Healthy Eating

So one day I got the results from some testing I had done, and the results found that I was heading for serious illness if I did not change my lifestyle and eating habits.

Well, the cause of this important and scary news just didn't happen overnight, so I am turning back the clock, to bring some context to this news.

Generally, I have always pretty much eaten what I like to eat. I don't think I have ever been in that place where "I live to eat", rather than "eat to live", but there were periods or stretches where I did not pay attention.

I had a busy 8 to 4 job Monday to Friday, and spent very little time away from desk. About those hours of work...usually worked 7:30 to 6:00 every day, and sometimes took work home in the evening and on weekends. So about that eating, I did not eat breakfast, and when lunchtime came around I would go for a walk and purchase my meal. Sometimes it was a healthy meal and sometimes it was not. Once purchased, back I went to my office, ate my meal and worked. I did this routine for 6 years straight. Now I must admit, I took weeks of vacation, but getting into the 6th year of this routine, I found that when I returned from vacation I was not refreshed, and then one day I just could not cope anymore. I did not know if I was coming or going, everything just seemed overwhelming. On top of this 6 year routine, I turned 50. Well bang, zoom, zip, down I went, k'od. It happened faster than you can say "beet greens" ( what...it's a very healthy food!).

You know that song that starts out "The road is long...with many a winding turn...that leads us to who knows where...", well looking back now, I didn't know I was on that road until I did not stay on it...I was on a road to nowhere. Fortunately, when I was down I made some wise decisions and met with some people who really cared and understood what I was going through, both physically and emotionally. Without their wisdom, I would have multiple now have medical issues...one being Type II diabetes, and likely would not be working. I must mention that I received support from my employer in different ways during this time.

Now back to the "heading for a serious illness"

When you are told that you are at serious risk of medical condition, and I mean one more step and you are there, and you are told that you can prevent it, what would you choose to do? No brainer right?

So how did I get all fixed up? Well, with a reduced workload, some prescribed supplements, and a health diet. I have beaten Diabetes, and a host of other conditions. Just look up "Metabolic Syndrome" or "Syndrome X", and you will start to get it. To tell you the truth, I am terrifyed for a lot of people. I mean you do not have to be obese to get sick like this.

One of the recommendations I received was to check out Rick Gallop's GI Diet. Off I went to the bookstore, yes I buy books and I love them, and I found his book, and a pocket book for shopping. At first it was not easy getting rid of all the unopened food items that weren't on the GI Diet Green list. But once changed it was pretty smooth sailing. I relearned how good food can taste. It has been one year and I can tell you that I am still eating, according Rick Gallop's prescribed approach, a very healthy diet. Yes, sometimes I eat the wrong foods, but I always go back to eating healthy.

Since I started this diet a year ago, there are so many more options available in large supermarkets for healthy cereals and breads, and the lists goes on. Of course summer is the best time to start this diet because the fruits and vegetables choices available are abundant.

About Rick Gallop:

Rick Gallop’s bestselling G.I. Diet was published in 2002 and quickly became the most successful Canadian diet book ever, with more than two million copies sold worldwide. It is currently available in twenty-two countries, in a dozen different languages. Gallop holds a Masters degree from Oxford University and was president and CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Canada

Rick Gallop waged his own personal battle of the bulge, tried countless diets before discovering the Glycemic Index or G.I. and realized he had found the magic bullet that addressed all these issues head on.

Developed by Dr. David Jenkins, a professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto, the G.I. measures the speed at which foods are broken down by the body to form glucose, the body's source of energy. High G.I. foods break down quickly and leave you looking for the next food fix. Low G.I. foods break down more slowly and leave you feeling fuller, longer you can eat less without going hungry. It is these low G.I. foods that form the core of the diet.

The G.I. Diet makes all the calculations for you by listing all foods in three traffic light colour categories: red light foods which you avoid if you want to lose weight; yellow light listings are foods that are to be used occasionally; and green light foods – eat as much as you like.

In short, the G.I. Diet will not let you go hungry or feel deprived. It is so easy to follow. Finally it will not harm your health like many of today's diets, but rather will actually reduce your risk from heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes and many cancers.


YOUR DIET, or ,The Way You Eat...

Are we eating more fat than we did 20 years ago?

Fat is considered a bad word these days, engendering enormous confusion and contradiction. But some fats contain key elements that are crucial to the digestive process.

