Home & Country (Fall 2005)

              Home and Country Fall 2005

Health Report

International Affairs
Zella Pimm, Convener

Maxine Allen, Convener

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xercise to rejuvenate and recharge. You need exercise along with a nutritious diet if you want to reap the full benefits of a fit body. You may groan at the thought but scientists have proven regular exercise may help reduce or even reverse physical losses and aging. In fact research suggests you can gain back much of the strength, balance, flexibility and coordination you had when you were much younger. The first thing exercise does is boost you endurance and give you new energy. If you often feel exhausted, lack of exercise could be a factor. When you do not exercise your muscles and your other body parts they are not as well conditioned to handle physical demands, which leads you to wear out more quickly. Scientists have nicknamed this problem `sedentary inertia'. Exercise can be the answer if you stay with it long enough. At first, the extra action will make you more tired because it places new demands on your body. On the other hand you may sleep more soundly. And over time, your body will grow stronger and you will have more energy and a lot more stamina. Use fitness as you weapon against aging, and you may also fend off the dangerous health problems associated with growing older. A little activity can go a long way towards protecting your body and you don't have to spend a lot of time or money to benefit. You can even have fun. Just pick an exercise or activity that suits you and give it a whirl. While you are at it why not spice up your diet with more nutritious foods too? Then get ready to start counting the ways fitness makes you feel better. Taken from `Amazing Body Breakthroughs for Super Health'.wi

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et us remember we are an educational organization. Can we the International Conveners do a better job to help our members understand this topic? We can study the many levels of government, the many world areas we know very little about and do not forget the people of other lands. The next A.C.W.W. Conference will be in Finland and I was shocked to realize how little I know about this country. We who attend will go to Turku, Finland, the oldest city in that country. First I went to my library. The librarian in your library can search the system and find you lots of information. I was surprised that much of Finland's history was created like Canada by the missionaries, natives and marketers. I hope you will plan to attend the Convention June 2 to 7, 2007. Branch conveners, I hope will take up the challenge and bring a bit of special information to each meeting even if it is only to read a paragraph from some interesting book. Your members will soon look forward to your part of the meeting as you add something to others' thinking.wi

Education

Titia Piera, Convener

"Education is not the filling of the pail, but the lighting of the fire" William B. Yeats

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o often we associate education with learning. Every day we read, hear and see news brought to us by newspapers, books and magazines, radio, conversation, telephone and speeches, as well as T.V. We store this in our memory or discard it. The Government of Alberta has provided us with the opportunity to learn about computers, Internet and email in each library in the Province. Did we use the chance to get the necessary experience? Communications are more and more based on this system. We all know about diabetes and its consequences of heart, kidney, eye failure and lack of circulation, but did we have a check-up recently to prevent the initial damage? Osteoporosis also has to have our attention. A friend broke her elbow in seven pieces in a fall two weeks ago. She may recover eventually with limited use of her arm. Walking and other exercises, as well as the intake of Calcium in milk, broccoli and canned salmon or in the form of tablets will slow down the bone loss. Stem cells of artificially fertilized eggs from pigs and other animals are being used for growing meat, probably available in 2011. The idea is not new. The Nobel prize winner of 1912, Alexis Carrel, managed to keep a chicken heart muscle alive. The then journalist Winston Churchill argued in 1932, that it would be a lot more efficient to grow chicken meat and wings than to keep chickens. We will have to get used to another new product. Vegetarians may benefit. Teaching can take the form of telling others of our youth, and experiences we encountered. One can find some of this in the local history books. There is the `grand-parenting' in schools, where one can establish contact with a child and provide help. Mostly in family context one can guide or tutor a child who has problems with his homework or subjects taught in school. Children's `Raise a Reader' program is to improve children's literacy. One can study a topic or read a book and talk about it at branch level.wi `I cannot teach anybody; I can only make them think.' Socrates

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