The Jasper Local, February 1, 2018

a lt e r n at i v e +

LOCAL + independent

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thejasperlocal.com

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thursday, february 1, 2018 // ISSUE 114

DOG SLEDDING ON PYRAMID LAKE // TOMÁŠ KULAJA

New Fireman's Park to open in spring Members of the Jasper Volunteer Fire Brigade will soon be breaking ground for new playground equipment.

Fireman’s Park, located near Aspen Gardens in the 200 block of Bonhomme St., was closed in August for maintenance. Now, thanks to a significant investment by the brigade, the park will welcome children back to the space not long after the ground thaws.

Instead, the municipality pays a lump sum to the JVFB society, which then decides how to spend it.

“We’ve got a kitty that we’ve stored away and we’re excited to use it for this,” said Beau Michaud, chair of the committee which spearheaded the playground initiative for the brigade.

The new playground will include firetruck-themed equipment for children aged five to 12, but also structures for kids under three-years-old.

Unlike most community fire brigades, which offer members individual stipends or salaries for their service, members of the JVFB aren’t paid for their duties.

“It’s possible we’ll be requesting assistance from businesses interested in helping out,” he said.

With a budget of $125,000, this Fireman’s Park project was more than a decade in the making, according to Michaud.

“We’ve had an eye on making it better for a while,” he said.

Fireman’s Park was closed last year for maintenance, not long after a child was injured.

Michaud said the brigade will be looking for partners.

bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page A2 // the jasper local // issue 114 // thursday, february 1, 2018

editorial //

Local Vocal you’ve heard about Stef Dolan, a 33year Jasper resident who is fighting to remain in her community.

Dolan was 19 when she moved out west to join her sister in Jasper. She picked up an entry level job at the Jasper Park Lodge and did the things most young people do when they move here: make friends, discover the mountains and have a good time.

At that point, she met Parks Canada’s eligible residency requirements.

A few years later, she’d worked for several different employers in town—two grocery stores, the hospital, a camera shop, a gift shop—often at the same time. By then, she’d met a guy. At that time, she was still an eligible resident.

Fast forward a decade or so and Dolan had accumulated even more T4 slips—it’s the Jasper way, right? Dolan pieced together work with various construction companies, the daycare, the municipality’s maintenance department and even Parks Canada. In the meantime, she had a child.

Still eligible to live here? Yup. Then she got a divorce. Then things got complicated.

Not for Dolan, mind you. She’s at peace with what happened. People break up. Relationships end. What’s important is how you deal with the outcomes—and Dolan and her ex were dealing just fine. Their daughter was their priority and for that reason they chose to always be near one another, in the community they both loved. In the community they belonged to.

No, when Dolan and her husband got divorced, things got complicated for Parks Canada. They were the ones who couldn’t deal. They were the ones that couldn’t find Dolan’s family situation in any of their check boxes. They were the ones who couldn’t see past the paper on their desks.

Yes, Dolan got a job outside of town to better care for her family. No, she no longer meets the eligible residency requirements. Rules are rules, we get it.

But let’s review: Residency requirements were put in place to protect Jasper from becoming an absent-owner, vacation home town. That’s not what’s happening here. They were put in place to ensure a broad supply of housing types are available for those who work and raise families in the community.

Since when is raising a family not work? Finally, if someone can come to town for five years and retire here, surely we can find a way to approve the property lease of a homeowner who’s invested many more years than that in her community?

Rules may be rules, but there’s another rule Parks should be abiding by in this case: the Golden Rule. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

A poetic (?) tribute to zebras Dear Hockey Refs: You put up with a lot of crap

The fact you put that whistle on

when you don the stripes

despite the insults slung your way

I used to think the masochists

Makes me wonder why the heck

were the guys between the pipes

you settle for such meagre pay

But when it comes to tolerance

So to all the refs, in all the leagues

for those who’re never wrong

at whom fans, coaches and players take aim:

It must be said: not losing your head

Thanks for dedicating your spare time for us

means your patience game is strong

Without you, there’d be no game!

