Last night on our Facebook Page we had a great chat with the staff at the Center for Wellness {700 N. Lake St., Suite 102, Mundelein}. The topic was Healthy for the Holidays and it was a great chat! Below is the transcript from the chat:
Little Lake County: Here is how tonight’s chat will work. From 7:30 – 8:00 p.m. we’ll be answering YOUR questions about staying healthy over the holidays. I will start each question with a Q# and then the question. Please add your questions HERE so I can keep track of them. Answers will be provided by the staff at Center For Wellness, Inc.
Disclosure: Due to time and format constraints questions will be kept brief and general. This chat is meant to provide information and is not meant to be taken as medical advice or to treat any condition, always consult your personal doctor for advice.
Kari: What do we think about essential oils especially in keeping us healthy during winter?
Tara: How do you feel about schools not letting kids wash their hands and instead using alcohol sanitizers? Is there any research to try to encourage schools to just let kids wash their hands?
Eva: Any thoughts on help with food allergies … acupuncture? chiropractor? avoidance? small exposures to learn to tolerate? So much conflicting info out there in internet land
Tina: How much and how intense do my workouts really need to be to lose weight? I see a bunch of people doing cross fit, running marathons, doing Insanity, etc…I have rheumatoid arthritis and can’t do the stuff that is hard on my joints, but I don’t seem to have much luck otherwise (to get to my recommended BMI, I was pouring concrete 8-10 hours a day).
Tara: Is it too late for me to get a flu shot?
Melody: Do immunity vitamins help? Are there other vitamins that make a difference in keeping us healthy?
Mande: Is there any truth to the theory that cold weather can help with croup discomfort? Or are steamy bathrooms better?
Donna: Are cleanses recommended and if so, what kind? Something cheap, without tons of pills and smoothies.
Little Lake County: Center For Wellness, Inc. welcome to Little Lake County! Can you introduce the staff members that will be answering questions tonight?
Center for Wellness: Hi Everyone!
Center for Wellness: Dr. Jon Engstrom, DC, Melanie Dillon LCPC and Kathy Zadak, CHHC
Little Lake County: Q1: Is there any truth to the theory that cold weather can help with croup discomfort? Or are steamy bathrooms better?
Center for Wellness: It’s our experience that vaporizers, humidifiers and moist heat would be our first go to. Some people may benefit from cold, but we prefer humidity.
Melissa: I know in my family they both work it just depends on the kid! My daughter needs the cold air and my son needs the steamy shower.
Center for Wellness: Unfortunately, that’s the answer. Each child is different!
Little Lake County: Q2: What do we think about essential oils especially in keeping us healthy during winter?
Center for Wellness: We think they can be beneficial. Preferences for winter: Lavender for Quality sleep; Peppermint for digestion and eucalyptus for respiratory health.
Michelle: Thieves oil!
Stephanie: Do you have a brand of EO that you recommend for quality?
Matt: Love them. Lavender!! But why not all year?
Tina: {Tagged person) – Check this out!!
Little Lake County: Q3: To sleep in or not to sleep in? That is the question! Generally, I try to rise at my regular time even if I have an occasional late night. Lack of sleep seems to accumulate over the holidays, though. Should I allow myself to sleep in, or will that mess with my schedule in the long run?
Center for Wellness: We recommend 6-8 hours of good sleep. We know that can be difficult! If you go to bed late, we don’t consider it sleeping in if it’s still around the same number of hours. Ideally, if you can be close to the same schedule, it helps keep you balanced. Rest is really helpful for stress reduction and good immune systems.
Melissa: If that doesn’t happen, say you have a teething child and are up, are naps a good thing to fit into your day or should you just try to go to bed earlier? Can you “make-up” for lost sleep?
Center for Wellness: Going to bed earlier would be ideal. Naps are certainly helpful. Always find rest when you can!
Little Lake County: Do immunity vitamins help? Are there other vitamins that make a difference in keeping us healthy?
Center for Wellness: To start, with bio availability is the key component to any supplementation. If you’re not properly absorbing your vitamins, it defeats the purpose of taking them. Our go to would be eating healthy nutrient dense foods. If you aren’t able to do this, we recommend supplementation and probiotics. D and B are also helpful at this time of year for immunity and stress reduction.
Nicole: Which probiotic do u recommend. I recently heard they need to be something other than yogurt as these are not the correct strand…
Center for Wellness: The live culture form is best. We have not particular brand. We recommend fermented foods as natural probiotics.
