The WELL Street blog, "Living on WELL Street" is now posted on the WELL Street website. Please subscribe to receive the daily (well, almost daily) blog.
Thank you!
Michael
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Five-A-Day Fruit & Vegetable Challenge
This week’s featured Challenge is to eat five servings of fruits and/or vegetables each day. The benefits from doing so include adding essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber to your diet that help protect you from chronic diseases and certain cancers. Substituting low fat and low calorie fruits and vegetables also assist in weight management.
The best approach to eating five servings of fruits and vegetables is to “substitute” them for less nutritious and higher calorie foods. Adding strawberries, blueberries, peaches or bananas to cereal in the morning should mean less cereal in the bowl. Replace cheese, meat, and bread at lunch with more vegetables. At dinner, make sure that fruit, vegetables, and whole grains consume most of your plate.
Choosing fruits and vegetables as snacks during the day assures that you are getting good nutrition and few calories at the same time. Avoid the calorie-loaded vending machine and opt for fresh fruit or vegetables from home. Here are some healthy, low calorie, snack suggestions from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control):
• a medium-size apple (72 calories)
• a medium-size banana (105 calories)
• 1 cup steamed green beans (44 calories)
• 1 cup blueberries (83 calories)
• 1 cup grapes (100 calories)
• 1 cup carrots (45 calories), broccoli (30 calories), or bell peppers (30 calories) with 2 tbsp. hummus (46 calories)
Fresh, frozen, canned, dried and juiced fruits and vegetables all count towards the five daily servings. When all of these forms are combined with the proper serving size, it becomes easy to achieve five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. A serving size can be compared to the size of your fist - approximately one cup. Here are some simple guidelines:
• 1 medium piece of fruit or vegetable (baseball sized) is about 1 cup
• 1/2 cup dried fruit = 1 cup of fresh fruit
• 1 cup (8 oz.) 100% fruit or vegetable juice = 1 cup of fruit or vegetables
• 2 cups of leafy greens = 1 cup of vegetables
• 1/4 cup (1 oz.) of nuts = one serving
Make eating five servings of fruits and vegetables each day a priority. Plan for it when you shop. Start your day off with a nutritious breakfast with at least one serving of fruit. Add fruit and vegetables for snacks during the day. Include a serving at lunch and dinner. It's that easy! For more information go to Fruit and Veggies Matter
Eat WELL!
Michael
The best approach to eating five servings of fruits and vegetables is to “substitute” them for less nutritious and higher calorie foods. Adding strawberries, blueberries, peaches or bananas to cereal in the morning should mean less cereal in the bowl. Replace cheese, meat, and bread at lunch with more vegetables. At dinner, make sure that fruit, vegetables, and whole grains consume most of your plate.
Choosing fruits and vegetables as snacks during the day assures that you are getting good nutrition and few calories at the same time. Avoid the calorie-loaded vending machine and opt for fresh fruit or vegetables from home. Here are some healthy, low calorie, snack suggestions from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control):
• a medium-size apple (72 calories)
• a medium-size banana (105 calories)
• 1 cup steamed green beans (44 calories)
• 1 cup blueberries (83 calories)
• 1 cup grapes (100 calories)
• 1 cup carrots (45 calories), broccoli (30 calories), or bell peppers (30 calories) with 2 tbsp. hummus (46 calories)
Fresh, frozen, canned, dried and juiced fruits and vegetables all count towards the five daily servings. When all of these forms are combined with the proper serving size, it becomes easy to achieve five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. A serving size can be compared to the size of your fist - approximately one cup. Here are some simple guidelines:
• 1 medium piece of fruit or vegetable (baseball sized) is about 1 cup
• 1/2 cup dried fruit = 1 cup of fresh fruit
• 1 cup (8 oz.) 100% fruit or vegetable juice = 1 cup of fruit or vegetables
• 2 cups of leafy greens = 1 cup of vegetables
• 1/4 cup (1 oz.) of nuts = one serving
Make eating five servings of fruits and vegetables each day a priority. Plan for it when you shop. Start your day off with a nutritious breakfast with at least one serving of fruit. Add fruit and vegetables for snacks during the day. Include a serving at lunch and dinner. It's that easy! For more information go to Fruit and Veggies Matter
Eat WELL!
