Healthy Living
  • Truehope Blog

Healthy Living

with

Picture

Suicide Warning Signs You Should Know

1/23/2019

 
Picture
At Truehope we have first hand experience with suicide. Our founder Anthony Stephan’s wife Debora, followed in her father’s footsteps and succumbed to suicide after her 10 year battle with bipolar disorder. As the sole provider for their 10 children, Anthony later realized two of his children, Joseph and Autumn, had inherited their mothers disorder. The psychiatric medications that had failed his wife were now also failing his children.

The story of how Truehope began is an unusual one, and it makes us passionate about mental health and suicide prevention. In Canada, suicide is the leading cause of death for both men and women from the teenage years to middle age. Among 15-24 year olds, 24% of deaths are due to suicide. Among 25-44 year olds, the number is 16% (CAMH).

Mental health problems such as depression are thought to come from a complex mix of genetic, biological, personality, and environmental factors. There are many influences at play, so what can you do support your loved ones in their mental health, and prevent suicide?

Know the warning signs
  • Has someone recently experienced a devastating event in their life like losing a loved one, the end of a relationship, the loss of a job, or a significant diagnosis from the doctor?
  • Do they seem sad, anxious, annoyed, withdrawn, and prone to angry outbursts?
  • Are they feeling worthless or hopeless, and do they seem to be in a lot of pain?
  • Are they experiencing depression?
  • Are they drinking a lot, or abusing drugs?
  • Has their sleeping and eating habits changed? For example, are they barely sleeping at all, or sleeping all the time?
  • Have they withdrawn from the people and activities they used to enjoy?
  • Are they neglecting themselves and their appearance?

Is there a high risk?
Additional signs in your loved one that require you take immediate action:
  • Previous suicide attempts.
  • Being scared of losing control and hurting themselves or others.
  • Being preoccupied with death, and openly talking about ways to kill themselves.
  • Actively planning, and gathering the things they need to end their life.  
  • Uncontrolled anger, agitation, anxiety, with dramatic mood changes including switching from being very depressed to happy and calm for no reason.
  • Feeling like there is no way out.
  • Being reckless or partaking in risky activities without thinking about the consequences.
  • Expressing that they wish they were dead, and saying things like “your life would be better without me”, “you don’t have to worry about me anymore” or “I just can’t do this anymore”.
  • Giving away their favourite belongings, and making a will.
  • Saying meaningful goodbyes when you wouldn’t otherwise expect it.  

What you can do
If you suspect a loved one is struggling and  considering suicide, it can be hard to know what to do. We recommend:

  • Speaking to your doctor.
  • Encouraging your loved one to look for help.
  • Honouring their feelings rather than trying to fix them by listening without judgement.
  • Reminding them you love them through both your actions and words, and express why they are an important part of your life.
  • Asking them if they’re having suicidal thoughts.
  • Finding local resources and support through Crisis Services Canada.
  • Reaching out to local nonprofits who may be able to offer financial support for counselling.
  • Make sure you share your concerns about your loved one with someone else. Don’t keep it a secret even if asked to.

In an emergency do not leave the person on their own, and always call 9-1-1 or go to your local emergency department.

We can all admit it’s often a struggle to express our feelings. With mental health issues, there’s the added barriers of stigma and the potential for discrimination. There is help, and there is a way to find health and more meaning in life.

Taking the Stigma Out of Mental Health

1/17/2019

 
Picture
Unfortunately we live in a society where there is still a stigma around mental health. It’s especially saddening when you consider mental illness affects all Canadians at some time, whether personally, through a family member, friend or colleague.


Taking the stigma out of mental health begins with understanding how many people it affects, regardless of race, their social standing, politics, or bank balance. It does not discriminate. Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), says:

  • By age 40, about 50% of all Canadians will currently have, or have had, a mental illness. This means half your friends and family will experience mental illness at some point in their lives.
  • About 8% of Canadian adults will experience major depression at some time in their lives. That’s more than the entire population of Vancouver, BC.
  • About 1% of Canadians will experience bipolar disorder. In other words, that’s 367,100 people, or enough people to fill the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs (the Scotiabank Arena) 19 times over.​
By comparison we widely accept other diagnoses without the fear and stigma towards those experiencing them. The Government of Canada says about 1 in 12 (or 2.4 million) Canadian adults over the age of 20 live with heart disease, 1 in 10 Canadians suffer from a thyroid condition, osteoporosis will affect 1 in 4 women and more than 1 in 8 men over the age of 50. We do not deny our friends, family, or even complete strangers empathy for suffering from these physical conditions. Why should mental illness be any different? 

Check yourself: are you judging someone with mental health issues? Have you ever described someone with depression as just being lazy and thought they should just “snap out of it”? Or have you thought that someone with anxiety is just being irritable? Would you offer the same judgement to someone who has broken their leg, or who has the flu, or has cancer? It would be better to express empathy to someone with a mental health issue in a similar way toward someone with any other health issue.

