Our amazing compounding team has been hard at work developing several new preparations for a variety of skin care needs that are just too great to not share with you all! For the next three weeks I will be highlighting two of our specialty skin care preparations here on the blog and offering a special deal for blog readers! The preparations I will be shining the spotlight on today are Hotze Acne Free Cream and Hotze Sun/Age Spot Cream!

Hotze Acne Free cream contains Niacinamide, an ingredient that has natural anti-inflammatory properties to reduce the redness and swelling acne can have; Tea Tree Oil and Azelaic Acid, which are natural microbial agents, which help cleanse the bacteria from areas of the body with acne;, Vitamin A, which unclogs pores; and Aloe Vera Oil, which has anti-bacterial, virucidal, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties! I personally love this preparation and use it anytime I have an unruly pimple pop-up!

Hotze Sun/Age Spot Cream contains Hydroquinone, which lightens darkened areas of the skin such as sun spots and age spots; Vitamin A, which not only unclogs pores but increases the capacity of the skin to regenerate; Vitamin C, which promotes the synthesis of collagen and elastin and protects the skin from UV damage; Hyaluronic Acid, which is a strong moisturizing agent which helps the skin retain elasticity, Hydrocortisone, which decreases irritation of the skin, and Aloe Vera Oil.

All of our specialty preparations do require a prescription, so just give us a call and we will coordinate with your physician to request a prescription for you. Also, if you give any of these preparations a try please feel free to leave your feedback in the comments section of the blog our on our Facebook page. We are continually trying to improve all of our preparations and would love to hear from you.

As an added bonus for being awesome blog readers if you mention the code “SP20” you will receive 20% off of Hotze Acne Free Cream, Hotze Sun/Age Spot Cream, Hotze Rosacea Cream, Hotze Skin Renewal Cream, Hotze Eye Renewal Cream or Hotze Cold Sore Lip Balm through May 31! Check back on next week’s blog to learn about Hotze Skin Renewal Cream and Hotze Eye Renewal Cream!

This week is Nurses’ Week! First and foremost thank you to any of our blog followers out there who are nurses! You are all amazing people with huge hearts! I truly have a soft spot in my heart for all of the nurses here at Hotze Health & Wellness Center. After working in various other pharmacies I can certainly say our nurses are the most caring, loving and kind people I have met in a medical profession, and I deeply thank them for that.

I would like to specifically highlight two nurses who work closely with us here in the pharmacy. Candy and Stephanie dedicate several hours of their day to authorizing prescriptions so we can quickly get orders out. They operate like a well-oiled machine to ensure that we can serve as many guests as possible each day. They also both bring an individual brightness into the pharmacy and we look forward to getting to spend our days with them! So thank you to all of the nurses out there! We really appreciate what you all do, and Happy Nurses’ Week!

Since I absolutely love Fitness Month, I asked around the pharmacy and found out what several of our staff members favorite exercises are!

Amy and Kim, our pharmacists, enjoy doing yoga because it is a relaxing stress reliever and helps them stay physically fit.

Barb at the front desk enjoys going for walks with her husband. It is a great way for them to spend time together and get in some good exercise.

Cheryle in shipping is currently training for Tough Mudder! She is learning to enjoy running, along with strength training.

Lucia our compounding expert enjoys swimming. Being in the water gives her the quiet relaxation time she needs to unwind from a long day.

Daisy, another one of our super compounders, enjoys Jazzercise! The group work-outs choreographed to the music, along with strength training gives her something to look forward to during the week.

I suppose my answer is pretty obvious to any of you who are following the blog, but my favorite exercise is running. Running dissolves all of my stress and worries and makes me feel on top of the world! The feeling of completing a race is like no other!

I look forward to celebrating Fitness Month with you all and hearing all of your favorite exercises!

There are several things in life I really enjoy; a few of them are free cookies, free t-shirts and prize drawings! Lucky for me, and you Friday, April 27 here at Hotze Health & Wellness Center, the wonderful team from Commit For Life will be here to take blood and plasma donations! I’d love for anyone interested to come on down between 12and 4:30 p.m., hang out with me and get some free swag! Each participant will receive a Commit for Life t-shirt, and a coupon for a free cookie at The Great American Cookie Company! There will also be a raffle for a $10.00 Starbucks gift card and Dr. Hotze’s PowerPak! Plus, the greatest reward of all is that only one pint of blood can save up to three lives! Click here to schedule your appointment!

Here are a few tips to remember if you come to donate next Friday:

1. Boost your iron levels by eating fortified cereal, red meat or green, leafy vegetables. The most common reason a person is deferred is low iron count so start adjusting your diet today.
2. Get a good night’s sleep prior to donating.
3. Eat a hearty meal at least one hour before donating
4. Drink at least one 16-ounce bottle of water prior to donating.

We look forward to seeing everyone next Friday!

As we’ve mentioned, April is National Stress Awareness Month and my mission for this series of blog posts is to help you become less stressed, or at least look less stressed! A lot of people, including me, carry their stress in their face. This can lead to a premature aging of the cells, which of course leads to unsightly wrinkles. Here are a few tips to de-stress this month and prevent those wrinkles and frown-lines from popping up!

-          Drink more water!

