Healthy Support

Chicken fajita stuffed peppers, tuna macaroni salad and more

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You asked, we answered! Hundreds of Start TODAY members told us they wanted more healthy, balanced meal ideas to help them reach their health goals. This dietitian-designed meal plan gives you the flexibility to enjoy summer while learning the building blocks of healthy eating.

These days, we’re all too busy. Easy meal prep will help free you up for the things at the top of your to-do list. Meal planning isn’t as daunting as it sounds. Spend just 10 or 15 minutes mapping out your meals, jot down what you need and head to the store. That’s it. Since you’re busy enough this season and don’t need another thing on your to-do list, we’ve also got suggestions for streamlining meal prep — and, best of all,

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Healthy Support

How One Company Is Addressing Health Inequities in Eating Disorder Treatment

There is a common stereotype that eating disorders only affect thin, young White girls. But Kristina Saffran, CEO and co-founder of virtual eating disorder care company Equip, will be among the first to say that this is not true, despite fitting the stereotype.

“Eating disorders affect everybody. They affect people of all different ages, races, genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes and sizes. These do not discriminate,” Saffran said during an interview last week at the Behavioral Health Tech 2023 conference in Phoenix.

“I am someone who fits the mold to a tee. … I was diagnosed with anorexia at 10, relapsed at 13, went into my pediatrician having lost 10 pounds and my pediatrician didn’t bat an eyelash. If I’m not getting identified, who is?” she continued.

San Diego, California-based Equip is trying to solve this issue through its virtual platform. The company connects patients with a care team,

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Healthy Support

Help with healthy eating habits

By Kelcey Norris

Mahoning Matters

Dr. Benjamin Biteman shared some advice he gives ahead of the holidays to patients in the Weight Loss Center working on portion control and healthy eating habits.

Dr. Benjamin Biteman shared some advice he gives ahead of the holidays to patients in the Weight Loss Center working on portion control and healthy eating habits.

FILE

Ohio is among the top ten states in the U.S. for adults with obesity.

Dr. Benjamin Biteman has worked in the Mercy Health St. Joseph Surgical Weight Loss Center for seven years.

Dr. Biteman is a general and bariatric surgeon at St. Joe’s Weight Loss Center.

He shared some advice he gives ahead of the holidays to patients in the Weight Loss Center working on portion control and healthy eating habits.

“One of the most important things to remember for Thanksgiving dinner is portion control,” he said. “You don’t want to skip meals in anticipation of the Thanksgiving dinner.”

Dr. Biteman said to focus on filling your plate with

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Healthy Support

14 Healthy Eating Tips To Help Your Teenager Thrive

Build Strong Bones 

“Both calcium and vitamin D are crucial for strong, healthy bones. Inadequate calcium intake can lead to weakened bones, setting the stage for future issues like osteoporosis. Both boys and girls need sufficient calcium, but girls should be cautious due to their higher risk. Vitamin D also builds strong bones, although teens may struggle to get enough sunlight or eat the right foods, putting them at risk of a deficiency. Dairy – milk and cheese – is the best source of calcium, but kidney beans, chickpeas, tahini, kale and cavolo nero are also good sources. If your child doesn’t drink dairy, make sure their alternative milk is fortified with calcium. Most are, and many contain added vitamin D and B12 too.”

Don’t Skip Breakfast 

“In the teenage years, consuming breakfast is very important, so skipping it or any other occasional fasting is a bad idea.

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Healthy Support

App and Peer Group Built to Support Police Officer Health

Police officers and police department staff have long suffered emotionally from the horrors of the job and traditionally have kept to themselves, compounding the issue. So police departments are addressing the emotional trauma officers face to try to foster emotional health.

The Frederick, Md., Police Department is taking a more holistic approach to health with the underlying belief that resiliency is a cultural issue for everyone within the department — sworn and not sworn — and that resiliency not only means emotional health, but physical health as well.

