Healthy options!

Avocado Chocolate Pudding

We are just crazy for the goodness found inside avocados!  Here's a little go to recipe we use when we are craving something sweet and "chocolatey".

Ingredients
5-6 ripe and ready avocados
1/4 cup milk - or dairy free milk (coconut, almond, soy - whatever you are into)
3-4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder - to taste
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste - to taste
pinch of fine salt
2-3 squares of bittersweet chocolate (70% or higher) (we like the lindt bars)
1/4 pure maple syrup (we use Highland Maple Syrup - from right here in Cape Breton!)

Instructions

1. Cut and pit avocados and blend in a food processor.
2. Add the milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt: Add the milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt - blend till smooth - and transfer to bowl.
3. Melt chocolate and add to mixture.
4. Add maple syrup.
5. Mix.
6. Add chocolate, syrup or coco to taste.  Can also change consistency by adding more liquid if needed. 
7. Chill and serve.
8. Enjoy! 

RRR

Chiropractors Reducing, Reusing and Recycling

In Canada over 10.5 million tons of clothing ends up in a landfill every year!  In only one year, there is enough textile waste to create a mountain three times the size of Toronto's Roger Centre Stadium!

Let's do something about that!

• When: Saturday March 11th 10:00am - Noon
• What: Island Chiropractic's Kids Clothing Swap
• Where: 850 Grand Lake Road, suite #3

How: 

1. Swap will be geared towards kids clothing aged 5 and under
2. Swappers will drop off their items at 9:30am, swapping will begin at 10:00am
3. Each swapper is asked to bring a minimum of 10 items and a maximum of 20 items (pants/top sets can count as 1 item)
4. Clothing must be in good condition - no holes, tears, rips, broken zippers, stains etc.
5. Clothing must be washed
6. Order of swapping will be determined by draw
7. For each item brought in, swapper will be given 1 token
8. For each item swapped, swapper will pay 1 token
9. Any left over items will be donated to Transition House

Please preregister by emailing us at info@islandchIRo.com and provide the following information: the gender of your child, size of clothing and amount of items (if possible) so we can plan accordingly.

Due to a limited amount of space we will cap the number of participants so please register early!

Please call us at 902-270-7022 if you have any questions. 

What do hockey players, gymnasts, skiers and cheerleaders have in common?

CONCUSSIONS & Chiropractors

·      Concussion is a brain injury caused by a blow to the head, or to another body region resulting in a sudden jarring of the head and neck.

·      You DO NOT have to get “knocked out” (lose consciousness) to get a concussion.

·      Symptoms are not just physical, but can also affect the way you think, memory, and behavior.

·      Usually results in rapid onset, short-lived neurological impairment that resolves in 7-10 days. 

·      X-rays, CT scans and MRIs rarely show any detectable injury.

What are the signs and symptoms of concussions?

**There is a wide range of signs and symptoms that may last only a short time (sometimes under 15 minutes).  Young athletes can have a delayed onset of symptoms and some athletes have a brief period of symptoms that resolve and then return hours/days later.

• Confusion

• Headache

• Emotional changes

• Trouble falling asleep

• Amnesia

• Dizziness

• Irritability

• Sleeping more than usual

• Disorientation

• Balance disruption

• Fatigue

• Sleeping less than usual

• Vacant stare

• Nausea/Vomiting

• Anxiety

• Inability to focus

• Visual disturbances

• Sadness

• Feeling as if “in fog”

• Loss of consciousness

• Delayed verbal and motor responses

• Slurred/incoherent speech

• Excessive drowsiness

Recovering from a concussion

·      See a healthcare provider

·      If the athlete has had head trauma, they do NOT return to play

·      Initial management should include total REST for a period of 24 hours – absolutely no reading, watching TV, playing video games, using a cell phone, playing games, going to school or work, or physical activity

·      Rest your mind and body

·      Focus on improving sleep hygiene – avoid daytime naps

·      Eat a balanced diet, increase consumption of OMEGA 3 fatty acids and vitamin D

·      Meditation / relaxation / visualization exercises have shown improve recovery time

·      The acute use of medication is to be avoided as it can mask the signs of worsening condition

·      The use of NSAIDS (ibuprofen) should be avoided acutely in case of intracranial hemorrhage

·      The athlete should not return to play until given clearance by their DC or MD.  Returning to play too soon can increase the chance of “second impact” syndrome – causing a worsening of the symptoms and suffering a more serious brain injury

Baby Boxes available at Island Chiropractic & Family Wellness

Baby Boxes in Cape Breton

For more than 75 years, Finland's expectant mothers have been given a Baby Box by the state that serves as a starter kit for their new baby. It contains clothes, blankets, other newborn necessities, and the Baby Box itself, which is lined with a mattress.

