Health Today

Are you thinking about becoming a volunteer at Dignity Health Yavapai Regional Medical Center? Good for you. And we mean, literally, “Good for you.” Yavapai Regional volunteers are reaping benefits on many different levels. Here are just a few:

Good for your social life. Countless Yavapai Regional volunteers tell us that what started as a volunteer shift has resulted in lasting friendships. It’s a great way to make friends and get involved with like-minded people. You’ll often see our volunteers having lunch together in the cafeteria before their shifts begin or getting together after hours to attend various community events. Some of our volunteers even travel together.

Good for your physical and mental health. Research by the Corporation for National and Community Service shows that people who volunteer have lower mortality rates, lower rates of depression, and fewer physical limitations than those who don’t volunteer. Additionally, a 2013 study of more that 1,600 older adults found that the participants who volunteered at least 200 hours per year were forty percent less likely to get high blood pressure than non-volunteers.

Light has a way of shifting perspective. For years, walks have provided me time and space for reframing challenges, enjoying victories, and planning ahead. And I’m not unique: as I write this, a dear friend is asking herself some big questions while she walks the Camino de Santiago in sunny Spain.

Getting outside is essential for physical and mental wellness, especially in pregnancy. Historically, pregnant women were told to take it easy; we know now how essential movement is to a healthy pregnancy and a better postpartum. Most pregnant people can walk safely, and it also gets you outside for fresh air and sunshine.

Sunlight also boosts vitamin D levels: vitamin D is both a vitamin and a hormone, and its synthesis begins when sunlight hits your skin. Vitamin D is necessary for your health throughout your lifetime, but it becomes really important in pregnancy and postpartum.

When is a diet not a diet at all? It sounds like a riddle, but the answer is easy: when it’s the Mediterranean diet. A more accurate name might be the Mediterranean lifestyle since a significant component of making this diet work is how you approach life. There are no strict dietary restrictions. A balanced social life and enjoying meals with others are key components. Laughter, reducing stress, and living are recommended.

The Mediterranean diet focuses on the quality of your food rather than a single nutrient or food group. It’s been proven to reduce the risk of chronic health conditions such as heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. A recent National Institute on Aging study reports that it may even help protect the brain from damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease.

Four weeks after giving birth, I was already working full-time again when my daughter and I moved back into town.

My story isn’t typical. But Google “most stressful life events,” and having a baby rarely comes up. Consider that becoming a new parent happens within the context of an already-full life, and it’s astounding that new parents have so little support.

Here’s what we know: stress causes chronic disease, partly by raising blood sugar. High blood sugar is a health risk at any time in life, but pregnant and postpartum women are especially vulnerable.

Pickles Lea Yoga is once again bringing a yoga festival and health fair to Prescott. Yoga will take over the Elks Theater and Performing Arts Center July 20th from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The theme of the third annual Yoga Festival fundraiser is Don’t Give Up!

This year, Pickles Lea is happy to announce that all proceeds will go to Pickles Lea Yoga, the only 501(c)3 yoga company in Northern Arizona. Its mission: to make yoga assessable to all humans no matter their gender, physique, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status by offering donation-based community yoga. It’s free if people need it to be. Pickles Lea loves the Quad City area and is always giving back to the local community.

or many women, the details of a wedding are etched into memory:

The smell of the air, and how it feels against your skin.
The way the light shines across the landscape to illuminate hills and valleys, vibrant flowers crowning reception tables, the smiles and bright eyes of the people you love.
How you look and feel in your dress (take lots of photos!).
With each step you take toward your partner, feeling both nervous and sure.
Your first kiss as a married couple.
The food and drinks, are lovingly offered to guests gathering to celebrate you.
And how the lights sparkle as the sun sets, twinkling against a purple sky while you dance, deeply in love.

Keeping a close watch on your children’s eye health is important to catching problems early. Especially when you consider that one of four school-age children has a vision disorder, according to the American Optometric Association.

Jess had premenstrual migraines, debilitating fatigue, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, near-constant body aches, and weight gain which were all devastating her quality of life.  Together we discovered that her blood sugar was unstable, which drove fatigue, and that she had problems processing estrogen, which caused cyclical inflammation that made migraines and body pain blow up and also worsened her Hashimoto’s. 

Wait, did I just see a pickle walking around town? Pickles Lea Yoga owner and instructor Candace Lea, a.k.a. Pickles—who often dresses up to share her love for the community and yoga—fell in love with Prescott in 2015. A good friend told her there “was great yoga and hiking” here.

The Produce Only Market and Smoothie Bar is more than just a store … it’s an experience.

Inside, shoppers will find a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in every color and at reasonable prices. But more importantly, according to owner Chad Tidlund, they’ll have the chance to learn about what they’re buying and get their hands on unique offerings they won’t find elsewhere.