That’s the ambition of the Resiliency and Wellness Group (RWG), a group of seven Frederick Police Department employees — half sworn, half professional staff — that works with a professional leadership coach to develop resiliency within the department.


The RGW has implemented a Peer Ambassador Program and is developing a corresponding app for all police personnel to use anonymously for resources

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Healthy Support

Practicing mindfulness can help people make heart-healthy eating choices, new study shows

vegetables
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Practicing mindfulness focused on healthy eating can be good for the heart, a new study shows, because it improves self-awareness and helps people stick to a heart-healthy diet.

When people who had elevated blood pressure participated in an eight-week mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program for the study, they significantly improved their scores on measures of self-awareness and adherence to a heart-healthy diet compared to a control group. The results were published in JAMA Network Open.

“Participants in the program showed significant improvement in adherence to a heart-healthy diet, which is one of the biggest drivers of blood pressure, as well as significant improvements in self-awareness, which appears to influence healthy eating habits,” said lead study author Eric B. Loucks, an associate professor of epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, and director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown University.

Loucks said the study helps

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Healthy Support

Healthy Eating During The Holidays Improves Wellness And Productivity And Lengthens Life

During the holiday season, we are presented with a myriad of tempting foods, much of which is unhealthy and can deplete us of energy. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that good nutrition, along with ample sleep and good exercise, provide fuel that promotes your health, mood and mindful productivity at work. We have known for years that there is a direct link between diet and our physical health. Scientists, for example, have discovered that the Mediterranean diet reduces risks of cardiovascular disease. Research also shows that there is a direct relationship between our dietary patterns and mental health. The study’s authors state, “The results of this trial suggest that improving one’s diet according

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Healthy Support

Mindfulness Can Help People Make Heart-Healthy Eating Choices

Practicing mindfulness focused on healthy eating can be good for the heart, a new study shows, because it improves self-awareness and helps people stick to a heart-healthy diet.

When people who had elevated blood pressure participated in an eight-week mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program for the study, they significantly improved their scores on measures of self-awareness and adherence to a heart-healthy diet compared to a control group. The results were published in JAMA Network Open.

“Participants in the program showed significant improvement in adherence to a heart-healthy diet, which is one of the biggest drivers of blood pressure, as well as significant improvements in self-awareness, which appears to influence healthy eating habits,” said lead study author Eric B. Loucks, an associate professor of epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, and director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown University.

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Healthy Support

Borderland non-profits win recognition for promoting healthy eating initiatives in schools

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — Two borderland non-profits were recognized for their efforts in creating healthy eating initiatives in the community.

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation recognized non-profits Border Partners and La Semilla in New Mexico.

Border Partners– the nonprofit organization that helps people from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border– recently launched a new grant effort to promote healthier futures for kids in school in Las Palomas.

The new grant promotes healthy eating habits by teaching more than 700 school children, their teachers, parents, families, and school cooks how to grow their food at an on-site greenhouse.

La Semilla Food Center– the nonprofit organization based in Anthony, New Mexico– hosted its second Teacher Knowledge Exchange at Zia Middle School in Las Cruces, where teachers learned how to teach students how to plant and grow a school garden and cook.

RECOMMENDED: Grace Christian partners with Seasons of Change for

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Healthy Support

Practicing mindfulness can help people make heart-healthy eating choices

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Practicing mindfulness focused on healthy eating can be good for the heart, a new study shows, because it improves self-awareness and helps people stick to a heart-healthy diet.

When people who had elevated blood pressure participated in an eight-week mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program for the study, they significantly improved their scores on measures of self-awareness and adherence to a heart-healthy diet compared to a control group. The results were published in JAMA Network Open.

“Participants in the program showed significant improvement in adherence to a heart-healthy diet, which is one of the biggest drivers of blood pressure, as well as significant improvements in self-awareness, which appears to influence healthy eating habits,” said lead study author Eric B. Loucks, an associate professor of epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, and director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown University.

Loucks said the study helps

… Read the rest
more