Tag Archives: corporate health programs

Migraine and Headache Awareness Month

June 6, 2018employee performance, well-beingBMI, botox treatment, CGRP medication for migraines, chronic headache and pain, corporate health engagement, corporate health programs, dehydration, diagnosed with migraines, Dr. Ian Finkelstein, episodic vs. chronic migraine, food and migraines, gluten free, headache medications, importance of physical activity, inflammatory response, June is National migraine month, migraine, migraine pain, migraine sufferers, migraine treatment, minimize the risk of migraines, over the counter medication, post menopausal migraines, providing health technology, rebound headaches, sensitivity to light, sinus headache, sleep deprivation, sleep study, tension headache, Toronto Headache and Pain Clinic, work productivityBestinCorporateHealth

Migraine Support: June is National Migraine Awareness Month

Migraine is more than just a headache. It can be a debilitating condition which has a considerable impact on the quality of life of sufferers, work productivity, and of course impact on the families. Migraines can be completely disabling, forcing the sufferer to abandon everyday activities for up to 3 days.

Often partnered with migraines:

Nausea and/or vomiting and/or diarrhea
Increased sensitivity to light (photophobia)
Increased sensitivity to sounds (phonophobia)
Increased sensitivity to smells (osmophobia)

Migraine Pounding Statistics:

• 1 in 4 Canadian households have someone effected by migraines

• One-quarter of migraine patients surveyed by Statistics Canada experienced pain that prevented activities or felt left out of things because of their condition

• Over 80% of chronic migraine sufferers in Canada are women

In the U.S., more than 38 million people suffer from migraines. Some migraine studies estimate that 13 percent of adults in the U.S. population have migraines, and 2-3 million migraine suffers are chronic.

Some more migraine stats….

91% miss work or can’t function normally during migraine attack

70% of those in a Canadian study said migraines caused problems in their relationships

69% have consulted a physician at some time seeking treatment for migraine pain

53% have severe disability requiring reducing activities or bed rest
51% said migraines cut in half their work or school productivity
***Almost half of all migraine sufferers are have not been diagnosed….I guess which goes with the next stat………
47% of people who have symptoms that meet the guidelines to be diagnosed with migraines thought they had a tension headache, sinus headache or another type of headache
24% have gone to the emergency room because the migraine pain was so severe
6% saw a doctor at a hospital for a migraine in the past three months

Migraine Treatment Approach with Dr. Finkelstein:

headache vs. migraine, episodic vs. chronic migraine
Why most migraine sufferers are women
How the workplace can minimize the risk of migraines for employees, lighting
lifestyle to prevent migraines
triggers – those can control and those we cannot
The importance of sleep hygiene – a consistent sleep cycle, sleep deprivation, sleep study, maintaining sleep patterns – even on weekends.
Food and migraines, dehydration, gluten free,
Taking too much over the counter medication, headache medications! Rebound headaches
perpetuating the inflammatory response ➨ sugar consumption, high body mass index BMI
Exercise, importance of physical activity
starting with migraines at more senior years, post menopausal migraines
acute medications & preventative medications – decreasing attack frequency
CGRP antagonist medication for migraines, Botox treatment
nutraceuticals
Acupuncture, Gammacore – stimulating the vagus nerve
Resources: Canadian Headache Society American Headache society Mychronicmigraine.ca MigraineCanada.org

Dr. Ian Finkelstein is Medical Director of the Toronto Headache & Pain Clinic. Dr. Finkelstein earned his Master of Science degree in Pharmacology, as well as his medical degree from the University of Toronto. He is the medical director of The Toronto Headache & Pain Clinic and coordinates the efforts of a multidisciplinary team. He lectures nationally and internationally on the topic of multidisciplinary management of chronic headache and pain.

Best In Corporate Health: Connected Care: Providing Integrated Value Based care providing better health outcomes. Contact us for a tour of our health technologies maximizing health & cost containment/avoidance

Providing award winning health technologies , Live interactive webinars, wearable technology programs Corporate health engagement and participation……Shira@BestInCorporateHealth.com or Make an appointment on Calendly

URAC approved health technology…..Having earned the trust of 6 million people per month

Shira Litwack, Corporate Program Designer — Shira Litwack, BSc, Corporate Wellness specialist, Cancer Exercise Specialist , Medical Exercise Specialist, Holistic Nutritionist

Questions, brainstorming, demos……..Shira@BestInCorporatehealth.com

Let us customize your corporate health program.

Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health

Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 15 years:

Articles featured in: European Registry of Exercise Professionals, The National Post, Investment Executive Magazine, Directory of Greater Toronto, Canadian Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, Prostate Cancer Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Anytime Fitness, Today’s Black Woman, Today’s Seniors, Medical Fitness Network, FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Willow (Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support),Myeloma Canada, Cancer Exercise Training Institute, Urban Poling for Breast Cancer, ROW – Recovery on Water for Breast Cancer, Sirius XM Doctor Radio

Brain Training – Multitasking Brain Brawn & Health

February 22, 2018employee performanceblood glucose control, brain brawn, brain training, cognitive strength with physical activity, corporate happy place, corporate health programs, corporate wellness specialist, depression, employee health and productivity, exercise and neuroplasticity, healthy heart practices, knee strength, mental muscle, muscle strengthening, neurogenesis, neurological training, neuroplastic training, neuroplasticity, no energy to exercise, time to exercise, wearable technologyBestinCorporateHealth

Brain Training

Brain training while exercising…..Multitasking that is proven to build mental muscle and physical health.

Think you are too busy with work , no time to exercise, too tired and no energy to exercise?

Think again. Let’s look at how achieving our health goals is brain training. We already know its a life saver. And if we have no life….then I guess time is an irrelevant variable.

No Gym required…..brain training can be performed anywhere.

Brain training requires the neurons in the brain to:

Form new neurons – neurogenesis
Change and reorganize continuously to meet the dynamic demands of the internal and external environment is termed neuronal plasticity, or neuroplasticity.

We have hundreds of studies and meta-analyses that demonstrate a direct support of cognitive strength with physical activity….faster speed of processing, better memory and executive function. For years I have known I do my best thinking while exercising. Those who know me – know my expression “Let me cardio on it”

Focusing on Neurological Training and Physical Activity While Working out.

Those who strength train know these key factors in muscle hypertrophy. The great news is time to exercise is also time for building brain brawn.

Ingredients to brain training, Neuroplasticity and Muscle strengthening:

•Repetition

•Intensity

•Timing (Coordination)

•Difficulty

•Specificity

•Salience

Neuroplastic training is accomplished working the brain and the muscles at the same time.

This is where workstations are so valuable. I have an indoor bike with a workstation. Using my workstation I accomplish:

time to exercise…even on top of gym time
build my knee strength…motion is lotion
get a cardio respiratory workout – deep oxygenation
Get my work done
nurture my neurons by causing left brain, right brain, multiple areas of my brain to play nicely together.
Feel seriously great and productive, feel energized – what a reward

Many years ago I had the privilege of meeting a world renowned surgeon from NIH. We shared a good laugh discovering we were both on the gym floor at the same time bright and early every morning. His words will always emanate with me…”I would not think of doing surgery without my morning workout…”

Muscle and Blood glucose control.

None of us are above diabetes. We are all possible candidates. If we all knew how vital our muscle mass is in blood sugar control and diabetes prevention – I am sure more of us would make time to exercise.

Depression:

The brain of depressed people processes data much slower. Our research institutions agree

the correct exercise, is a vital component to the control of depression. Depression can hamper our memory.

The correct exercise can help reduce the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol can destroy brain cells.

Physical activity is vital to circulation as we all know for heart health – but it is also vital to brain circulation…..hydration, bringing glucose to the frontal lobe, hormonal synthesis……

Refer to “Healthy Heart Practices also Benefit the Brain” Alzheimer’s & Physical Wellness.

This is just a teaser. There is vast, fascinating research on brain training, exercise and neuroplasticity. When hiring a health coach, fitness professional – make sure they are well versed in exercising body and brain simultaneously to maximize workout time, and the many benefits of exercise. You will never say no time for exercise again.

