For years, bananas have had a bad wrap. Dieters were told to avoid bananas because they were too high in calories. Bananas have amazing benefits. High in fibre, a natural antacid, with blood pressure benefits, for anemia, and so much more. Here are some things that you may not know about bananas.  Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness. Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation. Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system. Hence the expression, “going bananas”. ...

Submitted by Edison student Tammy Gouweloos, RDH www.barriedentalhygiene.ca     Oral Health is linked to the overall health of an individual.   Optimal Oral Health has several basic components: Strong immune system Healthful food choices and client-specific nutritional supplements Regular professional dental care Great home oral care regime with effective, safe products Balance in life activities: work, exercise and play   In previous articles in Healthy Smiles For A Healthy Lifetime, I have discussed many topics: It’s All About the Bugs, The Mouth-Body Connection, Achieving Optimal Oral Health and Brighter Healthier Smiles to name a few. Researching oral health products that are effective and safe is challenging as there are many ingredients in common oral health products that are considered ...

The ideal solution to produce the best drinking water is steam distilled water.  Distilled water is 99.9% pure, clean, safe water.  A water distiller is not a filter.  The distiller boils the tap water, creates steam and cools the steam back to pure water, slowly accumulating in a storage vessel or tank.  The boiling process kills micro-organisms.  The process separates all of the water from all the grunge in the water.  The distiller can’t plug up like a filter, since it is not a filter.  Therefore, the quality of the distilled water is constant. Water distillers are available in manual-fill counter top design as well as larger automated units installed in the basement of a home that pump distilled water ...

Small filtering devices for drinking water, such as pitcher filters and faucet mounted filters, improve the taste of tap water.  These devices remove chlorine and other contaminants for a short time.  Their performance may degrade quickly, creating a false sense of security.  These low-end devices are completely overwhelmed and incapable of dealing with the huge challenge of many different contaminants in the tap water.   Bottled water is a very popular alternative to tap water.  Bottled water tastes better.  It is not necessarily a healthy alternative.  In 1996, the federal health protection branch in Ottawa released a study that revealed one in every six bottled water products sold in Canada failed to meet federal health standards for bacteria levels.  Some ...

My name is Beverly Isla, a graduate of CCHM and today my guest is Dr. Gary Hardy. He has been practising for 30 years in the field of chiropractic therapy, naturopathy and homeopathy and is one of the faculty members of CCHM. He was also one of the founding members of the Canadian Academy of Homeopathy. It’s great to have you here! Bev: In addition to the 3 modalities you work with, you also incorporate nutrition in your practice. Nutrition is the basics that we all have to deal with since we all have to eat. In what ways does nutrition play a role in your practice? Gary: Well nutrition is kind of the foundation. For me, it’s the foundation of ...

Every day that we live on planet Earth, our activities add more and more pollution to the world’s water that sustains life, the air we breathe and the soil where our food is grown.  The challenge to obtain pure, healthy and consistently safe water looms larger every day. The water you use and consume and the air you breathe are your two most important nutrients affecting your health and quality of life.  Your next priority is the quality of the food you eat.  Water makes up 60-70% of the human body and regulates every bodily function.  You must take the quality of the water you use seriously. The average Canadian uses 75 to 100 gallons (400 litres) of water every ...

Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic remedy for oral health and detoxification. It involves the use of pure oils as agents for pulling harmful bacteria, fungus, and other organisms out of the mouth, teeth, gums and even throat.   Place about one tablespoon of cold pressed organic sesame seed into the mouth. Swish it around for about 15 minutes. As the oil is swished around in the mouth, teeth, gums and tongue it starts to draw toxins out of the saliva and then the tissues. Once the oil turns thick, viscous and white it is ready to be spit out before the toxins are reabsorbed.   Multiple scientific studies show that this practice with sesame oil helps to reduce the ...

Do you suffer from digestive distress? Gas & bloating, belching & flatulence are sure signs that digestion is not functioning to par. Monitoring your bowel movements can also be an indicator that digestion has gone awry; diarrhea, constipation and the shape, size, color and smell of your stool can tell all. As well, disorders such as IBS, IBD, chronic illnesses and food intolerances can indicate your digestive system is out of balance. If any of these symptoms ring true, then you may be suffering from Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). What is SIBO? Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth can occur when the ratio of good: bad bacteria in our gut becomes imbalanced. The proper ratio for good:bad should be approximately 85:15. ...