Alex Hurst | Silver Magazine

Health

Know your herbs? Try our quiz!

Sponsored content Can you name these plants? 1 / 10 Propolis St. John’s Wort Black Cohosh Answer is St. John’s Wort. St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is known for its beautiful, sunny yellow flowers - but this powerful herb has been used therapeutically for thousands of years. The medicinal blooms appear in late June, around Summer Solstice and the time of the feast of St. John the Baptist - hence its name. St. John’s Wort would traditionally be hung in houses to ward off evil spirits and to protect families and their livestock. This herb has remarkable pain relieving and nerve soothing benefits when applied topically AND when taken medicinally! Taking St. John’s Wort internally has been found to help in cases of mild to moderate depression and helps relieve restlessness or nervousness. It has also been called “arnica for the nerves” due to its usefulness in painful, neuralgic conditions

Alex Hurst January 25, 2022

Health

Participating in a clinical trial in Canada

If you take any daily medications, or you’ve taken any medications, they’re the result of clinical trials. The pandemic has resulted in most of us hearing more about clinical trials than ever before. Did you know there are always clinical trials going on in Canada? They are a critical step in getting drugs approved in Canada and a lot has to happen before they come to market. There are four phases before Health Canada will give the nod to a pharmaceutical company. Phase one is all about understanding side effects and the safety of the drug. In this phase, there are a small number of participants, around 20-80. Phase two can involve up to 300 people and is all about understanding the impacts on different populations. In phase three, the trial looks at even larger groups, between 1,000 to 3,000 and also determines how the drug works compared to a

Alex Hurst January 20, 2022

Mind

How to deal with digital exhaustion

Wonder why your brain hurts and you feel mentally exhausted at the end of the day? It’s called Digital Exhaustion and it’s more than just being tired from video meetings on Zoom and Teams or Google Meet every day. It has to do with that, but also with cognitive overload. Or more precisely, how our brains deal with attention. If your job entails spending a lot of time in front of a computer and your switching between this, your mobile and maybe a tablet too, this can impact your productivity through attention overload. Think about how you switch and move between apps, emails, video meetings, notifications and periods of multitasking and focused work. This is called temporal attention, it’s when we’re paying attention to things that are happening, such as emails and video meetings or phone calls. When we’re out and about, working out, hiking or walking and even moving

Alex Hurst December 22, 2021

Health

Yukon moves to protect seniors from shingles virus

CanAge, Canada’s National Seniors’ Advocacy Organization, is applauding a recent announcement made by the Government of Yukon that the best-in-class shingles vaccine (Shingrix) is now available to all adults aged 65-79 in pharmacies. The previous age cutoff for the vaccine was 70 and options for where to get the required 2 doses were limited and unclear, leaving many older people in the territory vulnerable to shingles—a debilitating and painful virus that can lead to permanent nerve damage and loss of vision. The announcement follows a critical review of the territory’s adult immunization efforts by CanAge earlier this year, which placed Yukon among the worst performers across Canada in vaccinating seniors. “By expanding coverage and access to the recommended shingles vaccine (Shingrix), the Government of Yukon has taken a major step toward keeping seniors in the territory safe from what can be a truly excruciating viral infection with life-long effects,” says

Alex Hurst December 8, 2021

Health

The Spark Of Life Is…

Magnesium is the key

Alex Hurst November 29, 2021

Healthy Recipes

Sweet & Zesty Creamy Dijon Dressing

This will make enough for a large salad…and you can never have enough salad! This is a super easy dressing that once you make a couple of times, it’ll fast become a staple. Also, it’s vegan! INGREDIENTS 2 cloves of garlic 2 Tbsps of maple syrup 1 Tbsp of tahini (crushed sesame seeds) 2 large Tbsps of Dijon mustard Pepper to taste DIRECTIONS 1. Add all ingredients to small blender or food processor and pulse until thickly blended. 2. Add on top of or toss into salad. This would go great with our Alfredo pasta recipe here.

Alex Hurst November 24, 2021

Health

The best mushrooms for good health

Whether cooked or in powdered form, many mushrooms can give good health benefits. Here’s our list of the best mushrooms for your health as provided by nutritionist Tawnya Ritco. You can incorporate them into recipes from soups to stews or sandwiches or find them in pill and powder form from good retailers. Sun mushroom (Agaricus blazei) Agaricus has long been recognized for its ability to galvanize immune response, reduce both physical and mental stress and help the body to detoxify. It also possesses powerful anti-inflammatory action. Red Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) The Red Reishi mushroom has long been known in traditional Chinese medicine as the mushroom of immortality—a claim that’s been backed up by scientists who have found that it increases longevity in mice and may possibly do the same for humans. It supports bet- ter sleep, helps with calming and de-stressing the body and supports the immune system. Maitake (Grifola frondosa) A powerful antioxidant, Maitake— or

Alex Hurst November 24, 2021

Longevity

Home Automation Buying Advice for Privacy

As Black Friday is approaching, security experts put a spotlight on the risks of IoT With the shopping season approaching, it’s likely that internet-connected gadgets and toys will be a popular item on many Canadians’ wish lists, as more than 92% of Canadians use IoT (Internet of Things) devices in their households. However, cybersecurity experts warn: Internet of Things devices can quickly go from fun to creepy, depending on how hackable they are. “Enormous Black Friday discounts can rush customers into buying some very questionable gadgets. However, Internet of Things devices are widely known among experts for low security measures they usually have installed. There is a joke going around: ‘The S in IoT stands for security’. So, it’s best to think before bringing any new IoT device to your household, as it can easily compromise the whole network,” says digital security expert at NordVPN Daniel Markuson. Globally, 1.5 billion

Alex Hurst November 9, 2021

Health

Interesting new research on walking

We walk without thinking about it. But it turns out, walking helps our bodies in several interesting ways that may surprise you. There is a constant, complex dance of molecules in our body. Rushing to and fro. Some are doing good, others not so much. And it turns out, walking plays a huge role. Research has even been done on walking and its impacts on breast cancer in the form of the estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer which is seen in about two thirds of all cases. Basically, estrogen circulate in the bloodstream causes breast cell tissues to grow and divide and this is normal. Sometimes mutations occur and it’s not a big deal. Sometimes it is. A mutation could for example, occur that causes those tissues to settle in the lungs, heart or brain. This is called metastasis with the result being stage IV breast cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society predicted

Alex Hurst November 1, 2021