The heart muscle is your body’s blood pump. It uses the circulatory system to supply oxygen and nutrients to all tissues and vital organs while also removing carbon dioxide and other wastes. Keep your heart tip top with healthy lifestyle choices that include eating whole foods and avoiding overly salted and fatty processed foods, consuming plenty of green tea and garlic, losing excess weight, increase physical activity, quitting smoking, and drinking alcohol only in moderation. Heart-happy supplements include: Multivitamin/mineral, Extra Magnesium, Omega 3 fatty acids, Coenzyme Q10 (age 50+), L-Carnitine and Hawthorn Berry.

To quit smoking for good is not easy! Nicotine substitutes (patches, gum, lozenges, inhalers) or a prescription medication can help. Your pharmacist can offer support along the way and recommend the best choice according to your needs and state of health. Smoking can interfere with certain drug treatments. When you quit smoking, speak to your pharmacist to see if your treatment needs to be adjusted. Very few smokers are able to quit for good on their first try. Don’t get discouraged. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! Ask your pharmacist for help, and remember—it’s never too late to quit smoking.

It’s that time again, the beginning of the New Year; yet things look very different than last year. 2020 is officially over, and we are embarking into 2021, hoping for a very different year. Let’s work on making resolutions that will help us through. Focus on that all-important Self-care (and Community-care)! Find the things in life that are enjoyable (and able to do within the constrictions of the pandemic), and make a resolution to commit to them on a regular basis. Be specific yet flexible, and most importantly, make them enjoyable (not just healthy)!

The brain continually changes its structure to meet the demands placed upon it. Cognitive rehabilitation is used to recover lost cognitive skills caused by brain damage. A recreation therapist uses a variety of approaches to promote cognitive abilities. Restoration or Development focuses on recovery of lost skills, the development of skills, or the refinement and maintenance of skills. Compensation focuses on adaptations and modification to compensate for cognitive dysfunction. Changes in the brain can occur over an extended period of time. The potential for further recovery is still there. Contact us to learn more about cognitive retraining and rehabilitation.

Pneumococcal Pneumonia, caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, is the most common bacterial type of pneumonia. It can be life-threatening and may require admission to hospital. Bacteria can be present in your nose and throat without symptoms however, you can still infect others. Like the flu, it can be passed on from person to person through talking, coughing and sneezing. Risk factors for Pneumococcal pneumoniae are *Increased age, *Medical conditions such as chronic lung, heart or liver disease, Diabetes, and cancer, *Lifestyle factors including smoking, alcoholism and living in long-term care facilities. If you are 50+, talk to your pharmacist about the Prevnar 13 vaccine.

It is January, often a difficult winter month, and we all may be feeling a bit sluggish. Along with eating a clean and balanced diet, getting daily exercise and doing things that make you happy, there are a few safe and healthful supplements you can add into your fitness and energy regimen. * Green tea extract to rev up your metabolism and energy *L-Carnitine for energy production and utilization of fat consumption *Chromium picolinate for help with blood sugar issues and appetite regulation *Green coffee bean extract to help lower blood sugar, burn and utilize fat and carbohydrates. Happy, healthy, and energetic New Year to you!