18/30: The Nutritional Bypass by David W. Rowland

The Nutritional Bypass: Reverse Atherosclerosis Without Surgery by David W. Rowland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From Goodreads: Did you know that there is a time tested, safe, non-surgical method of removing arterial blockages-without side effects? Severe arterial blockages do not have to lead to coronary bypass surgery or heart attacks. Inside this book is a complete program for successfully reversing and preventing hardening of the arteries. You may be surprised to know that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease and that polyunsaturated oils may actually be doing more harm than good.

This may be a small book, but it was well worth reading.
The research that has been done on Bypass surgery, and other methods of clearing out plaque from arteries was very interesting. I learned a lot about the methods, what the rates of survival are, and if it really does prolong your life. It doesn't for most people, but only because after they have surgery, they return to their ways before. Without change, your health will return to poor again.

I didn't think that the Nutritional information was really far out there like you might expect. I was expecting a very limited diet that most people wouldn't follow. It was very easy, something most of us should be doing anyways. The supplement that he suggested had some great nutrients in it, that based on the studies and reviews, I would suggest to a couple people. It doesn't take a lot of change your diet and way of eating if you want to improve your health. Our heart runs our body, and we need to take care of it properly.

This topic is very near to me and I will be recommending this book to a few people.

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17/30: Diabetes & Hypoglycemia by Michael T. Murray ND

Diabetes & Hypoglycemia: Your Natural Guide to Healing with Diet, Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, Exercise, an d Other Natural Methods by Michael T. Murray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Read from July 22 to 24, 2013
Format: Paperback

From Goodreads: Now You Can Combat Diabetes and Hypoglycemia—Naturally!
Struggling with frequent headaches, fatigue, irritability, or depression? Your body may be fighting a blood sugar imbalance. Diabetes and hypoglycemia, the major causes of blood sugar imbalance, are the most common of all diseases and can lead to chronic metabolic problems. Often, traditional medications treat only specific symptoms of these diseases without treating the whole body.

Another textbook done!

I enjoyed this one about Diabetes and Hypoglycemia. As someone who suffers from hypoglycemia, it was great to read about what foods to avoid, what foods to eat and other natural remedies that could help. It's great to know that even if you suffer from either of these blood sugar imbalances, you can get relief from a lot of the symptoms and minimize them leading to chronic metabolic problems.

The section on dietary suggestions was really interesting. It laid out a series of food groups, what is the best for someone with diabetes or hypoglycemia and includes a few recipes to go on. One thing I learned and didn't know before was that the recommended diet for sufferers is the HCF - High Complex-Carbohydrate, High Fiber diet. Most people, when they think of blood sugar, they think of cutting ALL carbs, which isn't what is best. Eating low on the glycemic index is a better idea as our bodies need carbohydrates. Starving your body of glucose will start to cause more issues. Did you know your brain's main fuel is glucose? You need it! But you need the right kind.

It was laid out really well for a non-medical person to understand and put into practice. It was written well with enough medical terms and layman's terms to get the point across. For anyone that has blood sugar issues this is a great little book to have around.

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16/30: The Metabolic Typing Diet

The Metabolic Typing Diet: Customize Your Diet To: Free Yourself from Food Cravings: Achieve Your Ideal Weight; Enjoy High Energy and Robust Health; Prevent and Reverse Disease by William Linz Wolcott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Read from May 27 to July 09, 2013
Format: Paperback

From Goodreads: For hereditary reasons, your metabolism is unique. Cutting-edge research shows that no single diet works well for everyone–the very same foods that keep your best friend slim may keep you overweight and feeling unhealthy and fatigued. Now, William Wolcott, a pioneer in the field of metabolic research, has developed a revolutionary weight-loss program that allows you to identify your "metabolic type" and create a diet that suits your individual nutritional needs.

This is definitely a book a lot of people should read. Your body has a natural set point and a natural way to lose weight. This book helps you find out what that is so you can start a weight loss journey that will be effective (Effective /=/ instant). It's about effective weight loss. Things don't happen overnight, in a week or in a month. They take time, and I think a lot of people don't realize that. To be healthy, and ideal, you need to take time.

The quiz was enlightening. I am a balanced metabolic type (rather than a protein or a carbohydrate) which I probably could have guessed. Basically, I need to eat a balance between protein and carbs to reach and MAINTAIN my ideal weight. For me, that means keeping the weight on. Most people will read that last sentence and close the page. Keeping weight off and keeping weight on are both difficult depending on you as an individual. Eating the RIGHT combination of nutrients will help you do both.

This is definitely a book worth reading and putting into practice. No crazy diet, no extreme foods, just healthy eating based on what is right for YOU.

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15/30: Healing Arthritis by Penny Kendall-Reed

Healing Arthritis: Complementary Naturopathic, Orthopedic & Drug Treatments by Penny Kendall-Reed
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Healing Arthritis was a good overview of the different types of arthritis and natural supplements that can assist in healing and pain relief.

The way the book is laid out was good. They went through the types of arthritis, which I didn't know included so many! Then proceeded to different treatments that can be beneficial, who should stay away from what supplements and treatments and which ones were best.

