Honey Colony is Having - 20% Off Superfoods

Honey Colony is Having - 20% Off Superfoods. I reviewed their Equilibrium product a while ago on my blog. Definitely worth checking out.

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20% Off Superfoods

Hey guys! If you have protein powder in your diet this week and are craving a sweet treat give this recipe a try!

Ps this recipe was sent out in my newsletter so if you aren't subscribed makes sure you do! www.trainitright.com either click the popup or scroll to the bottom.

Healthy Chocolate Lava Cake

Knee pain What to do when you get knee pain?

In my experience, 90% of the knee pain reported by athletes can be eliminated using preventative measures or ‘pre-hab’ type activities. These include all of the following measures:

1) Daily stretching. Areas to focus on – quads, IT band, glutes, calves, hamstrings, hip flexors. When any of these muscles become tight, it can result in knee pain. Always stretch when you are warm. Hold each stretch for 20 seconds, breathing slowly and deeply the whole time to encourage muscle relaxation. Stretching has to be done daily in athletes that are training every day and multiple times/day. The more stress on a muscle, the more likely it is to tighten up.

2) Foam rolling. At least every other day, athletes should be using a foam roller and/or rehab ball to find knots and kinks in the lower body and apply pressure to release them aka ‘roll them out’. Foam rolling should be done before or after your stretching. Spend about 5 minutes on each knot that you find, using very slow, small back and forth rolls alternated with constant pressure to stimulate the area to release.

3) Monthly massage therapy sessions. Try to find a therapist that has some experience with athletes – they tend to be able to find issues faster then the average / general therapist. Often times what happens is the muscles of the lower body can start to ‘stick’ together in bunches as the fascia gets tighter. A good massage therapist can identify this and work to loosen up the fascia and eliminate this bunching or sticking together of the muscles. You can also use an athletic therapist in place of a massage therapist, which would address the issue as well.

4) Epson salt baths. At least once per week you should be soaking in a hot bath with 2 cups of Epson salts to stimulate muscle relaxation, reduce muscle soreness and promote recovery. Be sure the salts are fully dissolved in the water by stirring around and lay for at least 15-20 mins. When following these four, maintenance-type does nothing to relieve your knee pain, you could have a mild form of arthritis. Although this is more common in the elderly, it’s not uncommon for athletes to develop it.

The best ways to treat arthritic knees are:

1) Natural anti-inflammatory phytochemicals and bioflavonoids. Some more common options are: curcurmin/turmeric, vitamin C, grapeseed, fish oil, resveratrol, aloe.

2) Anti-inflammatory meds. i.e. Naproxen (Aleve), Celebrex, Ibuprofen (Advil)

3) Reduction/elimination of all high impact activities i.e. box jumps, plyos, etc.

If after all this, you are still experiencing knee pain, the best advice is to see your doctor or a sports medicine clinic to have things investigated further. They will likely do a full assessment and in some cases send you for a ct scan or mri.

Top 6 Clues That Your Body Is In Flames

Typically, you can immediately tell that acute inflammation has occurred when an injury you had has started to turn hot, red and inflamed. For instance, when you scrape your knees due to an accident, you can see the inflammation occurring right away before your eyes. The symptoms of this situation are hard to miss. So, when your body is trying to heal itself from injuries that just had happened, you can always conclude that acute inflammation is taking place.

Chronic inflammation on the other hand tells a different story. When your immune system has been permanently “turned on” due to factors like unhealthy diet, allergens, toxins and poor lifestyle choices, chronic inflammation begins. As a result, the immune system constantly sends “cell-fighting” chemicals to inflamed areas that can damage the surrounding healthy tissues and cellular material. You can consider it like a forest fire that never burns out.

Recent research suggests that the main culprit of modern diseases like obesity, heart disease and diabetes is chronic inflammation. In addition to that, chronic inflammation can make you feel washed out and very tired. Since your body is attacking itself, you can expect that you’ll get sicker and sicker by the day if some form of intervention is not done sooner than later.

You can get yourself checked by seeing a doctor and getting some medical lab tests done. What they usually do to you is test the c-reactive protein levels of your blood. A high C-reactive protein indicates chronic inflammation is indeed wreaking havoc in your body.

Aside from getting some blood work done, there are numerous markers that identify whether you have chronic inflammation or not. It can reveal itself in a variety of ways, but here are the top 6 clues your body might be communicating to you.

