Exclusive: top tips from our health experts
TOPIC
Strengthen your mind and body
Wonder what More Than Medication Advisory Board members are telling their patients and clients? Here are their top tips to help you live a healthier life.
The More Than Medication Advisory Board members usually work behind the scenes in helping us provide relevant and trustworthy health and wellness information. But this time, they're coming forward to give you two of their top wellness tips.
Marla Gold
Director of the McGill Cardiovascular Health Improvement Program (CHIP)
- Exercise doesn't have to cost a dime. "The proper footwear and a few items you may already have at home are all you need to get started with exercise. So give that skipping rope, bike, basketball or tennis racket that's sitting in your garage a try before you spend money on new equipment or a membership you may not use." (For fun activities that the entire family can enjoy, try our interactive tool.)
- Find support in others. "It's crucial to schedule exercise time in your calendar, and ensure that your family is committed to helping you keep that time for yourself. And for many people, an exercise partner helps them stick to a program and get instant encouragement, especially on those days when you just don't feel like doing anything."
Dr. Michael Gordon
Medical Program Director for Palliative Care at Toronto's Baycrest Geriatric Health Care System and co-author of Parenting Your Parents
- Exercise your brain. "To enhance the function of your brain, start challenging yourself with puzzles and games such as Sudoku, bridge or Scrabble."
- Get physical and social. "Try a group exercise program that combines useful and effective exercise with wonderful social interaction — both of which are good for the body and the soul." To find exercise clubs for a variety of activities, search "exercise" and specify your city or town in the We can find support section of this website.
Dr. Ted Jablonski
Family physician
- Forget extremes. "When it comes to strengthening your body and mind, always use common sense and stay away from anything that sounds too extreme, like eliminating an entire food group or signing up for a 10K run when you haven't gone for a jog in years. Remember what your mother told you about eating a wide variety of foods and 'everything in moderation' as this will always remain good advice."
- Know that your body and mind are connected. "Think of yourself as a whole person; both your mind and body are important. Since all of your body's systems are connected, your family and social life, work environment and spirituality all play an important role in your overall wellness."
Eli Bay
Founder, The Relaxation Response Institute
- Burn off and turn off. "Counteract stress directly with adequate exercise to burn off your body's 'fight or flight' reaction. You also want to get adequate relaxation to turn off that 'fight or flight' reaction."
- Do multiple body checks. "To lower the arousal reactions of the stress state, do quick body checks throughout the day and relax a clenched jaw and tight shoulders, unlock rigid knees when you're standing and loosening your white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel."
Judith Choquette
Pharmacist and pharmacy consultant
- Handle your medication properly. "Your medicine cabinet should not be in the bathroom because it's too humid in there. Rather, use a cabinet in a drier room in the house that is out of reach of children. Also, bring your expired or unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs to your pharmacy to have them disposed of properly." This is important from both a safety and environmental standpoint.
- Be cautious with non-prescription medication and herbal products. "If you have an existing medical condition or take prescription medication, speak to your pharmacist before taking herbal products or non-prescription drugs. And be wary of miracle claims made by any product — especially when it comes to weight loss."
Get to know the More Than Medication Advisory Board
To read more about our Advisory Board members, visit About More Than Medication and review their bios.