A seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to protect against flu. Flu vaccination has been shown to have many benefits including reducing the risk of flu illnesses, hospitalizations, and even flu-related death. For some people, the flu can bring serious health risks. Seniors and those with medical conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, for example, may have a hard time fighting the virus. Now more than ever, it is imperative that everyone protects themselves as much as possible. Given the pandemic world we are all currently living in, the flu shot is one more way to decrease your risk of complications that can come along with it.
Community News
Workplace Wellness This Holiday Season
The holidays bring plenty of joy, but it can also be a stressful season for many. Focus on workplace wellness to help employees maintain healthy habits and mental health. Choose healthy options for holiday events and give gifts of wellness to employees this year i.e., onsite massages or stress management lunch and learns. Encourage employees to stay active by hosting onsite yoga classes. Support employee’s financial wellness with minimal budgets on events and partnering with local business for discounts and promotions. Be mindful of your decisions and the impacts it may have on your employees. Healthy & Happy New Year!
Should I Remove my Dentures at Night?
Removing your dentures at night while you sleep will increase your oral health and your gums will thank you for it! Experts highly advise that if you wear dentures, you should be giving your gums and dentures a well-deserved break at nighttime. Soaking your dentures in a denture cleaning solution or clean water will increase their longevity and will keep them in tip-top shape, which in turn will prevent bacteria and plaque buildup. Additionally, your gums will have an opportunity to be naturally cleaned by saliva in the mouth, which will prevent infections from developing and decrease the chance of irritations your mouth.
The Right Portfolio Mix
What type of investments are right for you? You’ve likely heard the old adage, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” In the financial services industry, this is referred to as “diversification.” By diversifying and investing in a variety of assets, you can reduce any one particular risk. The question your financial services provider should ask you is: What rate of return or interest growth do you want your money to make? Is it 2%, 4%, 6%, or 10%? This will determine whether a Conservative, Moderate, Growth or Aggressive portfolio mix is right for you and your financial situation.
Local Spotlight: Heart to Home Meals
Heart to Home Meals delivers delicious, nutritious meals right to your door. The company’s team of experts has developed a wide-ranging menu to suit many tastes, dietary needs, and lifestyles, including high-protein, low carbohydrates and/or saturated fat, low sodium, high fibre, vegetarian, and no added sugar options. Heart to Home Meals has a useful diet coding system to help you choose meals that are right for you. Meals also come in mini versions (for smaller appetites), hearty versions (for larger appetites), as well as minced or pureed options. It’s as easy as ordering online or by phone!
https://www.hearttohomemeals.ca?utm_source=wellnesshub&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=alwayson_winnipeg_local&utm_content=education
Honour Yourself During the Holidays
The holidays can be a time of loving reunions, catch-ups, heartfelt connections, and joy, or they can be filled with obligations, expectations, and old patterns with emerging drama. When we can empower ourselves to know we have a choice as to where to best put our energies, what to let go of and forgive, and where to take a stand and set boundaries, we honour ourselves. Despite the illusion of social media, the “perfect family” does not exist where all things look “wonderful and together” all the time. Instead, the holidays offer us the perfect opportunity to stay true and nurture ourselves in the midst of giving and receiving.
Workplace Wellness This Holiday Season
The holidays bring plenty of joy, but it can also be a stressful season for many. Focus on workplace wellness to help employees maintain healthy habits and mental health. Choose healthy options for holiday events and give gifts of wellness to employees this year i.e., onsite massages or stress management lunch and learns. Encourage employees to stay active by hosting onsite yoga classes. Support employee’s financial wellness with minimal budgets on events and partnering with local business for discounts and promotions. Be mindful of your decisions and the impacts it may have on your employees. Healthy & Happy New Year!
