Here are some tips for a healthy Christmas holiday: 1. Load up on vegetables. Halve your plate with vegetables. This will keep you full and keep you from reaching for the less healthy options. 2. Savor each bite. Slow down and be mindful. Take your time, enjoy the food and share that enjoyment with family and friends. 3. Don’t skip meals. This will lead to blood sugar imbalance and likely poor food choices. 4. Alternate between water and alcohol. Skip holiday hangovers by staying hydrated. 5. Avoid the food coma. Walk for 10-15 minutes after meals to support digestion and help stabilize blood sugar.
All Chest Pain is Cardiac…
…Until proven otherwise. There are many non-cardiac reasons for chest pain. Consider cardiac etiologies first when chest pain occurs. Muscular strain or injury in the chest wall can worsen with movement. Respiratory issues can cause pain with coughing or breathing. Indigestion or heartburn can mimic cardiac pain. Fibromyalgia, arthritis, and even skin conditions can cause pain to the chest. A cardiogram offers valuable information. For more subtle cardiac events, blood work at an ER or urgent care facility is essential. You’ve gotta have heart! Never second guess chest pain.
Wellness Tea of the Month
CHOCOMINTNILLA. Did you know that drinking tea gives an added boost of antioxidants to your skin? This delicious blend has a rooibos base and some touches of nougat, vanilla, dark chocolate drops and peppermint. Rooibos is low in tannins, free from caffeine, and packed with antioxidants. Vanilla is also rich in antioxidants, which are beneficial for your skin. Dark chocolate has bioactive compounds that are also great for your skin, with flavanols for sun damage protection and improved blood flow to the skin. Peppermint will help you improve energy levels and reduce daytime fatigue. And nougat is just the special touch for a perfect holiday hot drink, a combination of honey and roasted nuts.
Holiday Gift Idea: Winter Eyewear
For those interested in skiing or snowboarding, eye protection can make a great thoughtful gift! Consider protection from ultraviolet rays, glare, and wind. Special filters and anti-glare coatings in a wraparound design with specific venting to prevent fogging are all great options. Cross country skiers, outdoor family leisure activities and dedicated outdoor walkers can choose from a variety of brand names and styles. Some even have interchangeable lenses designed for different altitudes, terrain, and light conditions to protect the cornea, intraocular lens and retina. In many cases, prescription lenses are available. Check with your Optometrist for that special Christmas eyewear gift!
Acupuncture for Sport Injury
Most sports-related injuries occur when a particular part of the body is overused, which leads to a repetitive stress injury. This can lead to injuries such as runner’s knee or tennis elbow. Many athletes rely on acupuncture to treat their injuries and boost their performance – but also to prevent injuries from occurring in the first place. Acupuncture offers many benefits when it comes to pain management, recovery, and prevention, including: 1. Releasing tight muscles or activating muscles that aren’t firing properly. 2. Boosting healing and recovery of tendons and ligaments. 3. Relieving stress. 4. Improving the immune system. 5. Aiding with sleep. 6. Keeping the pain away. These are all great reasons to use acupuncture to keep you active.
Have a Smoke-Free 2020
Something about leaving an old year behind and looking ahead at the clean slate of a new one inspires most of us to try. We think about making lasting positive changes in our lives, and we do it with hope and enthusiasm. If you’re planning to start the new year without a cigarette in your hand, but have had no luck sticking with past New Year’s resolutions, consider laser therapy. Laser therapy can help to control cravings and withdrawal symptoms. In clinical studies, patients report a noticeable reduction in cravings, and have a higher chance of success in quitting.
Reflexology – More Than a Foot Rub!
Reflexology is a natural therapy that reduces pain, stress & tension in the body and improves circulation (cardiovascular & lymphatic) and elimination. There are reflexes in the feet which are connected to every part, organ and gland through a subtle energy that flows through channels in the body. When there is discomfort like stress, trauma, injury or illness, blockages develop in these channels and the flow of energy becomes disrupted. By applying pressure to these reflexes, signals are sent via the nervous system that release these blockages, relax the body and balance the natural functioning elsewhere in the body. It is a total ‘reboot and rebalance’!
Have a Stress-Free Holiday Season
Generally speaking, there is a lot of joy surrounding celebrations around the Christmas season. But, not everyone shares the excitement. While the festive season has many happy moments for those who celebrate Christmas, it is also a time of high stress. There is pressure to spend money, to take time to do the Christmas shopping and time to spend with friends and family. While there is enjoyment in these activities, there is also an enormous amount of stress. We can dull the stress with food, drinks and parties, but the body records it all. It is not uncommon to develop headaches and lower back problems during and after the holidays. This is a good time to visit your chiropractor and feel good again.
Product Spotlight: Sonya™ Daily Skincare System
Do you have combination skin? If your skin is dry in some areas, oily in others, and can fluctuate depending on the season and environmental factors, the answer is yes! The Sonya™ daily skincare system has an advanced gel-based technology that delivers aloe and botanicals deep into your skin for added moisture. The cleanser, illuminating gel, mask, and moisturizer are all formulated specifically for combination skin, to help give you skin that is refreshed, rejuvenated, and looks its absolute best. These four powerful products are perfect for year-round combination skin care that helps to balance and improve your complexion.
Words to Live By
Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. Hamilton Wright Mabie
Book Club
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. by Angela Duckworth. In this must-read book for anyone striving to succeed, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows parents, educators, students, and business people, that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a focused persistence called “grit.” Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that—not talent or luck—makes all the difference.


