> Got tickets to an open-air concert? Plan ahead with 5 music festival must-do’s.
> A healthy, happy camper prepares for the worst and hopes for the best.
> Once (or twice, or twelve times) bitten? Ways to zap the itch and prevent infection after a bite.
> Before you quench your thirst with that chilled bubble tea, check its nutritional stats to see if it’s worth the splurge.
> In case you get burned, here are 17 sunburn soothers to cool you off.
Got a weekend BBQ planned? Good timing! Tomorrow is National BBQ Day, thus named by Meal Exchange, a youth-driven charity organization. On August 7, 2010, Meal Exchange asks Canadians to join up with friends and neighbours to share BBQ and raise awareness about hunger in Canada. Before you fire up that grill, brush up on your safe sizzle skills …
> 5 ways you can reduce grilling risks
> The guest you should NEVER invite to your BBQ
> The hidden dangers of summer foods
> Register your BBQ with Meal Exchange for a chance to win two WestJet Tickets!
Canada Day weekend is here! Will you be headed outdoors? If so, take precautions to keep you and your family safe and healthy.
> Got tickets to an open-air concert? Plan ahead with 5 music festival must-do’s.
> A healthy, happy camper prepares for the worst and hopes for the best.
> Once (or twice, or twelve times) bitten? Ways to zap the itch and prevent infection after a bite.
> Before you quench your thirst with that chilled bubble tea, check its nutritional stats to see if it’s worth the splurge.
> In case you get burned, here are 17 sunburn soothers to cool you off.
Summer means outdoor concerts and festivals, those marathon music events with mile-long band - and concession - lineups.
I recently rode a ferry packed from stem to stern with music fans, all of us on our way to an all-day music festival on Toronto’s Olympic Island. The forecast had called for rains, but the skies shone sunny and speckled with puffy clouds that cast scant shade across the grassy fields of the island. Humidity hung heavy in the air, and the occasional breeze would cool the pools of sweat on everyone’s backs.
I looked around to notice people dressed in all manner of all-weather attire. Some seemed more suited to the predicted showers - in knee-high rain boots - while others wore layers to fight off any potential island winds come sunset. Many wore little at all, and lots of skin got lots of sun!
At the end of the night, I patted myself on my un-sunburned back for arriving well-outfitted and (mostly) well-equipped to handle the challenges of an hours-long outdoor event. I thought I’d share a few do’s that helped me through it …
> If possible, travel light. This can be hard if you’re toting tots to the festivals. But the most encumbered of the folks I saw were the ones who seemed to have over-prepared and over-packed. Take only what you really need and leave the rest at home and you may avoid the chafing of heat rash beneath heavy backpack and purses. I opted for a fanny pack, and I loved the feeling of freedom from straps (who cares if it’s hip if I can wear it around my hips!)
> Slather it on. Victoria LeGrand of the band Beach House quipped to the crowd, “Thank you for getting suntans.” I don’t know about suntans, but I spotted more than a few necks burned red and sure to hurt the next day. In the past, I’ve let the clammy, greasy feeling of sunscreen be a deterrent to using it. But this time, I packed a travel-size bottle of SPF 30 in my hip-pack. According to this sunscreen guide, you’re supposed to put the stuff on about 15 minutes before you’ll be in the sun and reapply it at least every 2 hours. And if you’re sweating - as I was, in buckets - you will need to reapply it more often.
> Muffle the mega-noise. An adorable sight I saw at the show - little kids and babies wearing child-size protective headphones to shield their tender ears. So cute! And so smart! A rock concert can blast 110-125 decibels into your ears. When the crowd swelled, I got pushed to the periphery of the stage and found myself in front of a bank of enormous speakers - and totally regretted that I forgot to bring earplugs! D’oh!
> Stay hydrated. Sweating in the sun for hours can take a lot outta ya! At the festival, the paramedics had a tent set up to the side to take in the woozy, the drunk, and the faint. I skipped the beer line for a few reasons - the lineup was ridiculous, the beer overpriced, and because alcohol is a diuretic (the lineup to the porta-potties was ridiculous, too) and can contribute to dehydration. If festival rules allow, bring your own water container and fill up at fountains (and, yes, the lineup at the fountains was also ridiculous).
> Shade your eyes. Did you know that your eyes can get sunburn? Aside from wrinkle-enhancing squinting, exposing your eyes to sunshine can also cause photokeratitis, which is basically eye sunburn. Sun exposure can also lead to cataracts and cancer. So, don those shades - here are 8 tips for choosing the right sunglasses - or wear a floppy sunhat to create your own shade when you can’t find any.
Rock on!
Related: Beat the summer heat
I don’t know about you, but I’ll be tuning in to at least a couple of World Cup matches this weekend. Can I count watching all that sprinting and sliding as a workout?
> He may snore like a chainsaw, but Argentina striker Leo Messi’s beautiful, agile footwork is definitely not snooze-worthy!
> The much-debated blare of the vuvuzela - is it really so bad?
> If you can get past the vuvuzela noise, take a gander at those fit players! Check out the health benefits that they (and you) can get from all that running up and down the pitch.
> Whoop it up and cheer on your favourite squads - but beware of stress cardiomyopathy!
This is going to be a really healthy week for me. I sing with a choir, and we’re doing a concert with lots of great lung-busting tunes! Nothing like a good holler of “Jerusalem” for a decent workout, lemme tell ya… And next month we’re doing Beethoven’s Ninth. Oh, yeah, I’ll be as healthy as a hollerin’ horse!
Oh, of course, quieter singing is good for you, too, no worries. It may not boast the lung exercise you get from the really loud stuff, but you do need to exert muscle control – in fact, holding a quiet note steady for a few bars can really give some good work to your chest muscles.
But the benefits of singing are more than just the cardio workout. [Read more →]
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