One of the most awesome things about the human body is its ability to heal itself. So many, especially women, spend hundreds of dollars trying to attain perfect skin. Like everyone else, I see the importance in skin care and attaining great skin is very important to me. That's why when I was presented with the opportunity to check out Samantha Dench's book, "Skin Deep: Demystifying Skin Care Solutions to Achieve Healthy, Glowing Skin", I jumped at the opportunity.
This book is filled with gems and tips on how to attain your best skin ever! The author, Samantha Dench is very qualified to speak and write on this topic. As Samantha is a licensed esthetician and spa owner.
After reading this book, I learned so much invaluable information and my skin has been showing it. As a health enthusiast, I loved Samantha's message of taking care of your skin from the inside out. She is also a believer that great skin care starts with what you put into your body. We've all heard that the keys to great skin is exfoliating, cleaning, toning and moisturizing, but 'Skin Deep' goes much deeper into this topic to really help with getting a routine that will work for you and provide the best results for healthy, glowing, beautiful skin. She also helps you navigate the world of estheticians and helps you find the best skin care expert for you. Did I mention she also tackles anti-aging?
Check out Samantha Dench's book today by clicking the link:http://skindeepil.com/skindeep-book/ ! If you're in the States, you can also visit one of Samantha's Illinois or Texas locations!
Every now and then, I need to clear my head with an evening run. Now I can do so and feel at ease. I recently had the opportunity to try a new product called Run Lites and I must admit, I love the concept and I found Run Lites Sling II very practical. I probably would like the gloves better (since it gets pretty cold in the evening in Toronto) but the concept is still the same with the product that I tried out. What I liked most about this product is that it didn't really interrupt my routine. I simply put the Sling II on and it didn't even feel like it was there which was great! The light was bright and lit the way for me during my run. I noticed that people were more aware of me, which made for a more secure and safe experience. I was also able to still operate my touchscreen cell phone and get to my music playlist since my fingers were free which was a plus!
The lights are easy to charge and they aren't heavy or bulky which is also a plus.
I liked the product, but I would most likely suggest the gloves even though I only tried them once. The gloves seem warmer and they also have more features, such as an area to store things during your run. It's definitely a must try for outdoor runners.
It's so sad, but many today are suffering with IBS and other similar problems. One of the best and most natural ways to alleviate pain and complications that come with IBS is with your diet. This is why I was thrilled to be introduced to Cinzia Cuneo's new book, "The Low-FODMAP Solution: Put an End to IBS Symptoms and Abdominal Pain".
This is what Cinzia Cuneo says about her book:
Cinzia's objective is to provide you with a tool that will help you attain intestinal wellbeing via a diet that's low in FODMAPs. The first part of her book presents the theory and provides the understanding of why the diet works as well as how you adopt the lifestyle. This includes everything from recommendations for vegetarians to an easy to follow chart which lists all the foods and ingredients that need to be avoided on the diet. She also offers sound advice on reading labels and adapting your favorite recipes.
In the second section of the book, there are 125 recipes and 4 weeks of meal plans that will help you ease into the diet with support and understanding. And the recipes are delicious -- just because you're managing IBS doesn't mean you and your family can't eat flavorful and enticing meals.
The 125 recipes are for breakfasts, starters and salads, soups, entrees, sandwiches, sides, snacks and desserts. A typical lunch is Rice and Lentil Salad with Herbs and Tomato, or Pork Fillet and Prosciutto with Spinach, Raisins and Steamed Brown Rice. And dinner is something as easy to prepare as Chicken Fajitas with Tomato and Cucumber Salsa or if you're entertaining, Filet Mignon with a Creamy Paprika Sauce with Greek-Style Roasted Vegetables.
While prepping, it's nearly impossible to try anything that's not on my meal plan, but I was able to share some of the recipes with one of my clients suffering from IBS and she had nothing but great things to say. She said that the meals were not only tasty but helped her feel much better. With IBS she really has to watch it and stay away from trigger foods and she said that the recipes she tried from this book caused no triggers.