Multitasking Brain and body health optimizing employee health and productivity …….live, interactive webinars.

Interactive corporate health programs…what a wonderful way to affordably make the world a happier, healthier place. Ask us about our digital health platform and our wearable technology program – where wellness programs are included!

Informative ➪ Informalive

Shira@BestInCorporateHealth.com

Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health

Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 15 years:

Health Technology Cutting Presenteeism

December 1, 2017employee performance, well-beingBest in Corporate Health, corporate health programs, digital health platform, employee health, engaged in wellness, health and wellness programs, health related work losses, health technology, illness related absenteeism, interactive corporate heath, interactive learning, medical expenditures, presenteeism, preventing illness, productivity loss, public health hazard, TEC, Technology Enabled Care, total cost of presenteeism, wearable technologyBestinCorporateHealth

Health Technology: Boosting Engagement – Reducing Presenteeism

That pesty presenteeism – that nasty cloud over productivity – like smog over a metropolis…….health technology, waking people up to their health……

Unlike absenteeism, presenteeism is more insidious. You know when employees don’t show up for work, but we don’t know when—or how much—illness or a medical condition is hindering someone’s performance…we only detect sub par quality or productivity. Researchers have found that less time is lost from people staying home than from them showing up but not performing at full capacity.

The National Institute of Health refers to presenteeism as a public health hazard.

According to the National Health Survey the average working adult American experiences an average of two episodes of medical symptoms a month or twenty-four a year. Duration of episodes vary. The majority of the time people choose to go to work rather than stay at home. 42% of respondents say they go to work exhausted or feeling ill regularly.

Getting people engaged in their health successfully is a critical component of reducing presenteeism. Enter health technology…..to infinity and beyond!

Remember Charlie Brown’s teacher? Are we doing this with health & wellness programs?

Harvard: Health-related work losses are estimated to cost US employers more than $260 billion each year, and may cost some companies more than direct medical expenditures.

American Productivity Audit— Calculated the total cost of presenteeism in the United States to be more than $150 billion per year. Studies confirm that presenteeism is far more costly than illness-related absenteeism or disability. On-the-job productivity loss resulting from depression and pain was roughly three times greater than the absence-related productivity loss attributed to these conditions. That is, less time was actually lost from people staying home than showing up but not performing.

Gallup– 70 % of U.S. employees are not showing up to work fully committed to deliver their best performance. Adding insult to injury, 52 percent of those workers are basically sleepwalking through their day, and 18 percent of them are busy acting out their unhappiness.

Health Technology…The move from Informative ➪ Informalive

Finally, we have the ability to get people engaged in wellness, thanks to health technology. We all agree we need to get people more into wellness, taking charge of their health – managing existing conditions and preventing illness.

I know I have quoted the CDC on this many times before, so please forgive the repetition.

80% of chronic illnesses are lifestyle induced…..

But people are tired of being lectured, everyone thinks they are too busy…whatever the reason. Health technology engages people, often fascinates people, and here is some data, explaining why interactive learning is far superior to the traditional “lecture based” or reading based learning.

National Academy of Sciences– Undergraduate students in classes with traditional stand-and-deliver lectures are 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in classes that use more stimulating, so-called active learning methods.
The meta-analysis concluded that teaching approaches that turned students into active participants rather than passive listeners reduced failure rates and boosted scores on exams by almost one-half a standard deviation.

Interactive learning in the workplace….

59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video
54% of senior executives share work related videos with colleagues weekly
4x as many customer would rather watch a video about a product than read about it
YouTube has over a billion users, almost one-third of all people on the internet
48% of marketers plan to add YouTube to their content strategy in the next yea
People spend on average 2.6x more time on pages with video than without

When people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later.

Getting Employees Interactive with Health Technology…….Make it pleasure, not pain!

TEC Technology Enabled Care: A collective term for telecare, telehealth, telemedicine, digital health TEC unites health technology, digital, media and mobile telecommunications and has become a cornerstone of health technology and wellness solutions addressing many of the challenges facing the health and social services allowing access to everyone, affordability, privacy…. A good, thorough wellness platform will encompass all of these services, provide cohesion and act as a triage for corporate health as well as employee health.

