Posts by Meredith Deasley
5 Tips to Appreciating the Christmas Holiday Season With Your Young Family
Is it any wonder that I began to dread the Christmas season??? I have learned from experience that even though we feel alone when we go through challenges, we are never alone. But I remember trying to find others at the time that felt the same way I did but came up empty-handed, which made my challenges seem even worse. No one wants to be a Grinch and eagerly wait for the holiday season to end! But some of us end up feeling that way. This article is written for those of you that are in “survival mode” at this time of year; I do not want you to feel alone as I did, nor do I want you to miss the magic of Christmas.
Read MoreBeing Misunderstood by Others When Eating Differently than the Majority
And you know what we all face when we go about things differently than the majority? Contempt, anger, labels of “crazy” or “obsessed” or “ignorant” or we are told to ‘live a little’ or ‘you only live once.’ For some of us, relationships end because of our food choices! Some of us end up extremely isolated because attending social functions is too difficult emotionally. Some of us forfeit careers because we end up home schooling, due to the fact that our children cannot eat the foods that other children eat.
Read MoreHealth Benefits and Healing Power of Herbs and Spices
Today, exotic spices and herbs are readily available but many of us are not fully aware of their value. For example, did you know that just 1 teaspoon of paprika or chili powder provides as much as 16 percent of the daily requirement of Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene? In this blog post, we’ll talk about the health benefits and healing power of some common herbs and spices.
Read MoreChlorine and Health Risks – Little Known Facts About Chlorine
According to a study in the January issue of American Journal of Epidemiology, drinking, bathing or swimming in chlorinated water may increase the risk of bladder cancer, Reuters Health reported. The findings are the first to suggest that the chemicals can be harmful when they are inhaled or absorbed through the skin, as well as when ingested, Dr. Cristina M. Villanueva of the Municipal Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona, Spain and colleagues noted. Study participants who drank chlorinated water were at 35 percent greater risk of bladder cancer than those who didn’t, while use of swimming pools boosted bladder cancer risk by 57 percent. Those who took longer showers or baths and lived in municipalities with higher trihalomethane levels were also at increased cancer risk.
Read MoreJuicing – Maximum Nourishment For You and Your Child
Certain fruits, vegetables and spices can be combined to assist in the healing of certain ailments. Juicing carrots, celery, garlic and parsley can treat the flu and other infections. Parsley is a good source of zinc, which promotes healing and boosts the immune system. Garlic is a natural antibiotic (no need to juice more than one clove per glass of juice). Carrots and celery are high in potassium and sodium, which are nutrients that can be lost if one has a fever or diarrhea. Carrots also provide energy and help sweeten concoctions.
Read MoreNew Canadian Guidelines for Introducing Solids to Babies
As a pediatric nutritionist, I am deeply concerned by these new guidelines. No babies are born with mature digestive systems. And the digestive systems of today’s babies are at even more risk than the digestive systems of babies born in previous generations, due to the toxicity of the world we live in today. And more babies than ever are being born by caesarian, which means these babies are already born with less good bacteria in their digestive tract than babies who go through the vaginal canal and collect good bacteria there. Because a baby’s digestive system is rapidly developing in their first year, the last thing a parent would want to do is to introduce hard-to-digest foods to a baby. All of the new recommended first foods for baby are hard to digest compared to other foods i.e. meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, legumes and cereal!
Read MoreThe Impact of Nutrition on Oral Health
What factors contribute to oral health? Genetics, diet and dental hygiene all contribute to the health of the teeth. Children born to parents who have poor teeth are more susceptible to cavities. So are children who consume foods and drinks that are high in refined sugars and starches (breads, pasta and baked goods), sweetened carbonated or non-carbonated drinks and acidic foods. These provide a food source for bacteria, which produces the tooth-damaging acid, contributes to plaque build-up and inhibits the ability of the white blood cells to fight off bacteria. A child’s diet should focus on vegetables, legumes (green peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans), whole grains and healthy protein sources.
Read More8 Back-to-School Nutrition Ideas Made Easy
It’s a new school year; many of us look at September as being a good time to start doing things differently. For years I felt as though making my girls’ lunches at night was too exhausting, after having cooked or prepared meals for them all day long. This September, I started making their lunches, while preparing their dinner. The kitchen has been messier than ever but I realized that this is the time in which I have the most energy and when I can be most efficient, as much of the food is already out of the fridge. Why I ever thought that putting the girls to bed and then heading downstairs to make their lunches was a good idea, I will never understand. And the years I spent rushing around each morning, making their lunches, are also over. It feels good to actually sit with my girls on a school day and partake in eating breakfast with them. And what a beautiful start to the day for each of us. So, what are you going to do differently this school year? Here are 8 back to school ideas to provide your children with more nutrition and hopefully keep your world more sane overall:
Read MoreThe Important Job of Parenting
Various parenting methods produce children whose primary emotion is love or fear – these are the only two options. It seems to me that the “authoritarian” parenting style is still very much alive and well in the raising of today’s children. This makes sense due to the fact that so many of us were raised ourselves by parents using this approach. The challenge with this approach is that the children who are punished or told what to do at all times “or else,” end up living in fear. It is the only result of authoritarian parenting. Children parented in this way feel under attack. These children put up defenses around the parts of themselves that their parents don’t approve of and try to protect their vulnerable inner selves by displaying tough outer selves. They keep themselves “safe” but at what cost?
Read MoreChiropractors – Vital For Childrens’ Health
Children having falls or even jumping on trampolines or into pools can end up with subluxations and need the help of a chiropractor. Any child experiencing a symptom, condition or disease can benefit from a chiropractor’s care; the trick is to discover the root cause of those issues. Chiropractors can assist with colic, ear infections, eczema, chronic fatigue, headaches, muscle spasms, asthma and attention deficit disorder, just to name a few.
Read MoreA Nutritionist’s Take on Canada’s Food Guide
The number of recommended fruits and vegetables is wonderful. I only have three concerns. Counting juice as a serving, when it is often not fresh and is laden with chemicals and sugar, simply doesn’t make sense to me. The nutrient content of frozen and canned fruits and vegetables is not the same as fresh fruits and vegetables yet no distinction is made in the guide. Secondly, no mention is made of the need for organic fruits and vegetables. The soil in which our ancestors’ produce was grown, was loaded with nutrients, far more than the soil of today! Organic is truly the best we have these days.
Read MoreThe Emotional Connection to Physical Illness
We now have the sickest generation of human beings to have ever existed in the history of mankind. Obesity, allergies, asthma, autism, ADD, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis and cancer are only a few examples of the epidemics that exist today. The physical reason for these epidemics is that the world is simply more toxic than ever before – our food, water and air are perpetually being contaminated. But why do certain people contract certain illnesses? Wherever there is physical illness, there is always an emotional connection – I have discussed this concept in prior blogs but once I learned of the large interest in this topic, I felt compelled to explain the concept in greater detail.
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