Little Lake County: Q5: Is it too late in the season for a flu shot?
Center for Wellness: The concept of a flu shot is a polarized debate. For those who find them beneficial, it’s not too late to have one.
Jean: No! I administer flu shots as a pharmacist. Flu season extends until April. It takes approx 2 weeks to be fully effective. So you would be covered for the majority of the flu season still
Little Lake County: Q6: How can moms avoid some of the repetitive motions that throw us out of alignment such as from nursing, co-sleeping, or hip carrying infants and toddlers (without stopping doing all those things?) Are there positioning tips?
Center for Wellness: YES! Rule of thumb is to Un-do Activities Of Daily Living (these repetitive motions). This would consist of training yourself to do the opposing exercise, i.e., if you focus on one hip, carry on the other; if your shoulders are forward, roll them back; stretching, strengthening and opposition is the key.
Tina: Watch that infant carrier. I ended up with tennis elbow from loading and unloading the carrier into the car. Not sure what to do about it, perhaps take the baby in and out when possible?
Center for Wellness: Sorry to hear that. We’d recommend that you exercise the opposing muscle – here would be wrist flexor and extensor exercises to strengthen the area.
Melissa: Tina have you tried babywearing? The carriers were such a pain for me so I would wear a wrap or ergo under my coat and keep it on in the car. Instead of taking the carrier in and out I popped the baby in and out of the wrap.
Little Lake County: Q7: Its road-trip season, what are some simple stretches to do at rest stops or arrival to avoid stiffness/soreness from long road trips.
Center for Wellness: Pendulum swing for your legs will help your hips and low back; depressing your shoulders will help your neck and shoulders. We recommend stopping every two hours to move.
Little Lake County: We only have about 5 minutes left in our chat with Center For Wellness, Inc., I’m going to post 3 more questions….kind of rapid fire, stick around (refresh, refresh, refresh!) for the answers!
Little Lake County: Q8: Are cleanses recommended and if so, what kind? Something cheap, without tons of pills and smoothies.
Center for Wellness: We are not proponents of cleanses, however on occasion shorter (3 day max) real food cleanse can be beneficial.
Little Lake County: Q9: How much and how intense do my workouts really need to be to lose weight? I see a bunch of people doing cross fit, running marathons, doing Insanity, etc…I have rheumatoid arthritis and can’t do the stuff that is hard on my joints, but I don’t seem to have much luck otherwise (to get to my recommended BMI, I was pouring concrete 8-10 hours a day).
Center for Wellness: For any inflammatory conditions or repetitive motion injuries we recommend high repetitions and lower weights. Muscle re-education and rehabilitation would be the goal.
Emily: I have RA too. What you put in your mouth is the thing you can control; you can’t control RA or physical limitations. Keep a food diary and calorie estimates( there are lots of apps or websites to help you there). It helps to meet with a dietician to set daily calorie goals, etc. Keep moving! Try water classes or swimming. Those are easier on your joints than pounding concrete. I’ve lost 30lbs since July ( I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes) with mainly changing my diet and trying to increase exercise. You can do it with diligence and patience.
Tina: Great!! Thanks!!!!
Jennifer: Swimming is a GREAT cardio activity that’s easy on the joints.
Little Lake County: Q10: Any thoughts on help with food allergies … acupuncture? chiropractor? avoidance? small exposures to learn to tolerate? So much conflicting info out there in internet land.
Kari: {tagged person}
Center for Wellness: Safest is avoidance. We recommend working with someone who will work closely with you to properly monitor your individual needs
Jackie: It totally depends on the severity of the allergy. For children, avoidance is best unless they’re being monitored by an allergist. It’s also important to remember that each reaction can vary with food allergies. So even if the first reaction was mild, the next could be severe. Feel free to pm me; my kids have life-threatening food allergies so we live with it and are always looking for things to do to help
Kari: I knew you would be a great person to talk toJackie.
Little Lake County:
Thank you Center For Wellness, Inc. for chatting with us tonight!
You can find the Center for Wellness at 700 N. Lake St., Suite 102 in Mundelein. Call them at 847-949-0063 to make an appointment or get more information on their services.
We will post a transcript with all the questions/answers tomorrow. Have a great night and thank you for joining us!
Center for Wellness: Thanks for having us on here! We had a lot of fun and if you have more questions, we’re here to help! So hard to keep the answers this short! Good night!
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