Emma Tekstra – Emma Tekstra

04 Jan

Corporate Wellness With a Twist: Why It’s Time to Move Beyond Pharmaceuticals and Embrace Holistic Health

With a new wave of survey data recently published by the employee benefit consultants and industry groups, we get some insight into employers’ priorities for their healthcare strategy in 2025 and beyond. But frustratingly none of the highlights include an analysis of what is at the root cause of employee ill health that continues to push healthcare costs higher year on year.After discussing escalating drug...

27 Dec

A Day Like No Other

by Emma Tekstra

in Faith

Comments

The first night of Hanukkah fell on Christmas Day this year. It only happens every 20yrs or so (explanation below if you’re curious).I grew up Jewish, celebrating eight days of Hanukkah with little gifts from our parents each day. I still light the menorah in my Christian household as a cultural reminder of mine and my sons’ roots. I also make potato latkes fried in...

23 Dec

8 Tips to Strengthen Your Immune System This Flu Season

by Emma Tekstra

in Solutions

Comments

Participating in flu season isn’t mandatory. In fact, it’s not recommended. Just because there’s a chill in the air doesn’t mean a bout of the flu or a cold is inevitable; even if you have pre-schoolers in your house! You can abstain from the so-called season through boosting your immune system naturally.The viruses that cause coughs, colds and flu, and even the opportunistic bacteria that...

13 Dec

Turtles All the Way Down: Vaccine Science and Myth – a Conversation

by Emma Tekstra

in Book Review, Children, Healthcare Industry

Comments

Whatever side of the vaccine debate you fall on I know you’ll find this conversation enlightening.One of the books I include in the recommended further reading of my book is Turtles All the Way Down written by two Israeli doctors who have chosen to stay anonymous. (We get into why in the discussion). It was originally written in Hebrew in 2018 but has been translated...

04 Dec

How AI is Revolutionizing a Critical Aspect of Our Health

by Emma Tekstra

in Digital Health, Solutions

Comments

I’ve always loved to experiment on myself particularly in the area of health and human performance. Over a decade ago I found myself wearing several gadgets at the same time that each tracked various aspects of my life such as the number of steps I’d taken, my pulse, heart rate and how I slept. These gadgets, known as wearables, are all too common nowadays, but at...

12 Nov

Why We Should Let the Actuaries Fix Healthcare

by Emma Tekstra

in Healthcare Industry

Comments

I had an interesting conversation with a naturopathic doctor recently on her podcast. She had read that I was an actuary and fell into the tiny percentage of people who had some idea of what an actuary is and does. In her case it was thanks to an excellent article in The Epoch Times by Jeffrey Tucker (also published by the Brownstone Institute) imploring health...

04 Oct

The Lesser-Known Antioxidant That Makes Mushrooms So Important to Health

by Emma Tekstra

in Nutrition

Comments

Mushrooms are quite magical. Long revered for their nutritional value, they may actually hold the key to a longer life.Usually considered the fruiting part of the fungi family, mushrooms are neither plant nor animal. But their health benefits have been enjoyed by ancient cultures worldwide for centuries.While touted to be one of the only food sources of vitamin D (when exposed to sunlight) and to...

13 Sep

The Nature Cure for Mental Health

by Emma Tekstra

in Adventures in Nature, Mental Health

Comments

Just days after the world was almost brought to a standstill because of a single technology glitch, I had the opportunity to head into the Sequoia National Park to drop off my son and three buddies who were embarking on an eight-day backpacking trip called the High Sierras Trail (HST). This trek runs 70 miles across the entire park and culminates at Mt. Whitney, the...

06 Sep

Understanding Lab Tests for Optimal Health

by Emma Tekstra

in Conditions, Healthcare Industry

Comments

One of the best ways to monitor your health is through the testing of the most vital of bodily fluids—your blood. Flowing into every nook and cranny of your body, blood carries oxygen and important nutrients and hormones to your cells, as well as transports waste products to the lungs, liver, and kidneys for excretion. Thus, your blood provides a treasure trove of information on...

28 Aug

I Wish I Would’ve Known

by Emma Tekstra

in Healthcare Industry, Nutrition

Comments

My cat Oscar died last weekend. He was diagnosed with a heart condition just two weeks earlier at not quite six years old, barely middle aged. However, this is not a story about a cat but a very human story about how we accept the status quo, the marketing messages and what everyone else seems to be doing, rather than thinking critically and doing our...

Author: Emma Tekstra

Corporate Wellness With a Twist: Why It’s Time to Move Beyond Pharmaceuticals and Embrace Holistic Health

A Day Like No Other

8 Tips to Strengthen Your Immune System This Flu Season

Turtles All the Way Down: Vaccine Science and Myth – a Conversation

How AI is Revolutionizing a Critical Aspect of Our Health

Why We Should Let the Actuaries Fix Healthcare

The Lesser-Known Antioxidant That Makes Mushrooms So Important to Health

The Nature Cure for Mental Health

Understanding Lab Tests for Optimal Health

I Wish I Would’ve Known

The Road to Hana

I’m not a Christian because…

Rethinking What You’re Putting in the Tank

Functional Medicine – Coming to An Employer Near You

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Author: Emma Tekstra

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