Grad Speech: The Importance of Zinc

The Importance of Zinc

Ode to the Students and Teachers of the Grad Class of Twenty Twelve

We showed up Day 1,  

On the day of orientation.

I looked all around me

And saw great anticipation.

As we started the year
it became easy to see
just how much fun
this "nutrition" could be.

Our teachers brought knowledge,
experience too,
and my fellow students...
I'll get to you.

One teacher, a superhero
would tell us her rhymes.
Hollie gave us great notes,
and much of her time.

Next, from Great Britain,
a writer named Jane.
Her teaching and clever "hints"
helped us stay in the game.

Judy ran the school smoothly

Like a good dose of fibre

She would always make time

For us to run ideas by her.

Martin, oh Martin,
you sure know your stuff,
but keeping a straight face
when you say sphincters is tough.

The thought of taking chemistry

Made me feel queasy,

But with Rebecca as teacher

It was actually easy.

Joanne taught us how

to live well through the years

Through activity, community

and avoiding the beers.

With Alyson GMOs were hotly debated
Who knew it would turn out
We are actually related!

Jen came on board late

But she completed her mission

And now we can help athletes

improve their nutrition.

And last but not least
was a free spirit named Lise.
She's a great cook you’ve discovered
and easy to please.

Now, my fellow graduates,
let's talk about you.
Youth before wisdom?
Don't mind if I do.

First, there’s Larissa.

Not enough can be said

About how she remembers

Everything that shes read.

Next up is Meghan
My unique little roomie
She helped me calm down

When my kids made me looney.

Thank you to Laura
my friendly competitor
It is because of you
that we are valedictorians together.

Quiet confidence is Natalie.
Leah dresses the best.
The one with the dreadlocks
that's good ole Janice.

Melanie's always sleepy,

Laura V is the chef,

Crystal juggles so many things,

Did she ever rest?

Amongst this diverse group of women,

I didn’t see the link,

Until our friendship was stimulated

By discussions of zinc.

To the grads of twenty twelve,

I say congratulations.

It is up to us now

To provide nutritional inspiration.

We Don't Choose Who We Love

When you had your first crush, did you wake up one morning and say to yourself, "Today's the day I decide to be attracted to boys (or girls)!" I'm so tired of people trying to convince me that being gay or straight is a choice we as individuals make. We don't choose who we love. If we did, I'm sure many of us would choose differently. Not differently because of our sexual preference, but simply differently because sometimes the people who we love make our lives...complicated.

Why do people get so caught up in who we choose to spend our lives with? What happens behind closed doors is no one elses' business. It doesn't make you more or less of a person if you are in a same sex relationship. It doesn't make you more or less of a person if you're with someone of the opposite sex.

It is so sad to me that people are still teaching their children to hold homophobic views. Often, sadly, it is Christian people who hold these beliefs. What I don't understand is that part of being Christian is being all accepting and forgiving, yet these people who simply have a different sexual preference are treated as though they have a curable ailment. GIVE ME A BREAK!

Why are we, people across the entire world, not campaigning more against violent and abusive relationships? Why aren't we more concerned with things like incest, molestation and things that are actually harmful in relationships? Why do people fixate on something so silly as the gender of a couple? I will never, ever, understand this.

The Consequence of Hiring "Under the table"

We all have been warned and reminded not to hire people "under the table" for various contract work, but lets face it, we've all done it at one point or another. A family member of mine was recently reminded why saving a few dollars by hiring this way can cost us more money in the long run.

She hired a man to re-sod a lawn, the sod never caught and when she tried to contact him to discuss what had happened, she wasn't able to reach him...ever. So she was left with a lawn, no better than before, and now down multiple hundreds of dollars. Years past, and she finally found out, by chance, that he had switched businesses and was attempting to run a seemingly more honest operation, despite claiming to not recognize her when she confronted him. To confirm that he had in fact recognized her, he has called her friend repeatedly, who has coincidently hired him, to ensure she was happy with his work, etc.

Good for this man that he has seemingly turned his practices around, but how many people did he rip off in the process?

I have to ask myself as well if this family member of mine was targeted, both because she is a woman and a senior. I am forever hearing stories of seniors, in our community, who are taken advantage of. For example, a 93 year old female neighbor of mine went shopping for a base model Sedan, and came home in a  $30,000, souped up Sedan with specialty rims and sun roof and didn't know how to operate 90% of the vehicles functions. Was she taken advantage of? Most definitely.

Let this be a warning to you. Have a legitimate contract with those whom you hire, for whatever handyman type jobs you need completed. Hire reputable people with real company names behind them, supporting and guaranteeing their work. Don't just accept a business card as legitimate proof of business. Do a little research before you hire. As much as I would like to support "the little guy", working on the side to top up his income, it's not worth the risk of being left with a mess and then ultimately having to hire someone else to clean it up. Finally, if you know of a senior, living on their own, in your community, consider reaching out and offering them some assistance. I'm sure the little elderly lady next door would appreciate it.

Hospital Food-What a let down!

Over the winter, a close family member of mine had, or what was called at the time, a heart attack. She presented with nausea and radiating pain down her arm. I took her to emergency, where they have her medical history, list of ailments and medications, etc. Typically her troubles are entirely surrounding Type 2 Diabetes...so there is a lot of stuff about diabetes in her files. Anyway, they conducted an array of protocol tests on her and then it was time for supper. What did they serve her you ask? The Cardiac tray, consisting of white bread (converts to sugar), jam (made of sugar) apple juice (loaded with sugar), tea (with a side of sugar), white potatoes (converts to sugar), glazed carrots (MORE SUGAR) and a piece of unidentifiable "meat". Were they trying to make her worse?!

The one place we should be able to count on being "prescribed" appropriate food for our ailments is the hospital! When our bodies are already struggling with whatever ailment we're fighting, we should be able to trust that the hospital will provide us with food to support us and help us heal, not cause us further damage. Whether you're visiting someone in the hospital or a patient of the hospital, healthy food should be readily available. Food that will support our bodies when we need it the most. Next time you're there, check the selection in the cafeteria and tell me what you find. Chips, cookies, brownies, pop, fried foods...so called "comfort" food. Sure the odd piece of fruit is available, but this does not make up for the downfall of everything else.

Many people would argue that this sort of thing happens because of cost and because of the quantities that need to be prepared, but I would disagree with them on both accounts. Beans and lentils are some of the least expensive foods available and provide our bodies with a clean, alternative protein and fibre. When soaked overnight, the cook time is no longer than a batch of rice. 

There are so many things that we can do to improve the food in hospitals. I can't be the only one out there who feels this way.

Good things come to those who make them happen!

I am totally inspired by a Steve Jobs quote today. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

I have been in a constant state of settling for about 5 years now, with the exception of 8 months while I was in school this past year. Seven years ago, I was enrolled in the Bachelor of Public Relations Program at Mount Saint Vincent University. I did well in my courses, but had a very poorly matched job placement and everything went downhill from there. I ended up dropping out and working for Bell Aliant for 8 months, before moving to Riverview, NB. There I spent a year on maternity leave with my son and didn’t make any attempt to find work or make new friends. I just settled into a comfortable rut. Nearing the end of my maternity leave, I was offered a position as office assistant at a local golf course. At the time, I needed a job and with the nature of the business, I would have my winters off. I meant to stay 1 season. Six seasons later, I’m still in the same position, even after having gone to school to take Natural Nutrition, which I love and really excel at.

I can easily say that my biggest problem is fear of debt and failure. I have so many big ideas that I can’t decide which to pursue, and without a wealthy supporter in my back pocket, I get very intimidated with the idea of a huge loan to pay back. All this said, none of this gets me to where I want to be.

So, recently, instead of sitting around not pursuing any of my goals and ideas, I started to write. I have this blog and also submit letters regularly to the local newspaper. So far I have submitted 3, and 2 of them were published and printed under “Letter of the Day”. The 3^rd was only submitted recently, so it may still get in as well. I have always loved to write, especially when I feel passionately about something, so I figured that this was a good place to start.

The next step, on my journey out of “the rut” will be to choose one of my many ideas and take a chance on it. Otherwise I’ll never know how it would have turned out.

Some say that “Good things come to those who wait”, but I’m going to try and start living by “Good things come to those who make them happen.”

The Power of Positive Thinking

Ever notice how the more negative your mood the more negative stuff seems to happen? If your day starts out on the wrong foot, it seems to set the tone for your entire day, but this doesn’t have to be the case.

Next time you wake up and trip over your slippers, brush it off and don’t let it dictate how the rest of your day is going to play out. If you are in a foul mood, as a result of something so silly, you are going to draw negativity towards you all day long. So instead, turn it around, put a smile on your face and draw in the positive instead.

Have you ever heard of a vision board? Some people believe that having a vision board is all about “The Secret”, but what if creating a vision board just plain and simply makes you happy and gives you focus? Does it not then give you extra drive to fulfill these visions you have for yourself? Either way, creating a vision board can be very therapeutic.

There’s nothing hocus pocus about being positive. The fact of the matter is that positive people tend to be healthier, happier and also more content with what they have in their lives. Instead of living in a constant state of unfulfilled expectations, create a vision board, keep a positive attitude and be grateful for all the good in your life. Don’t be negative and don’t let negative people bring you down.

I challenge you to smile and say hello to at least a handful of grumpy strangers each day and help turn their frown upside down! Your smile may be the one thing they needed at that very moment.

Click here to learn more about Vision Boards.

The Power of Stress

Everyone knows that exercise and eating right is an integral part of being healthy, but how many people stop to consider all of the other factors that contribute to our overall health and well-being?

One of the most important things we can ever do for ourselves is have good stress management in our lives. Everyone has a certain amount of chaos in their everyday life, but it's those who choose to manage it well that are much better off. Whether it's through exercise, prayer, walking barefoot on the beach...whatever works for you. Stress management is essential to good health.

Eating while under stress, or in a stressful situation, impedes on the digestive process. So, for example, if you consume the most nutritious meal, while pacing back and forth across your kitchen and stressing about the days events, you will be missing out on much of your meal's nutritional value. Your body is basically in fight or flight mode at this point and simply isn't focused on or committed to good digestion, just quick digestion.

In addition to how stress negatively impacts digestion, it is also a contributing factor to essentially all major disease. Supressing negative emotions alone can cause major upset in the body. There are many stories readily available online to read about success stories of women who stayed positive throughout their battles with cancer, versus women, battling the same illness, who had a very negative outlook and aren't around to share their stories.

Stress management and a positive attitude will take you further in life and in health than the most healthy eating, negative, workaholic will ever get. Remember this next time you eat on the run or during a fight with your spouse. Sit down, take a deep breath, inhale the aroma of your meal, relax and enjoy! Your body will thank you.