The aim of TEC is to improve people’s ability to self-manage their health and wellbeing, alert healthcare professionals to potentially unhealthy changes in health, wellness compliance and support medication adherence.

Digital Health Platforms: Health Technology with endless possibilities…Happily earning the trust of 6 million viewers per month

Wearable Technology.……health technology Extraordinaire! Creating health, incentivize, reward, wellness programs all in one. Not all wearable technology are worth the faith or $$. Only choose wearable devices that present actual biometrics – NOT calculated data based on averages.

Nothing has gotten people off the couch like wearable technology.

Informative ➪ Informalive

Shira@BestInCorporateHealth.com

Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health

Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 12 years:

Health vs. Wellness – Avoiding Health Presenteeism

October 8, 2017employee performance, well-beingbiometrics, blood pressure, blood sugar, corporate health programs, diabetes, digestive health, engagement, genomic testing, Global corporate chalenge, happy employees, Health vs. wellness, healthcare providers, inflammation, mapping our DNA, medical diagnostics, metabolic syndrome, optimizing our immune system, oxidative stress, performing employees, pre-diabetes, predictor of productivity, presenteeism, production of serotonin, ROI, role emotions play in business, Rx for health, science of happy, stress, talent retention, wellnessBestinCorporateHealth

Health Vs. Wellness…What is the Difference?

Health vs. wellness, the answer is in the past and present and creating a better future.
I heard a brilliant expression from a colleague this week – a number of years ago a doctor told her she was healthy, not well. What is the difference?
Healthy: not diseased…… Wellness brings out the deeper meaning of health, which can be glossed over in health programs. By differentiating between health vs. wellness, we expose the many underlying health saboteurs, which unknowingly compromise our health.

Health vs. wellness wellness programs Best in corporate health — Health vs. Wellness A symbiosis for social, emotional & physiological engagement

Think of wellness as the opportunity for health engagement. The word “health” conjures up visions of restrictive, long lists of ” I shouldn’t”, no fun to many people. Wellness can provide the physiological, emotional and social engagement and camaraderie for sustainability and adherence to a health and wellness program…and ROI.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in it’s 1948 constitution as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Sounds Utopic.
In pursuit of the broader WHO goals for health evolved our healthcare system. The healthcare system is financially depleted, and has become a “sick care” system. We diagnose, try to fix illness. Whether we get caught up in blaming the politicians for our healthcare crisis, we cannot ignore the erosion is largely due to unnecessary illness. Going forward, to achieve the intent of healthcare, we need to be inclusive of a thoroughly articulated view, role and definition of wellness.

Healthcare and medical diagnostics are vital, however, we need to all become our own advocates – and take charge of constantly seeking further wellness. Looking at out health is more of a current status. And whereas we know that certain diagnoses such as metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, carcinoma in situ, are definite calls to more proactive action -the goal of wellness is to prevent the pre-diseased state.
What is wellness? Wellness is the #1 opportunity we have in our lives. We have hundreds of options within our control to prevent even a pre-diseased state.
Take a look at these relationships:

health vs. wellness
exercise vs. physical activity
diet vs. nutrition
sex vs. intimacy

They are all often used interchangeably. Comparing does not necessitate an adversarial tone, rather, there are nuances that suggest a symbiotic relationship. They are subsets within each other, necessary partners promoting each other.

Medical diagnostics catch disease or impending disease. Genomic testing is our only diagnostic to provide the ultimate wellness, by mapping our DNA. Going to our healthcare providers, being told everything looks good, nothing is wrong – is fantastic news not to be taken for granted.We all know, we sill might not feel well. We might:

have a haze about us…something is just not right
feeling stressed and drained
erratic appetite
Feeling a lack of control in ourselves
Not being as focused, energized and productive as we used to be
Don’t feel rested and restored
Moodiness
Or, we could just be in robomode- so busy in our day to day routines, surviving each day and task as it comes, we are unaware that we are not optimized

This general malaise in health is what I call health presenteeism. We know work presenteeism is being at work in body – but not being fully there in mind – not fully functioning and is usually attributed to health issues.

