Community News
New Year, New You!

Invest in yourself this year with a Personalized Plan to support your health! Choice Nutrition’s expertise in leveraging alternative and holistic treatment approaches, proven effective for over three decades, aims to enhance, restore, or sustain good health. They’ll identify your unique needs and merge the best of natural and conventional healthcare to maximize your health using: 1) Professional-grade custom formula nutritional supplements. 2) Therapies and Services – Naturopathic Consultations, Integrative Microscopy & Cancer Care, Acupuncture, IV Therapy, Sensitivity Testing, Low Intensity Laser, Heavy Metal Testing, Custom Orthotics, Wellness Detox Room, along with Massage, Reflexology, and Reiki being offered.

Fun Hearing Facts!

Here are some fun facts about how other species hear. *Snakes hear through their jaw bone as well as through a traditional inner ear. In essence, snakes have two distinct hearing mechanisms, which helps them hear and catch prey. *In the hopes of attracting a mate, mice serenade each other with sounds inaudible to humans. *Male mosquitoes hear with thousands of tiny hairs growing on their antennae. Humans can rely on technology to improve their hearing. If you are wondering about your own hearing ability, the first thing to do is to book a hearing test.

Breathe in the New Year!

Let 2024 be the year you live your best lung life with these lung health resolutions: 1) Are you or a loved one thinking about quitting or cutting back on smoking? Join the Saskatchewan Quits community at www.SaskQuits.ca for education, peer support, resources, and the chance to win prizes! 2) Stay up to date on your vaccinations. Protect yourself against influenza, COVID-19, pneumonia, and RSV. 3) Check your breathing. If you cough, wheeze, experience shortness of breath, or feel chest tightness, ask your healthcare provider about having a spirometry breathing test. 4) Tune in to Lung Saskatchewan’s live and on-demand Lung Life Webinar Series to learn from leading experts at www.LungSask.ca.

Words to Live By

“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard

Seasons Greetings: Tax Benefit Opportunities

“As the year draws to a close, it’s a time to reflect on gratitude and generosity. I wish you joy and cheer this season. Remember, amidst the festivities, there may be untapped opportunities to ensure financial wellness. As a disability tax specialist, I encourage you to explore potential tax benefits available to you. Let this season be not only about celebration but also about securing your financial future. May the holidays bring you comfort, and may the new year shine light on possibilities for a more prosperous tomorrow. Wishing you and your loved ones a season filled with happiness, while keeping your financial well-being in mind.”

Curb Holiday Sugar Over-Indulgence

With the holidays right around the corner, here are some tricks to minimize that over-indulgence. Try to keep up with your exercise regime to help your body process the excess sugars and calories and to keep feelings of bloating or indigestion down. Before a party, have a high-fibre snack to decrease the amount of sweets eaten and try to limit yourself to one cocktail and intersperse that with sparkling water. Drink warm lemon water with some added apple cider vinegar to support blood sugar and digestion, and add turmeric and ginger for anti-inflammatory effects. As for your cooking and baking, explore recipes with healthy sugar alternatives.

Live Your BEST Lung Life!

Inhale. Exhale. This holiday season here are three things to talk to your health provider about to keep you breathing easier. 1) Don’t ignore the snore. If you snore and are tired during the day, you may have sleep apnea, a disease where you stop breathing in your sleep that requires treatment. Ask about a sleep apnea test. 2) Keep up to date on your vaccinations. Prevent influenza, pneumonia, COVID and RSV. 3) Don’t ignore a cough, wheeze, shortness of breath or chest tightness. Ask about a spirometry test. Learn more at www.LungSask.ca.

Grief & the Holidays

The holidays can be a particularly painful time as the whole world seems to send the message that you must be full of joy. But without your loved one by your side, how can you celebrate? A few ideas: Keep Some Old Traditions, Combine New Elements with Old Traditions, Attend a Remembrance Service & Develop New Traditions. While the holidays can be lonely, you don’t have to feel alone. Take it one day at a time. Focus on understanding what your needs are and meeting them. Hold your memories of loved ones close, and connect with other people during these cold winter days. There will be opportunities to make the holidays meaningful if you have your heart courageously open to it.

Holidays with Dementia

Many older adults with Alzheimer’s or dementia enjoy and want to be included in holiday festivities. However, the added activities could cause increased agitation and confusion, unpredictable behavior, or mood swings. To create a stress-free, happy holiday season, try to scale things back and modify activities so they’ll feel calm and safe. Focus on a few of the most meaningful traditions. Ask which activities they value most. That could mean trimming the Christmas tree, lighting the menorah, singing songs, or baking special holiday treats. Even if your older adult might not remember these holiday activities later, the warm feelings they’ll have is a different kind of memory their body will carry for a while