It's difficult to control the quantity of fat you consume, because your body loves it. Non-fat foods require lots of processing to be transformed into those fat cells around your waist and hips; but fatty foods just slide straight in. Your body expends about 20-25 per cent of the energy it gets from a non-fat food just to process it, and your body hates wasting energy. So it does everything it can to persuade you to eat more fat. That's why fatty foods, such as juicy steaks, chocolate and decadent ice cream, taste so good. But because fat contains twice as many calories per gram as carbohydrates and proteins, we really have to be careful about the amount we eat.

we need to understand how the three key components of any diet - carbohydrates, fats and proteins - work in our digestive system.

Which fats are better for you?

There are four types of fat. Saturated fats, which are found in butter, cheese and meat, as well as coconut and palm oil, which are used in snack foods, are a principal cause of heart disease, because they boost cholesterol, which in turn thickens arteries. Hydrogenated oils - vegetable oils that have been heat-treated to make them thicken - take on the worst characteristics of saturated fats, so avoid them.

Most vegetable oils, such as corn and sunflower, are polyunsaturated fats, which are better for you. But the best fats are mono-unsaturated ones, which are found in olives, peanuts and almonds and olive and rapeseed oils. These have a beneficial effect on cholesterol and are good for your heart. Omega-3 oil, found in deep-sea fish, flax and rapeseed, is good for your heart, too.

Have obesity levels increased thanks to carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for your body. They are found in grains, vegetables, fruit and dairy products. The body converts them into glucose, which dissolves in the bloodstream and is diverted to those parts of the body that use energy, such as muscles and the brain. Carbohydrates are rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals, including antioxidants.

For years, we've been advised to eat a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, and grains form the basis of government nutritional guidelines. Unfortunately, it has encouraged us to rely too much on them.

So how can you lose weight?

Grain is highly processed nowadays. The more a food is processed, the less processing your body has to do to digest it. The quicker you digest your food, the sooner you are hungry again, and the more you tend to eat. In order to lose weight, you need to slow down the digestive process by eating "slow-release foods".

Which are the 'slow-release' foods?

These are high in fibre, which fills up your stomach and takes longer to break down than other food components do. This leaves you feeling fuller for longer. There are two types of fibre: soluble, which is found in oatmeal, beans, barley and citrus fruits, and has been shown to lower cholesterol levels; and insoluble, which is important for normal bowel function, and is found in whole wheat breads and cereals and most vegetables.

What is the glycemic index?

The second tool in identifying "slow-release" foods is the glycemic index, which measures the speed at which you digest food and convert it to glucose. The faster the food breaks down, the higher the rating on the index, which sets sugar (glucose) at 100 and scores all foods against it. Have you ever eaten a large Chinese meal, with noodles and rice, only to feel hungry again an hour later? That's because your body rapidly converted the rice and noodles, high-GI foods, to glucose, which prompted your pancreas to release insulin. The insulin reduces the level of glucose in your bloodstream, by diverting it into various body tissues for immediate use or by storing it as fat, and inhibits the conversion of body fat back into glucose for the body to burn. Low-GI, low-calorie foods make you feel full for longer time, so you are inclined to eat less.

What is the role of protein?

One half of your dry body weight is protein, i.e., your muscles, organs, skin and hair. Protein is needed to build and repair body tissue, and it figures in most metabolic reactions. It is better than carbohydrates or fat at keeping you alert and feeling full. Choose low-fat proteins: lean or low-fat meats that have been trimmed of visible fat, skinless poultry, fish, low-fat dairy products, beans, omega-3 eggs, tofu and soy or whey protein powder.

It is vital to spread your daily allowance of protein across all your meals: it is a critical brain food, providing amino acids for the neurotransmitters that relay messages to the brain.

What ratio of carbohydrates, fat and protein should you consume?

Ultimately, all food is a source of body energy, and energy is measured in calories. The average adult uses between 1,500 and 3,000 calories a day, depending upon the level of activity, rate of metabolism and body weight. For decades, people have been advised to get 55 per cent of their calories from carbohydrates, 30 per cent from fats and 15 per cent from protein. Instead, get 55 per cent from carbohydrates, but eat less fat (21 per cent of your calorie intake) and more protein (24 per cent).