-Bob Covey

The Jasper Local //

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// Local perspective

thursday, february 1, 2018 // issue 114 // the jasper local// page A3

Aquatic Centre's waterslide has value which can't be measured in dollars The December 15, 2017 Jasper Local contained an editorial which, in its attempt to offer comment on municipal council’s budgeting process, suggested that a line item for the replacement of the Jasper Aquatic’s waterslide was, at $600,000, too expensive to consider.

“This is an asset from which Jasper should swim away,” we said.

Shortly thereafter, we received an email from a local resident who pointed out that we might not have all the facts of the matter. He also made it clear he thought the tone of the piece was inconsiderate. He invited us to talk to pool users who are very much invested in the waterslide. The following article is a result of the discussion that followed.

They’d be missed, too. Not just by family and friends, but by those at Jasper’s Out of School Care (OOSC) Program, where over the years Barrett has made a big impression on the staff there.

James Beckmann grew up in Jasper.

With encouragement from his aide, however, Barrett climbed the stairs to the top of the slide. Counting down from 10, anticipation building, they pushed off into the twisting tunnel.

His family owned two gift shops— Beckmann’s Handicrafts is the one most Jasperites these days are familiar with.

Beckmann is 48-years-old, married, and the father of two children: Barrett (eightyears-old) and Violet (four).

Along with immersing himself in the natural environment, Beckmann is one of many Jasperites who enjoys family time at municipal facilities. As a child, Beckmann spent countless hours at Centennial Park and enjoys bringing his own kids to the playgrounds there today.

In May of 2016, Beckmann’s son Barrett was diagnosed with autism. It had been a long, complicated road to get there, but soon after the diagnosis, the Beckmanns could better set up Barrett for success.

Through a ton of online research, books and support via Alberta’s Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) Program, the Beckmanns have been able to plot out a learning strategy that works best for Barrett. He knows that Barrett would have better access to resources if he lived in Edmonton, but having been raised in Jasper himself, Beckmann willing to sacrifice convenience for the opportunities that living in a small town affords his son.

“I wouldn’t be keen on raising kids in a big city,” he said.

“He’s friendly, he likes to introduce himself,” Beckmann said of his son. “A lot of the parents know him.”

One thing that Barrett was introduced to by way of OOSC was the Jasper Aquatic Centre. Like many kids in Jasper, he learned to swim there. Also like many kids in Jasper, it didn’t come easily. He had a tough time learning to put his head underwater, for one thing. And when he was first asked if he wanted to go down the waterslide, Beckmann said his son was very apprehensive.

“He was nervous,” Beckmann remembered.

Barrett was ecstatic. He made his aide take him town another dozen times that day.

All of a sudden, Barrett was putting his head underwater. Soon after, he was taking to the slide on his own.

“He talks about the waterslide a lot,” Beckmann said. “Going down that waterslide builds his confidence.”

Beckmann knows that the waterslide isn’t enjoyed by everyone, and he understand that the price tag for a new one isn’t cheap.

However, for his family, the slide’s value is priceless. For his son in particular, it has made the difference between staying as a timid pool user and becoming a confident swimmer. That means a lot, Beckmann said.

“I think it’s good to have for kids—many families of special needs children find that their child very much benefits from it; both from a learning and therapeutic perspective,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to take that away from our most vulnerable citizens of the community. They’re the ones that really benefit from it.” bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page B1 // the jasper local // issue 114 // thursday, february 1, 2018

Local media//

APPRENTICE SKI GUIDE DAVE CRERAR WANTS TO CREATE DIALOUGE ABOUT RISK MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA // BOB COVEY

Self-reliance vs self-promotion:

Cracking open the conversation on social media and mountain safety An apprentice ski guide who plies his trade in the Canadian Rockies wants to have an honest discussion about the preponderance of social media and the potential safety risks associated with overzealous posting.

