Female Friday

One of my favourite things to do is drive on the Gardiner at night listening to The xx. The heavy bass coupled with the lit skyline brings an instant sense of calm. So when I found out that there was a light festival going on in one of my favourite parts of Toronto, I just had to check it out. Aside from searching for parking for roughly the same amount of time it took to walk around the Distillery, seeing these incredible works in person was fantastic. Like many others, I loved the Bands of Friendship and the Origami Tigers. If you haven't gone yet, I would recommend a visit (and then grab a hot chocolate at Soma, trust me!).There are a lot of female-centric headlines and issues going on right now (#ShePersisted) - so here's what I'm loving this week:Aspirin may help increase pregnancy chances / Who had high CRP levels (a a marker of inflammation), were given aspirin (an anti-inflammatory) to determine if a low-dose could prevent pregnancy loss in women who previously experienced a pregnancy loss. Results showed that women with high CRP levels, aspirin experienced a higher live birth rate. This is exciting because inflammation can also be reduced naturopathically via diet (limiting inflammatory foods especially food sensitivities), addressing stress and through anti-inflammatory herbs. Here's hoping for some research using natural therapies!Early Menstruation and Stroke Risk / "Women who started their periods at the age of 13 or younger, are about 1.8 times more likely to suffer a stroke, than those who started at the age of 15." risk factorsI started my period at 12 years old - so this is slightly alarming! It is important to note that this study only looked at postmenopausal women in rural Japan. That being said, reducing other for stroke are incredibly important such as not smoking, reducing high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.Heavy Lifting and Fertility / In women undergoing fertility treatments, "lifting or moving heavy things at work was linked with a reduction in biological markers of fertility. Similar links with decreased fertility were found in night-shift worker." No research was done on women not seeking fertility treatments, but were hoping to conceive.The Handmaid's Tale / This commercial caught my eye while I was watching the Superbowl. I've haven't read this book (or any other Margaret Atwood books - am I a horrible Canadian?), but the trailer looks interesting so I'm going to give it a shot!#ShePersisted / Who isn't following US politics? Here's a great photo-article celebrating the achievements of women over the ages.PS. I bought this nourishing serum last month and am LOVING it!