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FIT Talk With Tania  

Confronting drug addiction

Health is arguably our most precious resource.

Physical, mental, emotional, financial, spiritual and environmental health all culminate together, resulting in our overall level of health.

Based largely on our personal choices - what we eat, how much we exercise, how much water we drink, how many z's we get in each night -- the level that is created allows us to either enjoy life, or suffer through it.

Along with the things we can control, however, come some that we cannot.

I'm talking specifically about changes to our environment, which we did not make and/or that are unable to change.

People who work and/or live in stressful environments are more susceptible to illness and disease, physical and emotional pain, depression.

Studies done back in the 1980s and '90s by psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and immunologist Ronald Glaser of the Ohio State University College of Medicine, studied med students and found stress from just a  three-day exam period, compromised students' immunity.

Their bodies almost stopped producing the immunity-boosting and infection-fighting cells needed to fight tumours and viral infections.

Just three days.

Now, imagine it's not just three days of exams, but every day and coming from the environment in which you live.

And, imagine it's not just one person being affected, but entire neighbourhoods.

Being in a constant state of stress causes the immune system to shut down, putting health at risk.This is true for individuals, families and communities as a whole living in areas where environments have been negatively impacted as addiction has become part of their landscape.

Drugs, overdose, crime, and fear have recently become a reality in many neighbourhoods across B.C.

You don't have to look far. If you live in Kelowna, and more specifically Rutland, you need only to look out your window, or down the street.

If you're fortunate to not have these issues in your neighbourhood yet, you've likely seen several news stories lately on homelessness, drug addiction, facilities being constructed, the resulting negative impact on the community and council's decision this week on how to handle it.

Some may call the verbal agreement council struck with BC Housing stating that a new social housing facility planned in Rutland will remain "dry," a win.

More of us see it as a Band-Aid.

The whole situation has clearly been stressful for all concerned.

We can see what drug addiction does to someone in terms of their physical health, and sometimes we see what happens to their mental health as well.

The constant and continuous stress inflicted on the body daily is recipe for disaster -not only for the addict, but for everyone around him/her. Nobody wins when addiction is present.

Addiction is defined as a psychological and physical inability to stop consuming a chemical, drug, activity, or substance, even though it is causing psychological and physical harm.

I'm quite sure no one's childhood dream is now or was ever to grow up and become an addict, lose everything and live on the streets. Yet, it happens.

There are many reasons people take drugs - some because they were prescribed, some as a poor choice.

But whether it comes via prescription or from the street, addiction is a real risk and the results are devastating.

So, what are the drugs in the opioid crisis? Prescription pain killers such as morphine, codeine, heroin, oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, methadone, fentanyl are what's known as opiates.

Some are derived from the opium poppy, some are derived using chemical processing of the extracted opiate and others are created synthetically in a lab.

Some are more potent than others — fentanyl is 50-100 times more potent than morphine and 30-50 times more potent than heroin — but all are addictive.

Doctors often prescribed opiates to stop or manage pain. Opiates attach to proteins called opioid receptors found on nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord, gut and other parts of the body.

When this happens, the opioids block pain messages sent from the body through the spinal cord to the brain. Ironically, opiate addiction is physical and trying to come off actually causes extreme physical side effects and severe pain.

Alongside the opioid crises, methamphedemine or, meth, is another drug we are hearing about more often.

Although not physically addictive like opiates, meth is psychologically addictive. Meth causes an immediate rush of dopamine to flood the brain, triggering the pleasure/reward centre.

The intense pleasure is short lived. Subsequent highs are never the same as the first, causing the person to continue seeking that original sensation they will never experience again. And the addict is born.

Data reported May 15 on a Government of Canada website said "94 per cent of all opioid-related deaths in 2018 were accidental."

These people did not intend to die, but did due to an overdose or complication from their drug of choice.

The same website states "Western Canada continues to be the most impacted region of the country."

As with trying to solve any health-related issue, these statistics will only go down and neighbourhood environments will only be improved by getting to the root of the problem, rather than putting a Band-Aid on it.

The constant in all of the issues we are seeing an increase of - homelessness, increased property crime, theft, threats to personal safety — is addiction and the drugs that fuel it. That's the root.

Helping people conquer their addiction and restore health to their bodies and minds will restore health to neighbourhoods, communities, cities and beyond.

Overcoming addiction will never be accomplished by being in an environment surrounded by the very things that fuel it.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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About the Author

Nutritionist Tania Gustafson, owner of FIT Nutrition, has been active in the health and fitness industry since 1986 when she entered as a fitness instructor and trainer.

In 2011, Tania partnered with internationally renowned nutrition and fitness expert Mark Macdonald, and in 2017 officially earned the title of Master Nutrition Coach in conjunction with Venice Nutrition and the International Board of Nutrition and Fitness Coaches (IBNFC).

Tania is one of only five health professionals licensed and certified in Canada to deliver this proven, three-phase program of blood sugar stabilization, not dieting.Tania is committed to ending the dieting madness both locally and globally and educates her clients on how to increase health with age.

Tania is able to work with clients across Canada, the U.S. and U.K. to restore health and achieve their weight loss goals.Tania is a wife, mother of three adult children, global entrepreneur, speaker, workshop facilitator, writer, blogger, podcast host, travel junkie and self-proclaimed gym rat.

For more information and to book your complimentary health assessment go to www.fuelignitethrive.com. Check https://www.facebook.com/fuelignitethrive/  and https://www.facebook.com/groups/8weeksisallittakes/



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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