Susan Burke March

By Susan Burke March We take our feet for granted. They’re always secondary when we’re considering what to wear. We buy shoes to go with the suit or dress, instead of the other way around. It’s always “from your head to your toes”, when really, without our feet, we’re not going nowhere. When your feet...

Ouch! Not again! Canker sores are such a painful bother — bad ones can interfere with your ability to eat, and even compromise your health. Wouldn’t it be great if you never had to deal with one again? Canker sores are small, shallow lesions that develop on the soft tissues in the mouth or at...

Women are as old as they feel and men are old when they lose their feelings. — Mae West While in general, dietary guidelines encompass all adults, there’s a divergence when it comes to the nutrition and health of men and women. And so, in honor of Father’s Day this year, let’s be sure that...

Who says that “fast food” has to be “bad food”?  You’ll get it fast at Subway, the most popular fast food chain in the world, but their motto “Eat Fresh” describes it best.  Since the opening of the first franchised store 42 years ago, Subway has been ranked top fast food franchise 16 times. The...

By Susan Burke March Are you sick of rain? Want some warmer weather? Looking for lush green mountains, great food, friendly people or just some TLC? Only a few driving hours south of Cuenca — an hour south of Loja — is the lovely Madre Tierra Eco-Resort, a full-service resort and spa. Madre Tierra is...

By Susan Burke March As AnimalPlanet.com reports, there are a number of proven health benefits associated with pet ownership, including physical, mental and emotional improvements, from enhancing social skills to decreasing a person’s risk for heart attack. According to U.S. News & World Report, companionship tops a long list of why having a pet improves...

By Susan Burke March Ahhhhh, a facial. Finally! I’d been putting off my quarterly facial because my favorite “facialista” had to return to the States, leaving many of her regular clients feeling … well, at loose ends. However, before she left she recommended Bienestar Integral, and reminded me not to wait because Cuenca’s bus pollution...

A recent appeal for information in a favorite expat e-Newsletter got my attention. An unsuspecting reader posted a simple query: “Do we need proof of current yellow fever and typhoid vaccinations to enter Ecuador from Columbia?” (No). This simple question escalated into an epidemic of opinions, some backed by facts, some by foolishness. In response,...

By Susan Burke March Physical Therapy (PT) as we know it today, dates back to ancient times. Physicians like Hippocrates and later Galen are believed to have been the first practitioners of physical therapy, advocating massage, manual therapy techniques and hydrotherapy to treat people as early as 460 BC. The professional practice evolved in the U.S., precipitated by polio epidemics, and in treating soldiers returning...