Wellness Escapes NZ

Fitness Buddies Hawke's Bay is proud to announce their very first FITNESS BUDDY EVENT! We are hosting a Bike & Brunch session THIS FRIDAY, 24th February, at the Surf Lifesaving Clubrooms, Marine Parade, Napier from 10am to 12pm.
The brunch is for anyone wants to try out, or find out more about E-bikes (pedal-assisted bikes), or for those with bikes who are looking for cycling buddies.
To find out more, email; [email protected] or,
to register, go to; www.fitnessbuddies.co.nz/bike-and-brunch-2/
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Don't forget - it's Reflexology Week!

The ActiveWear Store will be at the Hawke's Bay Women's Lifestyle Expo this Saturday and Sunday!

Come along and try on our gorgeous activewear, available in sizes 8 to 22.

Look out for the special Expo promotions and find out how to enter our free draw to win a $100 ActiveWear voucher!

A group of Hawkes Bay Reflexologists, including Bridgitt McNabb of Maintaining Your Health (Whakatikatika Oranga), are offering, for a small donation, 15 minute reflexology treatments to celebrate World Reflexology Week.

They aim to spread the word about reflexology and at the same time will be fund-raising for the Hawke's Bay branch of Parkinson's NZ. All the proceeds raised through the $10.00 donations will be donated to Parkinson's NZ.

The reflexologists will be working from within the Parkinson's NZ premises, Shop 3, Gloucester Court, Taradale on Friday 23rd September from 9am to 4pm.

http://www.wellnessescapes.co.nz/professionals/maintaining-health-whakatikatika-oranga/

Maintaining Your Health (Whakatikatika Oranga) - Wellness Escapes

Just because your feet are tucked away in thick socks inside your favourite boots for most of the winter, it doesn’t mean to say that you can forget about them. The cold temperatures and lack of fresh air can easily lead to dry skin and unsightly cracked heels.

Follow the tips below to keep your feet fresh and jandal-ready all year round!

1) Soak your feet. Whilst you can use just warm water to soak your feet, adding a few drops of essential oils can provide extra benefits. As well as acting as a moisturiser, peppermint oil, rosemary and eucalyptus can help to freshen up tired feet. Tea tree oil, with its antiseptic and anti-fungal properties, makes an excellent all-round foot-care treatment. Try and soak your feet for at least five minutes then take care to dry them thoroughly afterwards, particularly between your toes.

2) Exfoliate. Giving your feet a weekly scrub with an exfoliant will help to stimulate circulation as well as leaving your skin feeling soft and smooth. You can choose from a range of shop-bought exfoliants but it is quite easy to make your own. Combine some sea salt with your favourite oil (peppermint, olive and lavender all work well) and add a drop of water. Rub the exfoliant over your feet, paying particular attention to any patches of hard, dry skin. After you have finished exfoliating, rinse your feet off and dry them well.

3) Smooth you heels with pumice. Either use the pumice stone after you have soaked your feet and exfoliated your feet or keep one in the shower and use it on your heels before you step out. Use the pumice stone when it is damp, gently rubbing your heels with a circular movement for two to three minutes. Stop immediately if your feet start to feel sore or sensitive.

4) Moisturise. Use a moisturiser after each time you shower or bath, paying particular attention to the dry areas of your feet. For an extra feet-treat, once a week, add some of your favourite oil to your normal moisturiser and apply to your feet before going to bed. Cover with a pair of cotton socks and keep them on overnight.

5) Take care of your toe nails. Don’t neglect to cut your toe nails and make sure you remove your nail polish and apply a fresh coat regularly. You never know when you might need to show off your feet – even in the middle of winter!

6) Finally, why not book yourself in for a professional pedicure? Sit back and relax and let the professionals take care of your winter-weary feet!

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The 2016 summer Olympics are upon us and whilst here in New Zealand we are experiencing one of the coldest winters on record, our elite athletes are sweating it out in sunny Rio de Janeiro.

These amazing athletes have all trained long and hard to get where they are today and are there things that we can learn from them to help us mere mortals on our fitness journey?

Click on the link below to read about six fitness practices that can be adopted from our elite athletes.

http://www.theactivewearstore.co.nz/blog/

www.theactivewearstore.co.nz

No Regrets?