Excess Fat Around Your Waist

Chronic inflammation is associated with excessive fat deposits in the waist area. The size of the belly fat is somewhat proportional to how much inflammation your body is currently undergoing. For men, the classic “beer belly” is a determinant that inflammation has been taking over their health.

High Blood Sugar

Individuals who have high blood sugar levels due to poor diet choices are susceptible to inflammation. High blood glucose increases the inflammatory cytokines running in your blood vessels. When this happens, it also increases the “advanced glycation endproducts” or AGEs which are pro-inflammatory molecules in your blood stream.

Digestion Problems

A person experiencing indigestion, gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation is usually someone who’s suffering from a leaky gut. Having Leaky Gut Syndrome allows toxins – often from the food you eat to escape the gut and enter the bloodstream. When this happens, a widespread case of inflammation in the body occurs.

Feeling Tiresome

Constant fatigue may not just be a result of stress. The cells in your body can’t exactly keep up with the demand of energy they need to feel alert and invigorated due to the over activity of pro-inflammatory cells in your body. This means the energy your body produces is simply being routed to support your body’s inflammatory response, and little is left for proper cellular metabolism.

Skin Issues

Skin problems like psoriasis, eczema, and blotches are all signs of an inflamed body. According to medical practitioners, skin problems (especially psoriasis) are manifestations of internal inflammatory conditions. Individuals suffering from obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes are usually the ones who are experiencing skin problems.

Suffering From “Brain Fog”

Inflammation can affect the chemistry inside your brain. Because pro-inflammatory cells can penetrate the blood brain barrier, it can cause oxidative damage and can potentially put you at risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Some of the symptoms include anxiety, depression and impaired working memory.

How Do You Turn Chronic Inflammation Around?

Because the health signs are pointing to chronic inflammation, changing your lifestyle can be a solution to becoming healthier again.

You can begin by cutting out foods that can cause weight gain. These foods include saturated fats, excess salt, sugar, and carbohydrates. Eat more lean proteins like fish, turkey and chicken. Low-carb vegetables should also be eaten at least 4x a day.

Eating foods that are rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties will also be a huge help in turning off your internal fire. Foods like blueberries, and raspberries are known for their antioxidant content. Also, you can include turmeric in your daily diet. Turmeric curcumin can significantly reduce inflammation, redness and pain in the body.

Eliminate toxins like insect repellants, chemical fertilizers or even plastic products. They emit toxins in the air that can agitate your body’s inflammatory response within seconds.

Turning over a new leaf and living a healthy lifestyle is the best and the simplest prescription in solving chronic inflammation. Be smart with your life choices and you’ll be in your way to proper healing.

Bio:

Katrina Rice is a mom and a freelance writer. She strongly believes in the concept of holistic wellness through healthy and natural living, travelling and immersing one's self in new activities. A self-proclaimed health enthusiast, she hopes to inspire more people to take more action to their lifestyle to fight inflammation-related diseases.

DoTerra Essential Oils - An Honest Review

I was recently contacted by Suz Ruby who is associated with DoTerra to try out some of her essential oils. Doterra oils offer a wide range of emotional, physical and wellness applications. Essential oils can be used in different ways.

1. Aromatic
2. Topical
3. Internal

Aromatic: essential oils, when diffused, can be very stimulating, while others can be paling or soothing. Diffusing essential oils can cleanse and purify the air.

Topical: essential oils are easily absorbed by the skin and many can be safely applied during massage for topical therapy.

Internal: certain essental oils have rich culinary history and can be used as dietary supplements for targeted wellness.

Suz sent me a sample blend trio of CPTG - Certified Therapeutic Grade essential oils. These oils are powerful, natural, aromatic compounds carefully distilled from plants. And re suppose to be some of the most potent essential oils available in the world today.

The three that she sent me were Breath, On Guard and Digest Zen. Since Im in prep I was immediately interested in the digest zen and then this week I have had a cold so my go to has bean the breath (which I love). I could wear these as perfumes. The On guard will be added into my repertoire when I feel better as it is for immune support.

Breath: apply for healthy  respiratory function

On Guard: diffuse for added immune support

Digest Zen: apply to ease digestive discomfort

I definitely would recommend these essential oils. I have quite a few from another company but they don't even compare to the quality and smell of the DoTerra.

Thanks so much Suz!