-          Meditation

-          Physical activity such as running or yoga

-          Get plenty of sleep

-          Sign up for the Stress-Less Series

Also, to keep you looking free of stress, we would like to extend an offer for $10 off any order of Hotze Skin Renewal Cream placed between now and April 30^th! Just mention the word ‘Renew’ when placing your refill orders over the phone or online!

Since it is National Stress Awareness Month, I wanted to share an article on organizing your mind  that I found fitting. The article offers the following tips:

1. Take charge of your negative emotions
2. Sustain your focus to one thing at a time
3. Apply the brakes when a distraction comes along
4. Access your short-term memory
5. Shift your attention to a new task
6. Connect all these steps together

I definitely plan on incorporating these tips in my life and will report back with good results! What are your tips for staying organized?

April is National Stress Awareness month. I can’t say I know anyone who doesn’t encounter at least one stressor on a daily basis, whether it is work, home or school related. Cortisol is a hormone our bodies naturally produce to help fight the adrenal fatigue that occurs when we are faced with either emotional or physical stress. As we age our bodies sometimes do not produce the amount of Cortisol necessary, which is what leads to adrenal fatigue. Common symptoms of adrenal fatigue are the inability to bounce back from stressful situations, a small amount of stress sending you over the edge, muscle and or joint pain, recurrent infections, allergies, anxiety or panic attacks, depression, low blood sugar and or blood pressure, and chronic fatigue.

According to an article from the cortisol connection, “Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced in the cortex of the adrenal glands. Cortisol assists you in regulating blood pressure, cardiovascular functions, and your body’s use of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Cortisol is also involved in glucose metabolism, insulin release for blood sugar maintenance, and inflammatory response. Cortisol helps in responding to and coping with stress, trauma and environmental extremes. Normal levels of cortisol increases energy and metabolism and helps regulate blood pressure. Cortisol also enhances the integrity of blood vessels and reduces allergic and inflammatory responses.

To recognize National Stress Awareness month beginning April 1 through 30, we will be offering $5 off any one Cortisol prescription filled at Hotze Pharmacy, just mention the coupon code “Stress” when placing your orders via phone or online. Physician’s Preference will also be holding a series of classes, which will teach you how to better deal with stress, and reduce stress in your life. We hope everyone has a stress-free month!

This week our businesses are celebrating Nutrition Week! A very big part of enjoying a better quality of life is to have healthy nutritional habits, take part in physical activity, and remembering to take your bio-identical hormones on a regular basis! I know in the past we have discussed the importance of compliance when taking your bio-identical hormones, and we’ve also given pointers on the easiest way to order , but I just wanted to share with you all my tips for staying on top of taking my medications!

• Set a pop-up reminder on your email calendar and phone to start your cyclical medications, such as Progesterone or Estrogen.

• Keep medications in an easy spot that you access both in the morning, and the evening. I keep mine in the bathroom next to my toothbrush!

• Purchase a pill-case so you can organize your pills for the week. When you fill up your last week it is usually a good time to order to allow yourself plenty of time to receive your prescriptions.

• Refill your prescriptions by either giving us a call at 281-828-9088 or toll-free at 1-877-640-5248. • Refill your prescriptions online at www.hotzepharmacy.com, by doing this you save 10% on your order!

Please share with us any tips you have that help you remember to take your medications! We love to hear from you!

While I usually stick to a relatively healthy diet, I’ve recently been motivated to eat even more fruits and vegetabless since March is Nutrition Month. I couldn’t think of an easier, quicker way than whipping up a delicious smoothie. The ingredients in this smoothie contain many great nutrients including vitamin C, vitamin A, Niacin, Potassium, and fiber! I love whipping this smoothie up for breakfast or for a post work-out snack! It also stores well in the freezer!

 Ingredients

• ½ cup frozen peach slices
• ½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 dozen strawberries
• ½ cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Directions

• Toss all ingredients into the blender, blend for 1-2 minutes or until everything is a smooth consistency. Garnish with fresh strawberry slices or a sprig of mint and enjoy!

I hope you all like this extremely simple and tasty smoothie recipe., As an added bonus, it is yeast-free friendly for anyone beyond week  two of their Yeast-Free Diet!

March is National Nutrition Month! To help celebrate, I decided to discuss a few key foods that help bioidentical hormones work more effectively in our bodies!

Yams: Yams contain many vital nutrients including potassium and magnesium. There have also been studies that show yams help your body in producing more of the naturally occurring hormones you need after a period of time.

Celery: For many years, celery has been used in Chinese medicine for aiding hormone related problems. It has also been shown to help with pancreatic function and lower blood pressure, both of which help strengthen your hormonal system as well. Not to mention it is an easy snack to pack on the go!

Squash: Whether it is yellow squash, kabocha squash, or pumpkin squash, squash contains Vitamin A, beta-carotene, folic acid and other vitamins and nutrients. It has been shown to help strengthen your digestive system, which as we know from our yeast-free dieting, makes all of your other systems work much better.

Beans: Beans contain estrogen naturally, and are also an amazing source of protein. They help lower cholesterol and fight heart disease as well.

These are just a few specific foods I chose to showcase. A diet rich in vegetables and fruits, free of sugars, simple carbohydrates and processed foods will  lead to a healthier and happier life and keep our hormonal systems running at tip-top shape!