Minds on.

The patient should be made to understand that he or she must take charge of his own life. Don’t take your body to the doctor as if he were a repair shop.

Quentin Regestein
This is an image of a man who is standing outside his garage in front of his car and adding oil to it.

With most cars, it is expected that the owner of a vehicle performs basic maintenance. Tasks such as changing the oil, checking your air filter, or the tire pressure are things that go a long way towards making sure your car does not break down. Your personal health is also something that needs regular maintenance.

Knowing what tasks need to be done on a regular basis is a great discussion for you to have with your own doctor.

These tasks might include both regular checkups with your doctor as well as having tests done that are known as "Screening Tests".

These tests could reveal a potential health issue that might affect your overall wellness. It is important for you to know what questions you might ask your doctor about these types of tests. Here are a few:

  1. When should you have a screening done?
  2. What happens if a medical screening reveals a potential health issue?
  3. Would you be sure of your next steps?
  4. Can you always trust the medical advice and evidence from different health screenings?
  5. When should you get medical screening done if you are not experiencing symptoms?
  6. Will your results be black and white, that is, will they always be 100% accurate?

?


Which of the screening tests interests you the most? Which one would you like to further explore


Dr. Mike Evans is founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a staff physician at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Ontario.

We have already watched a few of his whiteboard coaching sessions on different areas of health. He explains health and wellness ideas in a way that is easy to understand, and often explains answers to questions about health care issues.

The following video, Do More Screening Tests Lead to Better Health? Choosing Wisely, explains the medical advice behind screening for a few different diseases.

This is the dropbox icon. Assignment: Do I Really Need This Test?

Dr. Evans explains a few different medical concerns that we tend to have with regard to medical screening, both when we are experiencing symptoms, and when we are not.

  1. Pick one of the medical screening tests that he explains in the video, or another test that with which you are familiar.
    • Does this test deal with an issue that is a serious health issue in Canada?
    • How accurate are the results of this test?
    • Is it a part of routine screening?
    • Are there other, less invasive, procedures that would also work?
  2. Using your gathering and organizing skills research the test you have chosen from the video. Consider the following for your chosen test:
    • What are things that you know already about this test?
    • How does this test deal with an issue that is a serious concern in Canada?
    • What are some things that would make you question taking the test?
    • How accurate are the results?
    • Is the test part of routine screening? Why or why not?
    • Are there less invasive tests or procedures that would also work?
  3. Using the information you have gathered, create and record a 30-second public service announcement to be played on the radio during the rush hour time slots. It should provide information about this test to adults as they are driving to and from work. You can use the microphone on your phone, an app like Audio Note, or a voicethread to record your announcement.

You have just watched a video with health information by Dr. Mike Evans, a physician at St. Michael’s Hospital. He is a good example of a credible source of quality health information. Some sources for health information are more reliable than others. So, how DO you know if the health information you are accessing is credible?

One way is to investigate the currency, relevance, authority, accuracy and purpose of the source. The interactive below will help you review some of these ideas:

Long Description

This is the discussion icon. Assignment: Interpret and Analyse

  1. Skim and scan three or four of the website resources below that provide reliable health information.
  2. Identify at least three characteristics of these quality health information sources.
  3. Find two additional credible sources for health information.

Resources

  1. Children's Mental Health Ontario
  2. UOttawa
  3. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is another good site to visit.
  4. Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
  5. Government of Canada Food Guide
  6. Ottawa Public Health
Action.

Vitamins and minerals are considered essential nutrients because, acting together, they perform hundreds of roles in the body. They help strengthen bones, heal wounds, and improve your immune system. They are also important in converting what we eat into energy: this allows our bodies to move. Repairing cellular damage is also an important function of vitamins and minerals.

This is the dropbox icon. Assignment: The Big Five Vitamins You will Need

The following video provides a quick explanation of the important role that vitamins play in our health:

Think about the vitamins you need on a daily basis versus those stored in your body. How do you ensure you get the vitamins you need?

Watch the following video, How Do Vitamins Work?. It provides a quick explanation of the important role that vitamins play in our health.

