Living green: what the past can teach us about sustainability


‘L


iving green’ is a trend that has dominated social discourse over the last decade, representing a


hard to turn on the television these days without hearing some ad- vice on living green. The ubiquitous message is ev- erywhere, and sometimes it’s hard to cut through all the noise to find some simple lifestyle changes that will contribute to a healthier plant and ultimately, a healthier you. For my own personal inspiration, I read a great ar- ticle from One Brown Planet: Tools for Sustainable Living on what we can learn from past generations on how to reduce and reuse, two important components of living green.


growing movement to reduce the impact human behavior has on the environment. In essence, the movement acknowl- edges a way of life, one that prioritizes sustainability for a healthier planet to ensure there are enough resources available for fu- ture generations. By mak- ing simple adjustments to our daily routine, we can all live green and care for the world around us. And if you’re looking for a few tips on how to adopt a more eco-friendly lifestyle – why not look back at the way we used to live. It’s


The popular green slogan, Reduce,


Reuse and Recycle can be traced back to the late 1970s when governments around the world started to adopt environmen- tally friendly policies aimed at conserva- tion and garbage waste reduction. Since then, recycling has become second nature


to many Canadians including myself, but it’s also important to reduce/reuse and cut back on plastic usage. In the Brown Planet article entitled “Life Before Plas- tic,” the author talks to his own mother about what they used before plastic, which prompted me to reflect on my own childhood.


My mom mended, took the bus and hung her laundry to dry


Krystal Stokes Healthy Living


I was born in the late 1960s, and my mother worked part time and also cared for my sisters and me while running the household. This in- cluded making all of our clothes (sewing and knit- ting), mending them when needed, and hand- ing them down to each sister. She also made all of our Barbie clothes and passed them onto to the neighborhood kids after


we outgrew the dolls. We had a clothes- line in the backyard and everything was dried on the line in summer. We had one family car, so my mom rode her bicycle everywhere in summer and took the bus in winter; she even took the bus grocery shopping with three kids in tow (I break into a cold sweat just thinking about try- ing that with my own kids). She also re- used everything, even bread bags, which she wrapped around our feet inside win- ter boots so our socks wouldn’t get wet from playing in the snow. I could go on and on, but this gives you a quick snap- shot of how things were. And while this was a different time and the world was a different place (on a side


Grow your own food - it’s good for you!


note I did not inherit her knitting prow- ess) there are some simple things we can learn from the past on how to live green. Reuse:


• Cut out the plastic bags (including sandwich bags) and go litter-less wher- ever possible! My mother used to wrap our food in cloth and she also had a cart on two wheels to pack her groceries in, which we would help load onto the bus. Today, reusable shopping bags, coffee mugs and water bottles are readily avail- able and they even have reusable sandwich bags with washable liners. Check out the Generation Green store on the corner of Main and Bannatyne in Winnipeg (or visit them online) for more innovative reusable products or better yet, if you’re handy with a needle and thread, make your own bags! You can also check out a few thrift stores around town for some amazing second hand clothing steals - I just picked up a beautiful camel coloured trench coat for the spring season. Reduce:


• Buy locally grown fruits and vegeta- bles or plant your own outdoor/indoor garden (think fresh herbs, year round).


Not only will this contribute to a health- ier planet, eating fresh food right from the vine is actually better for you! And why not try preserving food for the win- ter months – if you’ve ever made home- made jam or jelly, you know it’s worth its weight in gold! Food scraps can also be used to make soup stocks. • Be mindful of electrical, gas and wa- ter consumption to reduce the strain on renewable resources. My father used to walk around the house turning off all the lights we left on as teenagers and now I’m doing that to my own kids! According to the Canadian Consumer Handbook, you can save 2% on you energy bill for ev- ery one degree you lower your thermo- stat overnight. Their website offers some great tips on how to live green in today’s world; tips that can also save you money in the long run! For more information, please visit http://www.consumerhand- book.ca/en/topics/environment/tips-for- green-living


Share:


• Pass down your knowledge to future generations – if you have practical skills like making your own soap or candles, canning preservatives or even building a birdhouse for the backyard, teach the next generation so they too can reduce their reliance on consumable goods. As we look forward to a warm Mani- toba summer and time spent outdoors, take a moment to reflect on the beauty of nature and the benefits of living green. If you have any great sustainable tips to share, I’d love to hear them! Please email kstokes2@vgh.mb.ca Krystal Stokes is the Communications &


Public Relations Manager with Victoria Lifeline, a community service of the Victoria General Hospital Foundation.


of arthritis and inflammation is common. Joint pain and tendon- itis may be part of getting older, but there are effective solutions.


