About 647,000 Americans die from heart disease, and roughly 795,000 people in the US have a stroke each year*. You can help prevent heart disease and stroke by living a healthier lifestyle. By making healthier choices you can help keep your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels normal and lower your risk for heart disease. And up to 80% of strokes could be prevented through healthy lifestyle changes and working with your healthcare team to control conditions that raise your risk for stroke*. Here are five ways to help prevent heart disease and stroke:

1. Nutrition: Be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and limit processed foods and meats. Also limiting sweetened drinks and alcohol can help lower your blood sugar level and blood pressure.
2. Maintain A Healthy Weight: People who are overweight or obese have a higher risk for heart disease and stroke. Carrying extra weight can put extra stress on the heart and blood vessels.
3. Exercise: Physical activity can help you maintain a healthy weight and lowers your blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar levels. Adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intense exercise per week.
4. Quit Smoking: Cigarette smoking greatly increases your risk for heart disease and stroke. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you currently smoke, work with a doctor or pharmacist to help create a plan to quit.
5. Take Your Medications as Directed: If you take medications to treat high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes: follow the instructions carefully and ask your pharmacist about anything you don’t understand! Using myMedPack to package all your medications, helps ensure you will take them as directed at the right time, every time.

You and your health care team can work together to treat any medical conditions that lead to heart disease or stroke. Discuss your treatment and medications regularly and bring a list of questions to your doctor’s appointments or next time you pick up your prescriptions.

 

*Information provided by CDC.

What is CBD?

CBD, short for cannabidiol, is found in the cannabis plant. The essential oil is produced from the stalk, stems, leaves, and flowers of agricultural hemp plants. Cannabinoids are part of a class of diverse chemical compounds that act on receptors in the human endocannabinoid system. Unlike THC, CBD and other cannabinoids are non-psychoactive.

How Does CBD Work?

Humans and all mammals have a natural receptor system, known as the endocannabinoid system (ECS), that acts as messengers throughout the entire body, giving the body specific directions on what to regulate in the body, such as appetite, depression, immune function, memory, pain and sleep. If the body does not produce enough endocannabinoids or cannot regulate them properly, you are more susceptible to illnesses that affect one or more of the functions listed above. External sources of cannabinoids, like CBD, can help regulate your endocannabinoid system.

CBD binds to these receptors, which causes the body to produce more of them. This strengthens the communication between cells. Much of the therapeutic effect of CBD is carried out by our human endocannabinoid system. CBD simply promotes normal function.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who Can Benefit from CBD?

Everyone. Humans and pets. CBD is an all-natural product that helps maintain overall health. Research on the potential health benefits of CBD oil is ongoing, so new therapeutic uses for this natural remedy are sure to be discovered.

Tips for Buying CBD

CBD has become increasingly popular over the past few years as a natural remedy to treat a variety of ailments in humans AND pets alike. While most people are curious about CBD oil, many are still unsure about how to get a quality product to try. Luckily, there are several quality CBD product lines available.

Here a few tips to consider before purchasing CBD.

1. Buy from companies where the hemp is grown in the United States: Other countries have different growing standards that may lead to impurities in the CBD extracts such as heavy metals or pesticides.

2. Buy from companies that extract CBD oil using CO2 extraction method: This method is safer than using solvents (which can remain in the final product) and is more efficient at extracting all the cannabinoids and essential oils from the hemp plant.

3. Buy from companies that post their lab reports from a 3rd party testing company: A reputable CBD company will have been tested by a third party company and contain a certificate of approval (COA). The COA contains a full list of compounds in the CBD batch including any contaminants that may be found in the product. The COA also lists any safety issues. You can learn how to read lab reports from the 3rd party website and these reports provide unbiased information.

4. Price does not equal quality: The FDA found many products ranging in price that did not contain what they claimed. Focus more on the extraction process and lab reports of the company and be sure to double check that the CBD concentration listed on the product’s label and on the Certificate of Approval match.

