Contents:

• Eat local!
• fitness advice
• nutrition tips

Eat Local: Better for the Environment, Better for You

The next time you’re in the supermarket, take a look at the stickers on your fruits and vegetables. They tell you where in the world your products come from. Chances are, if it’s not from Canada, it was picked long before it was ripe and mass-transported thousands of miles to get to your grocery store. During the long journey, the fruits/vegetables have most likely been exposed to handling and heat damage, and gassed to induce artificial ripening.

By now, most of us have learned that choosing local produce lessens our impact on the environment. But did you know that buying local can also be beneficial for your health? Since even well-stored fruits and vegetables lose much of their nutritional value within days of picking, you can assume that the more popular versions don’t provide as much nutrition as their local counterparts. In fact, produce that is flash frozen after harvest often retains more of its super nutritional value than produce that is imported and sold as “fresh.”

Unfortunately, our climate doesn’t provide us with fresh blueberries year-round, so it can be a challenge to eat local! You can stick to what’s available seasonally: This time of year, hearty foods like artichokes, Brussels sprouts, garlic, squash, potatoes, kale, cranberries, apples, and many others Delicious foods grow naturally in BC and are available at Winter Farmers. market at Nat Bailey Stadium (visit every Saturday from 10am to 2pm). Or, if completely switching your diet to what’s available seasonally isn’t an option, consider preservation methods like freezing, drying, and canning so your favorite seasonal foods last all year.

Fitness Tip: Enhance Workout Quality With Mind-Body Exercises

Mind-body exercise involves engaging the mind and keeping it focused while exercising. Mind-body techniques improve body awareness, increase motivation, and improve your overall training and fitness. Try the following mind-body techniques to add quality to your workouts:

• Focus on your body: Focus on each muscle movement and how your body feels during the movement.
• Synchronize the movements with the breathing patterns. Make sure to breathe in and out fully while lifting weights and doing cardio.
• Pay attention to proper form and alignment, performing each movement with precision and control.

Being aware of your body while exercising improves full body health and control and instills both physical and mental balance.

Nutrition tip: Fight cold symptoms with Oragano oil

Although it doesn’t taste as good as oregano used in pizza sauce, oregano oil can be a powerful tool to help prevent colds. This natural herb extract works as a powerful antibiotic, has antifungal and antiviral properties, and is packed with immune-boosting active ingredients like carvacrol (a powerful antimicrobial agent). It is relatively inexpensive and good quality brands can be found at health food pharmacies and health food stores.