Earlier this year I started to notice some increased stiffness in my wrists, hands, and fingers. I have had the occasional symp- toms of minor arthritis, but I’ve found that exer- cise and anti-inflammatory supplements have usually been successful in manag- ing them. Even with my healthy


diet and lifestyle,


Natural solutions for tendonitis and inflammation A


s we age, feeling some effects


I made an appointment with the rec- ommended physiotherapist who


used


a variety of treatments including laser, TENS, and putting my hand in a hot wax bath. I was also provided with a series of daily exercises to perform. After three visits, I knew that this particular approach was not helping, as the symptoms were con- tinuing to worsen. Inflammation:


NSAIDs vs SPMs Inflammation is a natu-


I woke one morning and found my left thumb was making a clicking noise when I bent it. As the day progressed, the problem seemed to go away, but gradually the symptoms worsened. After some time, it got to the point that I couldn't bend my thumb without discomfort, and when I did it resulted in a very painful "snap." I in- creased my normal dosage of supplements (curcumin and boswellia, two of the most powerful anti-inflammatory herbs), and doubled my daily fish oil supplements, but I didn’t see much improvement. I did some initial research and started doing some exercises, but nothing was making a difference. I visited a local sports clinic and met with a physician experi- enced in this area who X-rayed my hand. The X-rays showed minor arthritis, and that I had developed trigger thumb, a type of tendonitis that afflicts the tendon that controls the thumb. The doctor recom- mended six weeks of physiotherapy, and if that wasn’t successful, the remaining options would be a cortisone shot (which can often correct the problem, but only temporarily), or even surgery.


6 www.lifestyles55.net


Nathan Zassman Natural Health


ral, protective, and desir- able response to illness and injury, but once the immune system has done its job to reduce the initial inflamma- tion, ideally the body will


again attain “homeostasis”. This process is the body striving to maintain a healthy state through constant adjustment of bio- chemical and physiological pathways. When facing pain or recovering from an injury, we often seek a quick fix, but resolving inflammation can be a complex, slow process. The first solution many peo- ple try is anti-inflammatory drugs, but the problem with acetaminophen and conven- tional NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflam- matory drugs like ibuprofen and naprox- en) is that they can also suppress immune defenses, resulting in adverse side effects. A whole host of health conditions are associated with an unregulated inflam- matory response, where the anti-inflam- matory chemicals produced by the body continue to be produced after the initial inflammation has been resolved.


Seri-


ous health problems including arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and a number of gastrointestinal and respiratory conditions as well as cancers are all linked to chronic inflammation. This has inspired research-


ers to find a method of resolving the in- flammatory response by mediating further inflammation. Lipid mediators are the anti-inflamma- tory compounds in fish oil that include lipoxins, resolvins, protectins, and mares- ins. Collectively known as specialized pro- resolving mediators, SPMs show great promise and are gaining traction as po- tential therapeutic agents to help resolve the source of inflammation, as opposed to conventional anti-inflammatory agents that inhibit inflammatory pathways to block pain. SPMs signal the immune system to stop


responding to pro-inflammatory signals, helping the body achieve homeostasis, and inhibit further inflammation. Also called "resolution agonists," SPMs work to turn off the inflammatory response, helping to prevent bone loss and treat inflammation- related muscle injuries like tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. EPA and DHA are the well-known omega-3 essential fatty acids derived from fish oils that are required for many benefi- cial biological activities, but it's the SPMs in fish oil that have the most powerful anti-inflammatory effects. Recent research found that by concentrating SPMs, pro- ducing a more effective anti-inflammatory response was possible, without the side effects of drugs. SPMs are produced in the body, but aging, diet, lack of exercise, insufficient sleep, stress, and over-con- sumption of omega-6 fats can limit SPM production. Increasing the intake of fish oil alone will not raise SPM levels suffi- ciently to lower inflammation, especially as we age. After researching SPMs further and as my trigger thumb was not improving, I started taking SPM Active. This powerful formula from Metagenics concentrates the equivalent amount of SPMs found in five gallons of fish oil into just two capsules.


After three weeks, my trigger thumb dis- appeared. The problem was always most noticeable in the morning, and I now wake up with no stiffness in my hands. As I had already scheduled a follow-up appointment with the doctor, I was hap- py to meet with him and show him my healthy hands with no pain or clicking. He was pleased with the progress and I was thrilled that I wouldn't need a corti- sone shot or surgery. Exercise


After my symptoms improved, I learned


from Dr. Terry Zachary, a former golf professional, about an innovative hand exercise product he developed. There are nine muscles that open the hand, and nine muscles that close it. Trigger thumb, trig- ger finger, and elbow tendonitis can be aggravated by an imbalance in these mus- cles. It's natural to focus on the muscles that close the hand, but it's not as intuitive to work on strengthening the muscles that open it. When the muscles that close the hand become dominant, repetitive stress and strain injuries to the hand, wrist, and elbow are common. Dr. Zachary’s Hand- master Plus was designed to work all 18 muscles to help rehabilitate and prevent hand injuries. It also helps ease arthritis symptoms, boost circulation, and improve grip strength (which often weakens with age). The Handmaster Plus helps develop strong, well-balanced hand muscles that can be especially beneficial for musicians, athletes, and others that require hand strength and dexterity. This unique exercise combined with proper nutrition


including SPMs pro-


vided me with relief from trigger thumb. Commitment to a natural approach can help manage inflammation and ease the symptoms of tendonitis and arthritis with- out the side effects of drugs. Nathan Zassman is the owner and presi- dent of Aviva Natural Health Solutions.


June 2019


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