5. Does it actually have CBD in it?: Check the ingredients in the product to ensure it actually contains CBD. CBD oil may be listed as cannabidiol or hemp extract. Note that hemp seed oil is not the same as CBD oil, and if the product’s description does not list cannabidiol or hemp extract it is best to avoid purchasing.

6. Do the math: Generally, CBD strength is measured in milligrams. The number of milligrams of CBD listed on the product label is the total amount of CBD in the entire product. Divide this by the servings to see how much CBD you are getting per dose. If the math doesn’t match up or the amount of CBD is not listed – do not buy it.

7. CBD oil will affect everyone differently: The amount of CBD oil needed is dependent upon what you are using it for. More severe symptoms require a higher dosage. If, after adjusting the dose, you are not satisfied, try another product.

8. Most importantly, buy from a transparent company: Make sure they are able to answer all of your questions and show proof of their claims.

For additional information, check out our new CBD page.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

 

The New Year is quickly approaching and is a great time to focus on setting goals and making healthy lifestyle changes; but how do you decide which healthy habit resolutions are right for you? Even more importantly, how do you ensure that you will meet your goals and maintain healthy habits throughout the year? The key to successful goal setting (and achieving!) all starts with planning.

The Importance of Healthy Habits

Habits are regularly occurring actions, which is why they are instrumental to living a sustainable, healthy life. Forming healthy habits can come with numerous benefits. Depending on the habits you create, the following benefits can be achieved:

• Boost your immune system
• Ability to combat diseases and certain health conditions
• Increase your energy
• Improve your mood
• Increase longevity and your quality of life

Know Your Current Habits

Before you set a new healthy habit goal, you should be aware of what you are already doing on a regularly basis. This will help you to choose goals that will change your unhealthy habits or create new, healthy ones. Take a few days to track your daily activities and reflect on the changes you want to make.

Choosing A Goal

Remember that not all habits are possible or relevant for all people. Find what you are passionate about and use that passion to inspire your healthy habit journey. Here are some examples of common goals for a healthy lifestyle:

• Develop a sustainable, nourishing diet
• Sit less and move more
• Get more quality sleep
• Find a physical activity you enjoy
• Create time for self-care
• Try a new hobby
• Visit your doctor for regular checkups
• Limit screen time
• Quit smoking

Make A Plan

It is important to set SMART goals when thinking about the healthy habits you want to form. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

• Specific: Setting vague goals leads to vague results. Be sure to clearly define the goal and how you plan to accomplish it at the very beginning.
• Measurable: A measurable goal allows you to track your progress and keeps you motivated. For example, instead of “I want to eat more fruits and vegetables,” a measurable goal would be “I want to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day.”
• Attainable: Being realistic about what you are capable of accomplishing is vital for setting good goals. It is easy for motivation to begin to fizzle when goals are too difficult, but starting with reasonable goals and setting new, bigger goals each time you reach them will keep your motivation going strong.
• Relevant: Your goals should align with your values and set you up for success in your long-term objectives. Think about what is important to you and use this as a starting point for creating personalized goals.
• Time-bound: You should establish a reasonable time frame in which you would like to accomplish your goals. This helps to track progress and allows you the flexibility to reevaluate your goals and make changes if they have not been reached yet.

Stay Focused

For many, staying on track is the most difficult part of reaching goals and creating new habits. To ensure that you stay focused and on the right track, some tips for staying motivated include:

• Break big goals into smaller goals: Reaching smaller goals on the path to a larger goal keeps morale high and encourages you to keep going. Having milestones on your path to success keeps you feeling positive and accomplished.
• Reward yourself: Periodically rewarding yourself for reaching your goals is great motivation! Rewards can be as big or as small as you want, as long as they make you excited to keep reaching your goals.
• Monitor progress: Monitoring your progress will show you just how far you have come on your goal-setting journey. This makes it easy to see when you are doing well and decide if you need to make any changes to your plan.
• Establish a routine: Establishing a routine is vital when trying to pick up healthy habits. Doing things on certain days of the week or at the same time each day will help your body adapt to your new lifestyle changes.
• Find a support system: Whether it is friends, family, or your community, having people you can rely on to hold you accountable will keep you striving to reach your goals!
• Be flexible: Do not be too hard on yourself if you are not seeing the progress you expected. Staying positive and allowing yourself to change a goal or try something new is key to making healthy, long-term lifestyle changes.

