Health Today

Featuring local health & fitness articles

It’s More than a Diet—it’s a Lifestyle

It’s More than a Diet—it’s a Lifestyle

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.

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Pregnancy: The Best Time for Women to Transform Their Health

Pregnancy: The Best Time for Women to Transform Their Health

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.

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Helping Others Heal

Helping Others Heal

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.

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Adventure Health

Adventure Health

Whether you’re planning a camping trip to Yosemite or a honeymoon in the Bahamas, travel can be an unforgettable adventure. The last thing you want is an unexpected illness to ruin your plans.

Our immunity can suffer during travel for several reasons. Sleep can be compromised, we’re trying not-so-healthy foods, and we may get a little slack on the exercise routine. Combine this with exposure to more germs, forgetting to hydrate regularly, and the stress of being on the go, and our immune system may end up a little out of balance.

The good news is, that there are a few simple steps you can take to boost your immunity and improve your chances of staying healthy. 

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Stronger and Wiser

Stronger and Wiser

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.

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Watch Those Eyes

Watch Those Eyes

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.

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The Right Tools = Magic

The Right Tools = Magic

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. 

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‘I’m Helping the World to Heal’

‘I’m Helping the World to Heal’

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.

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Your Community Market

Your Community Market

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.

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A New Option for a Look at Overall Health

A New Option for a Look at Overall Health

Thermography is a non-invasive imaging technique that uses infrared technology to detect and capture the heat patterns the human body emits. It works by converting infrared radiation into visual images, allowing a practitioner to identify temperature variations and anomalies that may indicate underlying health conditions.

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We Are Their Friends and Family

We Are Their Friends and Family

Since her first job as a non-medical in-home caregiver at age 16, Savannah Stidham has been helping people. Now, as the owner of Caring Presence Non-Medical In-Home Care, based in Prescott, she and her team can help clients all over the state.

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