Community News
Aging and Alzheimer’s

People usually take memory loss from aging for granted. I confess, I was one of them. Things have changed since I heard my dad was diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. His dad – of course, my granddad – showed the symptom of the disease just before he died. Is it genetic? I came across a shocking scientific fact. Few will not suffer from the disease at 110. According to Rudy Tanzi, the most renowned Alzheimer’s researcher, the disease occurs in half of individuals at 85. According to statistics from the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago, the disease occurs in 12% of men and 20% of women at 85. I guess this difference is because Professor Tanzi included patients in the very early stage and the association didn’t. I concluded from various articles that everyone had better begin taking preventive measures for Alzheimer’s at 65, at the latest.

Re Vitamins of Charleswood
Facebook.com/revitamins

Considering a Pet Sitter?

If you’re a pet owner who travels, arranging for care for your pets while you’re away can feel like an overwhelming decision. It’s important to look for caregivers who will not only provide for basic needs like food and water, but also companionship, reassurance, and playtime while you’re away. If you can find someone to come to your home, your pet gets to stay in his familiar surroundings, which is less stressful than taking him to a new location! When finding a pet sitter, it’s also important that you’re both on the same page about what’s expected and the fees involved for things like the number and length of visits per day, grooming and walking, accident cleanup, and taking the pet to a vet in case of emergency. You and your pet should feel comfortable about the care arrangements, so you (and your pet) can enjoy your vacation without worry!

Lisa Tustin, Professional Pet Services

Clean Eating: Grilled Corn and Avocado Succotash

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
S&P
2 tbsp. lime juice
4 ears corn
½ pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 bell pepper
¼ inch diced
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 avocado, chopped into ½ inch cubes
¼ c. fresh basil leaves

Directions:

While steaks are cooking, shuck corn, toss in vegetable oil and let cook on other side of grill. Once you have nice grill marks on corn, take off and slice kernels off with sharp knife. Mix with rest of ingredients, and serve.

Prairie Box, PrairieBox.com

Journaling Relieves Caregiver Anxiety

If you’re a caregiver for a senior loved one, have you considered journaling as a way to relieve caregiver anxiety? Experts recommend journaling as a way to sort out your feelings and count your blessings when life gets crazy. In fact, regular journaling may even improve your health. Writing down your worries may strengthen your immune cells, giving you a better chance of fighting off infections and staying healthy. Journaling may help you fulfill your most important roles with a positive outlook and plenty of energy. It helps to: 1. Reduce the intensity of stress and anger by writing these feelings down. 2. Solve problems through creativity and intuition. 3. Recognize productive (and unproductive) patterns in your life. 4. Track your progress and growth for increased confidence. 5. Sort out your feelings. Journaling gives you a “safe space” to share your thoughts and feelings without worrying about being judged or feeling guilty.

Alevtina (Alia) Tuhari, Reliable Home Care Agency, ReliableHomeCare.ca

Caregiver Pharmacy Support

It can be difficult to be a caregiver and manage multiple or complex medications for a loved one. It is important to ensure medications are taken appropriately to help maintain good health. A visiting pharmacist provides personal support with regular medication delivery and home consultations. The pharmacist reviews a client’s prescription drugs and over the counter medications to advise if there are any drug interactions, and makes adjustments as necessary. This level of support can reduce emergency room visits and hospital stays, and results in strong, trusting relationships between clients, caregivers, and pharmacists. The visiting pharmacist also provides seamless care for hospital discharge patients and works closely with other health professionals to deliver a high level of care to the client. Care is tailored to specific individual needs such as assisting with blood pressure readings, adding medications as needed to adherence packaging, and making changes in an efficient manner.

Teresa Giesbrecht
CareAtHomePharmacy.ca

Tune-Up Your Brain!