Avoid Common Pitfalls

Even with perfect planning, you cannot reach your goals without the proper mindset. There are many things in our lives that can distract us from our goals and keep us from adopting healthy habits. Watch out for these common mistakes that often keep people from reaching their goals.

• Comparing yourself to others
  • It is all too easy to get distracted by others while you are working towards reaching your goals. However, focusing on the achievements of others can be detrimental to your success. Celebrating others’ successes without comparing yourself will allow you to progress and reach your goals at the pace that is right for you, instead of getting distracted by others.
• Underestimating time and effort
  • Underestimating the time and effort required can happen to anyone, but it is important to reevaluate your plan as soon as you realize that the requirements for your goal may not be within your capabilities at this time.
• Getting distracted
  • Life is full of distractions but, if you have planned correctly, none are as important as the goal that you have set for yourself. If this is not the case, consider goals that make you feel happier and more motivated.
• Framing negatively
  • Goals are not punishment. They are rewards for working hard and dedicating your time and effort to something you are passionate about. Framing goals negatively will not only lead to failure but can have a negative effect on your mental health. Instead, choose goals that make you feel happy and motivated.
• Allowing the fear of failure to get to you
  • The idea of failure is scary, but there are ways to overcome this fear. Setting a goal that is realistic and motivating and creating a plan that you trust are the first steps to alleviating the fear of failure. During the process, be flexible and forgiving with yourself. If you allow yourself to set smaller goals on your path to success at any time, you can alleviate the stress and distraction caused by fear.
• Seeking perfection
  • Similarly, to overcoming the fear of failure, do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the need to be perfect. The truth is that nobody is perfect, and no journey to success is perfect either. Releasing unrealistic expectations of yourself frees you to achieve your goals.

Healthy habits are a great way to make a positive impact on your life, but they are not just for New Year’s resolutions! Come back to these healthy habit goal planning tips anytime you want to set yourself up for success.

Sources:

https://www.sfadvancedhealth.com/blog/health-goals

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/an-easier-way-to-set-and-achieve-health-goals

https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2018/03/creating-healthy-habits

Influenza (Flu) is a potentially serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death. Every flu season is different, and the infection can affect everyone differently. Millions of people get the flu every year, hundreds of thousands of people are hospitalized and thousands to tens of thousands of people die from flu-related causes every year. This year, more than ever, it is important for you and your family to receive your annual flu vaccine to help protect against the flu. When you get a flu vaccine you are protecting yourself, children, grandparents, the healthcare system, coworkers, the immunocompromised, your community, and the list goes on.

How Do Flu Vaccines Work?

Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are used to make the vaccine. The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the influenza virus that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. You should get a flu vaccine before flu viruses begins spreading in your community, since it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in your body. The CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October. Getting vaccinated too early could lead to reduced protection against the flu later in the flu season.

Flu Facts vs. Flu Myths

“People who get a flu shot are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease”

FALSE. Recent studies have indicated that flu and pneumonia vaccines may actually protect people from Alzheimer’s, possibly contributing to the protection of memory, cognition, and overall brain health.

“I should get a flu shot later when there are cases in my area”

FALSE. As stated above, your body needs about two weeks after you receive the flu shot before the antibodies can protect you against the virus. Get your flu vaccine so you are covered before flu viruses begin to circulate, not after.

