Category: Blog

If you are suffering from arthritis, you may be one of those who dreads winter as it comes along. Some may even feel as though they can predict cold weather when their joints suddenly begin to ache!

The science regarding winter’s effects on arthritis isn’t fully understood, but there have been many anecdotal cases of flare-ups during cold and damp weather.

If you are a sufferer of rheumatoid arthritis, it’s worth being careful during cold weather seasons in order to prevent any sudden aches that can seriously affect your mobility and quality of life. Here are some simple tips to preventing flare-ups when winter rolls around:

• Stay warm. Keep the heating at a comfortable level, wear many layers, keep your insides warm with food and drink.
• Stay moving. Exercise and regular movement help keep your joints active, as well as releasing pain-relieving endorphins. Movement can also generate heat that can keep you feeling warm for longer. Be careful not to overdo it and make sure you check with your doctor before switching up your exercise regimen.
• Diet is key. Food rich in pain-relieving omega-3 and low in cholesterol can fight inflammation, which is a key factor in joint flare-ups.

Arthritis is a serious condition that can affect your life and even your sense of independence as you age. At Solstice Health, we offer a range of wellness and health options including regenerative medicine and other therapies to allow you to enjoy life again. Contact us today to find out more.

It may not make much sense at first that exercising the knee can help relieve the symptoms of knee pain, but this is backed by science and anecdotal evidence.

There are many reasons why people suffering from knee pain should give exercise a try, such as maintaining as much of the joint’s range of motion as possible and strengthening the muscles around the joint. This is particularly important because strong muscles act as shock absorbers for the joint, which helps to minimize the pain as much as possible. Studies have also found that join pain sufferers who engage in mild exercise on a regular basis can also benefit from better sleep, decreased fatigue, in addition to having their pain reduced. There’s no downside to adding exercise to your pain reduction regimen!

Here are some types of exercises that you can do from the comfort of your own home or neighborhood:

1. Leg raising: This exercise strengthens the muscles around your knee joint. While lying flat on your back on the floor or your bed, lift your leg up a couple of inches while tightening your abdomen, hold your leg in mid-air for 5 seconds, then lower it slowly. Repeat with the other leg.
2. Leg stretch: This exercise also strengthens the muscles around your knee joint. Sit up straight on the floor with your legs straightened out. Keep your hands flat on the floor on either side of your hips. Bend your knee as much as possible without it hurting, then hold that position for 5 seconds. Repeat with the other leg and try to do it 10 times.
3. Walking: This is an aerobic exercise that helps to build and maintain your bones as well as building muscles around your joints. It’s recommended that you start off slowly and working up towards greater distances.
4. Pool exercises: Swimming or doing exercise at your local swimming pool can help build knee flexibility in a low-risk environment, since the water can help reduce any negative impact on your joint movement. The resistance in movement can also help build muscle strength without the need for weights.

While exercise is a good idea for joint pain sufferers, it’s still highly recommended that you tell your doctor before doing anything. That way, he or she can advise you on what you can or cannot do, the limits of your workout, as well as potentially recommending any useful exercises.

Come visit us at Solstice Health to see how we can help put an end to your pain.

Exercise is incredibly important. Not just running, or weight training, but also yoga and pilates as well.

At Solstice Health, we believe that wellness encompasses lifestyle changes that benefit your health. We want to go over some types of exercise and how each can benefit you. Find what you enjoy and do more of it!

Why Is Yoga or Pilates Good?

Here are some points to show why flexibility exercises are beneficial:

• It’s less stress on the joints.
• It’s great for flexibility, strength, balance.
• It teaches effective breathing techniques.
• It helps with stress and emotional well-being.

Why is Aerobic Activity Good?

You want to keep your heart healthy with aerobic exercises. Whether you’re an athlete or not, aerobic activity increases your endurance. As a result, you can perform better in everything, whether it be work, sports, school, etc. There are all these benefits to exercise. Good examples of aerobic activity include:

• walking or jogging (treadmill or not)
• biking
• swimming

What About Strength Training?

Weight training can help keep your muscles strong. Strong muscles take the load off the joints. There’s less stress across the knee, for example; by keeping your knees strong, the muscle absorbs more of the stress rather than the joint.

Overall, you want to have a balance of all types of exercise. There’s less chance of injury with people who have strong muscles and are flexible.

For more information on health and getting assessed for which exercises are appropriate for any injury or condition, contact us at Solstice Health today!

Some of us life to drink a cup of green tea every now and then, but we may be helping ourselves live longer without even know about it. Green tea is being studied all over the world for its anti-aging properties, with potentially revolutionary results. Other studies have been looking at the other properties such as promoting brain health and preventing Alzheimer’s, but a new study is finding promise in boosting heart health.

Scientists in the UK have found that there is a compound in green tea called EGCG that breaks up and dissolves protein plaque found in the blood vessels. Fat compounds can build up in your arteries that restrict blood flow to your heart and brain. This fatty material can increase the risk of a stroke or a heart attack. Green tea contains compounds that bind to the offending fatty material deposits that help make those molecules smaller and dissolve them, which protects blood vessels.

The challenge now? Finding out how to get the health benefits of green tea without needing to drink large quantities of green tea all the time. Scientists are looking into improving the body’s absorption of EGCG or using EGCG to make medicines that can treat heart attacks.

