Category: Blog

In sunny climates, it’s always important to slap on that sunscreen, even though not everyone remembers to do it. Read on to find out why sunscreen is important all the time!

Sunlight is important for Vitamin D production in your body, but it is also responsible for skin conditions including skin cancer if you aren’t careful. UV rays can trigger skin disorders if you aren’t applying that all-important sunscreen and wearing protecting clothing such as hats. Proper shielding of your skin can prevent potentially life-threatening conditions such as melanoma.

Perhaps you might not be too concerned with skin conditions as a result of sunlight, but what if you also knew that exposure to sunlight can also accelerate the signs of aging on your skin? Scientists have found that wrinkles, fine lines, and other skin inconsistencies can be prevented in people under the age of 55 with ample skin protection. Protecting your skin with sunscreen can also preserve collagen, keratin, and elastin in your skin, keeping your skin soft, young, and supple.

A more short-term issue with sunlight exposure, especially in bright and sunny places such as the beach, is sunburns. Your skin gets red, swells up, and blisters start to form. All this due to UVB rays! Frequent sunburns put you at a greater risk of skin cancer.

So, what are the best kinds of sunscreen and how often should they be applied? Look for broad-spectrum sunscreen to protect yourself against UVA and UVB rays. UVB is responsible for sunburns, while UVA penetrates deeper into your skin, causing more long-term effects including wrinkles and certain kinds of skin cancer. Look for sunscreen with at least SPF 30 to 50. Higher does not always mean better: SPF 50 blocks 98% of UVB rays, whereas SPF 100 will only block 99% of UVB rays. Higher SPF products can even cause skin problems and allergies as they contain higher concentrations of powerful active ingredients, which may be harmful if you frequently apply sunscreen.

Contact us at Solstice Health to learn about how we can improve your overall wellness.

It’s well-known that we should all be drinking more water. But how much water, and why?

Water is the best way to maintain your body on a regular basis. Water helps carry nutrients around your body, including your cells, organs, and stimulate the digestive system. Without water, your body’s waste management would falter and lead to health problems down the road.

Many people aren’t drinking enough water, especially in hot weather. You risk dehydration if you aren’t drinking enough water to meet your body. The amount you drink can vary for many reasons, including age, weather, and activity (whether you are exercising or sitting for 8 hours, for example). Old people don’t sense thirst as much as younger people, leading to more cases of dehydration for people reaching a certain stage in their lives.

The rule of thumb is simple: if you feel thirsty, you’re already in the early stages of dehydration. Drink plenty of fluids regularly throughout the day to ward off thirst, at least 30 to 50 ounces (1 to 1.5 liters). Don’t drink it all in one go, since your kidneys aren’t able to process all of the water at once.

Water isn’t the only way to stay hydrated. Fresh juice, fruits, salad, and vegetables are good ways to absorb fluids. Tea and coffee also count as hydrating fluids, but water is still recommended as the best and healthiest way to go.

Learn more about how we can help maintain your wellness no matter your age at Solstice Health.

Now that summer is in full swing, there are many healthy foods currently in season that are not only tasty but will also help you beat the heat. Here are just a few of the ones we recommend to stay healthy and refreshed!

Watermelon

It’s clear from the name that the watermelon is packed with water to help you stay hydrated in the heat. While it’s important to drink water, you can mix up the routine by eating a couple slices of fresh watermelon for the same hydrating effect!

Blueberries

Blueberries are chock-full of antioxidants and nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. They can protect your body from cell damage and the more negative effects of aging. Blueberries have even been found to help maintain a low blood pressure with regular consumption.

Cherries

Cherries are packed with beta-carotene, which helps to keep your lungs and brain healthy.

Raspberries

These are a tasty summer berry that is rich in soluble fiber, which helps to lower or maintain your cholesterol levels. Eating lots of food rich in fiber can help prevent weight gain and even help you with your weight loss goals!

These are only a few of the foods in season this summer that provide you with refreshing nourishment. Keep an eye out for these on your next supermarket trip!

Contact us at Solstice Health to learn more about our nutritional services.

Summer means gathering together, and also eating! Many large holiday season 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.

Contact us today at Solstice Health to learn more about how we can help you achieve your nutritional goals.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term condition that can dramatically reduce one’s quality of life to a debilitating extent. This is a result of symptoms including swelling of the joints, inflammation, and pain. The joints affected typically are in the hands and feet, but can occur in any joint of the body including hips and knees.

Symptoms may include stiffness and fatigue that seems impossible to get rid of. The causes are still unknown to scientists but it appears to be related to the autoimmune abilities of the body that are being directed against healthy tissue cells. Rheumatoid arthritis can not only affect one’s body, but one’s state of mind: stress, depression, and anxiety can follow as a result of this condition.

Home remedies can include applying heat on the areas with pain, while cold temperature treatments such as soaking the joint in cold water, using cold packs, or ice wrapped in a cloth can help numb the pain. You may also stand to benefit from massage therapy and diet changes including the use of fish oil supplements to boost your joint’s chances of relief and recovery.

There is no treatment to cure rheumatoid arthritis, but where joints are damaged as a result they can be repaired and relieved. Contact us at Solstice Health to learn more about how we can help you enjoy life again.

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.