Latest in Health

Acupuncture Healing Center Workshop

unnamedThis workshop from the Acupuncture Healing Center in Chapel Hill is the perfect way to shed some extra pounds!

The workshop will include:
– 3 classes that will teach about Wood, the element of the season in Chinese medicine, and the diets that supports this season.
– Acupuncture treatments, at the end of each class, to curb cravings and aid in detoxification.
– Reduce cravings and reduce stress through changes in diet.
– Learn recipes attuned to the spring season.
– 3 weeks of individual and group support in your nutritional and
healing needs; this I have found to be one of the most beneficial
components of the workshop!

Workshops Dates: Thursday April 16, April 30 and May 7
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Cost: $35 non-refundable, due at registration.
Spots are limited, so reserve soon!

http://www.acupuncturehealingcenter.org/

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12th Annual Family Caregiver & Senior Resource Fair

imgresIt’s that time of year again! The 12th Annual Family Caregiver & Senior Resource Fair is just around the corner. Please click here to access detailed information about registration. Print the ad, choose which mini session you would like to attend and mail the ad back to Alamance ElderCare.

If you choose to you can also scan it into the computer and email it to Jessica.peschon@conehealth.com or fax is also an option at (336) 538-8577.

We hope to see you there!

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Take a LIMO to your next mammogram!

image002Women’s Health- Breast Cancer Screening

Event Date: Wednesday, April 8

Event Location: Alamance Regional Medical Center, Norville Breast Center

Click here to register.

This is a fun way to get your mammogram done and take a Limo ride with your friends. You will be picked up at the Wellness Center parking lot by a beautiful limo and chauffeured to Alamance Regional Medical Center for your mammogram, and returned to Elon within 1 1/2 hours. The limo can accommodate groups of 8, so bring your co-workers and make it a party!

You qualify for this program if you have not had a mammogram within the past year.

Mammograms are covered under Elon’s health insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield) so there is no charge.
If you are covered under a different insurance you may wish to check with them to determine your coverage.
Most insurance companies cover a screening mammogram at 100% for preventive care.

Your physician may fax your screening mammogram order to 336-278-5122 or you can mail it with your paperwork.
You may also schedule an appointment at Elon Wellness for a breast exam and mammogram order.

Any questions, please feel free to call ext. 5569.

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Borrow these life-changing reads from the Wellness Center

RenewalThe Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life by Renée Peterson Trudeau

Mothers of all ages can take control of their lives again with this valuable year-long guide. Many women feel overwhelmed and out of touch after giving birth to their children. This guide, organized into monthly themes, will help you renew your commitment to yourself—as a unique individual and as a mother.

 

Good Night Sleep

Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health by Michael Breus

This life changing Amazon Top 100 Best Seller offers a step-by-step plan to remedy your restless nights. Written by sleep expert Michael Breus, this book offers both immediate solutions to your bad sleeping habits and a 4-week program to help you develop a rejuvenating sleep schedule. If you regularly feel sleep-deprived or worn out, this book is a must-read!

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Natural Triad Health, Wellness and Green Living Show Saturday, April 18

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Mark your calendars! Don’t miss this great opportunity to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle. The show offers hundreds of booths with wellness products and services, door prizes and your favorite local TV and radio personalities. We hope to see you there!

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Prediabetes Resource for Elon Faculty and Staff

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“Prediabetes: What You Need to Know”

This class is offered every other month in the Grand Oaks Center Large Classroom on the campus of Alamance Regional Medical Center.

This two-hour class is for people diagnosed with pre-diabetes or for people who are at risk of developing diabetes. The focus of the class is on understanding the factors that contribute to developing diabetes and
how to prevent or slow the progression of Type 2 diabetes by making healthy lifestyle changes. The class is taught by a registered dietitian and registered nurse and focuses on nutrition, weight management, diet, exercise and behavioral changes.

The cost of the class is $30. A limited number of scholarships are available.

For information on the next available class date and time, call (336) 586-4000 or go online to www.armc.com.

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15 Natural Cold and Flu Remedies

Feeling under the weather? Read these 15 Natural Cold and Flu Remedies and get back to being a healthier, happier you!

