HealthyUT – June 2017
Wellness Warrior
The Wellness Warrior Award is given to individuals across campus who are nominated by their peers for leading by example and inspiring through action to create a healthier lifestyle.
June 2017 Wellness Warrior award recipient Dr. Michael Berry
Dr. Michael W. Berry, professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer science and the department of mathematics, is the June Wellness Warrior Award recipient. Dr. Berry has been with the University of Tennessee for 27 years. His favorite hobbies include teaching spinning, participating in triathlons, and traveling.
When asked about what inspires him to make the healthier choices and living a healthy lifestyle, Dr. Berry simply responded, “Surviving a major heart attack last September!”
“I was leading a spin class – it was a good routine, typical of what I do,” Dr. Berry explained. “But as we were cooling down, I felt exhausted, like I had run a marathon. I thought, ‘Why do I feel so weak?’ I thought maybe I was getting the flu.” As he drove 25 minutes home his symptoms became more intense. “There was no pain, but it was like drowning on land, I just couldn’t get enough air. I told my wife to call 911,” said Berry. “From there on I have no more memory.” On the way to the emergency room Dr. Berry went into full cardiac arrest. “It took me a while to come to terms with it. I was depressed at first, and felt the mortality of it all sinking in. I’ve always been in good shape. I knew I had higher cholesterol than normal, but not at what’s considered the trigger level. Then again, my father had a quadruple bypass…We fitness people think we can eat junk because we don’t gain weight,” said Dr. Berry.
Dr. Berry was already a strong advocate for living a fit and healthy lifestyle. His passion for this only increased after this experience. Dr. Berry now advocates for living a healthy lifestyle where nutrition and physical activity both play an important role.
You can read more about his story in this article from a local paper.
Congratulations, Dr. Berry, for you nomination and thank you for being such a motivating model of health and wellness.
Making the healthy choice is not always the easy choice. To nominate someone who you feel is deserving of the Wellness Warrior Award please fill out a nomination form.
Move More
Be Active This Summer
As the temperatures rise over the summer it can be difficult to find the motivation be active. But we do not have to let the high temperatures outside from preventing us from working on our goals to live healthy and well lives.
- If going outdoors, pick times early in the day or late in the afternoon when the weather is much cooler during these times.
- Shorten workout times to avoid heat exhaustion.
- Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate! It’s important to stay hydrated when working out. This is especially true on hot summer days.
- Slowly build a routine to meet your goals. For example, you can use the Be Well Summer Activity Guide to prepare for Forget Me Not 5k on August 19th benefiting the Pat Summit Foundation. This Couch to 5k guide is an 8-week program that
Join the “UTK– Be Well” team listed under corporate teams and use the code “MoveMore” to receive a discount when you register. To register for the race and for more information Visit forgetmenot5k.com
Upcoming Community Events:
Forget Me Not 5k for Alzheimer’s – August 19
Eat Better
Nutrition Label Upgrade
The nutrition fact label on our foods is getting an upgrade. The deadline for the upgrade on all packaged foods is July 18. There are some subtle and other not so subtle
The new label is designed with the consumers in mind. The information will reflect more accurate standards of measurement and will make it easier to read the label overall. Some of the changes will include the following:
| 1. | A new design. The look of the label will still be the same, but expect to see “Calories,” “servings per container,” and the “Serving size” declaration in larger, bolder type. |
| 2. | Actual data. Food makers will also list facts on the actual amount of the food in a package that you’ll likely be eating or drinking in one sitting, such as the calories and sugar in a full bottle of juice or a whole package of crackers. |
| 3. | Daily nutrient info. Soon, the “% Daily Value” footnote will better explain what it means. You’ll see how much a nutrient in a serving of food—like Vitamin D or sodium (salt) —contributes to a daily diet. |
| 4. | Sugar content. New food labels will go a step further in listing sugar content of a food to include “added sugar.” This will help you know how much sugar is naturally a part of the food and how much sugar has been added during processing. |
| 5. | Specific nutrient info. Vitamin D and potassium will be added to food labels because they are typically two key nutrients that many Americans lack. Calcium and iron will still be listed also. So will fats, especially “Total Fat,” “Saturated Fat,” and “Trans Fat.” Going away from the new label: “Calories from Fat.” You may or may not still see Vitamins A and C on the new labels since that information is optional. |
Source: ParTNers for Health newsletter
Be Mindful
What Impacts Your Mood?
Many things in our daily lives have a profound impact on our mood and mental health. Our diet, physical activity, sleeping habits, and social environments are just some examples of things that can impact how we feel. Sometimes they can cause us to be stressed and fall into a bad mood. Luckily, this can easily be fixed.
1. GET SOME SUN
Vitamin D and calcium work together in your body. Both nutrients can make you feel low if you don’t get enough of them. The fix? Try eating more fatty fish, like tuna and salmon, which are good sources of vitamin D. Also, get a few minutes of sunshine each day.
2. CUT OUT JUNK FOOD
There’s a connection between your diet and your emotions. Eating high fat, sugary foods when you’re emotional can feed negative feelings. The fix? Snack on protein and good carbs like apples and peanut butter or carrots and hummus.
3. GET ENOUGH LIQUIDS
Even mild dehydration can affect your energy and mood. The fix? Drink more water. Some experts recommend drinking eight, 8-ounce glasses of water each day.
4. STOP WORKING SO MUCH
A study suggests people who work more than 50 hours a week have lower mental well-being. They can also feel depressed. The fix? Enjoy a hobby. Spend time with friends. Make time for something you enjoy.
5. GO TO BED
Lack of sleep can make you mad, sad and less able to deal with stress and cause irritability, a short temper and a susceptibility to stress. The fix? A good night’s sleep can bring your mood back to normal levels. Adults over age 26 should aim for 7 to 9 hours each night.
Source: 5/23 ParTNers for Health Newsletter
The HealthyUT Newsletter is a monthly publication where events, information, and resource to support healthy lifestyles will be shared with the UT Knoxville Community. It will serve as our communication with our campus community as we try to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
Be Well.