Purity Life Health Products, known as Canada’s largest natural health product distributor, has promoted three of its team members.

Julie Drapeau is now Purity Life’s National Sales Manager. She was promoted from the position of Senior Category and Regional Manager and has been with the company for nearly 10 years.

Don Gonder has been promoted to Director of Brand Management and Innovation. Most recently, Don was Director of Sales after working with Purity Life for 11 years.

Mike Roberts is now the Senior Director of Sales at Purity Life, after being promoted from the position of Senior Director of Supply Chain. He has been with the company for over nine years.

“In order to continue to develop our people and create a cross functional leadership team, Purity Life Health Products LP is excited to announce [these] changes which will strengthen our organization, allowing us to serve our retailers, vendors and brokers as an even more effective business partner,” says Roberts.

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Athletes’ joints require care to reduce the body’s inflammatory response in order to minimize the effects of post-workout soreness. An easy way to avoid this is to create a balance between pro-inflammatory foods we eat (such as processed foods) and anti-inflammatory foods. Here are some foods and products that, when consumed, can reduce joint pain for athletes.

Collagen is the most important structural protein in connective tissues. Collagen helps relieve joint pain after exercising while encouraging healthy joints.

Glucosamine is extracted from crab, lobster and shrimp shells and is often paired with chondroitin sulphate, which is extracted from animal cartilage. This pairing is often used to relieve chronic joint pain, however a recent study found that although it created benefits in patients, none were significant. It may, however, be useful for people suffering from knee pain due to osteoarthritis.

Methylsulfonylmenthane (MSM) is a sulfur-containing compound that is naturally occurring in many foods, such as cow’s milk, meat, seafood, fruits and vegetables, chocolate, coffee and tea. Research shows it reduces the number of free radicals that are formed with activity while cutting down on recovery time.

Eggshell membrane helps maintain healthy cartilage and joint fluid while reducing inflammatory cytokines, due to its composition, including glycosaminoglycans and proteins. It is shown to minimize joint pain and stiffness.

Hops extract can be used to provide an anti-inflammatory response along with temporary relief of minor aches and pains.

Omega-3 fatty acids are popular in foods due to their widely known health benefits. Omega-3s are believed to lower the risk of arthritis. Regular use can provide relief of morning stiffness and joint tenderness in adults that suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.

Extra virgin olive oil contains polyphenols that are proven to increase cartilage fluid health. It contains omega-9 fatty acids that are good for improving inflammatory markers in animals.

Probiotics are anti-inflammatory, and in a clinical trial, the use of probiotics showed positive effects for women with rheumatoid arthritis.

Brown seaweed extract may be able to inhibit inflammation. According to a small clinical study from 2010, this extract minimized symptoms of osteoarthritis by as much as 52 per cent.

Apple peel powder is polyphenol-rich and helps improve range of motion and reduces joint pain and discomfort with daily use. Quercitin, a flavonoid found in apple peel has anti-inflammatory effects that can be useful for joint health.

Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust has acquired 16 properties from Loblaw Companies Ltd. for approximately $211.9 million. The deal consists of 15 retail locations and one warehouse located across Canada.

The REIT was made a separate business last year by Loblaw. The company’s portfolio of properties has now reached 472, with a focus on supermarket-anchored shopping centres and stand-alone supermarket locations.

A new study by Boston researchers found that Vitamin D supplements reduce the risk of Atopic Dermatitis (AD) in children who might be vitamin D deficient. Atopic Dermatitis is an inflammatory skin condition that often affects children and is especially prevalent in winter.

A possible treatment of severe cases is exposure of UV lights, which is a harmful radiation. The new study, however, addresses the importance of vitamin D supplements.

The study involved 100 children in Mongolia, an area where a large percentage of the population suffers from vitamin D deficiency in the winter. The children were supplemented vitamin D orally or as a placebo every day for a month. A smaller yet similar study in 2008 involving 11 children in Boston also supported the results achieved. Oral vitamin D supplementation was seen to improve symptoms of AD.

“The active form of vitamin D induces expression of antimicrobial peptides in the skin and thereby helps prevent skin infection and immunosuppress specific properties in the skin,” read the study.

The Vitamin Shoppe, a leading multi-channel health and wellness retailer, has announced its Chief Executive Officer Tony Truesdale plans to retire on June 27, 2015, after over eight years in service to the company, including three years spent in the top role. Truesdale plans to spend his time with his family and completing external Board work.

Vitamin Shoppe’s Board of Directors will be looking into new candidates for the role both internally and externally, and will carry the company through the next stages of the its long-term growth plans.

“Tony will retire with the gratitude and best wishes of the entire Board of Directors and the Vitamin Shoppe family. Since joining the company in 2006, he has undertaken and completed many significant projects that have positioned the company for future growth. He is an inspirational leader for all the health enthusiasts at the Vitamin Shoppe. Mr. Truesdale will continue in his capacity as CEO to ensure a smooth transition when a new CEO is named,” said Rick Markee, Executive Chairman, in a press release.

“I think the Board for the opportunity to lead the Vitamin Shoppe over the past three years and am very proud of what the team has accomplished. I look forward to seeing the company’s continued growth,” said Truesdale in a press release. “I have determined that this is the right time for me to spend more time with my family and pursue my other health and wellness passions.”

