LOCAL COMPANIES COME OUT ON TOP AT CANFITPRO WORLD FITNESS EXPO

Last weekend local and international fitness and wellness experts convened at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to showcase the newest products and ideas from the health industry for the 2016 Canfitpro World Fitness Expo. When I attended the expo on Saturday I noticed that there was a quite a bit of local companies coming out with some really great health and wellness products. After chowing down an $11 ham sandwich I regretted later, I took a look around to see what was there to offer. Here are nine cool health-wellness-products-ideas that stood out at the Canfitpro World Fitness Expo:

Six Essentials is a proudly Canadian company that produces an “absolute hydration drink” that contains the six essential nutrients needed for athletes to recover properly from workouts – or in my case hangovers. The company claims all of these nutrients will be absorbed within 20 minutes of drinking it.

I work in a bar till the wee hours of the morning, so I was somewhat tired throughout the day. Carole from Young Living Essential Oils came up to me and had me put a dab of peppermint oil to rub between my hands to smell. This woke actually woke me up. The company was offering special retail packages that included 11 oils and a dewdrop diffuser. Check out their website for more information on the benefits of each essential oil and more deals.

One of my favourite tastings came out of the nuPasta booth. nuPasta is a pasta that is low in calories, gluten free, easy to prepare and tastes pretty good. Instead of making the pasta from regular wheat, it is made from a plant native to East Asia called konjac. nuPasta is available at grocery stores across the gta, visit www.nupasta.com for more information.

In the past five or six years I have been following a vegetarian diet, until I recently started eating “gamey meats” and fish. Toronto based, truLOCAL offers hormone, antibiotic free and locally sourced meat that can be delivered to your home hassle free. When I asked them if they carried any game meats, they said that is something that they will be adding to their options later in the year.

The fitness magazine, Inside Fitness, was on hand with free magazines – I took two- and a photo booth to take pictures of. I got a picture of this cutie doing a bench press or whatever it’s called.

Although I don’t consider myself vegetarian anymore – I still like consuming vegan and vegetarian products. Toronto based health company Iron Vegan has created a vegan protein shake from clean, vegan protein sources like brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, millet, and pumpkin seeds. It’s really good on its own or blended with other ingredients.

Krav Maga has always been somewhat intriguing to me, mostly because it’s the martial arts that can be translated into real life most easily. Not that I want to go around beating people up, but if the need came around to defend myself maybe I would. The Academy of Self-Defense Inc. located in the gta was on hand with some complimentary passes to check out their Krav Maga studios. They had locations in Mississauga and Vaughan and said they were looking to open up a new location in downtown Toronto.

Some of the demos for exercise equipment couldn’t help but make me laugh because I’m immature like that. The Body Slimmer F3-700 claims to “improve balance, strength, flexibility, endurance, toning and fat-loss”. It’s a machine you stand on that vibrates while you perform specific exercises to the machine on. They’re supposed to be available at gyms in the near future…I guess?

Pound is a copyrighted exercise program that uses light resistance “drumming sticks” in a variety of movements similar to pilates, isometrics, and plyometrics. The company has been featured in media such as The New York Times, The View and notorious Dr.Oz.