Did you know that heart disease remains the leading causes of death in Canada? The good news is that 80 per cent of cardiovascular diseases are preventable through healthy lifestyle and diet. By adopting a healthier lifestyle, you can delay the onset of heart disease or stroke by as much as 14 years! You can further reduce your risk by considering these heart-healthy steps:
• Be smoke-free
• Be physically active
• Control your blood pressure
• Keep your blood cholesterol levels in check
• Eat a healthy diet
• Achieve and maintain a healthy weight
• Manage your diabetes
• Limit alcohol use
• Reduce stress
Community News
Community Spotlight: PetToba
Meet Naman and Bijal Patel, the local owners of PetToba. They both have Pet Food and Raw Dog Food Nutrition Specialist certifications from DNM University and NAVC Pet Nutrition Coach certifications from Vetfolio. After looking at many of the treats and chews sold in the market today, they had a few concerns with the quality of the ingredients. Because of this, PetToba was born! All their treats and chews are made from Canadian Human Grade meats. They are 100% natural and are made from single ingredients. No soy, no wheat, no corn, and no artificial color or preservatives.
Words to Live By
It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. Mahatma Gandhi
Words to Live By
A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book. Irish proverb
Words to Live By
Good health is not something we can buy. However, it can be an extremely valuable savings account.” Anne Wilson Schaef
January is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month
Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that destroys brain cells, causing thinking ability and memory to deteriorate over time. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging and is irreversible. While it’s difficult to predict symptoms, the order in which they will appear or the speed of their progression, there are some warning signs you can look out for. Sudden changes to your loved one’s personality are often another sign that something is not right. These changes can include anxiety, paranoia, depression, and socially inappropriate behaviors, as well as sudden mood swings and physical aggression.
Tuning Into Ourselves
The demands on each of us during this global pandemic continue to take their toll on our health and well-being. Intuitive Counselling can be an effective tool to support ourselves during this time of crisis. Everyone is intuitive and we all have the ability to tap into our own inner knowledge and wisdom. Intuitive Counselling provides support and guidance to help you: connect with your intuition; process emotions and blockages; and develop holistic practices to reduce stress, feel more grounded, and move forward with clarity and confidence. If this type of holistic support resonates with you, reach out to Safe Harbour Therapy.
Dry January? Try Solbrü
The “sober curious” or “sober sometimes” movement started as a challenge for those who felt they’d partied a little too hard over New Year’s weekend. A 2016 British study of about 850 men and women who volunteered to abstain from alcohol during Dry January found that participants reported a range of benefits. For instance, 82 percent said they felt a sense of achievement. “Better sleep” was cited by 62 percent, and 49 percent said they lost some weight. They had improvements in insulin sensitivity, their blood pressure numbers improved, and their livers looked a little healthier.
A Keto New Year
The Holidays can leave us all feeling sluggish, tired and heavier than usual. That’s where the keto diet can help. It’s great for boosting your energy, getting rid of excess weight and helping you feel healthy again. The purpose of the keto diet is to switch your body’s metabolism from burning carbohydrates/sugars for fuel to using fat instead – that metabolic state is called ketosis. And during ketosis, your body breaks down fat into molecules called ketones, which it uses as an energy source. A Keto diet can help you lose fat, manage your appetite, and increase focus and concentration.
Treat Your Jaw Pain
Clenching and grinding your teeth, whether during the day or at night, is the most common cause of jaw pain. Over time, the heightened muscle activity can lead to trigger points within the chewing muscles that may cause pain, soreness, limited mouth opening, and even headaches. Physiotherapy can provide effective treatment for temporomandibular dysfunction. Your therapist may use a combination of manual therapy, intra-oral massage, dry needling, and home exercises to decrease muscle tone and encourage relaxation. Try to avoid the forward head posture, common when in front of a computer, as it negatively affects the biomechanics of the jaw.
With a New Year Comes New Energy
A new year brings new energy and possibility. Releasing the old that no longer works, makes room for the new. A story comes to mind about a monk who goes out on the lake to meditate in his boat. He cherishes his solitude and quiet. While deep in meditation, eyes closed he feels a sudden smash. He flies into a rage and begins to blame. How could anybody be so insensitive and careless. When he opened his eyes, he saw the boat was empty and had drifted off from shore. It was then he realized all feelings and reactions came from within. The “boats and people” are just who we project them on. This freed him to own and choose his thoughts and ways of being.
