Eat Move Think

The National Ballet of Canada has an innovative Dancer Wellness programme that helps elite dancers stay healthy and happy. As the ballet's official Health and Wellness provider, Medcan helped to design the program. So what can other high-performing organizations learn from the holistic way that the arts company cares for its human resources? Exploring these topics and more, Medcan’s chief growth officer, and former member of the NBOC board of directors, Bronwen Evans, sits down with the ballet’s director of dancer wellness, Marla Pichler, as well as first soloist Spencer Hack and second soloist Hannah Galway. Check out the episode webpage for links and more info.  

Your perception of the things that happen in your life—both the successes and the failures—can have a big impact on your performance and wellness. So how do you handle setbacks? How can you find purpose in your leadership journey, and upgrade your inner narrator to tell the best, most successful stories possible? Here, Medcan CEO Shaun Francis talks with Christine Miners and Rick Lash, leadership consultants and authors of the recently released book Once Upon A Leader. They explore the steps you can take that set you up for success and, in turn, for optimal wellness. Check out the episode webpage for links and more info.  

“I’m going to NAD for the rest of my life and I’m never gonna age,” Hailey Bieber tells her friend Kendall Jenner in the latest season of The Kardashians. New anti-aging technologies like NAD+ IV therapy and plasmapheresis are making waves in pop culture—but do they work? What does the latest research say? Medcan chief medical officer Dr. Peter Nord checks in with Dr. Eric Verdin of California’s Buck Institute for Research on Aging to separate the science from the snake oil—and to share tips on how we can all take steps to help us live longer, and healthier lives. Check out the episode webpage for links and more info.  

Are you dealing with chronic pain and need tips on how to manage it? Anyone who has  experienced chronic pain knows how debilitating it can be. But why does chronic pain happen? How much of it is neurological, and what are the best ways to soothe it? And is it possible to cure chronic pain? Dr. Michael Wansbrough is the medical director of the pain management and recovery program at Medcan. Here, he and our Move host, Dr. Andrew Miners, explore why we feel chronic pain. They describe how reframing one’s attitude to pain can help mitigate symptoms, and they map out a pathway to long-term relief of chronic pain. Check out the episode webpage for links and more info.

If you’re a dietitian, some questions come up all the time. Is diet soda bad for you? How much coffee is too much? How many eggs can I eat? Which supplements do I need to take? How many calories should I eat every day? Which foods should I never eat? In this episode, Eat host Leslie Beck, Medcan’s director of food and nutrition, leads her colleagues Olivia Cupido and Terence Boateng in an engaging discussion that provides easy-to-understand answers to all of the above questions.  Check out the episode webpage for links and more info.

The debate has been going on for years: while some swear by the benefits of a stretching routine, others will say there is little to no point. What does the research say, and how much of a difference could a stretching routine make on our range of motion and physical health as we age? Can you use stretching to help heal an injury, or prevent future injuries? What sort of stretches should you be doing on a daily basis, if any? Here, Medcan’s Dr. Andrew Miners talks to physiotherapist and chiropractor Dr. Greg Lehman, a global expert on movement and flexibility. Learn what’s happening in your body when you stretch, how to know which stretches are right for you, and how to use stretching to improve your flexibility over time. Check out the episode webpage for links and more info.  

How can employers best prepare for higher rates of absenteeism or supply chain issues in the upcoming season? How to keep employees and their families safe and healthy? In this episode, pandemic planning experts Dr. Alain Sotto and Dr. Matthew Burnstein of Medcan’s Medical Advisory Services join program manager Mark Beairsto to share everything you need to know about what to expect this fall from COVID, how to prepare—and how investing in workplace wellness can maximize staff retention and engagement in the post-pandemic world. Check out the episode webpage for links and more info.

“We’re the most connected, and the loneliest generation ever,” says Dr. Jack Muskat, Medcan’s clinical director of psychology, describing the paradox of apps like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook. Inspired by a recent study showing that a one-week break from social media led to significant improvements in well-being, Dr. Muskat leads Eat Move Think producer Jasmine Rach on a social media cleanse of her own. It also features context from the bestselling Johann Hari book on the cognitive effects of social media and technology, Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again. Check out the episode webpage for links and more info.

Wearables like the Apple Watch, Fitbit, the WHOOP band and the Oura Ring help us track our exercise and lifestyle habits, collecting loads of data as we use them. So what’s happening with all that information, and how can wearable data help to promote optimal human wellness? What cool things are wearable data allowing researchers to do today? And what new capabilities will this data enable in the future? Evidation is a Silicon Valley-based company that aggregates the data from wearables and enables its users to participate in groundbreaking research and health programs. In conversation with our Move host, Dr. Andrew Miners of Medcan, Evidation COO Leslie Wilberforce explores the ways wearable data can help us maintain healthy habits, and help us detect medical conditions earlier than ever before. Check out the episode webpage for links and more info.

Adults tend to gain weight as they age — about one to two pounds a year, research shows. A recent study indicates that small changes to one’s diet and/or exercise routine can prevent that incremental accumulation. In this episode, our Eat host, Leslie Beck, interviews the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Robert Ross of Queen’s University, a global expert on sustainable positive lifestyle change for weight loss and better health. He shares the study’s findings, and discusses tips on how to halt age-related weight gain. Check out the episode webpage for links and more info.