I think this is a great book for IBS sufferers to have just from the information and knowledge shared in the first part of the book alone!
If you don't have a peanut allergy, most likely, you enjoy peanuts! Peanuts are often times the go to for vegetarians and vegans as well, as they offer a great source of protein. However, if you aren't careful you will find that your waistline will start expanding from eating the peanuts. Most of us love the flavor of peanut butter, but we have to be so careful. That is why, I was so excited when Pure Goodness asked me to try out their Powdered Peanut Butter. So here are a few fun facts about the product:
- Powdered Peanut Butter has 7 grams of protein
-Powdered Peanut Butter has 90% less fat than other products... How? They make their product by slowly roasting quality peanuts, gently pressed to remove 90% of fat.As all of you know, I'm on prep and preparing for my competition so I have to really watch what I eat and intake. Though I absolutely loved this product (it's so easy to make it as a spread as well), all you have to do is add water (be careful with adding the water, the amount of water you add should be based on the consistency, texture that you want) and mix/stir to get the consistency that you want, I couldn't really fully enjoy it because of the carbs.
Right now, I'm entering the part of my prep where I'm low carving, which for me is virtually no carbs, so I can't really eat this product.However, I would suggest this to anyone that loves peanut butter, but doesn't want all of the fat.
What I love about this company though, is their commitment to ending hunger! Their mission is to provide meals to children in need, a cause I too am interested in!
Overall, I would definitely recommend this product. It taste great and it's a great, healthy option for someone that is health conscious! Give them a try and visit their website www.mypuregoodness.com. The Powdered Peanut Butter is currently sold out, but check back frequently to see when they have more in stock. They also offer other amazing products that are worth a try! Check them out today!
If you're familiar with Japanese culture or have visited Japan, you will quickly find how important tea is and how vastly it is used within the culture. I recently participated in the #7daydrinkgreen challenge and the results were pretty eyeopening. When asked, how can I lose more weight without doing anything or what can I do to fight sugar cravings, I always suggest tea. That's why I was so happy to have the chance to try out a Nanami Power Set.
I absolutely LOVE green tea! The health benefits of green tea are endless! It's great for your skin, your energy, your waistline and more! What's so amazing about Nanami Tea is that they offer authentic green tea (no garbage or fillers or blends). Their tea is is carefully picked and crafted from their tea farm in Uji Kyoto, Japan. This company is one of very few that offer green tea at a farm-to-cup experience.
I had the opportunity to try the Nanami Power Set, in the power set I recieved Matcha (my favorite), Sencha, Hojicha and Genmaicha.
So check out my 7 day review below:
So if I could, I would drink Matcha tea, all day every day. Matcha by far is my favorite kind of tea and was my fav from the Nanami Power Set.
Day 1 - Each one of the teas is numbered and has a different purpose but I wanted to try things a little out of order and drink tea based upon what I felt like drinking for the day. Today I tried the Matcha Tea and all I can say is AMAZING! I've tried many different Matcha teas from ordering at my local tea shop to Starbucks to ordering Matcha off of amazon and this by far is the most cleanest, purest Matcha tea yet! My energy levels were high and I felt amazing.
Day 2 - Once again, I decided to go with some Matcha tea in the morning, but I also decided to mix the Matcha inside of my smoothie that I had for a snack. The taste was very green and exactly what I wanted and was looking for. I really feel like this is going to go into my daily rotation or be used whenever I have a craving for something super green and super clean.
Day 3 - I drink a lot of water every day to ensure I meet my fitness and health goals, but what I love about this challenge is how I'm really focusing on my water intake. Drinking the tea is like a treat! I've also been drinking this tea without any sweeteners. Drinking this way ensures I get a pure taste and get the maximum benefits of the tea which I can really feel.
