse.
“This simple muscle test tells me how your body is affected by your bite. When you bite, your muscle strength collapses.”
Soon the verdict is delivered: “Your teeth are not aligned in harmony with your joints. Your system is out.”
My jaw drops. Another test, a computerized analysis of the bite, tells me 55 per cent of my bite is in the front teeth. “You are putting a lot more pressure on the front, and that will be affecting the whole system,” Tejani explains, meaning my front teeth will tend to wear down more quickly and that I may experience problems with my muscles down the road.
I am crushed at the thought that my teeth are in disharmony with the rest of my body. Am I all bark and no bite? But the good news is if I work with Tejani to stabilize the bite, it will help decrease muscle tension, improve my balance, and prevent tooth wear.
Holistic dentistry suddenly makes me realize that maybe I was wrong to ignore my teeth all these years. While it might not be enough to convince me to make peace with dentists, at least I can learn to build more respect for my teeth. After all, it looks like my whole body may depend on it.
Isabelle Groc is a freelance writer and photographer who is developing a sweet tooth for holistic dentistry.
Learning to let go with restorative yoga
by PAMELA POST
Recently, I felt in need of an instant mood lift. I was staring down the barrel of too many deadlines, running on empty.
Desperate for a little lightening up, I turned to the fail-safe laughter tonic of my childhood: I Love Lucy. Something light and hilarious from a simpler time would be just the thing to lift my enervated ennui.
Score! I found the classic candy factory episode on YouTube, and readied myself for some much-anticipated mood-boosting endorphins.
But—WAAAAAHHHH!—I was shocked to dis-
cover my reaction to the scene fell as flat as Lucy’s attempts at four-part harmony with Ricky and the Mertzes.
The retro vignette that had me in stitches when I was eight revealed itself as a grim, tragicomic tale of modern malaise: an army-sergeant-type factory matron threatens newly hired candy-wrappers Lucy and Ethel with the sack if they allow a single chocolate to pass them on the conveyor belt unwrapped. Lucy and Ethel are unable to keep up. They stuff chocolates into their mouths, hats, apron pockets—anything to hide the evidence and keep up the inhuman pace. The scene is replete with adrenalin, stress, and impending employment doom.
This isn’t comedy. It’s frickin’ Kafka!
OK, maybe it’s just me. With a premonition that Lucy and Ethel have come back from the ’50s to give me a message, I find myself visiting Evelyn Neaman, one of Vancouver’s leading stress busters.
Neaman is an expert in restorative yoga, a form of hatha that gently supports the body into inversions and poses through the aid of bolsters and pillows, and facilitates deep states of relaxation and meditation.
“Restorative yoga is all about going inside and refilling our empty wells, so that you don’t need drugs and Holt Renfrew and all those things we use to fill ourselves back up,” says the vivacious and health-radiating Neaman as we share ironic laughs about the craziness of life over a cup of green tea in her Dunbar home.
Neaman discovered restorative yoga 12 years ago when she was a busy professional working in the law courts education system. Judges and court workers have since become devotees of her lunchtime classes. Legions of stressed-out new moms and people recovering from chronic and acute illness flock to her home studio for the healing benefits of a practice she calls an “elixir.”
“There are very few opportunities to find stillness in your life unless you are a meditator. It’s hard to meditate, and so really, this sort of yoga helps people to meditate in a comfortable way.”
An emblematic pose of restorative yoga is the “legs up the wall” posture, where you lie on your back with your back gently supported by a blanket or bolster, legs stretched comfortably—you guessed it—up the wall.
“They say that as you grow old, you [can] get younger by reversing the flow of gravity in your body,” Neaman says. “Most people think they have to do more to get more, but you actually do less to get more in restorative yoga.”
Enough talk. Evelyn takes me down into her luxurious basement home studio that she calls her “yoga cave” for a 90-minute session of restorative yoga. To the sounds of music, the playing of crystal bowls and chanting, she covers me in blankets, tucking me in like a loving mother. She puts me in gentle poses, bolsters supporting me. Sandbags are placed along my lower back. She nests my aching neck into the soft support of a folded blanket. A lavender-scented eye pillow closes out the stimuli of the world. Crystal stones are dotted along the chakra points of my body.
