Eat Move Think

Conventional wisdom (and plenty of research) says you're supposed to engage in aerobic activity like running, swimming, or cycling if you really want to lengthen your life. Now, a new study suggests that adding strength-training exercises to your aerobic fitness routine will provide an added boost when it comes to living longer. Join our Move host, Dr. Andrew Miners of Medcan, as he chats with the...

Eat Move Think host Shaun Francis is the founder of True Patriot Love, one of Canada's largest charities supporting serving military members, Veterans and their families. So the week of Remembrance Day, we join Shaun and True Patriot Love CEO Nick Booth as they explore the inspiring stories of three Canadian soldiers who overcame wellness challenges and transformed their lives.   Check out the  ep...

As temperatures fall, darkness and cold can make wellness behaviours more difficult. As we head into winter, many of us find it more difficult to maintain a healthy diet. We might skip more workouts to avoid going out in the cold, in favour of cozying up to a good book or movie. More time indoors and less sunlight both contribute to many of our struggles with mental health, and we're more likely t...

Women's wellness is under-discussed, under-researched and under-considered by the Canadian healthcare system—and Breast Cancer Awareness month provides a great opportunity to explore two key aspects of women's health: Breast cancer and menopause. What are the implications of 422,000 missed mammograms in Ontario during the pandemic? Canadian women are likely to live a third of their adult lives in...

We hear lots of talk about the importance of a healthy and diverse gut microbiome. So what foods should we be eating to maintain our gut health, and how does a healthy microbiome affect the rest of our body? What's the science behind at-home microbiome testing products, and are they worth trying? How could microbial science help with early detection or treatment of conditions like Alzheimer's or P...

The National Ballet of Canada has an innovative Dancer Wellness programme that helps elite dancers stay healthy and happy. As the ballet's official Health and Wellness provider, Medcan helped to design the program. So what can other high-performing organizations learn from the holistic way that the arts company cares for its human resources? Exploring these topics and more, Medcan's chief growth o...

Your perception of the things that happen in your life—both the successes and the failures—can have a big impact on your performance and wellness. So how do you handle setbacks? How can you find purpose in your leadership journey, and upgrade your inner narrator to tell the best, most successful stories possible? Here, Medcan CEO Shaun Francis talks with Christine Miners and Rick Lash, leadership...

"I'm going to NAD for the rest of my life and I'm never gonna age," Hailey Bieber tells her friend Kendall Jenner in the latest season of The Kardashians. New anti-aging technologies like NAD+ IV therapy and plasmapheresis are making waves in pop culture—but do they work? What does the latest research say? Medcan chief medical officer Dr. Peter Nord checks in with Dr. Eric Verdin of California's B...

Are you dealing with chronic pain and need tips on how to manage it? Anyone who has  experienced chronic pain knows how debilitating it can be. But why does chronic pain happen? How much of it is neurological, and what are the best ways to soothe it? And is it possible to cure chronic pain? Dr. Michael Wansbrough is the medical director of the pain management and recovery program at Medcan. Here,...

If you're a dietitian, some questions come up all the time . Is diet soda bad for you? How much coffee is too much? How many eggs can I eat? Which supplements do I need to take? How many calories should I eat every day? Which foods should I never eat? In this episode, Eat host Leslie Beck, Medcan's director of food and nutrition, leads her colleagues Olivia Cupido and Terence Boateng in an engagin...

The debate has been going on for years: while some swear by the benefits of a stretching routine, others will say there is little to no point. What does the research say, and how much of a difference could a stretching routine make on our range of motion and physical health as we age? Can you use stretching to help heal an injury, or prevent future injuries? What sort of stretches should you be do...

How can employers best prepare for higher rates of absenteeism or supply chain issues in the upcoming season? How to keep employees and their families safe and healthy? In this episode, pandemic planning experts Dr. Alain Sotto and Dr. Matthew Burnstein of Medcan's Medical Advisory Services join program manager Mark Beairsto to share everything you need to know about what to expect this fall from...