The Baby Box program has helped Finland achieve one of the world’s lowest infant mortality rates. The initiative, which enables every expecting woman in the country to claim a free Baby Box once she receives prenatal care and parenting information from a healthcare professional, is credited with helping to decrease Finland’s infant mortality rate from 65 deaths for each 1,000 children born in 1938 to 3 deaths per 1,000 births in 2013. 

The mission of the Baby Box Company is to improve outcomes for mothers and children; to educate expecting and new parents, promote key health issues like safe sleep practices and breastfeeding, and to promote maternal and infant health and wellbeing.

The Baby Box University is an educational service provided by the Baby Box Company in coordination with committed medical professionals, maternal health advocates and child development specialists for the purposes of reducing infant mortality and empowering parents.  Starting on January 30th, moms-to-be or moms with a baby under the age of 3 months can visit www.babyboxuniversity.com and watch a short educational video.  After watching the video, they will receive a certificate that they can then redeem for their free baby box.

Families in Cape Breton will have access to the baby boxes via distribution locations in Inverness at Inverness Chiropractic and in Sydney at Island Chiropractic & Family Wellness.  “We treat a lot of expectant mothers at our clinic, so we were thrilled when we were chosen as a distribution centre for this great program” says Dr. Jen Maher. Participants who do not have access to the Internet can have arrangements made for them to watch the videos at the distribution locations.

How to get your baby box:

http://www.babyboxco.com/blogs/news/how-to-get-a-nova-scotia-prince-edward-island-or-newfoundland-and-labrador-baby-box-in-3-steps

Please call ahead to confirm a pick-up time. 

Gluten Free, Dairy Free "Cheesecake"

Dairy Free "Cheesecake"

I've had my eye on this recipe for awhile and I thought Christmas would be the perfect time to try it out.  I can't even start to explain how good this "cheesecake" was!  Every single person that tried it said it was remarkable!  Here are what some people are saying:

• "This is really really good -what is the crust made out of?" Keith (gluten intolerant)

• "It was SOOOOOO good" Jen G. (supermom)

• "DOOD" aka "Good" Ethan, (age 1)

I adapted the recipe from the Helmsley and Helmsley cookbook we got last year for Christmas.    It was the easiest thing on earth to make and it's jam packed with nutrients! 

Needed:

• 1 cup pecans

• 7.5 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut

• 9.5 tablespoons cocao nibs (found them at superstore and at bulk barn)

• 1 cup pitted dates

• 9 tablespoons raw honey

• 3 tbsp coconut oil (melted) for base

• 5-6 ripe avocados

• 3/4 cup lime juice

• 1 tsp lime zest

• 3/4 cup coconut oil (melted) for the filling

• stevia to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F - When heated, toast the pecans and coconut on a baking tray for about 7-10 minutes, until coconut is golden.

2. Line the base (and sides if you wish) of a springform or loose-bottomed 7 inch round cake tin with parchment paper.

3. Put the pecans, coconut, cocao nibs, pitted dates and 3 tbsp coconut oil in blender/food processor and blend until mixture is crumbly but still holds together, keeping a little crunch is a nice touch.

4. Fill the bottom of your tin with the base mixture and press it down tight with the back of a spoon - making sure it is even on all sides. Let the base cool in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

5. Put the peeled avocados, lime juice, lime zest, raw honey, 3/4 cup coconut oil, and stevia in the blender/food processor and blend until smooth and silky. The more coconut oil you use the thicker your cake will become. Check for taste and add more lime juice, honey or stevia based on your preference for sweet vs. tart. (to be honest I used barely any stevia when I made mine).