The week before my 12- year- old was due to leave for the biggest hockey tournament of his school career, he kicked a rock in the back garden (in the dark, with only his socks on, thinking it was a football) and broke four bones in his foot. I am not sure who was more upset when we saw the shattered bones on his x-ray – him or me.

But, as my dear mum use to say ‘what is done is done’ and I learnt at a very young age that regret was a pointless sentiment. Reflect, learn and don’t do again – absolutely, but why waste energy on regretting something that has happened? It can’t be changed.
When negative or unpleasant things happen, I often have Cher’s song “If I could turn back time….” playing through my head. But we know we can’t go back so it’s a case of taking a deep breath, banishing the wistful ‘I wish’ and look to the future.

So rather than regret, how can we turn bad decisions and unfortunate events into something positive?

Changing our mind set and not dwelling on where things went wrong, what we could have done better or how unfair life is to us, is a good start. As hard as it might be at the time, look for opportunities to learn, or try and be grateful that things didn’t turn out worse (however bad they seem at the time).

If you think you have made some poor choices, try and make peace with yourself over them. When your mind starts filling with thoughts of things that you have done that you wished you hadn’t or choices that you wished you’d not made, remind yourself that you have the right to make your own decisions and that in itself, is something to be grateful for. If you have hurt someone as a result of your words or actions, try and make peace with them too. If you are wrong, don’t be too proud or stubborn to admit it and offer an apology.

We cannot predict the future any more than we can change the past. We can possibly predict the potential consequences of our actions but sometimes the results of our actions can never been foreseen. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it can’t change what has happened. But you can learn from your experiences and you can help others to learn from them too. Don’t be afraid to share your experiences if you think it will help others to make better choices.

Finally, making choices that turn out to not be the best is a way that we can develop and improve ourselves. Accept that it’s okay to make mistakes (we are all human after all) but rather than dwell on them try focusing on how you can do better next time. Try and stay positive and banish those regrets. Look to the future – you never know where your ‘poor’ choices, mistakes and failures may lead you!

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Blog - The ActiveWear Store Are there unhealthy foods that you just can’t resist? Are there certain times of the day that you automatically reach for the junk? Look at what you are eating, when you are eating it and most importantly, why you are eating it. If you can identify a pattern to your unhealthy eating habits, it will…

According the Updated Dementia Economic Impact Report, it was estimated that in 2014, there were over 50,000 people in New Zealand with dementia. With the aging population, this number is set to increase dramatically, with a forecast that there will be three times this many by 2050.

There is no cure for dementia. But, the risk factors for developing dementia are starting to be understood, allowing us to take steps to decrease our risks of developing this debilitating disease.

A diet high in antioxidants is generally recommended to decrease chronic disease risk but there are some nutrients that are specifically linked with decreasing dementia risk. Consuming diets rich in vitamins A, E, B12 and folic acid are believed to provide protection, particularly when intakes of omega-3 fatty acids are also high. As a note of caution, high dose supplements of vitamins A and E have been shown to increase mortality rates, thus the recommendations are for increasing intakes through diet, rather than supplements. These five key nutrients can be obtained from a diet rich in green leafy vegetables (such as spinach and silverbeet) and orange and yellow-coloured fruits and vegetables plus consuming a selection of red meat, oily fish, dairy, nuts, seeds and oils.

It is crucial to stay physically active if you want to decrease dementia risk. There is clear evidence to show that those that are most physically active, particularly as they age, have the lowest risk of developing dementia. In terms of the best kind of exercise, there is little evidence to support any specific exercise regime. For general health benefits, the New Zealand Ministry of Health recommends 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (such as walking, cycling, swimming) at least five days a week but it is also beneficial to include some resistance training too (such a lifting weights or doing push-ups). Interestingly, simply partaking in leisure activities, which do not have necessarily physical activity, also offers protection against developing dementia.

More recently, researchers have started to look for other factors that could impact on dementia risk and both stress and poor sleep have been identified. Being exposed to traumatic, stressful experiences and suffering from chronic stress both increase dementia risk. Taking steps to deal with stress should be made a priority if you want to look after your long-term brain health.

There are many ways to reduce stress levels including; practicing meditation; exercising; avoiding alcohol, ci******es and drugs; having a relaxing massage; or simply finding a past-time that allows you to ‘switch off’ from the stressful situation. Poor sleep can impact negatively on stress levels so addressing your sleep hygiene issues is also important.