Health vs. Wellness – overcoming Health Presenteeism…..

Digging Deeper
We all know the Rx for health: Don’t smoke, eat right, exercise, good sleep, manage stress. Go for regular physician check ups. Imperative. Why are these imperative to wellness? Let’s start digging.

Optimizing our digestive health. We all know the cliche we are what we eat. What his really implies is we are what we eat, digest and absorb. Our digestive tract serves many complex functions of our health. Hippocrates said “all disease begins in the gut”. Our gut performs an infinite number of daily tasks including digestion, absorption, influencing our mood with the production of serotonin, is the first step of our immune system……Our digestive tract takes thousands of attacks daily from poor food choices, digestive strain, medications, ingestion of toxins, viruses and bacteria, stress…and a central focus of our wellness efforts must be on optimizing our digestive tract.
Eliminating physiological stressors in our lives.
Oxidative stress and inflammation: Proven repeatedly to be at the root of all of our chronic illnesses.
Optimizing our Immune system
Understanding what it takes to create a healthy inner ecosystem.
The science of happy. The #1 predictor of productivity is happiness. Happy is far more than accomplishing our goals. Happiness also must have wellness embedded into its roots. How does this impact our wellness programs? A 2016 study by Global Corporate Challenge (GCC) after surveying employees from 500 organizations in 70 countries found happy employees are more productive at work. The findings confirm the role emotions play in business, and that happiness is critical for productivity and talent retention and not a job perk or something that is just “nice to have.” The connection was clear: happy employees are high performing employees.
Enjoying and embracing wellness. None of us are looking for another miserable task in our lives. Wellness practices must be engaging, integrated into a person’s life, welcomed, and perceived as fun and of great value. If we are not feeling the rewards of our wellness efforts, and we feel these practices are another strain, they are erratic and short lived. Wellness should be freedom and liberation, not rigid, restrictive or inflexible.

Wellness is a state of mind. It is a desire to optimize our health, a partner in our raison d’être, a joie de vivre. Through wellness we put a jump in our steps and feel capable of compartmentalizing and managing the many challenges life inevitably serves.

When appreciating the symbiosis of health vs. wellness, it’s easier for us to appreciate why
our blood pressure and blood sugar are normal, our diagnostics and biometrics appear acceptable – but something is just not right. It must be stress is the usual conclusion – Yes – it is stress – but we need to look at stress at a much deeper level. True wellness is helping everyone to become their own health ambassador, helping them understand the many levels of wellness, far deeper than the superficialities. Even if we are eating right, exercising – there is great variance there, and maybe our overall wellness choices, when put together – are not nourishing us at the control centers of our body – our cells. Wellness comes from much deeper than our outer facade. Wellness comes from our cell-being.

Help control workforce oxidative stress: 7 patents, 24 peer reviewed studies on pubmed, accolades from American Heart Association, Mayo Clinic, National Institute on Aging….Washington State: “may well become the most extraordinary therapeutic and most extraordinary preventative breakthrough in the history of medicine.”

Cell-being creates our inner magic kingdom that is hostile to disease, and takes the cacophony of our daily lives and creates a symphonic inner ecosystem.

Personalized Health vs. wellness programs…..Yes…..We get VERY personal……right down to the DNA….

Corporate health programs…what a wonderful way to affordably make the world a happier, healthier place.

Articles featured in: ezines, ArticlesInk, European Registry of Exercise Professionals, The National Post, Investment Executive Magazine, Directory of Greater Toronto, Canadian Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, Prostate Cancer Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Anytime Fitness, Today’s Black Woman, Today’s Seniors, Medical Fitness Network, FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Willow (Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support),Myeloma Canada, Cancer Exercise Training Institute, Urban Poling for Breast Cancer, ROW – Recovery on Water for Breast Cancer, Sirius XM Doctor Radio

Cancer – A Virus to Our Cellular HTML

September 9, 2017employee performance, well-beingalcohol, anti-malware, call phone, carcinogens, cause a cell to mutate, chronic illness, chronic inflammation, corporate health programs, data analytics, destruction of cancer, digestive health, everything causes cancer, flow of Qi, genetic mutation, genomics, geophysical exposure, gut microbiome, hormonal imbalance, HTML, immune system, incentivize, inflammation ages us, malware, minimizing risks, personalized wellness, prevent cancer, root of all disease, sequencing the genome, Virus, wearable technology, what is cancerBestinCorporateHealth

