may_08_coverWelcome to Vitality Magazine – One of Canada's largest publications on Natural Health, Alternative Medicine, and Green Living. This site brings you highlights of our current issue, plus several web-only columns (Alternative Cancer Therapy, Natural Pet Care, Off the Grid Living, and new Success Stories), plus an archive of past articles and two annual Guides: the Ontario Spas and Retreats Guide and the Guide to Ontario and Toronto organic farms, suppliers and restaurants. We are also the only magazine in Canada to devote an article every issue to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
 

Food Allergy Formula: Seven Steps to Free Yourself from Symptoms

may_08_rosemarie By Rose Marie Randall, CNP

Only a few short decades ago, our culture’s consciousness of food intolerances was basically limited to life-threatening anaphylactic reactions such as the rare, but dreaded, peanut allergy. Today, not only are these types of allergies becoming more common, but subtler food sensitivities that can disrupt life and erode its quality (rather than actually end it) have become unbelievably common. Now, it’s almost normal for most people to notice improved feelings of wellness when avoiding foods that our forefathers ate all their lives without incident.
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The World Without Us

may_08_solarpanels By Helke Ferrie

“Not only the reason of millennia – the madness of millennia, too, breaks out in us…we are still fighting, step by step, with that giant Chance. Truly, the Earth shall yet become a house of healing!”
F. Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra, 1885
        
I am always amazed by the fact that so many people think that humanity is a cancer on the Earth, that the planet would be better off without us, and that it wouldn’t be a great loss if we become extinct. Well, I absolutely disagree. I sincerely wish all of us well for many more million years to come. I have no more given up on the human race than I have given up on myself, and if humanity became extinct, I think it would be a tragedy of cosmic proportions. Had I been confronted with that cynical Mr. Smith in The Matrix, who found humanity disgusting because “you are like viruses” that destroy everything, I would have told him that virology is a very interesting science and that he should look into it to improve his mood.  I would have also told him that humans, unlike viruses, reflect on their behavior, which causes them infinite grief and joy – viruses haven’t a clue about either.  


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Soothe Your Body & Soul with Yoga

may_08_yogapair By Aimee Hughes, ND

A healthy heart is a stress-free heart. While this may be challenging to achieve in the often disquieting nature of modernity, there are many ways to combat the habitual stresses we experience. Yoga has proven to be one of the most effective ways to deal with stress on our minds and bodies, especially our hearts.
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Hawthorn Herb Feature

may_08_hawthornberries By Michael Vertolli

Now that spring is in full swing, I am blown away by the incredible diversity of plant life that grows all around us. I remember when I was a child wandering around in the fields and woods, it seemed as if I was surrounded by a sea of green. Except for the occasional wildflower, everything looked more or less the same to me. It took years of working at it persistently before I was able to distinguish between the many different plants that grow in our area. I can empathize with my students who have difficulty telling apart plants that look as different as dogs and squirrels to me now, and it’s great to be able to help others to learn to make some sense of it all.
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Rhubarb Rhapsody

may_08_rhubarb By Linda Gabris

When I was a kid, my grandparents had the biggest, hardiest rhubarb patch in the entire Muskoka countryside! Enough bounty to keep us in good eating throughout the growing season from mid-April onward to late summer. And there was plenty leftover for grandmother to put up for winter use by canning or drying, and for grandpa to fill his big wooden wine barrel to make a brew that he claimed was good for whatever ailed you, especially sore bones (or rheumatism as grandmother rightly called it). Since I never suffered from sore bones like grandpa did, I never got to sample the special tonic that he praised as being clear as a bell and smooth as a flannel.
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