As you watch, create a chart to record all the following information:

  • the name of the five vitamins discussed in this video;
  • the role of each in the body; and
  • one good food source for each vitamin.

After you watch, identify and describe which vitamin(s) you should focus on to make sure you are getting a sufficient amount through foods that are rich sources. Also, indicate whether or not there are any vitamins that you might be getting too much of through the food you eat or through taking a vitamin supplement.

Now that you have the information behind the most important vitamins to include in your diet, we need to consider how best to consume them. According to the CBC, Vitamins from A to Zinc: A Reality Check, almost 40 per cent of adults say they have taken vitamin and mineral supplements (Statistics Canada reports) but this practice may be not helping your health.

Nutritional deficiencies were common among the general population in Canada several decades ago. Today, staple foods such as milk, flour, and table salt have been fortified with vitamins and minerals to address those deficiencies.

As part of the consolidation for this activity, you will be required to investigate the health benefits of a product, service, or supplement as part of your plan for a healthy future. The following assignment will help you with that task by looking into varying viewpoints around vitamins as a health choice for you to consider.

It's time to gather and organize, evaluate and draw conclusions, and communicate...

Taking a vitamin supplement is considered a positive and healthy decision by some, whereas others feel it is a negative, costly, and potentially harmful decision. To make an educated and informed decision about whether you should take vitamins in supplement form or not, it is important to look at varying viewpoints on the topic.

This is the dropbox icon. Assignment: Is Your Glass Half Full or Half Empty When it Comes to Taking a Supplement?

Taking a vitamin supplement is considered a positive and healthy decision by some, whereas others feel it is a negative, costly, and potentially harmful decision. To make an educated and informed decision about whether you should take vitamins in supplement form or not, it is important to look at varying viewpoints on the topic.

  1. You have been provided with a number of resources below that discuss the issue of taking vitamin supplements. Read through the articles and watch the video in order to gather evidence related to the opposing viewpoints on the issue.
  2. Identify four to six arguments in support of vitamin supplementation, and four to six arguments against vitamin supplementation.
  3. Before drawing your conclusions, take a moment to reflect on the different sources using the CRAAP test we learned about in Unit 1. Using the CRAAP test criteria, rank each of the six sources from most reliable to least reliable. Make sure to provide one reason why you ranked each article as you did.
  4. Review your list for and against vitamin supplementation and consider the viewpoints of each side of the arguments for and against vitamin supplements. Now you can formulate your own conclusions. Remember to keep in mind the quality of the facts and opinions presented.
  5. Write a one page research summary that includes the pros and cons of vitamin supplementation, as well as your conclusion on whether or not it is the right thing for you.

Resources

  1. CBC Health: Vitamins from A to Zinc: A reality check
  2. Sunnybrook Hospital: Vitamins - Do You Need Supplements?
  3. The New York Times: Should We Toss Our Vitamin Pills?
  4. Dr. Oz: Dr Oz's Recommendation on Vitamins
  5. Dr. Oz: Top Vitamin Picks
  6. Consumer Reports Magazine: The dangers of dietary and nutritional supplements investigated
  7. The Smithsonian Magazine: Five Vitamins and Supplements That Might Actually be Worth Taking
This is a picture of an open carton of eggs with a sticker on it that reads, Food Safety.

Like vitamins, food safety is crucial to healthy living. Food safety is important for everyone and we can all take simple steps to protect ourselves and our families. In Canada, our food is among the safest in the world.

However, before it gets to you, food can become contaminated by bacteria, viruses, and parasites as it makes its way to your table.

This contamination can occur at the facility where it is produced - or, if it is not prepared properly before you consume it. Becoming sick after ingesting certain foods can also occur because of this contamination or from eating foods after their expiry date. Some people can also become ill after eating foods that have additives that produce an allergic reaction.

Common food illnesses include:

This is the did you know icon. Food For Thought

Do you check the expiry dates of your food items before you buy them? If a food item has expired, should you throw it out?

