The goal of National Immunization Awareness Month is to increase awareness about immunizations across the lifespan, from infants to the elderly.

During the month of August, take the time to make sure that you and your loved ones have received all of the vaccinations you need. By making sure your vaccinations are up to date, you can help prevent harmful diseases from affecting you and your family.

Getting vaccinated is an easy way to stay healthy all year round!

From Health Services

Seven brave riders, eleven great rides, one worthy cause

One month from today, your intrepid Red River Rebel Riders will be back in Riding Mountain National Park with a goal of raising $5,000 for MS in this, their 11th year! The only change in the team for 2014 is the addition of Deron Warkentin from the Roblin Campus, replacing Wayne Ferguson who is recovering from hip surgery.

Yes, 2014 marks 11 years! How can you help to make it a perfect ride?

• Donate securely online by clicking on any team member’s name at this site. All monies raised go to supporting those suffering with MS or to MS research.
• Join the 2014 team. As already mentioned, we are currently 7 riders: Marnie Boulet, Guy Dugas, Dayna Graham, Miguel Guzman, Mar-Zeus Macasieb, Michael Poitras, and Deron Warkentin. Train with us through August to get in shape for the big ride Sept. 6-7. Email Captain Marnie for details or simply click here and then click on the Join team button.

Together we can end MS. Help make 2014 a perfect ride!

You’ve taken the plunge; you are working out on a regular basis.  You’ve been more faithful to your workout schedule than any girlfriend/boyfriend in the past.  You are starting notice some changes and then days become weeks, the scales won’t budge you aren’t seeing any changes in your body and your resolve slowly turns to cookie-dough ice cream. You’re at serious risk of becoming another statistic, one more person fallen prey to the dreaded plateau.  Somebody who decides to pack it in, accept life as a couch potato accepting that the only way you’ll ever see your toes again is in mirror.

The human body is a remarkably adaptable instrument. Once it grows accustomed to the initial stimulus of a change in diet and activity level, it may simply submit to the law of diminishing returns, decide to declare a new state of normalcy and effectively put a stop to muscle gain and fat loss.

A plateau has a snowball effect, both mentally and physically. Mentally, you become frustrated, which leads to emotional eating, fatigue and finding excuses not to workout. This either amplifies the plateau or actually causes you to backslide. Physically, if you allow a plateau to negatively impact your mindset, you produce stress, which has many well-documented ill effects on the body, inhibiting the ability to gain muscle and promoting the storage of fat.

Plateaus are essentially a form of maintenance—if you run three days a week for the same amount of time you’ll continue to hold your own in terms of health and fitness, for example, but you won’t move forward.

So what do you do now?

• Build variety into your workout. Change what you do and how you do it. Alter your routine in duration, frequency and intensity. Add more exercise, or different activities, workout at different times.
• Sometimes less is more. When you hit a plateau, it’s tempting to workout more. You may be overtraining and stalling as a result. Rest is a critical aspect of any fitness regimen.
• Alter your diet. A change in nutrition can make a difference. Most people go the wrong way, lowering calories, when sometimes raising calories to maintain weight for a week and then dropping them again is all that’s needed.
• Don’t decrease the amount you eat — food is fuel for the metabolism. Try manipulating your eating routine — have your main meal at noon instead of the evening. Eat several smaller meals rather than three big ones.
• Stay focused. Write down goals and read them every day. Have an underlying reason to achieve your goals that’s more than a superficial ‘I want to lose weight.’ Focus on overall health.
• Don’t weigh yourself every day. A static scale over an extended period of time will just increase your frustration and be disheartening over the long run.
• Consult with a certified professional.  Now may be the time to schedule a session with a personal trainer to help you get back on track.  Perhaps one of the reasons you are stalling is improper technique.

Be successful. Create a vision of where you want to be and stick to it. Set goals, form a plan to attack those goals and consistently take action day after day.  Don’t get frustrated if you don’t advance X amount on a certain day; because it’s the long term plan (and results) that matter.

Do you have your tickets?

Despite rumours to the contrary, Rob Ford will not attend our first Rebel Riders’ event of the year on June 6th.