GI Diet Shopping & Eating Out Pocket Guide

The Shopping Guide Book

What a great little book by Rick Gallop. What we buy when shopping and eating out can be the downfall of an otherwise successful diet. Here we have an on the spot pocket guide to foods while shopping and eating out, with the easy-to-use traffic light system of GI so making the right diet food choices couldn’t be easier.

Eating Out

Again we get realistic ways to choose the GI diet friendly food from the menu. Practical ways to make a better GI choice, like asking for extra veg instead of potatoes with your meal. Plus green, yellow and red GI diet foods for eating out.

Fast Food

You’ll be pleased to know fast food is also covered in this pocket sized must have for the GI dieter. Green diet foods for the likes of McDonalds and Subway are given here and more helpful suggestions on making lunch on the go GI.

Yippie - a sample "green light" recipe.

APPLE BRAN MUFFINS

Ingredients:

3/4 cup All-Bran cereal
1 cup skim milk
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
Sweetener - equivalent to 1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1 1/2 cups oat bran
2/3 cup raisins
1 large apple peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 low-cholesterol (omega-3) egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1. Mix the All-Bran and skim milk in a bowl and let stand for a few minutes.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir in the oat bran, raisins and apple.

3. In a small bowl, combine the egg, vegetable oil and applesauce. Stir, along with the All-Bran mixture, into the dry ingredients. Keep stirring until it is well mixed...it may seem dry but will not be when baked.

4. Spoon the mixture into an oil-sprayed 12-muffin tray. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, or, until lightly browned.

Source: The Glycemic Index Diet
Rick Gallop ©2002
Random House Canada

Remembering Two Great Human Beings - Peace Out:

On April 25, 2009 I attended a Memorial for two people who worked tirelessly to do their part to bring peace to this world. It was an absolute privilege to be there to share in remembering these two peoples lives -- Doreen and Don Plowman.

To most, and especially the young people of today, these names would not mean anything. However, to those they helped in their lifetime, and that were present at the Memorial, it was clear they spent a great deal of their lives caring about the rest of the world and the people who inhabit it. They both strongly believed that if you were not part of the solution, then you were part of the problem.

Doreen was a mother, grandmother, accountant, fund raiser, giver of hope, orator, caregiver of the community

Don was a father, grandfather, carpenter, a collector of junk, a teacher/instructor, an inventor, a poet, and a storyteller

Here is what the YWCA-Winnipeg wrote of Doreen in 1998, when she was to receive a peace medal.

"Doreen began her work for peace and social justice when still a child by canvassing door-to-door asking for money to help the plight of children affected by the Spanish civil war. She helped organize the first Winnipeg Walk for Peace and joined tens of thousands in peace walks calling for the banning of nuclear weapons, was a founding member of the Winnipeg Coordinating Committee for Disarmament, was a key person in the Telebridge program, linking Winnipeg with her sister citizens in Lvov Ukraine, formed the Winnipeg Economic Conversion Committee in 1991. In 1997, she and her husband Don joined with others to form Bridge Builders, to build bridges and foster dialogue between the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities of Winnipeg."

"You can't have peace if people are repressed or are denied their dignity. It's social
justice, and if you can't have that, you can't have peace. You have to do things; you
have to be involved." -- Doreen Plowman

Don Plowman wrote many poems/odes. Here are just two of the many:

To Those Who Will Not See -- by Don Plowman (aka Isle B. Darned)

It is hard to imagine the heartlessness of those who favour war,
Millions of lives are lost because there are many points to score.

Wasted too are the opportunities that our days on earth provide
When behind a veil of blind righteousness our empty souls we hide.

Empty because we have let ourselves get caught in a worthless net of lies,
For its brazenness and cruelty, this crude hoax all common sense defies.

Our deliberate blindness to some simple facts must make some people wonder,
If there's more to this business we call war than just some tragic blunder.

It's for God and country that wars are fought, and that we can applaud,
Then logic says the pious folk and statesmen should stain the battle sod.

Perhaps with a taste of a battle scene their enthusiasm would decline,
If only those who stood to gain laid their lives on the battle line.

It is sad to think of the wasted time that is spent on covering lies,
While in our empty and pompous lives we are deaf to the children's cries.

Saddest of all of this deafness and blindness to things that ought to be,
Is the callousness of righteous folk who will neither hear nor see.



Saying Grace -- by Don Plowman (aka Isle B. Darned)

A pious man in Africa went walking one fine day
and soon spied a hungry tiger not twenty feet away.

