June/July 2013 - Community Connections
June/July 2013 - Community Connections
June/July 2013 - Community Connections
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>Community</strong> <strong>Connections</strong> Page 21<br />
<strong>June</strong>/<strong>July</strong> <strong>2013</strong><br />
Unhealthy Foods<br />
By Glenda Esguerra<br />
Paravie. Personal Fitness Specialist<br />
Let’s highlight some strategies to<br />
clean up your diet.<br />
Saturated fats found in whole<br />
milk, full-fat cheese and butter increase<br />
the level of bad cholesterol<br />
that is harmful to your arteries. Try<br />
to replace these with healthy unsaturated<br />
fats found in plant foods<br />
like nuts or avocados, for example.<br />
Drinking alcohol can raise the<br />
good cholesterol level and diminish<br />
the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s<br />
Heel spurs: Symptoms, Causes,<br />
Treatment and Prevention<br />
Dr Martin Scutt, podiatrist & clinician at<br />
UQTR<br />
A heel spur is a calcium deposit on the<br />
underside of the heel bone. It is most<br />
often associated with a mechanical<br />
problem involving the structural<br />
alignment of the foot or walking gait<br />
abnormalities. Heel spurs can be<br />
characterized by intermittent or chronic<br />
pain, which is usually worse in the<br />
morning or when first standing after<br />
periods of rest. Many patients describe<br />
the pain of heel spurs as a “knife or pin<br />
sticking into the bottom of their feet,”<br />
when they first stand up in the<br />
morning. As the pain worsens, heel<br />
pain can be present even while not<br />
weight-bearing.<br />
Causes of Heel Spurs<br />
Risk factors for heel spurs include a<br />
structural abnormality in the foot<br />
(including flat feet or high arches), gait<br />
abnormality, prolonged periods of<br />
jogging or running on hard surfaces,<br />
excess weight or obesity, poorly fitted<br />
or badly worn shoes , or shoes lacking<br />
proper arch support .<br />
Treatments for heel spurs and<br />
associated conditions include ice and<br />
rest, custom-made orthotics, antiinflammatory<br />
medications, shoe<br />
recommendations and cortisone<br />
injections.<br />
Prevention of Heel Spurs<br />
You can prevent heel spurs by wearing<br />
well-fitting shoes with shock-absorbent<br />
soles, choosing appropriate shoes for<br />
each physical activity; warming up and<br />
doing stretching exercises before each<br />
activity. It is also important to avoid<br />
wearing shoes with excessive wear on<br />
the heels and soles.<br />
It is best not to ignore any foot pain.<br />
Consult one of our podiatrists if you<br />
experience a burning sensation in the<br />
ball of your foot that is not improving<br />
even with a change in footwear and a<br />
reduction in the activities that may<br />
cause stress to your feet. At Clinique<br />
Podiatrique Rive Nord (est. 1998) ,<br />
all our care is provided by podiatrists<br />
regardless of the nature of your<br />
problem. We are extremely proud of<br />
our fee schedule which allows our<br />
services to be accessed by a wider<br />
population. Our team consisting of<br />
four podiatrists is dedicated to<br />
disease. But the key is drinking in<br />
moderation. Drinking moderately<br />
means 1 drink per day for women,<br />
and 2 drinks per day for men.<br />
Now take a look at your refrigerator<br />
and cupboards. Try to eliminate<br />
processed foods. This isn’t easy<br />
at all. The key is to try to have<br />
handy foods that don’t have a long<br />
list of ingredients. The closer to a<br />
single ingredient a food item is, the<br />
better.<br />
Next is sugar. We eat far too<br />
much sugar for our own good. This<br />
increases our risk for heart diseases.<br />
On the average, we consume about<br />
400 calories, easily, per day, which<br />
is about 30 teaspoons. It is recommended<br />
by the American Heart Association<br />
that women should only<br />
have 6 teaspoons and 9 teaspoons<br />
for men daily.<br />
Another strategy is to diminish our<br />
daily consumption of salt. Unfortunately<br />
we get most of our salt from<br />
prepackaged foods and breads.<br />
What’s recommended is 1 teaspoon<br />
of salt per day. But most of us get<br />
up to 50% more.<br />
Be mindful of the few strategies<br />
mentioned here, and you should see<br />
a difference in your weight loss battle.<br />
Let me know what you think. For<br />
any questions, please feel free to<br />
contact me.<br />
providing a high level of patient care<br />
and service with a work schedule that<br />
accommodates even the busiest of<br />
individuals and families. We are<br />
pleased to inform you that the vast<br />
majority of our new patients are<br />
referred to us by other patients or<br />
health practitioners.<br />
Thank you for your trust.<br />
Dr Martin Scutt, podiatrist<br />
For more information or to make an<br />
appointment please call (450) 979-0303<br />
(260 Grande Cote, Rosemere near the<br />
train station).