At 30-years-old, Dave Crerar is just young enough to be called a millennial.

The Golden-based guide, who works as a fire fighter when he’s not leading avalanche skills training courses or tail gunning for ski trips in the Purcells, is active on social media. He’s got partnerships with The North Face, K2 Snowboards and Smith Optics, and in the summer, builds brand awareness for paddling-related companies which support his kayak endeavours.

In an age when likes, retweets and followers are the currency of young professionals, Crerar knows what sells: the raddest, baddest, biggest and

boldest photos. However, he and his peers are noticing that viral videos and in-demand images can often carry negative—and potentially hazardous— consequences for the mountain communities they showcase.

“In an attempt to get their share of the backcountry markets comes the industry’s media push,” Crerar said recently in his essay, Is there a correlation between risk and the need to document our daily lives? “Largely driven by social media content, this has led to a revolution in public selfpromotion on these formats.”

In most industries—the food industry, for example—the most damaging side effects from an over-proliferation of selfies is the discovery that you can no longer get a table at your favourite restaurant. But in the mountain environment, Crerar says, a burning desire to document your annual expedition for your friends and family can turn disastrous if unfavourable avalanche safety conditions happen to get thrown into the mix.

@LOGIE.HURD

“I believe this is a recipe for disaster,” he said. “We find more and more that time-starved recreational users of our backcountry areas are getting ever more aggressive in their choice of

objectives.”

Attending the funeral of a friend who died in an avalanche in Kootenay Pass recently has brought this issue into focus for him, he said.

“I see it as a drive to capture,” Crerar said. “It’s become more about going to get the picture rather than the turns.”

“It’s become more about going to get the picture rather than the turns.” @HARDING.THOMAS

Crerar knows that the onus is always on the user to educate themselves on the hazards of winter backcountry travel.

However, in an industry which preaches self-reliance, there should be an element of self-restraint when it comes to posting about how high you climbed, how steep that chute was and how hard you shred, he thinks. Even more dangerous, he said, are posts which contain enough information about how to find a particular terrain feature, but which subsequently leave out the area’s pertinent hazards. To mitigate the issue, Crerar has taken to omitting from his social media activity any beta at all that could be used to discover exactly where he’s been.

“We preach self-responsibility and decision making,” he said. “We can’t essentially give people the cheatcodes.”

Crerar isn’t calling anyone out. As a brand ambassador in the ski industry, he knows athletes carry certain

obligations to their sponsors. In that small community, the conversation is starting to take place. And as far as how he plans his day as a guide, he says he now has to factor in a stronger element of social media-inspired fixation on objectives.

“It’s something I see a lot,” he said.

“People see a line they want to ski on Instagram then spend all week figuring out how to get it.”

Crerar knows that social media isn’t going anywhere, but as a safety professional, he wants the conversation to catch up to what he thinks is a potentially dangerous trend. That starts with the mountain community members in places like Golden and Jasper, he said.

“I think it’s on guides, athletes and your average ski-bums to talk about what they’re putting on the internet,” he said.

“It’s not necessarily seeking an answer, but to at least have the discussion.” bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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thursday, february 1, 2018 // issue 114 // the jasper local// page B2

Local recreation//

No summer operations for Shangri-La: Parks Agency says opening for hiking season would be inconsistent with caribou recovery plans The Maligne Lake Ski Club’s application for summer use of the historic Shangril-La cabin has been denied in the name of caribou conservation.

The decision, which was reached in June but only recently communicated to The Jasper Local, means that the 80-year-old cabin in the Jeffrey’s Creek drainage of the Maligne Valley will remain empty for 46 weeks of the year.

mid-December and ended in mid-April.

Since the closures, which take place from November 1 to February 28, Shangri-La’s 17-week ski season has been cut down to just six.

Because of that, the club raised its rates this year.