He closed his eyes and said a prayer upon a bended knee
convinced that he despite his prayer, a tiger's meal would be.

Moments passed, it seemed a day, he waited for his fate,
and wondered what sad circumstance produced this sorry state.

He tired soon of bending there just waiting for the bite
he raised his head and before him he saw the strangest sight.

The tiger knelt upon the ground, its savage eyes were closed
and was murmuring to itself, as though it sat and dozed.

The tiger sensed the puzzlement upon the man's sad face
and said "I don't know what you're doing, but I was saying grace".


Rest in peace...job very well done!

The following has been taken from Manitoba Provincial Archives:
While he was still manager of the Winnipeg Theatre, C. P. Walker decided to build a safer, more modern, and imposing playhouse that would comply with the very stringent requirements of the new Public Buildings Act. (Safeguards against fire had become an important consideration following a theatre holocaust in Chicago that killed 602 people on 30 December 1903, which some blamed on the greed of its syndicate.) Even before his lease for the Winnipeg Theatre expired he acquired the site for the building still known as the Walker Theatre. He visited other cities in the fall of 1905 to get ideas on contemporary theatre design. He also consulted with Howard C. Stone, a well-known Montreal architect, who also inspected the best theatres in the United States before beginning work on the plans. Construction began in March 1906 and was completed by the end of the year in spite of labour disruptions and delays in materials and fixtures. Walker had scheduled several bookings for late December that could not be cancelled without losses to him and the companies. Accordingly, several performances went ahead, including one by the Pollard Australian Lilliputian Opera Company on 17 December 1906, even though many things were incomplete at the time, making it the first performance in the new theatre.
Announced as the “Finest Play-house in the Dominion—Absolutely Fireproof,” the physically imposing building had a strikingly original interior. The ornate vaulted ceiling, sixty feet in maximum height, and the megaphone-shaped interior space contributed to excellent acoustics, well suited for the quality live entertainment for which the building was designed. There were no posts or pillars supporting the two balconies, so all upper-level seats had a clear view of the stage. Several rows of seats in the upper balcony, known as the “gods” and reached through a separate staircase, were priced at 250 for school children and patrons of modest means who could not afford the top-priced $2.50 seats for the carriage trade on the lower levels. The 1,798-seat auditorium, lobby, and lounges had a luxurious splendour that surpassed anything in the entire West: Italian marble, intricate plasterwork, gilt trim, velvet carpets, silk tapestries, murals, crystal chandeliers, and other amenities. When completed, the building alone cost over $250,000; about fifteen years later Walker estimated the total cost of his enterprise at $400,000.

The theatre’s official opening on 18 February 1907 was a gala social occasion; the Lieutenant Governor, the Provincial Premier, and the City Mayor gave dedicatory speeches. The audiences, many in full evening dress, enjoyed a triple production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly in English, just three years after the opera had opened in La Scala, Italy. Walker brought to Winnipeg the finest old and new plays, musicals, operas, and symphony concerts from New York, Boston, Chicago, and London. Among the outstanding productions that played at the Walker in its early years were Sappho, Carmen, Chu Chin Chow, The Ginger-bread Man, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Peer Gynt, The Blue Bird, Peter Pan, Pygmalion, Comin’ Through the Rye, Little Women, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Blossom Time, Maid of the Mountains, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, along with The Dumbells and the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. The Quinlan Grand Opera Company from London stayed at the theatre and presented fifteen large-scale operas by major composers in a two-week period. The Stratford-Upon-Avon Players paid frequent visits. Shakespearian actors such as Robert Martell, Sir Johnstone Forbes-Robertson, and the perennial favourite Sir John Martin-Harvey also appeared. Other theatre celebrities included Sir Harry Lauder, Wee Georgie Wood, Ed Wynn, May Robson, Grace George, William S. Hart, Victor Moore, Blanche Bates, singers Feodor Chaliapin, Nellie Melba, Madame Clara Butt, Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink, and many more. Over the years the Walker Theatre sponsored the most famous artists of the English-speaking world in plays, grand and light operas, concerts, and pantomime.
The theatre’s spacious stage could handle large, spectacular productions, such as a thrilling performance of the epic Ben Hur that ran for six days beginning on 8 March 1909, announced as “a mighty play staged on a scale of unparalleled splendour.” The touring company carried a special orchestra and 200 people were involved in the production. The highlight was the re-creation of a chariot race involving twelve horses pulling three chariots on treadmills before an enormous moving background depicting spectators. An ecstatic review of the event in the Manitoba Free Press appeared on the following day:
Only the language of the superlative with frequent notes of exclamation can possibly describe all the glories of “Ben Hur” produced at the Walker Theatre last night. From a staging and scenic point of view it is easily the most elaborate presentation ever given in Winnipeg and it should be a matter of pride to every patriotic citizen that only in about four theatres in the States would it be possible to as adequately mount the play as was the case last night.
Other animal performers that appeared in Walker Theatre productions included horses in Old Kentucky and Mazeppa, a cat in Kindling, bloodhounds in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, spaniels in The Barretts of Wimpole Street, camels in Kismet, and both goats and camels in The Garden of Allah.