Michael
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Would You Like to be Happier, Healthier, and More Energetic? Sleep on it!
Beginning with today’s WELL Street blog, content will be delivered each week that will provide a fun and healthy “challenge” for individuals, families, groups, and workplaces to be happier, healthier, and more energetic. A challenge makes living a healthy style a shared experience. Spouses can challenge each other. A group of friends or an entire family can participate in a challenge, and take turns picking the challenge activity. Finally, workplaces can benefit from the camaraderie and competitiveness that challenges create to promote healthy lifestyles. I will share challenge ideas and you decide what works for you or your group. The key is to have fun and have as many winners as possible. Short challenges of a week, or a month, are more focused and effective. Reward winners with a healthy potluck lunch, or simply recognize them publicly for their effort.
The first weekly challenge is to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep each night. The benefits of getting plenty of sleep are well known. Imagine a world (home or workplace) where everyone was fully rested and energized. Think how much more creative, productive, and happy life would be. An article from About.com, Top 10 Health Benefits of a Good Night's Sleep - Why sleep matters to you", by Mark Stibich, PhD, lists the following Top 10 benefits of a good night’s sleep:
1. Keeps your heart healthy – improves blood pressure and cholesterol
2. May prevent cancer – increases melatonin levels that suppresses tumor growth
3. Reduces stress – sleep deficiency leads to stress hormones
4. Reduces inflammation – related to heart conditions, cancer, diabetes, and aging
5. Makes you more alert – increases energy and helps you continue to sleep better
6. Improves memory – helps the brain to make connections and function properly
7. Helps you lose weight – balances hormones that affect appetite
8. Naps – lower stress, improve memory, brain function and mood
9. Reduces risk for depression – increases serotonin levels to ward off depression
10. Helps the body repair itself – more protein is produced in cells to help the body repair itself
Challenge your friends or family members to get a good night’s sleep. Do a little research on the subject and share what you learn. Talk about the benefits of proper sleep and the difference it makes in how you think and feel. If you are in the work force, or a member of an organization, invite an expert in to talk about it.
Sleep WELL!
Michael
The first weekly challenge is to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep each night. The benefits of getting plenty of sleep are well known. Imagine a world (home or workplace) where everyone was fully rested and energized. Think how much more creative, productive, and happy life would be. An article from About.com, Top 10 Health Benefits of a Good Night's Sleep - Why sleep matters to you", by Mark Stibich, PhD, lists the following Top 10 benefits of a good night’s sleep:
1. Keeps your heart healthy – improves blood pressure and cholesterol
2. May prevent cancer – increases melatonin levels that suppresses tumor growth
3. Reduces stress – sleep deficiency leads to stress hormones
4. Reduces inflammation – related to heart conditions, cancer, diabetes, and aging
5. Makes you more alert – increases energy and helps you continue to sleep better
6. Improves memory – helps the brain to make connections and function properly
7. Helps you lose weight – balances hormones that affect appetite
8. Naps – lower stress, improve memory, brain function and mood
9. Reduces risk for depression – increases serotonin levels to ward off depression
10. Helps the body repair itself – more protein is produced in cells to help the body repair itself
Challenge your friends or family members to get a good night’s sleep. Do a little research on the subject and share what you learn. Talk about the benefits of proper sleep and the difference it makes in how you think and feel. If you are in the work force, or a member of an organization, invite an expert in to talk about it.
Sleep WELL!
Michael
Monday, August 23, 2010
Don't Fight the Feeling, Make it a Strength
I recently reread two books by Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths. The books deal with identifying and developing natural talents into Strengths, and effectively managing the process. Buckingham is a leading authority on the subject of a Strengths-based approach to management. For years, he led the research effort on the subject at the Gallup Organization.
