Health advice from Canadian mothers

Look out for No. 1
Happie Testa, 39, of Toronto, vividly remembers advice her mother, Nina, gave her years ago: You cannot take care of others if you don't take care of yourself. Those words really hit home three years ago, when Happie gave birth to her daughter, Stella. "If I'm tired or stressed, I lose my patience, and that's not fair to anyone, especially to my daughter," says Happie, a marketing and public relations executive.

Happie acknowledges that she needs to maintain an activity that is just for her – such as occasionally going out for dinner with a friend, or keeping up her volunteer work at  the Meta Foundation, an organization for children and adults with special needs. The benefit is renewed energy and enthusiasm for her family, her job and her life. "It's all about balance," she says. "You can't be selfish, but you can't be selfless either."

Taking care of herself means no longer striving for perfection. Happie hired a cleaning lady who comes in every other week; in between visits, she's learned to turn a blind eye to the dust bunnies. The payoff is more time to spend with her family without worrying about the housecleaning.

"A lot of us work ourselves into a busy state trying to meet our own idea of perfect," says Lindy Welsby, a life coach in Toronto. "We need to redefine what perfect means to us and make time for the things that bring joy to our lives."


We asked some friends and colleagues about their moms' words of health wisdom. Here's a sample.

From our staff
My mom always shunned the snack aisle at the grocery store, preferring instead to snack on fresh fruit and cheese. Sugared cereal and soft drinks were never available at our house. And pasta was something you cooked in a pot of boiling water, not poured out of a can. When I left home, I went on a huge binge, eating everything from Twinkies to canned ravioli, thinking how much smarter I was than my mother. But now, with rising obesity rates, concern over processed food and more research linking what we eat to our health, I think maybe she had it right.
– Donna Paris, senior section editor, Home, Special Projects and New Initiatives

Eat breakfast. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Sit together to eat.
– Elizabeth Baird, executive editor, Food

My grandma believes that getting a bit of shut-eye at midday (a siesta) refreshes the mind and body.
– Sarah Jane Silva, researcher

"Get on it!" In other words, if you're bothered by something (bad mood, insomnia, aching knee, weird mole, sore throat) and the usual remedies don't work, get to the doctor ASAP. There's no point in worrying about it: at best, you're just upsetting yourself over nothing; at worst, you're wasting time that's better used getting help, taking medication or even seeing a specialist. After prevention, early detection is the best defence.
– Austen Gilliland, senior copy editor

My mother always told me to eat real food.
– Miriam Osborne, associate editor, Life

My mom's advice was to moisturize daily – but otherwise, to try not to go overboard with cosmetics. She says the secret to having great skin is to use the bare minimum of skin-care products and makeup.
– Christina Anson Mine, managing editor

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