"We're the most connected, and the loneliest generation ever," says Dr. Jack Muskat, Medcan's clinical director of psychology, describing the paradox of apps like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook. Inspired by a recent study showing that a one-week break from social media led to significant improvements in well-being, Dr. Muskat leads Eat Move Think producer Jasmine Rach on a social media cl...

Wearables like the Apple Watch, Fitbit, the WHOOP band and the Oura Ring help us track our exercise and lifestyle habits, collecting loads of data as we use them. So what's happening with all that information, and how can wearable data help to promote optimal human wellness? What cool things are wearable data allowing researchers to do today? And what new capabilities will this data enable in the...

Adults tend to gain weight as they age — about one to two pounds a year, research shows. A recent study indicates that small changes to one's diet and/or exercise routine can prevent that incremental accumulation. In this episode, our Eat host, Leslie Beck, interviews the study's lead researcher, Dr. Robert Ross of Queen's University, a global expert on sustainable positive lifestyle change for we...

When Walmart Canada's executive vice president and chief operating officer first joined the company in August 2020, she introduced herself to her new 90,000 associates as a "recovering workaholic." Since experiencing anxiety, postpartum depression and burnout in her 20s, Nabeela Ixtabalan has transformed the way she balances work and wellness—and is working to help Walmart Canada employees do the...

The latest research has shown that the MIND diet—a cross between the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet— may stave off the onset of Alzheimer's. There's more research in the works, and it could make for even more progress in our understanding of the ways our diet can affect, repair and improve our brains.  In the final of our three-part series on Alzheimer's, Leslie Beck continues her conversati...

A growing body of research suggests that your food choices can affect the long-term health of your brain to the extent that certain diets, such as something called the MIND diet, may significantly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's. In fact, research indicates the MIND diet can be so protective of the brain that one study showed those who most adhered to it had a brain age 7.5 years younger...

Research into therapies for Alzheimer's disease and dementia is progressing, and one day soon we may reach a point where those at high risk for cognitive impairment may be able to delay onset for so long that they never experience symptoms. How does Alzheimer's really affect the brain, and how are doctors getting better at diagnosing it? Are there things we can do every day to reduce our risk? To...

What exactly is energy? Is it a chemical to be measured, a feeling or even just a "vibe"? We know when we have it, and know even more when we don't. How can we get more of it? At Columbia's Picard Lab in New York, scientists study mitochondrial biology to understand our energy levels, how they can be affected by our psychological state, and how we can get more energy to get more things done every...

"Liquid biopsy" is a form of cancer screening that detects biomarkers in the blood with a simple draw. Research indicates that it could help to detect disease months or even years before other, more expensive and more invasive forms of screening, helping to save lives. So how exactly does it work? Is it better at detecting some cancers compared to others? And how can it help oncologists treat alre...

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 15 to 35. Experts recommend that men start to perform testicular self-exams in their teen years. Some middle aged men have never performed a self-exam in their life. To raise awareness during Men's Health month, our Dr. Peter Nord checks in with Medcan's director of urology and Michael Garron Hospital's chief of surgery Dr. Rajiv Singal (pict...

In our last episode, How To Practise Mindfulness , Medcan psychologists Dr. Amanda Beaman (pictured above) and Dr. Jack Muskat put mindfulness under the microscope and explored its many benefits. Here, try it out yourself with a 10-minute guided mindfulness meditation with Dr. Amanda Beaman. Download this episode for easy listening while on a walk, your commute to work, or to otherwise incorporate...

Many of us are spending more time on screens. The constant buzz and beeps of phone notifications, increasing work demands — does anyone else feel like the pace of contemporary living is harming attention spans and creating more of a need to engage in mindfulness and meditation practices? Here, Medcan clinical psychologists Dr. Jack Muskat and Dr. Amanda Beaman explore the practice of mindfulness....

Summer is all about days in the park, meals in the backyard and weekends at the cottage. For more than 25 percent of Canadians, summer is also about red, itchy eyes and nasal congestion. Too often, seasonal allergies put dents in our summer plans—and over-the-counter medications don't always help with symptoms. Dr. Anne Ellis, professor of medicine and chair of the division of allergy and immunolo...