Operating for 14 weeks during the “Parks Canada …was not able to support [the hiking season was MLCS’s] request … given the potential effects of an effort to boost summer operation on southern mountain caribou,” revenues, Weir said, said Public Relations Officer Steve Young. but also to put into // SHANGRI-LA WILL REMAIN A WINTER-ONLY CABIN. // JASPER LOCAL FILE PHOTO practice the club’s In 2015, to mitigate losses of club revenue mission: to support after Jasper National Park implemented critical habitat,” Young said. the stewardship of the outdoor environment. delayed winter access measures in much of Although their proposal was denied, the club the Maligne Valley, “Those wilderness values are what is fully on board with conservation measures, the MLSC submitted “I’m concerned we’re limiting draw us to the area, and some of these Weir said. However, the MLSC wants to help a proposal to Parks rare species are part of that,” he said. a whole generation of make sure those measures are having an Canada requesting The proposal included a suggestion impact. supporters of wilderness the use of their cabin to create a route which would have from learning and “If we’re going to move into caribou protection in the summer. By branched off the Skyline Trail. But experiencing the landscape.” then we want go about it in a manner that is opening the cabin to according to Weir, Parks Canada going to be successful,” he said. member bookings ultimately saw that element as too Furthermore, Weir suggested that if that work from July 1 to October 15, the club’s board had intrusive in the sensitive alpine environment. isn’t successful, an entire generation won’t get hoped to make the operation of Shangri-La “Their thought was that hikers could spend to experience the very places which ingrain a more financially viable. more time going off trail in caribou areas,” deep sense of environmental stewardship.

“With the shorter season there tends to be Weir said.

“I’m concerned we’re limiting a whole more costs associated,” said MLSC president, Parks Canada confirmed that message: “The generation of supporters of wilderness from Jeff Weir. analysis concluded that summer operation learning and experiencing the landscape,” he Before caribou conservation measures were of the cabin and associated recreational said. “Those will be the future supporters of implemented in the Maligne Valley in 2014, use would … contravene Species at Risk national parks and protected areas.”

Shangri-La’s license of occupation began in Act provisions protecting caribou and their bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

The program is volunteerbased, with local groups, organizations and businesses preparing the food, setting up the room, serving and cleaning up each week.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

with support from

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page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 114 // thursday, february 1, 2018

FEATURE // STORY BY BOB COVEY // PHOTOS: THERESA WESTHAVER

Glacial

Once in a lifetime A fires up Jasperite

LAST JULY, AFTER TWO WEEKS OF SKIING THROUGH FOG, RAIN, SLEET AND GENERALLY “INSIDE-OF-APING-BALL” CONDITIONS WHILE NAVIGATING A SERIES OF GLACIERS IN ALASKA, JASPERITE THERESA WESTHAVER WOKE TO THE SOUNDS OF INCREDULOUS SHOUTING.

Westhaver was one of 40 students on a seven-week, 200-kilometre traverse of the Juneau Icefield. The Juneau Icefields Research Program (JIRP) is an annual science expedition which has taken place deep inside the remote Coast Mountains of Alaska and British Columbia every summer since 1946.

The shouting Westhaver was hearing was coming from outside of the research station where Westhaver and her peers were sleeping on the 16th night of their trip. The station itself was perched on a nunatak—an island of rock surrounded by glacial ice—and as Westhaver peered out of the building’s porthole window, she understood what all the commotion was about.

“The sun, the sun!” her colleague sang.

“The sun is finally out!”

Scrambling outside, Westhaver couldn’t believe her eyes. Although she had seen plenty of pictures of the stunning mountain ranges surrounding the Juneau Icefield, wet conditions had completely socked in the team’s view for the entire length of their trip thus far.

“You couldn’t see anything,” she told a packed house at the Jasper Municipal Library, January 31. “The only thing we could see was the rope which led to the next person in front of us.”