It’s no wonder natural cold and flu remedies are popular — modern medicine has yet to offer a cure for these age-old ailments. While some medications can prevent and shorten the flu’s duration, some medications only offer temporary relief of symptoms. Many natural remedies provide temporary relief as well, and a few may actually help you get better. See which cold and flu remedies show the most promise.

1. ECHINACEA
Echinacea is an herbal supplement that is believed to boost the immune system to help fight infections. But it’s unclear whether this boost helps fight off colds. Most evidence shows echinacea doesn’t help prevent a cold, but some research shows it decreases symptoms by a day or two. Others show it has no effect. To try it, take echinacea when symptoms start and continue for 7 to 10 days. If you have a medical condition or take medication, check with your doctor before taking any supplement.

2. ZINC
Some studies show that zinc appears to have effects against viruses, like the cold. There is some evidence the mineral may prevent the formation of certain proteins that cold viruses use to reproduce themselves. While zinc does not appear to help prevent colds, some research suggests it may help shorten cold symptom duration and reduce the severity of the common cold when taken within 24 hours of the first symptoms. The FDA recommends against using zinc nasal products for colds because of reports of permanent loss of smell.

3. VITAMIN C
The cold-fighting prowess of vitamin C remains uncertain. Some studies suggest it can help reduce the duration of cold symptoms by about a day. In one study, participants who were exposed to extreme physical stress and cold weather and who took vitamin C were 50% less likely to get a cold. To help stem a cold, 2,000 milligrams seems to work best, but this high dose may cause diarrhea and stomach upset.

4. CHICKEN SOUP
Grandma was onto something. Chicken soup may help cold symptoms in more than one way. Inhaling the steam can ease nasal congestion. Sipping spoonfuls of fluid can help avoid dehydration. And some advocates say the soup may soothe inflammation. Researchers have found chicken soup has anti-inflammatory properties in the lab, though it’s unclear whether this effect translates to real-world colds.

5. HOT TEA
Drinking hot tea offers some of the same benefits as chicken soup. Inhaling the steam relieves congestion, while swallowing the fluid soothes the throat and keeps you hydrated. Black and green teas have the added bonus of being loaded with disease-fighting antioxidants, which may fight colds.

6. HOT TODDY
The hot toddy is an age-old nighttime cold remedy. Since you won’t want to drink black tea before bed, make a cup of hot herbal tea. Add a teaspoon of honey, a small shot of whiskey or bourbon, and a squeeze of lemon. This mixture may ease congestion, soothe the throat and help you sleep. Limit yourself to one hot toddy. Too much alcohol can disrupt sleep.

7. GARLIC
Garlic has long been touted for legendary germ-fighting abilities. One study showed garlic supplements may help prevent colds when taken daily. However, more research is needed to determine garlic’s real effects. But garlic is very nutritious. In addition, it can help spice up your meals when a stuffy nose makes everything taste bland.

8. STEAM/HUMIDIFIER
For a heavy dose of steam, use a room humidifier — or simply sit in the bathroom with the door shut and a hot shower running. Breathing in steam can break up congestion in the nasal passages, offering relief from a stuffy or runny nose.

9. SALINE DROPS
Dripping or spraying saltwater into the nose can thin out nasal secretions and help remove excess mucus, while reducing congestion. Try over-the-counter saline drops, or make your own by mixing 8 ounces of warm water with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. Use a bulb syringe to squirt the mixture into one nostril while holding the other one closed. Repeat 2-3 times and then do the other side.

10. NETI POT
You can use the same DIY saline solution in a neti pot. This small ceramic pot is used to flush out the nasal passages with a saltwater solution — a process known as nasal irrigation. The result is thinner mucus that drains more easily. Research suggests neti pots are useful in relieving sinus symptoms, such as congestion, pressure, and facial pain, particularly in patients with chronic sinus troubles.

11. MENTHOL OINTMENT
Days of wiping and blowing your nose can leave the skin around your nostrils sore and irritated. A simple remedy is to dab a menthol-infused ointment under, but not in, the nose or on the chest or throat. Menthol has mild numbing agents that can relieve the pain of raw skin. As an added benefit, breathing in the medicated vapors that contain menthol or camphor may help relieve cough or open clogged passages and ease symptoms of congestion. Use only in children over 2 years of age.