The material is dry and the delivery is as well. I did like how they included case studies for a number of the supplements. It gave a nice finish and real world perspective of each one. It's amazing that more people don't take the opportunity to use something natural to reduce their pain and inflammation before turning to drugs that have a long list of side effects.

I would highly recommend this book for someone who is treating arthritis, knows someone living with the pain, or deals with it on a daily basis themselves. There are treatments to consider before drugs and surgery.

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14/30: Eating Alive by Jonn Matsen

Eating Alive: Prevention Thru Good Digestion by Jonn Matsen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Read from May 27 to July 08, 2013
Format: Paperback

This was a great book for describing how our digestive system affects our health and how we are damaging it.

It provides a very high level description of each portion of the digestive system, how it SHOULD function and how it DOES function, because for most people, those are not in sync. Matsen does a great job explaining things in terms that anyone can easily understand, using metaphors and examples. The high level explanations were perfect for an overview with as much detail as needed to get the point across. The illustrations I thought were comical and useful. Humour is a great way to get a point through to people and learning about the digestive system isn't exactly the most thrilling subject.

It's interesting to read exactly how much of what we eat and how our digestive system works keeps us healthy. The damage that we do to our systems every day is astounding. When you start to read about it, you really start to think about exactly what you're eating and what your body has to do in order to deal with it.

The only thing I didn't like was the patient letters. It seemed that the point of them was to show how Matsen is great and less about the patient success. I found that annoying and could have done without it.

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July Happiness Project - Make Time for Friends

July is about Make Time for Friends
I'm terrible at keeping in touch with people and what better time than summer to get together with friends.

Bring People Together

• Summer BBQ
• After work drinks

Cut people some slack

• Everyone has their own problems to deal with. 

No Gossip

• Stop joining in gossipy conversations. Keep things private

Remember Birthdays

• compile a list and wish people a happy birthday, not just when Facebook says it's their birthday

June 2013

June. An incredible month of travelling, discovery, food and wine.

Highlights of the Month

FRANCE!
That's all that needs to be said about June.

My Happiness Project for June was to "Get Serious about Play"
I think I was successful!

Book Recap

What I Read
I read absolutely nothing over June. I had grand plans of reading on the plane or at a bistro. Neither happened. Too much to see!

What I'm Currently Reading

Eating Alive: Prevention Thru Good Digestion by John Matsen (finished reading)
Abundance, A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund
Healing Arthritis: Complementary Naturopathic, Orthopedic & Drug Treatments by Penny Kendall-Reed

Monthly Book Spending:

Spent: $21.02*
Saved: $1.90

*textbook costs are excluded

June Happiness Project - Done!

June was easy to "Get Serious about Play".

Our trip was the perfect place to embrace living in the moment. Getting up, deciding what to do and off we go. We made some wrong turns, wandered aimlessly and tried a ton of foods we've never had here.

I was able to really let go and experience life rather than just getting through the day (sometimes unsuccessfully). It felt amazing to be happy and relaxed.

Live in the moment

• Stop looking at the future - hard to do, but I think I looked less into the future than I do while I'm here
• Make a plan and forget about it until later. 
• Live TODAY

Find more fun

• Stop doing things that just aren't fun out of obligation. 
• Find those things I have fun doing, and do them more

Go off the path

• Try new foods, new places
• Buy a french book to read - Didn't buy one, but I did always have the french menu in restaurants
• Change the routine

Bonjour! Hello! I'm Back!

Our trip to France was amazing. There are no words to describe exactly how I feel about that country and all the places we went. Life there is so different from here in a lot of better ways. I know it was vacation brain and seeing it through those eyes, but they are far more social than here.
We spent 2.5 weeks (19 days) with each other, 24/7. It was really wonderful and I love that we can travel together so well.

We flew direct from Calgary to Paris. A nice long 9h 12m flight. We left in the afternoon and arrived in the morning the next day because of the 9 hour time difference. I am terrible at sleeping on planes but managed to get a couple hours in at least. I did end up watching Les Miserables since Frenchie hasn't wanted to see it.

Things I had to get used to:

• Eating light for breakfast - Cafe au lait, croissant / pain du chocolat
• Eating late for lunch
• Eating a late dinner - the majority of the restaurants don't open until 7:30pm and they usually don't start filling up until around 8:30-9pm. Very strange for this 6pm eater. 
• Eating BREAD! Yes. I could eat bread and pasta over there with NO symptoms like I get here. I miss it already. 
• Dogs are welcome - Everywhere. If they aren't, there is a sign. It really made me miss the dogs while we were away.

That was pretty much the extent of it. Eating (which is a big deal for me for blood sugar levels) really threw me for a loop. Once my body adjusted to the time changes I was set. There was always something to snack on and wine to drink. We stopped if our feet were sore for a cafe or macarons.

We have over 1600 photos and I have finally gotten them all onto the computer. With so many pics I can't pick my favourites so I will do a blog post for each location we went to. In total we stayed in 5 different places around France. Each one was different from the previous and allowed us to see a lot of the West side of France. I keep telling Frenchie we'll have to go back and see the East side and dip into Italy for a bit.