Welcome back to Active Life Health Clinic's September newsletter.

Happy Back-to-School Days! 

Even though I'm not in school any longer, I still feel, as I'm sure many others do, that this time of year brings a sense that it's time to resume our regular schedules. Time to get back on track with many of our routines. 

For me, it's time to encourage people to return to their health routines that may have slid a bit with summer BBQs (too much food and maybe more "beveraging"), out-of-town holidays (meaning you can't make your health maintenance appointments and aren't getting your regular exercise), and later nights out  (so tempting with the longer days).

A last reminder that if you'd like to sponsor my fundraising efforts for Easter Seals Drop Zone, that has to happen soon as I do the rappel down the side of the 999 West Hastings building on September 16th. It's a truly wonderful charity to help disabled children do things like attend camps. The link to sponsor is here. Or you can contact me to arrange to send a cheque or drop off cash. Any amount is greatly  appreciated!

Reward yourself! Are you running yourself off your feet, getting the kids to school and various activities, meeting work deadlines, attending meetings, and so on and so on? Email office@activetcm.com for a chance to win this month's free reflexology treatment, courtesy of Helene Decarie, certified reflexologist. 

Helping you help yourself! My goal: To work in partnership with you to bring you to your optimal health. My focus: Ongoing health, not just temporary relief. This is active health.

Presenteeism: A Modern Workplace Problem
--by Adam Hart

Invasion of the Workplace Cold & Flu

My day started off just like so many others. I got up, brushed my teeth, jumped in the shower, made a quick cup of joe and headed out the door for work. But what made this day different from most others was how I had spent the previous 12 hours. Usually sound asleep by 11pm, this night I found myself tossing and turning while coughing and sneezing until dawn. My fever of 101 had me shivering for most of the full moon and into the sunrise. After spending much of the night filled up with a heavy dose of over-the-counter cold and flu remedies, I started this day a little slower than usual.

For a split second I contemplated staying in bed all day, but a few thoughts entered into my drowsy, foggy mind. What would my co-workers think? I have too many deadlines and my Visa bill just showed up. Despite having come down with the flu, I decided to force myself out of bed, slowly put one leg at a time into a pair pants and headed off to work.

Do you remember the last time you took your cold or flu for a trip to the office?

This sharing of your illness in the workplace is not a new phenomenon and is known as presenteeism. This cold and flu season presenteeism will once again creep its ugly germs and bad bacteria into almost every workplace across North America.

Choosing to go to work in spite of illness is considered one of the leading barriers to workplace wellness. A report recently commissioned by Desjardins Financial Security showed that 83% of surveyed Canadians admitted to showing up for work while sick or exhausted an average of six times in the past year.

With employee wellness just starting to hit the radar in North America, many employers are seeking out wellness resources in order to maintain a healthy workplace. As many employers begin to play catch up on their employee’s health, much of the responsibility comes down to taking your health into your own hands. To increase your ability of avoiding the dreaded cold or flu this season here are my top 3 Cold & Flu Busting Action Steps.

1. Eat Whole Foods
- Whole foods are foods that have not been broken down, altered or transformed in any way and offer your body superior nutrition. The six main whole foods are nuts and seeds, grains and legumes and fruits and vegetables. Try and include a variety of these foods in your brown bag for every lunch.

2. Take Probiotics
- Store a jar of Udo’s Choice probiotics in your fridge at work. This will ensure that next time there is a sick co-worker running around the office you can replenish your good bacteria and strengthen your chances of avoiding their cold or flu.

3. Get sufficient sleep
- To ensure you body is well rested, try and get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Your immune system relies on quality rest so do your best to avoid late nights and reenergize with quality down time.
   

Adam Hart is a speaker, trainer, author and coach. As founder of Power of Food, Adam specializes in providing employee wellbeing solutions for creating an energized and healthy workplace.

Visit www.poweroffood.com to find out more or call 1-877-222-2950

And finally, let us know your birthday
so we can email you a birthday card and gift at the right time!