We talked about the equipment. We talked about the training. Now all that’s left is to do the actual race! In the final installment of our Penticton Ironman series, Jeff Glen takes on the ultimate challenge and you’re invited to go along for the ride!

In part two of three, Jeff Glen talks about the grueling training regimen necessary to conquer the most challenging race of all: The Ironman Triathlon.

For details, click on! Read the rest of this entry »

No, we’re not talking about the superhero that fights evil in theatres next month. But when you get a load of what an average Joe like Jeff Glen goes through to train for the ultimate triathlon, you’ll wonder whether he has supernatural powers!

Summer’s just around the corner so you’ve probably started to notice a lot of people out training for the marathons and triathlons that are going down all over the world in the coming months. Ever wonder what it takes to finish a race like that? Well, Jeff should know! In part one of three, he introduces the equipment necessary to conquer the most challenging race of all: The Ironman Triathlon.

Next week, we’ll take a peek at his training regimen!

I have an immune system like freaking Superman. Working in an urgent care clinic for five years allowed me to develop antibodies to just about every disease known to man. Because of this, having to test Astro BioBest Maximmunité seemed like an exercise in futility. What it did allow me to do, is a little research on the claims that probiotics are a necessity in our diets. They’re popping up in all sorts of products and everyone and their brother is telling you that they are an essential part of a balanced diet. Clever marketing ploy? Or legitimate healthy endeavour? We’ll see… Read the rest of this entry »

The zipper. Avril Lavigne. Degrassi Junior High. All quality Canadian productions (hey, don’t judge)… then shows like “The Guard” come out and give them all a bad name. Sometimes turning on the CBC makes me want to cringe. When it comes to mags though, can we redeem ourselves? The market for women’s health magazines is continuously growing so it was only a matter of time before a Canadian equivalent emerged. First to step up to the plate, none other than Reader’s Digest with its new Best Health mag, specifically catering to health conscious Canadian women. With healthy menu options and new gyms popping up all the time, let’s see what this magazine has to offer. Read the rest of this entry »

Meatless burgers and Tofurky freak me out. So when presented with the prospect of trying something that both looked and tasted like peanut butter, but had not seen a trace of nuts for miles, I was a little weary.

Totally NutFree’s new FreeNut Butter is an all natural, Canadian made, soy butter. They’re marketing this product towards people with nut allergies, vegetarians and vegans, and most of all, people who are health conscious. It has the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Health Check symbol on the jar and every piece of marketing material they supply boasts how much better it is for you than regular peanut butter.

So let’s get on with first impressions. FreeNut Butter? Seriously? I understand what the company is going for with this name (it SOUNDS just like PEAnut butter, this is perfect!) but yet, when I gave the name to three guys, it was met with a barrage of laughter and a few “Are you serious?” type questions.

Moving right past the name however (cause really, it ain’t gonna change any time soon), I went ahead and tried it. Opened the jar…good sign, a freshness seal. Thought:

Sometimes I think this is just used for effect, cause frankly, if you make a product that can sit on the shelf for years before it expires, what level of freshness can there possibly be? But I digress.

With the freshness seal intact, I proceeded to peel it back and smell the FreeNut goodness. Looks like peanut butter. Smells like peanut butter. Now for the crucial taste test:

Hmmmm. Not so much.

While it tasted similar to peanut butter, it just wasn’t the real thing. The texture was actually stickier than peanut butter if you can believe it, and there was a slight aftertaste that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. After visiting the website and seeing that the company claims the product to be free of bitter and musty aromas (I should hope so…), but then says that the product has bitter and musty flavours (excuse me?!), I suppose this funny aftertaste was explained.

But wait…there probably aren’t a whole lot of people out there who sneak a spoonful of straight PB while their mom isn’t looking right? Better try the more conventional, FreeNut Butter on toast.

I have to say, it wasn’t half bad. I had some toast and FreeNut Butter for breakfast this morning and I was impressed. The funny aftertaste was gone and it tasted more like peanut butter than it did when I ate the forbidden spoonful. Score one for FreeNuts!

For someone who hasn’t tasted peanut butter in a while (i.e. people with nut allergies or vegetarians/vegans), this seems to be a great alternative. It tastes close enough to peanut butter that those who don’t know any better would likely be fooled. For someone who knows and loves a good PB&J sandwich on a Saturday afternoon however, sorry folks, this just won’t do it for ya. Considering the premiums one usually pays for healthier products, it just wouldn’t be worth it to me to have the seemingly healthier FreeNut Butter on my kitchen shelves.

So, the verdict is in. I would highly recommend Totally NutFree’s FreeNut Butter to anyone I know who is allergic to, or against eating, nuts.

For this tough nut with a discerning palette however, I say pass me the Skippy!

Next week, Stasia‘s got The Goods on Clairol’s Perfect 10 by Nice ‘n Easy!

Although DHA is not a household name, it is something families should become familiar with. A key building block in children’s development from conception to adolescence, DHA should be included in their diets, particularly during their formative years as it has been proven to have invaluable health benefits in boosting brain function and in ensuring healthy development of eye and nerve tissues.

A long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid in the Omega-3 family of fatty acids, DHA plays several important roles in children’s development, especially in the last trimester of pregnancy and in the early years of childhood. Infants are usually able to get their daily requirement of DHA through breast milk if they are being breastfed by mothers who have an adequate supply of DHA from their diet, or through infant formula supplemented with DHA. However, once the intake of these foods stops, so does the intake of DHA. It should come as no surprise then, that children across Canada are not consuming enough of this Omega-3 in their diets, which means they are missing out on their chance to have higher IQ scores and better vision. (1)

DHA is most commonly found in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and herring, not exactly at the top of kid’s lists of favourite foods (Omega-3 enhanced eggs are now an option though) so for more information on how you can incorporate more DHA in your children’s diets, read on…

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Women today are living longer, but are they living better quality lives?

It is a fact of life today that many women are juggling career, family, household responsibilities, and often sacrificing their own needs to take care of those around them. Some of the main health concerns that women face today are a result of these stressful and hectic lifestyles.

Stress is linked to heart disease, cancer, depression, anxiety, diabetes, and insomnia. When we are super busy, we don’t take time to eat properly, exercise and get adequate sleep, all factors that take their toll on our health – physically and emotionally.

Health expert Sherry Torkos explains how women need to make their health and well-being a priority and how this will also benefit those around them.

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Food is fuel for the body, so what do you put in your tank?

Imagine someone filling up your car with sugar instead of gas (I can almost hear all you car lovers out there shrieking in absolute horror). Well, the damage that this causes is similar to that of your own body’s engine when you take a bite out of that lard-filled giant cookie that you can’t help but shell out two dollars for every day at the office vending machine.

Ok fine, that’s me…but I know many of you out there do the very same thing! If it’s not this heart-stopper, then it’s another. Your poison may be the irresistible bag of salt-ladened chips or the double fudge chocolate chip with caramel filling bar that speaks to you. With everyone’s ever busier and increasingly sedentary lives, it’s often hard to resist these convenient temptations.

But whatever excuse you use, it won’t work anymore. Time and effort are no longer issues as trainers, dietitians, nutritionists, and chefs prove time and again that eating healthily is both easy and quick. Take Adam Hart‘s Flourless Hemp Cookies for instance. Let’s see you try and talk your way out of this recipe, which consists of all of five main ingredients, an oh so high-tech spatula to mix it all up, and brace yourselves…ten whole minutes of baking time.

This snack alternative not only gives you the energy you need to get through that extra couple of hours of work, but you’ll be filling up your body with nothing but nature’s goodness, whole and unprocessed. The hemp seeds alone are a complete protein, which means that they naturally contain all 9 essential amino acids that your body doesn’t have to work to break down!

Adam is all about educating the public on these foods and how to easily incorporate them in people’s diets. Next week, he will introduce more whole foods to add to your grocery list, so stay tuned! Your body will thank you.

For the recipe to the yummy flourless hemp cookies, read on! Read the rest of this entry »