10/10

To get your own visit her link mydoterra.com/canvas

Positive Patient Experience Yields Health Care Benefits

e-Patient Services enhance patient experience leading to better health outcomes, productivity 

When Canadians have access to their health information, they are better equipped to be an integral part of their health care team. Access to health information and other consumer e-services is leading to some important health care benefits for Canadians and clinicians according to a body of international and Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) research.

"Consumer digital health solutions, also known as consumer e-services, are designed to improve Canadians' access to their health information, encourage better communication with health care providers and empower them to be more involved in their care," explained Michael Green, President and CEO at Infoway. "Consumer health solutions are one of Infoway's priorities because we know that improving the patient experience improves patient health and will unlock value for the health care system."

Consumer digital health solutions, whether online or through mobile devices, include: e-booking, which enables Canadians to book and manage their appointments online; e-visits which provide the ability to consult healthcare providers via secure email/messaging or videoconference; e-prescription renewal or refill which gives the ability to request a medication renewal or a refill online; and e-views which provide access to a patient's health record including clinical information such as laboratory test results.

According to the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) report, Feeling Better? Improving patient experience in hospital, organizations with strong emphasis on providing high-quality patient experience have found that it is linked to better health outcomes and improved productivity and efficiency, which has been demonstrated in a number of Infoway projects.

Benefits for Canadians

• Patients or caregivers who had access to their heath information through a patient portal felt:
  • that knowledge of their health increased (78-94 per cent)^1,2
  • more confident managing their health (78-95 per cent)^1,3
  • the tools helped them feel more involved in their health care (77 per cent)²
  • that access to their health information allowed them to have more informed discussions with their doctor (93 per cent)¹
  • make better use of their time with clinicians (83 per cent)¹
• Improve the relationships between patients and their health care providers ^1,2,9
• Save travel time by seeing a doctor virtually (e-visits) (98 per cent)⁸
• Avoid work absences through e-visits (87 per cent)⁸
• Patients were more likely to renew/refill prescription on time by requesting renewal/refill through a secure online system (78 per cent)⁹

Benefits for Clinicians & the Health System 

• Clinicians reported an improvement in their therapeutic relationships with patients (60 -75 per cent)^{4, 9}
• Clinic/Clinician productivity value
  • Decrease in clinic call volume (73-90 per cent)^1,6
  • Reduce requests for health information or health history information (61 per cent)⁵
  • Decrease in no-show appointments (43 per cent)⁷

Canada Health Infoway continues to focus on investing in consumer digital health solutions that empower patients to better manage their health and improve access, communication, and collaboration between patients and their health care team.

Visit Infoway's website to learn more about Consumer Health e-Patient Services or Infoway's digital health investment projects nationwide.

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.

1 Impacts of Direct Patient Access to Laboratory Results – Final Report
2 Nova Scotia Personal Health Record Demonstration Project - Benefits Evaluation Report
3 Epic EHR Program: MyChart Consumer Health Solutions Benefits Evaluation Report (Pilot) 
4 Holland Bloorview: Connect2care Benefits Evaluation – Results and Final Report 
5 Ontario Shores' HealthCheck Patient Portal Benefits Evaluation Report
6 Group Health Centre: myCARE Benefits Evaluation and Final Report 
7 Adoption, Use and Effects of an e-appointment System: Results of a Quebec Showcase Project
8 Virtual Visits in British Columbia: 2015 Patient Survey and Physician Interview Study
9 Health Quality Innovation Collaboration (HQIC): miDASH, Consumer Health Solution Benefits Evaluation

SOURCE Canada Health Infoway

Artificial Sweeteners

The following is a very simplified overview of my five main issues with artificial sweeteners.

Re-enforces the craving for sweets and overeating. Sends a very strong signal (stronger than sugar) to the control centers in the brain to remind and push to consume sugar because it creates pleasurable feelings. What ends up happening is people end up craving sugars even more and end up getting it eventually and when they do, it’s more than they would have eaten had it not been for the artificial spike. Eliminating artificial sweeteners from your contest prep diet honestly makes dieting 100 times easier because you’re not providing a constant reminder to eat more sugar.

Changes the way foods are metabolized. Research confirms that artificial sweeteners can negatively impact the way the body processes and metabolizes certain foods. So even if you are eating healthy, your body may not be processing the nutrients appropriately and partitioning them accordingly how they should be. (i.e. more gets potentially stored as fat, not muscle cells). Research has also suggested artificial sweeteners can impair glucose metabolism.