Taken together, the evidence shows that the same factors that can impact negatively on your body are equally detrimental for your brain. The simple take-home message is; don’t smoke, eat well, stay active and take measures to reduce your stress levels. And of course, book yourself a wellness escape when you need to regenerate!

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When you think about foods or nutrients that help keep you healthy during the winter months, you probably think of vitamin C. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and certainly plays an important role in long-term health but there appears to be a couple of other nutrients that are possibly more important for our immune health.

There is increasing evidence to show the importance of zinc for keeping us healthy. Marginal zinc deficiencies are difficult to diagnose but in New Zealand are more common amongst toddlers, adolescents, the elderly and possibly those with diabetes. People who have low levels of zinc are more likely to develop an infection that those who do not. It has also been shown that zinc can help treat colds. Zinc lozenges taken within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms have been shown to decrease both the severity and duration of the common cold.

Selenium, like vitamin C, is a dietary antioxidant. Unfortunately, unlike vitamin C, getting adequate amounts of selenium through the diet can be difficult. Selenium is well known for its role in decreasing prostate cancer risk but it also plays an important role in the immune system. It is particularly beneficial for fighting viral infections, such as those that cause the flu.

However, high doses of both zinc and selenium can be harmful so rather than rushing off to buy supplements, look at ways of increasing intakes through the diet.

Zinc is found in a wide range of foods with red meat being one of the best source. Other foods that contain zinc including; seafood, chickpeas and lentil, cheese and eggs, nuts and seeds. It is recommended that men get 14mg and women 8mg of zinc a day. A cup of lean mince provides around 8mg, a couple of scrambled eggs about 1.6mg and a portion of lentils around 2mg. Although most vegetables are relatively low in zinc, a cup of taro contains approximately 3.9mg.

In countries with high levels of selenium in the soil, the main source of selenium in the diet comes from grains. Unfortunately this is not the case in New Zealand as our soils are selenium-poor. One of the best sources of selenium is Brazil nuts. Each Brazil nut contains approximately 48μg of selenium, which almost meets the recommendations of 60μg/day for women and 70μg/day for men.

Selenium toxicity can occur at relatively low intakes (400μg/day) so it is not recommended to eat more than two or three Brazil nuts a day. Other good sources of selenium include fish (100g of Hoki has 69μg and 100g of tinned tuna around 50μg), eggs (21μg / egg) and chicken (approximately 14μg in 100g of chicken breast).

To try and ward off winter bugs, keep eating fruit and vegetables which are high in vitamin C but make sure that you are also getting enough of the other immune-boosting nutrients, including zinc and selenium.

Positive thinking is defined in the Collins English Dictionary as being “a technique for changing your attitude and fostering optimism”. It has been hailed as having numerous benefits, ranging from helping you to succeed in business to being able to overcome cancer. Whilst not all the benefits have sound scientific backing, your mental wellbeing and attitude does have an impact on your physical health.

Almost 50% of people who suffer from a chronic disease also suffer from some form of mood disorder. Whilst it was commonly believed that the mood disorders stemmed from having a chronic disease, more recently, researchers have come to understand that the relationship works both ways. Those, for example, who are constantly stressed have increased levels of inflammation, which is in turn linked to an increased risk of a number of chronic diseases including heart disease, Alzheimer’s and digestive disorders (Duric et al. 2016).

If you are a person who tends to see things in a negative light, try and adopt some strategies to help boost your moods. Self-affirmation, which involves reflecting on important personal characteristics and strengths, can help you see your own self-worth. According to work carried out by Dutcher at al. (2016), self-affirmation can activate the brain’s reward centre. Activation of the brain’s reward centre results in the release of ‘feel good’ hormones which helps to decrease stress and anxiety.

You can also practice gratitude. This help to put things in perspective, helping you to be appreciative of all the good things that you have in life. Try every day to think of things that you can grateful for, be it friends and family, a job you enjoy or simply the fact that you are able to see the beauty of the world around you.

Even working on your posture – standing up straight and holding your head high – can have a positive impact on your moods and feelings. If you carry yourself with a ‘positive posture’ this will encourage your mind to feel more positive too.

And finally, don’t forget to smile. Smiling triggers the same chemical pathways that are triggered though your positive thoughts. But smiling goes one step further – you can pass a smile on - they are highly contagious.