Worksite Wellness/Health Economics
Protect Your Biggest Asset – Your Health
Money magazine ran a special report for corporate America. They pointed out that while growing your business and building wealth, don't forget your greatest asset – your personal health. The suggestions they made apply both to your personal health and the health of the employees in your company.
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Maximizing Participation in Your Wellness Program
A wellness program, however basic or elaborate it may be, is only as good as the level of participation. Organizations should aim for at least 80% participation in their programs, according to Dee Edington, PhD, a highly respected wellness program and ROI expert at the University of Michigan Health Research Center. Why 80%? Reaching at least 80% of your population ensures that your program is capturing those who need the program most, not just those who are already highly motivated and healthy. The more people you reach, the greater the impact on healthcare costs, employee productivity, presenteeism, and absenteeism. A recent study on best practices in health promotion identifies participation and program enrollment as one of the essential elements of a successful wellness program.
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Research Highlights
Flax Seed and Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer found in men (excluding skin cancer). Anything that can reduce prostate cancer risk is certainly of interest. A new study presented at this year's American Society of Clinical Oncology reported that flax seed can slow prostate tumor growth.
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Need Help Stopping Smoking?
Most smokers would like to stop if they just felt they could. A recent report on Bupropion, a medication recommend to help smokers stop, demonstrated the effectiveness of this stop-smoking aid.
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Adopt an Active Lifestyle, Live Longer
If you want to reduce your risk of dying too young, you might want to consider leaving your car in the garage. In a study recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, women who jogged, walked, or bicycled as their primary means of transportation were not just healthier. They also reduced their risk of early death by 22-50%.
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Antidepressants Linked to Bone Fractures
Few medicines are free of side effects. It has now come to light that people taking antidepressants for extended times are more likely to have weaker bones and increased fracture rates. This is not very encouraging news.
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Is Overweight an Independent Risk Factor for Coronary Heart Disease?
Being overweight has long been considered a contributing factor for coronary heart disease, but not an independent risk factor. New data from a large meta-analysis including over 300,000 people may change that view.
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Chronic Low Back Pain and Acupuncture
About 70-85% of the population deals with low back pain sometime. It is the second most common pain for which people go to the doctor. Back pain is also one of the most common and often costly employee health problems, resulting in enormous expense for the nation in healthcare costs, absenteeism, disability, and lost productivity. Unfortunately, medicine has few treatment programs that are highly effective for low back pain. One treatment that is becoming more common for low back pain is acupuncture. This treatment, however, is considered by many to be controversial and unproven.
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Glycemic Index and Eye Health
Glycemic Index (GI) rates how fast the carbohydrate portion of food is absorbed. Foods that are absorbed quickly raise the blood sugar levels quickly, and the high sugar spikes damage health. Previous studies have shown that a high-GI diet increases the risk for diabetes and heart disease. Now, a new study shows a similar negative effect on eye health.
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Small Changes Reduce Kid's Calorie Intake
At the annual meeting of the Obesity Society, an organization of weight-loss professionals, it was reported that simple substitutions at meals and easy changes to recipes can dramatically cut the number of calories children consume.
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Whole-Grain Cereals and Risk of Heart Failure
Heart failure is a major cause of death in the United States, producing or contributing to about 300,000 deaths yearly. There is treatment - but no cure - for heart failure. The best option is prevention. What you do now determines to a large degree if you will get heart failure later in life. New data from the Physicians' Health Study shows that a simple choice on the kinds of breakfast cereals you eat daily can have a significant impact on your risk for developing heart failure.
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Health Links
A national campaign to help the 20 million diabetics in the U.S. live healthier lives and prevent serious complications from diabetes, especially heart disease. Prepared by the National Diabetes Education program.
A new site on Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) prepared by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to help the 12 million people in the U.S. with PAD to become better aware of this condition and preventive actions that can be taken.
One in every 20 Americans over the age of 50 has PAD, a condition that raises the risk for heart attack and stroke. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has developed a 6-page brochure describing this condition and what you can do about it.
Resources
PowerPoint® Slides
Handouts
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Healthy Eating Guide Food Pyramid — Choosing healthy meals can have a profound effect on your health. These Healthy Eating Guidelines and the Healthy Eating Guide Food Pyramid are based on guidelines from 5 well-recognized scientific organizations.
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Quick Tips to a Healthier Back — Keep back pain to a minimum with these tips from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders.
Recipes
The kitchen is often a hub of activity, especially during the holidays. Try these recipes to add some healthier alternatives to those traditional and maybe not-so-healthy family favorites.
Cranberry Bread
| 1½ C |
all purpose flour or flour of choice |
|
½ C |
walnuts |
| 1 C |
whole-wheat pastry flour |
|
½ C |
apple juice, concentrate |
| 2 tsp |
baking powder or substitute |
|
½ C |
honey |
| ½ tsp |
baking soda or substitute |
|
¼ C |
olive oil, "extra light" |
| ½ tsp |
salt |
|
½ C |
MoriNu tofu®, firm |
| 1½ C |
fresh cranberries |
|
1 Tbs |
ENER-G® egg replacer |
Combine dry ingredients. Chop walnuts and cranberries in a food processor and add to the dry mixture. Combine liquid ingredients, tofu and egg replacer in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients. Stir gently until well mixed. Pour into a loaf pan prepared with cooking spray. Bake at 350° F, 55 minutes.
Yield: 1 loaf
Yams with Orange Glaze
| 4 med |
yams or sweet potatoes |
|
2 Tbs |
fructose, granular (opt) |
| 1 C |
orange juice |
|
1 tsp |
orange zest, grated |
| 1½ Tbs |
cornstarch |
|
½ tsp |
lemon zest, grated |
| ⅓ C |
pure maple syrup |
|
¼ tsp |
salt |
| 2 Tbs |
Smart Balance® "Light" (opt) |
|
1 tsp |
fresh parsley, snipped |
Cook yams until tender, peel and slice into a baking dish. Combine half the orange juice with cornstarch in a saucepan and stir to dissolve starch. Add remaining orange juice and all other ingredients (except the parsley) and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer mixture until thick and clear. Pour glaze over yams and serve. Garnish with parsley before serving.
Yield: 6 cups
Jean's Christmas Fruit Cake
| 2 C |
flax jell (see recipe below) |
|
6 C |
walnuts, coarsely chopped |
| 1 Tbs |
vanilla extract* |
|
3 C |
dried papaya, chopped |
| 2 Tbs |
almond extract* (opt) |
|
3 C |
dried cranberries (opt) |
| 3 C |
unbleached white flour (sifted) |
|
2 C |
dried pineapple, chopped |
| 1½ C |
dark brown sugar |
|
2 C |
raisins |
| 1 tsp |
salt |
|
2 C |
soft dates, chopped |
Prepare flax jell according to recipe below. Strain into a bowl. Then repeat process using the same seeds the second time. Strain second batch into first recipe and add vanilla and almond flavoring to the jell before chilling overnight. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add flax jell mixture and mix to make a batter. Gently work in remaining nuts and dried fruits with your hands. Line the bottom and sides of four 7-inch bread pans with parchment paper or brown paper bags cut to fit. Grease paper well with oil or cooking spray. Fill pans with cake mixture and press down to fill corners. (Or, you can use two 9-inch round spring form pans. In this case, cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pans and spray inside with cooking spray. Divide cake mixture between the 2 pans).
Cover pans lightly with foil and bake at 300º F, 1 hour. Remove foil and continue to bake 10 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven. As soon as cool enough to handle, invert bread pans to remove cakes or remove the sides of the spring-form pan. Peel off paper liners and wrap up with plastic wrap or wax paper. Then wrap in aluminum foil or any air-tight container. Keep refrigerated. (Stores well to eat all year long!)
Yield: 4 (7-inch x 4-inch) cakes
* Alcohol-free extracts are available in your health food store.
Flax Jell
| 2 C |
water |
|
6 Tbs |
flax seeds, whole |
Bring water to a boil. Add seeds and boil 5 minutes only. Strain through a fine sieve immediately to separate the seeds from the jell. Thickens quickly as it cools.
Yield: ¾ to 1 cup
Recipes from Tastefully Vegan – Creative Vegetarian Cooking by Kathryn and Gerard McLane.
What's New at Wellsource?
Orlando Wellness Marketing Seminar
 The Successful Health Management Systems™ Seminar, presented by Wellsource, Inc., will teach you how to develop and market your wellness program or improve an existing program. The next seminar will be held in February at the Sheraton Safari Hotel in Orlando, Florida. Due to the popularity of this location, we have added an additional seminar date. You can choose February 4-5, 2008 or February 7-8, 2008.
The seminar provides professionals in the healthcare and wellness industry with the opportunity to network with peers and share successes and challenges. The learning experience is facilitated with interactive workshops that encourage participation. For a program schedule and registration form.
For information on this and other Successful Health Management Systems™ Seminars, visit our seminar web page, call a Director of Business Development at 1-800-533-9355, or email well@wellsource.com.
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