12. SALT WATER GARGLE
For a sore throat, the traditional saltwater gargle may have some merit. Gargling warm water with a teaspoon of salt four times daily may help keep a scratchy throat moist.

13. NASAL STRIPS
Another strategy for relieving nighttime congestion is to try over-the-counter nasal strips. These are strips of tape worn on the bridge of the nose to open the nasal passages. While they can’t unclog the nose, they do create more space for airflow.

14. LET YOUR FEVER WORK
A fever is the original natural remedy. The rise in temperature actively fights colds and flu by making your body inhospitable for germs. However, if your fever is making you uncomfortable, it’s fine to take something to reduce it. And be sure to stay well hydrated. Call your doctor right away if the fever is over 104, unless it comes down quickly with treatment. In infants 3 months or younger call your doctor for any fever greater than 100.4. Children with a fever of less than 102 usually don’t require treatment unless they’re uncomfortable.

15. BED REST
With our busy lives, most of us loathe to spend a day or two under the covers. But getting plenty of rest lets your body direct more energy to fighting off germs. Staying warm is also important, so tuck yourself in and give your immune cells a leg up in their noble battle.

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Office Germs Spread Fast − Be Smart to Keep Them at Bay

image009By Heart MD Institute Editors Published: 07 January 2015

Researchers at the University of Arizona have “clocked” the speed and spread of germs in an office setting, and it’s faster than you can imagine.They found that just a single door contaminated with a virus can allow the bug to proliferate to about 50 percent of office surfaces and employee hands within four hours.

In the experiment, researchers applied a non-infecting virus similar in size, shape, and viability to common cold viruses onto a push-plate door at the entrance. Within just two hours, the germs spread to the break room coffee pot, microwave controls, and refrigerator door handle. Later, the virus moved on to further infect the restrooms, personnel cubicles and offices, phones, desks, and keyboards.

The researchers then gave a portion of the employees hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes. When those individuals were tested, the detection of the virus dropped from 39 to 11 percent.

A similar spread time was seen in an earlier study where an individual worker was “infected” with a harmless artificial virus. In four hours, the virus was also detected on half the hands of co-workers and commonly touched areas.

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Journey: A Recovery Ministry for Women & Men Who Have Survived Abuse

Tired of being on the treadmill of life and want to take control of your life? Breaking the silence will help break that cycle by identifying and acknowledging what happened and learning how we can deal with it. Keeping secrets and negative emotions will have terrible consequences and can impact our health and many other aspects of our lives. Secrecy steals life, moment-by-moment, day-by-day and the theft continues until we break the silence. Join us for Journey. End the silence and begin to find the real life Christ died to give you. There is an application process to join Journey, please contact DonnaLynn Hall for more information and/or to start the process. The groups normally run 12 weeks with groups starting in February and August.

Cost: $35/person for workbook & materials

Contact: dlh2pink@gmail.com or call 336-247-3789.

Journey meeting times and locations are private.

Disclaimer: This small group ministry is not intended to be a substitute for mental health, medical, pastoral, legal or other professional services. If expert assistance or attention is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

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“The Last Anti-fat Crusaders” by The Wall Street Journal

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The low-fat-diet regimen is turning out to be based on bad science, but the USDA has been slow to catch on.

