Welcome to this episode of The Tonic, terrestrially broadcast on February 14 and 15, 2026 on AM740 and FM 96.7 in Toronto. Topics covered on the show track the lifestyle articles and themes published in The Tonic Newsletter and on the Tonic Website. This week we’ll discuss the cardiovascular gender gap (how women’s heart health is different) with naturopath Dr. Colleen Hartwick ND, top tips to perk up your Valentine’s Day with sex expert Serena Haines, how to build a quality mental health framework in Canada with public mental health care experts Annie Barrette and Nitika Rewari and why our pets are getting sicker, younger with veterinarian and researcher Dr. Marlene Siegel
We specifically discuss:
The Cardiovascular Gender Gap
- Cardiovascular disease presents differently in men and women
- Standard testing misses how heart disease manifests in women
- 15 year study in Ontario shows heightened risk for women to have a cardiovascular event
- Risk factors for women
- Sleep and diet impact stress
- Spring is a perfect time to reset
- Subtle signs of coronary health issues
- Optimizing exercise for women’s heart health
- Heart healthy diet
- Magnesium
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Stop the doom scrolling before bed!
- Be sure to get symptoms checked out
Top Tips to Perk up Your Valentine’s Day
- Is Valentine’s Day lame?
- No pressure – just reset
- Meeting expectations
- Lean into curiosity
- “Tell me something I don’t know about you”
- Sex toys
- Making an effort
- Going solo on Valentine’s Day
How to Build a Quality Public Mental Health Framework
- What is quality mental health care?
- The Quality Mental Healthcare Framework
- What are the challenges in providing quality mental healthcare?
- The Doorways program in NL
- Avoiding the bottlenecks in treatment
- Triage and access to treatment
- Results in the case study Doorways program
- Can the Doorways program be replicated across the country?
- The Quality Mental Health Framework Toolkit
Why Our Pets are Getting Sicker, Younger
- Are pets getting sicker, younger?
- Why are we seeing an increase in cancer in pets?
- Our pets’ diet
- Commercial pet food
- The impact of chemical toxins
- What needs to change?
- Our positive and negative thoughts impact our pets
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For more information about show sponsor New Roots Herbal go here
To learn more about Dr. Colleen Hartwick ND go here
To learn more about Serena Haines go here
To learn more about Annie Barrette go here
To learn about Nitika Rewari go here
To learn more about Dr. Marlene Siegel go here
