7 benefits of being healthy

 Many people talk about the risks associated with being unhealthy rather than the benefits of being healthy. Being unhealthy, as we know, can cause a variety of nutrition and obesity-related health diseases. Chronic unhealthy habits result in 700,000 deaths in the US each year. How come there's less talk about

Watch out for residual sugars in your summer drinks

 Lockdown has resulted in many changes to how we live, one is the blurring of our work with week with the weekend, which was previously marked on Friday evening with friends and a drink. However, these blurred boundaries have the result for some in drinking during the week as well

How diabetes hurts all Canadians and what you can do about it

 By: Kimberley Hanson, Executive Director, Federal Affairs, Diabetes Canada  One January night in 2018, Sheila Malcolmson lived every parent’s fear: she found her 4-year-old daughter barely conscious and rushed her to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Emma was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes – an incurable autoimmune disease that would

Revolutions in Diabetes: A Look Inside Yesterday’s Conference on the Disability Tax Credit

 This passed month was National Diabetes Awareness month, an important time for hundreds of Canadians and an exciting opportunity for making change. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has been involved in funding nearly every major scientific breakthrough in Type 1 Diabetes research, and is one of the loudest voices

Ottawa Preteen’s Sugardrop Sweetwear Co. Fashionably Fighting Diabetes

 Kate Beaulieu, it could be said, was your usual pre-teen girl. She played basketball, loved to dance and hang out with her friends for sleepovers. Then came the Christmas where she could barely get off the couch. There was nothing usual about that. When she said she felt she wasn’t

A Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax is not the Answer

 There has been increasing interest in the use of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax to curb the burden of obesity in Canada – call it a ‘pop tax’ if you like. A recent Senate report on obesity in Canada recommends assessing the possibility of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax and points to

Health Reform in Ontario Must Include Oral Health

 A healthy mouth is part of a healthy life. The Ontario government’s proposed reform of the provincial health care system is going forward with a glaring omission: primary mouth care. To make this reform truly "Patients First," Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long Term Care, must include primary

Rising Rates of Kidney Failure Signal Need for Public Health Strategy

 As many as 40 thousand people in Canada are affected by kidney failure – a problem that is increasing across the country, with significant consequences for our health system.   A report released this month from the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy projects an increase of 68 per cent in

Five Things You Might Not Know About Food Insecurity in Canada.

 For many Canadians, food plays a central role in the holiday festivities. But for those experiencing food insecurity, a bountiful feast will not be in the cards this year. Over 4 million Canadians, including 1.15 million children experience some level of food insecurity. Food insecurity, also known as ‘food poverty,’

Dear Health Minister – Please Reinstate Funding for Cochrane Canada

 Cochrane is a key global healthcare resource that needs Canada’s involvement Imagine you’re our new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Despite a grueling election campaign, you’re flush with energy and idealism in a country where “better is always possible.” One key priority is improving Canada’s prosperity but there are also many

Pharmacare is for Kids Too

 Written by Avram Denburg and Steve Morgan You are the parent of a sick child. You have a limited budget and you must decide to buy the medicine the doctor prescribed for your child or provide food and shelter for your family instead. What do you do? Sadly this dilemma is one too

Saskatoon’s housing crisis is a health emergency

 Recently, a disturbing photo of five people sleeping in a Saskatoon bank lobby became headline news and filled social media feeds. An earlier photo had contrasted the lush yards on the east side of the riverbank with tents in the bushes on the west side. A few days later, homelessness

What I didn’t learn in medical school

 Sometimes doctors can’t fix what makes their patients sick in the first place. I began medical school optimistic about what becoming a physician meant I could do for my future patients. Naively, I presumed my career would involve treating patients’ illnesses so they could return to lead full and fulfilling

Plantar Fasciitis or Joggers Heel: An early sign of diabetes?

 Lets talk about Jeff, 45. He lives in Kanata with his wife Jill and his two daughters. He does little exercise in the winter, but enjoys jogging from April to September. He has put on a few pounds over the winter, which he blames to his lack of exercise and sweet

Nine Steps to a Healthier You!

 Martine, 44, works for Statistics Canada. She is married with two children, Samantha, 13, and Gordon, 11. Both play high-level soccer, which means that both she and her husband Graham are kept extremely busy ferrying them both to practice sessions and games. This combined with a demanding job and shouldering

‘GumDocs’ Keeping Your Mouth Healthy and Happy

 Gum disease is one of the most common dental problems Canadian adults face. Often developing slowly with no symptoms, this silent predator attacks the bone and gum tissue surrounding teeth. If not dealt with properly, teeth are at risk of becoming loose or even falling out. Local specialists in periodontal

Pharmacare is Good for Business

 Repeatedly over the past 50 years, national commissions and inquiries have recommended that Canadian medicare include universal, public coverage of prescription drugs. So far, no government has acted on this, creating profound inequities and inefficiencies in our health care system. But more than that: the lack of universal pharmacare is

Growing Income Gap Poses a Health Risk to All

 Certain Canadian commentators are bringing forth a strange critique of public health, suggesting that physicians and public health experts, charged with caring for the health of Canadians, should not concern themselves with the root causes of illness and stick to a narrow range of health interventions. Fortunately, Canadian health experts

Five things every Canadian should know about obesity

 By Carolyn Shimmin There has been a dramatic increase in the number of Canadians living with obesity over the past few decades and it is often cited as a risk factor for other chronic health conditions including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer. This means

The health benefits of the ‘Mediterranean Diet’ is more fad than facts

 By Dr. John Sloan It's hard to find anyone these days who doesn't hate junk food. And an awful lot of people also swear by something called the Mediterranean Diet, often considered junk food’s opposite. Everyone is convinced: junk food is killing us; the Mediterranean Diet will come to the

It’s Time to Include Dental Health in the Healthcare System

 Canada’s most vulnerable populations have the highest rates of dental pain, decay, disease and the worst access to care. There are many reasons why some Canadians choose not to go to the dentist, but a new report released recently from the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) found that cost

The Importance of Follow-Up Care After An Emergency Room Visit

 Why Too Many Canadians Are Falling Through The Cracks Television shows have popularized the theatrical entrance into the hospital emergency room: patients racing down hallways on gurneys with worried doctors and nurses running alongside--great drama. How most patients leave the emergency room isn’t quite as dramatic, but the facts tell

Publisher’s Message

 It’s summer, and for many that means heading to the cottage, to the beach or to the local park to enjoy the sun, to read and to relax. This summer issue has something for everyone, whether it’s Lainie Towell’s sole-searching piece on Fluevog shoes or our Wood in Weird Places

Dealing with Diabetes

 The Nita Family Opens Up and Shares How Community Involvement and Digital Health Helps Families Deal with Type 1 Diabetes Imagine waking up one morning to find your child going into diabetic ketoacidosis — a life-threatening complication from diabetes. Blood flow slows throughout your child’s body as your child slips

Most Medications Prescribed to Children Have Not Been Adequately Studied

 Canada is falling behind other countries on drug safety for children The development of new therapies has provided our health care system with enormous advances, such as insulin for diabetes, antibiotics for infections or chemotherapy for many cancers.  Yet these therapies may also cause potential harm, even death, so the