A Gallup survey asked employees, “At work do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?” Only 20% responded with “strongly agree”. Gallup research revealed that “employees who strongly agreed that they had a chance to do what they do best every day claimed fewer sick days, filed fewer workers’ compensation claims, and had fewer accidents while on the job.” Matt Ridley, in his book, Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, reported the results of a long-term study involving 17,000 British civil servants. The study came to the startling conclusion that “the status of person’s job was more able to predict their likelihood of a heart attack than obesity, smoking, or high blood pressure”!
The research should prompt employers to ask, “How can we create an organization where the majority of employees are using their strengths every day and have an opportunity to grow in their role in the company?” Two key assumptions are necessary to get responses that are more positive:
1. Each person’s talents are unique and are not going to change
2. The greatest room for growth is in the area of a person’s greatest strength.
This should lead employers to do four things:
1. Select people carefully – matching their talents with the roles that they will be performing
2. Focus performance on measured outcomes – not on how the outcomes are achieved.
3. Focus training on identifying and building on individual strengths - set consistent expectations for everyone, but treat each person as being uniquely different.
4. Create ways for employees to grow their career without promoting them out of their area of strengths - promotion should be designed to reward excellence in every role in the company, including providing prestige, respect, and financial reward to each role.
Would you like to know what your natural talents are? Answer these questions to gain insight:
1. How do you spontaneously react to situations?
2. What yearnings are reoccurring and have a magnetic pull over you?
3. What do you learn very quickly and easily?
4. What gives you satisfaction? – synaptic connections in the brain are designed to make you feel good when you use them.
Talents are very hard to change - they are You. When you understand what your true talents are, you can develop knowledge and skills to turn them into Strengths. Reoccurring feelings are a window into your talents. Don’t fight the feelings - take the path of least resistance to be the best of who you really are.
Live WELL,
Michael
A Gallup survey asked employees, “At work do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?” Only 20% responded with “strongly agree”. Gallup research revealed that “employees who strongly agreed that they had a chance to do what they do best every day claimed fewer sick days, filed fewer workers’ compensation claims, and had fewer accidents while on the job.” Matt Ridley, in his book, Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, reported the results of a long-term study involving 17,000 British civil servants. The study came to the startling conclusion that “the status of person’s job was more able to predict their likelihood of a heart attack than obesity, smoking, or high blood pressure”!
The research should prompt employers to ask, “How can we create an organization where the majority of employees are using their strengths every day and have an opportunity to grow in their role in the company?” Two key assumptions are necessary to get responses that are more positive:
1. Each person’s talents are unique and are not going to change
2. The greatest room for growth is in the area of a person’s greatest strength.
This should lead employers to do four things:
1. Select people carefully – matching their talents with the roles that they will be performing
2. Focus performance on measured outcomes – not on how the outcomes are achieved.
3. Focus training on identifying and building on individual strengths - set consistent expectations for everyone, but treat each person as being uniquely different.
4. Create ways for employees to grow their career without promoting them out of their area of strengths - promotion should be designed to reward excellence in every role in the company, including providing prestige, respect, and financial reward to each role.
Would you like to know what your natural talents are? Answer these questions to gain insight:
1. How do you spontaneously react to situations?
2. What yearnings are reoccurring and have a magnetic pull over you?
3. What do you learn very quickly and easily?
4. What gives you satisfaction? – synaptic connections in the brain are designed to make you feel good when you use them.
Talents are very hard to change - they are You. When you understand what your true talents are, you can develop knowledge and skills to turn them into Strengths. Reoccurring feelings are a window into your talents. Don’t fight the feelings - take the path of least resistance to be the best of who you really are.
Live WELL,
Michael
Friday, August 13, 2010
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: A Lack of a Social Life Increases the Risk of Premature Death!
I do not expect to see a Surgeon General’s Warning like the one in the title. To what would you apply the label? An ad on social media sites? Posted on the walls of doctor offices or hospital emergency rooms? It is not a harmful product to avoid; it is a healthy activity to engage in. However, a warning about the positive health benefits of a social life may be just what the Surgeon General ordered.