Much of the credit for the fine entertainment was due to the efforts of Walker’s wife, Harriet, who encouraged amateur productions, notably university drama groups and the Winnipeg Kiddies, a popular children’s vaudeville show that toured North America for several years. She also aided her husband in booking music and drama productions for the Red River Valley Circuit. She wrote intelligent and well-informed press material on theatre topics for all Winnipeg newspapers; she was also a member of the Canadian Women’s Press Club. The Walkers’ daughter, Ruth Harvey, later published a detailed and entertaining collection of reminiscences about life with her parents (“papa” and “mamma”) at the Walker Theatre. [11]
The Walker Theatre was also used for important social and political events, such as the 1912 debate on women’s rights between Premier Rodmond Roblin and suffragist Nellie McClung, a personal friend of Harriet Walker. In 1914 McClung had the starring role in The Women’s Parliament, a parody on the Manitoba Legislature dealing with men’s right to vote, in which she played the premier. These events advanced women’s suffrage and helped defeat Roblin’s government in a later election.
The Walker Theatre flourished until the 1920s when the Theatre Syndicate’s touring system collapsed. Walker compensated by bringing in British and American companies and by sponsoring local amateur productions and miscellaneous touring shows. Now the movies were becoming a more popular form of public entertainment; early motion pictures at this playhouse included Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. Walker closed his theatre in 1933 and the City of Winnipeg acquired it in lieu of taxes in 1936; it was then sold to a family that converted it wholly to a movie theatre. After serving as a cinema for several decades, following renovations it opened again for live theatre on 1 March 1991. Later that year the Government of Canada designated the Walker Theatre a site of national historical and architectural significance.
ODEON/WALKER THEATRE1906 B. Howard C. Stone
The Odeon Cinema was built in 1906 as the Walker Theatre, after the original building, the Victoria Hall, was destroyed by a fire that killed four firemen. After the Victoria Hall was destroyed in 1905, Howard C. Stone was commissioned to plan a modern, fully fringed playhouse. The building was constructed of steel and reinforced concrete with terra cotta used to encase the steel work in certain areas. One significant feature of the Walker Theatre, thanks to the use of the steel, is the elimination of columns and posts that would normally obstruct the patron's view. In 1936, the Walker Theatre was converted into a cinema and sold to the Morton family because it could not escape the economic dislocation of the depression. In 1945, the theatre celebrated its second re-opening as the Odeon.
The theatre, which staged numerous exhilarating shows before thousands of satisfied patrons, is an architectural treasure which people will cherish.

A Ghost Story
Manitoba - Winnipeg - The Walker Theatre - Eerie experiences have taken place here. Mysterious applauding in tiers of seats, which are unoccupied at the end of a performance sometimes, is heard. Steel doors close on their own they weigh at least a couple hundred pounds, and when a reporter did research in the theatre with a well known psychic in the night they set up a tape recorder for a few hours only to find they couldn't hear anything...until they played the tape back to hear loud banging sounds and hammering, footsteps across the floor to and from the tape recorder then more towards the tape recorder sounding like somebody was whispering "please" into it....this tape would play sometimes but other times appear blank...dressing room doors that were supposed to be closed would be opened the next time the guard would make his rounds. The wedge of wood he had used to prop open the doors would appear to be kicked out...the guards dogs would mysteriously bark at the air and be by his side all night, Which was unusual because they were very outgoing dogs. The suspected presence is said to be maybe acting team Laurence Irving and Mabel Hackney who died in 1914 less than a week after performing at The Walker.