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3 Healthy Heart Changes in 3 Weeks…Are you up to the challenge?

It is Heart Health Awareness Month and a fantastic opportunity to make healthier choices for you heart.

To help you, I have developed my first ever Healthy Heart Challenge and I am challenging myself and all of you to join me!

THE CHALLENGE: Make 3 heart healthy choices every day for 3 weeks. These lifestyle choices have been shown to decrease risk factors for developing heart disease.

  1. Eat 4 servings of fruits & vegetables daily.
  2. Eat 1 serving of nuts & 2 servings of healthy oil daily.
  3. Be physically active for 150 minutes over the course of 1 week.

These 3 choices were chosen for their effectivity & simplicity. With our busy lives, they can be anything but simple to follow through with. I thought the idea of a community challenge to help keep one another motivated would be a great way to make these changes more achievable.

THE REWARD: Reduce your risk of heart disease. Improve your overall health & well-being.

START DATE: Sunday, February 8th, 2015

END DATE: Saturday, February 28th, 2015

For complete details please follow this link.

I hope you join me in this challenge!

Good luck to you all,

Dr. Odette Bulaong, ND

 

 

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Be Thankful for the Health Benefits of Gratitude

It’s Thanksgiving long weekend once again, a wonderful time to slow down and share good food with loved ones. It’s also a great time to reflect on what we have to be thankful for. Recent studies have shown that expressing gratitude has several health benefits including:

  • Decreased stress levels
  • Increased feelings of happiness
  • A more positive outlook on life
  • Better ability to cope with difficult times including traumatic experiences
  • Improved immune system function
  • Fewer visits to the doctor
  • An increase in other health-promoting behaviours like exercise and healthy eating

Here are some simple ways you can start expressing gratitude & improve your health this Thanksgiving:

  • Start a gratitude journal: Write 3 things you are thankful for every morning or night for 1 month.
  • Write a thank you note to someone. It could be for something big or small, something recent or from far in the past. Consider mailing it or even hand-delivering it to them with a hug.
  • Share one thing you are thankful for with your significant other, every day.

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to you & your loved ones,

Odette Bulaong, ND

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February is Heart Month

The leading cause of death in Canada is heart disease. It’s important to recognize that despite factors that can increase your risk of heart disease that are beyond your control, like genetics and age, there are many other lifestyle factors that you do have the power to change. These factors include:

• Poor nutrition
• Poorly managed stress
• Physical inactivity
• Smoking/chewing tobacco
• Alcohol
• Overweight
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• High cholesterol

Take a look at this list and identify which risk factors apply to you. Determine which risk factor you are willing to change first and take steps to remove that risk factor from your list.

An important part of addressing risk factors is to ensure you have accurate, safe and effective information, so seeking the guidance of a trained healthcare professional is recommended – especially if you already have an existing health condition.

If you are uncertain if you have any of the modifiable risk factors, a naturopathic doctor can assess your lifestyle factors, and create an individualized plan integrating heart healthy nutrition and supplements, stress management techniques including acupuncture and lifestyle counselling to keep you motivated.

Happy Heart Month!
Odette Bulaong, ND