Scientific American recently reported on a study that analyzed the results from 148 other studies that involved over 300,000 participants over many decades. In the article, Social Ties Boost Survival by 50 Percent, author Katherine Harmon concludes that “making friends" may be the most enjoyable and beneficial form of working out. The author points to research that suggests that “interpersonal networks are more crucial to physical health than exercising or beating obesity”. Social support is credited with improving many physiological processes - everything from lowering blood pressure, improving the immune system, speeding up wound healing, to reducing inflammation. And, the greater the number of relationships, the greater the increase in health benefits.
Your online friendships are a step in the right direction. However, the emotional connection that comes from a phone call or a visit reaps far greater rewards. Take a moment to take inventory of your circle of friends – the ones that make you feel like “life is good” every time you talk or visit with them. Also, consider that social isolation is on the increase, three times greater than twenty years ago, and many people do not enjoy a single good friendship. Challenge yourself to expand your social network to include others. When you do that, you will be improving the quality and length of their life, as well as your own.
Live WELL,
Michael
Scientific American recently reported on a study that analyzed the results from 148 other studies that involved over 300,000 participants over many decades. In the article, Social Ties Boost Survival by 50 Percent, author Katherine Harmon concludes that “making friends" may be the most enjoyable and beneficial form of working out. The author points to research that suggests that “interpersonal networks are more crucial to physical health than exercising or beating obesity”. Social support is credited with improving many physiological processes - everything from lowering blood pressure, improving the immune system, speeding up wound healing, to reducing inflammation. And, the greater the number of relationships, the greater the increase in health benefits.
Your online friendships are a step in the right direction. However, the emotional connection that comes from a phone call or a visit reaps far greater rewards. Take a moment to take inventory of your circle of friends – the ones that make you feel like “life is good” every time you talk or visit with them. Also, consider that social isolation is on the increase, three times greater than twenty years ago, and many people do not enjoy a single good friendship. Challenge yourself to expand your social network to include others. When you do that, you will be improving the quality and length of their life, as well as your own.
Live WELL,
Michael
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Get Off Your _ _ _ and Do Something! It Might Save Your Life.
The first part of the title still rings in my ears. It was a mother’s not-so-gentle suggestion to a lazy teenager that he make a greater contribution around the house. Little did I appreciate the long-term health benefits of Mom’s directive. A study conducted by the American Cancer Society (ACS), involving over 123,000 individuals from 1993 to 2006, lends credence to Mom’s law of motion, “bodies capable of motion should stay in motion”! If Mom saw a body at rest, she provided the force to set it in motion. The ACS study confirms that Mom was way ahead of her time.
The study looked at the amount of time that people spent engaged in “sitting” and “physical activity”, and the relation to mortality over the 13-year period. As I would have expected, the results showed that the more you sit, the more likely you are to experience premature death. However, a surprising finding was that physical activity had little impact on the mortality rate of chronic “sitters”. The idea that your morning workout gives you license to lounge the rest of the day can lead to dire health consequences.
The researchers only looked at the amount of time that people sat outside of work. Women who reported sitting more than six hours per day were 37% more likely to die during the study than those who sat for less than three hours per day. Men who reported the same behavior were 18% more likely to die. As mentioned, the physical activity of participants did not change these results, however, people who sat more and were less physically active died at a much higher rate. Women who sat more and were less active were 94% more likely to die during the study. Men reporting the same behavior were 48% more likely to die.
Alpa Patel, an ACS researcher, suggests that a number of factors could explain the results of the study. “Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.”
What do we do with this information? I suggest you quickly analyze how many hours you spend sitting each day, at work and at home. Set a goal to reduce the total amount of time that you sit each day. Also, start moving more throughout the day. Have a timer that rings every hour to let you know it is time to get up and move. Take a brief walk or do some stretching. Moreover, just as eating smaller meals, more frequently is better for you, break your exercise routine up into smaller chunks spread throughout the day. An example might be to do 20 minutes of strength training in the morning, a mile walk after lunch, and a 20-minute cardio workout before dinner.
Live WELL!
Michael
The study looked at the amount of time that people spent engaged in “sitting” and “physical activity”, and the relation to mortality over the 13-year period. As I would have expected, the results showed that the more you sit, the more likely you are to experience premature death. However, a surprising finding was that physical activity had little impact on the mortality rate of chronic “sitters”. The idea that your morning workout gives you license to lounge the rest of the day can lead to dire health consequences.