Day 4 - I decided to try one of the other teas out of the set. Today, I went with Hojicha. This tea is unique because it is roasted. The directions for this tea suggest drinking it before bed and I see why. This tea was very calming and I could tell that it didn't have as much caffeine in it as the matcha because I didn't get an increase in energy. This tea is great for relaxing. The flavor is incredible and one that I never could imagine you could get from a green tea. The flavor was more nutty with a hint of caramel and very soothing! It was a great treat after drinking only water all day.
Day 5 - Things have been so busy for me these last few days and I felt like I needed a boost, so I decided to try the Sencha tea today. This was a great choice! This tea gave me the pick me up I needed to tackle the rest of my day. I had a cup of this tea after I finished my fasted cardio, and it gave me a boost of energy that I needed. It was like a pick-me up. I also noticed that I wasn't as tired as I normally would have been. This was probably attributed to the the high amount of caffeine. This is also a great tasting tea!
Day 6 - I'm almost at the end of the challenge and I don't think I want to stop! Drinking all of this water and green tea has definitely helped me feel MUCH better! Not only do I feel healthier but I feel more alert and positive. The effects of green tea!! I absolutely loved how the Sencha made me feel so I decided to start with a cup this morning and also during mid-day! So refreshing! I ended he day with Hojicha and once again, it was an amazing treat! The smell of the Hojicha is so comforting and warm! It's a must for a relaxing evening before bed.
Day 7 - Drinking water all day has many health benefits and I've really grown to appreciate them over the past few days! Drinking only water and green tea as a treat periodically throughout the day has been a treat! I would suggest this challenge to anyone that is trying to reset their system or just get a bit healthier. It's so important to limit the amount of soda and sugary drinks you intake (juices filled with high fructose syrup, hot chocolates and fraps). I started the day with my ultimate fav... MATCHA!! And ended the day with my new evening fav Hojicha.
My overall review:
These teas are amazing and I suggest every tea connoisseur try them!
ESPGHAN: Consumers Misled by Gluten-free Foods, Study Finds
Gluten-free products cannot be considered as sufficient substitutes for their gluten-containing counterparts, prompting scientists to call for the reformulation of gluten freefoods with healthier raw materials to ensure healthy childhood nutrition.
The outcomes of the study, presented today at the 50th Annual Congress of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition, show that gluten-free items have a significantly higher energy content and a different nutritional composition to their gluten-containing counterparts. Many of the gluten-containing products - especially breads, pastas, pizzas and flours - also contained up to three times more protein than their gluten free substitutes.
Ceoliac disease in children (PRNewsfoto/ESPGHAN)
The imbalances highlighted in the study could impact children's growth and increase the risk of childhood obesity.
The study assessed over 1,300 products, finding:
Gluten-free breads had significantly higher content of lipids and saturated fatty acids
Gluten-free pasta had significantly lower content of sugar and protein
Gluten-free biscuits had significantly lower content of protein and significantly higher content of lipids
ESPGHAN expert and lead researcher, Dr Joaquim Calvo Lerma, explains "As more and more people are following a gluten-free diet to effectively manage coeliac disease, it is imperative that foods marketed as substitutes are reformulated to ensure that they truly do have similar nutritional values. This is especially important for children, as a well-balanced diet is essential to healthy growth and development."
Experts are also warning that consumers may not be aware of these unhealthy variances due to poor nutritional labelling.
Dr Martinez-Barona, fellow lead researcher comments "Where nutritional values of gluten-free products do vary significantly from their gluten-containing counterparts, labelling needs to clearly indicate this. Consumers should also be provided with guidance to enhance their understanding of the nutritional compositions of products to allow them to make more informed purchases and ensure a healthier diet is followed."
Daciana Sarbu MEP, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, adds "Gluten-free products that are not pre-packed are not subject to the same labelling requirements as pre-packed products. In this case, consumers could be less aware of important nutritional differences with potentially significant health impacts. I have always supported so-called 'traffic light' labelling to facilitate easy comparison between products for key nutrients including protein, fat and sugars."