Creates an artificial insulin spike. Mixed research on this but enough in my mind to warrant mentioning it. Artificial sweeteners can send a signal to the body that sugar has just been dumped into the blood. In some individuals, this can actually cause the body to produce insulin (a storing hormone). While in contest prep, we try to suppress insulin with the exception of very specific times. Stimulating it’s release multiple times through the day is not the best way to get shredded.

Long term use linked to changes in the brain-metabolism balance. Artificial sweeteners can create an energy imbalance that mimics the actions of fasting on the brain – which can be highly detrimental to the metabolism. The pathway here is the AMPK causing certain cells to produce NPF – a peptide that promotes hunger.

Studies have correlated artificial sweeteners with weight gain and metabolic syndrome.  While correlation is always up for debate, it shouldn’t be just overlooked.

I was recently sent some new protein to try. Its Called Bipro. They sent me vanilla, chocolate and unflavoured. I tried them before I entered prep and I was really impressed. The Vanilla is 90 calories, 0g of fat, 1g of carb with 22g protein. The chocolate is 90 calories, 0.5g of fat, 2g of carb with 20g protein. The unflavoured is 80 calories, 0g of fat, 0g of carb with 20g protein.

A little bit about the company and my findings:

BiPro whey protein isolate has been available in the U.S. for more than 30 years and is used by elite and major league athletes, coaches and sports nutrition experts. Starting in July 2016, BiPro will finally be available in Canada through Amazon.ca. It will also be sold in specialty stores as of this fall.

High in protein, including branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), to help enhance training and improve endurance

• One of the purest WPI products on the market, with a 97% purity level
• Made with 100% whey protein isolate, with no other protein sources added
• Fast-absorbing and easy to digest
• NSF-certified
• Naturally gluten-free
• Short ingredients list

BiPro will be offered in a 907 g (2 lbs.) jars as well as boxes with 14 individual packets. You have the choice of Unflavoured, Chocolate or French Vanilla.

I was honestly really impressed with the taste and quality. I like that it is high in protein with BCAA in it. It was easy to digest and I believe it that they say its one of the purest whey's on the market with a 97% purity level. Its also naturally gluten free and there are only a few ingredients therefore it clearly isn't packed with fillers or chemicals.

New App Created to Increase Self-Esteem and Productivity for Millions of ADHD Kids and Families

WHO: 4 Million of US Children Who Have ADHD

WHAT: New Task-Focused, Life-Management Solution for ADHD Families Created Called iGotThis

WHEN: March 6^th to April 6^th Kickstarter Campaign

WHY: It’s no wonder that kids with ADHD are more likely to have low self-esteem – sometimes pathologically low. Repeated failures wear away self-esteem, as does being told that something is “wrong” with you. The truth is that ADHD is simply a byproduct of being extraordinary, but their kids are judged by the expectations of an ordinary world.

iGotThis turns the tables on self-esteem and productivity issues with these extraordinary kids. It is a task-focused, life-management solution uniquely designed for ADHD families that builds self-esteem by ensuring repeated success. It’s loaded with features to keep kids with ADHD on track, focused, and motivated - all while providing real-time visibility and complete control for parents. It provides:

• Repeated successes with its unique failsafe reminder system
• Motivation through a customizable rewards feature
• Positive reinforcement with game dynamics
• Inspirational Messaging about ADHD
• Real-Time, remote oversight to parents

The solution also features web and mobile dashboards, location based reminders, comprehensive task customization, optional project tracking and checklists and planning wizards for parents. Easy to use walkthroughs and video tutorials help everyone get the most of the solution from the first day.

But iGotThis is more than an app- it’s also a community and a mission. iGotThis provides forums and resources that let users share, teach and learn, support and be supported. As part of its mission, iGotThis is providing public outreach to change the way the world views ADHD and those extraordinary people who have it.

It’s so important to build self-confidence and remind those children that ADHD is not a deficiency, it’s a gift. iGotThis helps them learn valuable skills and creates habits that will help them succeed, and build their self-esteem so they can one day have the confidence to enter the world as adults.

Back the project on the Kickstarter page between March 6^th and April 6^th to help fund finishing the app and you will become one of the “Founding Families” of iGotThis. These families will enjoy lower prices, additional rewards, privileges and recognition.

Users will sign up at the iGotThis.com web site and the app will be available to download in the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store and the Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Play store upon release.