Your brain is the engine that drives you – so it’s important to keep it well-tuned. Fat – or lipid – consumption is essential for the healthy growth, development, and function of your brain. In fact, 60% of your brain’s dry weight is fat. Several types of plant and animal fats are used for brain-building material, though one lipid reigns supreme: omega-3 fatty acids derived from salmon, sardines, krill oil, and plant-based Ahiflower oil. There are many benefits of omega-3: it increases cognitive functioning and decreases symptoms of depression, anxiety and aggression. It is also shown to be a protective factor against cognitive decline and dementia in older adults; and it is an essential component of a healthy diet for pregnant women, leading to better health outcomes in newborns. Consider adding omega-3s to your diet as an evidence-based way to tune-up your brain for optimal mental health.

Sean Miller, CMHA Manitoba and Winnipeg

mbwpg.cmha.ca

Book Club: Why Can’t I get Better?

Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease by Dr. Richard Horowitz. Looks at pain, fatigue, memory and concentration problems, sleep disorders, and much more. Lyme disease and its related conditions are incredibly complicated. You can take the questionnaire yourself, and start doing your own detective work with this book as your guide.

LymeDisease.org

Allergy Relief with NAET®

NAET® was discovered by Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad in November of 1983. Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques, also known as NAET, are non-invasive, drugfree, natural solutions to alleviate allergies of all types using a blend of selective energy balancing, testing, and treatment procedures. The variety of techniques applied includes acupuncture/acupressure, chiropractic, nutritional, and kinesiological disciplines of medicine. We know that many symptoms, such as headaches, backache, joint pain, indigestion, or cough, are often triggered by food and environmental sensitivities. If left untreated, these reactions might eventually cause illness. This therapy often alleviates adverse reactions to eggs, milk, peanuts, penicillin, aspirin, mushrooms, shellfish, latex, grass, ragweed, and flowers. In addition, people who suffer from allergens such as perfume, animal dander, animal epithelial, makeup, chemicals, cigarette smoke, pathogens, heat, cold, and other environmental substances also find relief. Reference: www.naet.com.

Dr. Maria Sabrina DiBernardo, Village Chiropractic Centre

Find Calm in Chaos

A great teacher once told us that a meditation practice is like weaving a parachute. Eventually, you will need it, and you don’t want to have to learn to weave on your way down. We take comfort in thinking we have control over most aspects of our lives, and in many cases, we do. But when something out of our control happens, it can send us on a downward spiral. Meditation is like parachute weaving, and floating helps you meditate with ease. We get it. Meditation can be difficult. You might even think meditation is boring. But we like to think, if you can’t spend 90 minutes with yourself, who else is going to want to? This is the reason self-care is such an important pillar of wellness. Because the only thing we truly have control over is ourselves. If you can find the calm, you can control the chaos. Brad Dauk, Floatcalm.com

Brad Dauk, Floatcalm.com

Grab Bars for Safety                                                                                                 

Whether it’s in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, entranceways, or near the stairs, safety grab bars are a benefit to any home or office. They provide safety in areas like the bathroom and around stairs, where a majority of slips and falls occur. Safety grab bars can also be used for assistance when getting in and out of bed, or up and down from a chair or sofa. As we age, moving around can become more difficult. Grab bars are a great way to provide security within your home or office, while maintaining and promoting independence. Safety is a concern for every home and business owner, and safety grab bars are an efficient first step towards a safer home and work environment. If you are considering placing safety bars, always do your research, as there are many makes and models to fit a range of specific needs.

Renew Mobility, RenewMobility.ca

Happy Pride, Winnipeg!

Many people wonder why Pride still happens around the world now that same-sex marriage is legal. Although same-sex marriage is legal in Canada, many places in the world are incarcerating and even sending people to death camps for their perceived sexual preference. This is unimaginable to Canadians. Pride is about celebrating our freedom and the love we share as humans, and trying to create a safe world for present and future generations. It’s a time to celebrate who we are and how far we’ve come in society, and the people who have taken those courageous steps to help us get to where we are today. Whether you are a member of the LGBTTQQIAAP community or not, we currently live in a country where we have the freedom, and for the most part the safety, to be ourselves. There is great PRIDE in that.

Heather Cameron, LiberatedConnections.com