Desert Health News September-October 2024

www.huminera l.com 1 what’s inside Complimentary Natural Options Yoga: So Much More than the Mat 9 Integrative Medicine Understanding Hair Loss 13 Through the Generations Building a Care Team 19 Fresh Cuisine Power Pumpkin Smoothie 21 Fitness Local 50+ Pickleball Turns Pro 14 Desert Events Healthy Desert, Healthy You Summit 23 Health & Beauty Going Organic…with Hair Color 17 Financial Health Retirees Beware: Protecting Yourself from Scammers 16 Continued on page 6 Continued on page 20 Medical News Pets as Medicine 4 A mineral food in supplement form promoting cellular health humineral.com Humic/Fulvic Acid Mineral Hearts for Housing By Lauren Del Sarto Begins M any of us have a heartfelt reaction when we see people living on the streets. The team at Bridges 2 Hope is combining that compassion with action and resources to help individuals find homes. In three short years, they have weaved together the many pieces of the puzzle to help rehabilitate 32 and find homes for 35 from our unhoused community. The non-profit was founded in 2021 by Peggy Grabow, a registered nurse, who teamed up with Susan Veldey, also a nurse, peer support advisor Jacquie McClure and now President Michele Verdugo. The passion these four women have for their work stems from personal exposure to the significant struggles addiction, mental health and homelessness can create. Grabow has worked with the unhoused for over a decade and Veldey is a lifelong advocate for food insecurity and health access equality. McClure survived 18-months on the streets, while Verdugo proudly celebrates 29 years of sobriety and has helped family members overcome addiction. They understand first-hand that it takes patience, time and trust to truly help the men and women of this vulnerable population, and they are faithfully there for them. Bridges to Hope’s (B2H) mission is to bridge the gap between the numerous organizations, medical teams and social services available to the unhoused and to build trust with those they serve. They do so by joining forces and setting up in the same outdoor location at the same time each week so individuals can come to them. They’ve done so faithfully for three years, rain or shine, and know the stories and names of their constituents. But more importantly, those they serve have come to know them as compassionate volunteers and professionals who sit and chat with them each and every week. “Not everyone is ready for help,” says Veldey, “But when they are, they know they have a trusting place—and trusting people—to come to.” http://www.deserthealthnews.com/ September/October 2024 O ver the past few years, our valley has been abuzz with talk of becoming a blue zones community. The wait is now over and a coordinated effort throughout Riverside County is now underway, including both Palm Springs and Coachella, to implement policy and programs aimed at increasing the health and longevity of local residents. Previously, we shared the Blue Zones Project’s progress in assessing the viability of bringing their proven formula to our region. Their assessment proposals have been approved and over the past couple of months, the national team has moved into their foundation phase to build local teams and develop a blueprint for successful implementation. Blue Zones is an initiative that employs evidence- basedmethods to help people live better and longer. The principles are based on thework of DanBuettner, a National Geographic Explorer and Fellow, who set out to discover the places in the world where people live the longest and the healthiest (the blue zones regions) and how they got there. He narrowed it down to five: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California. Buettner documented his findings in the New York Times bestseller, The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest and later the 2023 Netflix docuseries “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.” Buettner and his team of researchers surmised that their common longevity was due to nine shared lifestyle habits which they dubbed the Power 9 ® : Move Naturally, Purpose, Downshift, 80% Rule, Plant Slant, Wine at Five, Positive Pack, Loved Ones First and Belong. The most important discovery was that people in the blue zone regions were not trying to do these things; their surroundings and cultures nudged them into these healthy behaviors as they moved throughout their days. From their research, they created Blue Zones Project (BZP), a community-wide initiative that enhances health through environmental and lifestyle changes. Over 20 years, they have successfully teamed with 75 cities across the U.S. including SoCal’s Beach Cities (Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Hermosa Beach) whose focus on healthy living has enhanced residents’ happiness and overall well-being and saved the region millions. A recent Gallup news release (Aug. 2024) states that the region has saved an estimated $182 million annually