Age or Decay – Your choice
This thought provoking title was one of the workshops at our Grey Matters conference. It was presented by our very own Allan Ferchuk. He is well known in the halls of Red Deer College as well as in the rink, as he was the coach of the RDC Men’s Hockey team. Allan spoke to us about the importance of physical activity in our everyday lives. Why do we need to be active and take control of our health and fitness? Well because it gives us mental vigor, it supports emotional integrity and capacity; it allows us to make choices in our lifestyle opportunities and contributes to our self-esteem and self-concept. One of the interesting concepts he talked about is what kind of activity do we do, is it a “spring” activity or a “fall” activity. That relates to the four seasons and our bodies are also affected by the four seasons and we need to ensure that we are always staying in the spring. Coming alive, being active, and not getting ready for hibernation – the fall – the couch potato syndrome. The other cycle that we need to remember is our daily cycle, move-eat-sleep. Our body is a living organism that requires movement to keep all parts functioning properly, it requires food to fuel the muscles, brain, and the rest of the body, as well as sleep to recoup and rebuild so that it can carry your through the next day. When we first started walking on this earth men were programmed to work (run-lift-fight), and women to forage (walk-run-lift), so our bodies were designed to do physical things. We need to continue to do that. Exercise helps maintain functional mobility and balance. The new standards found in the Physical Activity Guide states that people over 65 needs to do 150 minutes a week of cardio exercise (at least 3x a week). Strength training is also something that should be included in your fitness routine. These two components of exercise have shown to help with cognitive function, as well as chronic disease management such as diabetes, osteoporosis, and high blood pressure.
Allan’s prescription for developing a culture for positive aging was:
• Exercise 6x week
• Aerobic exercise 2x week
• Strength exercise 2 – 3x week
• Quit eating garbage
• Care about what you are doing
• Connect and commit to doing it
So, do something that will help you, and that is move your body. See what is happening at the Golden Circle or join a gym close to you. Take a walk. Start small and then expand your distance. One of our members has been walking for about year now and has lost over 60 pounds. Build some challenges in your walking route, do a hill, set of stairs, do not go the same way all the time, change it up. You can age well or you can decay, it is your choice. Christmas is a time of year where we tend to over indulge in sweets and food. Keep a healthy balance.
The Golden Circle wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Next year, 2022 is our 45th Anniversary so stay tuned for exciting ways to celebrate the 45 years that we have been serving Red Deer and area.
Donations Gracefully Accepted
When planning your Christmas giving think of the Golden Circle Senior Resource Centre as your charity of choice. We are more than just a senior centre, we also provide outreach services to older adults and people with disabilities to help them live in their own home. Our services include medical transportation, grocery delivery, housekeeping, snow removal, lawn care and elder abuse support, just to name a few. You can go to our website to find our donate button, or drop in and give us a visit. The Golden Circle is an important piece of the fabric of the City of Red Deer and we need your support to be able to continue to do the work. We are a registered charity with CRA. So once again, give consideration to the Golden Circle as your charity of choice this Christmas.
Crunchy Holiday Salad
INGREDIENTS: ¾ cup CO-OP GOLD Mayonnaise; ¼ cup CO-OP GOLD Sour Cream; 2 tsp orange zest; 1½ tbsp CO-OP GOLD Red Wine Vinegar; 1 cup green cabbage, shredded; 1 cup red cabbage, shredded; 1 cup Brussels sprouts, shredded; 1 cup cauliflower, shredded; ½ cup red onion, finely sliced; ½ cup Granny Smith apple, sliced; 3 tbsp sunflower seeds; 3 tbsp pumpkin seeds; 3 tbsp dried cranberries; ½ tsp salt. DIRECTIONS: Add dressing ingredients (mayo, sour cream, orange zest and vinegar) in a small bowl, whisking well to combine. Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add desired amount of dressing, mixing with a wooden spoon until well combined. Enjoy!
Effectively Managing Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic condition and requires specific, lifelong management. It’s estimated that more than 6 million Canadians are at risk of developing diabetes. Prediabetes is a condition where blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not enough to be type 2 diabetes. Managing your health is critical to helping delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. Your pharmacist can support you in managing your diabetes effectively by reviewing any current medications, educating you about diabetes symptoms to be aware of, supporting you with healthy lifestyle changes, and offering products and tools to monitor your blood glucose.