Infoway Selects TELUS Health for PrescribeIT™
TORONTO, May 11, 2017 /CNW/ - Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) is pleased to announce that it has selected TELUS Health as the successful bidder for the technical solution provider for PrescribeIT™, Canada's e-prescribing service.
"TELUS Health proposed an innovative approach that together with their advanced capabilities and capacity to deliver on our vision make them an ideal choice for PrescribeIT™," commented Michael Green, President and CEO, Canada Health Infoway.
"As a longstanding technology provider enabling improved health outcomes for Canadians, we are proud to be working with Infoway to develop and operate PrescribeIT. PrescribeIT will be built on our open, interoperable and vendor agnostic TELUS Health Exchange platform, which is already enabling collaboration and efficiency in the primary care ecosystem," said Paul Lepage, President of TELUS Health. "We look forward to advancing this service in support of driving better health outcomes for Canadians and helping to bring PrescribeIT to patients as soon as possible."
Infoway's experienced management team, together with TELUS Health will serve the interest of all Canadians, prescribers, pharmacists and pharmacies by ensuring patient choice of pharmacy, safeguarding patient data and upholding privacy and security standards while optimizing existing investments in provincial drug information systems.
"PrescribeIT™ will greatly aid policy makers and health care providers alike in the struggle against opioid misuse," noted Green. "Through a single, national e-prescribing system, we can reduce fraud and abuse by eliminating handwritten prescriptions, avoid fragmentation of patient health care information, and ensure data integrity for opioid monitoring and surveillance."
The PrescribeIT™ team is currently preparing for trial runs of PrescribeIT™ in select communities in Alberta and Ontario starting in mid-2017 in preparation for a full-scale rollout across the country starting in mid-2018. For more information on PrescribeIT™ please visit www.infoway-inforoute.ca/PrescribeIT. For more information on TELUS Health, please visit www.telushealth.co.
About Canada Health Infoway
Infoway helps to improve the health of Canadians by working with partners to accelerate the development, adoption and effective use of digital health across Canada. Through our investments, we help deliver better quality and access to care and more efficient delivery of health services for patients and clinicians. Infoway is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government.
SOURCE Canada Health Infoway
In a world thats filled with pollution, its so important that we do our part in keeping our environment safe! One of the best and most practical ways we can do so is by reducing our use of plastics and recycling every chance we get. I had the chance to try a Ion 8 water bottle. The Ion 8 water bottle isn't just any water bottle. According to their website, Ion8 band water bottle is, "is impregnated with crystals that naturally have a magnetic force field. As water passes, this force field causes disruption in the water molecules, resulting in measurable electron shifts *. The disrupted water molecules take on a charge through this shift in electrons, and is ionized."
Ion 8 water bottles are also 100% leak proof (which is so important, nothing is worse than a leaky water bottle), are easy to use and keep your water hot or cold (depending on the original temperature of water used).
I had tried out the Ion 8 water bottle and it's super cute! Sometimes you need that extra initiative to drink more water and carrying around a cute, fashionable water bottle helps! However, the bottle is kind of small.
I personally didn't taste a difference in the water but that doesn't mean that it isn't working, I just didn't taste or notice much of a difference.
But if you're looking for a new water bottle with more benefits than the norm, you should give the Ion8 Water Bottle a try. Check them out here: http://www.ion8.co.uk
It's less than 50 days until summer which means its time to attend amazing BBQ's and weekends out with your friends. What does that mean? Drinks! Normally, this sounds like a good time, however, when you're serious about your fitness goals or prepping for something, the first thing to go is usually alcohol. Most alcoholic beverages are full of sugar and ingredients that not only make for a not so great next day, but definitely take you off course for your fitness goals that you are trying to achieve. Sometimes, staying away from drinks at family get togethers and evenings out with friends can make sticking to your plan really hard. But what if we told you there is away to enjoy the occasional drink without the guilt of veering off of your plan?
