Many Preventous parents are concerned about the safety of immunizations. While it’s good to take a questioning approach to your child’s health care, you don’t want to base important decisions on misinformation. Making your mind up about vaccinations after you’ve learned the facts is the smartest approach.
At Preventous, we know that immunization is important. Vaccination has successfully eradicated many diseases that could have otherwise harmed our children and it continues to protect children today.
But we also know that you may have serious concerns about the safety of vaccines. Following are some key facts about immunization to help you make an informed decision about the impact of immunization on your child’s health. If you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to talk to your physician when you visit.
For more information, see A Parent’s Guide to Immunization Information on the Internet
- Vaccines must be tested and proven to be safe as well effective before they are used. They are also continually monitored by health authorities.
- Independent reviews by expert committees have not found any scientific evidence that the measles vaccine (MMR) causes autism.
- Studies have not found any link between immunization and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
- Studies have not found any link between immunization and asthma.
- Receiving vaccines is not harmful to the immune system. The weakened virus in the vaccine is not enough to hurt an immune system designed to combat millions of germs each day.
- Immunization works, keeping your child healthy.
As you well know, weight loss is a huge challenge. It impacts and is impacted by every area of your life—your relationships, self-image, emotions, diet, activities, and more. Still, it’s just a matter of eating the right things and getting more exercise, right? Wrong.
Maybe you know someone who can tell you the calories in every type of food but still can’t lose weight. Maybe that same person can rattle off how many steps you’re supposed to take each day to lose a pound a week and tell you how to do a perfect stomach crunch, but rarely goes to the gym. What’s going on?
One area often missed in weight loss programs is the psychological aspect of losing weight. While good nutrition and proper fitness habits are essential for dropping pounds, you can learn to eat right and to exercise quite quickly. All you have to do is keep doing these things and you’ll lose weight. But you don’t. That’s where psychology comes in.
Managing the psychology that causes you to not do the things you need to do to lose weight is necessary for success. You must find out how to keep your focus and motivation, learn to manage your stress and emotions without eating, and deal with body image and self-esteem issues. Without managing the psychology, you likely won’t be able to continue to use any nutritional and fitness knowledge you develop.
If you’re trying to lose weight, talk to us about our weight management program. We give you a team consisting of a registered dietitian, fitness specialist and psychologist. This unique approach gives you the missing piece to the weight loss puzzle and can solve your weight issues for life.
A summer vacation to another country is a wonderful experience for children. The opportunity to learn about another culture, see unforgettable sights and spend time with the family is priceless. But so is your children’s health.
An article recently published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, showed that children are much more susceptible to getting illnesses when abroad than we are as adults. So what can you do to protect them?
The most concerning aspect of the study documented in Pediatrics is that a good portion of children had not been taken to see a travel medicine specialist prior to departure. The study reports that 28% of the children experienced diarrhea, 25% came down with dermatologic conditions, 23% experienced systemic febrile illnesses and 11% suffered respiratory disorders.
The article states that “Compared with adults, children disproportionately … required hospitalization, lacked pretravel health advice, and had traveled for the purpose of visiting friends and relatives.”
Know the Risks
Preventing illness while travelling is easiest if you know what to expect and prepare accordingly. That’s why pre-travel consultations are key to protecting your children when travelling abroad.
Your travel medicine specialist is aware of which diseases are prevalent in which countries and can provide information about vaccinations as well as tips on staying healthy. Additionally, she can explain the early signs and symptoms of diseases so that you can begin treating your children right away if they do get sick.
It is important to seek advice well before your departure date because some vaccinations must be given ahead of time. Talk to your doctor as part of your vacation-planning process and have a happy, healthy trip with your family.
It depends. While it may sometimes be desirable for both parties, many couples want to find a solution that allows them to continue in the marriage. It is possible for a marriage to survive an affair, if you know what to do.
Your marriage may survive an affair, but it will take a great deal of work to move forward. You are most likely to be successful if this is the first indiscretion and if both of you are open to working on rebuilding the marriage.
How do you go about rebuilding a trusting, loving relationship? There are many factors that need to be addressed. Loss of trust; anger and resentment; and feelings of betrayal, confusion, depression, shame and guilt must be acknowledged, discussed and dealt with in a supportive setting. This can be a painful and uncomfortable process for both parties but it is critical.
As you move through the negative feelings created by the affair, you will also be rebuilding communication with your spouse. This is another key part of overcoming an affair.
What to Expect
Couples who choose to try to survive an affair need to be aware that one or both parties may experience numerous things that can complicate the healing process. For instance, there may be reoccurring thoughts about the affair, an obsessive need to find out exactly what happened, or a tendency to distrust everything, including people and situations that have nothing to do with the affair.
You may also experience strong fear about losing your relationship, the life you have together and the future you assumed would be there. Certainly there will be emotional upheaval as your state of mind turns from optimism to hopelessness and back again. There may even be periodic desires to give up and end the relationship. The person who did not have the affair may also have obsessive thoughts about the other being intimate with someone else and may also experience revulsion when touched by the unfaithful partner.
Healing is Possible
As you address the feelings and thoughts brought up by the affair and begin to communicate more effectively with your spouse, healing will occur. Learning to forgive and love again happens in time, if you are willing to make the effort. At some point, you will be normal once again and may find that your marriage is stronger, and happier, than ever.
It is best to have someone to guide you through this painful but worthwhile journey. If you would like to learn more, contact us.