Be kind to others, take the time to really listen to your friends and family, and have empathy for strangers. You never know what they have been through, and how your judgement can hurt them. Ask how people are feeling, if they are ok, and how you can help. Tell them you care for them, and how important they are to you. Honour their feelings, and ask if they’d like to talk. 

Finally, watch your language, because the words we use have an impact. Avoid using words like “crazy”, “schizo”, “wacko”, “insane”, regardless of what you’re describing.

Almost half of Canadians who have experienced depression or anxiety have never been to see a doctor about it. The stigma attached to mental health issues, and the discrimination that people experience, may prevent them from getting the help they need.

Remember the statistics: one day, it might be you with a mental health challenge. Truehope will be there to support you. 

What are your experiences around the Stigma of Mental Illness?
​Share with us on Facebook and Instagram. 


The Essential Nutrition & Dietary Changes to Beat Depression & Inflammation

1/8/2019

 
Picture
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. The number of people affected continues to rise, with an increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015. That means over 300 million people are living with depression around the world!
​


Nutrition plays an important role in our mental health, and is considered to be a significant factor in the prevalence of depression in Canada. We have an increasing reliance on processed and packaged food that certainly help with convenience, but are not full of the vitamins and minerals we need to functional optimally. Plus our fresh fruits, vegetables, pulses, beans, and animal proteins are not as nutrient dense as they used to be, due to our industrialized farming practices.

Today we’re going to discuss nutritional changes that will be supportive to those with depression, and will be preventative for everyone else.

Start right now!

There are some things that are very easy to get started with. They include:
  • Staying hydrated: most people need at least 2 litres of water a day. Carrying a water bottle with you throughout the day makes it a lot easier. Sorry, coffee doesn’t count!
  • Reduce or ideally eliminate alcohol consumption.

Fats
One of the biggest things to consider is the quality of fats you consume. Every single cell in your body requires fats to function properly, and the brain is 60% fat. Consuming the right kinds of fats makes a big difference to your mental health.


In Canada we consume too much of the inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids, and not enough of the anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids that our brains love. Not only is omega 6 inflammatory, but it blocks the absorption of omega 3s into our cells. As a result, it’s important to not only increase our consumption of omega 3s, but decrease our omega 6s as well. Here are some tips on how to do that:
  • Reduce your consumption of processed foods, and make as many meals from scratch as you can.
  • Eliminate “bad” fats which include trans fats and most vegetable and seed oils. Examples are corn, canola, cottonseed, soybean, sunflower, peanut, sesame, and rice bran oil which have high concentrations of inflammatory omega 6 fats. Oils high in omega 6 (and even omega 3s which we normally consider to be healthy) should never be used for cooking as they are easily damaged, or “oxidized”, and will cause inflammation in the body.
  • Introduce heat-stable cooking fats like coconut oil, ghee, clarified butter, and animal fats like lard from pasture raised animals. Fats that are rich in saturated and monounsaturated fats are preferred for cooking.
  • For cold use (like on salads), we recommend extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed and hemp seed oil.
  • Eat oily fish like wild Pacific salmon, sardines or mackerel at least twice a week to get whole food sources of omega 3 fats.
  • Eat a small handful of walnuts twice a week, a great vegetarian whole food source of omega 3 fats.

Managing blood sugar
We all love candy, baked goods, and snacks like chips. Unfortunately, processed carbohydrates like these can cause a roller coaster of blood sugar levels. This leads to fluctuating energy levels, and can affect hormone and neurotransmitter production. It comes as no surprise that a high sugar diet is connected to a higher risk of depression. Here are some simple ways you can cut back on processed carbohydrates:
  • Cut out soft drinks and juices.
  • Cut back on candy and baked goods.
  • Make grain-based foods like pasta and rice a side rather than the star of the show. Where you can, swap them out for more complex carbohydrates such as squash or root vegetables like sweet potatoes or beets.
  • Eat protein with every meal, which will not only help stabilize your blood sugar but provide amino acids for hormone, and neurotransmitter production.
  • At mealtimes fill half your plate with vegetables.

Food quality
Cutting back on the processed foods you eat can make a big difference, and by learning about food quality you can do even more. We recommend buying the best quality food you can afford:

  • Organic fruits and vegetables have been shown to contain more vitamins and minerals. Follow the Environmental Working Group’s Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen lists to prioritize the fruits and vegetables you should buy organic, and those that don’t need to be.
  • Opt for free run or pastured eggs which have eaten their natural diet, producing healthier eggs for you.
  • Choose pasture raised meat and poultry as these animals can forage for the food they are designed to eat. This drastically reduces the omega 6 content, and increases the omega 3s.
  • If pasture raised isn’t in your budget, choose cuts with a lower fat content, or skinless in the case of  poultry. This will help reduce your exposure to inflammatory omega 6 fats.