That all changed on day 17. Glorious mountains stretched to the north and south horizons. To the east, they could see the 1,500m plateau they had ascended weeks before. To the west, massive mountain trenches snaked their way to the Pacific Ocean.

“We couldn’t believe what surrounded us,” Westhaver said.

In some respects, Westhaver’s belief was suspended for the entire two-month journey.

She was on the trip of her dreams, after all, an expedition that combined glacier science, mountain exploration and good old fashioned adventure.

And what an adventure it was. From the adrenaline-spiking: hiking by a massive black bear protecting a goat carcass, negotiating giant crevasse fields and rappelling into a

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dreams

Alaskan expedition e’s passion for ice

sub-glacial lake; to the sublime: sleeping in wildflower-strewn fields of heather and watching the northern lights erupt. Her quizzical nature was satisfied, whether it was observing disappearing ice caves or finding 50-year-old cans of SPAM. And her inner science geek was fulfilled, as she variously sent electromagnetic signals to measure the

thickness of the Taku Glacier’s glacial bed and picked the brains of the lecturers, professors and JIRP alumni along for the trip—one of which had worked eight years in the Whitehouse as President Barack Obama’s top environmental lawyer.

“It was so cool to learn how she got her start on this exact trip, years ago,” Westhaver said.

Things weren’t always rosy, of course—try

“I started to realize how precious water as a resource really is.”

sleeping in a cramped, dilapidated hut with 60 other soggy souls whose socks are just as stinky as yours. However, even if she never again has to help prepare food for five dozen ravenous adventurers in the middle of nowhere using only a handful of ingredients, the lessons Westhaver came home with will last a lifetime.

“I started to realize how precious water as a resource really is,” she said, describing the laborious (and ironically difficult) process of setting up a water-catchment system while being surrounded by ice as far as the eye could see.

Indeed the simple things in life resonated strongly for Westhaver while on the icefield; things like food, shelter and human contact. The group’s only method of communication with the outside world was via snail mail; letters from home were delivered with food drops, which occurred approximately every two weeks. In fact, Westhaver learned a lonely lesson about Canada Post’s proclivity for delays: her American friends were receiving stacks of letters while she and her fellow Canucks were left wanting. Happily, her U.S. friend’s grandma heard about the letter-less Canadian and started writing to Westhaver, sending photos of her cat and signing off as “Your Bonus Grandma.”

Inside jokes abounded, and the team— which was made up of a broad range of participants, from high schoolers to graduate students—became close. These students, researchers, artists, policy experts, professors, planners and mountain safety specialists explored some of the most remote terrain on earth together, learning how to improvise when the conveniences from home weren’t at their fingertips and finding fellowship when the elements tried to wear them out.

When she was accepted into the program the previous March, Westhaver had to make the tough decision to pass on another great opportunity to continue her summer work as a B.C. Park Ranger. Nearly a year later, whether was telling stories of measuring bob coveyshe // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page B5 // the jasper local // issue 114 // thursday, february 1, 2018

Local hockey //

The Barley Kings: The Empire Snipes Back THE BREW PUB. TO VISITORS, THE JASPER BREW PUB IS A PLACE TO GRAB A BEER, MAYBE SMASH A PLATE OF NACHOS AND TAKE IN THE VIEWS OF THE COLIN RANGE.

To many Jasperites, the Brew Pub is a favourite watering hole, a juicy gossip garden and a good spot to watch a sports game.

But ask local hockey players about the Brew Pub and you’ll get a different reaction. To members of the Jasper Hockey League, the words “Brew Pub” are synonymous with heartache, anger, frustration and regret.

Why all the hard feelings? Let’s see, why don’t you just ask Admiral Ackbar what his beef is with the Galactic Empire?

The Brew Pub, officially known as the Jasper Brewing Company Barley Kings, have had their way with the JHL for the last eight seasons or so (give or take a JFI Bone Stars and

Royal Lepage Royals championship or two). Like the NFL’s New England Patriots, they manage to find a way to beat teams even when their opponents are younger, faster and more handsome (with apologies to Tom Brady and Alex Derksen).

