“Lifestyle Habits” for Living WELL
By Erik Nieuwenhuis MS, PT St Luke’s Work Injury Prevention Specialist and WELLness Consultant 712-279-1842 Nieuween@stlukes.org

Are you and your family feeling stressed with the uncertainty looming ahead with the changes coming in Health Care? Many changes are needed, however research shows that our health care system and costs can be controlled by each of us across Siouxland banding together and taking personal and corporate accountability to choose to make healthy choices EASIER and available at work, across the Siouxland Community, and in our homes. We can also do this by transforming our environments where we work, live, eat, and play to offer healthy options in regards to physical activity/ exercise, reduce excessive portion sizes, and high sugar/ high fat fried food options that are slowly killing us with excessive daily temptations. Thirty seven of our fifty states in the United States in 2008, according to the CDC, had increased rates of overweight and obesity. According to new research by the CDC, those people who adopted four healthy behaviors of never smoking, engaging in regular exercise, choosing healthy foods (high in fruit and vegetables), and maintaining a healthy weight had a 78% lower risk for developing heart disease, diabetes, and cancer over their lifetime. This research demonstrates the POWER of your daily choices!

This article is about empowering YOU with what you and your family, your workplace, and the Siouxland Community can control, and that is the power of our daily choices. We must create environments that promote healthy lifestyle habits to improve our health and reduce our healthcare costs! From the book, “Why are some people healthy and others not?” the determinants discovered for the health of populations was broken down as; 50% Healthy behaviors (Individual daily choices/ lifestyle habits), 20 % Environment (work, home, community), 20% Genetics, and 10% Access to Care. According to Evans, Barer, and Marmor the books authors, they state, “The well defined clustering of healthy and unhealthy behaviors in the population suggest that individual behavior is a response to the social environment…To treat it as simply individual is to throw away a vast amount of important research.” According to Dr Judd Allen and Dr. Joe Leutzinger, “Every year approximately 70% of employee’s attempt to adopt new and healthy lifestyle practices/ habits, However, less than 20% are successful in maintaining those changes.”

Thus, how can we, those who live across Siouxland, or the United States of America improve our work environments to promote physical activity and offer healthy foods and proper portion sizes to promote healthy living and vitality. We need to work together to make “Choosing the Healthy Choice-- EASY.” Below is a list from Wellsource that is the top ten lifestyle habits for healthy living that are research based and will make your spirit soar like an eagle, your body move with vitality, and your heart and mind be full of JOY!! Are you ready for this daily challenge Siouxland?


1) Get adequate rest daily: People with the best health and longevity get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep daily. Taking time for daily relaxation and recreation is also helpful to the body and mind.
2) Get regular physical activity: At least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise five days per week or vigorous intensity exercise for at least 20 minutes three days each week. Depending on how overweight you are you may likely need to increase the time and/ or days per week of physical activity to meet your goals. Include strengthening exercises at least 2+ times each week to maintain a healthy lean body weight…increase this frequency if you need to lose weight. Work on your flexibility and total body range of motion daily for stress relief, more energy and to lubricate your joints and reduce stiffness and pain.
3) Eat more plant based foods: Aim for at least 5 (up to 9 is recommended) servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Limit fatty meats (or trim excess off of your steak, pork chops), and high cholesterol foods. Good sources of plant proteins for your body are; peas, beans, nuts and soy foods. Eating 5+ servings (1 palm full) of nuts each week is one of the best health habits you can make for your heart and health!! Multiple large population long term research studies have found those who ate 5+ servings of nuts each week reduced their heart disease risks by 50-60%, and improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Siouxland Let’s Go NUT’s!!
4) Eat more whole grain breads and cereals: Aim for at least 3 servings of whole grains daily such as (look for how many grams of fiber you get per serving); whole wheat breads and cereals, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and oatmeal. Limit your intake of highly refined products such as white bread, pastry (cookie/ donuts/ bars/ pie), white rice and high sugar cereals, or products with enriched as the first ingredient. That means that they stripped the fiber from the product and eating too much of these products makes it very difficult to manage your weight.
5) Choose healthy fats: Choose unhydrogenated vegetable oils and trans fat free margarine in place of animal and solid fats such as butter, hard stick margarine, and shortening. Eat at least 1 serving of nuts daily (1 oz of nuts or 2 tablespoons of peanut or almond butter). Eat foods high in Omega 3 fatty acids daily such as; walnuts, soy, flax meal, soy and canola oils.
6) Achieve and Maintain a Healthy Weight: A BMI less than 25 is ideal. A BMI of 25.1 to 29.9 is overweight/ moderate risk and 30 or above is high risk (obesity). Testing your body composition (muscle/ lean tissue vs fat) is an even better predictor for your body’s health than BMI. A waist measurement of less than 37 for men and less than 33 inches for women is Healthy for the reduction of heart disease risks factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes risk factors.
7) Be FREE of dependence on tobacco, illicit drugs, or alcohol: 85,000 people die prematurely every year due to alcohol and over 400,000 people die prematurely every year from smoking. Drug use can lead to dependencies that can destroy physical, mental, and spiritual health.
8) Maintain a Cheerful, Hopeful Outlook on LIFE: Choose to see the bright side of life. Be Happy!! Laugh a lot!! Pass on Joy, Hope and Encouragement to those you work and live with daily. HUG and tell those whom you LOVE daily!! Get help if you feel sad and depressed for extended periods of time.
9) Spend Quality Time with Family and Friends Daily: Supportive relationships build strong hearts and happy minds! They also build and improve customer service in your company and family. Practice a spirit of friendship, love and acceptance for others. Share a random act of kindness with someone you live or work with daily and watch your spirit soar!!
10) Take time daily for Spiritual Renewal: Plan a quiet time each day to read, pray, meditate, and seek spiritual renewal. A heart primed with gratitude, forgiveness, and service helps your spirit soar over life’s difficulties and through its challenges!!

Make a PLEDGE for 2009: It is ________________ (your full name here) heart’s desire today to take the time and hard work necessary to make my Health (Body, Mind and Spirit) a personal priority in my life so I can be the best Spouse, Father/ Mother to my children, Employee/ Leader/ Owner in the workplace, and Servant in my community. I will do this with the help of my creator and accountability partner who has signed this pledge below.

__________________________________Name (Signature) Date ______________

Sources:
Ten Lifestyle Goals for Healthy Living by Wellsource Inc. 2003-5. www.wellsource.com
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2005: 81:409-15 Feb 2005
“Why are some people healthy and others not” Book by Evans, Barer, and Marmor
Well Workplace University Class 4 by Welcoa Dr David Hunnicutt on June 24th, 2009 webinar.
Creating a Culture of Wellness webinar by Dr. David Hunnicutt President of Welcoa on March 19th, 2009.
More Evidence Healthy Living Brings Long Life by Alan Mozes HealthScout Daily News via email on August 10, 2009.