Category: health

June 1, 2018

Harmony Patches: Easy Application for Natural Relief of Digestive, Cough, Cold and Allergies

One of the hardest jobs of being a parent? Giving your child, no matter what age, their medication. It has led to tears, screaming and absolute breakdowns in our house.

Both of our children as infants suffered from digestive symptoms, especially our youngest. I breastfed him for the first six months before he decided to wean himself. When we switched him to formula, he began to vomit daily and would cry every night. After multiple different brands tried, our family physician switched him to soy which seemed to help.

On top of this, our children suffer from allergies and eczema. We deal with runny noses, red eyes and coughing from early spring right through to the fall. You can imagine how they have begun to react to having to take medications orally! Not to mention that many of the over the counter medications can not be taken by children under the age of four that leaves you with very few options, frustrating right?

About Harmony Patches

Harmony Patches were designed to be placed strategically on the body for fast relief of specific symptoms. The patches release the ingredients gradually, which provides lasting relief over a period of time (we used ours over ten hours as directed on the label).

The patches are completely natural – ingredients include organic ginger, chamomile and fennel used in differing amounts. These ingredients are completely safe and have been found to be effective for all ages (they have also been used for centuries). The patches adhesive contain no silicone, latex, acrylic or rubber, which makes them gentle and perfect for sensitive skin (and if you suffer from digestive and allergic conditions more than likely, you also have sensitive skin).

The Harmony patches come in:

Infant cough Harmony patches (0-12 months)
Infant Colic Harmony patches (0-12 months)
Child Cough Harmony patches (1-7 years)
Child Tummy Harmony patches (1-7 years)
Adult Cough Harmony patches (8 and up)
Adult Tummy Harmony patches (8 and up)

Our Thoughts

I could not wait to try these patches out both on myself and my youngest. It is allergy season for us and we are all suffering with plugged noses, sinus pain, coughs and red eyes. The products were all natural (a definite bonus) and contained no allergens that could cause my skin to react (I am allergic to latex).

The patches were easy to apply, just peel and follow the instructions on where to apply on the chest or stomach. They stuck to the skin easily and came off just as easy without any pain or leaving any marks or residue. I really liked the ease and simplicity of application, we had no fights or spilled liquid on the floor.

The patches were left on between ten and twelve hours which is great for school and work. I was able to apply my son’s before I left for work and he had relief throughout the day. There were no side effects from the patches – no drowsiness or headaches. Sometimes with liquid medication, we found our youngest would first get hyper and then crash, which forced us to give him medication at night but he was having no relief during the day when pollen count was highest.

The Harmony patches are a fantastic alternative for parents for both their children and themselves, to relieve common digestive, cough, cold and allergy symptoms throughout the year. They are easy to use, provide great relief with no side effects. A win for everyone involved.

About Dr. Loo

Dr. Loo is a graduate of the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine and has served as a Clinical Professor at Stanford University Medical School for twenty-one years. She is an expert in five schools of Chinese medicine. She has been a presenter to the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy. She is the author of several medical textbooks and has lectured throughout the US, Canada, Europe and China.

Where to Purchase

You can purchase the Harmony patches both on their website and Amazon.

Make sure to follow Harmony Patches on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with their products and the newest information.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned products in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

December 12, 2017

Cook Healthy and Quick #DKCanada

What is one of the greatest barriers people state when it comes to eating healthy? Time! Let Cook Healthy and Quick guide you to making healthy and fast meals for the whole family.

About Cook Healthy and Quick

Want to eat healthy – fast? Cook Healthy & Quick makes it simple. This cookbook includes 300 easy-to-follow recipes that tap into the latest health trends, from gluten-free eating to intermittent fasting. Bursting with ideas for clean and green salads, plant-based main courses, protein-paired breakfasts, and grab-and-go snacks that can all be prepared in 30 minutes or less, Cook Healthy & Quick doesn’t require combing through a health food store for the ingredients; they can all be found at your local supermarket.

Get inspired by the food photography throughout the book. Keep track of your calorie, fat, and sugar intake with the detailed nutritional information highlighted for each recipe, from Muffin Frittatas to No-Cook Mozzarella Salad to Marinated Lamb Chops, Cajun-Spiced Salmon, Crispy Seasoned Vegetable Chips, Chocolate-Covered Kiwi Pops, and more.

My Thoughts

Life is busy whether you have one partner staying at home or with both parents working. Many families (and individuals as well) are constantly on the go – from work, to doctor and dentist appointments, to extra curricular activities and to the holidays. The last thing so many of us want to do is to have to come home, cook an elaborate meal while trying to make sure it hits all the nutritional guidelines. Many of us have good intentions and will check the internet for recipes, print them out, get the ingredients but then when the day comes we are too tired and resort to the old and faithful recipes. I am one of those!

This recipe book breaks daily meals down not only by the type of meal (breakfast, soups, mains, sides, etc..) but also by time. Only have fifteen minutes to whip together something before soccer practice? Check the list in the beginning of the book and head straight to those pages to pick out a recipe. All of the recipes (and there are over 300) can be prepared in under thirty minutes. Most of the ingredients you will find at home in your pantry but some of the items are a bit more specific (for example not all of us stock veal or liver in our freezer). There are enough recipes that you could easily prepare two weeks of meals that are different each day and gives you plenty of variety while satisfying the whole families personal preferences.

The recipes each take up about one page and include a colour photo as well as easy to follow instructions that are straight and to the point leaving no guess-work. Each recipe also includes a colour coded nutritional guide that highlights whether the recipe is dairy free, low in saturated fat, high fiber, gluten free and so on. Which is very helpful for those that have dietary restrictions due to health or personal reasons.

This recipe book would make an excellent gift for the cook in your life, the individual that loves healthy food but just doesn’t have the time to prepare meals and even a young adult moving out on their own who needs to learn how to prepare healthy meals for themselves.

You can purchase a copy of this book on DK Canada and Amazon.

Rating: 4.5/5

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 13, 2017

Interactive Brushing with Grush Smart Toothbrush

We all know how important brushing our teeth is and we know our children know this too but it doesn’t always translate to proper brushing two to three times a day. We also know many times they aren’t brushing for the required amount of time and are relying on dental visits for thorough cleanings.

How many times have you fought with your child over brushing their teeth? Or have they lied to you that they went in the bathroom and brushed their teeth? Or you looked at their teeth and can tell that they tried to brush them properly but they missed so many spots (got to love juice stains)!

The Grush Smart Toothbrush combines technology and interactive fun to help your child learn how to properly brush their teeth for the right amount of time PLUS it gives you feedback on their brushing. This toothbrush is a parent’s best friend!

The Grush Smart toothbrush kit comes with three removable brushes and rotates at the push of a button. The toothbrush uses bluetooth technology to connect to the Toothy Castles app on your phone. The app is interactive and can detect where your child is brushing – right down to the specific tooth and location (front and back). Once the two minutes is up (which feels like a long time but with the game it makes those two minutes short and fun as you try to gain as many points as possible), you can track their current session to see how well they brushed and compare it to previous brushing sessions.

The brush itself fits perfectly into a child’s hand and is soft with natural curves on the handle to make it more comfortable and easier for their little hands to hold. The app was easy to find and was quick to download on my phone without taking up much space. It is an easy to use app, there really is not any set up which we loved. My son just has to hit play and ensure his brush is in the horizontal position for the app to track his movements. That is all it takes to start the brushing game. We set the phone up on it’s stand so he can easily watch the app and see which tooth he is on and which tooth he should brush next.

The app itself is perfect for young children – I loved the graphics and sound effects (think of pows and bams from popular superhero cartoons) with motivating music and voice prompts to engage your child. They also collect coins for every time they get the bad guys hanging out on their teeth so our youngest couldn’t wait to beat his scores. At the end of the session, you can view their results of how well they brushed their teeth. We go to the dentist every four months for my boys and I know he has a bit of room for improvement when it comes to brushing, but I was still shocked at how much he had missed, especially on the inside of the teeth. It was a great visual to be able to show him because he can listen to me tell him he missed spots in his mouth but when I can show him which teeth he is missing each time, it is easier for him to understand. I noticed great improvement each and every time he went back to brush his teeth and I strongly belief this is because of the tracking and results that we are able to see at the end of a session.

My favourite part about the Grush Smart toothbrush? My son had so much fun brushing his teeth, he actually asked me to brush his teeth three times in one day over the weekend. After I got over my shock, we were in the bathroom so he could brush his teeth. Now that is a Mom win!

You can find more information on Grush on their website. You can purchase a Grush Smart Toothbrush on Amazon, Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Make sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest news and more.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

September 7, 2017

How to Live a Healthy Lifestyle While Keeping Your Sanity with Sundown Naturals®

Living a healthy lifestyle has always been important to me, much more so after having children! After I gave birth to my children I realized that I had to be healthier, not only for myself, but for them too. I had their future to think about. Where would they be without Mom or Dad? But what was a healthy lifestyle and how did I achieve that?

About a year and a half after having my second son, I began feeling tired all the time, my hair was thinning out, and I was just not myself—I knew that something was wrong. While I do deal with depression, I knew that this was above and beyond my normal range of symptoms and that it was important to see my family doctor. After a series of tests, we discovered that I was dealing with a malabsorption issue in my small intestines which was causing me to be deficient in several key vitamins, including Vitamin D, Iron, and B12.

This was a whole new learning curve for me; I had studied various courses during my university years on nutrition and the body, but I was not prepared on how to deal with my vitamin deficiencies and malabsorption. Working with a dietician, we came up with a few great ideas:

Nourish your body with nutrient rich, organic, and (if possible) local food (or even grow your own—gardening is a great stress reliever). We get many of the good things our body need from what we eat, so make every bite count. I know this can be easier said than done as parents. I can’t tell you how many times my meal has consisted of my kids leftovers!

Get enough exercise—plan it out! If it’s not in my agenda then I tend to ignore that it should be leg day, so having a commitment on a calendar is crucial for me.

Get the right amount of sleep. I know you are probably laughing right now—trust me, a part of me gets it—but getting enough sleep really is important. It will help your body recover and leave you feeling refreshed.

Many times, this is not enough.

Let’s face it—life gets in the way and we can eat improperly at times. We put the focus on our children instead of us and we definitely don’t get the required amount of sleep and nutrients. For myself (and many others), we have to supplement with vitamins and minerals in order for our body to absorb and get what it needs in order to work at top form. A daily regime of vitamins that includes multi-vitamin, iron, B12, Vitamin D, Calcium, and Biotin (I added this in when my hair started to fall out!) was worked out with my dietician, and my blood work is ordered and monitored twice a year to ensure my current schedule is working. Sticking to a healthy, nutrient rich diet is tough because, to be honest, it can be hard to meal plan for the week when you have so much on the go and need to supplement to ensure you’re getting enough.

But how do you choose the right type of vitamin when there are so many different brands?

When I purchase a vitamin, the brand has to meet these must haves:

Non-GMO
Gluten free
Free of artificial flavours, colours, and preservatives

Sundown Naturals® is built upon the philosophy to deliver 100% goodness, 100% of the time. They sell a range of vitamins to cover your health care needs—from heart health to immune health to energy support. The best part about Sundown Naturals® is that they are 100% GMO free, gluten and dairy free, and free from artificial flavours, colours, and preservatives. They are also the first broad line vitamin brand to be available at your local pharmacy that is 100% Non-GMO.

With my health conditions, I want and need to ensure that the vitamins I am taking in are high quality and the easiest to absorb for my body. I am confident that each time I take a Sundown Naturals® vitamin, I am taking in the very best to help fuel my body to perform at its best. I am getting all the good stuff without any of the bad stuff. Knowing that I am helping to fuel my body with high quality vitamins to keep it running at its best leaves me feeling confident and at my best.

What is the most important feature you look for when purchasing vitamins and minerals?

Make sure to follow Sundown Naturals® on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest information, news and more.

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Sundown Naturals®. All opinions expressed are my own.

August 24, 2017

Monkey See, Monkey Do #SmokeFreeMovies

I grew up in a household where my Dad smoked both in the house and outside. To me this was normal, it was part of my every day and it was socially acceptable. One day, my Dad took all three of us kids to the Doctor’s office. As he struggled to get my younger sister out of the car, he asked me to hold his cigarette while he pulled her out – be forgiving with this action, this was the 80s!! Not realizing what I was doing, I started to put the cigarette to my mouth and smoke, thinking how cool I looked and that I was just like Dad. It was the first and only time my Dad got mad at me! He smacked the cigarette out of my mouth, yelling at me about how bad smoking was for my health and that I was still a child. But to me, as a child, I had a hard time understanding: if it was so bad, why did the people who I loved and looked up to smoke? Wasn’t this normal? And it seemed odd coming from my Dad’s mouth that smoking was bad for me, but okay for him. The signals that I was receiving were confusing and contradictory.

Our behaviour is learned from watching others – we learn about norms, how to model correct (and incorrect) behaviour, and what is accepted socially, all from watching our family members, our peers, and those whom we admire and respect. Children and young adults are susceptible to these learnings and may have a harder time deciphering what is healthy and normal and what may be viewed as “cool” and “admirable” is actually unhealthy and detrimental to their health. As a parent, I have learned that it is my job to help guide them as they mature and begin to learn what is normal, what is right and how to make good decisions for their own health and well-being. For my youngest, this may mean restricting what he hears and sees, while for my eldest talking about the ‘why’s’ behind the decisions we are making.

Seeing a person smoking everyday or even casually in a movie or advertisement normalizes smoking. Our most vulnerable population, children and teens, see their idols and celebrities smoking, want to copy their behaviour, to be just like them. They don’t have the skills or the maturity to understand the consequences of smoking and starting so young. My husband started smoking when he was fourteen and struggled to quit at the age of 30 (he has now been smoke free for six years!). One of his greatest regrets, is that he had started so young.

Smoking in movies is now shockingly widespread; and some of the statistics surprised me! 86% of movies with smoking were rated for kids and teens in Ontario. That’s 37% of Ontario youth smokers begin to smoke due to seeing smoking in movies. Scary right? Even scarier is the fact that smoking has become so normal despite the high number of health campaigns showing the risks of smoking. I bet many of you like me, haven’t even noticed this happening during movies.

So how do parents help protect their children when movies aren’t rated to let us know that smoking is in the movie? Public Health Units across Ontario are encouraging parents to sign a petition that will influence movies to be rated as 18A if they feature tobacco at any point throughout the movie This small step helps us to wisely choose our movies for family time, as well as encouraging movie producers to just not include smoking at all in the film.

As parents, we know first-hand how quickly our children pick up habits (how many of you have said one bad word in the car and that’s it, they are like parrots repeating it everywhere) and we would do anything in our ability and power to protect them and keep them healthy. Signing the petition is one small, but positive step that we as parents can take to help ensure our children are not exposed to unhealthy life choices.

If you are curious about movies titles that may or do contain tobacco, visit the Smoke Free Movies page or the Thumbs Up Thumbs Down page for a complete listing of both tobacco free and tobacco containing movies. To keep up-to-date with all the latest information and status of the petition, make sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: I have partnered with YMC and The Smoke-Free Movies Campaign and have received compensation for this post. All opinions in the post are my own.