But, though his attending the much anticipated June 6th Bud, Spud, and Steak fundraiser for MS is now clearly unlikely, will Rob Ford ride with our Rebel Riders for the September MS Riding Mountain challenge?
Read More →

Health Services is happy to say we have added a great newsletter to our website that includes health and safety for work, home and school. It is called the ComfortZone. It can be downloaded and has the latest Canadian information for health, safety and wellness.

This month has an interesting article on using liquid nitrogen since it has become so popular in the cooking field when before it was only used in labs. Yes I watch food network and see the icecream made with it and that fog looks so neat-but there are safety factors to consider when using this chemical.

If you are on a wellness or health and safety committee it has current safe work information as well.

Visit our site and check it out. A new one will be added each month.

100 years ago, infectious diseases were the leading cause of death worldwide. In Canada, infectious diseases now cause less than 5% of all deaths—thanks to immunization programs.

As spring is upon us – finally; it is timely to remember tetanus; an acute, often fatal,  bacterial infection.  Thankfully, again due to immunization, it is rare in Canada. Tetanus bacteria are present in soil and animal digestive systems; and cause disease when they enter through even a tiny cut or abrasion. Tetanus immunizations should be renewed every 10 years.

Other diseases like measles, chicken pox, polio, Hepatitis B and many others  are vaccine preventable. Even in Canada
though; people miss immunizations. One reason misses occur now is that disease is less common and people have forgotten about these diseases.  “The Inside Minute” on Immunization shows current day, real life examples of well recognized complications of vaccine preventable illnesses.

The World Health Organization hopes their 2014  slogan, “Immunize for a healthy future: Know, Check, Protect” encourages you to check whether you and your family are up-to-date with the vaccines you need. The recent release of the new ImmunizeCA app will make that easier to do.

It is important that all of us get immunized. It is excellent assurance.

Submitted by Health Services

2 in 5 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetime and about 1 in 4 Canadians will die of cancer.[1]

In 2013, it is estimated that 187,600 Canadians will develop cancer and 75,500 will die of cancer. [2] April is Daffodil Month. The daffodil is considered a symbol of strength and courage by the Canadian Cancer Society. Funds raised during Daffodil Month are used to lend a helping hand for families and those receiving treatment for cancer, fund lifesaving clinical trials, advocate for cancer patients and provide access to services in your community.

For more information on Daffodil Month, check this information from the Canadian Cancer Society.

Prevention

There are a number of factors that contribute to whether you are susceptible to cancer. You can help minimize your risk by[3]:

1. Quitting smoking and limiting your exposure to second hand smoke.
2. Eating a healthy diet with lots of vegetables, fruit and fibre with little fat and sugar.
3. Maintaining a healthy body weight.
4. Keeping physical activity as an important part of your day with at least 30 minutes of moderate activity a day.
5. Reducing your alcohol intake.
6. Being safe in the sun by covering up, wearing sunglasses, using sunscreen and staying hydrated.
7. Getting the right amount of Vitamin D.
8. Monitoring environmental factors such as what household cleaners are being used and what residues are left behind especially if you have young infants and toddlers who spend an ample amount of time on the floor.

Screening

You know your body better than any one else as you will know what is normal for you. When cancer is found early, it is often easier to treat. Having regular checkups with your doctor will help reduce the risk of a health problem being ignored.  Screening tests help find some types of cancer before you have any symptoms. Talk to your doctor to learn more about your risk of cancer and what screening tests you should have. Be sure to mention any family history of cancer.

Benefits and risks of screening[4]:

Benefits:

• Better survival rates
• Better quality of life

Risks:

• False positive results
• False negative results
• Over-diagnosis
• Increased exposure to harmful procedures

Upcoming Events

There are a number of events throughout the year all over Manitoba in support of the Canadian Cancer Society and the fight against cancer.

• Relay for Life – numerous dates based on location from May to July across the province.
• River City Dragon Boat Festival – June 6^th and 7^th at the Lake Shirley Water Ski Park

If you enjoy the intrinsic benefits of being a volunteer, consider supporting the Canadian Cancer Society and volunteering your time and skills to a wonderful cause. There are a variety of volunteer opportunities available.

For more information about fundraising events and to access the volunteer application form, please visit www.cancer.ca.

For many people exercise presents a special set of challenges. Here’s a realistic guide for getting started and not getting discouraged.