“Crystals have been still for millennia,” she whispers. “They help facilitate our stillness.” As she guides my body into deeper and deeper states of comfort, she continually asks, “Are you comfortable? A hundred per cent?” She knows we have a tendency to hold discomfort, grin and bear it. That’s not allowed in restorative yoga. This is about letting go.
The session ends with listening to a yoga nidra guided imagery tape that promotes body awareness and stillness. It’s the ultimate yin experience of receiving, in stark contrast to the relentless yang of our “doing” culture.
As if reaching the merciful end of a Desi Arnaz song, the Babalú beat of incessant stressful thoughts has stopped beating in my head, and I’m ready to laugh again. I’ve been fed an elixir indeed—even better than one of Lucy’s cure-all vitamin-meat-vegetable-and-mineral pills in “Vitameatavegamin”!
Now that’s a funny episode.
Pamela Post is a CBC News reporter who is planning to spend more time with her legs up the wall and less time worrying about deadlines.
by ELIZABETH BARKER
Your Brain on Sugar
Not just a hazard to your teeth and waistline, slurping up too many sugary beverages may increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. To test the effects of sugar overload on the progression of Alzheimer’s (a condition linked to both obesity and diabetes), researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham fed a group of mice a diet that was 10 per cent composed of sugar water. After 25 weeks, the sugar-fed mice had gained about 17 per cent more weight than mice that followed a regular balanced diet. They also displayed poorer learning abilities and memory retention, and their brains contained more than twice as many amyloid plaque deposits (a hallmark of Alzheimer’s).
The human equivalent of the study’s mouse diet would be about five cans of soda per day, the study’s authors note. But since mice have a higher metabolism, they add, less sugar intake could have a similar impact on humans.
New Red-Meat Risk
One more reason to cut back on bacon burgers: new findings from the U.S. National Cancer Institute indicate that loading up on red meat and processed meat could raise your risk for several kinds of cancer. The study’s authors even suggest that one in 10 colorectal (colon or rectal cancer) and one in 10 lung cancers could be avoided if people lowered their red- and processed-meat intake.
The study began in 1995, when researchers surveyed about 500,000 cancer-free adults (ages 50 to 71) about their eating habits over the previous year. At a follow-up session some eight years later, 53,396 incidences of cancer were identified. Those who had the highest red-meat intake showed a 20 to 60 per cent increased risk of colorectal, liver, lung, and esophageal cancer when compared to those who ate the least red meat. A high intake of processed meat was also linked to elevated risk for colorectal and lung cancer.
Since the study’s definitions of red meat and processed meat overlapped (with bacon and ham included in both categories, for instance), the researchers weren’t able to determine which kind of meat may cause which form of cancer.
Fresher Breath, Naturally
A herb-infused mint could knock out odour-causing germs faster than your average breath freshener, according to a new study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Mints made with extract of magnolia bark—a herb used in traditional Chinese medicine—were found to kill 61 per cent of oral bacteria that trigger tooth decay and bad breath, within 30 minutes. Researchers tested the extract’s effects on saliva samples taken from nine volunteers, discovering that extract-free mints destroyed only 3.6 per cent of germs.
Not yet available in breath-freshening products, digestion-aiding magnolia bark is most commonly found in stomach-soothing herbal formulas. If developed, magnolia-containing mints could serve as an alternative to existing antibacterial products, some of which may lead to tooth staining and other side effects.
What's more important to me: saving the planet, or my health?
by KATHY SINCLAIR
Let me confess. I love being a vegetarian. For almost 15 years I was practically the poster girl for going meat-free. I salivated over soy, flipped over falafels, and was turned on by tahini. I thrilled to a meal at the Naam or Foundation, and visibly recoiled when I saw friends gulping pork gyoza.
Passing up meat never felt like a sacrifice. I grew up eating chicken and beef, but in my early 20s I came to a scientific conclusion: meat was gross.
