5 Cholesterol Myths and Facts

| September 29, 2021 |
5 CHOLESTEROL MYTHS AND FACTS
- LDL (low-density lipoprotein), sometimes called “bad” cholesterol, makes up most of your body’s cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol raise your risk for heart disease and stroke.
- HDL (high-density lipoprotein), or “good” cholesterol, carries cholesterol back to the liver. The liver then flushes it from the body. High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.
- Get tested at least every 5 years (unless told otherwise by your doctor).
- Make healthy food choices. Limit foods high in saturated fats. Choose foods naturally high in fiber and unsaturated fats.
- Be active every day. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate physical activity each week.
- Don’t smoke or use tobacco products. Smoking damages your blood vessels, speeds up the hardening of the arteries, and greatly increases your risk for heart disease. Quitting tobacco will lower your risk for heart disease.
- If any medicines are prescribed by your health care provider to you to manage your cholesterol, take them as they are prescribed.
- Know your family history. If your parents or other immediate family members have high cholesterol, you probably should be tested more often.
Myth: I don’t need statins or other medicines for my cholesterol. I can manage my cholesterol with diet and exercise.
Fact: Although many people can achieve good cholesterol levels by making healthy food choices and getting enough physical activity, some people may also need medicines called statins to lower their cholesterol levels.
Always talk to your health care provider about the best ways to manage your cholesterol.
What is Digital Wellness and Why Does It Matter?

| September 15, 2021 |
WHAT IS DIGITAL WELLNESS AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Wondering if you are too connected? Take this 12-question quiz to find out: https://virtual-addiction.com/digital-distraction-test/
Emotional Eating and How Stress Impacts Your Diet

| September, 8, 2021 |
EMOTIONAL EATING AND HOW STRESS IMPACTS YOUR DIET
Have you noticed that you have a tendency to raid the fridge or cupboard when you are stressed? That is called emotional eating and it is a coping mechanism for stress, boredom, loneliness, fear, worry, anger, grief and depression. We all get caught with our hand in the cookie jar occasionally but regularly letting our emotions run our eating choices can have a negative effect on our health.
When we are stressed, our bodies go into a fight or flight response and release cortisol. Cortisol signals the body to store fat in case we need energy in the future, and it increases our appetite. Research has shown that depending on our feelings, we make different food choices. For example, when we are angry, we choose crunchy foods and when we are sad, we reach for sugary treats. We have sweet soft foods when we are anxious and salty foods when we are stressed. The act of eating distracts and soothes us.
The key to managing our emotional hunger is to pay attention to what we eat so we don’t get into a cycle of managing our emotions with food. Use a food journal or a food app on your phone to track your food, emotional state and stress level during the meal or snack. Journaling helps you to see your habits clearly. Use a hunger scale before you eat to evaluate if you are truly hungry or eating due to emotions. The chart below shows the differences in physical and emotional hunger.
Using these tools and having awareness of emotional hunger and how stress impact may lead to you to healthier habits.
Signs of Substance Abuse in the Workplace

| September 1, 2021 |
SIGNS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN THE WORKPLACE
Since most of us spend the majority of our day at work with our co-workers, it is important to take notice if a coworker has a change in productivity or attendance. While the signs below could be depression, other mental health issues or a medical condition, it is helpful to know they might be signs of substance abuse too.
- Being late to work, often with no explanation
- Leaving work early
- Making mistakes on easy tasks
- Falling asleep on the job
- Taking longer and longer lunch breaks
- Going to the bathroom more often
- Using all their days off or sick time
- Having problems meeting deadlines
They might also have a change in personality, behavior, or appearance. You may see that they:
- Pay less attention to hygiene than they used to
- Are antisocial, especially if they used to be outgoing
- Are more moody or angry
- Have dilated pupils
- Have a runny nose
- Mention suicidal thoughts
- Tell lies about themselves
- Loss or gain weight unexpectedly
- Wear long-sleeved shirts at inappropriate time
Preparing to Go Back to School In-Person

| August 18, 2021 |
PREPARING TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL IN-PERSON
Source: Child Mind Institute (https://childmind.org)