Silken Laumann's Keynote Address at the DC Conference

I began taking notes at the beginning of Silken's presentation, A Shift in Attitude: Finding Your Passion, but I soon put down my pen and just listened. Did she speak for 30 minutes? 60 minutes? 600 minutes? I had no sense of time. Yes, she was that engaging.

Even if I had taken detailed notes and could tell you exactly what Silken said, I would not be able to convey how she said it. With vitality, warmth, and honesty, she shared personal stories about her dreams and fears, successes and failures, and commitment to improving children's health through activity. She is an exceptional person. A truly great Canadian, athlete, and mom. A role model for girls and women.

"We want to be good at what we do." According to Silken, this is the answer to "What connects us all?". So even though I'm neither an athlete nor a mom, I was able to relate to Silken's stories, which are now inspiring me to get uncomfortable and push outward, to dream and move beyond what I think is realistic.

Some Silken links:

Her web site: Silken Laumann

Her book: Child's Play

Her thoughts on lifelong learning: The Confidence to Dare: Silken Laumann’s Bold Approach to Learning

You can prevent a stroke!

Today I received in my email the latest Canadian Health Network's Healthlink newsletter in which Stroke Awareness Month is highlighted. (Note: This is a worthwhile newsletter to include in your subscriptions.)

Here is the link to all the Stroke Awareness Month features (scroll down past the middle of the page to find them).

June is Stroke Month & Time is Brain

I learned both these facts when visiting the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Web site this morning.

Here are links to the Web site's new articles:

• Time is Brain -- lists 10 simple steps to protect your brain; step 5 is "cut the fat and salt"
• Eating Well with Canada's New Food Guide -- Alyssa Rolnick, RD "point[s] our appetites in the right direction" by suggesting simple, achievable tips on wise food choices, incoporating them in appealing recipes, and then directing us to food guide tools. Well done!

City of Vancouver's Food Policy Publications, Web Links & Other Resources

As I sow veggie seeds in containers on my balcony (yes, I am very late putting in the garden) and begin reading The 100 Mile-Diet, I find myself thinking a lot about sustainability. Today, when I did a Google search on "Vancouver Food Policy Organization", I found this page of resources on the City of Vancouver web site. The information is well-organized in a quick-and-easy-to-read list.

This post likely has a small audience--I'm not sure if I have any local readers--but if you live or work in Vancouver and are interested in local sustainability and food security concerns, you may want to browse the entire list. Here is a sampling of what you'll find:

REPORT & RESOURCES

• Second Annual Food Policy Progress Report, February 15, 2007
• 2,010 Garden Plots by 2010, May 30, 2006
• Vancouver Food Charter, January 2007
• Backgrounder on the Food Charter, January 2007
• The Vancouver Food Assessment Report - Summary
• City of Vancouver Edible Landscaping Brochure March 2006
• Evergreen Foundation. Growing Healthy Food on Canada’s School Grounds. March 2006.

FOOD SECURITY WEB SITES (external links)

• 100 Mile Diet - Local eating reduces food miles!
• Community Kitchens: Building Community Around Food
• Slow Food Vancouver

Free and Low-Cost Meals and Groceries in Vancouver

• Listing of FREE Meal Programs
• Listing of LOW-COST Meal Programs
• Listing of Low-Cost Sources of Food

Round-up of Stroke Resources

Today at a Stroke Care Improvement meeting I shared some of the stroke resources I've been gathering during the past two months. Now would be a good time to take stock and collect all the previously published links in one post. The list is a work-in-progress and will grow.

Although the resources are not nutrition-specific, they all contain some nutrition elements such as diet modifications to reduce stroke risk factors (primary and secondary prevention) or manage deficits (e.g, dysphagia) during acute stroke treatment and rehabilitation.

THE LIST:

Practices and Standards Working Group, The Canadian Stroke Strategy. Canadian Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Care: 2006.

Best Practices and Standards Working Group, The Canadian Stroke Strategy. Best Practices and Standards Environmental Scan Report.

Heart and Stroke Foundation home page.

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Ontario Stroke System. Best Practice Guidelines.

National Stroke Foundation, Australia. National Clinical Guidelines for Acute Stroke Management.

National Stroke Foundation, Australia. National Clinical Guidelines for Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery.

National Stroke Foundation, Australia. Stroke Care Pathway: A Resource for Health Professionals.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Management of patients with stroke: Identification and management of dysphagia. September 2004.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Management of patients with stroke: Rehabilitation, prevention and management of complications, and discharge planning. November 2002.

Teasell R, Foley N. Evidence-based review of stroke rehabilitation: Managing the stroke rehabilitation triage process.