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From the Globe and Mail article on Jan. 5, Fifteen things Canadians can do to be healthier this year, here are two fantastic suggestions by two experts in mental and physical wellness; get outside and walk more! Living a healthy lifestyle is pretty simple stuff.
Try a revolutionary ‘new’ treatment
There is a super expensive new drug coming out. It reduces heart disease by 60 per cent, cancer by 27 per cent, Alzheimer’s by 50 per cent and arthritis by 47 per cent. It’s now our best treatment for fatigue and low back pain. It cures a third of erectile dysfunction, and cuts anxiety and depression by 48 per cent. People even lose weight on this stuff … Okay, it’s not new or expensive or even a pill. It’s walking. If I had to pick one thing, I’d say movement is the best medicine.
Mike Evans, staff physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, associate professor of family medicine and public health at the University of Toronto
Take it outside
Go for a noontime walk outside, especially in winter. Why? You get at least five times as much light as the brightest office (even on dark, stormy days). You get exercise (well, at least some activity). And you avoid big lunches (or at least have less time to eat). All of which helps your mood, memory and weight.
Raymond Lam, professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia and director of the Mood Disorders Centre, UBC Hospital