I refused to partake fully in holiday meals, loading my plate with vegetables and, I’ll admit, more than a little smugness. When I called home to update my parents on the latest—which often included the non-news that I was feeling a little rundown—they’d chant, in unison: “Eat some meat!”
Feelings of superiority aside, there are a lot of great reasons for going veg. Beans and greens are way cheaper than filet mignon. Then there’s the valuing of one being’s life over another. (Do we eat dogs and cats? Then why is it OK to go at chickens with cleavers?)
Plus, a vegetarian diet is better for the environment. Production of livestock requires way more energy, land, and water than plant foods. And a recent campaign by the Humane Society of the United States says that eating meat (and eggs and dairy) contributes more to global warming than driving a car.
But most of all, I didn’t eat meat because I felt I hadn’t earned the right. If I couldn’t kill a creature with my own two hands, I just didn’t feel entitled to chomp on its flank.
But lo! My veg-head days were numbered.
Several months ago, tired of feeling sick and tired, I sought the counsel of one of Vancouver’s best naturopaths. Sure, I knew I had a little daily-triple-espresso problem, but other than that, I fully expected the good doctor to ply me with a few supplements and send me on my way.
Which was why I was unprepared for her diagnosis: “You might want to think about eating meat.”
The room began to spin, and I broke out in a hot sweat. “Excuse me?”
“It’s possible your B12 and iron levels are low. And the best source of those nutrients is grass-fed beef.”
I couldn’t have been more incredulous if I’d spotted David Suzuki driving a bright red 2008 Hummer H2 through the streets of Kitsilano. Was I going to have to start eating beef? Would my vegetarian partner still kiss me? Even more shocking: had Mom and Dad been right all along?
I sought a second opinion. And a third. Again and again, I heard words that were not music to my ears.
Meghan Hanrahan is a registered holistic nutritionist in East Vancouver. Two and a half years ago, she was following a vegan diet that didn’t compensate for missing nutrients. Then, just as she was starting nutrition school, she began to experience numbness and tingling in her limbs, intense fatigue, difficulties with word retrieval, and “a deep sensation that things weren’t right.”
She was tested for multiple sclerosis; thankfully, her symptoms were just the result of nutritional deficiencies. She was advised to begin eating meat—something her raw-foodist/vegan community of friends didn’t exactly throw a party over.
Slowly, Hanrahan began adding animal products to her diet. Her symptoms have disappeared, but she doesn’t necessarily intend to eat meat forever. “It’s absolutely possible to be a healthy vegetarian,” she maintains. “There are lots of great reasons to be one. But it’s very individual. It’s about recognizing when a diet no longer serves you. It’s not one-size-fits-all.”
Even Molly Katzen, creator of the ardently vegetarian Moosewood Restaurant cookbook series, now eats organic meat. This has brought Katzen considerable condemnation from the vegetarian set. (Hey, just a few months ago, I’d have been throwing rotten bean sprouts, too.)
Of course, many maintain that eating meat is not necessary for good health. Look at Brendan Brazier, the Ironman triathlete and staunch vegan. And although Paula Luther, a registered holistic nutritionist in Vancouver, works with carnivorous clients (“My recommendations are always client-specific, rather than focused on a dogma,” she says), she follows a vegan diet.
Me, I’ve decided to take the advice of the naturopath. Not that getting on the train to Meatville has been easy. Several weeks ago, I ate my first hamburger in years—only to later have a disturbing dream about an adorable, brown-eyed Jersey cow.
The concept of chewing dead flesh will probably never excite me. But neither does the thought of being unwell.
Kathy Sinclair is a Vancouver editor and flexitarian who is learning to love non-medicated, organic, free-range, nitrite-free bison sausage—for now.
Teatime for Healthy Bones
Got tea? Recent research suggests that the green and black varieties may do your bones good. For a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers surveyed 275 elderly women (ages 70 to 85) about how much tea they drank. At the study’s start and at a five-year follow-up, the participants had the bone mineral density in their hips measured. The results not only showed that bone density was higher in tea drinkers than in non-tea drinkers, but also indicated that tea drinkers had less bone loss.
