Health is Wealth

Once again, my work has been published by NEDIC! (Thank you, God! And thank you to all my readers and supporters who continually provide me with motivation and care!). This post is about the stages of change and how we can use this model to help ourselves (or others) in altering our habits or working towards new goals: http://www.nedic.ca/blog/stages-change There are five stages, each describing the points at which an individual is thinking or functioning. As the person becomes convinced and prepared to acknowledge the problem and make a plan of action, he or she is able to slowly implement changes . Once the goals have been achieved, the focus is maintaining those changes and preventing reoccurrences. I love this model because it emphasizes personal readiness . Of course, sometimes, we can't wait until we're ready to make changes (because after all, not many of us are actually ever going to wake up one day and feel fully optimistic about breaking a lifelong habit of ou...

Before your alarm goes off, no - I am NOT going gluten-free. This post is meant to present information on what 'gluten-free' means, who actually needs to follow the meal-plan, whether you should jumpy on board, and more. (Note: this post is long - but well worth the read!). First, let's talk about what 'gluten-free; is all about. Celiac's disease is also called gluten-sensitivity or gluten-induced enteropathy. In simple terms, this describes an illness related to the intestines. Gluten is an ingredient present in rye, oats, wheat, and barley. When these substances are broken down, gluten is produced. Normally, our intestines can break this component down. However, in some people, the immune system makes antibodies against gluten. These antibodies (think of little soldiers) start attacking the intestine, and this produces inflammation. The inflammation damages the ability of the intestine to absorb nutrients. The individual may experience stomach cramps, weight l...