By Nina Teicholz
Oct. 28, 2014 6:56 p.m. ET

 
“The top scientist guiding the U.S. government’s nutrition recommendations made an admission last month that would surprise most Americans. Low-fat diets, Alice Lichtenstein said, are “probably not a good idea.” It was a rare public acknowledgment conceding the failure of the basic principle behind 35 years of official American nutrition advice.
Yet the experts now designing the next set of dietary recommendations remain mired in the same anti-fat bias and soft science that brought us the low-fat diet in the first place. This is causing them to ignore a large body of rigorous scientific evidence that represents our best hope in fighting the epidemics of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans—jointly published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) every five years—have had a profound influence on the foods Americans produce and consume. Since 1980, they have urged us to cut back on fat, especially the saturated kind found mainly in animal foods such as red meat, butter and cheese. Instead, Americans were told that 60% of their calories should come from carbohydrate-rich foods like pasta, bread, fruit and potatoes. And on the whole, we have dutifully complied.
By the turn of the millennium, however, clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were showing that a low-fat regime neither improved our health nor slimmed our waistlines. Consequently, in 2000 the Dietary Guidelines committee started to tiptoe away from the low-fat diet, and by 2010 its members had backed off any mention of limits on total fat.
Yet most Americans are still actively trying to avoid fat, according to a recent Gallup poll. They are not aware of the USDA’s crucial about-face because the agency hasn’t publicized the changes. Perhaps it did not want to be held responsible for the consequences of a quarter-century of misguided advice, especially since many experts now believe the increase in carbohydrates that authorities recommended has contributed to our obesity and diabetes epidemics.
Such a humbling reversal should have led the expert committee preparing the 2015 Dietary Guidelines, which holds its next-to-last public meeting Nov. 6-7, to fundamentally rethink the anti-fat dogma. But instead it has focused its anti-fat ire exclusively on saturated fats. Recent guidelines have steadily ratcheted down the allowable amount of these fats in the diet to 7% of calories “or less,” which is the lowest level the government has ever advised—and one that has rarely, if ever, been documented in healthy human populations.
The most current and rigorous science on saturated fat is moving in the opposite direction from the USDA committee. A landmark meta-analysis of all the available evidence, conducted this year by scientists at Cambridge and Harvard, among others, and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, concluded that saturated fats could not, after all, be said to cause heart disease. While saturated fats moderately raise “bad” LDL-cholesterol, this does not apparently lead to adverse health outcomes such as heart attacks and death. Another meta-analysis, published in the respected American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2010, came to the same conclusion. The USDA committee has ignored these findings.
No doubt, accepting them would be another embarrassing reversal for nutrition experts. The USDA, the NIH and the American Heart Association have spent billions trying to prove and promote the idea that saturated fats cause heart disease.
In place of saturated fats, these agencies have counseled Americans to consume ever-larger quantities of unsaturated fats, which are found mainly in soybean and other vegetable oils. Yet a diet high in these oils has been found in clinical trials to lead to worrisome health effects, including higher rates of cancer. And the USDA, which espouses a commitment to finding healthy “dietary patterns” based in history, is now in the paradoxical position of telling Americans to derive most of their fats from these highly processed vegetable oils with virtually no record of consumption in the human diet before 1900.
The most hopeful path lies in a different direction: An enormous trove of research over the past decade has shown that a low-carbohydrate regime consistently outperforms any other diet in improving health. Diabetics, for instance, can most effectively stabilize their blood glucose on a low-carb diet; heart-disease victims are able to raise their “good” HDL cholesterol while lowering their triglycerides. And at least two-dozen well-controlled diet trials, involving thousands of subjects, have shown that limiting carbohydrates leads to greater weight loss than does cutting fat.
The USDA committee’s mandate is to “review the scientific and medical knowledge current at the time.” But despite nine full days of meetings this year, it has yet to meaningfully reckon with any of these studies—which arguably constitute the most promising body of scientific literature on diet and disease in 50 years. Instead, the committee is focusing on new reasons to condemn red meat, such as how its production damages the environment. However, this is a separate scientific question that is outside the USDA’s mandate on health.
Rates of obesity in the U.S. started climbing dramatically right around 1980, the very year in which the Dietary Guidelines were first introduced. More than three decades later, more of the same advice can only be expected to produce similarly dismal health outcomes. And the cost, in human and dollar terms, will continue to be catastrophic.
These are compelling reasons for Congress to ask the USDA and HHS to reconstitute the Dietary Guidelines committee so that its members represent the full range of expert opinion. The committee should then be mandated to fundamentally reassess the Guidelines’ basic assumptions, based on the best and most current science. These measures would give millions of Americans a fighting chance in their battle against obesity, diabetes and heart disease—and at last start to reverse the ill effects of our misguided Dietary Guidelines.”

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