alive Editorial
Welcome to <em>alive</em>’s Additional Resources page. Every month, we choose two or three articles that we know you'd love to learn more about. For these articles, we highlight additional information and resources to add to your knowledge on the particular topic. Find the specific information you’re looking for, quickly and easily, by scrolling down until you find the issue date and article title associated with the information you’re seeking.
April 2017
February 2017
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
Teaching Kids to Cook—and Care
6 Ways to Help Busy Kids Thrive
August 2016
July 2016
A Lifetime of Hormonal Changes
June 2016
Grow Kids' Appreciation for Local Food
May 2016
The Growing Threat of Lyme Disease
April 2016
Can Creativity Help Cancer Patients? - Additional Resources
March 2016
Organic and Biodynamic Gardening
Dishing up the Dirt on Compost
Water Supplies from the Ground Up
February 2016
I Trained For My First Triathalon
For more information about permafrost and how climate changes are affecting it, check out these additional resources:
- National Snow & Ice Data Centre – nsidc.org
- Canadian Biodiversity – biodivcanada.ca
- Canadian Cryospheric Information Network – ccin.ca/home
Check out these additional tips on keeping your heart healthy:
Keeping your heart healthy
Despite the promise of integrated cardiovascular care, supplements or pharmaceutical medications alone shouldn’t take the place of a healthy lifestyle. The good news is that there’s plenty we can do to keep our heart healthy.
Eat well
Increasing your intake of vegetables and fruit is one way to start improving your heart health immediately. Eating four to 10 servings every day may help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Vegetables and fruits abundant in vitamin C and beta carotene, a form of vitamin A, which work as antioxidants can help slow down or prevent atherosclerosis by reducing the build-up of plaque from cholesterol in the arteries.
Foods rich in vitamin C include broccoli, red peppers, strawberries, oranges, kiwi, and cantaloupe. Beta carotene, which gives food a distinctive dark orange, red, or dark green colour, is found in high amounts in carrots, tomatoes, squash, pink grapefruit, sweet potatoes, and Swiss chard.
You need some good fat in your diet, because certain types supply calories and help your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins. However, consuming too many of the wrong kinds of fats, such as some saturated fats (from processed meats, for example) and all trans fats, may raise levels of unhealthy LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower those of healthy HDL (good) cholesterol. This can increase the risk of high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke.
Omega-3 is a type of polyunsaturated fat, which helps lower triglycerides, a blood fat linked to heart disease. The best sources of omega-3 fatty acids are cold-water fish such as mackerel, sardines, herring, rainbow trout, and salmon. Other sources include walnuts, flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, as well as hempseed oil.
Limit salt intake About one-third of people are sensitive to the sodium component of salt, and eating too much of it can increase the amount of blood in the arteries, raising blood pressure and increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Salt is sneaky and can be lurking where you least expect it. Be sure to check the nutrition labels on any canned, boxed, or processed foods. You might be surprised at how much salt is hiding in your favourite canned soup.
Exercise regularly
Physical activity can drastically reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. It helps prevent or control risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity. It also helps decrease stress levels
Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week. These can be accumulated in short bouts lasting 10 minutes or more. Strengthening and flexibility activities are important to incorporate, while endurance exercises—continuous activities such as walking or cycling—are especially beneficial for the heart.
Examples of moderate-intensity activities include brisk walking, swimming, and water aerobics. Vigorous effort is required for activities such as aerobics, fast swimming, hockey, jogging or running, hockey, and basketball.
Achieve or maintain a healthy weight
Being a healthy weight, through healthy eating and regular exercise, is one of the most important strategies when it comes to protecting your heart.
It can be hard to get to a weight that’s considered healthy, but health care practitioners can provide support. If you are overweight, losing as little as 10 pounds (4.5 kg) can reduce blood pressure. Slow weight loss of about one to two pounds (1 kg) a week suffices.
Stop smoking—or don’t start
Smoking cigarettes raises the risk of heart disease and stroke. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug that raises blood pressure, makes the heart work harder, and can result in blood clots.
As soon as you become smoke-free, your risk of heart disease and stroke starts to go down. Within one year, the chance of dying from smoking-related heart disease is cut in half.
Keep stress levels in check
Being stressed often or not having good coping skills can raise the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pain, or irregular heartbeat, according to the American Heart Association. Stress management classes can help.
January 2016
For more information to help you and your family live your healthiest life, check out these additional resources:
- ParticipACTION – http://www.participaction.com/get-started/physical-activity-guidelines/
- Public Health Agency of Canada – http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-ps/hl-mvs/index-eng.php
- Heart & Stroke Foundation – http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/c.ikIQLcMWJtE/b.3483965/k.38AF/Healthy_living__Family_Health.htm
- EatRight Ontario – http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Child-Toddler-Nutrition/Help!-My-kids-won-t-eat-enough-vegetables-and-fruits.aspx#.VkpPk7-DV94
- Canadian Diabetes Association – http://www.foodskillsforfamilies.ca/
For more information about tiny houses, check out these additional resources:
- The Tiny Life – thetinylife.com
- Tiny Home Alliance – http://www.tinyhomealliance.ca/canadian-connections.html
- We The Tiny House People –
- Small is Beautiful – http://www.smallbeautifulmovie.com/
For more information about rewarding volunteer opportunities, check out these additional resources:
- Catchafire – https://www.catchafire.org/
- Getinvolved! – https://www.getinvolved.ca/
- Help from Home – helpfromhome.org
- United Nations Online Volunteering Service – https://onlinevolunteering.org/en/index.html
- VolunteerMatch – http://www.volunteermatch.org/
- World Community Grid – http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/
Nancy Hillis
Michelle von Hahn
Alexa Everett
Laura Bolt