(w)healthy

Today, we’re tackling one of the most overlooked foundations of kids’ health: physical literacy. It’s time we stop treating movement as optional. Like reading or writing, it’s a skill every child deserves to master. And few people understand that better than Dr. Ali McManus, Director of the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBC Okanagan where she also directs the Pediatric Inactivity & Exercise Physiology Research Lab, or PERL lab. Her work explores how physical literacy develops across the lifespan and how early experiences with movement influence our physical and mental well‑being for decades to come. Ali’s research bridges science and everyday life — connecting lab data with the realities of classrooms, families, and communities. Today, we’ll talk about what the evidence is showing, the real‑world choices shaping our kids’ relationships with movement, and how we can all play a part in steering this ship back in the right direction.

Today on the (w)healthy podcast we’re talking about an area of women’s health that needs to be talked about way more. It affects far more women than most of us realize — and for many women, the impacts last long after treatment ends. About a year and a half ago, thanks in part to a sizable donation from the Mississauga-based FDC Foundation, the Gynecologic Oncology Surgical Program was brought to Kelowna General Hospital. This was huge for the hundreds of women each year who are diagnosed with gynecologic cancers — those of the cervix, uterus, ovaries, vagina, and vulva — here in the Southern Interior. And now, we have the capacity to perform these delicate, life-saving surgeries right here at KGH!

In this episode of the (w)healthy podcast we are welcoming back Dr. Sophia Capo, a pediatric optometrist and founder of A B See Vision Therapy in Kelowna. When Dr. Capo first joined us, she helped us understand that vision is about so much more than eyesight. It shapes how children learn, move, regulate their emotions, build confidence, and experience the world around them. And yet, children’s vision challenges can be incredibly easy to miss. According to the Canadian Association of Optometrists, it has been estimated that only 14% of children under the age of six receive professional eye care — even though early detection and treatment of vision problems can have a significant impact on a child’s development, learning, and well-being! This is a conversation you won't want to miss! To learn more about the projects and initiatives that Dr. Capo is currently working on please visit ABSee.ca

Today we're joined by Pediatrician Dr. Alysha Mackenzie-Feder for a conversation about the inward experience of medicine, the realities of raising a family while working in health care, what it means to witness suffering every day, and how we can remain connected to others without losing ourselves in the process.A Deeper Well | Discover Inner Peace

Heart disease is the broad term used to describe many conditions — problems that affect the structure and function of the heart or the blood vessels that supply it. Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of illness and death in Canada, affecting millions of people and placing enormous demand on our health-care system. But it’s also one of the areas of medicine where prevention, early detection, and rehabilitation can dramatically change outcomes. Understanding how the heart works — and what happens when something goes wrong — can help people recognize risks earlier, recover more effectively, and in many cases avoid serious cardiac events altogether. Which is why today on the (w)healthy podcast we are joined by Dr. Kevin and Anne Pistawka, they are the Medical and Executive Directors of the Central Okanagan Association for Cardiac Health (COACH) — a community program that helps people living with heart disease recover, rebuild confidence, and adopt heart-healthy lifestyles. Together, they can provide comprehensive insight on the subject of cardiac care: treatment and recovery, medicine and lifestyle, hospital and community.