Cancer – Think of it as a Virus to the HTML Programming our Cells

I sometimes get annoyed when people say/think “Everything causes cancer”. This thought often engrains a sense of helplessness within.The truth is, if we understand what cancer is, it helps us a deeper appreciation of prevention – we are certainly not helpless…A life to prevent cancer is a life to prevent all of our chronic illnesses, infusing us with energy & power. Let’s think of cancer as a virus that has reprogrammed and is spreading malicious coding to the HTML of our cell’s genetic code.

Take a look at a beautiful website. Behind every beautiful site is HTML HyperText Markup Language, the “mother tongue” of our web browsers. Behind our being, is genetic code that dictates every cell of who we are, how we think and feel. If we have one wrong little character in the HTML of our website it can completely destroy the function of that website. Well, the same is true for our genetic code.

Now, what is cancer? Cancer is a genetic mutation, something has reprogrammed the HTML of that cell. That cell is now reproducing incorrectly and potentially very dangerously, destroying healthy cellular function. If our ecosystem is unable to shut that cell down, there is trouble. If our ecosystem is not optimized, the genetic saboteur is allowed to reproduce, and that deadly coding is reproduced.

Our bodies are a wonderland. Wonderland has an inner ecosystem that like any ecosystem needs to be kept in balance. Chinese medicine describes our flow of Qi. Without the flow of Qi, our life’s force, the ecosystem is jolted out of balance.

We live in a world that is constantly bombarding our ecosystem. Many times we are responsible for that attack: smoking, poor food choices, lack of physical activity…. And many times we do not know we are exposed to attacks on that biochemical terrain. Enter illness and disease.

Cancer is thought to be only 5-10% genetic. The rest is lifestyle, however, as mentioned above, our lifestyles consist of unknown as well as known carcinogens…..exposures that cause a cell to mutate.

Now……how magical are the powers of the right exercise? Exercise and nutrition are our body guards. When carcinogens attack, by empowering our body with the strongest possible biochemical terrain, one that is totally inhospitable to mutagens, we are able to fight the attacker and win.

Cellular Malware (aka carcinogens and pathogens):

Certain chemicals (in our food, in our air, in our meds, in our soils……..)

Viruses and bacteria

Geophysical exposures, radiation…….anyone use a cell phone?

Hormonal imbalances…..including our big wide world of phytoestrogens endocrine disrupters…

Oxidative Stress & Inflammation…..at the root of all disease

Some nasty lifestyle choices: smoking, sitting, poor food choices, stress, alcohol….

Our body depends on us to supply it with sustenance to empower the ecosystem. This not only includes our immune system, but our digestive function as well. Think of our digestive tract as the first step of our immune system. A great deal of our mood and “happy functions” come from that mysterious land called our enteric nervous system……Unfortunately – even if we eat “the right” foods, our digestive tract can be impeded by that same cellular malware. Keeping our digestive tract a “united front” against the cellular malware includes a healthy balance in our gut microbiome, and assuring we maintain healthy levels of stomach acid. Unfortunately, there is a detrimental abuse of antacids – as low stomach acid is frequently mistaken for high stomach acid. And of course our digestive health is jeopardized by all the usual saboteurs….poor sleep, alcohol, sugar, processed foods, and of course people who don’t listen to grandma – and don’t get their roughage. Cellular malware thrives without an optimized digestive tract.

Preventing Cancer: Building Our Cellular Anti-Malware: (Our Fab 4)

Nutrition..
Exercise & Physical Activity
Sleep
Minimize exposure to carcinogens, mutagens, pathogens……reducing oxidative stress & chronic inflammation

When the body is unable to fight intruders, our biochemical terrain allows mutated cells, aka cancer cells, to reproduce…and reproduce……until “we have cancer”. It is believed that everyone of us have cancerous cells lurking within, our goal is that we have the defences to shut down those cells, or force what is called apoptosis – cell suicide.

