Dr. Nicholas Fedele, ND
7790 Kipling Ave L4L 1Z3 Woodbridge, ON, Canada

Health Tip Tuesday: Does it matter what time you go to bed? Nope, as long as you're consistent. If you go to bed at 12:00 am and wake up at 8:00 am you're fine. Or if you turn in at 9:00 pm and rise at 5:00 am you're also fine. Just keep your sleep schedule consistent. The moment your wake-up times vary from day to day, you may be setting yourself up for future sleep problems. Now you may be wondering why that may be the case. The reason is, having irregular sleep patterns me...sses with your body's internal sleep-wake cycle aka your internal clock. This inconsistency can result in difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep and waking up. But what if you have a late night that is different than you're regular sleep cycle? The simple answer is no matter the hour you went to bed, wake up when you usually wake up. You may be a little fatigued, but you will have reset your clock back to where it should be.

Health Tip Tuesday: Eat Bacon! Bet you didn't see that coming eh? New research is coming out every day showing that contrary to what many have been told, fat doesn't make you fat. Too many calories does. Especially those from sugar. Your body needs fat to properly function. Just don't overdo it. Moderation the name of the game, just don't fear "fat" next time it's an option.

Health Tip Tuesday: With summer in full swing it's important to remember that your eyes can get sunburned too. Be sure to wear grab a pair of sunglasses, but remember that not all sunglasses are created equal. Just because a pair of glasses are darker doesn't mean they are protecting your eyes from the harmful UV rays. To make sure you are properly protected from the sun reach for a pair of sunglasses that are indicated for protection from UV rays. If you want to up eye protection game, grab a pair that are also polarized. The added polarization helps to reduce glare and up the contrast of the world around you.

Health Tip Tuesday: Fat is not the enemy we have been lead to believe it is! The fact that we believe that fat is the main culprit behind our obesity epidemic is due to a combination of bad science and resulting policy that led to fat being demonized in society. This resulted in the creation of "fat-free foods". Companies took out the so-called "bad fat" and replaced it with sugar, lots and lots of obesity health problem inducing sugar. I will note that not all fat is healthy. Things like trans fats and processed fats (basically non naturally occurring human invented fats) should be avoided as much as possible. If you would like to learn more about how low-fat foods are actually making you fatter please check out this video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLtQLDptI1g

Health Tip Tuesday: Ever find yourself working away when all of a sudden you feel like eating for no reason? It's a common feeling and it can sometimes be hard to tell if you are actually hungry. If you feel this way ask yourself if you’d like to have an apple or a handful of almonds. Food is food after all, and if you're hungry it shouldn't matter. If the answer is ‘no’, you’re most likely bored rather than hungry and instead should take a break from whatever you're doing to pull you out of your boredom before you inhale food that unhealthy candy bar you were eyeing on your way into work today.

Health Tip Tuesday: Drinking trendy "Raw Water". Please don’t do this. I repeat DON'T DO IT. There is absolutely no health benefit to drinking "raw-water". Beyond the potential risk of increased exposure to heavy metals and chemicals, there are a number of different microbes and parasites that are present in so-called raw water. Some of these organisms are very harmful to your health and depending on where you are in the world there can be things like Giardia, Cryptosporidi...osis, Clostridium botulinum, Chlorea, and a number of others that will cause you to have a variety of symptoms such as diarrhea with or without blood, muscle weakness, fever and an increased risk of death in some cases if left untreated. There’s a reason why we are not plagued by many of the waterborne diseases of the past, we invented filtered water for a reason. If you want to spice up your water trying adding lemon or frozen fruit to the mix. Otherwise when thirsty just reach for a good old glass of fresh filtered water.

In modern society, sleep is one of those things most of us don't take seriously. I'm sure many of us have used the phrase "I'll sleep when I'm dead". We may think that skipping out on proper sleep only leaves us with a lack of energy, but it goes beyond that. One of the key pillars of health is getting proper sleep and the video below shows what happens to our bodies and brain when we don't get enough sleep. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-8b99rGpkM

Health Tip Tuesday: Want to know an easy trick to eating healthier at every meal? Colour Your Plate! Fruits and vegetables come in a rainbow of colours that come packed with a variety nutrients. By adding a variety of colours to your plate you aren't just making a prettier looking meal, you're making an overall healthier meal!

We often think of the bacteria in our gut as being an entirely separate entity to our own bodies. In reality, we are more connected and reliant on each other than you think. What we eat, how we feel and what we do can have a profound effect on the health and well being of our microbiome. This, in turn, can have a profound effect on our own health and well being. Check out the video below to find out more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzPD009qTN4

Health Tip Tuesday: Want to know the secret to stretching your muscles properly? When you stretch, ease into it and hold it for 20-30 seconds. Anything less than 20 seconds won't make a significant difference in lengthening muscle fibers and tissues. Remeber not to bonce or force yourself into a stretch or hold it longer than 30 seconds as this increases your risk of potential muscle injury. When stretching, don't forget to breathe deeply. This will not only allow you to focus more on your stretch, but will also help your body delivery oxygen-rich blood to your sore muscles.

Health Tip Tuesday: When trying to live a healthier lifestyle there is no such thing as cheating. Remove that word from your vocabulary now. What you decide to eat is a choice you make. Feeling guilty won’t help you to live a healthy lifestyle. In fact, that guilty feeling can be a detriment to living a healthy lifestyle. We have to instead take responsibility for our choices. Instead of feeling guilty, empower yourself to make a better choice next time.

Health Tip Tuesday: Make an irritation list. More often than not, what’s getting us down throughout the day is a bunch of little irritants. They are often like little mosquitos buzzing around our mind building on eachother. They can build so much that problems that actually matter get lost underneath all the little one. The best plan of action is to capture all of those irritating things by writing them down on paper. Once you have them down on paper your goal is to remove one irritating thing a week. Before you know it you'll be a little more at ease and able to tackle those large problems that actually matter.