A new peer-reviewed study published in the International Journal of Angiology shows that Pycnogenol, which is the standardized extract of French maritime pine tree bark, may significantly improve the appearance, swelling and discomfort of varicose veins and spider vein clusters that are caused by pregnancy.

The study was conducted on 133 women at Chieti-Pescara University in Italy. Participants wore compression stockings, which is the recommended treatment for varicose and spider veins. The Pycnogenol group wore compression stockings and took 100mg of Pycnogenol daily.

The women in the Pycnogenol group experienced multiple effects over six months after beginning treatment four to eight weeks after giving birth, including a significant reduction in the number of varicose veins, a significant decrease in visible clusters of spider veins, plus significant reductions in leg cramps, minor pains and discomfort involved with prolonged standing, swelling, and reduced the overall instance in requests for additional treatment, compared to the women in the control group.

Approximately 30 per cent of women who are post-pregnancy experience enlarged veins, and if left untreated could lead to a chronic vein condition, blood clots and ulcers.

“Because some varicose and spider veins may improve on their own after a year or so post-pregnancy, standard treatment is to simply wear compression stockings, which is met with low compliance because patients often find them uncomfortable,” said physician Dr. Steven Lamm in a press release. “This study shows that Pycnogenol can significantly reduce the visibility of veins, swelling and pain post-pregnancy and improve blood flow in a fraction of the time as it takes when treated with compression stockings alone.”

Pycnogenol is available in over 700 dietary supplements and multi-vitamins around the world.

Target is testing Curbside, a new shopping application that allows free same-day curbside pickup at 10 stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. Curbside is a startup founded by Jaron Waldman and Denis Laprise, two former Apple engineers with backgrounds in location-based technologies.

Retailers start by paying Curbside a customer acquisition fee, according to a report by Techcrunch.com. After customers place their orders online, they pick them up from one of Curbside’s locations in the San Francisco Bay Area without paying pickup fees or markups on orders.

Techcrunch.com believes the test could make way for Curbside to be used across several of Target’s U.S. stores. According to Waldman, CEO of the company, Curbside will be expanding to other markets and will be adding new retailers to its roster in the coming months. The app may even extend north of the border, where Waldman and Laprise are from, but the company is happy to continue its partnership with Target at the moment.

“Target is really focused on creating exceptional retail experiences for its guests, so it’s our sense that the convenience that Curbside offers makes us a natural fit. We hope to have the opportunity to grow our partnership with Target as we expand to other markets,” says Waldman.

For more information on Curbside, please visit www.shopcurbside.com.

Target CEO and Chairman Brian Cornell recently visited the Cloverdale Mall Target store in Toronto, along with Target Canada President Mark Schindele. Cornell told the Globe and Mail that he regularly visits the Canadian stores and has close involvement in the Canadian division. Other initiatives are lowering the prices of specific products, and accelerating delivery schedules for stores to receive merchandise more often.

The company has recently decided to postpone the decision to appoint a non-executive chairman with domestic experience for the Canadian operations. According to a company spokesperson, Cornell plans to personally spend time in Canada to assess the opportunities in this market first-hand prior to finding a non-executive chair for the company’s Canadian division. Cornell is very familiar with the Canadian market due to his work with a variety of companies over the years.

According to statistics by Steve Bishop of Briar Meets Click, online grocery sales are expected to rise to US$27 billion by the end of this year, tripling by 2023 to somewhere between $80 billion and $123 billion.

Bishop recently gave a presentation during The Food Institute’s “Get In On the Growth of Online Shopping” webinar, noting that online grocery sales currently make up four per cent of market-level spending, but are expected to rise to between 11 per cent and 17 per cent over the next decade, according to a report from Grocery Business. Honest Green co-president PJ Strafford supported the sentiment, noting that Amazon serves 62 million grocery shoppers per month.

“Will the in-store lost sales be recaptured and offset by your online channel or lost to the competition? It’s a good time to step up your online game,” says Bishop.

Acasti Pharma Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the research, development and commercialization of new krill oil-based forms of omega-3 phospholipid therapies for the treatment of certain cardiometabolic disorders has announced its results for the three and six month periods that ended August 31, 2014.

For the three months that ended August 31, 2014, Acasti saw revenues of $8,000, compared to $266,000 for the same period last year. Research and development expenses hit $1,803,000 this quarter, compared to $1,526,000 for the same period last year. Net loss also grew to $3,712,000 from $3,238,000 from last year. However, sales are being generated with the commercialization of Onemia, a medical food product.

For the six months ending August 31, 2014, the company logged revenues of $64,000, compared to $273,000 for the same period last year, while research and development costs sat at $3,022,000 compared to $2,304,000 for the same period last year. The company’s net loss for the six month period sat at $2,356,000, compared to $5,203,000 one year ago.

Moving forward, the company is focusing on achieving full regulatory approval of CaPre. This comes as Dr. Harlan W. Waksal, M.D. has stepped down as executive vice president at Acasti following his recent appointment as president and CEO of Kadmon Corporation, though he remains on Acasti’s Board of Directors.

“Over the years, Dr. Waksal has made a valuable contribution to Acasti’s success and we look forward to his continued leadership and guidance on Acasti’s Board,” said Mr. Jerald J. Wenker, Acasti’s Chairman, in a press release.