Front and center to the body’s defences are our immune and circulatory systems.

Our immune system is a pumpless system. In other words, it can produce all of the wonderful superheroes in the world (lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, immunoglobins….) but if there is no pumping action from our muscles, or no muscles, the immune system can’t do its job.

Exercise is imperative for optimizing our body’s performance. Every study shows us that exercise and physical activity are an absolute necessity for every organ system of the body, and a necessity, the “managing partner” to chronic disease prevention…all of them…

Our vigilance to proactive health, by honoring the 4 components of Anti-malware is vital to the destruction of cancer, and all chronic illnesses at every level:

Prevention: enabling the body to kill those intrusions, to build a strong inner ecosystem

Management: make it through treatment, minimizing risks of side effects of treatment, fighting fatigue, getting our immune system to work in our favor, and studies show us – help better response to treatment, including protecting the body from potential side effects of medication

Prevention of recurrence. Rebuilding and equipping the immune system

Cancer occurs because their has been a genetic mutation, a change to the genetic code. The body has been attacked..the body needs to fight the attacker. By honoring our Fab 4, understanding their power, the many layers and complexities of each……we will fight cancer & chronic illness. We are NOT helpless, at all.

Corporate health programs…what a wonderful way to affordably make the world a happier, healthier place. Educate people to Prevent cancer

Help control workforce oxidative stress: Oxidative Stress is at the root of all of our chronic illnesses including cancers, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, diabetes, depression…..inflammation ages us and leaves us susceptible to disease. 7 patents, 24 peer reviewed studies on pubmed, accolades from American Heart Association, Mayo Clinic, National Institute on Aging….Washington State: “may well become the most extraordinary therapeutic and most extraordinary preventative breakthrough in the history of medicine.”

Frailty – A Leading Cause of Death and Disease

June 15, 2017employee performance, well-beingabdominal fat, absenteeism, age related loss of muscle, build muscle, cancer, cause of death, chronic illness, corporate health programs, depression cost millions, desk job, diabetes, disease and death, frailty, geriatric care, glucose control, heart disease, hormonal balance, lean muscle mass, lymphatic system, medical syndrome, muscle mass, musculoskeletal injuries, obesity, oxidative stress, risk of infections, sarcopenia, strength training, uncontrolled blood glucose, wellness program, workplace absenteeismBestinCorporateHealth

Frailty…The Need for Muscle Nurturance

Frailty, sadly because usually so unnecessary, is a leading cause of death. Frailty is usually referred to as a comorbidity…but if we start looking at it as a cause of disease and death, maybe prevention of frailty will explicitly be addressed and valued just as prevention of heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes and all of our other chronic illnesses.

The first answer that comes to mind when asked the #1 cause of death is always cancer, heart disease, some kind of chronic illness.

I am asking you to dig a little deeper understanding frailty as a cause of disease and death.

What leads to a number of the causes of cancer and heart disease……..If we focus on prevention of frailty, how many other illnesses could we prevent?

We have to connect dots here. Remember, according to the CDC 80% of chronic illness is lifestyle – not genetic.

A 2014 study by the Japanese Geriatric Society concluded:

“Frailty is strongly associated with higher mortality, especially among women. Among men, the association was explained by baseline functional capacity, comorbidity and lifestyle factors. Changes in frailty status should also be taken into consideration when planning geriatric care, as such changes could indicate a more rapid decline in health.”

We all know what frailty looks like and have an idea of what it is – but from a systemic perspective, frailty is a consequence of cumulative decline in multiple physiological systems over a lifespan.

According to Johns Hopkins, frailty increases the risk of infections, illnesses that have to be treated in the hospital, falls and disabilities, doubles the risk of surgical complications, lengthens hospital stays, and increases the odds of leaving forfeiting independence (moving to a nursing home or assisted-living facility) after a surgical procedure twentyfold.

So then, the next logical step is to ask ourselves, what caused the multiple physiological systems to break down. Please don’t say “old age”.