Summer is the season of barbecues, ice cream cones and all sorts of treats that aren’t doing your waistline any favours. Is it possible to enjoy things like ice cream without compromising your healthy resolutions? The answer is, yes! Occasional treats can be a guilt-free part of a healthy, balanced diet. Here’s how to work one of summer’s tastiest treats into your healthy diet.
Lighten up
Experiment with frozen treats that pack in all the flavour of regular ice cream for fewer calories and less fat:
Gelato is Italy’s variant of ice cream has and it’s recently become a hit in Calgary. It is made with some of the same ingredients as other frozen dairy desserts but has a lower fat content than ice cream: 4-8% fat versus 14% for ice cream. Gelato generally has a slightly lower sugar content, averaging between 16-22% versus approximately 21% for ice cream. Non-fat milk is added as a solid.
Low-fat or light ice cream has less than 10% milk fat and the same sweetener content as ice cream. It is sometimes referred to as ice milk.
Frozen yogurt is made from yogurt or other dairy products. It is slightly more tart than ice cream, as well as lower in fat due to the use of pure milk instead of cream.
Sherbet is a frozen dessert with a smooth, creamy consistency. It is made primarily of fruit juice, sugar, water, milk and eggs.
Sorbet has a softer consistency than sherbet. Fruit sorbets can be wonderfully light and refreshing, with a grainy consistency. They are typically made from fruit, water and sugar and do not contain dairy or eggs, making them virtually fat-free!
Control portions
If premium ice cream is irreplaceable, go ahead and enjoy it on special occasions. Keep in mind that portion control is key. A serving size of ice cream is a ½ cup or 4 oz but a typical scoop at an ice cream parlour often packs double or triple this amount.
To keep your serving waist-friendly, order a baby or junior-size scoop. When purchasing store-bought premium ice cream, buy it individually wrapped. This can make portion control a lot easier to manage. And of course, always make sure to savour your treat, enjoying it slowly and making the most of every lick.
Work it off
Why not enjoy your treat while making the most of the beautiful weather? Grab an ice cream cone and enjoy it while strolling in the park, catching up with friends by the pool or walking the dog. A ½-cup serving of premium ice cream rings in at about 180 calories. This is the equivalent of a 45-minute leisurely walk, 35-minute swim or 25-minute bike ride.
Any food can fit in your healthy diet when paired with smart choices, moderation, a balanced diet and regular physical activity. Enjoy your ice cream, and enjoy losing it too!
Thinking of starting a running program but not sure how? Stop waiting. Summer is here and it’s time to enjoy the outdoors. As long as you have your physician’s okay, anyone can get running with these 20 tips.
- Keep a log of your runs. Record your distance, time and how you felt.
- Always warm up. Even on slow-run days, make sure you adapt to an increased workload by walking for 3-5 minutes. You will feel strong and comfortable by mid-run and reduce your risk of injury.
- Always cool down. Even if you just went for a leisurely jog, blood can still pool in your legs and cause cramps. A 5-minute cool-down is adequate.
- Prevent training plateaus. Do speed work (interval training) to up the pace, and make sure you are adding variety to your training program.
- Run hill routes. This is a great way to boost your endurance and drastically increase your strength. A good hill should take you 1 minute to charge. Also, look for a course with gradual downhills to prevent injury.
- Run stairs. This increases your cardiovascular fitness and has all the benefits of hill running with less joint strain.
- Make it routine. If you run at the same time every day you are less likely to skip a run and more likely to look forward to the next day if you do miss a run.
- Switch shoes. A certain shoe can place undue stress on one area so alternating footwear every other workout will help relieve lower-body stress. If you like a specific style, just switch a new pair with a slightly worn pair.
- Keep hydrated. Learn how much liquid your body needs. Use the sports drink that’s available on the racecourse. Find out how frequently you’ll find water stations and practice drinking at that rate. Also, try a variety of bars and gels on long runs to see which settles best in your stomach.
- Protect your skin. A t-shirt has an SPF of about 7 and will not prevent sunburn on sunny days. Apply a high SPF on your body an hour before your run.
- Hit the trails. To stay cool on hot runs, hit the trails instead of pounding the pavement. Hard surfaces can retain a lot of heat so opt for running in the shade beneath the trees.
- Replenish glycogen stores. Low-fat chocolate milk is a great post-workout recovery drink after those tough runs.
- Run backwards. Keep your lower leg muscles balanced by running in the opposite direction. Undue pressure is constantly put on one side of your body if you always run in the same direction. Try this during your warm-up and cool-down.
- Try yoga. Yoga is considered the antithesis of running. Running causes muscles to shorten, tighten and compress, whereas yoga lengthens muscles and restores and rejuvenates the body.
- Avoid overuse injuries. Rest and allow your body to recover when it is tired (48hrs allows for a complete recovery). Also, stretch every day to restore muscles back to their functional length.
- Reduce joint strain. Run on soft surfaces such as trails, dirt and grass.
- Try pool running. You can increase your mileage without risking shin splints. This is also a great time for an interval workout. Remember, proper foot mechanics still apply when in water (heel strike and toe-off).
- Use a heart rate monitor. This ensures you are training at the right levels of intensity.
- Strengthen your core. An advanced level of core strength is very beneficial since a lot of the power for your stride comes from the core. Ensure you strengthen the core over three planes of movement for optimal performance.
- Avoid hot showers. The best recovery method after a run is to slip into an ice bath for 5-10 minutes.