What’s love got to do with it? When it comes to fitness, in the end, love is all that matters. Exercising in public when you’re out of shape can be an emotionally bruising experience. Huffing and puffing to keep up, you feel inadequate and self-conscious, hating every moment you spend on the treadmill or pacing the track. Maybe you’re trying to tell yourself something.

One of the most common mistakes people make when starting to exercise is trying an exercise program that doesn’t suit them or was designed for someone else. People make the decision that they are going to “Do it right”, they join a health club and get a program and commit to working out four times a week. Most people taking this approach fail and failing makes them even more disheartened. What they don’t realize is that it was the wrong approach.

The first goal is to increase your physical activity and not to punish yourself for being out of shape. Begin by recognizing the benefits of diversity and explore the many options open to you and your individual interests. 

Learn to dance, take up a martial art, learn to swim, dig a garden, take up wall climbing, find a tennis partner. What’s important is to find something that you enjoy and works for your lifestyle.  Recreation Services on campus offers a wide variety of different programs that will help get you active.  Visit our website at http://blogs.rrc.ca/rebels/ for a complete listing of classes and start dates.

Regardless of what shape you are in, you can derive tremendous benefit from physical activity. Research indicates that exercise can reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease, for example, and can mitigate the effects of stress and depression.

For most people beginning an exercise program, the biggest considerations is losing weight and this in turn can also be the biggest emotional hurdle. An exercise program may or may not lead to weight loss, but it definitely will lead to an improvement in physical, metabolic and emotional fitness. When we learn to let go of ‘losing weight’ as the main goal of fitness training it frees us to focus on the real benefits and achievable goals of exercising.

In their eagerness to get started, the non-active people frequently fall into a pattern of error, which can sabotage the project before it gets off the ground.

Common mistakes are excising too hard and exercising too easy. There are those who try to get started with an exercise program, fling themselves at it only to get exhausted, injured, and realize few improvements in their health and fitness: they try to exercise too hard. Conversely, there are those who spend plenty of time exercising but don’t get their heart rate up enough to realize the benefits they are seeking.

Don’t swim laps just because someone says it’s an ideal exercise even though you hate it. Learn to ballroom dance, fence, ice skate, or snowboard.  Join a sports team.  Many leagues let you sign up as an individual with a free agent team or as team with a group of friends. This type of social(yet physical) activity could be just the thing to get you kick started on the road to a healthy active lifestyle.

Your Options:

• Find your starting point. Do some fitness tests to see where you are now.
• Forget the fat. Reprogram your thinking to focus on fitness not fatness.
• Find fitness goals. Learn about physical and emotional fitness and why these should be your goals. A rounded exercise program takes all goals into consideration and gives you training in all elements of fitness.

The main determinant of whether an exercise program is successful is how hard it is in relation to your current level of fitness. No program will get results unless you stick to it, which is why you have to find an activity you love. One of the main reasons for people not sticking to their exercise plans is lack of time, so don’t waste time with an exercise program that might not work for you. Tailor your program to your fitness level and unique emotional, and physical characteristics and you will be sure to achieve your goals.

Indoor air, VOCs and our Health

Welcome back.  Our first post in this series about VOCs provided a glance at what VOCs are and where they come from. (VOCs are organic compounds / chemicals that easily become vapors or gases.) This second post will relate VOCs to our health.

VOCs in the outdoor air influence our quality of life (e.g., smog affects our breathing and exercise tolerance) and also negatively impact plant growth, including crops.   Though related;  indoor and outdoor VOCs are usually discussed separately.  This series focuses on indoor VOCs.  Indoor VOC concentrations are much greater than outdoor concentrations and in some cases, they behave differently (chemically).  Concentrations are estimated, on average, to be two to five times outdoor concentrations; but up to 1000 times outdoor concentrations when something such as painting or stripping paint is occurring. (Have no fear. Again, healthier home solutions will be the subject of future posts.)

Some VOCs change our cells! (…Can that be healthy?)     The Environmental Protection Agency¹ (EPA)  says indoor VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some … can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer such as leukemia, in humans. Other signs or symptoms include allergic skin reaction, difficulty breathing, declines in serum cholinesterase levels, nausea, vomiting, nosebleeds, fatigue and dizziness. Formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are risk factors for asthma and wheezing.  We also know children are more likely than adults to experience toxicities. The Children’s Environmental Health Centre at Mount Sinai (Toronto) has produced a fact sheet about VOCs.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

Processes involved in the development of sensitivities are not understood; but there is increasing agreement that some people become ‘sensitized’ to some chemicals including some VOCs. These changes in our bodies can involve the immune system and once they occur; future exposures to the particular chemicals will trigger allergic or sensitivity reactions.  It is important therefore to reduce exposures to VOCs both to prevent illness but also to reduce symptoms for those where illness has developed.