The brain, endocrine system, immune system and skeletal muscle are intrinsically inter-related and are currently the organ systems best studied in the development of frailty. While frailty is most often associated with the elderly, some old people never get frail. Experts now regard it as a medical syndrome.

Diagnosing frailty:

unintentional weight loss (10 or more pounds within the past year, muscle loss)
muscle loss and weakness
a feeling of fatigue
slow walking speed
low levels of physical activity

Imagine if we lived in a world where people nurtured their muscle mass as much as they nurtured other aspects of their life: finances, cars, wardrobes……

Muscle is the ultimate example in life of use it or lose it. At the ripe old age of 30 we start losing muscle mass if it is not worked…age related loss of muscle is called sarcopenia. However, many studies prove to us, and many people I personally know, we can build muscles at any age. People over 90 can build muscle.

Muscles deserve far more respect than they receive. For that reason, in every wellness program I include what I call “muscle nurturance”. Muscles are to be cherished through

food choices
exercise (yes we can destroy muscle tissue with incorrect exercise or overtraining)
Getting quality sleep
alcohol control
smoking – stop
certain medications

The misconceptions, lack of appreciation for our muscles is rampant, causing an avalanche of psychological and physiological demise. Just naming a few consequences of muscle loss, and yes, please excuse my brevity here!

Our metabolism: muscle burns more calories — even at rest — than body fat. Average: 10 pounds of muscle burns 50 calories in a day spent at rest, while 10 pounds of fat would burn 20 calories
Imperative for diabetes control: Muscle pulls sugar out of the blood to be used as fuel, lowering blood glucose levels.
For each 10% increase in the ratio of muscle mass to total body weight, there is an 11% reduction in insulin resistance and a 12% reduction in prediabetes. Prediabetes is a condition in which a person’s blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to be diabetes. Ultimately, our muscles can help prevent diabetes.
Glucose control is imperative in prevention of all of our chronic diseases, including cancer and obesity
Control of oxidative stress
Uncontrolled blood glucose levels can cause us to make poor food choices
Lowering sugar intake, muscles will burn fat as a source of fuel
Strength training muscle does not have to be in a gym – it can be done in home or office, even with a desk job
There are numerous forms of activity that build muscle, not just weight lifting
Numerous studies prove strength training is critical in prevention and recovery from depression. Studies from Harvard & Duke concurred depressed people who follow a structured strength training protocol were able to overcome depression without medication, and for every 50 minutes of exercise per week the rate of depression decreased by half. This has been attributed to many physiological mechanisms triggered by strength training.
Strength training provides better quality sleep, and quality sleep is vital for muscle mass
Our lymphatic system (immune) is dependent on our pumping muscles to move the lymph throughout the body
Our heart is a muscle that needs to be trained, through exercise
strength training strengthens bones as well – drastic reduction in osteoporosis
studies from numerous institutions concur our focus and productivity our greatly improved with strength training and a higher lean mass ratio. This is attributed again to many benefits including glucose metabolism and hormonal balance, reduction of stress responses…….
Hundreds of studies on strength training and physiologically reducing stress
Muscles are one of our greatest regulators of hormonal balance…..this itself has hundreds of health benefits….
Of course the obvious: our physical strength, mobility…all dependent on muscle
Musculoskeletal injuries and depression cost millions in workplace absenteeism. Muscle work has a very strong role in the prevention and recovery of both
Alcohol can destroy muscle mass, in a number of ways
Harvard School of Public Health study: followed 10,500 US men aged over 40 for 12 years and found that of all the activities they did, weight training for 20 minutes three times a week had the greatest effect on preventing age-related abdominal fat.
Strong muscles help us breathe, oxygenate our body.

Muscle is far more than looking good. Going for walks is great – however, it does not replace muscle work. Muscle training is often called the “new running for the over 40s.

Frailty occurs with loss of muscle. When we look at this partial list, no wonder frailty is associated with cumulative decline of physiological & psychological systems, and death. Our muscles are front and center to every aspect of our health and wellness.

Corporate Health Programs – What an Incredible Way to Make the World A Healthier Happier Place…..so we make them affordable to EVERYONE……

Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health

Employee Wellness Toronto, Ontario – But offered worldwide!

Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 12 years: