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