We can all play a role in making sure that the food we put on our tables is safe to eat. There are many opportunities throughout your day to ensure that you are consuming food that is not only healthy, but also safe. Safe food selection, along with proper handling and preparation practices, helps keep you - and members of your family who may be at greater risk - safe.

The following four components and tips, from Canadian Public Health Association, are universally recognized when it comes to preparing, cooking, and storing food safely:

This is the discussion icon. Assignment: Be an Advocate for Food Safety

Your task is to take what you have learned about food safety and make it come to life!

  1. Create a picture with captions or a poster educating people about food safety and how to protect themselves and others from foodborne illnesses.
  2. First, determine your audience for your picture or poster (e.g., fellow students, younger students, the general community, fellow employees) and where your picture or poster might be displayed (e.g., in your school, your workplace, your community, or on a social media site).
  3. Keeping your audience in mind and what they need to know, create your picture or poster. Try using an application like canva or another that you are familiar with to create your picture or poster.
  4. Make sure that your visual shows the most important information in a simple way.

Resources

  1. Health Canada
  2. CBC News: Expiry Dates
  3. Canadian Public Health Association

The Power of the Ad: Who Can You Trust?

Be Food Safe provides quality health information, but in today’s multibillion dollar world of advertising, how do we know what and who to believe with regard to claims about a product, program, or service being sold? Advertisers and companies will use all sorts of techniques to persuade consumers to buy their health products or sign up for their programs or services. Some of these techniques include:

To avoid being misled by advertising, it is important for you be able to assess the quality of the health information that you see or read so you can make good decisions about your health.

Read about techniques that are used in advertising in Power Of The Ad: Commonly Used Food Advertising Techniques from Ophea:

Long Description

This is the discussion icon. Assignment: Advertising Techniques

Find an advertisement that uses one of the strategies listed in Ophea’s Power Of The Ad: Commonly Used Food Advertising Techniques.

Consolidation

Time to interpret and analyse...

Time to evaluate and draw conclusions...

This is the dropbox icon. Assignment: Assessing Information About Health Products to Make Informed Decisions

  1. Find and analyse one advertisement (e.g., a television ad, a print advertisement, or an ad found in a store or online) for a health product, program, or service (e.g., foods, health and exercise equipment, fitness facilities, skin treatments, health and wellness programs, dietary supplements) that you might be considering to benefit your own health.
  2. As you consider this ad, answer the following questions:
    • What is the ad saying or suggesting the product will do for you? Do you believe this? Why or why not?
    • What concerns do you have about the claims being made?
    • What has not been said about the product?
    • What are some ways the ad tries to catch your attention and sell the product?
    • What message is being conveyed? (What image or lifestyle is portrayed?)
    • Do you think the ad is misleading? How do you know?
    • Would you buy this product? Why or why not?

Dr. Mike Evans' best medical advice and number one prescription for health is physical activity. In the video below he discusses the importance of intensity in physical activity.

Does your activity as part of your wellness plan produce a change in your breathing pattern or make you sweat? Have you engaged in moderate to vigorous activity for at least 150 minutes per week to enhance your wellness since beginning your wellness plan?

This is the dropbox icon. Assignment: Time to Check In On Your Wellness - Where are you now?

How are you progressing towards meeting your wellness goals? Perhaps you are thinking about making a doctor's appointment if you have any health concerns. Maybe you are eating more vegetables to get your daily vitamins or spending time outdoors to get some Vitamin D.

What health information have you learned that you will now use to help you achieve these goals? Where is some additional health information that you might look for from a credible source to help you achieve your goals?

  1. Complete this fourth reflection by responding to the following questions below:
    • the wellness goals you are working toward;
    • modifications or changes you have made to one or more of your goals;
    • people who have/ are supporting you with your wellness goals;
    • your accomplishments as you move toward your goals;
    • barriers and challenges you have faced and how you have dealt with them;
    • decisions you have made to move you closer to your goals;
    • new health knowledge that you have acquired so far in this course and will now consider integrating into your plan to support your personal wellness; and
    • health Information that you would like to research to help you enhance your wellness.

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