Although the researchers didn’t determine how tea might help keep bones strong, they did find that tea drinking seemed to have a greater impact on bone than either coffee intake or physical activity.
Workplace Blues
Work got you down? You’re not alone. A new study from the University of Rochester School of Medicine has linked depression to job stress, lack of social support in the workplace, and lack of decision authority on the job.
Looking at data on more than 24,000 people, researchers found that nearly five per cent of participants—3.4 per cent of the men and six per cent of the women—met the criteria for having a major episode of depression. Among women, lower levels of social support and lack of decision authority were associated with depression, while men showed a stronger link between depression and high job strain, low job security, and increased psychological demands.
Depression in the workplace is a “major public health problem that requires intervention yet remains under-recognized and under-treated,” according to the study’s authors. “In some jobs, a high level of work stress is expected, but if it is coupled with other risk factors, the risk of depression increases,” says lead author Emma Robertson Blackmore, PhD. However, she notes, “having good social support at work—co-workers or an understanding supervisor to talk to who can provide practical or emotional support—appears protective.”
Capers to the Rescue
Tiny and tangy, capers may add more than savoury goodness to your pasta or smoked salmon. In a study from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers discovered that the Mediterranean seasoning may be loaded with cancer-preventing and heart-protecting compounds.
To test the health effects of capers (the flower buds of a small, spiny shrub), the researchers added caper extracts to grilled ground turkey and analyzed the by-products formed during simulated digestion. According to the findings, capers may stop the formation of certain digested-meat by-products that have been associated with an increased risk of cancer and heart disease. Even the small amounts of capers typically used to flavour meals may deliver a significant health benefit, especially for people whose diets are high in fat and red meat, the study’s authors note.
Trading down dog for pumping iron
by PAMELA POST
I’m trying to make friends with gym equipment. After a lifetime of workout apparatus apartheid, I feel ready to give my uneasy relationship with cold steel contraptions that clank and treadmills that take me nowhere another try.
I prefer my exercise to be outside. I love to ride my bike along the seawall with the wind in my hair. I like to paddle and row on the water. I like my exercise to be social, in a yoga or dance class, with a friend at the other end of my Frisbee throw.
Call it a girl thing, but gyms have always struck me as the province of men: dens of sweat, grunting, solitude, and fascination with gadgets and noisy machinery. TVs mounted on walls showing the “All Hockey Fight” channel.
I’ve used pseudo-intellectualism as an excuse to stay out of gyms: anything that features “jocks” and “dumbbells” can’t be good. I’ve used existentialism: I just can’t picture Jean-Paul Sartre or Samuel Beckett on elliptical trainers. The pointlessness of it would just torque up their ennui to fatal levels.
But here in the bleak mid-winter, I find myself exercise-starved. My mood and energy levels are starting to sag, along with my muscles. I go to work and come home in the dark. Jumping on my bike or strolling along the seawall are just not the happy options they are in August.
The heated, well-lit, absolutely free gym next to the lobby of my condo complex recently started to mumble a steely rebuke as I passed it during my daily mail-check.
What am I waiting for? Godot?
I peer into the empty gym, switch on the light, and survey this alien terrain of Orwellian steel and pulleys, frowning at it as I would at an Inquisition-era torture chamber. I decide it’s time to embrace my inner Schwarzenegger. But I need help, a go-between—a matchmaker.
Enter Nicole Yamanaka, personal trainer and co-owner of Le Physique, a personal training facility overlooking False Creek.
She has graciously agreed to play marriage counsellor for me and the gym, by getting me started in her big, welcoming space. No hordes of sweaty narcissists here pumping away to the thump of ’80s rock. Le Physique is tranquil, almost spa-like.
“The big gyms are good for people who are looking for a ripped six-pack, who maybe like to be on display and meet people,” Yamanaka says. “Here, we get people who want fitness and health, our university-trained staff, a personalized one-on-one approach, and a high-end feel, without a high-end cost.