What’s more defeating than being beat by a Brew Pub team consisting of only seven players? That’s easy: Being beat by a Brew Pub team consisting of just six players, one of whom turns 60 this year. Just ask the hottest team in December, the JPL Hawks, whose eight-game win streak was halted after tangling with the likes of ex-NHLer Brian Young and company.

Young, who isn’t anymore, might be the Pub’s secret weapon. He’s not fast, his helmet is hideous, but he’ll catch every pass, he’s got a heavy shot and there are few JHLers outside of the Royals’ John Pelosi more terrifying to go into a corner against.

There’s plenty of firepower to go along with their intimidation factor, of course. The Barley King’s not-so-

And three spectators cheered.// brew pub captain Royd irwin accepts the a-final cup 3 years ago. // Bob Covey

secret weapon (on account of all of his gloating) is the fast-skating, toedragging, stat-padding Sam Coyne, who potted eight goals in one night against the Outlaws. That’s one for every two years the Outlaws’ substitute goalie has been alive! Despite that epic pile-on, most will agree that if Coyne isn’t the best sniper in the league, then Reg Currie doesn’t have the best smack talk. Face-cage wearers, you’ve been warned. Imagine one game where Reg didn’t bust your chops for not wanting to get your chops busted!

More maddening than getting chirped while getting chipped is the fact that much of the B-Kings’ team are not even fixed to their respective positions. During one game Justin Melnyk will be a power-forward centre, the next he’s logging big minutes on D. Is that because he missed leg day at the gym?

I’d ask the ageless captain, Royd Irwin, but I wouldn’t want an eye-full of tobacco juice.

Speaking of former ‘cats, this season the Brewpub picked up the Milan Lucic of the JHL, Brady Bangle. Was that because they were missing the intensity of the league’s second most fiery red head, Seth Carlyle? (Top honours goes to the Beavers’ Troy Mills). Or perhaps they simply needed to match a Bebop to Michael Chorneyko’s Rocksteady.

If we’re going full Ninja Turtle metaphor, we might as well admit that the Splinter of this group has to be player-coach-ref-commissioner, Chuck Barker, who is probably right now as you read this recruiting future Barley Kings from the Bearcats.

Barker’s acute hockey sense is complimented by his competitive fire—a flame that burns white hot as soon as he laces up his skates, but which is snuffed the minute he leaves the rink. It’s hard not to admire that ability to go from hot to cold. I only wish the bruising on my wrist from Barker’s flirtatious stick work could do the same!

Is the Brew Pub the best team in the league? Probably. Certainly they have the winningest record by a country mile. In most rec leagues all over the country that would be the end of it. However, what makes the Barley Kings the Evil Empire of the JHL is not just their galactic domination, their lack of mercy, or the fear that they strike in the hearts of their rivals a week out from game-day. No, the most telling characteristic is their knack for showing up when it matters most. As though Darth Vader himself strapped on skates, traded his light sabre for a hockey stick and donned the purple and yellow, the Pub can make even the bravest rebel fighters choke.

The questions is: is there a weakness in the battle station? And can anyone exploit it? bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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thursday, february 1, 2018 // issue 114 // the jasper local// page B6

local health //

Re-Opening the Case Against Cholesterol Cholesterol is usually the first thing we think of when heart health is on the table. I want to dive into the role cholesterol has in the body, and make it known that cholesterol isn’t a foreign substance that just shows up to increase our risk for coronary heart disease. Here is a look into how cholesterol is used in the body and how to keep it from harming our hearts.

WHAT IS CHOLESTEROL? There are two types of cholesterol we are accustomed to, LDL and HDL. LDL (low-density lipoprotein) is labelled the ‘bad’ cholesterol, and HDL (high density lipoprotein) is considered ‘good cholesterol’. Lipoproteins shuttle cholesterol and other lipids (fats) around our bodies through the blood stream, so basically LDL and HDL are the vehicles for cholesterol and not cholesterol itself.