The researchers only looked at the amount of time that people sat outside of work. Women who reported sitting more than six hours per day were 37% more likely to die during the study than those who sat for less than three hours per day. Men who reported the same behavior were 18% more likely to die. As mentioned, the physical activity of participants did not change these results, however, people who sat more and were less physically active died at a much higher rate. Women who sat more and were less active were 94% more likely to die during the study. Men reporting the same behavior were 48% more likely to die.
Alpa Patel, an ACS researcher, suggests that a number of factors could explain the results of the study. “Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.”
What do we do with this information? I suggest you quickly analyze how many hours you spend sitting each day, at work and at home. Set a goal to reduce the total amount of time that you sit each day. Also, start moving more throughout the day. Have a timer that rings every hour to let you know it is time to get up and move. Take a brief walk or do some stretching. Moreover, just as eating smaller meals, more frequently is better for you, break your exercise routine up into smaller chunks spread throughout the day. An example might be to do 20 minutes of strength training in the morning, a mile walk after lunch, and a 20-minute cardio workout before dinner.
Live WELL!
Michael
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Desperate Times Call for Desperate “Terms” – How About “WELLNESS”?
A recent New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/magazine/18FOB-onlanguage-t.html) explained the history of the term “wellness”, and the rise of its popularity in America. I assumed that it had been around forever. However, Dan Rather, in a “60 Minutes” episode in November or 1979 described the term as “a word that you don’t hear every day”. The segment went on to explore the “new” wellness health movement - in 1979! Prior to that time, preventive health care had few devotees. The medical field was almost exclusively dedicated to illness-oriented care.
Thirty years later, the use of the term “wellness” has become ubiquitous. Alternative and preventive approaches to good health are everywhere. Despite this, the majority of the population lives less well and we face a national health crisis that will demand even more from illness-oriented care. Research published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine (http://www.3percentchoice.com/americans-unhealthy-lifestyle-leading-cause-death) suggests that only 3% of Americans maintain a healthy lifestyle – defined as: not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, eating right (minimum of 5 fruits/ vegetables per day, and exercising at least 5 times per week for 30 minutes)
I have heard it said that the medical costs to keep a person alive in the final few days of life often exceed the amount spent on preventive care over an entire lifetime. Think about it. How much money do you spend on the basics of a healthy lifestyle: a nutritious diet, regular physical check-ups and health screenings, and activities that promote well-being, e.g. exercise and relaxation? Is it easy to believe that a serious illness, requiring a hospital stay, could quickly surpass your lifetime of wellness spending?
The investment in a better quality of life now, promises immediate and lasting rewards. The rewards come in the form of a happier, healthier, more productive, and longer life with a significantly reduced risk of sickness and disease. It’s money WELL spent!
Live WELL!
Michael
Thirty years later, the use of the term “wellness” has become ubiquitous. Alternative and preventive approaches to good health are everywhere. Despite this, the majority of the population lives less well and we face a national health crisis that will demand even more from illness-oriented care. Research published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine (http://www.3percentchoice.com/americans-unhealthy-lifestyle-leading-cause-death) suggests that only 3% of Americans maintain a healthy lifestyle – defined as: not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, eating right (minimum of 5 fruits/ vegetables per day, and exercising at least 5 times per week for 30 minutes)
I have heard it said that the medical costs to keep a person alive in the final few days of life often exceed the amount spent on preventive care over an entire lifetime. Think about it. How much money do you spend on the basics of a healthy lifestyle: a nutritious diet, regular physical check-ups and health screenings, and activities that promote well-being, e.g. exercise and relaxation? Is it easy to believe that a serious illness, requiring a hospital stay, could quickly surpass your lifetime of wellness spending?
The investment in a better quality of life now, promises immediate and lasting rewards. The rewards come in the form of a happier, healthier, more productive, and longer life with a significantly reduced risk of sickness and disease. It’s money WELL spent!
Live WELL!
Michael
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
