Since this is my first blog of 2022, I would like to extend to you my very warmest wishes for a bright and beautiful year!  May you be blessed with genuine health and a happy heart—all year long!

To this end, I have assembled for you (and for myself too) a 22-point check list of simple yet profoundly effective steps and strategies that we know, from science (and common sense), are found to lead us toward a well life.  

In the last couple of years, I fear, we have started to slide away from this intention.  Is this not true? I mean, sure, never before in my own lifetime has humankind become so obsessed with the fear of becoming ill. 

But avoiding sickness and death is not the same thing as embracing wellness and life.

 In fact, some of the very practices enforced by, let’s just say, those ‘in positions of power’ are contrary to the practices that facilitate health.   However, it is not too late to reclaim our personal...

“What?  No cheese!”   This is one of the most frequent laments I hear from my clients embarking on a cancer-free diet.  Believe me.  I feel your pain.  I don’t eat it very often either. 

Here’s why:

Most cheese made in Canada is made from cow’s milk that has been pasteurized, a process that destroys enzymes, beneficial probiotic bacteria, and most B vitamins. This makes it is essentially a “dead food” and hard to digest, increasing risk of food sensitivity and stressed immune systems in those who eat it.

A large case-control study conducted in France found that women who ate cheese regularly had 50% more risk of breast cancer than women who didn’t eat cheese.

So, yes, I love cheese.  But I love having healthy body parts even more.

That was why I was thrilled to try this non-dairy recipe, adapted from Paulette Millis’ “Jack Cheese”, published in Cook Your Way to Health.  

I...

Okay.  I’ll admit it.  I’ve been on a bit of a “cauliflower kick” lately.  This recipe is too good to keep to myself though.  (That would be selfish.)  So I’ll share.

If you google “Cauliflower Popcorn” you will get a lot of hits. A lot a lot a lot.   I can’t speak for the other 8,400,000 versions of this recipe , but this vegan version is good.  Really good. OMG, my husband and I effortlessly polished off an entire head of cauliflower by ourselves in one sitting—popcorn style!

I can’t exactly remember where this recipe originated from, which is too bad because I really would like to thank the contributor.  Whoever you are out there— thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

First, a word about nutritional yeast:

It is a great source of B vitamins.  It’s got trace minerals needed for gene regulation, metabolism, growth, and immunity.  One tablespoon contains 2...

As the Christian world immerses itself, or soon will, into the sacred season of Lent or Great Fast, I am fascinated by how science is suddenly catching up to this age-old tradition.  

Even if religion is not your thing—but caring for yourself is— you may wish to grab a page or two from this 40-day period of preparation leading up to the celebration of Easter, and some of the spiritual disciplines that rest at its foundation: silence and solitude, prayer and meditation, and fasting.  

SINKING INTO SILENCE AND SOLITUDE

It was customary, in the early Christian church, for the holy monks to retreat into the desert for the duration of Lent for some serious “alone time”.   

Maybe going forty days without seeing or talking to even one other person is “not your thing” either, but carving out some time each day for solitude and silence is a practice worth pursuing for the purpose of one’s physical  and mental health.

...

I never used to think of cauliflower as a “sexy” vegetable.  This recipe changed all that for me.  Roasting it whole with flavor-enhancing garlic, smoked paprika, and oregano transforms ordinary cauliflower into, well, let’s just say—VAVOOM!  Its cancer-fighting, immune-strengthening, health-promoting properties are a bonus.

First a word about oil.

Cooking with oil is a heated subject.  This is because we probably weren’t meant to get our oil intake from anything other than the whole foods from which the oil is extracted.  In order for oils to withstand high cooking temperatures, they require some degree of refining.  However, once oils are refined their nutrient quality diminishes.  That’s the sad truth.  The trick, therefore, is to select the healthiest version possible, use as little as possible in cooking, and to pair it with ingredients that offer the most nutrition possible.

So, here’s my...

I am asked, almost daily, whether or not I will be rolling up my sleeve for the vaccine when it becomes available to me. You know the one. 

Usually, I begin my response with a sigh.

Then I say, “You first”.

I’m in no hurry.

On the one hand, I get it. Over the past year, we all have  been “worried sick” about what this virus might do to us and to our loved ones.  We are weary of the restrictive lifestyle imposed by this pandemic.  The stress. The fear.  The uncertainty.

We just want “it” to be over!  We long for a return to a life of health, safety and normalcy.

Conventional thought among the medical profession, media, government officials, and the public at large is that no effective ways currently exist to stop the SARS-COV-2 virus except by healthy hygiene practices (hand-washing), wearing masks, social distancing—and now, vaccines.

Personally, I find the potential “unknowns” associated with...

The following article has been reprinted with permission from the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service.

OMNS archive link:  http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml

For your free subscription to OMNS:  http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html . 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, January 15, 2021

A Health Crisis Exposed by the COVID Pandemic

Commentary by Charles Bens

(OMNS Jan 15, 2021) Conventional medicine treats the symptoms of chronic disease, while functional medicine treats the root cause of the disease. There are over 40,000 clinical studies that support the conclusion that functional medicine is safer, more effective and less costly than conventional medicine, and yet very little movement in that direction has occurred in recent years. Dr. David Eddy confirmed this problem with his report on the lack of efficacy of conventional medicine. [1] This article explained that conventional medicine largely comprises "Medical...

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a fabulous holiday season despite any social restrictions that may have been imposed upon you by the pandemic-management guidelines.

If you compensated for the void with an overindulgence of Christmas cookies and too many Suits episodes on Netflix, your body may be telling you that it is READY for a return to your former-- and more sensible -- lifestyle and dietary habits.

I know mine is!  Really is.  So this week I am eating soup.  Favourful, satisfying, nourishing soup. 

Smoky Bean and Barley Soup

This Smoky Bean and Barley Soup is—to use the seasonal metaphor— “comfort and joy” in a bowl. It will extend that holiday spirit without giving you that holiday food hangover.

It is also chock-full of immune boosting onions, garlic, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and peppers.  Barley is a source of potent antioxidants (tocotrienols and tocopherols, natural vitamin E). The grain and legume combination makes this...

In last week’s blog you read about the six simple strategies that could help you to get closer to your ideal weight…

And your ideal health.

In other words,  strategies to help you become not only a lighter... but also a calmer... happier... and more energized you!  (Who wouldn't want that?)

But if you’re like most people, you probably struggle with that sixth strategy on that list: cutting out sugar.

Hey, I get it.

It’s not your fault!

We are genetically predisposed to prefer sweet tastes over sour and bitter. In prehistoric times, this contributed to human survival.

Sweet taste equalled a source of high calories from healthful fruits and vegetables.  This supplied the body with needed energy to stave off starvation.

By avoiding bitter, poisonous plants—and thereby avoiding death—our species instinctively knew that “sweet” meant “safe”.

Ironic, isn’t it?  Today over-consumption of sugar,...

If you are one of the 64 percent of Canadian adults (69 percent of Americans) who are overweight or obese and you are not happy about it, take heart!  Sometimes all it takes to get you on the path to your ideal weight are a few healthful lifestyle tweaks.  Whether your weight loss goal is to shed 5, 50, or 100+ pounds, the principles and practices that make it possible are fundamentally the same: water, sunshine, rest, air, exercise, and diet. 

WATER

• Water acts as an appetite suppressant and assists in the breaking down and reduction of fat deposits.
• Lipase, the enzyme that metabolizes fat, has significantly reduced function when the body isn’t fully hydrated. Even mild dehydration will slow metabolism by as much as 3 percent.
• A mere 2 percent dehydration can reduce cognitive function by up to 30 percent. This can lead to poor decisions regarding food choices or lack of motivation to exercise, two additional factors in weight management.

SUNSHINE

• ...