At Solstice Health, we can help patients improve their cardiovascular system. We focus on treating heart disease holistically and taking care of the root cause of heart problems. Every patient is different and we come up with a unique treatment plan for each patient to match. Contact us today to learn more and to book a consultation.

Holidays mean family, gathering together, and also eating! Many holiday meals involve things such as potatoes, lots of bread, cake, and much more besides. In other words, there’s a lot of carbs that can go into your diet without you noticing. Here’s how to moderate your intake over the holiday season and to make sure you stay healthy while enjoying delicious food!

1. Watch what you drink: Avoid sugary drinks like soft drinks and sweet tea or juice. Sugar can have a lot of carbs that add up if you’re having them with every meal. Don’t use fruit juice as an alternative: fresh fruit is better than sugary fruit juice, as it has all of the benefits and none of the carbs.
2. Cut back on staples: Staple foods include bread and potatoes, which are both delicious but also highly packed with carbs. The biggest offenders are white bread, which are low in fiber while being high in carbs. Even bread made from whole grains contain lots of carbs. If you want the nutrients found in whole grain or rye bread, there are other types of food to get it without the carbs.
3. Snack healthier: Holidays can also mean a time for a lot of eating between meals, such as popcorn during a movie or chips. Try healthier low-carb alternatives, such as nuts, almonds, yogurt, and even cheese!
4. Drink less: Alcohol is nothing but empty calories. There are no nutrients to be found in booze and beer in particular is notoriously high in carb content. Drink in moderation and alternate with a healthy drink such as water.
5. Bake with low carb alternatives: Holidays are a time for dessert! There are many guilt-free ways to enjoy dessert, including low-carb flour, which are made with alternatives to wheat. Just beware that it may turn out slightly different out of the oven than if you used ‘proper’ flour!
6. Eat more protein: Protein helps build muscle mass and lose weight. Meat, fish, eggs, nuts, cheese, yogurt, and beans are all rich in protein. Protein will help you feel full faster, boost metabolism, and in the long run help decrease your weight.

Learn more about how we can help you achieve your desired wellness goals at Solstice Health.

What does eating right mean to you? Losing weight, feeling healthier, counting calories, or something else? Well, what if there is a simpler way that isn’t a fad diet and doesn’t cost you anything? Why not go back to basics with intuitive eating!

Intuitive eating is the idea that the best way to respect your body is by eating food you enjoy and making the right choices that suit you and nobody else. Everyone is unique in their needs and desires, so why should your eating habits be the same as everyone else?

Healthline has a few steps to guide you on your journey to intuitive eating:

1. Break up with diet culture: don’t let diets run your life and ruin your enjoyment of food
2. See food as fuel, not filler: food shouldn’t be a chore
3. Honor your body and its signals: listen to what your body is telling you. It knows you better than any diet
4. Discover satisfaction and respect: enjoy food and respect what goes into your body

It’s important to know what you’re eating and why you’re eating it. You must also learn to understand how different food affects your body, whether for the better or worse. You might find it helpful to start by making a list of all the food you eat in a journal so you know what works and what doesn’t. Soon you will be attuned to your body’s signals and you can automatically know what the best course of action is! Research says eating habits can form within 10 weeks or so, so it’s important to keep at it. But once you do, you will feel healthier, happier, and rediscover the joys of eating.

Allow the team at the Solstice Health help you understand your dietary needs. We offer medical weight loss services to help you find out what you should be eating more of and what you shouldn’t. Contact us today.

It’s never too late to try and slow down or even reverse the effects of ageing on your body, both aesthetically and internally. One of the best ways is by watching what you eat. Here are some nutrition tips to keep your body young!

1. Eat antioxidants: A diet rich in meats, fruits, and vegetables packed with antioxidants help by protecting your cells against free radicals. Antioxidants such as Vitamin E, B, and beta-carotene help by preventing cell damage. Food such as fish, poultry, almonds, and carrots are just some of the many choices out there that can help.
2. Probiotics: Sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, and yogurt have anti-inflammatory properties as well as antioxidants. Probiotics help improve digestion, boost the immune system, and maintain a healthy weight.
3. Protein: Maintaining muscle mass is important as it starts to decline as you age. Protein is the best way to do that. You can find protein in meat, dairy, fish, and soybeans. In addition to helping to build and maintain muscles, its importance in tissue cell creation means it’s also important to enjoy healthy-looking hair well into old age.
4. Healthy fat: Yes, there is such a thing as good fat! Omega-3 fatty acids, such as EPA, DHA, and ALA can be found in fish, nuts, and seeds. They help reduce joint pain and stiffness, and studies have found that they may be able to help boost the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis. If you’re not keen on eating too much seafood, consider taking Omega-3 supplements after talking about it with your doctor.
5. Water: If you feel thirsty, then you’re already in the earliest stages of dehydration. Stay hydrated all the time to help your cells replenish their nutrients such as oxygen. As you age, the importance of hydration is ever more paramount, especially in hotter climates.

At Solstice Health, we provide direct primary healthcare to ensure your wellness no matter the stage in your life. We want you to be as healthy as possible in order to enjoy life. Contact us today to learn more about how our direct primary health services can help.