“Pamela, what we can do for you here is teach you how to use the equipment, make you feel comfortable, and put you on the right path so if you do go downstairs to your gym, you’re not looking at it thinking, ‘I hate this.’ Instead, you’ll say, ‘Oh, I remember that piece of equipment. I like it, and I’m going to go play with it.’”
The first step is a one-hour physical assessment. I’m pleased to discover I’m in better shape than I thought. BMI in the fit-to-excellent range, low blood pressure, good cardio, and the biggest surprise: one of the strongest bicep-strength measurements Nicole has seen in a woman. We do that twice just to make sure. Yep, turns out I have biceps of steel! Who knew?
I return a week later for my first 90-minute workout. I do half an hour of cardio on the recumbent bike. No sweat. (OK, a little.) A series of lunges, with Nicole keeping me distracted with a cool patter of instructions, information, and jokes.
Now it’s time for free weights. Nicole teaches me how to watch my balance and technique in a mirror as I do bench presses. I catch a glimpse of myself in this most He-Man of activities, and I feel downright macho! The Rocky theme starts playing in my head… feelin’ STRONG now….
We’re cross-training. I’m doing crunches, more weights. Nicole is bending my body, pushing my thighs up to my ears. Lots of praise about my flexibility. No time to realize how much work I’ve done till we get to a final set of step-ups, and find my legs have turned into overcooked ramen noodles. Nicole doesn’t let me off the hook; just allows me to wobble through them.
As I leave Nicole and the beautiful studios of Le Physique with my endorphin buzz firmly established, I assure her that I rarely get intense muscle soreness after exercise.
Two days later, it feels like I’ve been assaulted by a gang of street punks. Nicole has truly kicked my ass. And it feels great.
Another few nights in Epsom salts baths, and I’m ready to head down to the lobby—and play with my new friends.
Pamela Post is a CBC News reporter who is hoping her new career as a bodybuilder will leave her intellect and sensitive side intact.
by ELIZABETH BARKER
 Treat Your Feet (or Not)
You may treasure your $200 kicks, but a far less spendy pair might be equally sweet for your feet. In a study recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers concluded that cheap and moderately priced running shoes can be just as good as more expensive shoes in terms of their cushioning and overall comfort.
For the study, 43 runners tried out nine pairs of shoes in three different price ranges ($80–$90, $120–$130, and $140–$150). In addition to recording the runners’ plantar pressure (the force produced by the impact of the sole hitting the ground), researchers asked participants to rate the comfort of each shoe. Study results showed no major differences among the shoes’ cushioning and comfort, regardless of the brand or the price.
To find the workout shoe that’s ideal for you, the American Podiatric Medical Association advises choosing only pairs that feel comfortable immediately, rather than relying on a “break-in period” to reach the right comfort level.
 Sloppy Sleep Math
Think you’re getting your full eight hours of sleep each night? Dream on. Most people drastically overestimate their nightly snooze time, suggests a new report from the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
For their study, researchers hooked up 2,113 adults to at-home sleep-monitoring machines. While the participants said they slept for an average of seven hours on a typical night, the sleep tests showed that they’d only slumbered for an average of six hours.
To make sure you’re achieving the sleep you need, the National Sleep Foundation encourages adopting a nighttime relaxation routine. Activities like soaking in the tub, reading a book, or listening to soothing music before bed can ease your stress and set you up for deeper sleep, according to the NSF.
 Household Health Hazard
Here’s a good excuse to go on a cleaning strike. Using household cleaning sprays—especially air fresheners, furniture polishes, and glass cleaners—as little as once a week may raise your risk of developing asthma, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
In the first report to explore the effects of cleaning products on occasional users—rather than cleaning professionals—researchers studied more than 3,500 adults over a period of nine years. On average, asthma risk was about 30 to 50 per cent higher in people who regularly used cleaning sprays than in those who didn’t.
The study’s authors didn’t determine how cleaning sprays might increase asthma risk, but they recommend that consumers opt for liquid cleaning products whenever possible. For a non-toxic alternative to sprays, consumer advocate and Home Safe Home author Debra Lynn Dadd recommends creating your own cleaner by mixing vinegar and water (equal parts) in a spray bottle.
A skin specialist comes to the rescue -- naturally
Ah, winter. Though the chill in the air may bring out the red in your cheeks, there’s nothing glamorous about a dry, itchy epidermis. But don’t fret: there are things you can do right now to bring back the glow you lost once the mercury took a dive, and changes you can make to keep your skin healthy and beautiful—forever. Holistic dermatologist Rowan Hamilton gives us the “skinny” on our cutaneous cover.
Q. Why are there so many skin disturbances among us like eczema, psoriasis, and acne?
A. There are as many reasons as there are stresses, toxins, and malnutrition in our world—the list is staggering. Our skin is formed from the same cells in embryo as our central nervous system. The underlying dermis is a part of connective tissue and connects with blood, immunity, hormones, our digestive tract—even our DNA. Some of us think the skin is just the wrapping—it’s much, much more than that.
Q. If there’s something going on with my skin, does it necessarily mean there’s more than meets the eye? Can I be in good health and have a skin problem?
A. If your health was truly wonderful and yet you had a skin problem, it would likely be due to something you came in contact with. For instance, 85 per cent of nurses have skin problems—mostly dry, cracked, and even bleeding skin. This is due to repeated use of antibacterial soaps and alcohol rubs at work. Our skin absorbs what it comes in contact with.
Q. What’s wrong with plain old soap and water to wash my face?
A. Is there anything wrong with that? I don’t think so. Goat’s milk soap is gentle. Very hot water is unnecessary and can lead to problems. Stay with warm for your face and when showering.
Q. Why does skin tend to act up in the winter?
A. Hormones levels really do change in winter and reduce moisturizing in the skin. Add to this the cold and wind of a Canadian winter—just remember how quickly a refrigerator dries food.
Q. By far one of the most frequent self-treatments for skin conditions is over-the-counter cortisone cream. Are there any downsides to this?
A. As a short-term remedy for acute conditions, cortisone does its job. It suppresses the immune response and reduces swelling and pain. Unfortunately, most skin problems don’t just go away and cortisone doesn’t solve anything. As a healer it is useless. Natural remedies are the only effective healers. They are not an alternative: they are the only solution.
Q. A lot of people have dry skin and there’s a ton of moisturizers out there. Are they helpful?
A. Moisturizers spread oil over the skin. That is fine for mild or occasional dryness. For truly dry skin they just don’t work. The oil washes off and nothing is changed. It doesn’t matter how natural the oils are. The principle is wrong for chronically dry skin.
I worked on this problem for 15 years and developed a protein-restoration system, which reconnects the surface skin cells and restores smooth skin. With the microstructure restored, the natural oils and herbs can truly heal the driest skin.
Q. What are “parabens” and why are they so bad?
A. Parabens exist in nature: they act as preservatives in plants [like in blueberries]. But this is a natural form and so part of the healthy world. The cosmetic industry got hold of these compounds and synthesized the chemical, making it part of the not-healthy world. Synthetic parabens act as xenoestrogens and are of concern, especially with estrogen-sensitive cancers.
Q. Do you think the general trend of skin-care products reflects ingredients that have more purity?
A. Purity is indeed the trend. Just look at the advertising! Truly pure ingredients cost more, need special manufacturing, and are sensitive to handle. Coconut oil sounds wonderful; however, it may mean a synthetic derivative in a skin cream. Really pure, natural ingredients—especially herbs—are almost never white!
Q. How important are organic ingredients in our skin-care products?
A. Essential. A general rule is to only put ingredients on your skin that you would be happy eating. Think about it: our skin absorbs whatever goes on it very well. Even drugs are now given as skin patches.
Q. If there’s one thing in particular that I could do to promote healthy skin, what would it be?
A. Include a detoxification program as part of your regular health practice. But truly: Discover how to love who you are, and be loved, touched, and caressed by loving people.
Rowan Hamilton is a medical herbalist and specialist in holistic dermatology who is well aware that beauty isn’t merely skin-deep.
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