You may have seen their commercial on TV with the slogan “Make Death Wait”, which is about heart disease and stroke being the “#1 killer of women – taking more women’s lives than all forms of cancer combined.”

Heart disease is the silent killer of 1 in 3 Canadians. If you think about it, you probably know at least one person, or most likely a handful of people, who suffer from heart disease, which includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, and diabetes. Diabetes is included because high blood sugar can increase the damage to the inside of your artery walls, leading to cholesterol deposits, plaque formation and high blood pressure which can then lead to heart attack or stroke. Diabetes is growing at epidemic rates both in the US and Canada. In fact, what used to be called “adult-onset diabetes” because it developed later in life, has now be re-coined as “type 2 diabetes” due to the high incidence of teenagers and older children developing this type of diabetes. A great article here about how diabetes is affecting Canadians.

Are pharmaceutical medications the only answer for heart disease and diabetes? NO! Diet and lifestyle changes alone can have a dramatic impact on your heart health, and an even bigger improvement comes when combined with other holistic and natural therapies, such as herbs, natural health products (like fish oils and CoQ10), acupuncture, stress management techniques, and many more. An often cited study has shown that just walking 30 minutes per day and losing 5-7% of your body weight can decrease your risk of developing diabetes by more than 50%!

Take control of your heart health by having your family doctor or Naturopathic doctor assess your risk for heart disease. Go out and be active this month in celebration of your heart!

Over 4.7 million Canadians lit up in 2010, according to Health Canada. We all know the negative health benefits of cigarettes. In a recent workplace Quick Stop Smoking group support session I recently facilitated, I asked the group how smoking might be helping them achieve an “image”. The group discussed how if asked that question 10 years ago, many people would have said cigarettes made them seem cool, dangerous, or sophisticated. But now, the image is actually negative – most people frown on smoking and most of their friends who don’t smoke encourage them on a regular basis to quit.

This changing of trends is seen in Health Canada stats, even when looking just back 3 years. In 2009, 50% of total smokers were currently smoking, with 41% smoking daily. In 2010, current smokers dropped to 39%! Which translated to almost 1.5 million people QUITTING smoking between 2009 and 2010. I’m eager to see what the statistics are for 2011, and I hope the trend continues.

62% of adult smokers intend to quit in the next 6 months?  Are you one of them? National Non-Smoking Week (NNSW) is just around the corner – January 15^th – 21^st.  A great time to join thousands of other Canadians in butting out. The NNSW website has a bunch of wonderful resources.  Check out the Bibliography and FactSheet sections towards the bottom of the page.

If you are seriously thinking about quitting, do something about it! There are a lot of options out there – talk to your health professional.  You can also visit our Quit Smoking Resources page, and find out more about our unique blended therapy Quick Stop Smoking program, which includes laser therapy, acupuncture, hot stone massage, reflexology and aromatherapy.

Here are 5 tips for reducing holiday stress:

1. Pace yourself. Don’t take on more than you can handle. Make a list and prioritize the most important activities and events. Make sure to reserve some “me time” and time doing things you truly enjoy.
2. Keep track of your spending. It’s easy to lose track of how much you spend only to realize you’ve gone over budget when the credit card bill comes next month. To avoid this, make a realistic budget and keep track of how well you are able to keep up with it, adjusting the budget if necessary so there are no surprises in January.
3. Let others help you. Instead of taking on too many holiday tasks on your own, let others share the responsibility. It is the time for giving, and most people will be happy to lend a hand, allowing you to spend more quality time with family.
4. Avoid excessive drinking. Alcohol is a depressant and can often cause both physical and emotional repercussions the next morning. Drink in moderation by alternating a glass of water with each alcoholic beverage.
5. Live in the moment.  At such a busy time of year, it is easy to lose yourself in tasks or activities and let the present moment pass you by. Instead of focusing on “the good old days” or worrying about what the future may hold, take in the good moments as they are happening NOW.

For more on holiday stress, check out MedicineNet’s article.

All of us at Work Well Health Canada are wishing you a happy, joyful, and stress-free holiday season!

Here are some pain facts from the CPC’s website:

• 17% to 31% of the general community report chronic pain.
• 50% of hospitalized patients report acute pain of moderate to severe intensity.
• People in pain miss work, spend time in hospital and visit the doctor often.
• Pain is almost unmentioned in medical training.
• Severe shortage of acute pain services and pain clinics in hospital settings.
• Outpatients who report pain of chronic duration to health care professionals are often dismissed, or are accused of malingering.
• There is a large gap between what is known and what is practiced in the treatment of all kinds of pain

What an interesting contrast between modern Western Medicine and Complementary and Alternative Medicines, like Acupuncture and Naturopathy. Pain is often treated only in severe conditions in medicine, such as arthritis or end-stage cancer, and it is done more in a palliative way.  In contrast, even the slightest pain or discomfort is treated with great importance in Naturopathic Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine. In fact, acupuncture is highly recognized by the medical community at large for its astounding results in pain management.

Our winter newsletter has some tips from our Traditional Chinese Doctor, Shannon Williams, about some home remedies to help manage pain.  Shannon also spearheads our Pain Management program, which has helped many clients recover from both major and minor pain conditions. Don’t ignore your pain. You don’t have to live with it!

Workplaces are hard hit during flu season as employees are not only calling in sick for themselves or to take care of their young kids, but they are also passing on the virus to co-workers, compounding the problem.  When hit hard, a workplaces have seen up to 30% of its workforce out sick at once. Read Lynda Cranston’s article “Battling the Flu on the Work Front” for more on the benefits of a corporate flu campaign.

October is also National Healthy Workplace Month, which encourages Canadian organizations to promote the benefits of workplace health. This year’s theme: “Healthy Mind, Healthy Body, Healthy Work…Simple Goals for Everyone”. Visit the Healthy Workplace Month website for more information and to see how your organization can be showcased nationally for best practices in workplace wellness.