The difference between these two types of cholesterol vehicles is this: LDL takes cholesterol from the liver into general circulation and delivers it to cells in need of fat, whereas HDL takes excess cholesterol out of general circulation and back to the liver, where it can be recycled or excreted. Both of these lipoprotein carriers are essential for cell and bodily functions.

The body will increase production of cholesterol when there is tissue damage and stress. This is because cholesterol’s primary role is to repair damaged cells.

Cholesterol is also sent to aid in the repair of artery linings, therefore cholesterol is found in plaque buildup that is known to cause issues like angina and heart attacks. This obviously is not ideal for cholesterol’s image, but there is more to the story.

HOW CHOLESTEROL CAN BECOME DANGEROUS: Yes, cholesterol can become dangerous, but that still doesn’t mean cholesterol itself is dangerous. It needs to be egged on by oxidation and inflammation.

When LDL particles are being packaged in the liver they are coated in an antioxidant membrane. This coating should protect the LDL if the system it’s travelling around in has normal or lower amounts of free radicals and inflammation. Free radicals and inflammation will cause the LDL package to oxidize by using up its anti oxidant coating. Oxidized cholesterol then creates an inflammatory response throughout the whole body and we all know

inflammation is the root cause of most disease, including coronary heart disease. I can see where the “lower cholesterol is healthier” argument comes in at this point but hear me out. Free radicals in the body cause cell damage; when there is cell damage, cholesterol is needed to repair the damage done by free radicals and inflammation.

It’s a vicious cycle starting with increased inflammation and ending with oxidized cholesterol.

We need to look less at lowering cholesterol levels and more at lowering free radicals and inflammation, and this comes down to what we are eating and what kind of lifestyle we are living.

REDUCING CHOLESTEROL OXIDIZATION: A C- reactive protein test is how we measure general levels of inflammation in the body. High levels of the C- reactive protein can be a sign to take action towards a more anti inflammatory diet and lifestyle to prevent further cholesterol oxidization. Other symptoms of systemic inflammation include rashes, allergies, joint pain, brain fog, autoimmune conditions and chronic colds and flus. Increasing foods high in omega 3s (wild salmon, sardines, flax, chia, hemp hearts and walnuts) and foods high in antioxidants (dark berries, pomegranates, purple cabbage, yellow, red, orange and dark green vegetables) will create an environment with fewer free radicals and less inflammation in the body. Eating garlic daily or taking a garlic supplement therapeutically can also help to prevent heart disease.

Garlic is shown to prevent the oxidization of cholesterol and reduce plaque accumulation in the arteries.

Stress is also important to look at when dealing with inflammation. Chronic stress is a recipe for systemic inflammation and many other issues, but this is a whole other topic for another day and another article.

WHY WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT CHOLESTEROL: Cholesterol is a pre-cursor for many different hormones in the body. These hormones include testosterone, progesterone, estrogen, cortisol and is

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needed for the synthesis of vitamin D. When we are not consuming enough fat to have cholesterol in the body we are running the risk of being deficient in these hormones. This can be the cause of the many symptoms I see regularly in my private practice.

Low hormone manufacturing means low mood, low libido, low immune system, irregular menstruation, declined cognitive function and increased menopausal symptoms. To keep all these symptoms in check it is important to consume more good fats to maintain balanced levels of cholesterol, in turn keeping inflammation at bay with whole foods, fruits and vegetables so cholesterol doesn’t run the risk of oxidizing and turning into heart disease.

Jenna completed a 3-year program of Holistic Nutrition at Pacific Rim College.

There she developed a strong understanding of Diet Therapy, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine and some Western Herbal Medicine. She works with clients to find a permanent and sustainable fix to their health concerns using natural approaches that take into consideration each person’s bioindividuality. Find her at alpenglownutrition.ca