Fermented foods
Our digestive tracts need to be full of beneficial bacteria for us to be healthy. This bacteria is called the “microbiome”, and it is essential to our mental health. While there are many facets to supporting your beneficial bacteria, here are some food-based suggestions:
  • Eating unpasteurized fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi daily.
  • Eating fermented dairy (and alternatives) like kefir and yoghurt.  
  • Drinking fermented drinks like kombucha, water kefir.
  • Avoiding processed sugars.
  • Eating a wide range of vegetables and their fibres.​
Picture
For more information, Click on the bottle!
Truehope EMP
A broad spectrum micronutrient supplement, Truehope EMP is a great addition to both prevent and treat depression. It’s a powerful supplement that will ensure you’re getting everything you need, and is even more effective when combined with nutrition changes that support mental health.

​We’re proud that Truehope EMP is supported by 35 independent, peer reviewed, medical journal articles written by universities and researchers around the world. 
There’s no better time to get started
Our tips today have covered the first nutritional steps you can take to lower inflammation and improve your mental health. There will be more refinement that can be done that’s unique to you, your digestion, allergies, food intolerances, and lifestyle. We recommend working with a Nutritionist or Naturopath to help you do that.

How Exercise Can Treat Depression

1/1/2019

 
Picture
Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) says that in any given year, 1 in 5 people in Canada will experience a mental health issue. One of the most common forms of mental health challenges is depression.

Happily, there are proven ways we can help ourselves recover from depression, and one of those is regular exercise. The 2005 study “Exercise treatment for depression: efficacy and dose response”, published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, found the “public health dose” (exercising 5x/week, and burning 17.5 kcal/kg/week) led to depression remission rates of 42%.

As a comparison, the Collaborative Depression Study found that cognitive behavioural therapy (or CBT) has a remission rate of 36%, and antidepressant medication 42%.

The big takeaway: Exercise showed the same remission rates as antidepressant medication! This shows us that exercise is an important part of our holistic approach in tackling depression.

Why is exercise good for depression?
The three basic elements of brain health, according to Datis Kharrazian, author of “Why Isn’t My Brain Working?” are:
  • Oxygen, via the circulation of blood
  • Fuel, as in eating the right kinds of foods
  • Stimulation of neurotransmitter activity

Exercise causes us to breathe more and increases our heart rates, which increases blood flow. This circulates more oxygen through our whole body, including our brains.

Exercise also improves our body's use of glucose (sugars from carbohydrates), and increases sensitivity to insulin. Improved insulin sensitivity means balanced blood sugar. This means our brain gets the balanced fuel it needs for health.

And all movement, especially vigorous exercise, provides stimulation of neurotransmitter activity in the brain.

Additionally, exercise produces feel-good endorphins, relieves stress, and helps us sleep, which all help to manage depression.

What kind of exercise is best?
Exercise means any physical movement that requires effort. It doesn’t mean we need to run marathons, lift heavy weights, or turn ourselves into pretzels at yoga (but we could, if that’s our thing!).

But what’s best: strength, cardio, or flexibility?

The truth is, all of them are beneficial. Unless we are specialized, elite athletes, it is best for us to regularly do a variety of different physical activities that engages our ability to exert physical force (strength), our physical endurance (cardiovascular), and our ranges of motion (flexibility).

If you are already exercising, keep it up, knowing it’s important to maintain mental as well as your physical health. If you’re just starting out, remember that any exercise is better than no exercise. Start with gentle daily movement and simply sitting less. Here are some general exercise recommendations:
  • Walk before you run.
  • Start with bodyweight movements before using weights. Start light and get heavier as your body adapts to the efforts.
  • Once or twice a week, do something intense and get the heart pumping. You could walk vigorously up hills, chop some wood, or dance madly to your favourite music.
  • Start by accumulating 40 minutes of effort per week and work up from there. ​
Picture
Want to know more? Click on the bottle!
The perfect compliment to exercise
Truehope Freeminos are a perfect partner to exercise when it comes to a holistic approach to beating depression. Just like exercise, the amino acids in Freeminos are an important part of  hormone and neurotransmitter production which are essential to our physical and mental health. ​If you’re ​
not getting the full complement of the 7 vitamins and 23 amino acids found in Freeminos in your diet, you won’t have all the building blocks your brain and body needs to run all its chemical reactions. When your body doesn’t get all these amino acids, it has to break down tissues like muscles to sustain vital functions. Unfortunately, if you have a health condition like depression, or experience a lot of physical or mental stress you have a higher risk of this breakdown occurring.

So take your Truehope Freeminos, and remember to have grace with yourself.
What will you do today to get moving? Share with us on Facebook, we love hearing from you! 


    Picture

    Author

    We want to provide nothing but the highest quality information and advice for our followers to improve their health, which is why at Truehope Canada, we're happy to say our writer is a Certified Life Coach and Registered Holistic Nutritionist.
    We know, we're excited about this too!  

    Categories

    All
    Holidays

    Previous Posts

    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018

      Want to be notified of upcoming Truehope Presentations, Promos and Products? Sign up!  

    Subscribe to Newsletter
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Truehope Blog