For more information on “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities”;  Oregon Public Health, the government of Australia and the government of
Massachusetts provide excellent fact sheets.

Reflection:

Wow… VOCs can cause people to feel acute symptoms like headache and can also cause cell or organ damage that might even – in time – cause cancer! That paint I stored has got to go…but what should I do with it? I’ll find out and let you know in the next post.

This second post in our series about VOCs in the home has pointed to the kinds of health effects people face as a consequence of VOC exposure. Our next post will give practical suggestions on reducing VOC exposure at home.

References

1. The Environmental Protection Agency¹ (EPA)  

From Health Services

We’ve all been caught in the rush of the world in its quest to be going somewhere. This constant pressure has had us staring at a screen until out eyes are pounding , sitting on our butts until our back hurts…..what’s up with that, and going for hours without eating except for those few cups of coffee….that’s kind of like food right?

When I was younger I had a mentor tell me there was an on/off button on my backside. Anytime I was sitting down the button would be pressed to off and anytime I would stand up it would be released to the on position. This didn’t make a lot of sense hearing it but was something to be understood by applying it. It makes sense now, as I sit I am sedentary, there is little flow. As I stand I am in more motion as little as standing would be compared to sitting. Once some motion has been started it can grow into more and lead to many places. It’s like water, stagnant water has little life, can be dangerous to drink or play in. Whereas water that is flowing has vibrant energy with all sorts of life and purity, and this flowing water can be anything from a small creek to the Iguazu falls in South America.

Your life is that water. However you choose to live will reflect what kind water you manifest. There are times in our lives when we need to be slow moving like a creek to gather thoughts, have gratitude for the things we have now and there are times we need to move fast like giving time to our heart to challenge it and strengthen it cause it beats for us ALL THE TIME.

Here are 5 tips to be like water and disengage that button.

1. Stand up right now! Read the rest of this standing. Stand up and keep standing. From here after you read this make a decision to take a step forward.  What do you want to do? What can you do? Do something small as that will lead into something else and you can use momentum to keep going.
2. Set an alarm app on your phone or computer. Have it set for every hour. When the alarm goes off, stand up. Being in the office chair all day is no good for anyone. Make that once an hour commitment to do a back extension, stretch your pecs, or walk a flight of stairs. This does not have to take a long time. It can take less time than waiting in line for your morning coffee and results will come.
3. Be mindful of what your present actions are. If you are going to stand in line how are you standing? Try standing on one foot to work on balance. Try doing calf raises or just moving your body in general. I know… what if someone sees me right? Get over it. Yes people will see you so be one of the aware ones to use your time to your advantage. I bet you if more than half the people in that line were doing movements you’d do some small ones to just fit in and not be the minority. Start that movement to allow other to follow.
4. Build a ladder. Every day during your one hour self-check bell do a ladder activity. Start with one push up at 9am, then 2 at 10am and keep going until your done your day. If my math is correct in one day you will do 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8=36 pushups. That’s a lot of pushups! Next day, do squats, steps ups, ab crunch and change it. Remember to challenge yourself so maybe you need to start with 5 squats for example.
5. Commit to a club, group, games, and organization once a week. This has to be a you time thing that can include your family, or partner or just yourself but needs to be a regular commitment. I know for one of my groups we have game night every Tuesday where we play board games all winter to keep people moving out of the house and not get too nested. These change in the spring to more outdoor type activities. This has been one of the most positive additions to my life as I get to be with friends when I’m feeling worked over by winter, as well as it gives me something to look forward to each week.

Ultimately as long as you can focus on your back side button and check it often to see if it is on or off you can begin to see what the future has in store for you. The more often you can leave it on, the happier, healthier and fulfilled you will be. Once you develop the pattern, the way the river has its path it will just flow naturally and you can enjoy the ride.

Mario De Negri

Fitness Coordinator

Life style Design