Well there is!
A friend recently introduced us to a new cocktail mixer called, "RSVP Skinnies". These all natural cocktail mixers are absolutely amazing!!! They allow you to celebrate and toast with your friends without the guilt.
What I love most about these is that they are so discreet no one will even notice that you aren't having a sugary, carb filled drink. They come in 4 flavors that I know of (Baja Margarita, NY Cosmo, London Gimlet and Maui Mai Tai) but my favorite flavor has been the Baja Margarita. My drink of choice is a Margarita but when prepping or on a meal plan I stay away from Margarita's and pretty much any alcohol because I don't want the extra calories, sugars and carbs.. What I love about the Baja Margarita flavor is how easy it is to make... All you need is:
Water
Ice
1.5 Oz of Tequila (or a shot of Tequila)
and your 'Skinnie packet'
When out with friends, all you need to order is a shot of Tequila and a glass of Ice Water and you can have a Margarita without the guilt!
What makes these "Skinnies" even more amazing is that they contain no preservatives, aspartame or artificial coloring.
Did I mention they're also cost-friendly... They're about $1 a packet or $6 per box.
This is a great thing to have around as we approach the summer! But as with everything, drink these in moderation!
Check out this YouTube video below to see how to make your very own 'Skinnies Margarita on the Rocks'
Forget sacrificing your own visibility, comfort and convenience with headlamps, reflective wear, vests and shoe cuff. Put light where you need it while running, walking or cycling in the early morning or late evening hours with RunLites (www.gorunlites.com).
When the days get shorter, runners, walkers and other athletes find themselves doing their daily routines in little to no light. The risk for accidents (for the athlete themselves and for oncoming traffic) increases with low visibility.
RunLites are a lightweight, wearable, hands-free lighting solution for outdoor activities. Designed for running, walking, cycling, hiking, camping, hunting or other everyday lowlight activities such as taking your trash out at night or walking your dog, in any climate, RunLites are available in a variety of styles, colors and sizes to meet function and fashion needs while maintaining its most important feature – hands-free access to light for added safety.
Benefits of RunLites:
Compact, lightweight and hands-free
Bright (80 lumens) light that projects a 135-degree radial arc up to 15 feet
Provides up to 12 hours of continuous use
Reflective strip for safety
Half-length and full-length (shown above)
Padded palm pocket for storage
Other RunLites products:
RunLites Mittens($29.95) are constructed of super warm and soft Polar Fleece, featuring extra-long cuffs for enhanced warmth. Texting thumbs allow you to use your phone without removing your mittens.
RunLites Mittensfeatures include:
Convenient palm pocket for items such as money and keys.
Sleek and snug LED light pocket to prevent the light from wiggling.
Additional reflective strips on palm and around the LED light pocket.
Special opening for rechargeable cable, no need to remove lights from pocket before charging.
Texting thumbs for easy phone use without removing mittens
RunLites Splash($24.95) line of gloves features a new lightweight breathable fabric in fresh colors, patterns and fabrics.
RunLites Splashfeatures include:
Convenient palm pocket for items such as money and keys.
Sleek and snug LED light pocket to prevent the light from wiggling.
Additional reflective strips on palm and around the LED light pocket.
Special opening for rechargeable cable, no need to remove lights from pocket before charging.
Extended middle finger fabric pull for easy glove removal.
Terry cloth thumb for wiping away moisture.
The new RunLites SLING ($15.95) is perfect for those in warmer climates wanting hands-free access to light without wanting to wear an actual glove.
RunLites SLING features include:
Hands-free directional light without the warmth of a glove.
Weather resistant material to withstand the elements – it's a palm free solution.
Sleek design that has a ‘barely there’ feel but also has a wide reflective wrist strap.
Velcro pocket for your rechargeable LED unit.
RunLites LED Light Units fit in all RunLites Gloves and RunLites Slings and are sold separately with a dual port rechargeable cable. ($15.95/set of 2)
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