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Worksite Wellness/Health Economics
Good Incentives Increase Participation in Wellness Program
A low participation rate in corporate wellness programs is one of the major reasons organizations fail to get healthcare costs to drop. Companies successful in reducing costs usually have 80% or more of their employees and families actively involved. One great way to get more people to participate is to build effective incentives into your program structure.
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Research Highlights
Blood Pressure and Coffee Consumption
Coffee is one of the most popularly consumed beverages in the world. Any health effects, even if small, from drinking coffee could have large public health effects. One of the concerns of drinking coffee and caffeinated beverages is its effect on blood pressure. It’s been known for many years that even one cup of coffee increases the stress hormone epinephrine and causes blood pressure to rise, but it’s been thought to be only a temporary effect. Two recent meta-analyses (combining several studies to analyze a specific problem) have looked at coffee and caffeine intake and have concluded that they do result in higher blood pressure. The rise is modest but significant.
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Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Risk
When assessing coronary risk, blood triglycerides have traditionally not been considered a major coronary risk factor. The reason is that when you statistically adjust for blood cholesterol (LDL and HDL), fasting triglyceride levels cease to be a significant predictor of risk.
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Whole Grains and the Risk of High Blood Pressure
Whole grains contain numerous nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals) that are protective to our health. They reside primarily in the outer bran and inner germ layers of the wheat kernel. In making white flour, both the germ and the bran layers are removed along with these protective nutrients. Because of this, white flour is more energy-dense (higher in calories) but less nutrient-dense..
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Preventing Hip Fractures
Each year in the United States, some 329,000 people experience a hip fracture. Breaking a hip is serious. It can lead to immobility, isolation, depression, and early mortality. In fact, 1 out of 5 persons who break a hip will die within the first year. Hip fractures are also very costly in medical care and long-term support. This is the bad news. The good news is that you can do something to lower your risk of a hip fracture.
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Vitamin D and Risk of Heart Disease
Research continues to accumulate on the benefits of vitamin D to your health. The latest evidence found is the role vitamin D plays in heart health, and it comes from the famous Framingham Heart Study. Researchers studied 1,739 offspring from the Framingham study. At the start of the study, vitamin D blood levels (25 OH vitamin D) were measured to see who might be deficient. Five and a half years later, researchers recorded.
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Health Links
Gives guidance on the new standards and norms for children’s blood pressure. Prepared by the National Institutes of Health, National High Blood Pressure Education Program.
Interested in vitamin D and health? This informational site gives you numerous articles, studies, and interviews with vitamin D researchers. The site is not a government agency, or conservative views, but high pro-vitamin D. I think you will find it enlightening and challenging to your thinking.
Resources
PowerPoint® Slides
Recipes
Try this recipe for a delicious Spring brunch dish.
Spinach-Potato Quiche
| 1 Recipe |
Potato, Oat or Wheat Crust |
3 T |
Cornstarch |
| 1 c |
Onions, Chopped |
2 T |
Water |
| 1 c |
Fresh mushrooms, chopped |
2 T |
ENER-G® Egg Replacer |
| 1 clove |
Garlic, minced |
1 T |
Dry minced onion |
| 1 T |
Olive oil |
1 tsp |
Chicken-style seasoning |
| 10 oz |
Fresh spinach, coarsely chopped |
1 tsp |
Salt |
| 1 c |
Raw potatoes, shredded |
1 tsp |
Basil |
| 4 oz |
Chopped green chilies, canned |
¼ tsp |
Lawry's® Seasoned Salt Paprika to garnish |
| 1 c |
"Cheese" Sauce (recipe follows) |
2 boxes |
Mori-Nu Tofu, extra firm (12.3 oz each) |
- Prepare the Potato Quiche Crust (recipe following) and set aside.
- In a non-stick frying pan, sauté onions, mushrooms and garlic in oil or 2 T water until onions are translucent.
- Remove from heat, then remove large stems from spinach, cut into 2-inch pieces and place in a large pot with 1 cup water.
- Simmer until tender. Drian, cool and squeeze dry.
- Add spinach, potatoes and chopped chilies to onion-mushroom mixture, cook 1 or 2 more minutes and remove from heat.
- Prepare "Cheese" Sauce and set aside one cup for the recipe. (This step can be done well in advance to save time on the day it is needed.)
- In a blender, combine 1 cup "Cheese" Sauce, tofu, cornstarch, water and egg replacer.
- Process until smooth and creamy. Then pour out into a bowl.
- Add the spinach-potato mixture, and all the seasonings, except paprika, to the tofu/cheese sauce mixture and mix well.
- Pour into a 10-inch quiche dish with the prepared crust and garnish with paprika.
- Bake at 350° F, 50-60 min. or until center of quiche is set.
Yield: 10-inch quiche
"Cheese" Sauce
| 1 c |
Rice or millet , cooked |
1 T |
Fresh lemon juice |
| 1 c |
Hot water |
1 tsp |
Onion powder |
| ¾ c |
Raw cashews or almonds |
1 tsp |
Salt |
| ¼ c |
Carrots, cooked |
½ tsp |
Lawry's® Seasoned Salt |
| 2 T |
Nutritional yeast flakes |
¼ tsp |
Garlic powder |
- In a blender, combine rice/millet, water, nuts, and carrots.
- Process at high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend again briefly.
Yield: 2½ cups
Potato Quiche Crust
| ⅓ c |
Potatoes, cooked and mashed |
| 1 c |
Unbleached white flour |
| 1 T |
Soymilk powder, plain |
| ½ tsp |
Salt |
| ⅓ c |
Water |
| 3 T |
Olive oil, "extra light" |
| 1 tsp |
Sesame seeds |
- Peel, cube, and boil 2 potatoes.
- Mash enough potatoes to equal ⅓ cup and set aside.
- Combine flour, soymilk powder, and salt.
- Mix water and oil together and pour into the dry ingredients.
- Stir until just moistened then add mashed potatoes to the dough.
- Knead mixture together until a soft, pliable dough is formed. Let dough rest several minutes.
- Roll dough out on a floured surface, then press dough into a 10-inch quiche dish.
- Flute edges, press sesame seeds into bottom of crust.
Yield: 10-inch crust
Recipes © 2001 Tastefully Vegan written by Gerard and Kathryn McLane. Used with permission.
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