6. Pour filling in the cake pan, cover the top and return to fridge for at least 4 hours or let rest overnight.

7. Before serving carefully remove cake from pan - you may need to run a knife around the edges before removing cake.

8. Enjoy!

Ps - I thought a little bit of drizzled dark chocolate, or toasted coconut could make a nice addition to the cake - but it's pretty perfect as it. 

P.Ps - You could use this base for any other type "non-bake" cakes too - it was seriously that good. 

Did you like this recipe? Check out another healthy option HERE!

Chemical Stress and Your Health

Chemical Stress and Health

Stress can be good or bad.  Stressors can have positive or negative impact on cell function.  They may be physical, chemical, and psychological.  Good stress like exercise, or setting challenges builds stress resistance that is beneficial.  Bad stress such as poor nutrition, anxiety and worry can become overwhelming and is considered chronic stress.  Our focus today is on chemical stressors.

Chemical stressors on our body include alcohol, tobacco, drugs, environmental toxins, and food additives and preservatives.  Food can either enhance or suppress the immune system.  Most foods today contain additives and preservatives that tax the immune system.  Excess grains, sugars, trans and hydrogenated fats, alcohol, caffeine, and salt weaken the stress response.  Grains, sugar, and hydrogenated oils cause inflammation.  Caffeine triggers the sympathetic nervous system.  Salt increases blood pressure.  Stress depletes the body’s essential nutrients.

Psychological stress only compounds the problem.  Emotional stress can create poor eating habits like over/under eating, excessive dieting, and over consuming alcohol, caffeine, sugar, salt, and bad fat.   

To combat chemical stress develop good habits around food:

·      Eat real food, mostly plants.

·      Avoid processed food.

·      Avoid food with additives and preservatives.

·      Don’t binge or eat late at night.

·      Enjoy meals with friends and family.

We also have to consider other toxins in our environment.  Air and water quality are compromised in many environments.  We spend a lot of time indoors breathing recycled air and in traffic breathing exhaust.  We drink and bath in polluted water, and wash our skin and home with harsh cleaning products.  For green cleaning recipes check out http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/queen-of-green/recipes/.

Healthy Soup for Dinner!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Tomato Soup

Here's an easy and healthy option for dinner tonight!

• 2 medium sized butternut squash

• 1 large can diced tomatoes (fresh if you have them)

• 1 small onion

• 6-10 roasted garlic cloves

• Bone broth (homemade if you can...) - amount depends on how thick you like your soup

• Coconut oil or olive oil

• Salt & Pepper to taste

• Dried basil

1. Slice the squash and remove the seeds and place onto a baking pan

2. Dice the onion and place into the hollowed squash, leave the garlic wrapped and place onto the baking pan with the squash and onions

3. Using olive oil or coconut oil - coat the squash with oil and mix a touch of oil in with the onion

4. Bake the squash, onion and garlic at 350-400 for around an hour (squash will be soft to pierce with fork)

5. Remove the skins of the squash

6. In a pan warm the coconut oil and sauté the tomato for 20 minutes then let cool

7. Let the vegetables cool so that you can work with them without burning yourself. Mix all the vegetables in a blender and blend until smooth. You may have to add 1/4-1/2 cup of bone broth into the blender to help liquify the vegetables.

8. In a large pot add the vegetable mixture and bone broth. We added about 2.5 cups of broth, which gave us a soup with a consistency thicker than broth but thinner than baby food.

9. Bring pot to a gentle bubble, adding salt, pepper and basil to taste

10. Enjoy!

This soup had a nice blend of sweet and savoury!

** A pinch of dried chillies might compliment this soup nicely.  We did not add any chillies as our little office manager will be eating this soup for the rest of the week!

The soup is pictured with a small glass of fresh-squeezed non-pasturized  orange/pineapple/raspberry juice and two small pieces of fresh baked olive loaf (both from Superstore... I wish I was that kind of supermom!!)

Love soup? Check out this amazing recipe for “Slow Cooker Sausage and Kale Soup” by clicking HERE.

Do not use another lemon scented candle or cleaning product until you read this!

Chemical Pollution inside the home

A recent study looked at the air quality of houses using products such as cleaning agents and candles with the lemon scent, limonene.  The levels of VOCs (volatile organic chemicals) found within 6 houses in the U.K were examined.  As expected, in houses where lemon scented products and candles were found, the limonene chemical levels were exponentially higher than other chemicals. 

The problem occurs when limonene hits the air and mixes with other VOCs.  For every two molecules of limonene released into the air, one molecule of formaldehyde is formed.  Gaseous Formaldehyde levels as low as 0.1 ppm (parts per million) can cause some individuals to experience burning eyes, nose or throat, coughing, wheezing, nausea and skin irritation.  The international agency for research on cancer has classified formaldehyde as a human carcinogen.

Besides avoiding lemon scented candles and cleaning products in the home, you can get some plants that help clean the air of all VOCS.  

Some of the best plants to use in the home to clean the air include: spider ferns, lavender, guava, grub ferns, squirrel's foot ferns, Japenese royal ferns, snake plant, spider plant,  money plant/devil's ivy, big leaf hydrangea and sword fern. 

Read more about hormone alternating chemicals HERE!

References:

Liu Y, My Y, Zhu Y, Ding H, Arens N. Which ornamental plant species effectively removes benzene from indoor air? Atmosphere Environment, Vol 41, Issue 3 2007.

Papinchak H, Holcomb E, Best T, Decoteau D, Effectiveness of houseplants in reducing the indoor air pollutant ozone. HortTechnology 2009.

Kruza M, Carslaw N, Lewis A. Investigating surface production reaction indoors using a detailed chemical model. Air pollution XXIII, 2015. WIT Press.

http://www.cancer.gov

http://www.medicaldaily.com/chemicals-citrus-scented-candles-cleaning-products-cancer-risk-370736?rel=most_shared5

Should you supplement with fish oil?

Benefits of Omega 3 fatty acid

Do you have enough omega 3 fatty acids in your diet?

The evolutionary human diet had 1:1 omega 6 fatty acids to omega 3 fatty acids ratio.  Today most modern diets have a 10:1 to 30:1 omega 6 fatty acids to omega 3 fatty acids ratio.  So what?  Both fatty acids are essential to our diet and help regulate your body’s metabolic and inflammatory state.  Omega 6 fatty acids are much more inflammatory than omega 3 fatty acids and if the ratio is altered, the body’s homeostatic state is altered. 

Our ancestors ate real food like game meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.  They ate a variety of seasonal foods and had healthy habits around food.   Today we eat more processed foods, such as, grains, sugars, and unhealthy fats/oils.  Even the animals we raise are no longer fed their evolutionary diet.  Cows are meant to graze on grass but are fed grains, which increase their omega 6 fatty acids.  We also eat too much.  We snack all day and use food as a coping mechanism for psychological stress.

How you can get enough omega 3 fatty acids in your diet?

There are marine sources of omega 3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).  α-linolenic acid (ALA) is found in plant oils, most commonly flax oil.  While ALA is great the more benefical source is EPA/DHA.

The best source of omega 3 fatty acids (EPA/DHA) is oily fish like anchovies, sardines, herring mackerel, and wild caught salmon.  We need about 2-3 servings a week.  Avoiding processed foods in our diet will decrease our omega 6 fatty acids.  If you do not eat this much fish you should consider a quality fish oil supplement. 

Effects of fish oil on your health and longevity

Acute stress and inflammation is an important function of the immune system and the healing process.  However, chronic inflammation caused by poor diet, physical inactivity, psychological stress, and genetic function contributes to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease and more.  Omega 3 fatty acids have a role in combating these chronic diseases.

Omega 3 fatty acids are responsible for proper functioning of the cell membranes of all the cells in your body.  The health of your cells determines the health of your brain and body.  Thus, omega 3 fatty acids play a role in all functions of your body including growth and development, brain and nerve function, digestion, immune function, hormone regulation, skin and bone health, regulation of inflammation and healing, blood triglyceride levels, cardiovascular function, vision, and emotions and behavior.

Canadians do not consume enough omega 3 fatty acids in their diet and supplementing may help prevent and treat disease.  It can be a simple step toward living your life!