Refer friends and win! 

 February is the month for romance.  Valentine's Day brings a reminder of the passion or lack of in our lives.  Cupid is notorious for igniting that special feeling in us but if you are like many people who are aging, cupid hasn't been around for a while. If your sex drive or ability to perform has diminished, you may feel that passion is a thing of the past and something you will never be able to regain. You are not alone, many men and women are not satisfied in their love lives and it has nothing to do with cupid. There is a real medical reason and a real medical solution.  As we age our hormone levels decline. The good news is that symptoms of an aging body are not something that you have to live with anymore. Many doctors are becoming enlightened to the role hormones play in our overall health. Your doctor can prescribe hormones that will improve the many symptoms of menopause in women and andropause in men, which includes the loss of libido and the ability to perform. Hormones can make all the difference in not only your love life but in the quality of life you experience every day.  Hormone therapy can help you regain the energy and vitality that you once had. We at Rustburg Family Pharmacy compound bioidentical hormones for hormone therapy and we hear success stories from patients all the time.   We encourage you to ask questions not only to your doctor but to us, your trusted medication experts. Putting that spark back in your love life is a gift you can give both yourself and your partner this Valentine's Day. 

 Vitamin D deficiency has reached epidemic proportions. Common advice - which often includes taking cholesterol-lowering drugs (because cholesterol is needed to make vitamin D), avoiding the sun or always wearing sunscreen, and a low cholesterol diet, combined with a recommended daily intake of vitamin D that is far below what researchers now believe to be sufficient - has led to widespread vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is best known for its role in calcium metabolism and bone health, but new roles are continually being discovered for mental health, blood sugar regulation, maintenance of the immune system, and cancer prevention. At the 2006 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, a study was presented suggesting that adequate vitamin D early in life may be important to lower breast cancer risk in later years. Vitamin D deficiency is a known risk factor for cancer, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. Recent evidence suggests that vitamin D intakes above current recommendations may be associated with better health outcomes. Researchers from the Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, summarized evidence from studies that evaluated thresholds for serum vitamin D concentrations in relation to bone mineral density (BMD), lower-extremity function, dental health, and risk of falls, fractures, and colorectal cancer. They found that the most advantageous serum concentrations of vitamin D are between 90 and 100 nmol/L (36-40 ng/mL), and concluded: "... the amount of vitamin D required for optimal benefit may be much higher than would be provided by current recommendations (200-600 IU per day), especially in those with minimal sun exposure." In no less than 50% of the population, a daily intake for all adults of at least 1000 IU (25 micrograms) vitamin D-3 (cholecalciferol) is needed to achieve optimal vitamin D concentrations.  It is important to supplement with the active form, vitamin D-3 (cholecalciferol), which is more effective than vitamin D-2. Ask our professionals to recommend a quality Vitamin D supplement.