Reading Time: 2 minutes Whether you suffer from hay fever or have “bug” bites, you will certainly know the symptoms of an allergy. Allergies are caused when a foreign substance — think plant pollen or insect venom — enters your body and your body’s immune system reacts to that substance or allergen. With today’s travel, such allergies aren’t confined […] Read more
Guide Health: Be prepared for allergies
Depending on your destination, winter travel can mean allergy season lasts all year
Guide Health: Tuberculosis — not just an old disease!
There are two categories of tuberculosis, latent and active
Reading Time: 3 minutes Tuberculosis has been infecting people for thousands of years. Peruvian remains that are 6,000 years old have shown evidence of this illness, and it has even been found in Egyptian mummies. The prevalence of the infection peaked during the 18th and 19th centuries, but recently we have seen a resurgence. Tuberculosis is caused by an […] Read more
How you can stay safe online
Is your phone tracking your kids’ every move, and selling that information to the highest bidder?
Reading Time: 5 minutes If you haven’t turned off the location tracking setting on your smartphone apps, your phone may be recording — and sharing — your every movement. It’s the same for your microphone and camera functions. They may be recording your conversations or taking pictures without your knowledge. And no, this isn’t science fiction. This is a […] Read more
Putting a spotlight on men’s health
Hey, Men! These small changes will boost your health, energy and fitness. Adopt them for yourself, and for your family too
Reading Time: 5 minutes For many men, looking after their own health is far down on their list of priorities. Health care practitioners speculate as to why men don’t look after themselves. Men may not feel they have the time, they may think it’s a sign of weakness to seek medical attention, they may not understand the risks of […] Read more
Dealing with problem employees effectively
Instead of firing them, use these tips to coach problem cases into good employees
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s getting tougher to find and keep good employees. Nor, by all indications, is the situation going to improve anytime soon. According to the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council’s newly released Labour Market Forecast for the next decade, farmers can expect an already tight labour market to get even tighter. According to the council’s survey […] Read more
Guide Health: What you can do to lower your cholesterol
Don’t wait for your body to give you a cholesterol warning. You may be too late!
Reading Time: 2 minutes Between 30 and 40 per cent of Canadians have high cholesterol, and many don’t even know it. And they may continue not knowing it until they get a lab result, or, worse yet, a heart attack. Cholesterol is the broad term used for lipoproteins and triglycerides found in the body. By accumulating in blood vessels, […] Read more
How to manage your smartphone before it manages you
Our devices can either enhance our lives or create endless frustration and confusion. Making the right choice isn’t that hard
Reading Time: 5 minutes As a trend, decluttering has probably never been more popular. Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, has been translated into 30 languages and even spawned a Netflix series. And Kondo is only one of the dozens of decluttering and minimalist gurus who have acquired new celebrity status. While a life of rigid […] Read more
Tapping into a new source of farm workers
Traditional labour supplies are running short. Why that may not be a bad thing
Reading Time: 5 minutes With farms getting bigger and with rural populations getting smaller, it’s no surprise you’re having trouble finding local employees with the farm skills and the experience you want. That doesn’t mean you have no options, however. The solution may be to look beyond candidates with ag experience and to begin to look in other sectors […] Read more
Guide Health: Toe nail fungus is not a pretty thing
Eliminating toe nail fungus takes patience and persistence, but it rarely clears up on its own
Reading Time: 2 minutes Toe nail fungal infections are difficult to treat and for some people can result in discomfort, pain and even disfigurement. But that doesn’t mean you have no options. More scientifically called onychomycosis, the condition affects about seven per cent of Canadians at any one time, although the number may be higher because people may not […] Read more
Want to be a more successful farmer? Find a mentor
How you can harness the power of mentorship
Reading Time: 4 minutes Research shows the five-year survival rate for small and medium enterprises jumps from fewer than half to more than 70 per cent if mentors are involved. That’s according to Virginia McGowan, a certified mentor who witnessed this powerful transformation while running a mentorship program for a group of 70 female entrepreneurs in Charlottetown, P.E.I. The […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