“The flu shot will give me the flu”

FALSE. The flu vaccination will not give you the flu. The vaccines are made from ‘inactivated’ (killed) flu viruses. Some people experience a fever or body aches for a few days after receiving the vaccine, but this is not the flu. These side effects are a normal reaction and a result from your body creating an immune response to the vaccine.

“I don’t need a flu shot, I got one last year”

FALSE. The vaccine is developed each year specifically for the virus strains predicted to circulate during the upcoming flu season. Also, the body’s immune response gradually decreases over time, so it is important to get a flu shot every year during the recommended time frame to ensure the best possible protection.

“I don’t need to get the flu shot because I have never had the flu before”

FALSE. The flu shot doesn’t just protect you from getting the flu but it also protects those around you. Many healthy people can be infected with the flu virus and spread it to others by coughing, sneezing, talking, or from touched surfaces even if they are not showing symptoms. There are also certain populations such as newborns, immunocompromised, cancer patients that are unable to receive vaccinations or are unable to develop an adequate response to the vaccine, so it is even more important for healthy individuals to be vaccinated to prevent spreading it to those most at risk of severe illness.

“A flu shot isn’t safe while pregnant”

FALSE. Getting the flu shot is safe during all trimesters of the pregnancy and can even pass antibodies along to the baby while protecting the mother. These antibodies can continue to protect the baby several months after birth.

How effective is the flu vaccine?

While vaccine effectiveness can vary, recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% – 60% among the overall population during season when the flu virus circulating is well-matched to the flu vaccine. In general, current flu vaccines tend to work better against influenza B and influenza A (H1N1) viruses. There are multiple strains of flu viruses that circulate every year. Researchers predict and develop vaccines based on the most common circulating strains from the previous year. While the flu vaccine is not able to protect against all the strains, it will reduce the risk of getting the flu and should also lessen the severity if you do get sick.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about the best time to receive your flu vaccine!

 

*information provided by the CDC

August is National Immunization Month, and it is a time to recognize the importance of staying safe, reducing the spread of diseases, and staying up to date on immunizations for each stage of life. Due to COVID-19, it is more important than ever to ensure everyone in your family is up to date on their immunizations this year. Routine vaccinations prevent illnesses that lead to unnecessary medical visits & hospitalizations, which increase your risk of exposure and further strain our healthcare system.

Why are vaccines important?

A vaccine (or immunization) is a way to help your body build its natural immunity to a disease before contracting the full strain of the disease and possibly getting sick from it. For most vaccines, a weakened form of the disease germ is injected into your body, usually via a shot in the leg or arm. Your body detects the invading germs (antigens) and produces antibodies to fight them. Those antibodies then stay in your body for a long time. In many cases, the antibodies are present for the rest of your life — this means that if you are ever exposed to that disease again, your better will be more equipped to fight it off.*

 

Vaccines not only help protect yourself but helps protect your loved ones, too. They are an essential part of preventing community spread of diseases, and they help protect those who are unable to get vaccines for one reason or another (allergies, immunocompromised, etc.)

When should I get my vaccine?

Some vaccines should be administered at regular intervals throughout our lives, such as the annual flu shot or the booster tetanus and diphtheria (Td) vaccine received every 10 years. Others, however, are encouraged for administration at particular ages. For example:

• Vaccinations given during any trimester provide both mother and baby with protection, even after birth. The first administration of the Tdap vaccine will help protect against whooping cough. It’s safe to receive vaccines during pregnancy and after giving birth, even while breastfeeding – and this includes the flu shot.
• Babies receive vaccinations by the age of 2 that help protect them from 14 diseases, including measles and whooping cough.
• Pre-teens and teens have a greater risk for diseases like meningitis and HPV, and those vaccines provide more protection at this age.
• Vaccines are an essential preventative measure for older adults as they are at higher risk of developing complications if they contract certain illnesses, such as pneumonia or shingles.

Ask your doctor or our team which vaccines are right for you, or find the CDC recommended vaccine schedule here.

 

*Information provided by familydoctor.org/the-importance-of-vaccinations/ & the CDC.