Employee Wellness

Don’t forget that the Show Your Bib Challenge is currently going on.  If you participated in some type of event where you received a bib (for example the COLORMY5K on June 4th…), you can earn tokens to be put in a drawing for one of two $150.00 gift certificates to either: Lee’s Pro Shop, PD’s Embroidery or Amazon.  You also get a High Five token to keep.

Send a photo of your bib, name and date of event to: wellnessemp@welia.org

Local events in Kanabec or Pine County will get you TWO tokens in the drawing; all other events will get you ONE token in the drawing.  Right now we have 25 tokens in the drawing!

Review the flyer below and start earning your High Five tokens.

Show Your Bib

Just a reminder that early bird registration for the ColorMy5k ends this Friday, May 13th at midnight.  Register for this fun event by Friday to get the best pricing.

Race proceeds will go to area school organizations that focus on mental health and substance abuse initiatives.

To register go to www.colormy5k.zapevent.com

Join in this fun challenge that lasts through fall and show off those bibs you collect from all kinds of events!  Check out the attached flyer for all the info.

Show Your Bib

Thank you to all who contributed to the food drive. Together, we gathered 550 pounds of food to donate to area food shelves. Great job!

April is National Stress Awareness Month so this month employee wellness shines the spotlight on STRESS.

Stress is a fact of life.  It is the tension we feel when faced with a new or difficult situation.  Stress isn’t always a bad thing; it can help you meet life’s challenges such as meeting a deadline at work, studying to pass a test, or dealing with a family crisis.  This is short-term stress or positive stress.  It is the stress that keeps us going.

But too much stress can cause problems.  It can hurt your physical and mental health, can affect relationships with family and friends, and become chronic.  Chronic stress is negative stress; it lingers for weeks, months or even years.

How is your stress level?  Are you maxed out?  If so, here are some tips to help manage your stress:

• Accept the things you can’t change or control-have a positive focus
• Take control of the things you can change – you can control the way you react
• Take time for yourself on a regular basis-recharge your batteries
• Keep a journal-write down what is troubling you and also celebrate the positives
• Maintain a healthy eating plan
• Make sleep a priority
• Get regular exercise
• Share your feelings; communicate with a friend or loved one your concerns-talk it out
• Learn to say no to help unload your plate
• Seek out help-it’s ok and encouraged!

Most of us know that processed foods are not ideal for our health and that we should cut down on them, eat more fruits and vegetables and prepare our own food. However, with our busy lives we need to rely on food that can be prepared fast. Most food additives that are in these processed foods are considered safe but there are a few we need to be cautious of and those we should avoid all together.

The go to source for food labeling is an organization called the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Their website has a great guide on food additives, which ones are safe, those we should cut back on and those we should avoid all together.

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm

Some of the food additives we should avoid, according to this organization, are trans fats, food coloring, nitrites and high fructose corn syrup just to name a few. Most food additives are needed to improve the safety and freshness of our food or improve or maintain the nutritional value, however there are some that can cause problems for some people. What is interesting about those food additives we should avoid is that the foods they are in have little to no nutritional value anyway and there are healthier alternatives to these foods.   I encourage you to check out the above website and find out for yourself which food additives are safe and which ones to avoid.

Melissa Merrick, RD, LD

Your mother was right….you need to eat your vegetables…especially the ones high in flavonoids!

Flavonoids are a group of phytochemicals thought to be partly responsible for the disease prevention effect of diets high in vegetables, fruits and plant based beverages such as tea and wine.

Many flavonoids are shown to have antioxidative activity and some have been linked with reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. Some studies show flavonoids can have an anticancer effect with more recent research suggesting that diets high in flavonoids can help minimize the weight gain that often occurs with aging, though more research is needed in this area.

Savor the flavonoids in the following foods and beverages and try to include them often: blueberries (wild blueberries having more antioxidants than cultivated blueberries), blackberries, eggplant, plums, purple cabbage, purple grapes, raisins, cranberries, black olives, and black and green tea. Black currants and elderberries are also high in flavonoids though not widely consumed in our area.

The following foods contain flavonoids in smaller amounts but because of the popularity in the American diet, they end up being substantial contributors of flavonoids: bananas, strawberries, cherries, oranges and orange juice, grapefruit juice, onions, tomatoes and apples.

Cocoa is also high in flavonoids but use caution if you plan to increase your intake of cocoa for the health benefit of the flavonoids. Keep in mind that although chocolate contains cocoa, it also contains sugar, milk and other ingredients that can make it a less healthy choice. The flavonoid content of milk chocolate is much lower than dark chocolate. Look for a dark chocolate with a high percentage of cacao to obtain the flavonoid benefits.

You still have a chance to win prizes by completing the nutrition puzzle and returning it to Melissa Merrick, RD, LD or Danna Woods, RD, LD by March 31^st.

~ Danna Woods

Nutrition Month Puzzle

Are you an automatic eater?  Are you eating food just because it is there?  Donuts brought in by a coworker, cookies at a meeting, or samples at the grocery store.  Remember there are two reasons to eat:

1. To fuel your body.

2. To appreciate flavors

When you grab food because it’s in front of you, you’re not trying to appreciate flavors.  In fact, most likely you already know how the food will taste, and often you don’t even pay much attention to it.  As far as fueling your body in these circumstances the food offered does not provide the right balance of protein, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals to provide energy.  It may even make you hungrier which leads to grazing and overeating later in the day.  One way to look at this scenario is to have a policy that states “I don’t eat food just because it is there”, write it down and remind yourself of it often.  This will help you to slow down and be mindful of your decisions around food.

~ Melissa Merrick, RD, LD