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HealthyUT – October 2017

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  HealthyUT – October 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 as they work to create a healthier lifestyle.

September Wellness Warrior Award Recipient, Susan Robertson.

September Wellness Warrior Award Recipient, Susan Robertson.

The Wellness Warrior for October is awarded to Susan Robertson who works in the UT Institute for Public Service. She has been a part of the UT Family for 9 years, and her favorite hobbies include hiking, nature photography and watching college football and basketball.

Susan’s inspiration to make healthy lifestyle choices stems from her desire to lower her chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Watching her father and grandfather suffer from the horrible disease, which has no known causes, prompted her to take preventative measures for the sake of her health. Additionally, once Susan learned of her high cholesterol, she cut down on her sugar intake, began walking, and consumed whole foods only. As a result, she lowered her cholesterol while also shedding 30 pounds.

The switch to a healthier lifestyle can be challenging, but Susan says it best when she states, “Getting and staying healthy really is about lifestyle changes; while it takes getting used to, before long it becomes habit and it’s well worth it!”

Congratulations, Susan for your 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

In more recent years kids are beginning to be diagnosed with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. This would have been unheard of  in the past, but that has changed due to an elevated child obesity rates in recent years. Approximately one-third of children in the U.S. are either overweight or obese, which is three times the rate reported in the 70’s.  Obesity has been a growing problem for American kids, but it can be easily stopped with healthy lifestyle adjustments! To aid in your fight against childhood obesity, here are three steps that can help you and kids stay healthy.

STEP 1: Eat Healthier Meals “Eat Smarter”. Swap out junk food for healthier options that consists of plenty of fruits and vegetables.  Adjust portion sizes and make more of an effort to eat meals as a family.

STEP 2: Move More. Physical activity is an important preventive factor for diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Encourage playtime and exercise and join in on the fun.

STEP 3: Show Support. As a parent, you play a starring role in helping your child feel good and succeed on their weight loss journey. Be positive. Celebrate small and big success. Be a role model and lead by example.

Upcoming Community Events:    

Source: ParTNers for Health

Eat Smarter

Eat Your Fruits and Veggies!

“Make sure you eat your vegetables!” was a common saying for mothers of most households. The mere thought of consuming some of our arch nemesis, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, peas and carrots to name a few, repulsed many children, but maybe our mothers were on to something. In fact, eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables can help prevent 90% of diabetes, 80% of heart disease and stroke, and up to 95% of cancers. Here are a few tips that may aid in incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet.

  1. Variety! Eat a rainbow of foods especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Get vegetables and fruits in different colors to get different vitamins and nutrition.
  2. Healthy Snacks! Be creative and find ways to create some healthy snacks  substitutes: for example, fruit Popsicle or fruit smoothies!
  3. Add some red to breakfast. Make a power breakfast by adding a slice or two of tomato to a bagel or English muffin with a scrambled egg and a little low-fat cheese on top.
  4. Add a sweet surprise. Add mandarin orange segments to a salad or beef stir fry for some sweetness and an extra boost of fiber, vitamins and minerals.
  5. Hold the mayo. Instead of mayo, mash up a fresh avocado then swipe some on your sandwich bread. It’s full of healthy fats, fiber and other super-nutrients.
  6. Make a healthy “comfort” casserole. Want to know how to make comfort food healthy and delicious? Try this take on an American classic, mac and cheese. It uses the one white veggie variety that’s a nutritional powerhouse—cauliflower. Click here for the recipe.
  7. When in doubt, fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables. A good general goal is to eat at least 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables each day. If you can’t measure your food, it’s a safe bet to make sure 50% of your meal is fresh produce.
  8. Watch and Learn. There are a million and one things you can do to “jazz” up canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. This short video shows you how.

 

 

Recipe of the Month: Healthy “Comfort” Casserole (Mega Mac and Cheese) 

Source:
ParTNers for Health newsletter

Be Mindful 

946-CARE for Distressed Employees

The safety and well-being of every member of the UT family is of the utmost importance. If you feel that you, or someone you may know, need help, please do not hesitate to call 946-CARE (865-946-2273).

The 946-CARE program provides support for faculty and staff who are in distress or concerned about a colleague. The line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is answered by trained HR professionals from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The line is answered by the UT Police Department after hours and during holidays

Other Campus resources:

Source: 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. 

The flagship campus of the University of Tennessee System and partner in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway.